Fire Hydrant of Freedom
Politics, Religion, Science, Culture and Humanities => Politics & Religion => Topic started by: ccp on January 12, 2020, 04:30:01 PM
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https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/01/03/2024-presidential-election-candidates-091055
My prediction
the world's greatest narcissist will pick for VP for '20:
His son Donald Trump Jr.
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I hate political dynasties. Having said that, I really like Don Jr.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-jr-instagram-ar15-weapon-rifle-hillary-clinton-behind-bars/
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/01/03/2024-presidential-election-candidates-091055
My prediction
the world's greatest narcissist will pick for VP for '20:
His son Donald Trump Jr.
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Too much of a princeling. Where's the life experience?
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https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/01/03/2024-presidential-election-candidates-091055
My prediction
the world's greatest narcissist will pick for VP for '20:
His son Donald Trump Jr.
Fair enough or maybe Jared if Trump trusts him more, and I agree he is tempted to shape that right now - but he will stay with Pence in 2020 unless there is something not right between them that we don't know. From what I can see, Pence has done everything asked of him beyond what could have been hoped when he was chosen.
At conservative site Instapundit they preface every piece of good polling news with "Don't get cocky". Trump has a chance I think to win 5-10 points higher than his general public approval numbers which would be a very decisive victory. He also has every opportunity to blow this at every turn between now and November. Don't screw with what is right and working. Don't create new and unnecessary distractions.
Except for activist LGBTQ hatred of Pence's Christianity, Pence is non-controversial, highly competent, fully experienced, consistently conservative, loyal to a fault, loaded with integrity and ready to step up and serve on a moment's notice. Also he is fully vetted. Not a decision you second guess with new, added risk.
The job at hand is to win THIS election. Don Jr doesn't need a new high title to carry campaign star power with him everywhere he goes. His role is more mystic without a new title. He can run in 2024 still as an outsider, tied to this administration, without VP status.
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as main issue to vote for President:
"Except for activist LGBTQ hatred of Pence's Christianity, Pence is non-controversial, "
i would add the pro abortion crowd
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Nikki Haley is working hard right now for 2024. She is well positioned.
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Nikki Haley is working hard right now for 2024. She is well positioned.
I agree. From what I know, at this point she is my favorite.
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Much to like there, but keep in mind she is something of a neocon Bushie.
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Much to like there, but keep in mind she is something of a neocon Bushie.
We need someone who will burn the deep state down.
The status quo is unacceptable.
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Much to like there, but keep in mind she is something of a neocon Bushie.
Walter Russell Mead calls the Trump method Jacksonian. Teddy R: carry a big stick. For Reagan, it was peace through strength. No missiles fired bringing down the USSR. The Trump method is Bellicose Isolationism. Nikki Haley was part of that. She stood strong at key moments and hasn't wavered since.
It was weasels like Powell who said if you break, you have to fix it, meaning nation building after the air war and losing 3000+ Americans.
Before 2024 we can hear more about her economic policy but as I understand it, it is somewhere near mine.
By 2024, the Republican establishment is a generation out of power.
Maybe her bumper sticker will be, speak softly but purge the deep state of all its power and position. There is some wishful thinking needed to like a candidate before you see them govern.
P.S. I like Pence too. Rubio has changed. I see Cruz as unelectable.
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How has Rubio changed in your opinion?
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How has Rubio changed in your opinion?
To be fair, it might be, how has my perception of him changed?
1. In that exchange you mentioned with Chris Christie, he choked. Before that he was the best debater in the field.
2. He threatened to hold up the entire tax reform bill for the provision he wanted. The provision he wanted in my opinion violated a principle he had previously articulated.
3. I don't know what to think about his new hyphenated capitalism movement. To me. Freedom doesn't need to be hyphenated.
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Nikki Haley is working hard right now for 2024. She is well positioned.
My votes right now, yes for Pence, yes for Haley. I would like to add the name Mike Pompeo. He is next in the R line of succession to VP Pence at the moment. Sharp guy (understatement), plain spoken. Funny quote today as the votes in key states lag, he thinks the transition will go just fine - to a second Trump administration. He has a record in the House, not just foreign policy creds.
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Nikki Haley is working hard right now for 2024. She is well positioned.
My votes right now, yes for Pence, yes for Haley. I would like to add the name Mike Pompeo. He is next in the R line of succession to VP Pence at the moment. Sharp guy (understatement), plain spoken. Funny quote today as the votes in key states lag, he thinks the transition will go just fine - to a second Trump administration. He has a record in the House, not just foreign policy creds.
You think there will be voting in 2024? Or that it will matter?
Optimist.
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Assuming honest elections for the purpose of this conversation, Pompeo would make a very good president IMHO. Don't know that he has the political chops to get there, including the necessary tolerance of stupidity.
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Old and busted: The electoral college decides who is president.
Hot and fresh: A handful of corrupt dem cities decide who is president.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/what-a-ridiculous-message-kristi-noem-trashes-excerpt-from-obamas-new-memoir
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yes
she is articulate and attractive !
Obama coming out with his book now...
with "honest" introspection - I assume it is the roadmap
he is sending to his team that are now in power on how to shove his shit down the countries throat but without his own perceived "mistakes"
he doesn't care that half the country or more hates him and his transformative vision he has in store for us.
he knows what is best for us and the world
and anyone who stands in the way - scream racism!
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Four names put forward by Hugh Hewitt this morning, with the caveat that so much can change:
Mike Pompeo
Ron DeSantis
Tom Cotton
Mike Pence
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I would add Nikki Haley, Marco Rubio, and no doubt Ted Cruz still wants it.
But please, not an overcrowded field this time. And stop the infighting! Just make your case.
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Yes. We are going to VOTE HARDER! Because the mega-amnesty and blatant electoral fraud won't be factors then?
Four names put forward by Hugh Hewitt this morning, with the caveat that so much can change:
Mike Pompeo
Ron DeSantis
Tom Cotton
Mike Pence
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I would add Nikki Haley, Marco Rubio, and no doubt Ted Cruz still wants it.
But please, not an overcrowded field this time. And stop the infighting! Just make your case.
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Should Hawley be on the list"?
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Has Fox News called the 2024 election for the dems yet?
Yes. We are going to VOTE HARDER! Because the mega-amnesty and blatant electoral fraud won't be factors then?
Four names put forward by Hugh Hewitt this morning, with the caveat that so much can change:
Mike Pompeo
Ron DeSantis
Tom Cotton
Mike Pence
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I would add Nikki Haley, Marco Rubio, and no doubt Ted Cruz still wants it.
But please, not an overcrowded field this time. And stop the infighting! Just make your case.
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"Has Fox News called the 2024 election for the dems yet?"
to my knowledge only Juan Williams and Chris Wallace so far
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Have no idea who can pick up the reins of leadership now and start a new party. GOP is totally finished now. Just like the Whigs.
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Hard not to reach a similar conclusion for America.
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Should Hawley be on the list"?
Yes.
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How do we get the positives of Trump without the negatives?
It isn't just who is best giving positions on issues when asked. It has to be someone who can break through the noise and censorship with a compelling message.
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How do we get the positives of Trump without the negatives?
It isn't just who is best giving positions on issues when asked. It has to be someone who can break through the noise and censorship with a compelling message.
To do what? Vote?
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he proved to be a great warrior for our side
for '24
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https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-expects-impeachment-trial-badge-honor-rethinks-2024-run-1564677
caution source is Newsweek .
I AM very concerned Trump will drag us to defeat in '24.
It is all about him , not the cause.
Of course it may not matter at all
if SCOTUS Senate Voting laws get changed to make Dem Party the de facto controlling entity in the US for a generation .
I cannot imagine he would not run
It is not enough for him to sit on sidelines and support others
it HAS to be with him front and center .
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/mike-pence-reportedly-making-plans-142720595.html
so Pence , Halley so far......
and of course Trump
who would we vote for ?
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I hope he doesn't think he is a serious candidate:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-jr-hits-democrat-193557095.html
Mike Pompeo so far I like
I don't know if he would be good campaigner
and of course the Left will make him out to be old white male supremacist :x
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Pompeo would make an awesome president on the merits, but don't know if he has the chops for the thuggery of the political game, race baiting etc
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https://populist.press/huge-news-for-trumps-party/
:-o :-o :-o :-o :-o :-o :-o :-o :-o :-o :-o :-o :-o :-o
(me - God be with us)
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https://i.imgur.com/YatyjPw.png
(https://i.imgur.com/YatyjPw.png)
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This is taken from a 538 (liberal) list. It's partly wrong in names and order, but mostly covers it. Kamala versus one of these.
Donald Trump
Ted Cruz
Ron DeSantis
Nikki Haley
Mike Pence
Donald Trump Jr.
Kristi Noem
Josh Hawley
Tim Scott
Tucker Carlson
Mike Pompeo
Greg Abbott
Tom Cotton
Ivanka Trump
Marco Rubio
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Boy! I sure hope the dems don't cheat this time!
:roll:
This is taken from a 538 (liberal) list. It's partly wrong in names and order, but mostly covers it. Kamala versus one of these.
Donald Trump
Ted Cruz
Ron DeSantis
Nikki Haley
Mike Pence
Donald Trump Jr.
Kristi Noem
Josh Hawley
Tim Scott
Tucker Carlson
Mike Pompeo
Greg Abbott
Tom Cotton
Ivanka Trump
Marco Rubio
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" Tucker Carlson "
:-D
libs are terrified of him ! : ))
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Boy! I sure hope the dems don't cheat this time!
If they do, I hope that Project Veritas or some other whistle blowers are there to stop or bust them.
Channeling John Belushi, did we give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
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Boy! I sure hope the dems don't cheat this time!
If they do, I hope that Project Veritas or some other whistle blowers are there to stop or bust them.
Channeling John Belushi, did we give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
There is a ton of videos/evidence of electoral/vote fraud in 2020. Which has resulted in...
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"There is a ton of videos/evidence of electoral/vote fraud in 2020. Which has resulted in..."
RIGHT! lots of frustration
for more than half the country.
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"There is a ton of videos/evidence of electoral/vote fraud in 2020. Which has resulted in..."
RIGHT! lots of frustration
for more than half the country.
Which has resulted in open borders, a ring of steel around DC and a weaponized fedgov targeting us.
MUST! VOTE! HARDER!
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"There is a ton of videos/evidence of electoral/vote fraud in 2020. Which has resulted in..."
RIGHT! lots of frustration
for more than half the country.
I really don't believe most of the other half want what's coming either.
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Doug wrote:
"I really don't believe most of the other half want what's coming either."
I have been wondering about this too
but
who is going to refuse "free money"
"free" college
"free" housing
debt forgiveness
reparations
checks from the US Treasury
"free" child support
"free" health care
"fairness"
"equality"
"blame the rich"
"wealth transfer"
the buzz phrases that put a glow into those with grievances
on the street we call it bribery
:wink:
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Joe Biden
for '24
hot off the press
:roll:
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https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2021/04/21/chris-christie-weighs-2024-presidential-run-whether-trump-is-in-or-not-n1441681
Approval in NJ
went from 80 % to 14 % lowest in NJ history :
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-chris-christie-became-least-popular-governor-in-new-jersey-history-2018-1
He is NOT what GOP needs
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I'm holding out for JEB!
"You should have clapped!"
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2021/04/21/chris-christie-weighs-2024-presidential-run-whether-trump-is-in-or-not-n1441681
Approval in NJ
went from 80 % to 14 % lowest in NJ history :
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-chris-christie-became-least-popular-governor-in-new-jersey-history-2018-1
He is NOT what GOP needs
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https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2021/05/06/clean-house-in-2025-n2588969
I agree
it must NOT be Trump
though he doesn't know it yet
DeSantis needs to walk the tightrope
play up to T now but then when it is time
he run first - NOT second fiddle to the psychotic egotist
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Some solid points in that piece.
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https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/ron-desantis-straw-poll-conservative-summit/2021/06/20/id/1025748/
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thinking Desantis - Pompeo
for Pres and VP
and Trump for the Speaker of the House
:))
he could Nancy and Aoc in line.........
just a thought .......
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Deep respect for Pompeo and he would make an outstanding VP.
Question presented: What votes would he bring to the table?
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:roll:
thinking Desantis - Pompeo
for Pres and VP
and Trump for the Speaker of the House
:))
he could Nancy and Aoc in line.........
just a thought .......
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https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2021/06/24/draft-n2591387
hey why not?
This is certainly just as scientific as the CNN et al polls!
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https://www.newsmax.com/politics/desantis-trump-2024-election/2021/06/28/id/1026678/
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https://www.newsmax.com/politics/desantis-trump-2024-election/2021/06/28/id/1026678/
Luckily they are friends (so far) and DeSantis knows not to cross Trump. Note that he deferred to Marco Rubio for the Senate seat in 2016. He has no history of party in-fighting.
People (on the right) want what was good with Trump, without his faults, and it's time (by 2024) for a new generation to lead - if that's possible. That will be even more apparent when Democrats pull Biden out of the Presidency or off the ticket. If for no other reason, to be eligible for reelection in 2028. We don't need a term in the office, that was so quickly undone. We need a movement.
(Strangely) I am very impressed with the Yale and Harvard parts of DeSantis' resume. To get through there and still have conservative beliefs is quite an achievement. He won't be blindsided by the tenets of liberalism. He's already navigated through minefields of them.
He served in the military (JAG), in Congress and Governor of a major state in a pivotal time. He's more qualified to be President than Biden and Harris combined.
Barack Obama carried Florida twice. [Gore wish he had.] They have immigrants too and lots of Puerto Ricans. It wasn't considered a Republican state until people like Marco Rubio, Trump and DeSantis started winning it. Don't tell me people (at the margin) aren't persuaded by good and bad governance.
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spot on history lesson for today in my humble opinion:
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/07/william-jennings-bryan-revisited/
would like VDH's opinion
of note I just emailed VDH
do not know if he would respond but will keep the forum posted if he does
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/09/16/donald-trump-dominates-hypothetical-2024-gop-primary/
I really don't want another 4 yrs of him.
I know it is early.... blah blah
blah
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/09/16/donald-trump-dominates-hypothetical-2024-gop-primary/
I really don't want another 4 yrs of him.
I know it is early.... blah blah
blah
Don't worry, all national elections will be "fortified" from now on.
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https://populist.press/new-poll-shows-how-many-republicans-want-trump-to-run-again-in-2024/
looking at it from the other way 56% would much rather have someone else
as would I
was Trump EVER over 50 %
I don't think so
how the hell can we win with that?
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Still pretending voting matters?
https://populist.press/new-poll-shows-how-many-republicans-want-trump-to-run-again-in-2024/
looking at it from the other way 56% would much rather have someone else
as would I
was Trump EVER over 50 %
I don't think so
how the hell can we win with that?
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Still pretending voting matters?
Sorry, what is the alternative to fielding good candidates, cleaning up elections and voting?
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Still pretending voting matters?
Sorry, what is the alternative to fielding good candidates, cleaning up elections and voting?
Arizona is the only state I see trying to clean up elections right now. Nevada, like California is now Mail in fraud only. Think Nevada will ever go republican again?
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https://populist.press/gop-standing-up-2024-candidate-against-trump/
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https://populist.press/gop-standing-up-2024-candidate-against-trump/
The raw charisma of Jeb! And he’s black! No mean tweets!
Perfect!
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".No mean tweets!"
yes , no stupid dumb thoughtless insulting self serving narcissistic tweets!
that hurt more then they help
makes sense to me.
as to whether Tim Scott has any chance - I don't have a clue
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".No mean tweets!"
yes , no stupid dumb thoughtless insulting self serving narcissistic tweets!
that hurt more then they help
makes sense to me.
as to whether Tim Scott has any chance - I don't have a clue
https://media.gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/087/899/667/original/cbfeb8683eb6d68c.jpeg
(https://media.gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/087/899/667/original/cbfeb8683eb6d68c.jpeg)
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https://apnews.com/article/virginia-election-ap-votecast-survey-75520c5c9a245bee384526abc138a61a
He WILL mess it up
We need a Republican primary to knock him out
the policies without the narcissism
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Just waiting for the army of dem lawyers and the crates of mail in ballots to enter the VA race...
Has there been any flooding at the vote counting facilities yet?
https://apnews.com/article/virginia-election-ap-votecast-survey-75520c5c9a245bee384526abc138a61a
He WILL mess it up
We need a Republican primary to knock him out
the policies without the narcissism
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https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2021/11/02/why-are-they-rescanning-ballots-in-fairfax-county-virginia-n2598468
Just waiting for the army of dem lawyers and the crates of mail in ballots to enter the VA race...
Has there been any flooding at the vote counting facilities yet?
https://apnews.com/article/virginia-election-ap-votecast-survey-75520c5c9a245bee384526abc138a61a
He WILL mess it up
We need a Republican primary to knock him out
the policies without the narcissism
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Looks like VA voted harder.
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the Dems are pulling a similar stunt here is Jersey
mail in ballots had to be by yesterday but they are counting them through Friday
:roll: :-(
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Need a citation so I can post about this elsewhere.
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"But thousands of votes — especially from Democratic-leaning areas — have yet to be counted. And it remains unclear how many vote-by-mail or provisional ballots still must be tallied."
Every Republican in NJ knew this would happen if it was close .
Does anyone think for more than 1 second that the Dems will not find the votes?
And usually in the minority areas ......
https://www.nj.com/politics/2021/11/nj-election-2021-nj-governor-race-still-too-close-to-call-murphy-ciattarelli-waiting-for-all-votes-to-be-counted.html
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Looks like VA voted harder.
Don't assume it's over until/unless McAwful concedes or Youngkin is sworn in as Gov.
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“What happens in Virginia will in large part determine what happens In 2022, 2024, and on.”
- Kamala Harris, 4 days ago
https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1455708167128690694
For one thing, Terry McAuliffe will not be President.
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“What happens in Virginia will in large part determine what happens In 2022, 2024, and on.”
- Kamala Harris, 4 days ago
https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1455708167128690694
For one thing, Terry McAuliffe will not be President.
Expect a Tsunami of fraud.
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Looks like VA voted harder.
Don't assume it's over until/unless McAwful concedes or Youngkin is sworn in as Gov.
McAuliffe conceded:
Terry McAuliffe issues concession statement: "While last night we came up short, I am proud that we spent this campaign fighting for the values we so deeply believe in."
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) November 3, 2021
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he is out for now...
he'll be back in some form or fashion
same as Hillary
they will never let us alone......
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Christie is delusional if he thinks he has any chance what so ever
in typical Fashion Trump with his reflex puts downs:
if effect
"you are even more unpopular than me" (from a guy who never polled over 50% )
I really am nauseated in thinking we might get another 4 yrs of Trump
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Christie is delusional if he thinks he has any chance what so ever
in typical Fashion Trump with his reflex puts downs:
if effect
"you are even more unpopular than me" (from a guy who never polled over 50% )
I really am nauseated in thinking we might get another 4 yrs of Trump
The horror of mean tweets, a secure border and a gallon of gas under two dollars!
:cry:
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"The horror of mean tweets"
yes
and everyday making it about himself not the policies
every time he has a policy accomplishment
he then shoots himself and ME and US in the foot
and opens his big stupid sick mouth
no I don't want to live another 4 yrs and have to hear the name Trump 24/7 f'kin 7
said this or said that or did this or did that
I want someone who can advance our policies
and not just himself
and true he was almost never 45 %
not a winning situation
just another hope the LEFt is more distasteful then him
Why is it so much to ask for a President who I can admire and like at the same time?
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"The horror of mean tweets"
yes
and everyday making it about himself not the policies
every time he has a policy accomplishment
he then shoots himself and ME and US in the foot
and opens his big stupid sick mouth
no I don't want to live another 4 yrs and have to hear the name Trump 24/7 f'kin 7
said this or said that or did this or did that
I want someone who can advance our policies
and not just himself
and true he was almost never 45 %
not a winning situation
just another hope the LEFt is more distasteful then him
Why is it so much to ask for a President who I can admire and like at the same time?
Patton was a bastard, but he won.
At this point, things are so far gone, it really doesn’t matter.
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"And this fall, Democratic senators Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren were all on the campaign trails of various candidates, helping to boost their profiles and remain relevant to the public.
Whatever Biden's decision, top Democrats are already eyeing Harris' poll numbers and assessing whether she is vulnerable to a primary challenge."
Klobuchar - uggghhh! she looks like the joker with that phony 24/7 smile.
Booker - uggghhh! spartacus - nuff said
Warren - uggghhh! the first Indian to lose multiple presidential runs
and of course I will add butti - will likely win only some leftist father of the year award
Right but people like that would be trying to raise their national profile whether Kamala was toast or not.
It's hard for us to pick their leader, but what a weak bench they have! The test should have been, who did they send into Virginia when they smelled disaster, and rescued them. Oops, no one. Even Obama couldn't lift up a crony - and he isn't eligible. Michelle has no political desire or sparkle. Ask AOC, they kept out the squad when they recognized this is a swing election battle.
Yes what a weak and strange cast the Dem 2020 primary exposed. We had Biden. Kamala imploded before the first primary. They all hate Iowans, although that was the rise of Midwest Butti, right up to his ceiling. Now a believer in racist roads and bridges. TEAR THEM DOWN! At the most crucial moment, Klobi and Butti dropped out of the Biden lane to keep Bernie from blowing the election, and were promised what? A black female would be VP? Who made THAT phone call? They all write books and no one tells us what happened. All these electoral failures were with Dem voters. Then Biden (allegedly) won more votes than Obama when he was walking on water. The word 'unbelievable' comes to mind, though the anti-Trump sentiment was strong.
Klobuchar magically wins her elections in Minnesota with a brand name that was built (locally) before she was a public figure. Her appeal did not however reach as far as away as Iowa, or Wisconsin or Dakotas much less NH or SC, even with a surgical smile. It was over for her before it started, but when she told her own 'crowd' "that's where you're supposed to applaud", even they knew it.
Kamala never had a star to burn out and Bernie and Liz must be past their sell date by now. Warren is not too old but doesn't help the party with anyone but the base. Andrew Yang left the party and Tulsi never should have been in it. People like Beto don't get a second shot at a first impression. Bloomberg's ship sailed. These are all people who could not beat slow Joe in a Democratic primary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Democratic_Party_presidential_candidates
2024 will be even stranger. Who is the rising star IN the administration? No one. It's a sinking ship. Look at the leading lights in the all Dem Congress, Pelosi, Schumer, okay just kidding. Look at the governors of the great 'blue' states large enough to be nations, Cuomo, Newsom, okay just kidding. What about 'Gov' Stacey Abrams from the we-don't-dispute-election-results party? They brought her into Virginia. How about the liberal giants in the former private sector who could try the Bloomberg path? Bezos? Zuckerberg? Buffet? Gates? Someone from Google??
Who unites the radical left with the party regulars who know the Left is killing them AND wins the independents? Who successfully makes the argument in 2024 America that not enough Leftist policies have been tried? No one.
I must predict, the 2024 Dem nominee, if there is one, will be none of the above.
Add to all those problems, they kicked Trump off social media taking away his right to put foot in mouth so all he has left is his record while they tout his amazing vaccine across the land. DeSantis is on a roll in Florida. Nikki Haley is strong leader and Pence never made a mean tweet in his life. Mike Pompeo would be a great President or VP and Marco Rubio is still out there speaking out against atrocities the Biden administration ignores. Deep bench.
Even G M might eventually admit Dems can't cheat their way out of this one.
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You are underestimating their ability to cheat and the profound damage done to the country by the time 2024 arrives.
"And this fall, Democratic senators Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren were all on the campaign trails of various candidates, helping to boost their profiles and remain relevant to the public.
Whatever Biden's decision, top Democrats are already eyeing Harris' poll numbers and assessing whether she is vulnerable to a primary challenge."
Klobuchar - uggghhh! she looks like the joker with that phony 24/7 smile.
Booker - uggghhh! spartacus - nuff said
Warren - uggghhh! the first Indian to lose multiple presidential runs
and of course I will add butti - will likely win only some leftist father of the year award
Right but people like that would be trying to raise their national profile whether Kamala was toast or not.
It's hard for us to pick their leader, but what a weak bench they have! The test should have been, who did they send into Virginia when they smelled disaster, and rescued them. Oops, no one. Even Obama couldn't lift up a crony - and he isn't eligible. Michelle has no political desire or sparkle. Ask AOC, they kept out the squad when they recognized this is a swing election battle.
Yes what a weak and strange cast the Dem 2020 primary exposed. We had Biden. Kamala imploded before the first primary. They all hate Iowans, although that was the rise of Midwest Butti, right up to his ceiling. Now a believer in racist roads and bridges. TEAR THEM DOWN! At the most crucial moment, Klobi and Butti dropped out of the Biden lane to keep Bernie from blowing the election, and were promised what? A black female would be VP? Who made THAT phone call? They all write books and no one tells us what happened. All these electoral failures were with Dem voters. Then Biden (allegedly) won more votes than Obama when he was walking on water. The word 'unbelievable' comes to mind, though the anti-Trump sentiment was strong.
Klobuchar magically wins her elections in Minnesota with a brand name that was built (locally) before she was a public figure. Her appeal did not however reach as far as away as Iowa, or Wisconsin or Dakotas much less NH or SC, even with a surgical smile. It was over for her before it started, but when she told her own 'crowd' "that's where you're supposed to applaud", even they knew it.
Kamala never had a star to burn out and Bernie and Liz must be past their sell date by now. Warren is not too old but doesn't help the party with anyone but the base. Andrew Yang left the party and Tulsi never should have been in it. People like Beto don't get a second shot at a first impression. Bloomberg's ship sailed. These are all people who could not beat slow Joe in a Democratic primary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Democratic_Party_presidential_candidates
2024 will be even stranger. Who is the rising star IN the administration? No one. It's a sinking ship. Look at the leading lights in the all Dem Congress, Pelosi, Schumer, okay just kidding. Look at the governors of the great 'blue' states large enough to be nations, Cuomo, Newsom, okay just kidding. What about 'Gov' Stacey Abrams from the we-don't-dispute-election-results party? They brought her into Virginia. How about the liberal giants in the former private sector who could try the Bloomberg path? Bezos? Zuckerberg? Buffet? Gates? Someone from Google??
Who unites the radical left with the party regulars who know the Left is killing them AND wins the independents? Who successfully makes the argument in 2024 America that not enough Leftist policies have been tried? No one.
I must predict, the 2024 Dem nominee, if there is one, will be none of the above.
Add to all those problems, they kicked Trump off social media taking away his right to put foot in mouth so all he has left is his record while they tout his amazing vaccine across the land. DeSantis is on a roll in Florida. Nikki Haley is strong leader and Pence never made a mean tweet in his life. Mike Pompeo would be a great President or VP and Marco Rubio is still out there speaking out against atrocities the Biden administration ignores. Deep bench.
Even G M might eventually admit Dems can't cheat their way out of this one.
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https://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/biden-s-inexplicable-victory/
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Purely as a matter of political handicapping, I would like to toss out for assessment the name of Sen. Mancin for the Dems in 2024.
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makes sense
he would certainly attract some independents etc
but would an older white male fit their criteria?
I guess if he could win against the 42 -45% % Trump vote
good thought actually
has he ever mentioned a desire to be President?
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He has been a Governor (executive experience is important) and a Senator and has shown himself to be hard-to-pigeon hole. Most recently he has shown himself to be capable of standing up to a goodly amount of the batshit prog BS.
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WHITE HOUSE
Buttigieg pours praise on Harris, sparks speculation about 2024
BY DAVE BOYER AND JEFF MORDOCK THE WASHINGTON TIMES
A joint trip by Vice President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to North Carolina on Thursday delivered the prominent message that she still outranks her Cabinet colleague, despite her rock-bottom approval ratings, a major staff shake-up and rising speculation that Mr. Buttigieg will supplant her as the Democratic Party’s next top presidential contender.
Traveling to Charlotte to highlight the Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan, Mr. Buttigieg went out of his way to shower the vice president with compliments. He told reporters on Air Force Two that “we would not be here without the leadership of the vice president, as well as the president, of course.”
Speaking later in front of an electric bus at a transportation hub, Mr. Buttigieg devoted about one-fifth of his six-minute prepared speech to praising Ms. Harris. He recalled an Oval Office meeting about the legislation in which the vice president spoke up “at just the right moment” and made comments that were “exactly right.”
“It’s just one very small example of the countless ways in which her presence has made an impact on this monumental legislation,” he said.
When it was the vice president’s turn to speak, she addressed Mr. Buttigieg for 11 seconds.
“You’ve been doing extraordinary work, and thank you for that,” she told him.
Mr. Buttigieg and Ms. Harris made the closely watched trip as more staff turmoil emerged on the vice president’s team. Senior adviser and chief spokeswoman Symone Sanders resigned less than a year into the job. Communications Director Ashley Etienne quit two weeks ago, and three other key
aides are leaving Ms. Harris.
The vice president had her staff shake-up in mind when she settled into the driver’s seat of the electric bus and honked its horn.
“The wheels on the bus go ’round and ’round,” she said, letting out a big laugh as Mr. Buttigieg watched.
A White House official said the trip “builds on the vice president’s work with President Biden and the Cabinet to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law through dozens of public events nationwide.” The official compared the visit to Charlotte with Ms. Harris’ trip to Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 19 with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.
Reince Priebus, a White House chief of staff during the Trump administration, said West Wing drama “happens in every administration, but it’s another thing when you’re completely ineffective.”
“These two people, the president and the vice president, are completely unusable on the campaign trail,” Mr. Priebus said on Fox News. “People would run through a wall for Trump, and the same was true for Barack Obama. The core support was very strong.”
He said Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris are “not delivering any policies to their base. So [White House] communicators are the first ones out.”
As Ms. Harris’ job approval rating plummeted to a historically low 28% in a poll last month, Democrats’ angst has risen about who will lead the party if Mr. Biden, the nation’s oldest president at 79, decides not to run in 2024.
Mr. Biden has said he intends to seek reelection, but voters increasingly have doubts about his health and mental fitness. Only 40% of voters in a Politico/ Morning Consult poll last month agreed that Mr. Biden “is in good health,” while 50% disagreed — a 29-point shift since October 2020.
The same survey found that 46% of voters believe Mr. Biden is mentally fit, while 48% disagree. A year ago, the same poll showed Mr. Biden with a 10-point advantage on the question of mental fitness.
Some have suggested that Mr. Buttigieg and Ms. Harris could run on the same ticket, either in 2024 or 2028, instead of squaring off against each other in what could be a divisive primary.
Asked about the speculation over 2024, Mr. Buttigieg told reporters that he and Ms. Harris are instead “squarely focused on the job at hand.”
“It’s 2021,” Mr. Buttigieg said. “And the whole point of campaigns and elections is when they go well, you get to govern.”
He said he is “excited to be part of a team led by the president and the vice president, and I think the teamwork that got us to this point is really just beginning.”
As if to prove his point as publicly as possible, Mr. Buttigieg greeted Ms. Harris with a hug in view of TV cameras upon her arrival on the tarmac to board Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. He made himself available to reporters during the flight and praised the vice president repeatedly.
“The vice president traveled this country speaking to people about what an investment in jobs and infrastructure could mean for their communities,” Mr. Buttigieg said. “She spent countless hours helping the president negotiate with members of Congress. She worked to make sure that clean school buses, clean water and environmental justice were included, all of which are issues that she championed in the Senate as well.”
The friction between the West Wing and the vice president’s office has arisen in part over the issues that Mr. Biden has delegated to Ms. Harris, including illegal immigration and voting rights. The administration has struggled mightily, and Ms. Harris’ communications staffers appear to be taking the brunt.
Ms. Sanders said in her resignation letter that she was “grateful” to the vice president.
“Every day, I arrived [at] the White House complex knowing our work made a tangible difference for Americans,” she wrote. “I am immensely grateful and will miss working for her and with all of you.”
Ms. Harris said of her departing adviser, “I love Symone.”
“I can’t wait to see what she will do next,” the vice president said. “I know that it’s been three years jumping on and off planes going around the country … and I mean that sincerely.”
She wouldn’t answer a reporter’s question about whether she sees the move as a reboot for her team.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said turnover in any administration is “natural.”
“Working in the first year of a White House is exciting and rewarding, but it’s also grueling and exhausting,” she said. “It’s also an opportunity, as it is in any White House, to bring in new faces, new voices and new perspectives.”
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butti is one of the most disingenious
pols I have ever seen
always thinking he is outsmarting us
what a little worm
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butti is one of the most disingenious
pols I have ever seen
always thinking he is outsmarting us
what a little worm
I agree. He has become the most loyal and most skilled at repeating the party line.
Besides riding the momentum of gay being popular, I think people give him a look because of the combination of Harvard, military experience, and that he was elected to something, even if it's small city mayor.
He is relevant now because the trillion dollar social engineering bills focus on transportation.
He needs to be called out for every piece of nonsense he utters in this. No, bridges aren't racist and throwing trillions won't get us back to a less racist time.
This inflation isn't "transitory", transitory, transitory, transitory, transitory, as he said it was repeatedly, and 4 trillion doesn't cost nothing, you liars. He doesn't believe a word of it but is willing to say it.
He has no idea how much or how long inflation will last or how painful it will be to snap out of the course they have us on. Nor does he know how much braking on production 4 trillion in new taxes will cause.
Pete has the integrity of Susan Rice who repeated on the same shows, Benghazi was a couple of protesters, when she knew it was an organized terror attack.
When Trump said stupid stuff it was broadcast widely and mocked all over the internet. We need to call these people out in ways that reach more than our side.
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(https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DemTicket-600x303.png)
https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DemTicket-600x303.png
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I've not seen anyone other than me who is thinking that Manchin could very much surprise , , ,
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I see AOC is 4th
why not Omar
(our second one for president)
? Charlie schumeschiester?
where's a Cuomo? ( andy OR chris )
Bernie Sanders FINALLY too old ?
Hillary redux ? (I need vomit emoji)
I can hardly wait to see/hear butti
with his straight man face BS us
or Amy's perpetual grin
what a cast .....
what a country.....
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quote author=ccp
I see AOC is 4th
why not Omar
- AOC will be 35. Omar is not "natural born citizen".
Bernie Sanders FINALLY too old?
- Isn't that weird, not on the list. When did too old become a disqualifier?
Hillary redux ?
- Only through the VP swap out. But in fact, she's not black.
Yes, Butti and Amy are the only insiders they have left if we consider Kama toast. Gov Beto of Texas?
what a cast .....
Then we have the new group of outsiders. Andrew Yang, was never in party favor. Tulsi, gone. Who plays the part of Bloomberg? Aren't the leaders of Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon all damaged goods now? Somebody from the outside will try to pull a Trump.
Other multi-billionaire Democrat activists:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2019/11/18/here-are-the-billionaires-funding-the-democratic-presidential-candidates-as-of-september-2019/
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https://michaelyon.locals.com/upost/1410406/desantis-this-is-how-a-governor-becomes-a-president
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https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/robert-spencer/2021/12/12/hillary-for-president-in-2024-it-could-happen-n1540986
Love this metaphor from Stephen Miller:
"The fact of the matter is that Crooked [Hillary] is circling around Joe Biden almost like a buzzard looking at the carcass on the ground, saying, ‘It’s not going to be Joe Biden, it’s not going to be Kamala Harris."
That is crooked Hillary.....
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_morningbrief/trump-hints-run-for-2024-says-like-desantis-a-lot_4157340.html?utm_source=Morningbrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mb-2021-12-15&mktids=9b6fa8e6ca2219d05592f2de0713cf4d&est=brW5%2BaPqGrhxL6HutcAXiY0%2BzDo%2Fq8Mn0DVF9UcGjX1doCy%2Fyzxcce%2FnQaEEp2WoCx68
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_morningbrief/trump-hints-run-for-2024-says-like-desantis-a-lot_4157340.html?utm_source=Morningbrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mb-2021-12-15&mktids=9b6fa8e6ca2219d05592f2de0713cf4d&est=brW5%2BaPqGrhxL6HutcAXiY0%2BzDo%2Fq8Mn0DVF9UcGjX1doCy%2Fyzxcce%2FnQaEEp2WoCx68
I thought they couldn't be from the same state, but it's not that simple.
(Spoiler)
"according to the Article II of the Constitution, if the candidates for the nation’s top two offices come from the same state, the electoral votes from that state may not be counted.". (You don't give up Florida if you are a Republican presidential ticket)
In 2000:
"Cheney was chosen by George W. Bush, then-Texas governor, as the running mate for the presidential election. Cheney obtained a Wyoming driver’s license and put his Dallas home on the market before the election."
2024 is not that simple. Cheney really was from Wyoming so no one noticed or cared. DeSantis is from FL and sitting Governor of Florida. The top of the ticket would have to move? Back to NY? And not a pretend move or the opponents would challenge the FL electoral votes.
-------------------
Right now I think DeSantis should be next Republicans nominee for President, with Trump's support, but being Trump's VP may not be the best path there. Ask Mike Pence about that. R.D. is seen as a leader, not a yes man. Being (Trump's) VP would hurt that image.
Hard to persuade Trump not to run when he is leading widely in the polls over all possible opponents, but 2024 is a long way off.
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"Right now I think DeSantis should be next Republicans nominee for President, with Trump's support, but being Trump's VP may not be the best path there. Ask Mike Pence about that."
Agreed
one can only be a Trump VP if one is willing to be a trained dog and play lackey
DeSantis is better than that
Running as VP to Trump is FAR more likely to ruin then help him later on
unless Trump were to croak while in office (if he could get it with 40 % approval or be the slightly better choice of two hated candidates)
my one cent....
I am in one half of the Republicans cited as we need Trump like policies(except the spending)
withOUT Trump
I am hoping DeSantis (or someone else emerges) who fits the bill
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No there aren't 11 ready to step up. If they had one, we wouldn't have Biden.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/13/politics/2024-democrats-replace-biden/index.html
Missing on the list, Polis, the gay Gov of Colorado who, like DeSantis, wants his state open. What makes Butti more qualified? His supply chain success?
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One that CNN missed, we already knew, HRC:
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/585843-hillary-2024-given-the-competition-she-may-be-the-dems-best-hope
Another admission they have no one. SO much baggage. She isn't in the clear in the Durham investigation and he'll never be cleared in the Epstein affairs. The girls and women Bill Clinton messed with are going to out-live him, and she chose politics over justice for the women every time it came up. Why can't Hill and Bill settle in and enjoy retirement?
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https://www.newsmax.com/politics/rasmussen-poll-trump-biden/2021/12/21/id/1049526/
A substantial number of voters consider AOC (socialism free shit for all - who do not have to pay for it)
the one who represents their views!
we do hold a lead among those who "claim" no party allegience.....
are republicans looking PAST the 2022 election and actually have a plan
or is it going to be '16 all over again
where they screw it up?
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Hillary Clinton’s 2024 Election Comeback
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have become unpopular. It may be time for a change candidate.
By Douglas E. Schoen and Andrew Stein
Jan. 11, 2022 12:28 pm ET
A perfect storm in the Democratic Party is making a once-unfathomable scenario plausible: a political comeback for Hillary Clinton in 2024.
Several circumstances—President Biden’s low approval rating, doubts over his capacity to run for re-election at 82, Vice President Kamala Harris’s unpopularity, and the absence of another strong Democrat to lead the ticket in 2024—have created a leadership vacuum in the party, which Mrs. Clinton viably could fill.
OPINION: POTOMAC WATCH
WSJ Opinion Potomac Watch
What's Missing From Congress's Jan. 6 Agenda
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She is already in an advantageous position to become the 2024 Democratic nominee. She is an experienced national figure who is younger than Mr. Biden and can offer a different approach from the disorganized and unpopular one the party is currently taking.
If Democrats lose control of Congress in 2022, Mrs. Clinton can use the party’s loss as a basis to run for president again, enabling her to claim the title of “change candidate.”
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All the day's Opinion headlines.
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Based on her latest public statements, it’s clear that Mrs. Clinton not only recognizes her position as a potential front-runner but also is setting up a process to help her decide whether or not to run for president again. She recently warned of the electoral consequences in the 2022 midterms if the Democratic Party continues to align itself with its progressive wing and urged Democrats to reject far-left positions that isolate key segments of the electorate.
In a recent MSNBC interview, Mrs. Clinton called on Democrats to engage in “careful thinking about what wins elections, and not just in deep-blue districts where a Democrat and a liberal Democrat, or so-called progressive Democrat, is going to win.” She also noted that party’s House majority “comes from people who win in much more difficult districts.”
Mrs. Clinton also took a veiled jab at the Biden administration and congressional Democrats in an effort to create distance: “It means nothing if we don’t have a Congress that will get things done, and we don’t have a White House that we can count on to be sane and sober and stable and productive.”
Even Bill Clinton recently set the stage for his wife’s potential 2024 candidacy, referring to her in an interview with People magazine as “the most qualified person to run for office in my lifetime, including me,” adding that not electing her in 2016 was “one of the most profound mistakes we ever made.”
We can infer based on these recent remarks that Mrs. Clinton would seize the opportunity to run for president again if an opening presents itself. But what are the odds that an opportunity will arise?
The Democrats’ domestic agenda is in disarray given the failure of Mr. Biden’s Build Back Better plan in Congress. Senate Democrats’ latest desperate push to repeal the legislative filibuster to pass their secondary legislative priority, voting-rights reform, will likely weaken their agenda further.
Mr. Biden’s overall approval rating is low (40%), as is his rating on issues including the economy and jobs (38%) and taxes and government spending (33%), according to a recent Economist/YouGov poll. Nearly two-thirds of independent voters disapprove of the president.
Barring a major course correction, we can anticipate that some Democrats will lose important House and Senate races in 2022—in part for the reasons Mrs. Clinton identified—giving Republicans control of both chambers of Congress.
Polls generally show the GOP with a solid lead of at least 2 or 3 points in the 2022 generic congressional vote—a margin that likely would be enough to take back the House, given the narrow Democratic majority and the anticipated outcomes of redistricting in several states that could affect key races.
Given the likelihood that Democrats will lose control of Congress in 2022, we can anticipate that Mrs. Clinton will begin shortly after the midterms to position herself as an experienced candidate capable of leading Democrats on a new and more successful path.
Mrs. Clinton can spend the time between now and midterms doing what the Clinton administration did after the Democrats’ blowout defeat in the 1994 midterms: crafting a moderate agenda on both domestic and foreign policy. This agenda could show that Mrs. Clinton is the only credible alternative to Mr. Biden, Ms. Harris, and the entire Democratic Party establishment.
Hillary Clinton remains ambitious, outspoken and convinced that if not for Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey’s intervention and Russian interference that she would have won the 2016 election—and she may be right.
If Democrats want a fighting chance at winning the presidency in 2024, Mrs. Clinton is likely their best option.
Mr. Schoen is founder and partner in Schoen Cooperman Research, a polling and consulting firm whose past clients include Bill Clinton and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Mr. Stein is a former New York City Council president, Manhattan borough president and state assemblyman.
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At least we know Hillary will insist on having an honest election!
Hillary Clinton’s 2024 Election Comeback
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have become unpopular. It may be time for a change candidate.
By Douglas E. Schoen and Andrew Stein
Jan. 11, 2022 12:28 pm ET
A perfect storm in the Democratic Party is making a once-unfathomable scenario plausible: a political comeback for Hillary Clinton in 2024.
Several circumstances—President Biden’s low approval rating, doubts over his capacity to run for re-election at 82, Vice President Kamala Harris’s unpopularity, and the absence of another strong Democrat to lead the ticket in 2024—have created a leadership vacuum in the party, which Mrs. Clinton viably could fill.
OPINION: POTOMAC WATCH
WSJ Opinion Potomac Watch
What's Missing From Congress's Jan. 6 Agenda
SUBSCRIBE
She is already in an advantageous position to become the 2024 Democratic nominee. She is an experienced national figure who is younger than Mr. Biden and can offer a different approach from the disorganized and unpopular one the party is currently taking.
If Democrats lose control of Congress in 2022, Mrs. Clinton can use the party’s loss as a basis to run for president again, enabling her to claim the title of “change candidate.”
NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP
Opinion: Morning Editorial Report
All the day's Opinion headlines.
PREVIEW
SUBSCRIBED
Based on her latest public statements, it’s clear that Mrs. Clinton not only recognizes her position as a potential front-runner but also is setting up a process to help her decide whether or not to run for president again. She recently warned of the electoral consequences in the 2022 midterms if the Democratic Party continues to align itself with its progressive wing and urged Democrats to reject far-left positions that isolate key segments of the electorate.
In a recent MSNBC interview, Mrs. Clinton called on Democrats to engage in “careful thinking about what wins elections, and not just in deep-blue districts where a Democrat and a liberal Democrat, or so-called progressive Democrat, is going to win.” She also noted that party’s House majority “comes from people who win in much more difficult districts.”
Mrs. Clinton also took a veiled jab at the Biden administration and congressional Democrats in an effort to create distance: “It means nothing if we don’t have a Congress that will get things done, and we don’t have a White House that we can count on to be sane and sober and stable and productive.”
Even Bill Clinton recently set the stage for his wife’s potential 2024 candidacy, referring to her in an interview with People magazine as “the most qualified person to run for office in my lifetime, including me,” adding that not electing her in 2016 was “one of the most profound mistakes we ever made.”
We can infer based on these recent remarks that Mrs. Clinton would seize the opportunity to run for president again if an opening presents itself. But what are the odds that an opportunity will arise?
The Democrats’ domestic agenda is in disarray given the failure of Mr. Biden’s Build Back Better plan in Congress. Senate Democrats’ latest desperate push to repeal the legislative filibuster to pass their secondary legislative priority, voting-rights reform, will likely weaken their agenda further.
Mr. Biden’s overall approval rating is low (40%), as is his rating on issues including the economy and jobs (38%) and taxes and government spending (33%), according to a recent Economist/YouGov poll. Nearly two-thirds of independent voters disapprove of the president.
Barring a major course correction, we can anticipate that some Democrats will lose important House and Senate races in 2022—in part for the reasons Mrs. Clinton identified—giving Republicans control of both chambers of Congress.
Polls generally show the GOP with a solid lead of at least 2 or 3 points in the 2022 generic congressional vote—a margin that likely would be enough to take back the House, given the narrow Democratic majority and the anticipated outcomes of redistricting in several states that could affect key races.
Given the likelihood that Democrats will lose control of Congress in 2022, we can anticipate that Mrs. Clinton will begin shortly after the midterms to position herself as an experienced candidate capable of leading Democrats on a new and more successful path.
Mrs. Clinton can spend the time between now and midterms doing what the Clinton administration did after the Democrats’ blowout defeat in the 1994 midterms: crafting a moderate agenda on both domestic and foreign policy. This agenda could show that Mrs. Clinton is the only credible alternative to Mr. Biden, Ms. Harris, and the entire Democratic Party establishment.
Hillary Clinton remains ambitious, outspoken and convinced that if not for Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey’s intervention and Russian interference that she would have won the 2016 election—and she may be right.
If Democrats want a fighting chance at winning the presidency in 2024, Mrs. Clinton is likely their best option.
Mr. Schoen is founder and partner in Schoen Cooperman Research, a polling and consulting firm whose past clients include Bill Clinton and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Mr. Stein is a former New York City Council president, Manhattan borough president and state assemblyman.
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crying out loud
Doug Schoen
she is a "national figure" - yes , one of the most despised and corrupt
"Mrs. Clinton can use the party’s loss as a basis to run for president again, enabling her to claim the title of “change candidate.”
this medusa with the snakes on her head has been around 30 + yrs - hardly a change candidate
" In a recent MSNBC interview, Mrs. Clinton called on Democrats to engage in “careful thinking about what wins elections"
you mean like she did in 2012 and 2016 - LOL
" Hillary Clinton remains ambitious, outspoken and convinced that if not for Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey’s intervention and Russian interference that she would have won the 2016 election—and she may be right."
Are you speaking of the same James Comey who let her off scot free of multiple crimes
and the Russian hoax she made up which was just that - a lying bunch of horse shit
" Hillary Clinton remains ambitious, outspoken " - she is a delusional sick piece of work
" Mrs. Clinton can spend the time between now and midterms doing what the Clinton administration did after the Democrats’ blowout defeat in the 1994 midterms: crafting a moderate agenda on both domestic and foreign policy"
in other words poll and focus group people up the ass to simply have polling guide what policy to follow - here we go again
" If Democrats want a fighting chance at winning the presidency in 2024, Mrs. Clinton is likely their best option."
So here we go again - getting to know how great Hill really is - and how nice she is !
Is this guy on psilocybin?
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No, he is not on psilocybin, he is on the payroll:
"Mr. Schoen is founder and partner in Schoen Cooperman Research, a polling and consulting firm whose past clients include Bill Clinton and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Mr. Stein is a former New York City Council president, Manhattan borough president and state assemblyman."
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headline on drudge :
"Democratic operatives say Hillary Clinton is 'best option' for party to win 2024 election"
the money mob is at it again
$ signs going off in their heads
she will be 8 yrs older then the person we saw having to be chucked into a van due to fatigue
weakness and frailty
oh but as schoen says she is will only be 77 in '24.
she will play the triangulation game
pretend she is a uniter
steal good policies that are republican
such as strong on defense defined as having "conversations with our friends and allies "
stronger on police reform and criminals
yet promising all the free shit crowd their tax payer child care college mortgages
promoting girl power and her commitment to the blacks gays etc
and all the while the likes of CNN and MSNBC will be cheerleaders smiling
excited and the rest
I don't want to go through this again....... the same repeat slimy Clinton team BS
And we will see Leftist polls that claim in a head to head she beats the Donald 45 to 43 etc....
It is like a remake of a movie we have already seen over and over again
We need a PERSEUS
(I personally hope not Donald )
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Missed a couple of words there, changes the conclusion:
"Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have become unpopular like Clinton. It may be time for a change candidate. - Yes, like none of those.
She has already lost twice for the Dems, and been passed over 4 other times since 2000. Not exactly the unifier, the silver bullet or the future of the party.
She wasn't really "Secretary of State" as Pres Obama had dozens of special envoys reporting directly to the White House around her and her pretend department.
She is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Steele fiasco, never came clean in the email scandal, left Americans to die in Benghazi, advocated and voted for the Dem unpopular Iraq war, committed felonies in cattle gate, credibly covered up a rape with Juanita Broderick, and dropped Bill off a hundred times at the child sex trafficking Lolita Express without a problem or question.
"We have four dead Americans (under her watch), at this point, what difference does it make?"
She omitted the China human and women's rights chapter of her book in order to have it translated into Chinese and sold in China.
Presidential material? Who? How? Why? Why now?
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should the Republicans reopen investigations in Congress when they take the House
into Hillary
and her corruption ?
for example
where did all that Clinton Foundation money go to ?
:|
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should the Republicans reopen investigations in Congress when they take the House
into Hillary and her corruption ?
for example
where did all that Clinton Foundation money go to ?
Yes and no. They should be policy focused and forward looking... but ... the Durham investigation, Steel and FBI collusion, Comey 'clearing' HRC scandal has not really been exposed yet.
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/rnc-moves-require-presidential-candidates-170016847.html
-
even leftist yahoo news is posting
stuff that disparages Harris
with an NBC interview given by Craig Melvin
he can't be accused of racism but he can be of "sexism":
https://nypost.com/2022/01/13/kamala-harris-slams-gossip-about-joe-biden-removing-her-from-2024-ticket/
behind the scenes the journolisters and the lawyerlisters are texting emailing each other like mad trying to save their religion(party) .
I sense the long knives are out for harris and soon to be biden
Dick Morris had Sean Spicer on ~ 2 weeks ago
Morris thinks '24 Dem nominee will be Hillary ; Spicer says his sources will be butti
-
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2022/01/14/bill-and-hillary-peek-their-heads-out-495727
we con't need dealmakers
or compromisers
we need people willing to tell Hill and Bill
to shove it.
-
https://gop.com/press-release/rnc-releases-letter-to-committee-on-presidential-debates/
I am not sure why we need the deep state CPD to have a debate to start with.
-
nickname for Desantis - "dull"
https://www.axios.com/trump-privately-slams-desantis-ba0ce3aa-839f-41c9-83a1-4b9dc26649d9.html
-
nickname for Desantis - "dull"
https://www.axios.com/trump-privately-slams-desantis-ba0ce3aa-839f-41c9-83a1-4b9dc26649d9.html
DeSantis can counter that by having Florida State Government entities actively try to subvert him and remove him from office.
-
I would rather have a bit dull
compared to bombastic in your face deliberate trash talking
headlines every day
that I have to go to great lengths to ignore or explain away
day in and day out for another 4 yrs
of course at this point it will be for 7 yrs
Saw a lot of the AZ rally
Good rally
I don't disagree that the election was corrupt
but it is no longer on my list of top things to speak about
way too late
we just need to stop it from happening again
-
The 'dull' story "in private" was planted, maybe by Trump, maybe accurately by the alleged "anonymous source". Both Axios and Breitbart have this story. Same timing? Axios is more left wing; it is doubtful they have their own source in the Trump camp. Also doubtful Beitbart would falsely stir this up. Someone (Trump) wants it reported. And where is the denial?
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/01/16/report-trump-bash-ron-desantis-private-dull-personality/
Labeling people is both a skill and a failing of Trump. It worked for him in 2016, but it was quite a mean thing that lost many people for him as he eliminated rivals. Presumably he is giving his 'friend' DeSantis a warning shot to keep him in line.
Note the restraint of DeSantis. Could easily just retort back, been there, done that, regarding a Trump Presidency. But if he is the eventual nominee, he needs Trump's support. Burning bridges and dividing factions isn't how he wins.
----------------------------------------------------
"I would rather have a bit dull"
- Right, but we don't want our new best choice labeled dull, even if that really is a good quality.
"I don't disagree that the election was corrupt
but it is no longer on my list of top things to speak about
way too late"
- There's the rub. I don't want to hear about it, at least in general terms. I am willing to wait since we missed the deadlines but I want to know exactly what happened, where, in what numbers, but are we finding out what happened?
"we just need to stop it from happening again"
- Yes, by first knowing exactly what happened in 2020 and other elections.
Or we just implement the rules we know make elections secure in all the states we still control, no matter what exactly happened in 2020. This isn't the honor system. In person voting with Photo ID on a singular national election day, or else you have a personal relationship with your polling place for the purpose of participating with an absentee vote with even greater protections, like having a ballot that has not been in the hands of anyone else except the real voter and more than one election judge and observer with, like Epstein's jail cell, cameras on during the whole process and evidence preserved.
Until then, we might as well put yellow tape around the vote counting places in blue cities in divided states and declare them to be crime scenes - until we get the cheating down to manageable levels.
Question for Dem voters, how much cheating is too much cheating, even if it's in your favor?
-
"I would rather have a bit dull"
- Right, but we don't want our new choice labeled dull
"I don't disagree that the election was corrupt
but it is no longer on my list of top things to speak about
way too late"
- There's the rub. I don't want to hear about it, at least in general terms. I am willing to wait since we missed the deadlines but I want to know exactly what happened, where, in what numbers, but are we finding out what happened?
"we just need to stop it from happening again"
- Yes, by first knowing exactly what happened in 2020 and other elections.
Or we just implement the rules we know make elections secure in all the states we still control, no matter what exactly happened in 2020. This isn't the honor system. In person voting with Photo ID on a singular national election day, or else you have a personal relationship with your polling place for the purpose of participating with an absentee vote with even greater protections, like having a ballot that has not been in the hands of anyone else except the real voter and more than one election judge and observer with, like Epstein's jail cell, cameras on during the whole process and evidence preserved.
Until then, we might as well put yellow tape around the vote counting places in blue cities in divided states and declare them to be crime scenes - until we get the cheating down to manageable levels.
Question for Dem voters, how much cheating is too much cheating, even if it's in your favor?
As long as they have power, too much is never enough.
-
"Right, but we don't want our new choice labeled dull"
I believe quite readily this would be dig from Trump
he is the one who will due the labelling if you don't suck up to him like pansy
we don't need him shooting everyone who doesn't kiss his ass and have it backfire in all our faces .
I noticed a few people at the AZ calling him the "great*est*" president - a bit much
call we just call him great
-
Trump spoke well of DeSantis last night on Hannity.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/01/20/ron-desantis-knows-the-formula-to-defeat-donald-trump-527470?fbclid=IwAR0FOIrbIbsPcKGvKzC2X-bXwH5bJwnVqs00Q-ELM29vY815LigB-DZ7Ke8
-
More than quadruple your money if you bet Joe to win second term.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/betting/joe-bidens-betting-odds-highest-ever-for-incumbent-at-this-stage-2523669/
-
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/14/politics/joe-biden-2024-election-poll/index.html
Because Democrats can't agree on someone else. Because there is no one else. Just like 2020. Chris Cillizza, editor, CNN
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35vgWJ1tHSI
-
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/trump-biden-tied-wsj/2022/03/11/id/1060766/
-
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/trump-biden-tied-wsj/2022/03/11/id/1060766/
If accurate, that's not very good for Trump, we lose ties, and to be tied with Biden at the lowest point ever.
OTOH, presidential elections are not decided by popular vote. Polls of those 6 states would be more instructive.
Either way, let's get someone new.
-
http://republicbrief.com/donald-trump-announced-run-to-the-white-house/
maybe Mike Lindell will be his VP pick. :roll:
-
http://republicbrief.com/donald-trump-announced-run-to-the-white-house/
maybe Mike Lindell will be his VP pick. :roll:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOQslWYVsAEDH3e?format=jpg&name=small
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOQslWYVsAEDH3e?format=jpg&name=small)
He won't get her vote!
-
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-leads-biden-by-10-points-in-nevada-after-losing-there-in-2020-poll/ar-AAVx9Pt?ocid=msedgntp
-
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-airs-its-ultimate-revenge-plan-for-america/ar-AAW5HB1?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=03ea8030d68148d5979fa4b0f6b8164e
-
https://www.johnlocke.org/college-educated-women-turning-more-toward-failed-democratic-policies/
I don't know this is a marriage gap or not
aren't college women also more likely to be married?
don't expect this to improve anytime soon with the abortion issue moving front and center
again.
-
https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/04/divorce-florida-style/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202022-04-19&utm_term=NRDaily-Smart
-
Governor with executive experience needs VP with foreign policy expertise and wisdom, like Bush and Cheney, only higher quality on both counts.
-
".Governor with executive experience needs VP with foreign policy expertise and wisdom, like Bush and Cheney, only higher quality on both counts."
Pompeo ?
or if too white and too male ( :roll:) then
C. Rice ?
Bolton - just kidding :wink:
-
I suspect DeSantis has good instincts in this but he needs to display them before selecting VP otherwise he risks being condescended to as Cheney did to Bush 43.
I like Pompeo A LOT, and he proved himself to have his ego under control alongside an egomaniac like Trump.
I've no trouble with two white males, , , , and I'm against affirmative action , , , but , , ,
-
Trump beating Biden!
by 2 whole points! :roll:
big shit
what a joke
trump cannot and will not get over 43 to 45 %
I bet if anyone was polling a bunch of others could just or more easily kick Biden's ass
give us a real winner
-
I suspect DeSantis has good instincts in this but he needs to display them before selecting VP otherwise he risks being condescended to as Cheney did to Bush 43.
I like Pompeo A LOT, and he proved himself to have his ego under control alongside an egomaniac like Trump.
I've no trouble with two white males, , , , and I'm against affirmative action , , , but , , ,
A POC tranny for the win?
-
MUST!
VOTE!
HARDER!
Trump beating Biden!
by 2 whole points! :roll:
big shit
what a joke
trump cannot and will not get over 43 to 45 %
I bet if anyone was polling a bunch of others could just or more easily kick Biden's ass
give us a real winner
-
MUST!
VOTE!
HARDER!
alternatively
some would say we should start shooting up the place
-
MUST!
VOTE!
HARDER!
alternatively
some would say we should start shooting up the place
Trump wasn't supposed to happen. only DC Uniparty approved presidents will be available for our "fortified elections".
Jeb! is tanned, rested and ready! So is Mittens.
-
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/sarah-palin-alaska-house-campaign/2022/04/21/id/1066752/
-
guess who is #1:
https://news.gallup.com/poll/391973/biden-job-approval-stuck-low-40s.aspx
the supposed leader of our party :roll:
-
guess who is #1:
https://news.gallup.com/poll/391973/biden-job-approval-stuck-low-40s.aspx
the supposed leader of our party :roll:
The polls never lie!
-
I suspect DeSantis has good instincts in this but he needs to display them before selecting VP otherwise he risks being condescended to as Cheney did to Bush 43.
I like Pompeo A LOT, and he proved himself to have his ego under control alongside an egomaniac like Trump.
I've no trouble with two white males, , , , and I'm against affirmative action , , , but , , ,
Answer to the point msde, DeSantis and Tim Scott:
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3473559-ron-desantis-and-tim-scott-are-the-ticket-to-beat-trump/
------------
Not the 'ticket to beat Trump' , it's a ticket to win the Presidency.
Speaking of Mike Pompeo, I have a chance to see him this Friday at John Hinderaker's Center for the American Experiment gala. If I go I may have a chance to submit a question. He ran the CIA and then ran Trump's foreign policy most of the term, going up against Un, Xi and Putin. Anybody have a good question to ask him?
-
I suspect DeSantis has good instincts in this but he needs to display them before selecting VP otherwise he risks being condescended to as Cheney did to Bush 43.
I like Pompeo A LOT, and he proved himself to have his ego under control alongside an egomaniac like Trump.
I've no trouble with two white males, , , , and I'm against affirmative action , , , but , , ,
How do we get the CIA and other parts of the deep state to obey federal law and their oaths to the constitution?
Answer to the point msde, DeSantis and Tim Scott:
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3473559-ron-desantis-and-tim-scott-are-the-ticket-to-beat-trump/
------------
Not the 'ticket to beat Trump' , it's a ticket to win the Presidency.
Speaking of Mike Pompeo, I have a chance to see him this Friday at John Hinderaker's Center for the American Experiment gala. If I go I may have a chance to submit a question. He ran the CIA and then ran Trump's foreign policy most of the term, going up against Un, Xi and Putin. Anybody have a good question to ask him?
-
Doug:
That Hill piece is pretty savvy , , ,
-
Doug:
That Hill piece is pretty savvy , , ,
Strikes me as typical nevertrumper drivel.
Tim Scott? His greatest accomplishment is?
I'll wait while you look it up....
-
if there is a Republican primary, at this time, unless things change I refuse to vote for orange hair man
if he is the de facto nominee - then I have no choice but to vote for him
there are many many people who agree with me 100%
right and center there is no doubt
as for Tim Scott
he is very good
ready for VP
I am not sure
Is DeSantis ready for President I am not sure, but so far so good.
-
What accomplishment of Tim Scott's would you cite as his greatest?
if there is a Republican primary, at this time, unless things change I refuse to vote for orange hair man
if he is the de facto nominee - then I have no choice but to vote for him
there are many many people who agree with me 100%
right and center there is no doubt
as for Tim Scott
he is very good
ready for VP
I am not sure
Is DeSantis ready for President I am not sure, but so far so good.
-
Being an articulate black conservative Republican rising to the Senate from Deep South state.
Spoke very well at the 2020 Convention for Trump.
Saw him doing real geopolitical study work in a hearing with Henry Kissinger, George Schultz, and , , , I forget who the third guy was but another big geopolitical small only in contrast to HK and GS. The fact of real work done when no one is looking can be very telling.
-
Being an articulate black conservative Republican rising to the Senate from Deep South state.
Spoke very well at the 2020 Convention for Trump.
Saw him doing real geopolitical study work in a hearing with Henry Kissinger, George Schultz, and , , , I forget who the third guy was but another big geopolitical small only in contrast to HK and GS. The fact of real work done when no one is looking can be very telling.
:roll:
-
You do understand that this is American politics, yes?
-
You do understand that this is American politics, yes?
Sure, let's do the diversity hire thing and maybe garner .5 more of the black vote.
At this point, what difference does it make?
-
.5%?
Really?
The Reps have been making genuine progress with the black vote, Scott would be a strong follow-up showing that it was not just Trump.
-
.5%?
Really?
The Reps have been making genuine progress with the black vote, Scott would be a strong follow-up showing that it was not just Trump.
I thought a core value was colorblindness. I guess it's just a race between who can pander harder now.
-
You underestimate the man:
https://news.yahoo.com/sen-tim-scott-takes-push-192839453.html
https://www.fox46.com/news/u-s/south-carolina/sc-senator-tim-scott-votes-no-on-supreme-court-nominee-ketanji-brown-jackson/
https://news.yahoo.com/tim-scott-proves-black-whisperer-185700323.html
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/south-carolinas-tim-scott-launches-2022-reelection-campaign-78538657
-
He's a mediocrity in an ocean of mediocrity. The anti-American racial industry hates him for daring to escape the groupthink. That doesn't mean he is presidential material.
You underestimate the man:
https://news.yahoo.com/sen-tim-scott-takes-push-192839453.html
https://www.fox46.com/news/u-s/south-carolina/sc-senator-tim-scott-votes-no-on-supreme-court-nominee-ketanji-brown-jackson/
https://news.yahoo.com/tim-scott-proves-black-whisperer-185700323.html
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/south-carolinas-tim-scott-launches-2022-reelection-campaign-78538657
-
So who would you suggest for DeSantis?
-
So who would you suggest for DeSantis?
It’s really irrelevant. The only presidents from here on out will be deep state approved.
-
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/republican-sen-tom-cotton-foreign-policy-book-points-to-2024-presidential-plans
-
https://nypost.com/2022/05/21/eric-adams-eyeing-white-house-run-in-2024-sources/
his only achievement is he is worse than DeBlasio
and that is NOT EASY to do
what a joke
-
is it me or anyone else notice
all the LEFT wing sites and cables and news outlets are spending more time and space focusing on Republicans during this election season.
I don't hear them much speaking about Democrats
or policies
her is MSFT news (very LEFT WING)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-top-10-gop-presidential-candidates-for-2024-ranked/ar-AAXyku8
-
What are they going to say? Joe is doing a great job? Kamala is smart?
is it me or anyone else notice
all the LEFT wing sites and cables and news outlets are spending more time and space focusing on Republicans during this election season.
I don't hear them much speaking about Democrats
or policies
her is MSFT news (very LEFT WING)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-top-10-gop-presidential-candidates-for-2024-ranked/ar-AAXyku8
-
:wink:
https://www.conservativereview.com/trump-may-have-already-settled-on-a-running-mate-for-2024-report-2657396448.html
-
https://dailycaller.com/2022/05/28/ron-desantis-brian-kemp-donald-trump-2024/?utm_medium=email&pnespid=qaY6Fz9fKKlFiqLCvGiqFsvXoBO8VMt0Neqn3bpspx5mKdsZzCKt4PRegjfvTJ05t1D3eCdJ
-
if biden does not
of course they are all horrendous:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/ranking-five-democrats-most-likely-155354487.html
-
https://www.wnd.com/2022/06/obamas-prepping-apocalypse/
while they establish a panic bunker on Martha's Vineyard ?
She won't have to do anything but show up and read her lines
the entire deep state complex the MSM etc will be adoring her
zero negative stories
could she really win?
-
Our second black male president!
https://www.wnd.com/2022/06/obamas-prepping-apocalypse/
while they establish a panic bunker on Martha's Vineyard ?
She won't have to do anything but show up and read her lines
the entire deep state complex the MSM etc will be adoring her
zero negative stories
could she really win?
-
gives practice performance
in soccer stadium
but few came:
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2022/06/14/michelle-obamas-get-out-the-vote-event-in-l-a-sparsely-attended-despite-selena-gomez-appearance/
couldn't afford the gas to get there I guess.....
:-P
-
DSA is very much not a stupid man:
============================
By ANDREW C. MCCARTHY
June 18, 2022 6:30 AM
She has used her platform to make a powerful showing that Trump is unfit and that Republicans would be on a suicide mission if they nominated him again.
I’m about ready to pronounce Liz Cheney the victor in the January 6 committee hearings.
No, I’m not saying that she has resurrected her House reelection campaign, or that “virulently anti-Trump” is a viable brand in the GOP. I am also not suggesting the January 6 committee is about to be converted formally into what it has de facto been all along: the third impeachment of Donald Trump, necessitated by the Democrats’ derelictions in the second impeachment — in which, rather than conducting the thorough investigation now underway and then competently pleading articles of impeachment that matched the sundry executive abuses, they rushed to politicize the impeachment in an effort to tar all Trump supporters as white supremacists, and all Republicans and conservatives who didn’t swallow whole their Insurrection!™ storyline as aiders and abettors of domestic terrorism.
Congresswoman Cheney has been very effective in relating the committee’s blistering case against the former president. In the short run, however, recent polls suggest an inverse correlation between the impression she has made on the country at large (favorable) and the impression she has made at home in red Wyoming, where pro-Trumpers dominate GOP politics (not so favorable).
There are two poles in GOP politics right now: (a) the too-gradually eroding pro-Trump faction that punches above its weight in intraparty matters and (b) the preponderant but diffident “wouldn’t it be nice if he just went away and let us fight today’s battles instead of relitigating 2020” crowd. These camps leave no traction for a “virulently anti-Trump” alternative — it motivates the former and, by keeping Trump front and center, irritates the latter.
That being the case, there is no stomach for impeaching Trump yet again. It’s not that he doesn’t deserve it. It’s that everything has its moment, and that moment is past. Today’s prudent Republican position is that Trump is a real problem but one that is fading (though too slowly); in the meantime, GOP objectives must be: Keep the spotlight on the faltering Biden administration and its ruinous woke-progressivism, wallop Democrats in the midterms, and then nominate someone who can win a national presidential election. The assumption is that the cumulative effect of pursuing these aims will marginalize Trump — and hopefully convince him not to run again because he doesn’t want to be seen as a loser, but at a minimum make him beatable if he enters the nomination sweepstakes.
If she’s losing on these fronts, then, how has Cheney won the January 6 committee?
Well, I have contended that the most intriguing aspect of the single-mindedly anti-Trump committee is the divergent motivations for that unanimous stance. Both committee Democrats and Cheney want to keep Trump relevant, but for different reasons.
Democrats hope the focus on Trump will divert the scrutiny of Biden. At the moment, $6/gallon gas and skyrocketing grocery prices make that unlikely. It’s not unreasonable, though, for Democrats to figure that Trump is a proven media-ratings grabber who is easy to goad into unhinged responses about the “Rigged and Stolen” 2020 election, which a decisive majority of the public knows was not rigged and stolen. Biden may get some breathing room if the committee spends June provoking Trump every few days with another hearing.
More to the point, Democrats want to run against Trump because he can’t win a national election. This is the most important iteration of an electoral strategy Karl Rove diagnosed in the Wall Street Journal this week: Democrats are intruding in Republican primaries because they’ve sussed out that the MAGA backing of fringy candidates is enough to beat more widely appealing Republicans. They’ve thus developed funding and messaging strategies that elevate the fringy candidates they’d rather run against in November’s general elections, in which the MAGA factor is greatly diminished.
On this line of thinking, Trump solves the Democrats’ most pressing problems: Biden is not up to the job, and Vice President Kamala Harris is even more unpopular than Biden. The conventional wisdom is that Democrats are stuck with one of these two, so their best shot at retaining the White House is Trump as the GOP nominee. (For what it’s worth, I don’t buy the conventional wisdom; I believe Democrats know they should have nominated Senator Amy Klobuchar in 2020, and they’ll figure out a way to do it for 2024. But that’s for another day.)
Cheney wants to keep Trump at center stage, too, but on a rationale that is night-and-day different.
Big picture, there has been no change, no revelation that has altered our understanding of what happened in this country in the two months from Election Night 2020 through January 6, 2021 — from the time the president of the United States made his first bracing allegation that the election had been stolen from him, through the “stop the steal” machinations, leading finally to the Capitol riot. Nevertheless, while we all know the basic story, granular details that boggle the mind and boil the blood have not gotten due attention — particularly from Americans who follow politics only sporadically.
Cheney appears to me to have been banking on this belief: If she could command the attention of the country for a few days in June, and present what happened as it has never been aired before, in a series of tight, well-scripted sessions, she could hammer home Donald Trump’s unfitness for office. And she could do it out of the mouths of prominent Republicans who served in Trump’s administration and championed Trump policies. That is, instead of partisan Democrat sources, Cheney would use testimony from sources who might be appealing to both pro-Trumpers and Republicans who have no use for Trump personally.
It is already manifest to those willing to open their eyes that Trump cannot win a national election. I believe Cheney is trying to ensure that he never has a chance to try. The point is to make Trump’s lack of viability so clear and undeniable that it ends his career as a candidate — to show the public, Republicans in particular, the parade of Trump horribles that Democrats could readily turn into ad after campaign ad. And even if he seeks the nomination anyway, as he seems poised to do, no party in its right mind would make him its standard-bearer.
There is also the obvious nexus between (a) the notion that Trump will be returning to the Oval Office in 2025 and (b) the grip he maintains on his supporters, which is what gives him such influence over the GOP. I suspect Cheney believes that if she can conclusively dispel the former, the latter will dissipate.
To be clear, I am not suggesting that Cheney’s motivations are partisan. Clearly, she is not beholden to a party that has forsaken her (and thus gone in a less conservative direction). Her conviction is that Trump’s re-accession to executive power would itself be an unprecedented constitutional crisis. I don’t want to take that on because there’s no point addressing something that’s not going to happen. It is enough to home in on the nomination question, since that’s the one we’ll have to deal with if Trump decides to run.
Also understand: My focus here is on the impact of the committee hearings as a national-television spectacle, not on their propriety. There remain more things wrong than right about the January 6 committee. No need to belabor the record with my objections to its one-sided composition and lack of cross-examination. The panel’s stampede over congressional norms and interbranch comity is alarming — Democrats and the Biden administration will soon come to rue the day they did this.
Furthermore, I’m puzzled by Cheney’s claim that Trump had a carefully thought out, rigorously implemented seven-part plan to reverse the election result. Trump is neither careful, thoughtful, nor disciplined. I don’t get why she would float this theory when it is unnecessary for purposes of demonstrating Trump’s unfitness or potential criminality. The prosecutor’s rule of thumb is to under-promise and over-deliver; the other way round can get guilty people acquitted.
Also, on that subject of prosecution, I believe the committee would set a ruinous precedent — one that would needlessly fan the flames of our national divisions and permanently engulf the Department of Justice in electoral politics — if it were to pressure the Biden DOJ into indicting Trump based on the notion that if a legal theory is frivolous, actions taken in reliance amount to fraud on the government or the corrupt obstruction of congressional proceedings.
To conclude (as I have) that Trump should have been impeached for trying to deceive the country (and actually deceiving his most rabid supporters) into believing the election was stolen is very different from saying he should be prosecuted. Impeachment is a political remedy that is triggered by a public official’s mendacity — even if it is insufficient to establish criminal fraud — because political office is a public trust, a privilege, not a right. Indictment, to the contrary, is reserved for private wrongs — penal crimes — as to which criminal intent must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt because the penalty is to deprive the accused of liberty, a right, not a privilege.
The Justice Department’s standard for establishing criminal intent should be even higher in a case touching on electoral politics. If the last eight years have taught us anything, it is that we don’t want the FBI and DOJ entangled in elections unless there is crystal-clear evidence of a serious crime. The failure to commit to this bright line is corrupting both our elections and our law-enforcement agencies.
All that said, though, Liz Cheney has used her platform to make a powerful showing that Trump is unfit and that Republicans would be on a suicide mission if they nominated him again. Democrats wanted to make Trump relevant in the hope that he gets the Republican nomination in 2024. Cheney wanted to make Trump relevant to illustrate that he can’t be nominated because it would mean certain defeat. She’s winning.
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He's not stupid, just a deep state shill.
DSA is very much not a stupid man:
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By ANDREW C. MCCARTHY
June 18, 2022 6:30 AM
She has used her platform to make a powerful showing that Trump is unfit and that Republicans would be on a suicide mission if they nominated him again.
I’m about ready to pronounce Liz Cheney the victor in the January 6 committee hearings.
No, I’m not saying that she has resurrected her House reelection campaign, or that “virulently anti-Trump” is a viable brand in the GOP. I am also not suggesting the January 6 committee is about to be converted formally into what it has de facto been all along: the third impeachment of Donald Trump, necessitated by the Democrats’ derelictions in the second impeachment — in which, rather than conducting the thorough investigation now underway and then competently pleading articles of impeachment that matched the sundry executive abuses, they rushed to politicize the impeachment in an effort to tar all Trump supporters as white supremacists, and all Republicans and conservatives who didn’t swallow whole their Insurrection!™ storyline as aiders and abettors of domestic terrorism.
Congresswoman Cheney has been very effective in relating the committee’s blistering case against the former president. In the short run, however, recent polls suggest an inverse correlation between the impression she has made on the country at large (favorable) and the impression she has made at home in red Wyoming, where pro-Trumpers dominate GOP politics (not so favorable).
There are two poles in GOP politics right now: (a) the too-gradually eroding pro-Trump faction that punches above its weight in intraparty matters and (b) the preponderant but diffident “wouldn’t it be nice if he just went away and let us fight today’s battles instead of relitigating 2020” crowd. These camps leave no traction for a “virulently anti-Trump” alternative — it motivates the former and, by keeping Trump front and center, irritates the latter.
That being the case, there is no stomach for impeaching Trump yet again. It’s not that he doesn’t deserve it. It’s that everything has its moment, and that moment is past. Today’s prudent Republican position is that Trump is a real problem but one that is fading (though too slowly); in the meantime, GOP objectives must be: Keep the spotlight on the faltering Biden administration and its ruinous woke-progressivism, wallop Democrats in the midterms, and then nominate someone who can win a national presidential election. The assumption is that the cumulative effect of pursuing these aims will marginalize Trump — and hopefully convince him not to run again because he doesn’t want to be seen as a loser, but at a minimum make him beatable if he enters the nomination sweepstakes.
If she’s losing on these fronts, then, how has Cheney won the January 6 committee?
Well, I have contended that the most intriguing aspect of the single-mindedly anti-Trump committee is the divergent motivations for that unanimous stance. Both committee Democrats and Cheney want to keep Trump relevant, but for different reasons.
Democrats hope the focus on Trump will divert the scrutiny of Biden. At the moment, $6/gallon gas and skyrocketing grocery prices make that unlikely. It’s not unreasonable, though, for Democrats to figure that Trump is a proven media-ratings grabber who is easy to goad into unhinged responses about the “Rigged and Stolen” 2020 election, which a decisive majority of the public knows was not rigged and stolen. Biden may get some breathing room if the committee spends June provoking Trump every few days with another hearing.
More to the point, Democrats want to run against Trump because he can’t win a national election. This is the most important iteration of an electoral strategy Karl Rove diagnosed in the Wall Street Journal this week: Democrats are intruding in Republican primaries because they’ve sussed out that the MAGA backing of fringy candidates is enough to beat more widely appealing Republicans. They’ve thus developed funding and messaging strategies that elevate the fringy candidates they’d rather run against in November’s general elections, in which the MAGA factor is greatly diminished.
On this line of thinking, Trump solves the Democrats’ most pressing problems: Biden is not up to the job, and Vice President Kamala Harris is even more unpopular than Biden. The conventional wisdom is that Democrats are stuck with one of these two, so their best shot at retaining the White House is Trump as the GOP nominee. (For what it’s worth, I don’t buy the conventional wisdom; I believe Democrats know they should have nominated Senator Amy Klobuchar in 2020, and they’ll figure out a way to do it for 2024. But that’s for another day.)
Cheney wants to keep Trump at center stage, too, but on a rationale that is night-and-day different.
Big picture, there has been no change, no revelation that has altered our understanding of what happened in this country in the two months from Election Night 2020 through January 6, 2021 — from the time the president of the United States made his first bracing allegation that the election had been stolen from him, through the “stop the steal” machinations, leading finally to the Capitol riot. Nevertheless, while we all know the basic story, granular details that boggle the mind and boil the blood have not gotten due attention — particularly from Americans who follow politics only sporadically.
Cheney appears to me to have been banking on this belief: If she could command the attention of the country for a few days in June, and present what happened as it has never been aired before, in a series of tight, well-scripted sessions, she could hammer home Donald Trump’s unfitness for office. And she could do it out of the mouths of prominent Republicans who served in Trump’s administration and championed Trump policies. That is, instead of partisan Democrat sources, Cheney would use testimony from sources who might be appealing to both pro-Trumpers and Republicans who have no use for Trump personally.
It is already manifest to those willing to open their eyes that Trump cannot win a national election. I believe Cheney is trying to ensure that he never has a chance to try. The point is to make Trump’s lack of viability so clear and undeniable that it ends his career as a candidate — to show the public, Republicans in particular, the parade of Trump horribles that Democrats could readily turn into ad after campaign ad. And even if he seeks the nomination anyway, as he seems poised to do, no party in its right mind would make him its standard-bearer.
There is also the obvious nexus between (a) the notion that Trump will be returning to the Oval Office in 2025 and (b) the grip he maintains on his supporters, which is what gives him such influence over the GOP. I suspect Cheney believes that if she can conclusively dispel the former, the latter will dissipate.
To be clear, I am not suggesting that Cheney’s motivations are partisan. Clearly, she is not beholden to a party that has forsaken her (and thus gone in a less conservative direction). Her conviction is that Trump’s re-accession to executive power would itself be an unprecedented constitutional crisis. I don’t want to take that on because there’s no point addressing something that’s not going to happen. It is enough to home in on the nomination question, since that’s the one we’ll have to deal with if Trump decides to run.
Also understand: My focus here is on the impact of the committee hearings as a national-television spectacle, not on their propriety. There remain more things wrong than right about the January 6 committee. No need to belabor the record with my objections to its one-sided composition and lack of cross-examination. The panel’s stampede over congressional norms and interbranch comity is alarming — Democrats and the Biden administration will soon come to rue the day they did this.
Furthermore, I’m puzzled by Cheney’s claim that Trump had a carefully thought out, rigorously implemented seven-part plan to reverse the election result. Trump is neither careful, thoughtful, nor disciplined. I don’t get why she would float this theory when it is unnecessary for purposes of demonstrating Trump’s unfitness or potential criminality. The prosecutor’s rule of thumb is to under-promise and over-deliver; the other way round can get guilty people acquitted.
Also, on that subject of prosecution, I believe the committee would set a ruinous precedent — one that would needlessly fan the flames of our national divisions and permanently engulf the Department of Justice in electoral politics — if it were to pressure the Biden DOJ into indicting Trump based on the notion that if a legal theory is frivolous, actions taken in reliance amount to fraud on the government or the corrupt obstruction of congressional proceedings.
To conclude (as I have) that Trump should have been impeached for trying to deceive the country (and actually deceiving his most rabid supporters) into believing the election was stolen is very different from saying he should be prosecuted. Impeachment is a political remedy that is triggered by a public official’s mendacity — even if it is insufficient to establish criminal fraud — because political office is a public trust, a privilege, not a right. Indictment, to the contrary, is reserved for private wrongs — penal crimes — as to which criminal intent must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt because the penalty is to deprive the accused of liberty, a right, not a privilege.
The Justice Department’s standard for establishing criminal intent should be even higher in a case touching on electoral politics. If the last eight years have taught us anything, it is that we don’t want the FBI and DOJ entangled in elections unless there is crystal-clear evidence of a serious crime. The failure to commit to this bright line is corrupting both our elections and our law-enforcement agencies.
All that said, though, Liz Cheney has used her platform to make a powerful showing that Trump is unfit and that Republicans would be on a suicide mission if they nominated him again. Democrats wanted to make Trump relevant in the hope that he gets the Republican nomination in 2024. Cheney wanted to make Trump relevant to illustrate that he can’t be nominated because it would mean certain defeat. She’s winning.
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On Andrew McCarthy piece
my thoughts FWIW
I agree of course Trump should NOT be the nominee and personally went out on a limb stating he will not
be the candidate, even though he does not know it yet long ago
I still believe the same - and he still will likely try to be - he may announce July? - he is running.
I do not agree Cheney has won anything only because I don't really think she or any of the 6/1 "commission" has changed enough minds to have made a difference irregardless what the LEFT ist polls want us to believe.
I also do not agree that Trump lied about the election or was wrong to demand it be researched. As GM points out we ALL could see what was going and knew it was rigged
and only some , including me , were not sure if the rigging was enough to sway the election.
As soon as we read 600 DNC lawyers were hired to descend around the country I (we) knew the fix was in.
Hell the attorney General in PA said he was 100% sure the Dems would win PA.
So how could he know if he did not also know the election in PA was rigged.
That said, I do think the whole 1/6/22 march and pressure on Pence and on the electors was a mistake and it was too late and backfired.
I admit I was not sure about it at the time since I listen to the likes of Mark Levin who was pushing for it at the time. In retrospect it served the Dems well and backfired on us.
As Hannity said , the cat was already out of the bag by then.
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an additional thought to my post above
McCarthy states the DC beltway thinks now the candidate should have been the lady with the 24/7 Joker grin on her face
Kolbuchar ?
that is news
her above Butti?
or a Klobuchar Butti team in '24?
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https://nypost.com/2022/06/20/trump-insists-i-would-win-2024-gop-showdown-with-desantis/
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https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/ric-grenell-trump-vice-president-2024/2022/06/20/id/1075230/
I really don't want to keep hearing about Trump every day all over again.....
https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=crying+emoji
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https://nypost.com/2022/06/20/memo-to-gop-time-to-dump-donald-trump-and-run-with-ron-desantis/
time for his own thread ?
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/gop-strategist-reveals-a-big-change-in-trump-voters-during-her-focus-groups/vi-AAYThrk?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=944b8711562b4f9cbb4da71e9acc5509&category=foryou
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https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/06/gavin-newsom-is-dangerous/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202022-06-29&utm_term=NRDaily-Smart
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if newsom runs
Guirfolye or whatever her name is could be the first to have been married to one candidate
and married to the son of the other
how weird is that
and how weird it is to be be married to total leftist then a total rightist
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/06/28/aoc-calls-for-impeachment-of-justices-gorsuch-kavanaugh-for-lying-under-oath/
something about this image reminds me of this one :
https://www.google.com/search?q=hanging+chad+image&rlz=1C5GCEM_enUS1001US1001&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&vet=1&fir=KwUxXKK-B0a-oM%252ClSRGsBgYOw3xgM%252C_%253BkcrkvT5OLFRmbM%252CVtg8NeHRLCymEM%252C_%253BZ0R_03ubnwb9CM%252C1OJp6yRIQwzbTM%252C_%253BJgg55SvGShB_OM%252CNzgGPp5eUPr-oM%252C_%253BspK6iiLQAlApmM%252C2zw5A7cFkwvHMM%252C_%253B82uuoYdimOtDQM%252CyCY8bH0U4zJrbM%252C_%253BdqtfgYudG2q43M%252Cv9DMsZdASs6v7M%252C_%253BQ8fKriYvbynBbM%252CIPPmJrgAh9r4DM%252C_%253BHQUX0GAEWvsxKM%252CIPPmJrgAh9r4DM%252C_%253BV7n-kcPXql_BoM%252CbtnEPvUnjzjR-M%252C_%253BqRZVDdApuXqUSM%252CeWEKbLQxTu2I0M%252C_%253B2Bwo6SoPlElPsM%252CVXCyBTr6_Y8hAM%252C_%253BdgUU7u-LWf7VnM%252CydcAjAkKnj5fbM%252C_%253BcT89RojV_0A67M%252C6AO3kdBR0IpeSM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kTR74n-F5uVQE-BusBym1yjUsEa2A&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwii3oOHo9T4AhXyjokEHeoOCqcQ9QF6BAgPEAE#imgrc=82uuoYdimOtDQM
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https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/secretary-state-mike-pompeo-2024-video-ad/2022/06/30/id/1076759/
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I like Pompeo A LOT, but doubt him as a candidate able to navigate the swamp of American politics.
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I agree
he is clearly untested for a presidential campaign
or any other for that matter
can he even raise the money?
that said my main point is others are showing willingness to take on Trump
which as far as I am concerned is good
I don't want to spend 5 more yrs litigating Trumps personality or impulsiveness
or having to defend bombshell tweets
not helpful anymore
I sense you agree... :wink:
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We've yet to hear from DeSantis on geopolitics and a number of other matters of great import.
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Don't worry, they'll find someone who will Lose With Dignity! No mean tweets! No threat to the DC Uniparty!
I agree
he is clearly untested for a presidential campaign
or any other for that matter
can he even raise the money?
that said my main point is others are showing willingness to take on Trump
which as far as I am concerned is good
I don't want to spend 5 more yrs litigating Trumps personality or impulsiveness
or having to defend bombshell tweets
not helpful anymore
I sense you agree... :wink:
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online rumor
the "mean tweeter" is going to announce his run
(for God's sake - get it over with already !)
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https://republicbrief.com/even-the-new-york-times-is-now-amplifying-concerns-about-biden/
Butti klobuchar newsom
what a sick line up
Harris will not be able to raise 10 cents and will never be in contention at the starting gate
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FOX convo today said DeSantis outpolls Trump in NH and that Trump barely beats Brandon.
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FOX convo today said DeSantis outpolls Trump in NH and that Trump barely beats Brandon.
How does he poll with Dominion voting machines and 4am vote counters?
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I am curious
we see it in NYT then the entire left wing media complex all in unison
suddenly have calculated that it is time to withdraw support
Who decided this and who behind the scenes is giving the media the go ahead
and the talking points?
Who is or are pulling the strings?
Someone(s) calculated to do it now rather then wait till after the election
NYT poll has biden beating Trump
sorry I don't believe that at all.
It is like they still had to throw a bone to die hard crats and add the faux poll to the mix
so MSNBC DNC people can look sad when they say how bad Biden is doing but then crack up with big grins at the end of the broadcast when they point out Biden still beats Trump
like they did last night
yea joe sucks but trump sucks more .......... As Tucker might say OH, I GET IT (heavy on the sacrasm in his tone of voice)
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If Trump announces before the 2022 elections because everything has to be about him, it will hurt us badly in the 2022 elections.
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If Trump announces before the 2022 elections because everything has to be about him, it will hurt us badly in the 2022 elections.
Yes. Hopefully he knows this.
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If Trump announces before the 2022 elections because everything has to be about him, it will hurt us badly in the 2022 elections.
Yes. Hopefully he knows this.
You guys know this is irrelevant, right?
The elections will be stolen in 2022 and 2024.
Openly, blatantly.
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he needs to be gagged hog tied (so he can't tweet)
and banished to St Helena till after the '22, woops, I mean '24 election........
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of course
NYT poll is the outlier in Biden's favor:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2024/president/us/general-election-trump-vs-biden-7383.html
of course Harvard polls are skewed democrat
I don't know about Emerson
I am thinking the 42 to 44 % who would vote Trump is similar to Trumps die hard fans
~ low 40s.
But I would think if people had to choose between the two candidates more would prefer better policies and hold their nose and vote trump
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/07/14/survey-only-18-of-americans-want-joe-biden-to-run-again/
surprised the Leftist Yahoo News poll did not add in the small print
BUT HE WOULD STILL BEAT TRUMP
at the end.
must be they left that out because the poll was not favorable against Trump
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42wbI7LxRns
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/newsom-slams-red-state-governors-on-dc-trip-stoking-speculation-about-his-future/ar-AAZzgLo
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I don't agree
at all
and he has been wrong many times with his predictions (Romney will win)
and a bit self serving here vying to become a Trump advisor ( I suspect)
but worth a minute read:
https://nypost.com/2022/07/17/ted-cruz-scotus-gay-marriage-ruling-was-clearly-wrong/
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Until vote fraud is addressed, this is all just fantasy.
I don't agree
at all
and he has been wrong many times with his predictions (Romney will win)
and a bit self serving here vying to become a Trump advisor ( I suspect)
but worth a minute read:
https://nypost.com/2022/07/17/ted-cruz-scotus-gay-marriage-ruling-was-clearly-wrong/
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-former-republicans-democrats-form-223654665.html
so far their web page is a complete blank
https://fwdtogether.org/
Liz Cheney could be the pres nominee
speaking of Christie Todd Whitman -
she borrowed from the state pension funds
now the majority of NJ residents are working to pay the retirement pensions of state workers into infinity:
https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2022/05/nj-state-owes-bondholders-more-than-48-billion-up-4-billion-last-fiscal-year-among-most-indebted-states/#:~:text=The%20new%20official%20accounting%20of,not%20come%20as%20a%20surprise.
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Is it true that if a presidential and VP candidate are from the same state that they cannot receive the electoral votes of that state?
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Is it true that if a presidential and VP candidate are from the same state that they cannot receive the electoral votes of that state?
Yes.
https://www.history.com/news/can-the-president-and-vice-president-be-from-the-same-state
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take the possibilities
Garland does as Dershowitz thinks he will not
he indicts Trump
can anyone imagine the fireworks over that
goes to Grand Jury in DC - we know the result ahead of time for. that
we have a trial
it goes to DC or Florida ?
Trump is convicted or not convicted
if the former then my understand is he cannot run for President
but then of course he will anyway
and whether on the ballot or not in whatever states
he will be write in name by millions
then what?
if he is not convicted this gigantic political fight will go away ( of course the MSM will be screaming along with "BIG LIE " all day and night but they are going to do that anyway
if he is convicted will Desantis run
then it will be possibly millions writing in Trump's name and dividing our party
(nothing new here - think the we are in deep doo doo guy who split the independents away from GHBush in '92 handing the election over the Clinton who won with less then 50% of the vote (indeed he never had over 50% but was 2 term president!)
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I would rather DeSantis but do not see how we get there from here.
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I would rather DeSantis but do not see how we get there from here.
You would prefer DeSantis to lose to the mysterious 4am vote counts?
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https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/poll-donaldtrump-joebiden/2022/08/28/id/1084965/
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everyone here knows I greatly prefer DeSantis, so
the only thing that surprises me about this is I see at one of the headers on Populist Press
a definite MAGA site :-o:
https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-slump-new-signs-appear-showing-the-dons-popularity-is-waning
my only fear is if this continues will the Donald drag the party down by dividing us amongst ourselves
way too soon to say but I hold this in back of my mind
we need someone who has >50% popularity
not sure if DeSantis can do it either though
W. got > 50 % of popular vote in '08.
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Do I remember correctly that I was the first here to name him in this regard? :-D
https://dailycaller.com/2022/09/19/gavin-newsom-run-for-president-2024-biden-doesnt/?utm_medium=email&pnespid=urg2ET0XbbkD2v3M_zrrCsqBvk6sU8ZzP.rh2.oyoRpmAoKnWhQ1nKcm6Lfw8HdbgJY7voQ8
I recently saw a clip of Newsom at a press conference announcing some big CA foolishness-- the man will be formidable. At the moment I see him as the easy winner of the nomination. Not only are the national Dems utterly pathetic, but Newsome also would have Aunt Nancy's machine behind him and with her leaving Congress she would have nothing else to do.
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another mike dukakis if you ask me
but yeah
and so no one is asking me,
all the big dem spenders and party machine
will line up with glee
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Newscum can point to the success he has with California!
Do I remember correctly that I was the first here to name him in this regard? :-D
https://dailycaller.com/2022/09/19/gavin-newsom-run-for-president-2024-biden-doesnt/?utm_medium=email&pnespid=urg2ET0XbbkD2v3M_zrrCsqBvk6sU8ZzP.rh2.oyoRpmAoKnWhQ1nKcm6Lfw8HdbgJY7voQ8
I recently saw a clip of Newsom at a press conference announcing some big CA foolishness-- the man will be formidable. At the moment I see him as the easy winner of the nomination. Not only are the national Dems utterly pathetic, but Newsome also would have Aunt Nancy's machine behind him and with her leaving Congress she would have nothing else to do.
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Understood and agreed 100%-- and just as we see across the landscape for November, as far as winning elections go that is really not enough.
He's good looking, confident, supremely glib with Prog lingo, he has Aunt Nancy's machine behind him in Washington-- and he is YOUNG; with him the Dems solve their gerontocracy issues. AND, HE WILL HAVE THE PRAVDAS BEHIND HIM FULL FORCE.
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2022 and 2024 will be stolen even more obviously than 2020.
Plan accordingly.
Understood and agreed 100%-- and just as we see across the landscape for November, as far as winning elections go that is really not enough.
He's good looking, confident, supremely glib with Prog lingo, he has Aunt Nancy's machine behind him in Washington-- and he is YOUNG; with him the Dems solve their gerontocracy issues. AND, HE WILL HAVE THE PRAVDAS BEHIND HIM FULL FORCE.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/10/the-coming-fight-over-trumpism-charisma-or-policy/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202022-10-28&utm_term=NRDaily-Smart
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once a Dem has the NYT publishing their flaws
and it even shows up on leftist dnc yahoo news
then we can be sure
he will not be nominee in '24
https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-verbally-fumbles-twice-during-121129574.html
lets see. klobuchar , newsom, clinton , and butti (and abrams since she will not be gov)
and harris will try ......
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/former-students-ron-desantis-said-184813756.html
no dirt here but possible they found some democrat who claimed something bad that they are saving for Oct surprise later on.........
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"President Fetterman, 2024"
Oh good, I'm not the only one thinking he might be the best Democrat in the country right now:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1590519242067443712
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https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/poll-desantis-overtakes-trump-as-republican-presidential-favorite-in-2024/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=29682272
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DeSantis # 1 choice
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-hair-blowing-in-wind-photos-2018-4
Dick Morris will be all over newsmax trying to save his book sales and future political advisor gig
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THE FOUNDATION
"The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust." —James Madison (1788)
IN TODAY'S DIGEST
Trump 2024: 'This Is a Movement'
McCarthy Doesn't Yet Have the Votes
Executive News Summary
Missing the Point for World Cup
The Times Hedges Its Bets on Transgenderism
'Things Are Tough All Over'
DAILY FEATURES: Videos, Best of Right Opinion, Short Cuts, Memes, and Cartoons.
FEATURED ANALYSIS
Trump 2024: 'This Is a Movement'
The former president showed once again why he has won such a devoted following. Will it be enough?
Nate Jackson
"My fellow citizens, America's comeback starts right now," said Donald Trump about 20 minutes into an hour-plus speech last night. "In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States." It was an expected announcement and, just a week out from the 2022 midterms, officially kicks off the 2024 campaign. In many ways, Trump was on message and was the best version of himself, proving that he'll be formidable once again.
Trump is a master at painting things as an obvious binary choice between the worst disaster caused by his opponents and the best successes he brought and will bring again. Last night's speech was ultimately a very hopeful message, and it's a vivid reminder of why he evokes such devotion among disenfranchised and disillusioned grassroots folks.
He recounted his many admirable domestic and foreign policy achievements as president, and he celebrated all the new people he brought into the GOP.
"This is a movement," he said. "This is not for any one individual."
That's very true, and it's also not. Trump is famously obsessed with himself, usually splitting his time between accomplishing things and offering endless commentary about how awesome he is. And as he alluded last night, his second run has a lot to do with avenging 2020. Yet the vast majority of his speech was forward focused, hitting all the right themes, punching all the right villains, and making all the most appealing promises. It was full of the great and wonderful things he pledges to do again, in stark contrast to what is being done (horribly wrong) now by Joe Biden and his Democrats.
What Trump brings to the table this time is hope that the good days will return. He offers a chance to relive the prosperity our nation enjoyed from 2017 through 2019, and that's a powerfully appealing divergence from the terrible record of the current non compos mentis president.
If he sticks with that message, he may very well be the GOP nominee.
However.
Few politicians elicit the blind hatred that Trump does. Few can offset votes gained with votes against like Trump. Few have a record as full of self-sabotage and inexplicable hatred directed at allies as Trump. Democrats beat him in 2018, 2020, and again in 2022. They're quite eager to do it one more time in 2024. Those are just observable facts.
By his own doing, Trump has also lost a lot of conservative support. He has never won a majority of voters — not in the 2016 primaries, and not in either general election. Let's just say it's hard to believe that will change in 2024. Even if he somehow wins the presidency again, the then-78-year-old can serve only one term and would arguably be an immediate lame duck. Again, those are just observable facts.
Trump is trying to accomplish a feat achieved only by Grover Cleveland in winning another term after losing. There's good reason to think, however, that the better parallel is Teddy Roosevelt, who bullheadedly divided his party and handed the White House to one of America's very worst presidents, Woodrow Wilson.
Even so, Trump's most devoted supporters remain loyal to the end, and they'll ever-so-politely remind you that no one — no conservative, no Republican, no Fox News talkinghead, no analyst writing for a humble grassroots publication in the mountains of east Tennessee — is going to tell them what or how to think about Donald J. Trump. Woe to the scribes and pharisees who haven't learned that lesson by now.
The primaries will play out how they play out. Republican voters will have other candidates to choose from, and Trump will have to make his case, which is a strong one. No one brings to the table the base or the record that he does, and that will be a powerful force.
The first test of Trump's post-announcement influence will be the December 6 Senate primary in Georgia. Trump's antics in late 2020 cost the GOP two Georgia Senate seats, which brought about unified Democrat control in Washington and all the ills he bewailed while taking no responsibility for allowing. But last night, he stumped hard for Herschel Walker, saying how important it is to go vote for him. We'll see how that plays out.
Whatever happens in the GOP presidential primary, come 2024, Republicans will either be unified and victorious against whoever Democrats substitute for Joe Biden, or they will be divided, bitter, and angry over the primary fight — and they will lose.
That choice, dear voter, is up to you.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/kanye-ye-west-launches-2024-presidential-run-with-campaign-ad-featuring-tucker-carlson-video/ar-AA14yiGB?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=514dafd978394502a8667b00b98c0c4f
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Donald Trump’s Bad Dinner Guests
He still hasn’t apologized for hosting white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
By The Editorial BoardFollow
Nov. 27, 2022 3:53 pm ET
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is barely two weeks old, and already it has his trademarks of bad company and bad judgment. Both were on display Tuesday evening when he hosted the rapper Kanye West (who now goes by Ye) and some comrades for dinner at Mar-a-Lago. One of the hangers-on was 24-year-old Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist who mocks the Holocaust.
Mr. Trump claims that Mr. West had asked to see him and brought along Mr. Fuentes. The former President says he didn’t know who Mr. Fuentes is, but both Mr. West and Mr. Fuentes have said since the meeting that Mr. Trump was impressed with Mr. Fuentes’s political insight. That may be because sources on hand for the dinner have leaked to reporters that Mr. Fuentes flattered Mr. Trump. Nothing goes further at Mar-a-Lago than flattery.
Others have lambasted Mr. Trump for hosting Mr. Fuentes, including David Friedman, who was ambassador to Israel during the Trump Presidency. Mr. Trump’s failure to vet visitors is an example of his usual lack of organization and discipline, especially given that Mr. West has also been spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
But worse is that Mr. Trump hasn’t admitted his mistake in hosting the men or distanced himself from the odious views of Mr. Fuentes. Instead Mr. Trump portrays himself as an innocent who was taken advantage of by Mr. West. This is also all-too-typical of Mr. Trump’s behavior as President. He usually ducked responsibility and never did manage to denounce the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, or others who have resorted to divisive racial politics, or even violence as on Jan. 6, 2021.
Morning Editorial Report
Mr. Trump isn’t going to change, and the next two years will inevitably feature many more such damaging episodes. Republicans who continue to go along for the ride with Mr. Trump are teeing themselves up for disaster in 2024.
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https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2022/12/05/bolton-i-will-absolutely-run-for-president-in-2024-to-stop-trump/
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https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2022/12/05/bolton-i-will-absolutely-run-for-president-in-2024-to-stop-trump/
I was a fan but now I say: Not John Bolton. He was a hawk, now he is single issue, Repudiate Trump. It's backward looking and it's personal, for him. How 'bout leaders look forward and let history handle the past?
Repudiate Trump means repudiate thousands of things he did right. We've got time to examine all those things one by one.
Bolton can run and get zero votes if he wants.
Also, not Mike Lindell.
Not never-Trump. Not all-Trump. Not anything in 2024 to do with a guy who had a great win in 2016, except everything we can learn from it.
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Well said.
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I don't believe this poll:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/12/14/poll-trump-leads-desantis-18-points-potential-primary-matchup/
Trumpsters have reason to boost Trump
as do the Democrats to keep Trump in the game
and screw the Republicans
sorry I don't believe 18% more would vote for Trump over DeSantis
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and Lindell as RNC chair
what could go wrong?:
https://nypost.com/2022/12/15/donald-trumps-major-announcement-is-a-cringey-ntf-line-of-himself/
sorry I have been done with the circus
I don't know how smart people like Greg Kelly can continue to support this stuff.
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Pretty pathetic on more than one level.
Kudlow had a fellow former member of the Trump WH and the gist of his comment was "I'm very proud of the work you and I did for President Trump, but what do you make of this weird stuff he is doing now?"
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Weird
he announced a great list of things he would do as President to protect Conservative speech
I saw it and as a conservative thought the ideas are spot on
But it seems to be wiped from internet and cannot find it now - no accident
but true to idiotic form Trump announces this just after he announces his NFTs trading cards
that make a mockery of himself to be a narcissistic man child
AND ALSO TRUE TO FORM THAT IS ALL THE MEDIA TALKS ABOUT WHILE IGNORING HIS MORE IMPORTANT POLICY PROPOSALS.
can anyone find the proposals
wish I posted other day when I had list in front of me.
MSM as blacked it out.
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I even go to his official website
and NOTHING about it there
only his usual solicitations for money
:x
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"but true to idiotic form Trump announces this just after he announces his NFTs trading cards
that make a mockery of himself to be a narcissistic man child"
So frustrating!!!
My armchair diagnosis is that there is a goodly amount of ADD mixed in.
I too would love to see his ideas to protect free speech.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democrats-introduce-bill-to-bar-trump-from-ever-holding-federal-office-again/ar-AA15kO2j?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=b119d83ee60a4796bbf5fda0567a28e4
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agreed
outrageous
Dems are shoving all their shit down our throats
while running around like loons with MSM telling the world we are the threat to democracy
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Also unconstitutional, in my view.
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https://amgreatness.com/2022/12/19/trump-was-a-mistake/?fbclid=IwAR2s02j-UKP1QD67rA536FYiltdJOHbv9oCFlHN4Gawc9kr9jAIUnGAneUg
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-appears-to-threaten-third-party-run-to-split-republican-party-in-half/ar-AA15N7Rz?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=0f933d1d1b994d9bac85582497e7c732
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sure , if he gets enough sycophants who tell him he could win
and thus continue the delusion in his mind to keep pushing forward
I mentioned before I am really worried he could bring us all down
out of spit, revenge and delusions of grandeur
those collectable cards he is hawking says it all
from this point forward
that said I wish we could get rid of McConnell as speaker
and McDaniel as RNC chair
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It appears Nikki Haley is running.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/nikki-haley-teases-presidential-run-would-begin-on-broken-promise
I like her almost as much as DeSantis.
Is Trump damaged goods, more so than at any other times?
Are we setting up a fight no one can win?
Trump got in way too early for two reasons, to show his legal problems to be political, and to intimidate the field.
Does her jumping in as first of the rest show courage or make her cannon fodder?
Will she divide the DeSantis / not Trump vote and help Trump win the nomination, only to lose the general election?
Is it possible they could all remain positive and focused on the prize, and not beat each other to a pulp?
I think she has a great resume and a good conservative attitude toward the issues. I think DeSantis ran a larger, more politically divided state in more troubled times, made more of an impact.
She's female, weird to point that out, and has a little bit of color. )
Very possible that Kamala is the incumbent by 2024. Probably not the nominee if not the incumbent.
Some think it would be nice, 250 years later, if a woman became President. I wish it would be one of ours.
Trump is focused on a rematch with Biden, which is so yesterday.
Among other things, I won't forgive him for his miserable first debate with Biden. No amount of rally ranting will make up for that.
In 1968, when Democrats were tired of LBJ, they were teased with all the younger leaders (RFK was murdered) and ended up with LBJ's vice president as the nominee, Hubert humphrey, and he lost.
In 1980, when Democrats were tired of Jimmy Carter, they stuck with him, and lost.
The table is set in 2024 for a new leader, a real leader, a different kind of leader to emerge. Both DeSantis and Haley have some traditional Republican in them and some potential for the boldness that will be required to lead in these times.
Maybe Trump is the odd man out and the contest becomes between others. Or maybe so many get in that it gets all muddled. We will see.
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"Among other things, I won't forgive him for his miserable first debate with Biden. No amount of rally ranting will make up for that."
Makes one embarrassed to support him.
For me, Haley acted well, did her job at the UN well, and left with grace. As best as I can tell she was a good governor (e.g. when that racist murdered a bunch of black people in their church while he was praying with them) BUT BUT BUT she was very much a BUSHIE and very anti-Trump during the 2016 primaries.
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Ron DeSantis Becomes Focus of Attacks From 2024 GOP Presidential Hopefuls
Florida governor is seen by other Republican candidates as hurdle potentially as big as Donald Trump
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was sworn in for a second term earlier this month, won more than half of the state’s Latino vote.
PHOTO: ALICIA DEVINE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
By Alex LearyFollow
and John McCormickFollow
Jan. 25, 2023 7:00 am ET
Republican 2024 presidential hopefuls already knew they would have to contend with Donald Trump. Now they are increasingly concerned with another problem—how to get past Ron DeSantis.
Polls show the Florida governor either first or second in a still unformed primary field, along with the former president. While Mr. Trump retains significant support, many major donors, Republican leaders and some voters say Mr. DeSantis is the party’s future, as his eagerness to fight cultural battles and reject pandemic restrictions have boosted his popularity within the GOP, especially following his overwhelming re-election victory.
Other ambitious Republicans have begun to draw contrasts with Mr. DeSantis—who has never lost in three races for the U.S. House and two for governor—over a range of issues, from abortion to Covid-19 vaccinations and a showdown with Walt Disney Co.
They are scrutinizing his congressional voting record and past support of establishment GOP figures like former House Speaker Paul Ryan, and they are suggesting that the 44-year-old lacks the charisma and interpersonal skills for a national campaign.
Subtle, early attacks don’t appear so far to have damaged Mr. DeSantis, who is expected to join the nomination race after his state’s legislative session wraps in May. Mr. Trump is the only declared candidate.
In hypothetical polls, no others so far come close to Messrs. Trump and DeSantis. Yet that hasn’t deterred a number of candidates from considering entering, including former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
A DeSantis spokesman declined to comment for this article.
“When you’re at the top of the mountain, the guys that want to get there take shots,” said Brian Hughes, a strategist in Mr. DeSantis’s first congressional campaign. “The reality is he’s the most clear, consistent conservative being talked about.”
Much of the opposition is being waged behind the scenes, with allies of potential candidates pushing to reporters and party insiders what they see as Mr. DeSantis’s vulnerabilities. Still, open criticisms have begun to emerge.
A spokesman for Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, who is contemplating her own 2024 bid, earlier this month accused the Florida governor of not supporting stricter abortion laws. “Does he believe that 14-week-old babies don’t have a right to live?” spokesman Ian Fury told National Review.
Mr. DeSantis last April signed into law a bill prohibiting most abortions after 15 weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest, but was relatively muted about the subject while campaigning last fall. The Florida governor has since the election signaled a willingness to push for more restrictions.
Some possible Republican candidates and strategists believe efforts to use state power to challenge businesses such as Disney, which criticized a state law barring some classroom instruction on sexual orientation, won’t play well in a party that has traditionally called for a limited role for government.
“That’s a very Democrat, left-wing type of philosophy that we can get excited about when it’s our side winning the argument, but at the end of the day, it’s really promoting a bigger, authoritarian government telling people what to do and how to live their lives,” Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said. “I might disagree with the woke cancel culture that a private business is promoting, but I also believe very firmly that the free market will take care of it.”
Still, some Republicans believe Mr. DeSantis will need to tone down his partisan instincts. Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a moderate considering his own 2024 campaign, said recently on CNN: “He’s gonna have to figure out a way—if he wants to have a political future beyond Florida—to appeal to a broader audience.”
Potential opponents are also planning to present Mr. DeSantis as less than pure when it comes to objection to closures and vaccine mandates associated with the pandemic.
The governor was initially an enthusiastic vaccine supporter—video of which has been preserved by his potential rivals—but over time distanced himself from the shots. He had a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in private and later refused to say whether he received a booster, prompting Mr. Trump in January 2022 to suggest that it was gutless for politicians to refuse to state their vaccination status. Mr. DeSantis, for his part, has said he wished he had spoken out more against the Trump administration’s calls for a nationwide shutdown at the start of the pandemic.
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Pompeo Takes Aim at Fellow Trump Cabinet Members — and Potential 2024 Rivals — in New Memoir
While former president Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis have largely dominated 2024-related headlines, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo captured the spotlight this week with the release of his new memoir, Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love.
While making the rounds to promote his book on Tuesday, Pompeo told CBS Mornings he and his wife plan to make a decision about a potential 2024 bid “in the next handful of months.” He again reiterated that Trump’s decision to run would not factor into his own decision.
"All the folks who decide to run will present themselves and their ideas," he said.
In a separate interview, Pompeo responded to Trump’s suggestion that it would be “disloyal” of his former cabinet members to run against him.
“When the president talks about being disloyal I think he just misunderstands,” Pompeo said during an appearance on The Brian Kilmeade Show. “The loyalty is to your obligation to the country, it’s your duty to the nation.”
He added: “If there’s a big campaign with lots of folks who get into the race, everyone should bring it, make their best arguments and let the American people sort it all out.”
Trump was largely spared from Pompeo’s harshest criticisms in the book, with the former CIA director instead training his fire on other members of the Trump administration, including likely 2024 contenders Nikki Haley and John Bolton.
Pompeo writes that he “worked the signal and was humbled to be part of an administration that was avoiding war and creating peace by putting America first,” but argued that some people in the administration “weren’t up for this” and were instead “worried that working for Trump would cause their exile from the clubby world of the foreign policy establishment."
“Their response was to put themselves ahead of the country,” he wrote. “Some resigned to protect their ability to join lucrative boards. Others made a living out of leaking to the press about how much they disagreed with the president. (Memo to John Bolton: I’m talking about you.)”
He blasts Bolton throughout the book, saying the former national-security adviser was “constantly scheming to win for himself and no one else.”
"I hope I can one day testify at a criminal trial as a witness for the prosecution," Pompeo wrote, suggesting Bolton should “be in jail, for spilling classified information” in his own book, The Room Where It Happened.
The former secretary of state also likens Bolton’s memoir to Edward Snowden’s release of classified information from the National Security Agency to reporters in 2013.
"At least Snowden had the decency not to lie about his motive," he writes. "Bolton spun his book as an act of public service to save America from Donald Trump, but he could not even be honest that he just wanted to make a buck. His self-serving stories contained classified information and deeply sensitive conversations involving a sitting commander in chief. That's the very definition of treason."
Bolton fired back against Pompeo’s claims, telling CNN that his book went through a pre-publication review that found it did not contain classified information.
"If he didn't know about it, it's incompetence in writing the book for not checking out the facts before he put it down on paper," Bolton said. "And if he did know about it, that's malicious and well beyond reckless to say things like that."
Pompeo also claims in his book that Haley plotted with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump to steal the vice presidency from Mike Pence.
“As best [White House chief of staff] Kelly could tell they [Kushner and Ivanka] were presenting a possible ‘Haley for vice-president’ option. I can’t confirm this, but [Kelly] was certain he had been played, and he was not happy about it. Clearly, this visit did not reflect a team effort but undermined our work for America,” Pompeo wrote.
Haley dismissed the allegations and accused Pompeo of using “lies and gossip to sell” his memoir.
She then teased a 2024 run during an appearance on Fox News, saying: “As fun as it would be to announce right now, yes . . . we are leaning in,” when Sean Hannity asked her about a run.
“It is time for a new generation. . . . It is time that we get a Republican in there that can lead and that can win a general election,” she said.
Last week, Haley was asked about her comments in 2021 that she would not run for president in 2024 if Trump also ran. She said “a lot has changed,” noting the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, skyrocketing inflation, and “drugs infesting all of our states.”
“When you’re looking at the future of America, I think it’s time for new generational change,” Haley said. “I don’t think you need to be 80 years old to go be a leader in D.C.”
Haley has reportedly been making a number of behind-the-scenes moves to staff her 2024 team, as has former vice president Mike Pence. Pence’s team poached Tim Chapman, a top adviser to Haley, according to Fox News. Chapman will serve as a senior adviser on Pence’s Advancing American Freedom nonprofit.
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finds Trump way out in front
https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2023/01/25/poll-trump-towers-over-potential-gop-primary-field-with-35-point-lead/
sorry
I don't buy this for a second
and who the hell is "premise "?
anyway?
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I was going to post a different one that I also don't believe. Trump was well below 50% when he should be above 80% if he has the party behind him and DeSantis was above 30% when he should be near zero if the party is clamoring for more of Trump. Leading by a little doesn't make Trump look good.and cherry picking false ones, like Dems do, sounds desperate.
Note to all, if these were true, it tells the score before the game starts
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Reality check: Trump was a fluke. The PTB will NEVER let an outsider become president EVER again.
They just blatantly stole elections AGAIN in key states like Arizona.
YOU CAN"T GET TO 270 WITHOUT THE KEY STATES THEY CONTROL THROUGH FRAUD.
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Reality check: Trump was a fluke. The PTB will NEVER let an outsider become president EVER again.
They just blatantly stole elections AGAIN in key states like Arizona.
YOU CAN"T GET TO 270 WITHOUT THE KEY STATES THEY CONTROL THROUGH FRAUD.
For sake of argument, let's assume there was cheating in all these close States in the tens of thousands of votes they needed and that swung the 2020 election and the 2022 Senate.
Now back up for a second. Biggest cheat I know of (except for people like Saddam Hussein winning 99% of the vote) was Chavez recall, 2004. My understanding was that real polling was 60/40 against him and the software based, centrally manipulated vote totals were 60/40 for him and he stayed in power.
You argue, I think, that they (Dems / Left) will overcome any margin of vote against them. I argue they can't. They're cheating has been at the margins. They've almost been caught. People are starting to know what to look for if not how to stop them. We may have widespread denial of cheating, but we don't have widespread support for cheating.
So many questions are unanswered. If they can cheat by any amount, how did they lose the House? How did they win the Senate seats in Georgia but lose the governor race by a landslide? Did they forget to change those votes? How did they lose Miami and all the counties of the butterfly ballot debacle?
Most importantly, how did they only win the races where we had deeply flawed candidates? That goes beyond strange coincidence.
On that 60/40 example flipping to 40/60, I argue they cannot do that here now and we need to start winning enough to make sure they never can.
The precedent we should look at in the US is 1984. I get it that the electorate is different now, but that is the type of difference between philosophies that needs to be defined. Reagan won with 58.8% of the vote (roughly the 60/40 split) and the most electoral votes in history.
If you accept the cheating argument, along with early voting ballot harvesting and so on, that they can get a few tens of thousands of votes in a few states when they need them, then we can't shoot for winning in a handful of states by a handful of votes. We need to define the issues in a 60/40 (or 80/20) sort of way.
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Leaving all that aside and assuming it is met with pessimism, then what is plan b?
How many arms and how thick of concrete will I need to keep the Feds outside the perimeter of my currently unlocked and unsecured location?
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"They've almost been caught."
:roll:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/ready-exclusive-arizona-state-senator-wendy-rogers-reacts-newly-discovered-signature-verificatio/
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Leaving all that aside and assuming it is met with pessimism, then what is plan b?
How many arms and how thick of concrete will I need to keep the Feds outside the perimeter of my currently unlocked and unsecured location?
_______________________________________________________
"No-go zones" aren't just for our islamic friends. No man is an island. Tight-knit communities are what will survive the upcoming darkness. Well armed with food production and abundant water is essential.
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The always interesting Gateway Pundit is not always reliable, but this certainly seems worthy of our continued attention.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/ready-exclusive-arizona-state-senator-wendy-rogers-reacts-newly-discovered-signature-verificatio/
Political problem now is that KL is now perceived as the boy who cried wolf. It is almost three months since the election and it is natural that people have formed what are likely to be final opinions.
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"Most importantly, how did they only win the races where we had deeply flawed candidates? That goes beyond strange coincidence."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFgDLFBW9UM
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Point wittily made :-D
FWIW I read the Vetterman vote as a vote for control of the Senate, candidate be damned.
Witness now the reluctance to jettison Santos from the House because doing so would further narrow our already narrow majority.
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https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/125/283/669/original/2637013242d1cabb.jpg
(https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/125/283/669/original/2637013242d1cabb.jpg)
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Alternate explanation:
The fraud accusations were specious horseshit. Witness Lynn Wood and Sidney Powell's "Release the Kraken" which turned out to be a nothing burger while they grifted big bucks fund raising-- and they were the heavyweights of the lot.
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Alternate explanation:
The fraud accusations were specious horseshit. Witness Lynn Wood and Sidney Powell's "Release the Kraken" which turned out to be a nothing burger while they grifted big bucks fund raising-- and they were the heavyweights of the lot.
Ah, so there were serious and competent investigations done? Where might I find those?
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Not the point.
a) If I have it right, US Attorneys are about prosecution, not investigation.
b) Judges can dismiss cases for being horseshit, failure to state legal claims, etc. Happens all the time-- indeed given the burdens of litigation as a form of lawfare not enough!
c) Again, prosecutors are not investigators
So, the question presented is upon whom did the responsibility to investigate fall?
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Not the point.
a) If I have it right, US Attorneys are about prosecution, not investigation.
The FBI, prior to it's growth into the DNC's KGB was the investigative arm of the US Attorneys. Prosecutors often initiate and supervise investigations. Did they not cover this in law school?
b) Judges can dismiss cases for being horseshit, failure to state legal claims, etc. Happens all the time-- indeed given the burdens of litigation as a form of lawfare not enough!
You can't subpoena evidence that was never collected. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/evidence-foia-requests-reveal-no-doj-investigations-election-fraud-2020-election-bill-barr-claimed/
c) Again, prosecutors are not investigators
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/criminal_justice/publications/criminal_justice_section_archive/crimjust_standards_pinvestigate/#1.1 Why did the ABA create these guidelines then?
So, the question presented is upon whom did the responsibility to investigate fall?
What the FBI is supposed to do:
https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/safety-resources/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/election-crimes-and-security
What the FBI actually did:
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/twitter-executive-met-with-fbi-weekly-around-2020-election-documents-show/
Gosh darn it!
Vote even Harder next time!
:roll:
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"Most importantly, how did they only win the races where we had deeply flawed candidates? That goes beyond strange coincidence."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFgDLFBW9UM
Your point here (Fetterman) proves Democrats will vote for a deeply flawed candidate to win the Senate and the agenda. It doesn't refute my point that Republicans won't and didn't.
All the polls had Oz struggling right from the beginning until the end. Wasn't the guy he beat in the primary a more electable Republican? Same with New Hampshire? Same with Georgia? Same with Arizona? Any one or two of those would swing control of the Senate.
Why did Kemp win and Walker lose? Doesn't fit the ballot stuffing theory. All Left activists wanted Stacey Abrams to win.
Back to mocking voting. Tiresome.
I didn't see anything in plan b that addresses any of my problems or fixes what is wrong.
You're going to fix the FBI, get them to do their job by surrendering federal elections to the Left? And state elections, in my case?
You're going to find an enclave within our borders where a hostile federal government cannot bother you? I don't see that working.
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what are thought about perennial loser Mc Daniels being re elected
she talks the talk (unlike McConnell), but does not walk the walk (like McConnell ).
Nikki is sounding strong of late
but she has some real "splaining" to do on immigration etc.
for me.
But she has some crossover appeal - I think.
Pompeo is great and brilliant but lacks some charisma.
DeSantis still # 1 for me.
Sununu is worth watching
he sounds quite sensible .
Cris Christie - don't waste my time and should waste his either !
Don't know about Kemp or Youngkin on a national stage.
MTG is being quite the political operative with McCarthy et al it seems
pleasantly surprised .
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"Most importantly, how did they only win the races where we had deeply flawed candidates? That goes beyond strange coincidence."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFgDLFBW9UM
Your point here (Fetterman) proves Democrats will vote for a deeply flawed candidate to win the Senate and the agenda. It doesn't refute my point that Republicans won't and didn't.
All the polls had Oz struggling right from the beginning until the end. Wasn't the guy he beat in the primary a more electable Republican? Same with New Hampshire? Same with Georgia? Same with Arizona? Any one or two of those would swing control of the Senate.
Why did Kemp win and Walker lose? Doesn't fit the ballot stuffing theory. All Left activists wanted Stacey Abrams to win.
Back to mocking voting. Tiresome.
Where was the RED WAVE I was promised?
I didn't see anything in plan b that addresses any of my problems or fixes what is wrong.
You're going to fix the FBI, get them to do their job by surrendering federal elections to the Left? And state elections, in my case?
You can't surrender something you don't have. The crucial swing states don't have free and fair elections. The same "Color Revolution" techniques the CIA uses to change governments in foreign counties were used here in 2020 and continue to be used. Only DC Uniparty approved candidates will be moved into position. Potential threats, like Kari Lake will have their careers strangled in the crib. Meanwhile, you will be given the illusion of choice as the US is dismantled in front of you.
You're going to find an enclave within our borders where a hostile federal government cannot bother you? I don't see that working.
Federal authority is a mile wide and an inch deep. Without local and state law enforcement, the feds can't operate in any meaningful way. Their armed militias (BurnLootMurder/Antifa) have tried a few probes into red rural areas with very unfriendly responses.
-
what are thought about perennial loser Mc Daniels being re elected
she talks the talk (unlike McConnell), but does not walk the walk (like McConnell ).
Nikki is sounding strong of late
but she has some real "splaining" to do on immigration etc.
for me.
But she has some crossover appeal - I think.
Pompeo is great and brilliant but lacks some charisma.
DeSantis still # 1 for me.
Sununu is worth watching
he sounds quite sensible .
Cris Christie - don't waste my time and should waste his either !
Don't know about Kemp or Youngkin on a national stage.
MTG is being quite the political operative with McCarthy et al it seems
pleasantly surprised .
Too bad about McDaniel, we needed new leadership and direction. Same for McConnell.
All Haley or any of them need to say on the border is enforce the and build the rest. If they won't come they won't be the nominee.
We just need someone to walk in with mainstream common sense and win. I wish that with DeSantis but fine with me if it's Haley or one of the others.
Trump was a teaser for what could be accomplished, speaking of flawed candidates. He opened some doors.
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I'm very tepid on Haley.
The way I remember her is that she was very much for Jeb! and did the loyal Republican thing to go with Trump when he won the nomination. She handled herself well at the UN (which is a good seasoning experience) and to the best of my knowledge was a better than average governor. She represented her State and the Rep. Party well when the racist kid (I forget the name) shot up something like seven very nice black people in their church as they were praying for him.
She left the UN ambassadorship gracefully without the usual backstabs at Trump but let it be understood all around that there were disagreements.
-
"The way I remember her is that she was very much for Jeb! "
- I thought she supported Marco Rubio. As did Pence. And me.
-
"I'm very tepid on Haley.
The way I remember her is that she was very much for Jeb!"
"I thought she supported Marco Rubio."
https://www.thewrap.com/south-carolina-gov-nikki-haley-to-endorse-marco-rubio-for-president/
my concern is she is a bit of a rino pretending to be strong conservative at this point
the - "we need to get things done" - crowd
ie: make concessions , give in , *compromise* to get things done instead of holding FAST and STRONG and not letting the LEFT gain even more ground in their never ending quest for total control and dominance .
For me she still has to convince me she is a real warrior for out side
and not just wanting to be President.
-
And on those areas of concern, it seems DeSantis has been rock solid.
One bad quality, he is a white male.
-
And on those areas of concern, it seems DeSantis has been rock solid.
One bad quality, he is a white male.
https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/126/136/799/original/b9cc1bee69417b79.png
(https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/126/136/799/original/b9cc1bee69417b79.png)
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"One bad quality, he is a white male. "
:wink:
still , I hope he does not come out as trans......
-
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/election-day-footage-unbelievable-ballot-rejections-maricopa-county-seems-like-just-ballots/
Katie "Abortion Mouse" Hobbs did NOT recuse herself from running the election.
Vote Harder!
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"One bad quality, he is a white male. "
:wink:
still , I hope he does not come out as trans......
Don't ya just know the first woman President will be a former white male.
With Buttigieg, some Democrats wanted a gay white male before we have a female President. Then, based on black Jim Clyburn's endorsement, they picked white male Joe Biden - on merit?! And he admittedly picked his running mate on race and gender, probably in a back room deal with Clyburn.
But if Republicans do that it's racist, and the black candidate gets no additional black votes.
Identity politics is weird, a no-win game for our side.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/some-democrats-are-worried-about-harris-s-political-prospects/ar-AA16U4BP
don't know if this was Clyb[org] or not but this paragraph has me in stitches:
“Every fiber in my body wants her to be president; everything I’ve ever fought for is for someone like her to be president,” said one South Carolina Democratic strategist who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of damaging professional relationships. “I think she’s a good person with a good heart who can lead the country. But I don’t know that the people who have to make that happen feel that way right now. I don’t know that she has what it takes to get over the hump in our present environment.”
the fact she is a babbling incompetent is not an issue except only to those who have to make that happen (the American voters )
yeah she is a "good person". willie brown thought she was a really good person !
and she has a "good heart" - just ask her employees !
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https://nypost.com/2023/01/31/florida-gov-ron-desantis-responds-to-donald-trump-jabs/
Don who has never won a popular vote....
could not even beat a senile old annoying corrupt retail Dem hack .
:-D
-
Again we see Ron protecting himself at all times :-D
-
https://nypost.com/2023/01/31/florida-gov-ron-desantis-responds-to-donald-trump-jabs/
Don who has never won a popular vote....
could not even beat a senile old annoying corrupt retail Dem hack .
:-D
In a totally legitimate election!
:roll:
DeSantis will also have swing states with 4AM vote counters.
-
well even in 2016 he lost the pop vote and only won electoral college by a pubic hair
-
He should have beat Hillary in a landslide.
Hard to say what really happened in 2020 due to
A) the inherent and purposeful difficulties in proving fraud in the use of mass mail balloting and ballot harvesting; and
B) the incompetence of Team Trump in being ready for the legal fight
C) the bombastic incompetence of the fight, with a goodly dose of grifting.
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Author doesn't like either of them but I think he is right that DeSantis has the advantage.
1/3 of Republicans are committed to Trump at this point. That's not very good for a quasi incumbent.
Early announce is a sign of weakness. DeSantis doesn't have to hurry. He already has the national attention.
Also, he just got re-elected. Early announce could backfire.
What he is doing now, governing, is better than early campaigning.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/why-desantis-is-on-track-to-beat-trump/ar-AA16WQuX
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"What he is doing now, governing, is better than early campaigning."
Yes. He shows himself to be a man of applied thought, an effective leader and doer.
-
Imagine if the Republican Party rigged its presidential nominating calendar to help Donald Trump slide past states where he’s politically weak. Would that go down easily with the GOP or the press corps? That’s essentially what Democrats are doing to help President Biden—to little protest or even much media notice.
The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to revise the party’s nominating calendar to put South Carolina first in line, upending a half century of tradition. The Iowa caucuses, which have been first since 1972, will be relegated to the back of the bus. After South Carolina’s primary on Feb. 3, 2024, the new order will be: New Hampshire and Nevada both on Feb. 6, followed by Georgia on Feb. 13 and Michigan on Feb. 27.
All of this is being done at the request—please don’t say orders—of the Biden White House. South Carolina rescued Mr. Biden’s candidacy in 2020 from defeat by Bernie Sanders, and black voters in that state and Georgia make up a large part of the Democratic electorate and Mr. Biden’s core support. Michigan’s primary was held on March 10 in 2020 and is another state where he won.
Mr. Biden finished fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire, where retail campaigning in restaurants and school auditoriums counts for as much as TV advertising. The last thing the White House wants is Mr. Biden at age 81 unscripted on the hustings.
This insider political play isn’t going down well in the Granite State, which has a law stating that it must be the first primary. The state’s Democrats aren’t happy, and perhaps GOP Gov. Chris Sununu and the Legislature will respond by moving the primary ahead of Feb. 3, though maybe the DNC will then kill its primary.
The political parties set their own nominating rules, subject to state law. The main benefit of the early New Hampshire and Iowa contests is that they give voters a chance at close-up vetting, and they give long-shot candidates a chance to elevate an issue or emerge from obscurity. The winners don’t always go on to be nominated, much less take the White House, but they are a different kind of candidate test than debates and TV advertising.
The risk for Democrats is that by greasing the wheels for Mr. Biden they will miss such a signal from the electorate. The polls are showing that even most Democrats prefer another nominee in 2024. But the President is plowing ahead, perhaps because he thinks Republicans will be foolish enough to nominate Mr. Trump, who would be the easiest opponent to beat. But what if they don’t?
-
The 2024 selection is irrelevant.
Imagine if the Republican Party rigged its presidential nominating calendar to help Donald Trump slide past states where he’s politically weak. Would that go down easily with the GOP or the press corps? That’s essentially what Democrats are doing to help President Biden—to little protest or even much media notice.
The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to revise the party’s nominating calendar to put South Carolina first in line, upending a half century of tradition. The Iowa caucuses, which have been first since 1972, will be relegated to the back of the bus. After South Carolina’s primary on Feb. 3, 2024, the new order will be: New Hampshire and Nevada both on Feb. 6, followed by Georgia on Feb. 13 and Michigan on Feb. 27.
All of this is being done at the request—please don’t say orders—of the Biden White House. South Carolina rescued Mr. Biden’s candidacy in 2020 from defeat by Bernie Sanders, and black voters in that state and Georgia make up a large part of the Democratic electorate and Mr. Biden’s core support. Michigan’s primary was held on March 10 in 2020 and is another state where he won.
Mr. Biden finished fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire, where retail campaigning in restaurants and school auditoriums counts for as much as TV advertising. The last thing the White House wants is Mr. Biden at age 81 unscripted on the hustings.
This insider political play isn’t going down well in the Granite State, which has a law stating that it must be the first primary. The state’s Democrats aren’t happy, and perhaps GOP Gov. Chris Sununu and the Legislature will respond by moving the primary ahead of Feb. 3, though maybe the DNC will then kill its primary.
The political parties set their own nominating rules, subject to state law. The main benefit of the early New Hampshire and Iowa contests is that they give voters a chance at close-up vetting, and they give long-shot candidates a chance to elevate an issue or emerge from obscurity. The winners don’t always go on to be nominated, much less take the White House, but they are a different kind of candidate test than debates and TV advertising.
The risk for Democrats is that by greasing the wheels for Mr. Biden they will miss such a signal from the electorate. The polls are showing that even most Democrats prefer another nominee in 2024. But the President is plowing ahead, perhaps because he thinks Republicans will be foolish enough to nominate Mr. Trump, who would be the easiest opponent to beat. But what if they don’t?
-
quote author=G M
The 2024 selection is irrelevant.
-------------
Hey G M, Let's say you're 99% right, it's over, we're screwed, but if you had a one in a hundred shot at saving the republic and the American Creed...
would you take it?
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I vote, but I know that aside from local candidates, the state and especially federal elections are irrelevant. The PTB will install whomever they want. You can't save a totally corrupted system by outvoting their vote fraud machine.
quote author=G M
The 2024 selection is irrelevant.
-------------
Hey G M, Let's say you're 99% right, it's over, we're screwed, but if you had a one in a hundred shot at saving the republic and the American Creed...
would you take it?
-
I agree with both GM and Doug
it looks bleak; appears we have lost
control to all the power brokers goes to Dems
As VDH wrote a few weeks ago
the "coup" has already happened. I assume all here have read his article (i never miss any myself)
https://dailycaller.com/2023/01/05/victor-davis-hanson-the-coup-we-never-knew/ ]
yet, what do we do ?
just sit on our hands ?
GM what do you suggest
besides migrating to "red areas"
getting ready for a holocaust and food energy shortages ?
and accept we are all screwed...
we fight the best we can as we are doing
win back the senate and presidency
and take it day by day
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You ARE NOT voting your way out of this.
Normalcy bias kills.
https://reboot-foundation.org/everything-you-need-to-know-about-normalcy-bias/
I agree with both GM and Doug
it looks bleak; appears we have lost
control to all the power brokers goes to Dems
As VDH wrote a few weeks ago
the "coup" has already happened. I assume all here have read his article (i never miss any myself)
https://dailycaller.com/2023/01/05/victor-davis-hanson-the-coup-we-never-knew/ ]
yet, what do we do ?
just sit on our hands ?
GM what do you suggest
besides migrating to "red areas"
getting ready for a holocaust and food energy shortages ?
and accept we are all screwed...
we fight the best we can as we are doing
win back the senate and presidency
and take it day by day
-
what do you suggest
we have been down this road in past
armed insurrection will not work
-
Oh?
Did we vote the British Empire out?
what do you suggest
we have been down this road in past
armed insurrection will not work
-
https://townhall.com/columnists/jeffcrouere/2023/02/06/to-save-america-trump-in-2024-n2619188
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GM's point about normalcy bias is very real-- especially when manipulated and stimulated by TPTB.
What to do?
Certainly places such as this forum contribute to the larger effort by being a place which freely searches for Truth, however it may manifest.
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Our problem is 0.1% fraud and 99.9% failure to persuade.
We ARE NOT a site of truth and persuasion if ANYONE reading it comes away thinking their vote is useless, as they are told here daily.
Sending mixed messages is not messaging.
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The percentage of fraud is whatever is required for their selected to win.
That's why the urban areas they control are the last to finish counting, so they know how many votes they need to "discover".
Gosh darn it, the cameras crashed again! :roll:
Our problem is 0.1% fraud and 99.9% failure to persuade.
We ARE NOT a site of truth and persuasion if ANYONE reading it comes away thinking their vote is useless, as they are told here daily.
Sending mixed messages is not messaging.
-
"Did we vote the British Empire out?"
- Analogy has major holes in it.
-
"Did we vote the British Empire out?"
- Analogy has major holes in it.
Americans in 1776: Live free or die!
Americans in 2023: Live free if there is no risk or potential discomfort involved.
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If posts aimed at persuasion are instantly and constantly shot down, I'll put them somewhere else.
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Doug: You have email.
-
https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/02/joe-biden-may-yet-win-again/?bypass_key=QW8zbEc5amZaNnUvMHJONWNKYkdKZz09OjpaUzlYZUd3dk1FbHBOaXRLVDNORVFXOXdkRE5IZHowOQ%3D%3D&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202023-02-07&utm_term=NRDaily-Smart
-
https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/02/get-ready-for-trump-to-attack-desantis-from-the-left/?bypass_key=Q2w0Q3hKdk01UkhTUjE2RzhqQTFzZz09OjpRblpESzJWSkwweHdlbUpZYlhsUlFtUXdNazFzVVQwOQ%3D%3D&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202023-02-10&utm_term=NRDaily-Smart
-
https://www.google.com/search?q=nikki+haley+announcement+youtube&rlz=1C5GCEM_enUS1001US1001&ei=4dbrY_noB82rptQP5JWb6AI&ved=0ahUKEwi53bL81ZX9AhXNlYkEHeTKBi0Q4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=nikki+haley+announcement+youtube&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQAzIECAAQAzIFCAAQhgMyBQgAEIYDSgQIQRgBSgQIRhgAUPoDWIEPYJwQaAFwAHgAgAFviAHQBJIBAzcuMZgBAKABAcABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:1cb308dd,vid:vfDYwZIDDpw
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If you liked or loved his Presidency, you would know, Trump proved, you cannot fix this in 4 years, and the mess we have now is far worse than what Trump inherited in 2016.
A new GOP leader such as DeSantis is eligible for 8 years, two terms, Trump is eligible for 1 term.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/gop-rivals-may-take-aim-trumps-term-limit-rcna70176
If Trump were a team player, and if he lost the nomination, he would offer to help whoever wins get off to a faster start setting up the new executive branch and removing the dead wood of the old deep state.
But Trump of course is focused on fighting Republicans. Another reason he should not ever again be nominated.
----------
As if we needed more reasons, Trump's performance in Debate 1 against Biden was disqualifying. We can't have a President people can't watch.
When the party has debates, we imagine who would perform best in a general election debate, who would take the best stab at pulling the center of the country over to our side.
It wasn't Trump. We don't have to guess. We have video.
-
That Trump-Biden debate performance was cringingly awful. A telling point. People who might have considered him and saw that will never consider him ever again.
-
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2024/president/us/2024_democratic_presidential_nomination-7550.html
Here is your 2024 dilemma. While Republicans Republicans fret that Trump leads with less than 50%of Republican vote (and 0%of Independents and Democrats), with too many good alternatives to pick from, Democrats have no new names,vno new faces, no new messages.
Latest poll above:
Biden 36, Harris 15, Sanders 8, Buttigieg 6, Newsom/Ocasio-Cortes 4
That is their support among Democrats, not overall.
Only in the under 5% support range do we see 'newcomers' to the race, Gov Newsom and AOC.
We think we have it bad. Those are some AWFUL choices.
-
And yet, in the crucial swing states, the dem votes can always be found when needed.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2024/president/us/2024_democratic_presidential_nomination-7550.html
Here is your 2024 dilemma. While Republicans Republicans fret that Trump leads with less than 50%of Republican vote (and 0%of Independents and Democrats), with too many good alternatives to pick from, Democrats have no new names,vno new faces, no new messages.
Latest poll above:
Biden 36, Harris 15, Sanders 8, Buttigieg 6, Newsom/Ocasio-Cortes 4
That is their support among Democrats, not overall.
Only in the under 5% support range do we see 'newcomers' to the race, Gov Newsom and AOC.
We think we have it bad. Those are some AWFUL choices.
-
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/02/the_desantis_is_trump_without_the_baggage_crowd_is_in_for_a_rude_awakening.html
my opinion is the conclusion is flawed
Trump baggage is MUCH MORE than he is "abrasive and a target for a corrupt media"
he has never had more then 50 % of the votes and the rest we all have witnessed
Can Desantis or other R win more than 50% -
with an exploding immigration most of who are not R's, admittedly that remains to be seen
he turns off many R's as well as many I and all D
We need someone better at drawing in I's - he can't
-
Trump was never supposed to happen. Trump will NOT be allowed back into power.
All future elections will be fortified for their protection.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/02/the_desantis_is_trump_without_the_baggage_crowd_is_in_for_a_rude_awakening.html
my opinion is the conclusion is flawed
Trump baggage is MUCH MORE than he is "abrasive and a target for a corrupt media"
he has never had more then 50 % of the votes and the rest we all have witnessed
Can Desantis or other R win more than 50% -
with an exploding immigration most of who are not R's, admittedly that remains to be seen
he turns off many R's as well as many I and all D
We need someone better at drawing in I's - he can't
-
The Amer Spec article does a very good job of presenting the question presented.
I just noticed the time and need to go for now. More later.
-
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/02/the_desantis_is_trump_without_the_baggage_crowd_is_in_for_a_rude_awakening.html
my opinion is the conclusion is flawed
Trump baggage is MUCH MORE than he is "abrasive and a target for a corrupt media"
he has never had more then 50 % of the votes and the rest we all have witnessed
Can Desantis or other R win more than 50% -
with an exploding immigration most of who are not R's, admittedly that remains to be seen
he turns off many R's as well as many I and all D
We need someone better at drawing in I's - he can't
I agree with ccp here.
Trump without the baggage is a gross oversimplification, but points us in a direction. The policies were mostly great.
Trump's baggage isn't just false accusations like Russia hoax. It includes cringe moments in front of the cameras. Carly Fiorina, look at that face, referring to his penis size in a televised debate, grabbing pussy and they like it. Joking maybe, but a public person, and he was caught. Baggage.
Irreversible was his performance in debate one vs Biden. Even in a two against one we don't get many chances to debate the Left in front of voters and he blew it. Cringeworthy and obnoxious the whole way through. Biden too but our guy was supposed to set himself apart. Biden only had a Fetterman like bar to clear.
We tried Trump and he failed in that sense. Trump fatigue is real and it's also irreversible. He doesn't get a second chance to introduce himself. Most people don't get a first.
He is the King of the vaccine and related liability waiver. He was Fauci's boss, Fauci outplayed and outlasted him.
He also did amazing good documented in these threads. Most of it reversed. Now we need someone else to do amazing good.
-
https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/ryanjrusak/article272539721.html
Reminds me of the dog food advertising conundrum. They tried all these different ad campaigns and nothing worked. Finally someone blurted out the truth.
The dogs don't like it.
-
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/02/17/democrats_have_no_good_option_for_2024_148881.html
-----------
It is true but not to our benefit that Democrats have no good choices. They will win with a shitty one.
Their current top five are all horrible, meaning Biden, if he is same as today, will be the nominee.
WE need a modern day JFK to shake up the other party, rise above the nonsense and get the voters two good choices.
Losing to Democrats shouldn't mean losing our country.
-
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/02/17/democrats_have_no_good_option_for_2024_148881.html
-----------
It is true but not to our benefit that Democrats have no good choices. They will win with a shitty one.
Their current top five are all horrible, meaning Biden, if he is same as today, will be the nominee.
WE need a modern day JFK to shake up the other party, rise above the nonsense and get the voters two good choices.
Losing to Democrats shouldn't mean losing our country.
No one is coming to save us. The American Republic is dead. You aren't voting your way out of this.
Plan accordingly.
-
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/02/17/democrats_have_no_good_option_for_2024_148881.html
-----------
It is true but not to our benefit that Democrats have no good choices. They will win with a shitty one.
Their current top five are all horrible, meaning Biden, if he is same as today, will be the nominee.
WE need a modern day JFK to shake up the other party, rise above the nonsense and get the voters two good choices.
Losing to Democrats shouldn't mean losing our country.
No one is coming to save us. The American Republic is dead. You aren't voting your way out of this.
Plan accordingly.
https://westernrifleshooters.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/image000000140.jpg
(https://westernrifleshooters.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/image000000140.jpg)
-
"No one is coming to save us. The American Republic is dead. You aren't voting your way out of this.
Plan accordingly."
well
the LEFT
controls or mostly controls and moving at Warp speed to control even more
lines of communication
through. tracking
media / propaganda or censorship
education at university level and moving down to grade level
transportation through GPS and kill switches
financial means via tracking monies controlling the banks and soon to be digital dollars that can be cut off at any time
law enforcement at the Federal level and mandates at lower levels
intelligence agencies
all Federal agencies
the judiciary / legal system (most lawyers are crats I believe )
except thank God at the Supreme Court level - for now
trying to control guns and weapons
the military by allowing advancement only to those who wish to be generals only to those who are on board with democrats
energy through destroying fossil fuels
immigration by non enforcement
so what is left but voting?
sure we can move to conservative areas
then what -
we can't really organize with raising big red flags and putting targets on our backs
the millisecond we post buy speak subscribe watch or associate with like minded people
etc
-
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/02/17/democrats_have_no_good_option_for_2024_148881.html
-----------
It is true but not to our benefit that Democrats have no good choices. They will win with a shitty one.
Their current top five are all horrible, meaning Biden, if he is same as today, will be the nominee.
WE need a modern day JFK to shake up the other party, rise above the nonsense and get the voters two good choices.
Losing to Democrats shouldn't mean losing our country.
No one is coming to save us. The American Republic is dead. You aren't voting your way out of this.
Plan accordingly.
Let's close the election threads then if interest in it just gets heckled. Or we could keep the end of the world shit in it's own thread.
-
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/02/17/democrats_have_no_good_option_for_2024_148881.html
-----------
It is true but not to our benefit that Democrats have no good choices. They will win with a shitty one.
Their current top five are all horrible, meaning Biden, if he is same as today, will be the nominee.
WE need a modern day JFK to shake up the other party, rise above the nonsense and get the voters two good choices.
Losing to Democrats shouldn't mean losing our country.
No one is coming to save us. The American Republic is dead. You aren't voting your way out of this.
Plan accordingly.
Let's close the election threads then if interest in it just gets heckled. Or we could keep the end of the world shit in it's own thread.
We could have a thread dedicated to happy fantasies and normalcy bias, wait this IS that thread!
-
GM:
Doug does have a point-- at some point it just becomes heckling that does not serve a point.
The SEIU thread is a good place for developing your hypothesis.
-
Ramaswamy Reaches for the Presidency
The entrepreneur wants Americans to believe in their principles again.
By The Editorial BoardFollow
Feb. 22, 2023 6:35 pm ET
Donald Trump proved that you don’t need to hold elective office before you try for the Oval Office, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is taking that as inspiration as he announced Tuesday that he’s running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. He has a chance to make a contribution to the race even if he is a long shot.
The 37-year-old Ohio native attended Harvard and earned a law degree from Yale, but don’t hold that against him. In 2014 he also founded a biotechnology firm, Roivant Sciences, and served as CEO until 2021. We’ve come to know him over the years through his contributions to these pages, which are provocative and well-wrought even if we disagree.
Mr. Ramaswamy has preternatural energy and can argue his brief with the best of them. He’ll be formidable if he can marshal the polling support to make it onto a debate stage. He was early in campaigning against the woke infection in American business with his 2021 book, “Woke, Inc.”
He’s also been a stalwart voice for free speech against the censorship of the tech giants. His enthusiasms sometimes get carried away, as with his proposal to make political beliefs a legally protected characteristic, like race or religion. If you think companies are woke now, wait until employees can’t be fired for attacking their employers.
He has also made a contribution with his critique of investing on environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria rather than focusing on returns to shareholders. He put his money where his principles are in 2022 in founding Strive Asset Management, which offers an alternative to large asset managers like BlackRock that have become politicized. He rejects the “new climate religion that shackles the U.S. and leaves China untouched.”
Mr. Ramaswamy is also calling for a revival of national self-confidence based on the principles that have lifted all Americans. This means re-embracing the importance of merit again in work and culture, as opposed to leveling based on race, gender and class.
The author Arthur Brooks calls this “earned success,” and it’s an optimistic alternative to the left’s attack on American values that is likely to gain more adherents than grouchy resentment. As the son of Indian immigrants, Mr. Ramaswamy is well-positioned to remind Americans about what draws people to the U.S. He joins former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley as GOP candidates of Indian descent. Only in America—or Britain.
Campaigning for the White House has become a vanity project for some people who have no chance—see Marianne Williamson and Dennis Kucinich. Mr. Ramaswamy will have to persuade voters that he’s more than that, as well as overcome doubts about his relative youth. Then again, many voters may prefer the hope of youthful energy over the age and experience of the last six years.
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"The 37-year-old Ohio native attended Harvard and earned a law degree from Yale, but don’t hold that against him." :-D
yes saw him on newsmax announce a few days before he was on /Tucker
yes , he has the mouthpiece , very talented
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I hope he gets traction and that other stronger candidates will see that and absorb his articulation.
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https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/02/22/tim_scott_heads_to_iowa_148894.html
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"Trump will NOT be allowed back into power."
I think you mean by the powers that be, but I think he won't be allowed back in by conservatives and so called Trump supporters.
His proudest moment is the vaccine, for one thing. The vaccine, I imagine, polls better the further Left you go.
Some reporting says he will attack DeSantis from the Left (and already has). That's an odd way to lock in the Right.
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"His proudest moment is the vaccine, for one thing. The vaccine, I imagine, polls better the further Left you go."
Some reporting says he will attack DeSantis from the Left (and already has). That's an odd way to lock in the Right.
The vaccine - the LEFT promotes but gives Trump no credit
The vaccine - the RIGHT despises yet gives Trump no blame
:roll:
Desantis
you mean "meatball"
someone still thinks the name calling will continue to work ........ :roll:
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so many on both sides are thinking preparing for civil war
and he thinks name calling is helpful ..... or going to make a dent in what is really happening
time for him to get booted off the stage
go behind the scenes and become consultant
the big cheese days are over
my opinion.
as for Jarod one part of me wants to know what the hell the Saudi deals are all about
sounds like clear cut corruption to me.
OTOH that is a trivial side show to what really needs to be front and center
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/02/24/poll-suggests-democrats-warming-biden-2024/
wow
this speaks mountains about their bench.
Also, it is apparent they like ruining the country towards 1984 marxism
too many free shit people and those who view race gay etc as most important
(maybe climate too)......
then add in the illegals .......
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Biden’s Age Can No Longer Be Ignored by Democratic Elites
On the menu today: A new poll shows that 68 percent of Americans think President Biden is “too old for another term,” with 48 percent of self-identified Democrats agreeing. Elite Democrats are recognizing that their desired scenario still ends with an 86-year-old president in the Oval Office in 2028. An anecdote about Patrick Stewart’s filming schedule gives us a hint about the workload an octogenarian can reasonably handle.
Joe Biden and the Age-Old Old-Age Question
It probably makes a survey sound less useful and reliable if you call it “the Yahoo poll,” but Yahoo News published another round of eye-popping numbers about Americans’ views about the president’s age:
Nearly 7 in 10 registered voters (68 percent) now say President Biden is “too old for another term,” according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll — and more Democrats agree (48 percent) than disagree (34 percent) with that assessment.
The survey of 1,516 U.S. adults, which was conducted from Feb. 23 to 27, underscores the central challenge facing the oldest president in American history as he gears up for a likely reelection bid — and the difficult position his age is putting his party in.
For Democrats, the problem is not Biden’s performance in office; they overwhelmingly approve (77 percent) (MARC: WTF?!?) 9marcprather than disapprove (20 percent) of how the 80-year-old is handling the job.
There is a quiet struggle in Democratic circles to grapple with the fact that their desired scenario, the one they’re all working so hard to bring to fruition, ends with an 86-year-old president in the Oval Office in 2028. Eighty-six!
Every signal from President Biden and the first lady is that Biden will run for another term. No major Democratic elected official has announced a primary challenge — we’ll get to Marianne Williamson in a bit.
But a week ago, Politico offered a long feature story — with six reporters in the byline! — indicating that Democrats thought Biden would have announced his reelection by now, and wondering if there’s some chance Biden decides against it at the last minute:
Joe Biden’s closest advisers have spent months preparing for him to formally announce his reelection campaign. But with the president still not ready to make the plunge, a sense of doubt is creeping into conversations around 2024: What if he decides not to?
Biden’s past decisions around seeking the presidency have been protracted, painstaking affairs. This time, he has slipped past his most ambitious timetable, as previously outlined by advisers, to launch in February. Now they are coalescing around April. . . .
While the belief among nearly everyone in Biden’s orbit is that he’ll ultimately give the all-clear, his indecision has resulted in an awkward deep-freeze across the party — in which some potential presidential aspirants and scores of major donors are strategizing and even developing a Plan B while trying to remain respectful and publicly supportive of the 80-year-old president.
Then there are the voices that gently remind Democrats that the modern reluctance to see a primary challenge to a sitting president is usually wrapped up in confidence that the president could ably serve out a full second term. Over in The Atlantic, Mark Leibovich — who last summer acknowledged the likelihood of Biden having serious age-related performance problems in his second term — begged some other Democrat to run against Biden so that the age and health issues could be discussed openly:
In private, of course, many elected Democrats say Biden is too old to run again and that they wish he’d step away — which aligns with what large majorities of Democrats and independents have been telling pollsters for months. The public silence around the president’s predicament has become tiresome and potentially catastrophic for the Democratic Party. Somebody should make a refreshing nuisance of themselves and involve the voters in this decision.
(Notice the supposition that Biden’s age and health issues can only be legitimately discussed in the context of a Democratic primary.)
Greg Craig is a lawyer who served in the White House under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and he recognizes the core issue of why Democrats are so nervous: They have little or no faith in Kamala Harris — as either a presidential candidate or potential president. A few days ago in the New York Times, Craig wrote:
When considering who should be his running mate in 2024, Mr. Biden would do well to follow what Franklin D. Roosevelt did in 1944: He expressed a preference for certain candidates but turned the choice of his running mate over to the delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. . . .
If the party were to give Democratic voters a role in picking the vice-presidential nominee, it would have to rely on the primaries and caucuses to make the decision. As a practical matter, one way of structuring an open race for the nomination would involve creating a way for voters in Democratic primaries and caucuses to select delegates who support specific tickets. The race could take place among Biden-Harris delegates and — to cite some possible contenders — Biden-Amy Klobuchar delegates and Biden-Cory Booker delegates.
As my Three Martini Lunch co-host Greg Corombos observed, this would take the Democratic Party’s ticket-selection process back to the methods of the days of Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, which had all kinds of messy consequences. And yes, the vice president shooting a former Treasury secretary in Weehauken, N.J., probably ranks among the worst-case scenarios.
The fact that Democrats had a better-than-expected midterm election doesn’t change Biden’s health or age. And I can’t help but wonder if the ongoing difficult experience of Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman is forcing Democrats to recognize that you can only spin the public about an elected official’s health for so long. (Also note that 89-year-old California senator Dianne Feinstein has been away from Washington this week, dealing with what her office will only describe as “a health matter.” So far, she’s missed eleven votes this week.)
I ran across this recent Michael Rosenbaum interview with Jonathan Frakes, the longtime actor and director of many Star Trek episodes and movies (and a lot more). Frakes talked about directing and working with 82-year-old Patrick Stewart on the most recent series:
Patrick is an early riser. He goes to bed having known his lines, he gets driven to work, so he’s working on it on the way in. He gets made up, and so we start early with Patrick. And we get Patrick’s work done, with any luck, by lunch or just a little out — an hour or so after lunch. So we give him, the producers and the directors, the first half, two-thirds of the day. And then somebody else will finish up. So he doesn’t do it have to do 13 straight [hours] anymore.
Now, Patrick Stewart looks and sounds like he’s in terrific shape for a man who turns 83 in July. But even he needs, as the National Basketball Association would put it, “load management.” Men in their 80s cannot manage a punishing schedule of long hours indefinitely.
Remember, according to the New York Times, “White House officials insist they make no special accommodations” for Biden’s age. I don’t believe them, and I think the fact that they can’t acknowledge making any special accommodations for Biden’s age means that they fear how the public would react to whatever special accommodations are being made.
The typical Democratic primary voter likes Joe Biden, almost certainly voted for him in 2020, and is extremely likely to vote for him in a 2024 general-election matchup against Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, or almost any other Republican. But they probably aren’t happy about being forced to pretend that Biden’s age isn’t a legitimate concern, or to pretend that they don’t see the mumbling, the shuffling walk, or when Biden goes on Jimmy Kimmel’s show and starts rambling about how many commercials feature interracial couples. Most Americans love their grandparents, but they barely trust them with the television remote, never mind the country’s nuclear arsenal.
Which brings us to Biden’s declared challenger, Marianne Williamson, whom you probably remember warning in one of the 2020 Democratic-primary debates:
This is part of the dark underbelly of American society, the rainfall, the bigotry, and the entire conversation that we’re having here tonight, if you think any of this wonkiness is going to deal with this dark psychic force of the collectivized hatred that this president is bringing up in this country, then I’m afraid that the Democrats are going to see some very dark days.
Williamson has lived a, er, colorful life, and to many people, she comes across as a nut. But she’s an amiable nut, and it wasn’t that hard to find conservatives nodding in agreement with her assessment that something had gone wrong with the soul of America, that we had gotten too enraged, too nasty, too vindictive, and that we needed more demonstrations of love and compassion for our fellow citizens.
If the Democratic presidential primary of 2024 only consists of the options of Biden and Williamson, then voting for Williamson becomes the only way of expressing disapproval, frustration, or disappointment with the status quo. That’s not going to be enough to win the nomination, but notice in that Yahoo poll that 20 percent of Democrats don’t approve of the job Biden is doing. You could see 10, 20, maybe even 30 percent of Democrats who bother to show up for the primary marking the box for Williamson to say, “I’m not happy with the way things are going, and I want better options.”
ADDENDUM: Michael New has an unnerving demonstration of the changing priorities at CPAC, which may or may not reflect the changing priorities of the conservative movement as a whole:
This weekend’s agenda boasts an impressive lineup of conservative elected officials, activists, and policy-makers. Furthermore, the panels will cover a wide range of topics, including immigration, transgenderism, and election fraud. However, one issue is conspicuously absent from this weekend’s agenda — abortion.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/hear-bill-maher-s-prediction-for-2024-election/vi-AA184z64?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=e5bb4723883c410a8adb7a6d789d9247&ei=30
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yeah it will be trump
while the rest of the repubs knock each other out trump will lead with a resounding 35 % or something and we are stuck with again and everything that comes with him
Maher entitled to his opinion
I forgot who will be on dem side
or if he even predicted this .....
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I liked that he made a point of pointing out to his Tribe that a lot of us really don't like Trump and simply fear the crazies of the Tribe of Maher and Tapper.
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agreed
he is extraordinarily clever
though I wonder how much of the material he does is from him or does he just deliver the lines
I wish he was. a Republican
of course CNN would not have hired him if he was
I will not watch him if Tapper is with him going forward
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A good thing that the other side got to hear from a source in whom many of them trust that we too get Trump's flaws.
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first on the list is
of course Ron is "disloyal" and thus ,
of course, Trump take's his personal offense and makes it #1 on the list
and so we should of course also take offense at the insult to *our dear leader *
:roll: :roll:
https://www.axios.com/2023/03/03/trump-plan-attack-desantis
if you ask me these are big swings and misses
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-reveals-plan-for-largest-domestic-deportation-operation-in-american-history/ar-AA18eJZi?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=0a3a3cc768174caab592dfb0745ba7ec&ei=29
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https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/rnc-2024-election-debate/2023/03/04/id/1111068/
FWIW - I disagree strongly with this.
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Ron DeSantis Is Definitely Running
He presents himself as a serious, forward-leaning, pro-business, antiwoke conservative Republican.
Peggy Noonan hedcutBy Peggy NoonanFollow
March 9, 2023 6:31 pm ET
Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the Parental Rights in Education Act in Shady Hills, Fla., March 28, 2022.
PHOTO: DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The first GOP presidential debate is five months away, in August. Primaries begin about six months after. This thing is on. Some observations on Ron DeSantis.
The Florida governor is definitely running. Every sign is there: donors, a growing and increasingly professional organization, a book that is part memoir, part platform and debuted this week at No. 1 on the New York Times list. A few days ago he gave a big, packed-house speech at the Reagan Library.
He’s come off a landslide 2022 re-election (almost 20 points) in which he won majorities of Hispanics, independents and women. He is 44, governor of a major state that was purple and has gone red, and there is no way (barring the unanticipated) he is not in. I read him as a guy who thinks you get a moment in politics, a magic moment, and when it comes you move because you don’t know if it will ever come again. “They’ll forget me,” 43-year-old John F. Kennedy said when advised to wait and go for the presidency in 1964. No, he’d made a splash at the 1956 convention, 1960 was his shot, move now or never.
Mr. DeSantis is a big dawg, and it isn’t only Donald Trump trying to take him down. A prospective competitor called recently to share his thoughts: “DeSantis is a cheap imitation of Trump, it’s Fox News soundbites and cowboy boots with 2-inch heels.” Others retail the gossip that he’s “on the spectrum.”
I don’t think normal people have more than an impression: a blank face sitting behind a square desk signing bills. Often he is surrounded, sometimes oddly, by grade-school children. You imagine one of the 8-year-olds announcing somberly to the press, “We agwee—we’re too young to hear about gender fwooidity.”
He’s tough, unadorned, and carries a vibe, as I’ve said, that he might unplug your life support to re-charge his cellphone. His supporters shrug: “He’s not warm and cuddly.” I don’t think voters are looking for warm and cuddly, but they do want even-keeled—a normal man or woman who’s a leader, who has guts and a vision of where the country needs to go.
As I watched the Reagan Library speech I thought: This candidacy is going to have power. He wasn’t inspired or eloquent but plain-spoken and brisk; his address was workmanlike, from notes, but all together it packed a punch.
Governors, he observes in his book, “The Courage to Be Free,” have to deliver. It’s an executive office: They create a record and you can measure what they did. Legislators merely have to talk and vote on congenial bills—it’s hard to measure their effectiveness: “They are not really required to lead.”
In the library speech he pointed to his achievements: a strong state economy—Florida’s unemployment rate was 3.5% when he took office in 2019, and in December 2022, after the pandemic, it was 2.5%. A good state balance sheet; a generally light, pro-individual-freedom hand on Covid; he got the schools open. His state is one people are moving into, not out of.
He is a culture warrior, but between the lines he suggests he’s also pragmatic, practical and gets things done. This may be his real superpower: When, during Hurricane Ian, the bridge to Pine Island washed away, the state had it up and operating a week later. That wasn’t talk, it was knowing the innards of government and making it deliver.
I don’t think he’s running as Trump without the psychopathology, I think he’s running as a serious, forward-leaning, pro-business, antiwoke conservative with populist inflections.
His strategy now: Draw as much from the Trump quadrant as possible, slowly try to leach him of support. One thing about Trump supporters is you win their respect if you speak of things in a “no going back” way. When Mr. Trump, in his 2015 announcement, spoke of illegal immigrants as rapists and drug smugglers, those giving him a hearing didn’t roar because they literally think all illegal immigrants are rapists and drug smugglers. They roared because they knew there was no going back from language like that. It meant he really would try to control the border.
The focus on wokeness is Mr. DeSantis’s illegal immigration. He wants to own the issue in the Republican field and, as the year gets deeper, move on from there.
A political veteran present before and after the library speech found Mr. DeSantis impressive but saw a weakness: “He’s on ‘broadcast’ almost all of the time, not ‘receive.’ ” He likes to talk. He makes eye contact, there’s back-and-forth. “But my sense is that he’s thinking about what he’s next going to tell you, not what you’re going to ask.” Still, in the end the veteran sensed something electric. “You know that feeling you get when you’re in a room and it’s obvious to every person in that room, from 10 people to 5,000, that ‘No kidding, this guy really could be a president’? He’s got it.”
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/03/11/exclusive-ramaswamy-im-against-bailout-esg-evangelist-silicon-valley-bank/
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LOL
https://www.foxnews.com/media/kamala-harris-wont-speak-elizabeth-warren-after-pretty-insulting-2024-snub-report
Kamala is running in '24. :wink:
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/trip-ukraine-jab-ron-desantis-181609595.html
So he has some "wins" - NYT writer notes.
All democrat policies in a state controlled by democrats - so what.
He almost got beat last election cycle in a state with huge democrat majority :
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trip-ukraine-jab-ron-desantis-181609595.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_New_Jersey
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https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/donald-trump-charlie-crist
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he sounds like a jealous little adolescent school girl
:-o
I don't believe all these polls that have him ahead - I just don't
The leftist pollsters would love to see Trump as the Repub candidate
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"he sounds like a jealous little adolescent school girl"
Yup.
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DeSantis Comes Out Against Russian Proxy War
Yesterday's drone incident over the Black Sea reinvigorated an important discussion about our nation's Ukraine policy.
Douglas Andrews
Looks like our $200 billion proxy war with Russia just got a little more expensive.
Yesterday's attack and ultimate downing by Russia of an unarmed $32 million U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea once again raises questions about the wisdom of our involvement in an admittedly awful border war between Ukraine and Russia.
The knock-down incident occurred in international airspace over international waters when one of two Su-27s flying in tandem collided with our drone, damaging its propeller and forcing it to ditch into the Black Sea, west of Crimea.
As Fox News reports, "The State Department is summoning Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov to express its 'strong objections' to the intercept, spokesman Ned Price confirmed to reporters."
In response, U.S. European Command and U.S. Air Forces in Europe issued a statement that reads in part: "Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner. This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional."
Ooooh. They kill one of our drones, so we scold them for being "unprofessional" and "environmentally unsound." (If there's one thing that wounds the Russians deeply, it's calling into question their environmental soundness.)
And so, once again, Joe Biden's weakness proves provocative. Instead of a sternly worded memo, Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, whom even NPR conceded was the toughest U.S. president ever when it came to Russia, would've probably greased some Russian mercs somewhere. Elections have consequences.
What do the Russians say about this incident, which appears to be the most direct attack against a NATO aircraft since the end of the Cold War? Predictably, they say our drone was traveling toward Russia with its transponders off, and they say our drone ditched following the intercept.
Ambassador Antonov wasn't exactly apologetic. "We assume that the U.S. will refrain from further speculation in the media and stop flights near Russian borders," he said. "We consider any action with the use of U.S. as openly hostile."
Translation: Pound sand, Joey.
All this brings us to Tucker Carlson, who, in a simple act of journalism that somehow never dawned on any other journalist anywhere, recently polled the likely and announced Republican presidential candidates about the matter that, next to combating Communist China, is the most important foreign policy issue currently facing our nation: namely, our ill-defined, blank-check support of Ukraine in the above-mentioned proxy war with Russia.
Donald Trump was always there, always against it, and his response to Carlson's questions were unequivocal:
Like inflation and numerous other self inflicted wounds and mistakes made over the past two years, Russia would definitely not have raided and attacked Ukraine if I was your President. In fact, for four years they didn't attack, nor did they have any intention of doing so as long as I was in charge. But the sad fact is that, due to a new lack of respect for the U.S., caused at least partially by our incompetently handled pullout from Afghanistan ... the bloody and expensive assault began, and continues to this day. That is all history, but how does it end, and it must end, NOW! Start by telling Europe that they must pay at least equal to what the U.S. is paying to help Ukraine. They must also pay us, retroactively, the difference.
Now Ron DeSantis has joined Trump (and this analyst), firmly in the non-interventionist camp of the conservative populists. He began:
While the U.S. has many vital national interests — securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party — becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them. The Biden administration's virtual "blank check" funding of this conflict for "as long as it takes," without any defined objectives or accountability, distracts from our country's most pressing challenges.
DeSantis continued, saying that F-16s and long-range missiles should be "off the table" and that Biden risks "explicitly drawing the United States into the conflict and drawing us closer to a hot war between the world's two largest nuclear powers." He rightly calls that risk "unacceptable."
DeSantis further notes that Biden's policies "have driven Russia into a de facto alliance with China" and have "further empowered Russia's energy-dominated economy and Putin's war machine at Americans' expense."
Some pro-war Republicans have attacked DeSantis for his stance, but, as columnist Byron York notes, his position on Ukraine puts him "in the mainstream."
Former Vice President Mike Pence, incidentally, also responded to Carlson's questions, and his pro-war, stay-the-course position tends to align with that of our Mark Alexander and presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
"Our movement," said Pence, "cannot forsake the foundational commitment that we have to security, to limited government, to liberty, and to life. But nor can we allow our movement to be led astray by the siren song of unprincipled populism that's unmoored from our oldest traditions and most cherished values," he told an audience at The Heritage Foundation. "Let me say: This movement and the party that it animates must remain the movement of a strong national defense, limited government, and traditional moral values and life."
Pence added: "There can be no room in the conservative movement for apologists to Putin. There is only room in this movement for champions of freedom."
Not all the candidates responded, but those who did provided some important insights into their foreign policy philosophies. You can read more on Carlson's Twitter account.
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second
Trump Expected to Use Entitlement Reform to Bludgeon Haley, DeSantis
Nikki Haley grabbed hold of a third rail in American politics last week when she plainly stated that it is “unrealistic to say you’re not going to touch entitlements.”
The 2024 presidential hopeful floated the idea of raising the retirement age for younger Americans in order to preserve Social Security and Medicare benefits.
“The first thing you do is you change the retirement age of the young people coming up so that we can try and have some sort of system for them,” Haley said during a campaign stop in Iowa last week. “It’s the new ones coming in. It’s those in their 20s that are coming in. You’re coming to them and you’re saying, ‘The game has changed. We’re going to do this completely differently.’”
Patrick Hynes, a longtime GOP political operative, told me entitlement programs will likely be a major wedge issue between former president Donald Trump and other Republicans in the 2024 race. Trump could use the issue “as a bludgeon” against possible competitors, including Haley, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, and former vice president Mike Pence.
Trump’s advisers reportedly believe DeSantis’s track record of voting to cut funding for Social Security and Medicare as a congressman is ripe for criticism, per the Washington Examiner. DeSantis voted for three nonbinding resolutions between 2013 and 2015 that called for raising the retirement age to 70 and reducing benefits for millions of earners.
The governor seemed to walk back his previous support for raising the retirement age as well as privatizing Social Security earlier this month. “We’re not going to mess with Social Security as Republicans,” he told Fox News. “I think that that’s pretty clear.”
Pence, like Haley, has suggested that reforms to Social Security and Medicare must be “on the table” when it comes to the debt ceiling.
Trump, for his part, called on Republican lawmakers not to “cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security” when they began negotiations with President Biden and Democrats over a measure to raise the debt ceiling in January.
“Cut waste, fraud, and abuse everywhere that we can find it, and there is plenty of it. . . . But do not cut the benefits our seniors worked for and paid for their entire lives. Save Social Security. Don’t destroy it,” Trump said at the time.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign told me he “believes that the debate between tax increases and spending cuts as a way to handle national debt is misguided because it leaves out the most important lever we should be focused on: driving GDP growth.”
The campaign added, however: “To the extent entitlement reform is required in the future, Vivek favors drawing distinctions in certain instances for ‘safety net’ programs between those who have earned $10 million over their lifetime versus those who have not — and to make any changes prospectively in advance so that no Americans who have paid into a system and were promised one thing end up being deprived of what they were promised.”
Hynes said while Haley’s approach is reasonable, it is “very easy to demagogue entitlement reform.”
“She’s going to have to run around and explain why critics of her ideas are wrong and [are] mischaracterizing what she’s talking about,” he said. “And the old adage in politics is, ‘If you’re explaining, you’re losing.’”
She deserves credit for “stepping in boldly,” he said, “but it is a very dangerous position to hold and one that has never been successful for any politician.”
A YouGov poll in January found that Democrats and Republicans both view Social Security and Medicare more favorably than not. Eighty-nine percent of Americans who personally receive Social Security benefits have a very or somewhat favorable opinion of the program, while 84 percent of Medicare benefit recipients said the same.
While, politically speaking, there is no downside to Trump’s “don’t touch the programs at all” approach, the downside, Hynes says, “is reality.”
“If he [is] the next president, in all probability the insolvency would happen after he left office, but the fact is our safety net is underfunded and without reforms we’re talking about insolvency. But that’s a very, very difficult thing to explain to voters.”
Especially in the early primary state of New Hampshire, which has one of the oldest populations in the country: 19.3 percent of the state’s population was age 65 or older in 2020.
“Running as an entitlement-reform candidate is going to be very problematic, it’s going to be a barrier to earning the votes of a lot of senior Republican primary voters,” said Hynes, who is New Hampshire–based. “Even though the proposals have nothing to do with current or near-term beneficiaries.”
Joe Lakin, a senior consultant with Victory Enterprises, which has extensive involvement in Iowa, noted that the Iowa Republican caucus also skews significantly more rural and older than typical general elections and even other primaries. In Iowa, 17.9 percent of the population was older than 65 in 2020.
Lakin suggests the prospect of entitlement reform could be a mixed bag with Iowans, because while such a discussion is likely to be unpopular with the “much older electorate,” the typical Iowa caucus-goer is an “incredibly studious voter who takes their role in the process incredibly seriously.” As a result, he said, “I don’t think it’s going to be a slash-and-burn typical political issue.”
“I think voters will understand [that] by doing nothing, you're also changing these programs,” he added. “Long-term, they're unsustainable in their current makeup and particularly with federal spending the way it is. I think voters, certainly older voters in Iowa, care about Medicare, Social Security, but I also think they're going to recognize that a discussion about federal spending has to be had, and this certainly has to be a part of that.”
But he acknowledged that “it's probably always going to be the safer position to say we're not going to do anything.”
Entitlement reform was not the only point of contention to emerge among the 2024 candidates and likely contenders recently. In response to a questionnaire on the issue from Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, DeSantis broke with many of the other 2024 hopefuls, downplaying America's national interest in what he referred to as a "territorial dispute."
“While the U.S. has many vital national interests — securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness with our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural and military power of the Chinese Communist Party — becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,” the governor said.
DeSantis suggested the Biden administration’s “virtual ‘blank-check’ funding of this conflict for ‘as long as it takes,’ without any defined objectives or accountability, distracts from our country’s most pressing challenges.”
Trump suggested Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if he were still in office and that he would be able to broker a deal between the two countries if he were elected for another term. He also criticized the disproportionate amount of aid the U.S. has sent Ukraine compared to Europe.
Haley argued that opposing Russia in Ukraine is in fact a vital American national strategic interest. In explaining why opposing Russia is a vital interest, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. said: “America is far better off with a Ukrainian victory than a Russian victory, including avoiding a wider war,” she concluded. “If Russia wins, there is no reason to believe it will stop at Ukraine. And if Russia wins, then its closest allies, China and Iran, will become more aggressive.”
As DeSantis increasingly wades into various national debates, Ken Cuccinelli is kicking off a tour of the early primary states this week to meet with voters and discuss why the Florida governor should run in 2024. Cuccinelli, who previously served as the acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security under Trump, announced the launch of the Never Back Down PAC last week to urge DeSantis to run for president in 2024.
On Wednesday, DeSantis notched a key endorsement from Representative Chip Roy of Texas, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. Roy, who was once a Trump ally, said it is “time for a new generation of leadership” and called for “younger, but proven, leadership.”
“It’s time for Ron DeSantis to be President of the United States,” he said.
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On ethics charges:
[it is unethical for DeSantis to run against Trump ie:
he owes Trump
and is not loyal "SO UNETHICAL" I can hear him say it loud the repeat the line with a whisper waiting for the dupes who listen to him to cheer]
https://www.yahoo.com/news/ron-desantis-hit-ethics-complaint-165930766.html
if Trump wins the nomination
I really do not know what I would do.......
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https://nypost.com/2023/03/16/marianne-williamson-prone-to-angry-fits-report/
what is the difference between this and Hillary or Kamala?
except that she is not part of the establishment
me : none
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from the slymes:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/desantis-defense-shows-signs-slipping-142310395.html
find him guilty on everything
piss off the Magas have them all vow to vote Trump (foolish )
and then have him again lead us to losing the election
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Concur.
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/gop-presidential-hopeful-responds-to-possible-donald-trump-arrest-dark-moment_5133697.html?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-03-19-2&src_cmp=breaking-2023-03-19-2&utm_medium=email&est=qe4RQslk1Z1XQ1%2BXiNiSD0kwomCOd%2FyouVN3mERJN4XYk9p1KVxUNyBgQY8TRPMtQC8%2F
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/pence-decries-alvin-braggs-politically-charged-prosecution-of-trump/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=30887421
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".Neither DeSantis, who has not indicated whether he plans to run for president nor Haley has made any comment on the reports "
smart move !
My thought is they should downplay that this is about Trump and we should all NOT foolishly rally around *HIM* but we can also say this is an affront to ALL republicans, and conservatives and rally around THAT ?
I don't give crap about Trump though I do care about the distortion of the media, justice system, racism , etc against us
Can Ron or Nikki thread this needle
without sounding like we should vow to vote for orange man?
not sure
Trump is of course ( :roll:) making it about him, not the cause
but it should be about the cause, not him.
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from the slymes:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/desantis-defense-shows-signs-slipping-142310395.html
find him guilty on everything
piss off the Magas have them all vow to vote Trump (foolish )
and then have him again lead us to losing the election
Re: Amer. Spectator case for Trump
« Reply #301 on: February 19, 2023, 09:12:05 AM »
Trump was never supposed to happen. Trump will NOT be allowed back into power.
All future elections will be fortified for their protection.
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from the slymes:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/desantis-defense-shows-signs-slipping-142310395.html
find him guilty on everything
piss off the Magas have them all vow to vote Trump (foolish )
and then have him again lead us to losing the election
Re: Amer. Spectator case for Trump
« Reply #301 on: February 19, 2023, 09:12:05 AM »
Trump was never supposed to happen. Trump will NOT be allowed back into power.
All future elections will be fortified for their protection.
Dan Bongino:
Make no mistake. The police state is already here folks.
That a sitting US president can operate a pay-for-play crime operation with his family, while his political party plans to arrest his opponent in the coming election, is textbook police state. Justice is dead and buried.
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from the slymes:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/desantis-defense-shows-signs-slipping-142310395.html
find him guilty on everything
piss off the Magas have them all vow to vote Trump (foolish )
and then have him again lead us to losing the election
Re: Amer. Spectator case for Trump
« Reply #301 on: February 19, 2023, 09:12:05 AM »
Trump was never supposed to happen. Trump will NOT be allowed back into power.
All future elections will be fortified for their protection.
Dan Bongino:
Make no mistake. The police state is already here folks.
That a sitting US president can operate a pay-for-play crime operation with his family, while his political party plans to arrest his opponent in the coming election, is textbook police state. Justice is dead and buried.
https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/132/354/709/original/9e4e66274eb224ef.jpg
(https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/132/354/709/original/9e4e66274eb224ef.jpg)
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yup
well said Travis
"A New York City prosecutor who was publicly criticized for declining to charge Donald Trump last year now appears very close to bringing the first criminal indictment against a former president in U.S. history"
https://news.yahoo.com/looming-trump-charges-criticism-n-180640220.html
funny how the Dem shysters always seem to pull bogus charges at always the right time
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yup
well said Travis
"A New York City prosecutor who was publicly criticized for declining to charge Donald Trump last year now appears very close to bringing the first criminal indictment against a former president in U.S. history"
https://news.yahoo.com/looming-trump-charges-criticism-n-180640220.html
funny how the Dem shysters always seem to pull bogus charges at always the right time
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/bill-clinton-paid-paula-jones-850000-in-hush-money-was-never-charged/
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/two-tiered-justice-system-fec-fined-hillary-clinton-for-lying-about-funding-of-fake-russia-dossier-was-never-threatened-with-cuffs/
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yup
well said Travis
"A New York City prosecutor who was publicly criticized for declining to charge Donald Trump last year now appears very close to bringing the first criminal indictment against a former president in U.S. history"
https://news.yahoo.com/looming-trump-charges-criticism-n-180640220.html
funny how the Dem shysters always seem to pull bogus charges at always the right time
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/bill-clinton-paid-paula-jones-850000-in-hush-money-was-never-charged/
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/two-tiered-justice-system-fec-fined-hillary-clinton-for-lying-about-funding-of-fake-russia-dossier-was-never-threatened-with-cuffs/
https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/132/508/767/original/4e252c324abc935b.jpg
(https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/132/508/767/original/4e252c324abc935b.jpg)
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The Left knows the big elections are won in the small elections and put out the word up, down and sideways to find every vote:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/20/this-wisconsin-judicial-election-could-decide-the-next-us-president
Meanwhile so called freedom sites put out the word it's over, we lost, your vote doesn't matter, give up.
What's wrong with this picture?
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The Left knows the big elections are won in the small elections and put out the word up, down and sideways to find every vote:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/20/this-wisconsin-judicial-election-could-decide-the-next-us-president
Meanwhile so called freedom sites put out the word it's over, we lost, your vote doesn't matter, give up.
What's wrong with this picture?
Some people understand that you aren't going to win a rigged game.
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Not even interested in the elections where they rig it, see link in my post.
I want to be as far away from that defeated view as I can get.
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Not even interested in the elections where they rig it, see link in my post.
I want to be as far away from that defeated view as I can get.
You misspelled realist.
Who went to jail for stealing the 2020 election? How about 2022?
Let me guess, you are going to VOTE EVEN HARDER in 2024!
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GM:
Your opinion on this is well known, shouting is not necessary.
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https://strategic-culture.org/news/2021/10/15/colour-revolutions-fade-away/
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/jason-chaffetz-goes-off-on-absolutely-horrific-trump-sitdown-with-hannity-worst-interview-i-ve-seen-him-do/ar-AA19aLDV?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=dee81e3700d545fa803b8fe7eea51c16&ei=9
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Trump was Hannity again last night
listened for at most 1 minute when he was already boasting about his trade deals
and he started to mention Putin (would have never invaded if he was Prez)
I changed the station .
Can't take him anymore; it comes from my gut . I may be getting sick with TDS.
:-o
Will only vote for him if he is the last Republican standing
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Well, IMHO he is right that Putin would not have invaded , , ,
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https://www.newsweek.com/pompeo-dismisses-trumps-ukraine-pledge-no-idea-what-hes-talking-about-1791329?fbclid=IwAR1Lki0v2Y0w_2fPxDbTIoE283AksId3-y8KzIPSBVRer6O-9N6VY5nt5Hw
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https://www.newsweek.com/pompeo-dismisses-trumps-ukraine-pledge-no-idea-what-hes-talking-about-1791329?fbclid=IwAR1Lki0v2Y0w_2fPxDbTIoE283AksId3-y8KzIPSBVRer6O-9N6VY5nt5Hw
Everyone knows.
Ukraine is a neutral buffer state, no NATO alignment.
It could have been done last year the the deep state sooper geniuses thought they were going to shatter Russia into pieces.
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https://www.google.com/search?q=mark+penn+on+oreilly&rlz=1C5GCEM_enUS1001US1001&oq=mark+penn+on+oreilly&aqs=chrome..69i57.6449j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:840de938,vid:WbLCSAPufV8
I know he WAS a Clinton person but not now and rumors he is not happy with the Democrat party's leftward march :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Penn
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I am thinking Asa Hutchinson's political career belongs in the garbage bins along with Chris Christie's
looking at his wiki page he has been an advocate for conservative policies in the past
but his last 6 yrs of showing up only on Left wing media ( to the absolute delight of Left media propaganda pundits )
is tantamount to throwing any conservative credentials also into the Garbage bin along with the rest.
funny how these rinos get a mucho traction with LEFT wing media who like to USE them but would never really endorse them.
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All RINOs suck.
It's all grift.
I am thinking Asa Hutchinson's political career belongs in the garbage bins along with Chris Christie's
looking at his wiki page he has been an advocate for conservative policies in the past
but his last 6 yrs of showing up only on Left wing media ( to the absolute delight of Left media propaganda pundits )
is tantamount to throwing any conservative credentials also into the Garbage bin along with the rest.
funny how these rinos get a mucho traction with LEFT wind media who like to USE them but would never really endorse them.
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Mark Penn has impressed me in previous appearances on FOX as someone who can speak Truth to his Tribe.
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Mark Penn has impressed me in previous appearances on FOX as someone who can speak Truth to his Tribe.
His tribe is immune to truth.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/trumps-indictment-strategy/
same crap
endlessly
the LEFT making him the issue
him playing right into it of course
and he never can get above 50%
because he is so toxic
he wins we lose
that is how I see it.
unless the dems can truly not come up with anyone other then Biden
why cannot we get a candidate who I WANT to vote for
not the lesser of two lousy candidates
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https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/trumps-indictment-strategy/
same crap
endlessly
the LEFT making him the issue
him playing right into it of course
and he never can get above 50%
because he is so toxic
he wins we lose
that is how I see it.
unless the dems can truly not come up with anyone other then Biden
why cannot we get a candidate who I WANT to vote for
not the lesser of two lousy candidates
What should Trump do then?
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For starters?
Be a mensch.
Run on his positives, not demagogue DeSantis.
Commit to supporting whoever wins the nomination.
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https://www.thejc.com/news/all/what-is-a-mensch-1.64427
"A mensch, in Yiddish, is a person of integrity, morality, dignity, with a sense of what is right and responsible. But mensch is more than just an old Yiddish adage. It is relevant now, across the world, more than ever… “To be a mensch is to be supportive. To be a friend, to be calm in troubled times"
Trump the mensch
wouldn't that be nice
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https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/134/343/558/original/6228b5b3c7ec75e9.jpg
(https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/134/343/558/original/6228b5b3c7ec75e9.jpg)
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https://anncoulter.com/2023/04/05/youre-being-played-republicans/
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https://amgreatness.com/2023/04/05/our-french-revolution/
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CCP and GM: Agreed!
-
second
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/apr/7/cracks-emerge-house-gop-support-donald-trump/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=r6zSp%2BZ3xUemY8T0%2BhcHmsf0IlhtGv0cb8bhc%2BkCpO6zdfdS2aljdzddaXSe5deD&bt_ts=1680895223891
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdaS3TJ6Vk0
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the above is a "fun" analysis
time will tell.
Biden will win - all he has to do is NOT DIE ! :-o
(the LEFT will carry push him over in a wheelchair)
The LEFT would like to make it about Trump - OTOH, Trump and his sycophants spin this to - they are after me because they are "afraid of me" [total fantasy]
Ironic , I fear Trump will bring US down to defeat AGAIN , while the LEFT would love for him to be the candidate in '24 .
Indeed they are tying DeSantis to Trump (he is worse then Trump) just in case.
But what if Biden does croak ?
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forgot which station I was watching but just saw some Dem strategist saying how Dems would just LOVE for the R candidate to be DJT.
All the while basically ignoring the problems we face and simply make it a referendum of him
He was right out front saying what we posted here.
We have got to get rid of him
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https://nypost.com/2023/04/09/biden-turning-to-social-media-influencers-to-tout-agenda-report/
duh.....
like ballot harvesting - our response -> duh.
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Tucker joined me tonight in predicting Gavin Newsome as the Dem nominee for 2024.
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Al Roker got the scoop:
https://www.today.com/news/politics/joe-biden-presidential-run-2024-plan-running-rcna78920
:roll: :wink:
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HE’S RONNING… DAILY CALLER EXCLUSIVE: Ron DeSantis Quietly Staffs Up For His Presidential Campaign
At least two dozen of Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2022 campaign employees are currently on the payroll of the Florida Republican Party, according to the party’s Q1 2023 expenditure report.
DeSantis and his team have been coy about the governor’s presidential aspirations, with the governor speaking in hypothetical terms about his candidacy and declining to directly confront front-runner former President Donald Trump. The Florida GOP’s filings with Secretary of State Cord Byrd’s office tell a different story, however. The state party’s expenditures list includes payroll for 24 current or former employees of the DeSantis campaign, including former state press secretary Christina Pushaw.
The Florida GOP’s hiring of speechwriter Nate Hochman and former DeSantis congressional aide Dustin Carmack have been previously reported, but the DeSantis team’s broader staffing strategy has not. The Daily Caller was tipped to the story when one Florida Republican staffer emailed from a rondesantis.com email address while purporting to do business for the state GOP.
The DeSantis campaign gave nearly $9.6 million to the state GOP in 2022, according to campaign documents filed with the Secretary of State’s office, and has paid the party more than $200,000 as a vendor during Q1 2023. The state GOP returned $3 million to Friends of Ron DeSantis, the official DeSantis campaign committee, in Q1 2023.
Florida GOP chairman Christian Ziegler told the Daily Caller that the state Republican Party supports DeSantis “just as any state party does for the sitting Governor of their state.”
DESANTIS BACKERS RELEASE AD… RAMASWAMY KNOCKS… Vivek Ramaswamy Slams DeSantis After Pro-DeSantis Super PAC Releases First Ad For Potential Presidential Bid
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy criticized Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after the Never Back Down super PAC released an ad Thursday promoting DeSantis’ potential 2024 presidential bid.
“The jig is up. We know Ron is running for president. He wants to be able to coordinate with his super PAC to keep filling his campaign coffers. It’s what most career politicians would do. But it’s dishonest and fake,” Ramaswamy told the Daily Caller.
Ramaswamy is an author and businessman running a self-funded presidential campaign. He initially supported DeSantis for the Republican nomination before jumping into the race as an outsider, he told Daily Caller News Editor Grayson Quay in an exclusive interview.
Never Back Down is a super PAC supporting DeSantis’ widely anticipated presidential campaign. The group rolled out its first pro-DeSantis ad Thursday, highlighting the governor’s opposition to COVID-19 lockdowns and his support for parents’ rights in education.
NEW ‘SMEAR’ AD ATTACKS DESANTIS FOR ALLEGEDLY EATING PUDDING WITH HIS FINGERS… DAILY BEAST: MAGA Attack Ad Rips Into Ron DeSantis’ Gross Pudding Habits (VIDEO)
A new MAGA ad has gone after Ron DeSantis by recreating his truly disturbing method of eating chocolate pudding with his fingers. The Daily Beast first reported the chilling incident involving the Florida governor, which is now being used to attack his political record. “Ron DeSantis loves sticking his fingers where they don’t belong,” the ad, which aired during Fox & Friends on Friday morning, says as a man in a suit sits down to eat pudding with three of his fingers.
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"NEW ‘SMEAR’ AD ATTACKS DESANTIS FOR ALLEGEDLY EATING PUDDING WITH HIS FINGERS… DAILY BEAST: MAGA Attack Ad Rips Into Ron DeSantis’ Gross Pudding Habits (VIDEO)
A new MAGA ad has gone after Ron DeSantis by recreating his truly disturbing method of eating chocolate pudding with his fingers. The Daily Beast first reported the chilling incident involving the Florida governor, which is now being used to attack his political record. “Ron DeSantis loves sticking his fingers where they don’t belong,” the ad, which aired during Fox & Friends on Friday morning, says as a man in a suit sits down to eat pudding with three of his fingers."
:roll:
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The Irrepressible Conflict
Auguste Meyrat
President Trump Meets With Governors-Elect In The Cabinet Room Of White House
Yes, a Don/Ron brawl is inevitable.
Politics is a fickle thing, particularly in today’s ever-churning news cycle. Before winning back people’s support and sympathy with his recent indictment, Donald Trump was upsetting everyone for his comments at a recent rally in Waco, Texas. The former president went off against potential rival Governor Ron DeSantis, characterizing him as a weak politician who owes his rise to prominence almost exclusively to Trump’s support: “I did rallies for Ron, massive rallies, and they were very successful. So we got him the nomination. We then got him the election.”
Trump also claimed that DeSantis inherited a state that was already well governed: “Florida was tremendously successful under Rick Scott…. [And] whether you like him or not, Charlie Crist was very successful, he was a Republican at the time.” As multiple outlets have reported, this was met with awkward silence. Most conservatives, including those at Trump’s rally, actually like DeSantis. It was obviously uncomfortable to hear this kind of thing.
So many conservative voices have expressed their disapproval of Trump’s tactics. They argue that his insults are petty, wrong, and demonstrative of insecurity. It doesn’t seem like this reasoning has changed with the indictment, as The Babylon Bee demonstrated with the (admittedly hilarious) headline, “Trump Uses His One Phone Call to Ring Up Ron DeSantis And Yell At Him.” If only Trump used his influence to unite the party against Biden and talk about issues close to Americans, he would look more presidential and pull in more support from independents.
As reasonable as this sounds, this argument happens to be completely wrong—just ask every failed Republican candidate for president who has tried this. In his criticisms of DeSantis, Trump demonstrates that he understands politics far better than these pundits who discuss politics on a daily basis. In order to win the nomination as well as the general election, now’s the time to flatten the competition, speak inconvenient truths, and take up all the media attention he can.
It should be well known by now that when it comes to running for president, nice guys finish last. Anyone who shows the slightest weakness will be pushed aside and forgotten—even a world-famous brain surgeon like Ben Carson. Candidates have to start showing aggression early in the primary. Marco Rubio was a frontrunner in 2016 for his general appeal, but he was far too nice for far too long. His best moments came well after his chances for winning disappeared, at which point he finally decided to strike back.
Remembering this, Trump is re-establishing himself as a fighter. Seeing that his only real competition is DeSantis, he’s directing his attention on him. Even though it might make sense for Trump to take credit for a person he supported and endorsed, and whom people like, it makes even more sense to discredit that person before he becomes too strong. No one would reward him for doing the former, but doing the latter will win him the nomination once again.
In truth, this is something DeSantis should start doing in return if he really intends to run for president. Yes, he’s been a successful governor, and most conservatives love him. But if he keeps out of the fray, he will come across as entitled and aloof.
Moreover, as much as it pains DeSantis’s fans to hear it, Trump has a few underlying facts on his side. DeSantis is indeed a direct beneficiary of Donald Trump, and he really does follow a line of successful governors who helped make Florida a solidly red state (including Jeb!). This doesn’t necessarily detract from his own accomplishments, but it offers necessary context. Had he received support from the pre-Trump Republican Party to govern a purple or blue state, like Governor Chris Christie, he wouldn’t be nearly as effective or appealing.
This point matters enormously for a presidential run. Winning the votes of the whole country is not nearly as easy as winning votes from Floridians who have grown accustomed to competent Republican leadership. He will need support, and his main support up to this point has now become his main opponent. He could accept support from the never-Trump Republicans, but this wouldn’t lead him to victory. Like Senator Ted Cruz, he’d likely have fans from his own state and the few conservatives who dislike Trump, but like Cruz, he’d also be humiliated by Trump and finished politically.
Finally, and most importantly, hurling insults and attacking other candidates gets far more attention than discussing anything related to policy. As Oscar Wilde once wrote, “There is only one thing worse than being talked about and that is not being talked about.” However quiet the crowd was when Trump belittled DeSantis, this was more than offset by the news and commentary that his rant generated, to say nothing of his indictment a week later. The same can be said for Trump’s inflammatory posts on Truth Social.
By contrast, Trump’s governing agenda—though it proposes bold new strategies to address deep-seated problems and presents an inspiring picture of the nation—hardly receives a mention from anyone. Often Trump’s serious speeches, like the one he made at CPAC or at the announcement of his candidacy, are shrugged off as low-energy and boring. So it’s not altogether Trump’s fault that he resorts to his pro-wrestling antics. Whatever pleas they may make for normalcy and for “adults in the room,” this is really what the people and the media want.
If DeSantis ends up running, he will encounter this dynamic too. There’s no way around it. Even if he shuts out leftist news outlets and follows a script filled with red meat, he will still need to sling mud like the best of them and get people’s attention. He may not be able to out-Trump Trump, but he needs to at least hold his own.
However people feel about it, this is what politics has become in the social media age. Past successes, interesting policy proposals, and relevant experience are all secondary to mastering the medium and framing the narrative. While the corporate media outlets will gladly do this for Democratic politicians—allowing cognitively challenged men like Joe Biden or John Fetterman to cruise to victory without saying or doing anything of substance—Republicans have to hustle and frequently make fools of themselves. It may be ugly, and it may be stupid, but it’s the only way Republicans will take back the White House.
Auguste Meyrat is an English teacher in the Dallas area. He holds an MA in Humanities and an MEd in Educational Leadership. He is the senior editor of the Everyman and has written essays for The Federalist, American Thinker, and The American Conservative.
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all well and good
maybe be a mud slinging big mouth will win Republican nomination
"In his criticisms of DeSantis, Trump demonstrates that he understands politics far better than these pundits who discuss politics on a daily basis."
Oh yeah?
Trump has never won 50% of the national vote
and can't now
It is not like he won '16 in a landslide and
we have lost several elections thanks to his antics .
he wins republican nomination
but we lose national
no he is not a super genius who strategizes all this
he has a mental disorder that somehow keeps 35 % of the voting block supporting him
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Agreed-- but to the question presented: What is the best strategy for DeSantis?
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"What is the best strategy for DeSantis?"
being a political campaign genius
this is what I think:
DeSantis continues not to get in the mud
he points out Trump has been loser more then winner
he lets surrogates call trump names and respond to dumb ass tweets
not do it himself - Like Clinton surrogates did all day and night
He speak policy
he steals policies that Trump puts forth and makes them his own (also ala Clinton/ Morris)
he gets war chest
ready to rumble when. time is right - is that now or soon - not so sure
I am sure left wing msm would love for him to start the dumb ass mud slinging tomorrow
don't fall for that
don't let trump have him start to say dumb things (ala Rubio - "you know what they say about people with small hands ")
get up to speed on foreign affairs maybe make deal with Pompeo (he will be my SoS before Trump does - I gather Pompeo reads DJT flaws)
don't explain only what he did in Florida
smart people know this may or may not extrapolate nationally and that he is untested in the national scene and in foreign affairs )
Trump can to some degree beat him on this point since he has record
legislatively that has from our point of view been successful to some degree - though if one listens to Coulter Trump has been a dismal failure)
And on that note maybe make coulter and advisor
I don't love her but she does make good points and would be just as knee capping in retaliation to the stuff Trump tweets
but she do the tweeting
let DeSantis ACT PRESIDENTAIL . WHICH IS WHAT SO MANY OF US WANT !!
not a senile old fool
or a tweeting 7th grader
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That's pretty good!!!
"get up to speed on foreign affairs maybe make deal with Pompeo (he will be my SoS before Trump does - I gather Pompeo reads DJT flaws)"
Pompeo announced on Bret Baier today that he is not running and would endorse the candidate with the best ideas likely to put together the best team or words to that effect.
BB followed up "So you might endorse someone other than Trump?"
Without hesitation Pompeo said "Yes."
I agree with you, bringing Pompeo on board would be a shrewd move for DeSantis.
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/trump-2024-bid-picks-up-seventh-senators-endorsement_5194314.html?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-04-14-2&src_cmp=breaking-2023-04-14-2&utm_medium=email&est=advhrbMFyV%2BeIfxXnCfUyXGukb%2BT3eCxK2BvLvIaEeaYelEG3eVMrvX%2FPXQGeYF23qFt
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https://nypost.com/2023/04/14/protesters-storm-stage-during-desantis-speech-in-new-hampshire/
Jews against DeSantis
should read Democrats against DeSantis => their real religion
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His coolness in such moments communicates something about him that should resonate well with voters.
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https://resistthemainstream.com/jim-jordan-declares-who-has-his-2024-vote-between-desantis-and-trump/?utm_source=newsletter2
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JJ for Trump
:cry:
:roll:
:x
here we go again...........
pounding our heads against the wall for 1.5 yr and maybe 5.5.
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https://dailycaller.com/2023/04/14/vivek-ramaswamy-ron-desantis-woke-esg/?utm_medium=email&pnespid=qeNrFyZBbLFH0aGe_SXpAsOT7xisUYltLbS_yO1krBdm4W83xxNYKoeDE969fJw4gD1S1RBP
https://dailycaller.com/2023/04/14/trump-team-unveils-pudding-fingers-ad-against-desantis/?utm_medium=email&pnespid=6ql2UjRVZKUBhODOrz3kFJ3T5kq8BYtudvS7nPBqtxFmRPa_5S0N9plfHQavZOBFkIWLH5K5
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vivek:
‘He Got It From Me’: Vivek Ramaswamy Claims Ron DeSantis Is Copying Him In Shot At Florida Gov
well,
I thought the reason he was really running was to make his voice heard,
not because he seriously thinks he has a chance in the world of fire and brimstone
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/peterffy-pauses-desantis-support-over-social-stances-ft-says/ar-AA19U7M1?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=ce954d47775e4afea13f88c710ee9096&ei=16
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Peterffy
personally I thought the abortion limits (NOT BAN AS MSM CALLS IT) at 6 weeks is a bit too strict
I am thinking 12 weeks
as for book ban I would like more hear more from Peterffy
why this is such a deal breaker for him
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I agree on 12 weeks.
Regarding "book bans" I am thinking he has been bamboozled on this point.
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I agree on 12 weeks.
Regarding "book bans" I am thinking he has been bamboozled on this point.
Not a baby before 12 weeks?
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I get the point of course, but sometimes a bad deal is better than a losing fight.
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I get the point of course, but sometimes a bad deal is better than a losing fight.
Who is losing? Not Florida.
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IMHO on a national level six weeks is a badly losing proposition.
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IMHO on a national level six weeks is a badly losing proposition.
There is no "national". At some point, that will sink in.
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Sure there is. It is called "the Presidential Election".
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https://www.axios.com/2023/04/16/desantis-trump-2024-tv-ads-fox-news
:cry:
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/8th-senator-endorses-trump-for-2024-primary_5199458.html?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-04-17-1&src_cmp=breaking-2023-04-17-1&utm_medium=email&est=imwqW%2B7OPnTxOv4pK1hN3nJmLMPfwdcn3h%2FuySPs1WumTZr0SUEAoEwVcX0i%2B8uvQsfF
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Do Any Other GOP Candidates See What Pompeo Sees?
On the menu today: Mike Pompeo, who wrote an autobiography and campaign book entitled Never Give an Inch, announced Friday he would not run for president. I guess he was willing to give more than an inch. But we shouldn’t be surprised, as one-third of self-identified Republicans didn’t know enough about Pompeo to have much of an opinion of him — even after he spent two years as President Trump’s director and then another two years as Trump’s secretary of State. Credit Pompeo for recognizing the reality that he just wasn’t well-known or popular enough to make a serious bid for the presidency. Longshot candidates whine that the media, both conservative and mainstream, don’t take them seriously enough. But it’s more than fair to ask if these candidates are taking the challenge before them seriously in the first place.
Mike Pompeo Could See Hard Reality. Will Any Other GOP Contenders Join Him?
If you want to win a major-party nomination for president, you must be a well-known figure. An extremely well-known figure. As Liz Mair observed, “Donald Trump entered the presidential race with 99.2 percent name recognition.”
You can rage against this rule, or you can accept it and attempt to reach that threshold, recognizing that near-universal name-recognition is rarely achieved quickly; it may well require the work of a lifetime.
Friday evening, Mike Pompeo announced that, “After much consideration and prayer,” he and his wife Susan had concluded, “that I will not present myself as a candidate to become president of the United States in the 2024 election.”
Mike Pompeo was the U.S. secretary of State for about two years, and before that, CIA director for two years. The rest of his resume glows. He graduated first in his class at West Point and retired from the U.S. Army at the rank of captain. He went on to get a J.D. from Harvard Law School, edited the Harvard Law Review — remember what a big deal that was in Barack Obama’s presidential campaign? — and then made his fortune when he co-founded Thayer Aerospace, a specialized aircraft machinery manufacturer, with some of his classmates from West Point. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the district representing Wichita in the GOP wave of 2010 and served on the House Intelligence and Energy Committees. His recent autobiography, Never Give an Inch, debuted at number three on the New York Times bestseller list. (Pompeo’s PAC may have spent $42,000 on a bulk purchase of the book, but the Times bestseller list reportedly does not count bulk sales.)
And yet, as of a month ago, only two-thirds of Republicans felt like they knew enough about Mike Pompeo to know how they would feel if he were the GOP presidential nominee.
In mid March, CNN surveyed 1,045 respondents who identified as Republicans or Republican-leaning independents, and asked them how they would feel if various figures were the 2024 GOP presidential nominee. The poll found that 33 percent didn’t know enough about Pompeo to know whether they would be enthusiastic, satisfied, dissatisfied, or upset if he were the Republican nominee. Just 8 percent said they would feel “enthusiastic” if Pompeo were the nominee, and 32 percent said they would be “satisfied.”
By comparison, only 1 percent of respondents said they didn’t know enough about Donald Trump to know how they would feel, 8 percent said the same about Mike Pence, and 15 percent said the same about Ron DeSantis. In an ominous sign for former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, a similar 33 percent of Republican respondents said they didn’t know how they would feel if Haley were the GOP nominee.
That CNN poll didn’t ask about Vivek Ramaswamy, and I am sure he and his campaign find that fact to be a great injustice — in fact, they may argue it is a sign that CNN fears Ramaswamy and doesn’t want its poll to reveal his overwhelming popularity. But it is difficult to believe that Ramaswamy, who has been in the public eye much less than Pompeo or Haley, would generate more impressive numbers than those two former Trump cabinet officials.
It is not mean, merely a statement of fact, to say that Mike Pompeo was at 1 percent in most national polls of the GOP primary, and topped out at 4 percent in Quinnipiac’s poll. Pompeo’s numbers were similar in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida, and basically every other early poll of any state. Nikki Haley is doing a little bit better, but rarely above four percent. Ramaswamy is at one percent in the surveys that remember to list him as an option.
I am sure Ramaswamy did not like it when Charlie wrote that he isn’t really running for president, and that, “He hasn’t really given up his job; he’s transitioned into another one. He’s not really thinking about what it means to be an American; he’s building a ginormous mailing list. He’s not really selling ‘a vision that I have personally developed’; he’s running as Donald Trump’s obsequious press secretary.”
But Charlie’s not wrong. You don’t go from being the founder of a biopharmaceutical company to being the Republican presidential nominee after a few years of being an anti-woke activist. Ramaswamy only became old enough to run for president two years ago.
The presidency is the heaviest of responsibilities. There is something a little insulting about this charade, this choice to believe that getting a good response from interviews on Fox News Channel means you’re ready to be commander in chief and the responsibility of writing condolence letters to servicemembers’ families after they have died carrying out your orders.
The political media and skeptics are not the bad guys for pointing out this reality. It’s not our job to indulge other people’s delusions of grandeur. Every four years, only two people become the nominees of the two major parties, and only one person wins the presidential election. Almost all presidential campaigns end in disappointing defeat. At least nine times out of ten, a presidential candidate isn’t as popular as he and his inner circle believe.
“Take me seriously,” the long-shot candidate demands. Okay, you first. You had better have a real and serious plan to raise tens of millions of dollars to build up that name recognition that you don’t have. Your debate performances had better be a lot more than just smiling and reciting the same old talking points we’ve heard a million times before. Your platform had better have some clear, appealing policy goals that are simultaneously bold and achievable. (It would be particularly refreshing if an aspiring president did not simply assume that upon taking office, overwhelming majorities in Congress would be eager to enact their proposals as is.) And you had better have the nerve to make a hard and fair critique of the frontrunners ahead of you, to their faces, on a debate stage. Nobody is going to rise to the nomination just by being a nice guy.
To win the nomination, it isn’t enough to be liked. You must be a primary voter’s first choice above a bunch of other options. As the eminent archeological professor Henry Jones Sr. said, “In this sort of race, there’s no silver medal for finishing second.” And it’s very hard to reach that threshold of support when people have no idea who you are, or have only the vaguest idea of who you are. Political figures are almost always more obscure than they think because they travel in circles where everyone recognizes them. They don’t remember all the people at the grocery store, airport, or restaurant who didn’t recognize them and didn’t want to shake their hand. Again, I cannot underline this enough: Only two-thirds of self-identified Republicans had any opinion about the previous secretary of State.
Yes, it would be nice, and probably better for the GOP and the country, if every candidate received a respectful hearing. The U.S. has probably missed out on some good presidents because they just weren’t charismatic enough, didn’t have a big enough fundraising network, or didn’t come from a state that is a natural platform for rising to the national stage.
But we never lived in that world, and we certainly aren’t in it in this cycle. President Trump is the 800-pound gorilla in the room, still enjoying 99 percent name recognition — God help that remaining 1 percent — and a majority or large plurality of support among self-identified Republicans in most polling. (This should not shock us, as most of the conservatives who are most opposed to Trump have largely left the party since 2016.) Donald Trump is extremely unlikely to be knocked out of frontrunner status by some little-known figure.
I don’t mean to pick on Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas, but he appeared on Face the Nation yesterday, and the interview began like this:
MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, who is attending a Republican gathering in Nashville. Governor, it’s good to have you here. I know you’ve said you are running for president. So I want to start there. What is the affirmative reason you want to be chief executive of the United States of America?
FMR. GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON: Because we need leadership that brings out the best of America and doesn’t appeal to our worst instincts. We need to have leadership that understands our responsibility across the globe, and that we’re not an isolationist party or country. And so whenever you look at the challenges we face from the economy, that we could be headed into a recession, to our border security and the fentanyl crisis that we face, to the lack of energy supply that’s so critical to our growth in our country. These are all issues that I think need to be solved. And my experience as Congress, as head of the DEA, involved in national-security issues, gives me the capability to address those and I’m excited about the opportunity to run.
It’s not a bad answer, but there’s nothing particularly surprising or head-turning about it. There are some vague allusions to Trump — leadership that “appeals to our worst instincts” and “we’re not an isolationist party or country.” But other than the reference to serving as head of the Drug Enforcement Agency, that answer could be given by any other Republican running. If you’re going to run for president only to say the same things that every other candidate is saying, why should Republican primary voters choose you over all the other options? And if you can’t answer that question . . . why are you running?
Mike Pompeo could see the handwriting on the wall. Will any other prospective Republican candidate?
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https://www.nationalreview.com/news/chris-christie-on-florida-disney-feud-i-dont-think-ron-desantis-is-a-conservative/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=31205090
For me the obvious retort is that if Disney wants to be treated as a private business, it should not have State power.
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https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/19/desantis-dc-trump-endorsement-00092695
of course is a liberal dem at Politico so this cannot be trusted
-----
if Trump wins, we lose
in my mind
the only hope is he could get more votes then a dem who is even more unpopular
I don't know how one could be more unpopular then Hillary and even then he won be a fraction of one second.
Biden still not announcing he will not run because they don't want Dems duking it out for his spot. Amazing how they all stick together like crazy glue (pun intended )
Let the Republicans tear each other up and let Trump come out on top
I would be tempted to stay home . I can't stand him anymore. He WILL bring us down.
The crats could not be happier
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https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/19/desantis-dc-trump-endorsement-00092695
of course is a liberal dem at Politico so this cannot be trusted
-----
if Trump wins, we lose
in my mind
the only hope is he could get more votes then a dem who is even more unpopular
I don't know how one could be more unpopular then Hillary and even then he won be a fraction of one second.
Biden still not announcing he will not run because they don't want Dems duking it out for his spot. Amazing how they all stick together like crazy glue (pun intended )
Let the Republicans tear each other up and let Trump come out on top
I would be tempted to stay home . I can't stand him anymore. He WILL bring us down.
The crats could not be happier
Don't worry, all future elections will be fortified for our protection.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/news/rfk-jr-enters-presidential-race-with-double-digit-support-from-biden-voters/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=31218282
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second
Trump Forgets His Own Record on Entitlement Reform
MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting the campaign of former president Donald Trump, has made clear in a series of ads that it views Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s past views on entitlement reform as a weakness heading into 2024. But Trump is equally vulnerable to that line of attack.
Trump’s 2020 budget proposal included cuts to Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. The proposal outlined an aim to spend $25 billion less on Social Security in the next decade and $845 billion less on Medicare over that same period of time. The proposal also would have allocated $1.2 trillion in a block-grant program to states for Medicaid, in an effort to spend $1.5 trillion less on that program over ten years.
Never Back Down, a pro-DeSantis PAC, debuted its own 30-second ad taking Trump to task for fighting fellow Republicans. The ad, “Fight Democrats, Not Republicans,” unearths Trump’s own comments on the issue of entitlements.
The ad, which is the group’s first TV spot, depicts DeSantis saying, “We’re not going to mess with Social Security,” while Trump previously told a reporter that “at some point” entitlements will be something to “look at.”
The Never Back Down ad came after MAGA Inc. launched a rather unique ad last week: a 30-second video of a man eating chocolate pudding with his fingers. The ad plays on a Daily Beast report from last month that claimed DeSantis once ate a pudding cup with three fingers in lieu of a spoon while traveling on a private plane in 2019.
But while the ad grabs viewers with its uncomfortable imagery, the spot ultimately does not concern DeSantis’s eating habits but rather is just the latest example of Trump’s team hitting DeSantis on entitlements.
“Ron DeSantis loves sticking his fingers where they don’t belong. And we’re not just talking about pudding," a voice-over says. "DeSantis has his dirty fingers all over senior entitlements, like cutting Medicare, slashing Social Security, and even raising our retirement age."
“Tell Ron DeSantis to keep his pudding fingers off our money," the video adds. "Oh, and get this man a spoon!"
DeSantis voted for three nonbinding resolutions between 2013 and 2015 that called for raising the retirement age to 70 and reducing benefits for millions of earners. Trump’s attacks on DeSantis’s entitlement record resemble those leveled by Adam Putnam during the 2018 Florida gubernatorial primary — attacks that left-leaning Politifact classified as misleading given that DeSantis voted for non-binding budget resolutions that, even if adopted, would not have changed federal law and would not have therefore cut benefits for any Americans.
The governor also seemed to walk back his previous support for raising the retirement age as well as privatizing Social Security back in March. “We’re not going to mess with Social Security as Republicans,” he told Fox News. “I think that that’s pretty clear.”
The “Pudding Fingers” ad follows a 30-second ad that MAGA Inc. debuted late last month also attacking DeSantis’s record on entitlements.
Nonetheless, the pudding ad got people talking.
In a Sunday memo, the Trump PAC cited search-engine rankings as evidence the ad was a smash hit:
By Friday evening, the No. 1 search suggestion in Google for ‘Ron DeSantis’ was ‘pudding.’ As of Sunday afternoon, MAGA, Inc.’s tweet of the ad had reached 4.2 million people. Media outlets across the political spectrum have covered the ad, including: Bloomberg, Breitbart, The Hill, People Magazine, The Daily Caller, Rolling Stone, Newsmax, The Washington Examiner, Politico, The New York Post, CNN, and The Daily Mail.
CNN’s Jake Tapper called the ad ‘very memorable,’ and The Dispatch editor and Never-Trumper Jonah Goldberg admitted to Tapper that the ad was ‘kind of brilliant’ for its clear ability to ‘stick in people’s heads’ and ‘get enormous free media.' The ad was described as ‘buzzy’ in POLITICO Playbook and as ‘disgustingly good’ in New York magazine. The War Room’s Steve Bannon called it one of the ‘bolder ads’ that he’s ‘seen in recent years in politics.'
But Fox News host Neil Cavuto called the ad “childish” and “insulting.” Karl Rove flat out called the ad “stupid.” “Donald Trump is worried about Ron DeSantis,” Rove said. “Otherwise, why would he be out there now before DeSantis is even a candidate?"
NR’s Noah Rothman argues that neither the MAGA Inc. ad nor the Never Back Down spot leave a good taste in one's mouth: “We’re left to conclude that neither of the two most competitive Republican presidential aspirants have any intention of tackling America’s foremost debt drivers, and that is meant to be a comfort to America’s voters. It is not.”
Yet Trump followed up the ad with a post on Truth Social doubling down on the line of attack: “Social Security and Medicare, and Ron’s attack on both, have destroyed DeSanctimonious. His love affair with Jeb Bush and Karl Rove, certainly haven’t helped, but being a DISCIPLE of ‘Wheelchair over the Cliff’ Paul Ryan, has been a disaster. Ron has lost his supporters and his support, and MAGA refuses to Endorse disloyal people!”
While Trump has taken to personal attacks on DeSantis, whom he has pejoratively nicknamed “Ron DeSantimonious,” the Florida governor has underscored his time spent working rather than getting dragged into Trump’s war of words.
DeSantis, speaking in Ohio, said: "Politics is not entertainment, it’s not about building a brand on social media . . . It’s about delivering results." He also noted the Florida GOP's big victory in November and media coverage of Florida Democrats' demise. "That's what you call winning."
DeSantis, for his part, has also denied using his fingers to eat pudding during an interview with Fox News. And while pudding-gate was part of a larger Daily Beast story meant to draw attention to DeSantis’s lack of charisma, Politico reported that the Florida Republican bucked his “robot reputation” during a trip to New Hampshire last week when he headlined a sold-out state GOP dinner. At the dinner, DeSantis received multiple standing ovations and was “swarmed” for photos after his speech. He met with attendees for more than an hour, shaking hands and taking photos in an unplanned display of retail politicking.
Trump was not the only Republican lobbing attacks against DeSantis this week. Chris Christie, who is considering his own 2024 bid and is one of the more vocal Trump critics of the potential Republican field, shared criticism of the Florida governor over his handling of the ongoing battle between Disney and the Sunshine State.
“I don’t think Ron DeSantis is a conservative based on his actions towards Disney,” he said, adding that the job of government is to “stay out of the business of business.”
“Where are we headed here now? If you express disagreement in this country, the government is allowed to punish you? To me, that’s what I always thought liberals did,” Christie said.
He went on to say that DeSantis’s failure to foresee Disney’s response to his actions means he is “not the guy I want sitting across from President Xi and negotiating our next agreement with China or sitting across from Putin and trying to resolve what’s happening in Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, as questions mount about the potential success of a DeSantis bid, Representative John Rutherford on Tuesday became the sixth Florida Republican of the Sunshine State’s 20-member GOP delegation to endorse Trump. He joins Representatives Greg Steube, Cory Mills, Anna Paulina Luna, Byron Donalds, and Matt Gaetz in supporting the former president. The recent flurry of endorsements is no accident, according to Politico, which reported today that Trump officials sent emails to Florida members on Sunday asking for support ahead of DeSantis’s planned meeting in D.C. with GOP lawmakers on Tuesday.
Representative Lance Gooden of Texas also announced his endorsement of Trump on Tuesday “after careful consideration and a positive meeting" with DeSantis. His endorsement came as a surprise even to Team Trump, according to Politico.
"I met with Governor DeSantis, and while he has done commendable work in Florida, there is no doubt in my mind that President Trump is the only leader who can save America from the leftist onslaught we are currently facing," Gooden said in a statement.
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/04/19/democrat-robert-kennedy-jr-launches-presidential-campaign-in-boston/
with no support from his Dem crazy partisan family - of course
interesting to see if Arnold supports him or Biden
probably Biden.......
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/04/19/democrat-robert-kennedy-jr-launches-presidential-campaign-in-boston/
with no support from his Dem crazy partisan family - of course
interesting to see if Arnold supports him or Biden
probably Biden.......
https://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/bobby-steps-up/
Bobby Steps Up
“It is neither our position nor our circumstances that define us, according to the Stoics, but our response to those circumstances; when destiny crushes us, small heroic gestures of courage and service can bring us peace and fulfillment. In applying our shoulder to the stone, we give order to a chaotic universe.” — RFK, Jr.
Clusterfuck Nation
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Of course, Yahoo News, and all the rest of the in-the-tank news media greeted Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s presidential announcement by branding him a “noted-anti-vaxxer,” as if that’s a bad thing. Yes, noted, thank you very much. Reuters elaborated: “Kennedy has been banned from YouTube and Instagram for spreading misinformation about vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic.” By now, whenever you see the agit-prop platitude spreading misinformation, does your brain not instantly translate that into telling the truth? And by now, does banishment from social media not tell you that certain guilty parties recognize a truth-teller when they see one?
Bobby Kennedy stepped up on Wednesday and gave a long and comprehensive speech so rich with historic resonance, intelligence, and flat-out bravery — in the face of, let’s face it, a Satanic opposition — that he made every other figure aspiring to high office within memory look like quality-control rejects from evolution’s Homo sapiens assembly line. For 90-minutes in a Boston ballroom, RFK, Jr. told America the truth: that its entire matrix of leadership has laid one trip after another on our country going all the way back to the murders of his father and uncle, and he did it plainly, gently, humorously at times, but with an unmistakable gravitas and decorum that must scare the beJeezus out of the low life-forms currently running things.
Most of all, Bobby demonstrated that there is a way out of the bad-faith wilderness America has been lost in for years. He spoke to the audience in the ballroom, and to the country, in an adult conversational tone, without notes, as if he expected that voters would actually understand the problems we face: the wicked partnerships of corporations and governments to swindle and gaslight the public; the reckless military adventurism-for-profit campaign that has bankrupted the USA, now culminating in the Ukraine fiasco; the botched response to the Covid-19 episode and the chicanery that induced it; the insults to our ecosystem that are destroying the other organisms who live with us on this planet; and the financial chicanery that is driving America into inflation and bankruptcy. He reminded the nation of the good-faith efforts sixty years ago to end racial injustice — which has lately turned into a series of dispiriting hustles to promote antagonism and separation.
Bobby’s entry onto the national stage is already a shock to the political system, which is why the captive news media is trying so hard to squash the news about it. They know that he brings something to this game that can trip-up the players currently on-the-field and take the 2024 contest in a wholly different direction than the owners of the game expected. Bobby’s confident adult demeanor at the podium alone is a reassuring and sharp contrast to the spookish mental vacancy of “Joe Biden” and the egotistic childishness of Mr. Trump. Voters will not fail to notice the difference, possibly even Woke Democrats lost in vaccine raptures and other cultish transports of self-righteousness.
I think RFK, Jr. sees very clearly the historical moment he represents. He’s keenly aware of the shade thrown over this land by the murders of his father and President Kennedy, and he has said flat-out in so many words that our own CIA was behind the dastardly acts. He’s been in a position to know the animus between JFK and the founding director of the CIA, Allen Dulles, and the reckless blunders of the agency and its partners in the Pentagon who buffaloed President Kennedy into the Bay of Pigs farce and then tried to drag him deeper into the Vietnam quagmire. JFK resisted that, threatened to shred the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter them to the four winds… and Allen Dulles whacked him. He got away with it the same way that today’s Intel “community” got away with RussiaGate and all their subsequent crimes. In short, Bobby Kennedy knows what it looks like when a government is at war against its own people.
Everybody I know is justifiably worried that the Intel spooks might have no qualms about whacking Bobby Jr. He is at least as dangerous to the establishment today as his father and uncle were back in their day. Thus, his bravery in stepping up now, knowing what he knows. At the least, he will drag a set of issues into the political arena that his rivals would prefer to keep out in the cold and dark. He’ll get some assistance from events themselves, which are spooling out fast now.
The Neocon’s Ukraine project has gone south. The result, which should be hugely embarrassing to our State and Defense departments, will be the paradox of Russia restoring order to a region that we wrecked on-purpose at great cost to the denizens of Ukraine — and, as Bobby pointed out, at great cost to the shattered American middle-class. America will also have to face all the criminal activities around the Covid-19 story: the machinations of Dr. Fauci and company in developing the virus and then the vaccines that proved to be so harmful and deadly; the stupid, disastrous lockdowns; and the government-directed censorship campaign against any and all voices in opposition to medical tyranny.
Most of all, the Democratic Party faces a severe reformation. It’s about to be dragged kicking and screaming out of the diabolical Woke hall-of-mirrors it gamboled into under the Clintons and Barack Obama. How those characters deal with the uncomfortable reality of RFK, Jr. will be something to behold. Finally, there is the news, straight from The New York Times, that “Joe Biden” intends to announce his reelection plans within days. The idea is preposterous, of course, the old grifter visibly oxidizing a little more each day in plain sight of the whole world.
In fact, it’s just another one of their lies, another trip they’re laying on America. The establishment Dems are actually prepping Gavin Newsom to run, another haircut-in-search-of-a-brain, like John Kerry before him. Governor Newsom: the man who almost overnight proudly turned California into a third world shithole. That’s who Bobby Kennedy will be debating, one way or another, in the many months ahead. Whether American handle the truth remains to be seen.
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RFK may well prove to be something of a black swan to the assumptions of the chattering class.
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RFK may well prove to be something of a black swan to the assumptions of the chattering class.
Their obvious dislike of him is a pretty compelling endorsement for me.
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He has been a regular on Tucker.
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He has been a regular on Tucker.
I didn't know that.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/nobody-got-my-approval-trump-furious-he-wasn-t-consulted-about-gop-debates-he-s-out/ar-AA1aknNn?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=61d5c09e566748f0be8f92405cffd076&ei=5
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"nobody got my approval"
" I am out"
here we go again
it is about him
now for his games
saying he won't participate - or he will - or he won't
with media getting sucked in
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FWIW
if Ron runs , he should meet with Thiel.
he is not anti gay like MSM promotes
our side needs his money and clout and publicity
https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-peter-thiel-republican-megadonor-101712942.html
does thiel actually think pedophiles should be dancing in front of children
or they have gender changing surgery at young age or without even consent of parents? he seems more reasonable than that .
-
FWIW
if Ron runs , he should meet with Thiel.
he is not anti gay like MSM promotes
our side needs his money and clout and publicity
https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-peter-thiel-republican-megadonor-101712942.html
does thiel actually think pedophiles should be dancing in front of children
or they have gender changing surgery at young age or without even consent of parents? he seems more reasonable than that .
And if he does?
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"if he does ?"
we are screwed more :x
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"if he does ?"
we are screwed more :x
You aren’t voting your way out of what is coming.
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Biden vs. Trump in 2024? Don’t Be So Sure
Look at voters’ faces when you describe the match-up and you’ll realize they’re open to alternatives.
Peggy Noonan hedcutBy Peggy NoonanFollow
April 27, 2023 6:44 pm ET
Look at people’s faces when you say, “Looks like it’ll be Biden and Trump.” Those faces tell you everything—the soft wince, the shake of the head, the sigh. Those are the emblems of the 2024 campaign right now.
Seventy percent of his own party doesn’t want Joe Biden to run. More than half his party doesn’t want Donald Trump to run. Yet here at the moment we are, with this growing sense of sad inevitability. “Apparently there are only two people in America,” Desi Lydic, sitting in on “The Daily Show,” explained.
Mr. Biden is unopposed because his party couldn’t rouse itself to do what Democrats have almost existed to do, have a big, mean, knockdown, drag-out brawl. Sometimes party discipline is a failure and a mistake. Republicans at least are having a fight but, yes, primary state polls show Mr. Trump dominating.
Feels like another disaster, doesn’t it?
I agree with those who say the problem isn’t only Joe Biden’s age but the implication his age carries: that if he is re-elected there’s a significant chance Kamala Harris will become president. She has been a mystery, a politician who has been unable to say anything pertinent or even coherent on policy. Instead, the loud and sudden laughter unconnected to any clear stimuli, and the sheer looping nonsense of her words. This will give voters pause.
On the Republican side the great not-Trump option, the consistent number two in the polls, has been deflating. It is too early to say Ron DeSantis’s candidacy won’t work. But it feels like it won’t work. But life is surprising.
I’m not going to pick on him on the Disney fight. I thought Disney wrong to come forward, as a major corporation, and use its beloved name to take sides on a delicate state educational issue that was being handled democratically—as in, the governor, who would soon be up for re-election, made a policy decision, got a bill passed, and if the voters don’t like it they could throw him out. Disney shouldn’t have pushed its way in to advance its cultural preferences. That said, Mr. DeSantis’s pushback was as dramatic as it was incompetent.
A big challenge for politicians is the management of powerful and competing interests and institutions, especially those that want to galumph into local political arguments. You have to manage this with firmness but as little friction as possible, because there are always a million arguments and friction keeps things too hot. Not explaining your stand, and Mr. DeSantis isn’t good at explaining his thinking, doesn’t help. Giving the sense you’re getting a partisan kick out of the fracas makes it worse.
Yes, a big challenge for corporations is to remember their mission. For more than a century Budweiser’s mission was to make beer and sell it at a profit. Disney has been entertaining America for nearly a century. They should do that. Except in the most extraordinary and essential cases they shouldn’t give in to the temptation to put themselves forward as deep-thinking cultural leaders. Mind your business, keep your side of the street clean, treat your people well, set a standard, pay them well. Don’t add to the friction. It doesn’t help; it only makes things more bitter.
Mr. DeSantis is reported to be announcing his presidential run later this spring. I got an interesting note about him the other day from the veteran political operative Alex Castellanos. He said the problem for Mr. DeSantis is not that he’s unlikable: “The problem for Ron is worse. It’s that he does not like us.” When voters see a political figure likes them, they start to trust him, because they know “he will do a lot to preserve their affection.”
Politicians find ways to be popular when they’re not so likable. Richard Nixon was one.
But here is the real point of this column. If it starts to seem clear that America is once again locked into a Trump-Biden race, I think the electorate is going to get frisky. I don’t see people just accepting it. I see pushback and little rebellions. Two examples:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who announced last week, this week hit 19% support among Democratic voters. That’s a lot! Especially for a guy who’s been labeled a bit of a nut. (He has been a leader of the idea that childhood vaccines are connected to autism.) But his larger general message would appeal to the edges of left and right, and blends into the general populist mood: Corporations and the government are lying to you, playing you for a fool.
And in an odd way his past nuttiness bolsters his believability: He has worn the scorn of establishments as a medal. His own family isn’t for him. It doesn’t seem to mess with his swing.
He has what Mr. Trump has: star power. And there is the name. I recently was with a physical therapist—early middle age, suburban, not especially interested in politics—who, while working my back, asked if I knew Mr. Kennedy. No, I said. Is he drawing your interest?
She spoke admiringly of his family—of JFK, of RFK the father. She liked them and thought their politics were similar to hers. I asked if she had any living memory of JFK or RFK. No, she said, she was born after they were killed. And yet she spoke of them as if she remembered them.
I say watch him. He is going to be a force this year.
Second, watch a third-party bid. The centrist group No Labels says it’s provisionally attempting to get on the ballot in all 50 states. We’ll see how that works. But a third party, if it comes, could have real and surprising power in this cycle. I am the only person I know who thinks this but, again, look at peoples’ faces when you say it will be Trump or Biden.
Independents now outnumber members of each party. No hunger for a third-party effort is discernible in the polls. So the effort would have to blow people out of their comfortable trenches and make them want to go over the top to seize new ground. It would have to be something centrists, by their nature, aren’t: dramatic. The people who would lead such an effort worry about whether or not they’d wind up as spoilers for the Democrats. You could argue as well it might spoil things for the Republicans.
They should be thinking: We are past the moment for such questions. If you think the country is in trouble and needs another slate of candidates, do it. No ambivalence, no guilt about spoiling it for the lesser of evils. If you’re serious, go for it. Look at the other two guys as spoilers.
A third party would have to have compelling candidates for president and vice president. That would be hard. I am not certain a third party is desirable. But I don’t think it’s impossible.
Third-party enthusiasts tend to be moderate, sober-minded. Such people are almost by definition not swept by the romance of history. But we are living in a prolonged crazy time in American politics. Anything can happen now.
Really, anything. I wonder if they know it.
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second
Has Biden Already Lost Iowa and New Hampshire?
Voters aren’t eager to accept a political demotion.
James Freeman hedcutBy James FreemanFollow
April 27, 2023 4:46 pm ET
The Democratic establishment figured it could get away with demoting Iowa and New Hampshire from their traditional spots at the start of the presidential nominating contests calendar. The theory was that by promising sanctions against any candidates unwilling to accept a new Biden-friendly calendar, Democrats could ensure the elevation of states like South Carolina, home of key Biden ally Rep. James Clyburn. But what if Mr. Biden’s rivals don’t care about the Democratic establishment and aren’t afraid of punishments from party bosses?
As voters keep expressing to pollsters how little they think of Mr. Biden, Iowa is trying to maintain its kickoff caucus and New Hampshire is threatening to be a first-in-the-nation primary loss for the incumbent. Meanwhile, voters nationwide may not be impressed with the Biden effort to rewrite political rules in his favor.
Alex Seitz-Wald reports today for NBC News that the president is “already on track to sacrifice New Hampshire’s famed primary to a fringe rival like Marianne Williamson or Robert Kennedy Jr.” and adds:
The unusual situation is one of Biden’s own making, thanks to the new primary calendar the Democratic National Committee ratified at his behest in February, which seeks to demote Iowa and New Hampshire and prohibits candidates from campaigning — or even putting their name on the ballot — in a state that jumps the line.
The problem is that New Hampshire and Iowa, both of which Biden lost in 2020, plan to disregard the DNC and hold their contests first anyway, most likely forcing Biden to forfeit the first unofficial contests of 2024.
The rules apply to Williamson and Kennedy as well, but they’ve indicated they’re willing to accept the DNC’s unspecified penalties for rule violations since they’re running anti-establishment campaigns anyway.
Even pillars of the Democratic establishment in New Hampshire have been souring on Mr. Biden. This week the powerful Service Employees International Union announced its expected endorsement of Mr. Biden’s re-election. But the same day a Granite State affiliate, the State Employees’ Association of New Hampshire, issued its own announcement:
After careful consideration and in stark contrast to the State Employees’ Association affiliate, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), we want to make it clear that we are not endorsing Joe Biden for re-election in the upcoming presidential race at this time.
Following a robust analysis of the current political landscape, we have come to the conclusion that our members and New Hampshire voters deserve a competitive Democratic Primary. While we respect President Biden’s decades of experience in public service and his commitment to public policy, we believe that his record and actions during his first term as president do not merit an automatic re-endorsement. We eagerly await his return to the Granite State to continue the conversation about his labor priorities, and our door is always open to President Biden.
What makes all of this especially awkward for the White House is that, roughly eight months before primary voters start going to the polls, the “fringe rivals” are already getting some traction. Ms. Williamson and Mr. Kennedy shouldn’t take this personally. They are legitimately strange candidates. Yet a national Emerson College poll released today on the race for the Democratic presidential nomination pegs Mr. Kennedy’s support at 21% and Ms. Williamson’s at a respectable 8%.
It’s Joe Biden’s weakness that is inviting Democratic voters to consider such alternatives and this weakness is likely to invite other candidates to enter the race. What’s also unsettling for the White House is that if Mr. Biden is unable to execute on his strategy of ducking debates and somehow ends up on a stage with the fringe rivals, he could easily come off as the strangest of the three. Josh Christenson reports for the New York Post:
No wonder President Biden needs a cheat sheet while taking questions from adults.
The 80-year-old commander-in-chief had difficulty remembering his recent state visit to Ireland Thursday while being grilled by kids during a Take Your Child to Work event at the White House.
Things apparently went downhill from there, according to the Post’s Mr. Christenson:
Another child at the White House event asked Biden: “Do you watch the Stanley Cup playoffs, and if you do, do you have a favorite team?”
“I did, and I do: the Philadelphia Flyers,” the president answered, apparently unaware that the team did not make the tournament this year.
The commander-in-chief also rattled off the names of grandchildren Naomi, 29, Finnegan, 23, Maisy, 22, Natalie, 18, Robert Hunter Biden II, 17, and Beau Jr., 2, but stopped short of mentioning Navy Joan Roberts, the often-unacknowledged 4-year-old daughter of Hunter and Lunden Roberts, a former stripper.
Good thing for Mr. Biden none of the young questioners is constitutionally eligible to run against him.
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Biden vs. Trump in 2024? Don’t Be So Sure
Look at voters’ faces when you describe the match-up and you’ll realize they’re open to alternatives.
Peggy Noonan hedcutBy Peggy NoonanFollow
April 27, 2023 6:44 pm ET
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in Boston, April 19. PHOTO: BRIAN SNYDER/REUTERS
Look at people’s faces when you say, “Looks like it’ll be Biden and Trump.” Those faces tell you everything—the soft wince, the shake of the head, the sigh. Those are the emblems of the 2024 campaign right now.
Seventy percent of his own party doesn’t want Joe Biden to run. More than half his party doesn’t want Donald Trump to run. Yet here at the moment we are, with this growing sense of sad inevitability. “Apparently there are only two people in America,” Desi Lydic, sitting in on “The Daily Show,” explained.
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Mr. Biden is unopposed because his party couldn’t rouse itself to do what Democrats have almost existed to do, have a big, mean, knockdown, drag-out brawl. Sometimes party discipline is a failure and a mistake. Republicans at least are having a fight but, yes, primary state polls show Mr. Trump dominating.
Feels like another disaster, doesn’t it?
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I agree with those who say the problem isn’t only Joe Biden’s age but the implication his age carries: that if he is re-elected there’s a significant chance Kamala Harris will become president. She has been a mystery, a politician who has been unable to say anything pertinent or even coherent on policy. Instead, the loud and sudden laughter unconnected to any clear stimuli, and the sheer looping nonsense of her words. This will give voters pause.
On the Republican side the great not-Trump option, the consistent number two in the polls, has been deflating. It is too early to say Ron DeSantis’s candidacy won’t work. But it feels like it won’t work. But life is surprising.
I’m not going to pick on him on the Disney fight. I thought Disney wrong to come forward, as a major corporation, and use its beloved name to take sides on a delicate state educational issue that was being handled democratically—as in, the governor, who would soon be up for re-election, made a policy decision, got a bill passed, and if the voters don’t like it they could throw him out. Disney shouldn’t have pushed its way in to advance its cultural preferences. That said, Mr. DeSantis’s pushback was as dramatic as it was incompetent.
A big challenge for politicians is the management of powerful and competing interests and institutions, especially those that want to galumph into local political arguments. You have to manage this with firmness but as little friction as possible, because there are always a million arguments and friction keeps things too hot. Not explaining your stand, and Mr. DeSantis isn’t good at explaining his thinking, doesn’t help. Giving the sense you’re getting a partisan kick out of the fracas makes it worse.
Yes, a big challenge for corporations is to remember their mission. For more than a century Budweiser’s mission was to make beer and sell it at a profit. Disney has been entertaining America for nearly a century. They should do that. Except in the most extraordinary and essential cases they shouldn’t give in to the temptation to put themselves forward as deep-thinking cultural leaders. Mind your business, keep your side of the street clean, treat your people well, set a standard, pay them well. Don’t add to the friction. It doesn’t help; it only makes things more bitter.
Mr. DeSantis is reported to be announcing his presidential run later this spring. I got an interesting note about him the other day from the veteran political operative Alex Castellanos. He said the problem for Mr. DeSantis is not that he’s unlikable: “The problem for Ron is worse. It’s that he does not like us.” When voters see a political figure likes them, they start to trust him, because they know “he will do a lot to preserve their affection.”
Politicians find ways to be popular when they’re not so likable. Richard Nixon was one.
But here is the real point of this column. If it starts to seem clear that America is once again locked into a Trump-Biden race, I think the electorate is going to get frisky. I don’t see people just accepting it. I see pushback and little rebellions. Two examples:
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who announced last week, this week hit 19% support among Democratic voters. That’s a lot! Especially for a guy who’s been labeled a bit of a nut. (He has been a leader of the idea that childhood vaccines are connected to autism.) But his larger general message would appeal to the edges of left and right, and blends into the general populist mood: Corporations and the government are lying to you, playing you for a fool.
And in an odd way his past nuttiness bolsters his believability: He has worn the scorn of establishments as a medal. His own family isn’t for him. It doesn’t seem to mess with his swing.
He has what Mr. Trump has: star power. And there is the name. I recently was with a physical therapist—early middle age, suburban, not especially interested in politics—who, while working my back, asked if I knew Mr. Kennedy. No, I said. Is he drawing your interest?
She spoke admiringly of his family—of JFK, of RFK the father. She liked them and thought their politics were similar to hers. I asked if she had any living memory of JFK or RFK. No, she said, she was born after they were killed. And yet she spoke of them as if she remembered them.
I say watch him. He is going to be a force this year.
Second, watch a third-party bid. The centrist group No Labels says it’s provisionally attempting to get on the ballot in all 50 states. We’ll see how that works. But a third party, if it comes, could have real and surprising power in this cycle. I am the only person I know who thinks this but, again, look at peoples’ faces when you say it will be Trump or Biden.
Independents now outnumber members of each party. No hunger for a third-party effort is discernible in the polls. So the effort would have to blow people out of their comfortable trenches and make them want to go over the top to seize new ground. It would have to be something centrists, by their nature, aren’t: dramatic. The people who would lead such an effort worry about whether or not they’d wind up as spoilers for the Democrats. You could argue as well it might spoil things for the Republicans.
They should be thinking: We are past the moment for such questions. If you think the country is in trouble and needs another slate of candidates, do it. No ambivalence, no guilt about spoiling it for the lesser of evils. If you’re serious, go for it. Look at the other two guys as spoilers.
A third party would have to have compelling candidates for president and vice president. That would be hard. I am not certain a third party is desirable. But I don’t think it’s impossible.
Third-party enthusiasts tend to be moderate, sober-minded. Such people are almost by definition not swept by the romance of history. But we are living in a prolonged crazy time in American politics. Anything can happen now.
Really, anything. I wonder if they know it.
Noonan should have retired a long time ago.
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"She has been a mystery, a politician who has been unable to say anything pertinent or even coherent on policy. Instead, the loud and sudden laughter unconnected to any clear stimuli, and the sheer looping nonsense of her words. This will give voters pause."
She is not a mystery . She is far left woke/BLM total partisan pain in the derriere.
"Independents now outnumber members of each party."
I don't think this is true at all.
just because many do not like Trump or Biden does not make them independents .
most are fixed and will vote for who ever is the nominee IMHO. At most 20% are truly independent as per Mark Penn. He states it used to be 1/3 Democrat , 1/3 Republican, 1/3 independent (or those who could be swayed) yrs ago. Now 40% Dem ,40% Rep, 20 % who could be swayed.
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"She has been a mystery, a politician who has been unable to say anything pertinent or even coherent on policy. Instead, the loud and sudden laughter unconnected to any clear stimuli, and the sheer looping nonsense of her words. This will give voters pause."
She is not a mystery . She is far left woke/BLM total partisan pain in the derriere.
"Independents now outnumber members of each party."
I don't think this is true at all.
just because many do not like Trump or Biden does not make them independents .
most are fixed and will vote for who ever is the nominee IMHO. At most 20% are truly independent as per Mark Penn. He states it used to be 1/3 Democrat , 1/3 Republican, 1/3 independent (or those who could be swayed) yrs ago. Now 40% Dem ,40% Rep, 20 % who could be swayed.
And the fortifiers and the mysterious arrival of endless mail in ballots. The most important of all voters!
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"She has been a mystery, a politician who has been unable to say anything pertinent or even coherent on policy. Instead, the loud and sudden laughter unconnected to any clear stimuli, and the sheer looping nonsense of her words. This will give voters pause."
She is not a mystery . She is far left woke/BLM total partisan pain in the derriere.
"Independents now outnumber members of each party."
I don't think this is true at all.
just because many do not like Trump or Biden does not make them independents .
most are fixed and will vote for who ever is the nominee IMHO. At most 20% are truly independent as per Mark Penn. He states it used to be 1/3 Democrat , 1/3 Republican, 1/3 independent (or those who could be swayed) yrs ago. Now 40% Dem ,40% Rep, 20 % who could be swayed.
And the fortifiers and the mysterious arrival of endless mail in ballots. The most important of all voters!
https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=852,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/136/399/453/original/86c08a5ef3fe629b.png
(https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=852,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/136/399/453/original/86c08a5ef3fe629b.png)
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Playing that one forward.
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https://cjhopkins.substack.com/p/the-great-divide?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/newsmax-reportedly-planning-offer-tucker-181516037.html
One problem is we have Trump....
The other are the Rinos....and other DC uniparty types
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https://cjhopkins.substack.com/p/the-great-divide?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
https://summit.news/2023/04/28/video-abc-news-admits-it-censored-rfk-jr-interview-for-false-claims-about-covid-19-vaccines/
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The Great Divide
CJ HOPKINS
APR 28, 2023
Robert Kennedy, Jr. is running for president. I could not possibly be more excited. So, I’m going to give Bobby some unsolicited advice, which, if he knows what’s good for him, he will not take.
I feel OK about doing this because, even if Bobby, in the wee hours of the night, when the mind is vulnerable to dangerous ideas, were to seriously consider taking my advice, I am sure he has people — i.e., PR people, campaign strategists, pollsters, and so on — that would not hesitate to take him aside and disabuse him of any inclination to do that.
OK, before I give Bobby this terrible advice, I have to do the “full disclosure” thing. I’m a pretty big fan of RFK, Jr. I don’t generally get involved in electoral politics, but, if I were a Democrat, I would definitely vote for him. Also, he was kind enough to blurb my book (which isn’t going to make his PR people happy) and invite me onto his podcast, RFK, Jr. The Defender, to talk about “New Normal” totalitarianism. So, I am fairly biased in favor of Bobby Kennedy. I think he is an admirable, honorable human being. I would love to see him in the Oval Office.
That isn’t going to happen, of course. The global-capitalist ruling classes are never going to let him near the Oval Office. They learned their lesson back in 2016. There are not going to be any more unauthorized presidents. The folks at GloboCap are done playing grab-ass, and they want us to know that they are done playing grab-ass. That’s what the last six years have been about.
As I put it in a column in January, 2021 …
“… This, basically, is what we’ve just experienced. The global capitalist ruling classes have just reminded us who is really in charge, who the US military answers to, and how quickly they can strip away the facade of democracy and the rule of law. They have reminded us of this for the last ten months, by putting us under house arrest, beating and arresting us for not following orders, for not wearing masks, for taking walks without permission, for having the audacity to protest their decrees, for challenging their official propaganda, about the virus, the election results, etc. They are reminding us currently by censoring dissent, and deplatforming anyone they deem a threat to their official narratives and ideology … GloboCap is teaching us a lesson. I don’t know how much clearer they could make it. They just installed a new puppet president, who can’t even simulate mental acuity, in a locked-down, military-guarded ceremony which no one was allowed to attend, except a few members of the ruling classes. They got some epigone of Albert Speer to convert the Mall (where the public normally gathers) into a ‘field of flags‘ symbolizing ‘unity.’ They even did the Nazi ‘Lichtdom‘ thing. To hammer the point home, they got Lady Gaga to dress up as a Hunger Games character with a ‘Mockingjay’ brooch and sing the National Anthem. They broadcast this spectacle to the entire world.”
Does that sound like the behavior of an unaccountable, supranational power apparatus that is prepared to stand by and let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., or Donald Trump, or any other unauthorized person, become the next president of the United States?
So, here’s my bad advice for Bobby.
Fuck them. They’re not going to let you win, anyway. They are going to smear you, slime you, demonize you, distort every other thing you say, and just generally lie about who you are and what you believe in and what you stand for. They are going to paint you as a bull-goose-loony, formerly smack-addled, conspiracy-theorizing, anti-vax fanatic no matter what you do. If you tone down your act and try to “heal the divide” and “end the division,” they are going to have you for lunch, and then sit around picking their teeth with your bones. You know, and I know, and the American people know, that the things you say you want to do as president — which I know you sincerely want to do as president and are crazy enough to actually try to do, i.e., “to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism in our country” — are things ... well, as Michael Corleone once put it, that they would "use all their power to keep from happening."
So, fuck it, and fuck them. Tell the truth.
Not the ready-for-prime-time truth. Not the toned-down-for-mainstream-consumption truth. The truth. The ugly, unvarnished truth. The scary, crazy-sounding truth. The angry, divisive, uncensored truth.
Yes, there is a “divide.” A great divide. A chasm. A schism. A gulf. An abyss. A gaping, yawning, unbridgeable fissure. A Grand Canyon-sized fault in the foundation of society. A rupture in the very fabric of reality.
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As I noted in another 2021 column, the global-capitalist ruling classes have decommissioned one “reality” and are replacing it with another “reality” … corporate feudalism, pathologized totalitarianism, global corporatism, or whatever anybody wants to call it. Whatever we call it, everyone feels it. OK, I’m going to be obnoxious and quote myself again …
“During the changeover from the old ‘reality’ to the new ‘reality,’ the society is torn apart. The old ‘reality’ is being disassembled and the new one has not yet taken its place. It feels like madness, and, in a way, it is. For a time, the society is split in two, as the two ‘realities’ battle it out for dominance. ‘Reality’ being what it is (i.e., monolithic), this is a fight to the death. In the end, only one ‘reality’ can prevail.”
The folks at GloboCap are right on the verge of permanently implementing their new “reality.” In that “reality,” an apocalyptic virus (with a survival rate of roughly 99.7%) nearly wiped out the entire planet, and would have, if not for the Emergency Health Measures (i.e., mass house arrest, forced conformity rituals, cancellation of constitutional rights, censorship of dissent, official propaganda on a scale that even Goebbels could never have dreamed of, fomenting of mass hysteria and hatred, segregation and persecution of a designated scapegoat underclass) imposed on society by our admittedly imperfect but well-intentioned government and global health authorities. In that “reality,” the “vaccines” they forced on billions of people (who did not need them) are “safe and effective” (despite the fact, which even they now acknowledge, that they have seriously injured or killed millions of people). In that “reality,” a few hundred unarmed Trump supporters horsing around in the Capitol Building was an “insurrection,” or “attempted coup,” or … well, you get the picture. There are no neo-Nazis in the Ukraine. The Russians blew up their own pipelines. And so on.
What I am trying to get at, Bobby, is that those of us who have refused to convert to the new “reality” — which I am guessing is approximately 25-30% of the global population — are not looking for a leader who can “heal the divide.” We are in a fight. We are fighting for reality. We’re fighting for what’s left of reality.
And, at the moment, we are getting our asses kicked.
So, fuck it. What have you got to lose? Throw out the playbook. Fire your PR people. Go for broke. Tell the truth. Tell folks what we’re up against. That it isn’t something an election is going to fix. That it isn’t something a new president can fix. That it isn’t fixable. That it is a fucking fight. And not one according to the Queensberry Rules. A ball-kicking, eye-gouging, chair-swinging, bar fight. And that sometimes, like now, when there is nowhere to run to … well, you have to stand and fight, even if you know you’re going to lose.
That’s it. That’s my bad advice for Bobby. Hopefully, one of his staff will spot it and delete it before he reads his email. Otherwise, I’m afraid he might be tempted to take it. He’s already leaning in that direction. And … well, you know how those Irish love a good fight
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/he-s-going-to-be-dead-in-five-years-cnn-anchor-stunned-by-nikki-haley-comment-biden-likely-to-die/ar-AA1awxXw?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=48857996d5654e559a3c94160be3ee86&ei=21
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-insists-desanctis-is-failing-badly-just-hours-after-report-reveals-governor-s-fundraising-smoked-his-donors-are-calling-me/ar-AA1awZis?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=091a47b5f6414a98a3ba4c3c7a76a5a5&ei=11
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https://nypost.com/2023/04/30/republicans-must-confront-abortion-issue-head-on-to-win-swing-voters-in-2024-rnc-chair/
I say the same for climate change
cannot ignore it - it is main issue for many young voters
anti - wokeness alone will simply not be enough
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https://nypost.com/2023/04/30/republicans-must-confront-abortion-issue-head-on-to-win-swing-voters-in-2024-rnc-chair/
I say the same for climate change
cannot ignore it - it is main issue for many young voters
anti - wokeness alone will simply not be enough
https://idahocapitalsun.com/2022/10/03/satanic-temple-files-lawsuit-over-idaho-abortion-laws/
It's a simple question. "Do you support the satanic temple's pro-abortion stance?"
BTW, McDaniels ignores the vote fraud in the upcoming 2024 selection just as she did in the 2020 and 2022 selections. That's not accidental.
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"It's a simple question. "Do you support the satanic temple's pro-abortion stance?"
turning it around to support the Republicans lose
albeit you are 100 % certain vote fraud etc will make it inevitable
As I have said I support ~ 14 weeks limit and not total ban.
So I guess I am satan ?
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"It's a simple question. "Do you support the satanic temple's pro-abortion stance?"
turning it around to support the Republicans lose
albeit you are 100 % certain vote fraud etc will make it inevitable
As I have said I support ~ 14 weeks limit and not total ban.
So I guess I am satan ?
Is it a baby before 14 weeks?
When people wonder how people could defend slavery, look how people defend abortion now.
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fact is many in the US don't.
And I don't want to lose the election over this - not to say this would definitely be an end all .
There will always be evil in humanity and in nature .
Lets see if we can limit it as
eradicating it is hopeless.
The way the nature is - animals eating each other is pretty darn evil.
If God set this up then why this way? God not off the hook......
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fact is many in the US don't.
And I don't want to lose the election over this - not to say this would definitely be an end all .
There will always be evil in humanity and in nature .
Lets see if we can limit it as
eradicating it is hopeless.
The way the nature is - animals eating each other is pretty darn evil.
If God set this up then why this way? God not off the hook......
We have sentience. We are responsible for what we do. A person without a moral core is very dangerous, a nation without a moral core is the literal stuff of nightmares.
You are old enough to remember what America was and what is is now.
If you are not serving God, you are serving someone, or something else.
As Robert Zimmerman once sang:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wC10VWDTzmU&pp=ygUfeW91IGFyZSBnb2luZyB0byBzZXJ2ZSBzb21lYm9keQ%3D%3D
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DESANTIS RESPONDS TO TRUMP’S POLL NUMBERS IN JAPAN… WSJ: “I’m not a candidate, so we’ll see if and when that changes”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wasn’t a candidate for president, but he got a welcome worthy of an American political VIP Monday in Japan, his first stop on an around-the-world tour.
Striding into the prime minister’s office holding the hand of his wife, Casey, Mr. DeSantis held a roughly 40-minute meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He said they discussed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s provocations and the Chinese Communist Party—the sort of issues presidents worry about.
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/shut-down-the-administrative-state-2024-presidential-candidate-vows-to-cure-americas-cultural-cancer_5231134.html?utm_source=Goodevening&src_src=Goodevening&utm_campaign=gv-2023-05-01&src_cmp=gv-2023-05-01&utm_medium=email&est=nlxIGnoffNeFztmLk3ZU9FaernS8tudxz90qjFl2ISDkzXW%2BPAj0UN%2BNuNwxBf2gZQdm
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"if he does ?"
we are screwed more :x
You aren’t voting your way out of what is coming.
https://westernrifleshooters.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/5c5c4fc5a9ff82c4.jpeg
(https://westernrifleshooters.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/5c5c4fc5a9ff82c4.jpeg)
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Trump opens 36% lead reads the headlines
according to CBS poll
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-opens-36-lead-over-230800272.html
"The CBS News/YouGov poll of 2,372 voters makes it clear that Trump has consolidated his position"
does not say if democrat voters included but if so of course they all want trump
I just don't but it .
I don't but republicans are dumping desantis because of disney which of course rinos and dems want us to believe
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1) Polls have been known to push desired results.
2) DeSantis has not even announced yet. Let's see what he brings when he does.
We live in interesting times!
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https://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/pretend-to-the-end/
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https://nypost.com/2023/05/03/vivek-ramaswamys-vision-is-america-first-even-more-than-trump/
I know he has close to zero chance to win but he does bring good ideas to the table and brings attention to them
is he worthy of his very OWN thread on this great forum?
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https://nypost.com/2023/05/03/vivek-ramaswamys-vision-is-america-first-even-more-than-trump/
I know he has close to zero chance to win but he does bring good ideas to the table and brings attention to them
is he worthy of his very OWN thread on this great forum?
https://firehydrantoffreedom.com/index.php?topic=2837.0
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https://www.generalflynn.com/were-not-going-to-win-2024-but-the-governors-can-change-everything/
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That would fit well in the State and Municipal thread.
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Of Course Trump Is Afraid to Debate
It isn’t 2016 anymore. He’s older and out of political shape, and his absence would hurt his rivals.
Peggy Noonan hedcutBy Peggy NoonanFollow
May 4, 2023 6:44 pm ET
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump will be going on CNN next week, for a live Town Hall, for several reasons:
To mix it up, like the old days. To be the dramatic focus of attention in a potentially sparky environment, like the old days. To remind people of positive things they experienced during his administration. To go at Joe Biden. To show a contrast with Ron DeSantis, who avoids mainstream media—Mr. Trump has no fear of them. To attempt to stanch the bleeding among independents.
OPINION: FREE EXPRESSION
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Four More Years for Biden?
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A sophisticated friend of his wondered this week what attitude Mr. Trump will bring to the stage. Will he double down or act as if he’s learned some lessons? Will he say what he always says about Jan. 6 and the pandemic, or will he go broader, perhaps even share a hindsight regret? The friend thought the latter route smarter—it would be fresh, and independents might say “huh, interesting”—but expressed no confidence it would happen. I think that was a hint that if Mr. Trump doesn’t present himself as a man who’s learned some lessons, his prospects aren’t good.
Reports continue from Trumpworld that he will skip the first few Republican primary debates, and has told the Republican National Committee as much. This should surprise no one. This isn’t The Master jerking around the organizers to win concessions—How about only Trump speaks and the rest express their thoughts in pantomime?—it is sheer and obvious calculation. He’s leading, his competitors are trailing; they need it, he doesn’t; he’s famous, they aren’t. One of them could land a shot and ding his mystique. Why expose himself? The audience grows if he shows, shrinks if he doesn’t; his absence hurts his rivals. And he can always counterprogram, going live on another network while the debate is on. (I have a rooting interest: The second debate is at the Reagan Library, where I’m on the board.)
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But I think the real reason he might skip the debates is that he’s scared of being up there on stage for two hours in an uncontrolled environment with a group of people who are gunning for him. He hasn’t had to do that since 2016. The last time he did, he had nothing to lose. His competitors flailed—he was an unknown quantity; they didn’t know what they were up against. He’s older now, 77 in June. He’s out of political shape. He’s throwing reporters’ phones. He mostly does venues he can control—rallies.
When I was writing this I saw what Chris Christie said on Hugh Hewitt’s show: “If he really cares about the country, then he’s going to get up there, and he shouldn’t be afraid. I’m sorry to see that Donald Trump feels like if he gets on the stage, he’s at risk of losing his lead. If, in fact, his ideas are so great, if his leadership is so outstanding, then his lead will only increase. . . . But obviously he’s afraid. He’s afraid to get on the stage against people who are serious. . . . And if he’s afraid he has no business being president.”
That’s a taunt that’s the truth. If Mr. Christie gets in, it would be as an undervalued executive talent who’s learned a few lessons and is a street fighter. When I think of him in debate with Mr. Trump, I think of the old World War II movies in which the captain of the sub is at the periscope and sees the enemy warship. “Right full rudder.” “Load torpedo bay.” “Fire torpedo one.” You see the straight line going underwater at the fat belly of the ship. Kaboom.
The other candidates, announced and potential, are leery of Mr. Trump—his pull with their own supporters, his success as the nickname assassin. But Mr. Christie would open up a can of Jersey on him.
There’s an old boxing saying attributed (with varying language) to Joe Louis and Mike Tyson: Everyone has a plan until he gets punched in the face. Donald Trump has never had to rethink his plan because he never took it full in the face. He doesn’t have to take what he dishes out. He’s never been the focus, onstage, of a serious, capable, sustained assault on policy or comportment. No one on his side has ever challenged him to his face on how and why he failed as president.
No one knows if he could take it. He doesn’t know.
Trump supporters think in terms of wrestling: “To be the man, you gotta beat the man.” To defeat Mr. Trump you have to attack him. But here, they say, is the problem: If you attack Mr. Trump, his base will never forgive you.
They say this as a warning: Damage Mr. Trump and you seal your own fate.
But Donald Trump isn’t some protected species, he’s a politician subject to the same rules of politics as anyone else. If you go at him successfully you’re a hero to many, a villain to some, and you move from there. He should be challenged like anyone else, not treated like a golden egg on a down pillow.
The presidency requires a fight. It doesn’t need your deft little jabs, your prudent self-protectiveness and indirect critiques.
READ MORE DECLARATIONS
Biden vs. Trump in 2024? Don’t Be So SureApril 27, 2023
Artificial Intelligence in the Garden of EdenApril 20, 2023
Evan Gershkovich Is Not a SpyApril 13, 2023
I don’t think Mr. Trump’s people understand the immovable boulder in the path of a Trump election. It’s not the chaos, the impeachments, the scandal—at this point no one can keep them or their outcomes straight. It’s the actions he took from Nov. 3, 2020, through Jan. 6, 2021—the fraudulent attempts to subvert the election, culminating in the violent overrunning of the U.S. Capitol. Which an entire nation, very much including Trump people, watched in honest horror.
Mr. Trump’s people see this as a political problem, a messaging problem, and not what it is, a moral one. But it is the thing Mr. Trump can never get past. I believe Republicans who are soft Trump supporters, who feel drawn in his direction out of loyalty or indignation at his enemies but who aren’t settled or sure, must begin to see that the American people won’t let that man back in the White House. Because they know he’ll try to do it again, only more competently, next time.
Most of those around Mr. Trump know his problems—bad judgment, little understanding of history, disordered ego. They’re for him for their own reasons. But to their credit, they never say, “He’s wiser than he was in his first administration,” or “He’s mellowed,” or “This is a good man.”
When your own people can’t say these things, that is a weakness. What they do believe, and will say, is the Democrats are worse, the media is worse, and Mr. Trump was never treated fairly. That is their sole unifying principle.
Those around Joe Biden believe in Mr. Trump, in that they believe they can take him. He can take Mr. Trump again. They can’t know that about other candidates but they know it of Mr. Trump because he does what Mr. Biden has long struggled to do, rally and unify the Democratic base. They long to read, “Trump Wins GOP Nomination.” It means the November headline is “Biden Re-Elected.” How odd it would be for Republicans at this point in history to give Democrats what they so long for.
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/may/5/republican-rivals-start-pick-apart-donald-trumps-r/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=evening&utm_term=evening&utm_content=evening&bt_ee=n4A9EtZkGJqqudc0s5EvD8DN1vbsaDHt62BNSkZTT6HUi5RUx%2FUHgodvZuhx1Cv2&bt_ts=1683331241346
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/may/5/republican-rivals-start-pick-apart-donald-trumps-r/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=evening&utm_term=evening&utm_content=evening&bt_ee=n4A9EtZkGJqqudc0s5EvD8DN1vbsaDHt62BNSkZTT6HUi5RUx%2FUHgodvZuhx1Cv2&bt_ts=1683331241346
Shouldn't Christie be filming an ad for a type II Diabetes drug?
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By CHARLES C. W. COOKE
May 5, 2023 11:51 AM
What the GOP has achieved in Florida is astounding. Republican primary voters should credit the governor who spearheaded it.
Is this what it felt like to be a progressive during the Great Society?
Today, the Florida legislature concludes its 2023 session. And good Lord has it made the most of it. In the space of just three months, Governor DeSantis and the Republican supermajority have created the largest school-choice program in American history, banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, made Florida the 26th constitutional-carry state in the nation, forced unions to abide by the Supreme Court’s Janus decision, cut taxes by $2 billion, banned sex-change operations from being performed on minors, barred DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives in universities, expanded the use of mandatory E-Verify in the state, achieved a previously unthinkable collection of tort reforms, declared driver’s licenses issued to out-of-state illegal immigrants invalid in Florida, prohibited state and local governments from considering ESG (environmental, social, and governance) factors in their contracting and investing decisions, extended last year’s Parental Rights in Education law through twelfth grade, made it illegal for financial institutions to discriminate on the basis of “religious, political, or social beliefs,” and prevented credit-card companies from tracking their customers’ gun purchases.
In recent weeks, Governor DeSantis has been keen to point out that politicians who wish to effect change must first win their elections. The GOP’s achievements within this legislative session underscore his point. Florida is not Florida by accident. It is Florida because, for the last 28 years, the Republican Party has controlled the state’s legislature, and, for the last 24 years, it has controlled the governor’s office. This, not posting memes on Twitter, has allowed it to prohibit the taxation of any form of income, to require any tax or fee increases to receive the blessing of a supermajority of both legislative houses, to create the top fiscal and economic environment in the country, to ban affirmative action, to reject Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, to appoint six out of the state’s seven supreme court judges, to provide the sane response to Covid that attracted hundreds of thousands of émigrés during 2020 and 2021, and to accumulate all of the other policy wins that, frankly, are just too numerous to list.
I do not like every last thing that Republicans have done in Florida, and I have been happy to say as much. But that is not my point here. My point — the sine qua non point, really — is that Florida provides a remarkable example of a political organization having conceived of, and then executed, a coherent vision. Until 1999, Florida had elected only two Republican governors since Reconstruction. Since then, voters have refused to elect a single Democrat to the mansion. Better still, Republicans have been rewarded for their efforts. From the end of the Civil War until 2021, there were more registered Democrats in the state than Republicans. Today, the Republicans have an advantage of 454,918, the Republican governor has a 59–39 approve–disapprove rating, and the legislature has so many Republican legislators sitting in it that it could pass any legislation it wished to over a gubernatorial veto.
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https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=852,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/137/075/901/original/c7414c95eb956093.jpg
(https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=852,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/137/075/901/original/c7414c95eb956093.jpg)
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GM:
As previously requested, this line of posting belongs in the electoral thread.
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castro, mafia , CIA , LBJ etc
blah blah blah
https://nypost.com/2023/05/07/robert-kennedy-jr-blames-cia-for-john-f-kennedy-assassination/
:roll:
OTOH I do admit
look at 50 + ex intelligence officers totally willing to lie for jobs , swamp cred, , for lucrative
post government "service " with the Woke techsters media etc ......
and I would/could not rule out the CIA theory
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castro, mafia , CIA , LBJ etc
blah blah blah
https://nypost.com/2023/05/07/robert-kennedy-jr-blames-cia-for-john-f-kennedy-assassination/
:roll:
OTOH I do admit
look at 50 + ex intelligence officers totally willing to lie for jobs , swamp cred, , for lucrative
post government "service " with the Woke techsters media etc ......
and I would/could not rule out the CIA theory
I use to roll my eyes at that, now I can't dismiss it.
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https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/donald-trump-2024-center/2023/05/06/id/1118857/
wasn't morris completely wrong about the outcome of the pres election of '20
and the midterms of '22
does Morris think we are this dumb to think Trump has the temperament to be a great uniter ?
he is not emotionally capable of governing this way ...
dick could easily win this competition :
https://www.google.com/search?q=blow+very+hard+youtube&rlz=1C5GCEM_enUS1001US1001&ei=ih1YZOO5Lb6s5NoP5aSMsAI&ved=0ahUKEwjjppnGmOT-AhU-FlkFHWUSAyYQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=blow+very+hard+youtube&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQAzIFCCEQoAEyBQghEKABOgkIABAIEB4QsAM6CwgAEIoFEIYDELADOgYIABAWEB46CAgAEBYQHhAKOggIABAWEB4QDzoICAAQigUQhgM6CAghEBYQHhAdOgcIIRCgARAKOgUIIRCrAkoECEEYAVDIA1j-E2CWFWgCcAB4AIABYIgB_AWSAQE5mAEAoAEByAEEwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:559a5156,vid:JXmzZJLHUlY
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:roll:
https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/donald-trump-2024-center/2023/05/06/id/1118857/
wasn't morris completely wrong about the outcome of the pres election of '20
and the midterms of '22
does Morris think we are this dumb to think Trump has the temperament to be a great uniter ?
he is not emotionally capable of governing this way ...
dick could easily win this competition :
https://www.google.com/search?q=blow+very+hard+youtube&rlz=1C5GCEM_enUS1001US1001&ei=ih1YZOO5Lb6s5NoP5aSMsAI&ved=0ahUKEwjjppnGmOT-AhU-FlkFHWUSAyYQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=blow+very+hard+youtube&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQAzIFCCEQoAEyBQghEKABOgkIABAIEB4QsAM6CwgAEIoFEIYDELADOgYIABAWEB46CAgAEBYQHhAKOggIABAWEB4QDzoICAAQigUQhgM6CAghEBYQHhAdOgcIIRCgARAKOgUIIRCrAkoECEEYAVDIA1j-E2CWFWgCcAB4AIABYIgB_AWSAQE5mAEAoAEByAEEwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:559a5156,vid:JXmzZJLHUlY
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why the rolling eyes ?
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why the rolling eyes ?
Morris claiming Trump would be a uniter.
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Dems and Pravdas in a freak out that one of their own polls shows Trump up 7 over Biden and DeSantis up 5.
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Breitbart had article today with clip from
CNNLOL
when they were speaking about this poll
all they would claim is it is all about Biden's lack of "mental sharpness"
NOTHING about policies
and of course they had to compare Trump mental sharpness poll to Biden
something like 34 % believe Biden ok
and 54 % believe Trump ok
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/05/08/cnns-bolduan-biden-has-lowest-approval-rating-of-any-president-at-this-point-in-their-first-term/
MSM will not talk about Biden's policies in a negative way . They are defaulting to his dementia .
They , like us are desperately searching for an alternative to the front runner .
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https://washingtonstand.com/commentary/biden-tanks-under-brutal-polling-as-reelection-campaign-struggles-to-lift-off--
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to get back on Fox
trump goes to CNN
do not look for softball pitches
but be ready to duck the endless fast hardballs at his head:
https://apnews.com/article/cnn-trump-town-hall-kaitlan-collins-9a387cab047b4eed0e036c7308ac69c7
Trump always thinks he will outsmart the networks
they will not let him
probably will wind up being confrontational .....
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And with today's civil suit loss it is going to be particularly lively , , ,
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https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/05/is-the-biden-coalition-really-breaking-apart/?bypass_key=eEZBZTYrVExjK21oMU8xNDA4TFNjUT09OjpTbTF4UkZsc2MwbHRVRFF5Umt4eGFqUnlVbE5OVVQwOQ%3D%3D&lctg=547fd5293b35d0210c8df7b9&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Monday%20through%20Friday%202023-05-09&utm_term=NRDaily-Smart
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https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/jason-miller-donald-trump-cnn/2023/05/15/id/1119877/
seems like many on the right and all on the left want to paint the seascape of DeSantis campaign as a sinking ship in the storm
well if true we are so screwed . Trump barely won even in '16 and then only the electoral college
he has NEVER polled above the high 40s at best. We have lost '18,'20,'22
he is a loser
then only hope then is he is less bad then the Dem, whoever that might be , I don't believe it will be Biden .
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I suggest waiting to see what happens when he announces.
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from Pj media"
*****What Donald Trump Could Do to Win Even More Support in 2024
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
It’s an understatement to say that Donald Trump has been a polarizing political figure — and I’m talking about among conservatives and Republicans. Back in 2016, he gave many conservatives some pause on whether to support him. I know because I was one of them.
I don’t think I lost friends permanently over Trump in 2016, but I did have people tell me I needed to get off my “high horse” because I wouldn’t blindly support him. When he won the election, I was happy to give him the benefit of the doubt. I’m glad he proved me wrong, and I was more than happy to vote for him in 2020 considering both his accomplishments in office and who he was running against.
But since the 2020 election and especially since he announced his 2024 run, Trump’s behavior has put plenty of conservatives in the same boat they were in the first time around. Many conservatives and Republicans — and there are differences — wonder if it’s time to move on from Trump. After all, we have some compelling candidates for next year: Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, and hopefully Ron DeSantis. (And don’t forget Asa Hutchinson — just kidding!)
If Trump is going to serve a second term, he’s going to need all the support he can get. While we know he won’t capture the Never-Trump crowd, there are plenty of skeptical and hesitant potential supporters out there. I have a couple of ideas about how he can bring those crucial 2024 voters around to his side.
For starters, Trump needs to leave the past in the past and focus on the future. The 2020 election is over, and no matter how unfair anybody thinks it may have been, there’s nothing we can do about it short of inventing a time machine and messing with the space-time continuum. So it’s time to drop the complaining about unfair treatment and rehashing what’s past.
how could anyone conclude he will or is emotionally , intellectually mature enough he will ever do this
Instead, Trump needs to concentrate on what he’s going to do to undo the damage that the Biden administration has inflicted on this nation. The border, the economy, energy independence, and the scourge of transgenderism are just a few of the domestic issues on the table, and our foreign policy needs an overhaul. It’s time to replace fixating on the past with focusing on the future.
Another thing Trump should do is stop attacking his fellow conservatives, even those who are his competitors (or potential combatants) for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. As National Review‘s Dan McLaughlin reminds us, “Politics is a team sport,” and Trump needs to be a better team player. We have a common enemy in Joe Biden and the Democrats, so Trump needs to save his vitriol for them.
how could anyone conclude he will or is emotionally , intellectually mature enough he will ever do this
Instead, we get Trump going after conservatives who don’t follow him in lockstep. In my home state of Georgia, we witnessed this firsthand when Trump went after the Peach State’s solidly conservative and increasingly popular governor Brian Kemp for not falling in line with the “stolen 2020 election” narrative. Trump wasted $3 million primarying former senator David Perdue against Kemp with disastrous results, and all but one of Trump’s handpicked candidates lost either in the primary or the general election. (The one candidate who won, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, didn’t face an incumbent Republican in the primary.) Now Trump is targeting DeSantis because he perceives the Florida governor as his biggest GOP competitor.
Trump needs to drop his strange obsession with attacking his conservative rivals from the left. It reminds me of the concerns that many of us had ahead of 2016 about whether he was going to govern as a conservative. He has been going after DeSantis — and even Kemp — from the left on topics like abortion and COVID-19 policy. How going left to highlight what Trump finds wrong with other Republicans is supposed to convince conservatives to give him another chance is beyond me.
how could anyone conclude he will or is emotionally , intellectually mature enough he will ever do this
We may well be headed for Trump inevitability in 2024, and it’s easy to see why so many people believe he deserves a shot at a second term. He could rally reluctant conservative supporters to his side if he would fix these things and run like the president he turned out to be instead of the candidate he’s been lately.
And it would be a bonus if somebody would get him to stop making that weird fist…
he will do it just to piss you off because you dared to criticize him
Donald Trump
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
No matter who wins the GOP primary, we must beat Joe Biden and his handlers in 2024. Supporting independent media like PJ Media is one way to help buck the left-wing media narrative.
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Putting on my Pollyana hat, I see someone ready to jump to DeSantis in the not too distant future. He sees the flaws, sees the answers, and when his hopes are dashed , , ,
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FWIW :
WPA Intelligence survey:
https://nypost.com/2023/05/17/biden-up-7-points-against-trump-in-2024-election-poll/
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https://firehydrantoffreedom.com/index.php?action=post;topic=2752.450;last_msg=158840
some people just refuse to go away
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Obviously "polls" often/usually are structured to skew the results.
Do we have a sense of which ones, if any, tend to be honest and sound?
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https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=852,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/138/187/193/original/ca9524c4c3c07521.png
(https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=852,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/138/187/193/original/ca9524c4c3c07521.png)
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https://www.google.com/search?q=too+sexy+for+my+song&rlz=1C5GCEM_enUS1001US1001&oq=too+sexy+for+my+song&aqs=chrome..69i57.5508j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:a0a75b6f,vid:rdna1DKsg8M
'I'm Too Sexy' , 1991
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I agree with this
and only partially of much of the rest :
"The 2020 election, and subsequent ones, show Trump has a sub-majority ceiling. That’s a problem and it’s not likely to change – he threaded the needle once and maybe he can do it again, but hoping to get lucky twice is not a plan."
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2023/05/22/the-gops-festival-of-losers-n2623507
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Yes.
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https://www.zerohedge.com/political/former-deputy-natl-security-adviser-fbi-cia-doj-will-rig-2024-election
You read it here first!
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From all of us- a point worth remembering.
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https://amgreatness.com/2023/04/01/when-we-are-the-minority/
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A reasoned article.
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The Ron DeSantis Challenge
The Florida Governor has a strong record. Can he offer voters a larger national vision?
By The Editorial BoardFollow
Updated May 25, 2023 9:39 am ET
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in April PHOTO: PAIGE DINGLER/THE NEWS & ADVANCE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The unfortunate political reality today is that the U.S. is marching toward a 2024 rematch between two aging Presidents, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, that most Americans say they don’t want. This great country can do better, but it’s up to voters to spare us from the divisive oldsters who desperately need each other to win a second term.
At least for now, the Democratic Party is defaulting to 80-year-old President Biden. But even most Democrats prefer a new nominee, and nearly 30% are making that point by telling pollsters they support the vanity candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Marianne Williamson. It’s not far-fetched that Mr. Biden will decide not to run, or that some serious candidate might challenge the President if there’s a deep recession, or he shows even more noticeable physical or mental decline.
***
Republicans are at least getting a better choice as a variety of candidates enter the presidential race. They all have their merits and deserve a hearing as the campaign unfolds. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined the fray on Wednesday and, judging by the polls and his financial backing to date, he is the biggest threat to Mr. Trump.
The 44-year-old has an impressive resume: son of middle-class parents, Yale baseball captain, Harvard law school, Navy veteran including a tour in Iraq, and a three-term Member of Congress. But he has made his mark politically with his record as the two-term Governor of booming Florida.
His legislative record is as impressive as you’ll find, including near-universal school choice, $3.3 billion for Everglades restoration, tort and insurance reform, paycheck protection for workers in public unions, tax cuts, insisting on free speech in higher education and resisting woke ideology.
His greatest achievement was his handling of the pandemic. After the initial panic and shutdowns driven by President Trump and Anthony Fauci in Washington, Mr. DeSantis did his own homework on Covid health risks and the costs of economic and school lockdowns.
This wasn’t easy given media conformity and the public mood at the time. New York’s Andrew Cuomo was hailed as a national hero for his onerous lockdowns and fighting with Mr. Trump. Mr. DeSantis decided to reopen the schools in 2020 and had to fight lawsuits to do so. He was among the first governors to reopen his state’s economy, and Florida became a mecca for tens of thousands who wanted a refuge from lockdown isolation. For breaking from Covid orthodoxy, he was maligned in the press as the “angel of death.”
This is a sharp contrast with Mr. Trump, who indulged the lockdown lobby for months, kept Dr. Fauci on the job through the end of his term, and shot from the lip on treatments and other controversies that undermined public confidence. This gave Mr. Biden the opening to defeat him in 2020.
The acid test of leadership is how someone responds in a crisis, and Mr. DeSantis showed both the discipline to master the subject and the courage to defy elite opinion for the larger public good.
Mr. DeSantis’s record is undeniably conservative, and some critics fear it may be too far right to win a national election. Mr. Trump seems to think so as he is attacking the Governor from the left on Social Security, abortion for Florida’s six-week ban, and the fight over Disney’s special Florida privileges.
But Mr. DeSantis won re-election in 2022 by 19 points in a state that has traditionally been a nail-biter. He won Hispanic counties and others that traditionally vote Democratic. Mr. Trump hasn’t won anything for himself or the rest of his party since his inside electoral straight in 2016.
A more serious concern for many is Mr. DeSantis’s fence-straddling on Ukraine and Russia. He indulged a former Fox News host by calling the war a “territorial dispute,” though he later said the phrase was misunderstood.
But Mr. DeSantis hasn’t clarified his larger foreign-policy views, and the worry is that he will make the mistake of chasing Mr. Trump in retreating from U.S. global commitments. Mr. DeSantis will need to explain how he defines being a foreign policy “Jacksonian” in an increasingly dangerous world.
***
The other rap against Mr. DeSantis is that he’s a cultural brawler more than a likable unifier. There’s truth to this. He’s no backslapper, and he’d benefit from even a little of Ronald Reagan’s self-deprecating humor. The best candidates for President campaign with some poetry and optimism as well as policy grit and personal toughness.
The Governor will also need a larger vision for America beyond his Florida success—not least how he’d lift the economy out of stagflation and the country out of its angry divisions. Mr. Biden promised to do the latter but has made his Presidency hostage to the Bernie Sanders left. Mr. Trump is promising a politics of “retribution,” which means four more years of national trench warfare.
Mr. Biden’s failures mean there’s an opportunity for Republicans to offer voters a better vision of national renewal. The country needs it, Americans want it, and the opening is there if a GOP candidate can seize the moment.
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Tim Scott Is Up to the 2024 Presidential Primary Challenge
In a dark and angry era, can he persuade American voters to embrace optimism?
By Karl RoveFollow
May 24, 2023 6:14 pm ET
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Tim Scott announces his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination at Charleston Southern University in North Charleston, S.C., May 22. PHOTO: MIC SMITH/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sen. Tim Scott can move a crowd. I’ve seen it more than once.
The first time was in May 2021, when Mr. Scott—who announced he is running for the GOP presidential nomination Monday—appeared at a donor appreciation conference for a Republican voter registration effort I helped organize in Texas. He was interviewed for 45 minutes by then-Rep. Kevin Brady. After a few dry minutes discussing the 2017 tax reform the two worked on, Mr. Brady shifted gears, telling Mr. Scott he wanted the audience to know the South Carolinian’s personal story as well as he did. Mr. Brady then asked the only black Republican senator when he first realized someone hated him because of his skin color.
The next 40 minutes saw a riveting exploration of Mr. Scott’s life. The son of a single mom, he grew up in his grandparents’ 700-square-foot rental house. Knowing discrimination from a young age, he became a disillusioned, angry teenager. He was saved by his faith and a mentor—the owner of the Chick-fil-A where he worked. There he learned the dignity of work, the importance of personal responsibility, and the choice he had to make between becoming bitter over what life had dealt him or striving to become better. He talked about being a Christian in a way that was sincere and humble, not showy or presumptuous.
As the interview proceeded, the crowd fell silent, every eye drawn to the stage. No one left or looked at a phone. When it was finished, the audience responded with a level of emotion I’ve rarely seen in politics. Mr. Brady told me the interview’s power came not from Mr. Scott talking about being given the American dream, but because it became clear that through struggle, hard work and love, he had achieved it.
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This led to a return visit by Mr. Scott to this past February’s voter registration conference. A fellow senator, John Cornyn from Texas, did the interview, with the two focusing on the GOP’s challenges with a changing electorate.
Mr. Scott became so energized that at one point he stood up, walked off the stage and weaved his way through the crowded tables, mic in hand, preaching about the need for outreach, arguing that conservative values can find receptive hearts and minds among the young, people of color, and anyone striving to rise in life. He called on Republicans to offer a confident, optimistic agenda in which every American has a place. His walk through the hall was met with applause, laughter, head nodding and more than a few amens.
Further evidence of Mr. Scott’s ability to connect with voters was his reply to President Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress—which new presidents traditionally deliver in lieu of a State of the Union address—in April 2021. Giving the opposition party’s response is usually the worst assignment in politics. A nervous, ill-prepared backbencher responding to the president within minutes generally results in an awkward speech that pales in significance to the majesty of a long-planned presidential address.
Yet Mr. Scott’s appearance was impressive. He praised Mr. Biden as “a good man” but criticized him for “pulling us further apart.” He found fault with the president’s $2 trillion spending bill, which passed on a party-line vote. He pointed to Mr. Biden’s abandonment of his decadeslong opposition to government funding of abortion. He criticized the Democrats’ refusal to consider Mr. Scott’s police-reform proposals—seemingly only because a Republican sponsored them. These actions, Mr. Scott argued, didn’t fulfill Mr. Biden’s pledge to unite the country. It’s rare that a response to a State of the Union resonates so well.
Mr. Scott also has a fast friendship with the best pal in politics—ready money. His $22 million cash on hand as of March 30 eclipsed even Donald Trump’s $14 million. But Mr. Scott’s great strength isn’t fundraising—it’s what brought in the cash: his authenticity in sharing a message.
He’s proved that he’ll be a disciplined campaigner. During an interview Monday, NBC correspondent Tom Llamas tried to lure Mr. Scott six times into trashing Mr. Trump and five times into knocking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In every instance, Mr. Scott refused to take the bait, answering by saying what he believed and planned to do. Viewers still got the contrast with Messrs. Trump and DeSantis, while Mr. Scott rose above his opponents.
One challenge for Mr. Scott will be to campaign extensively enough in the first contests in Iowa and New Hampshire while fulfilling his Senate duties. An even greater challenge is to convince a party in which many have embraced Mr. Trump’s dark, angry spirit that optimism and personal integrity are a better option.
It won’t be easy to displace the politics of retribution. That alone makes the South Carolina senator an underdog. But Tim Scott has overcome greater challenges in life.
Mr. Rove helped organize the political-action committee American Crossroads and is author of “The Triumph of William McKinley” (Simon & Schuster, 2015).
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https://www.oann.com/newsroom/desantis-raises-over-8m-in-first-24-hrs-of-presidential-campaign/
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/may/27/ron-desantis-holds-edge-over-trump-building-gop/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=qHvglaufCYCfAf8U5M2rOZi8wCBALt7dFG82QesJ4STHNhNTzviUmySxdlPxtvOJ&bt_ts=1685196745761
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https://anncoulter.com/2023/05/24/how-not-to-be-president/
We got powerful tweets ! :wink:
and so many seem to want more genius tweets it seems
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Pretty devastating takedown.
https://anncoulter.com/2023/05/24/how-not-to-be-president/
We got powerful tweets ! :wink:
and so many seem to want more genius tweets it seems
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Coulter can write with bite, but as far as serious analysis of his presidency goes, that is but a fart.
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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FxG_deGaAAE5Gyc?format=jpg&name=large
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FxG_deGaAAE5Gyc?format=jpg&name=large)
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https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/04/29/smr-rfk-jr-on-challenging-biden.cnn
I was wondering of MSM would give him the time of day
as I notice him on our side media
Fox Newsmax and others
OTOH I don't make it a point to listen to left MSM :-D
he makes good points. I don't recall A Democrat who I actually agree on multiple points !
SHOULD HE HAVE HIS OWN THREAD?
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https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/04/29/smr-rfk-jr-on-challenging-biden.cnn
I was wondering of MSM would give him the time of day
as I notice him on our side media
Fox Newsmax and others
OTOH I don't make it a point to listen to left MSM :-D
he makes good points. I don't recall A Democrat who I actually agree on multiple points !
SHOULD HE HAVE HIS OWN THREAD?
He does.
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https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/04/29/smr-rfk-jr-on-challenging-biden.cnn
I was wondering of MSM would give him the time of day
as I notice him on our side media
Fox Newsmax and others
OTOH I don't make it a point to listen to left MSM :-D
he makes good points. I don't recall A Democrat who I actually agree on multiple points !
SHOULD HE HAVE HIS OWN THREAD?
He does.
https://firehydrantoffreedom.com/index.php?topic=2838.0
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https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WhpCEYP3sXE
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https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2023/05/29/how-the-primaries-will-go-n2623780
at least this previous Trump fan is sensible enough to see Trump is a loser
and should NOT be our candidate:
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2023/05/29/how-the-primaries-will-go-n2623780
" The other way this goes is if the Republicans look at the candidates and answer the three questions – can he win, will he govern effectively, and can we tolerate his antics – “No,” “No,” and “No.” If they do, they have decided that Ron DeSantis is the answer. "
YES
" going for DeSantis does not mean you hate Trump – I like Trump. It does mean that you prioritize winning the political/cultural war over vindicating his wounded ego."
Well yes and no. I do "hate" Trump . I would only vote for him only any other Democrat but he is the last resort in my mind
He repulsiveness can only drag us down more as I see it.
glad to see Kurt reads this board for ideas - :wink: :-D
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Marc F.,
A lot of campaigns are urging you to donate before their self-constructed fundraising deadlines. They’re probably making you feel terrible if you don’t contribute too, aren’t they?
At Team DeSantis we’re taking a different approach.
Our entire fundraising & digital program’s foundation is built on this principle: Our donors are a part of our team; they are NOT our personal piggy bank.
Look, I get it. Times are tough thanks to Joe Biden's Economy and our team doesn't want to pressure you towards donating if you can’t afford it.
You will never receive a solicitation from this campaign that promises a fake match or degrades you for not donating.
No smoke and mirrors, no fake matches, and no lies.
That’s what this campaign is all about, and I promise you, that's the kind of President you will have when I am in the White House.
If that sounds like the kind of campaign, you want to be a part of today then please join Team DeSantis today by chipping in any amount you can afford.
https://secure.winred.com/desantis/great-american-comeback-rcl?utm_source=_&utm_medium=em_p&utm_campaign=2023-05-26__rightcountrylist_ha_rd_rcl_HowWereDif_HowWereDif_greatamericancomebackdb_fr_&utm_term=gopawaken
Chip in $15
Chip in $25
Chip in $47
Chip in $75
Chip in $100
Chip in $250
Chip in ANY AMOUNT to join Team DeSantis
Let’s show the country we love that we’re willing to fight for it.
Chip in today to join Team DeSantis.
Yours in freedom,
Ron DeSantis for President
Ron DeSantis
Meet Ron DeSantis
Ron DeSantis for President
A native Floridian with blue-collar roots, Ron attended Dunedin High School and worked his way through Yale University, where he graduated with honors and was the captain of the varsity baseball team. He also graduated with honors from Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, he earned a commission in the U.S. Navy as a JAG officer. During his active-duty service, Ron deployed to Iraq as an adviser to a U.S. Navy SEAL commander in support of the SEAL mission in Fallujah, Ramadi and the rest of Al Anbar province. His military decorations include the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service and the Iraq Campaign Medal.
Ron also served as a federal prosecutor, where he targeted and convicted child predators. He was elected to Congress in 2012 and advocated for congressional term limits and a balanced budget amendment. He also spearheaded oversight efforts to expose malfeasance in the IRS and in agencies involved in abusing their authority during the manufacturing of the Russia collusion conspiracy theory. Congressman DeSantis was also a leading champion for America’s veterans and helped enact reforms to the VA and place an emphasis on mental health.
Ron is married to Casey DeSantis, an Emmy Award winning television host. Together, they’re the proud parents of their daughters, Madison and Mamie, and their son, Mason.
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https://nypost.com/2023/05/30/chris-christie-eases-into-2024-prez-campaign-with-super-pac/
the Rubles , Yen , and Rials should be flowing in non stop :roll:
I suspect 330 million pairs of eyeballs are rolling about now with the news
his only know NJ supporters are his family - I think
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-slams-his-former-press-secretary-kayleigh-mcenany/ar-AA1bUQZ6?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=faf94e2a662d4310a5b96c5a94a34d7a&ei=37
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I think America needs a president that eats an entire lasagna for breakfast every day.
https://nypost.com/2023/05/30/chris-christie-eases-into-2024-prez-campaign-with-super-pac/
the Rubles , Yen , and Rials should be flowing in non stop :roll:
I suspect 330 million pairs of eyeballs are rolling about now with the news
his only know NJ supporters are his family - I think
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Open in app or online
How Ron DeSantis can win, Part 2
And why - even if he CAN'T win - this is the path he should take
ALEX BERENSON
MAY 31
The national mood is bleak. American defeats are piling up:
Military humiliation in west Asia. Soaring budget deficits and inflation. Rising crime and acceptance of antisocial behavior and drug use. In the White House, an ineffective Democratic president challenged by a Kennedy.
But the answer comes from somewhere else, from a Sunshine State governor named Ronald - despised by the elite media but popular at home.
—
The parallels between 1979 and 2023 are eerie.
And if Ron DeSantis wants to be the next President, he needs to get his inspiration somewhere other than Donald Trump.
He needs to channel the spirit of Ronald Reagan.
DeSantis will never have Reagan’s charisma.
But Reagan had weaknesses too. He was skewered as an intellectual lightweight, and for all his charm and presence, he wasn’t exactly likable, much less relatable. He was too much of an old-school movie star to be the guy you’d imagine having over for a beer. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton passed that test much better.
No, Reagan won because he so clearly believed in America’s promise - and because he’d lived it, and he’d run a state that embodied it.
(MAGA, Reagan-style.)
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Pure boomer nostalgia pandering there.
If only things were only as bad as during Carter…
Open in app or online
How Ron DeSantis can win, Part 2
And why - even if he CAN'T win - this is the path he should take
ALEX BERENSON
MAY 31
SHARE
The national mood is bleak. American defeats are piling up:
Military humiliation in west Asia. Soaring budget deficits and inflation. Rising crime and acceptance of antisocial behavior and drug use. In the White House, an ineffective Democratic president challenged by a Kennedy.
But the answer comes from somewhere else, from a Sunshine State governor named Ronald - despised by the elite media but popular at home.
—
The parallels between 1979 and 2023 are eerie.
And if Ron DeSantis wants to be the next President, he needs to get his inspiration somewhere other than Donald Trump.
He needs to channel the spirit of Ronald Reagan.
—
(AND YOU NEED TO SUBSCRIBE!)
Upgrade to paid
—
DeSantis will never have Reagan’s charisma.
But Reagan had weaknesses too. He was skewered as an intellectual lightweight, and for all his charm and presence, he wasn’t exactly likable, much less relatable. He was too much of an old-school movie star to be the guy you’d imagine having over for a beer. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton passed that test much better.
No, Reagan won because he so clearly believed in America’s promise - and because he’d lived it, and he’d run a state that embodied it.
(MAGA, Reagan-style.)
-
".And if Ron DeSantis wants to be the next President, he needs to get his inspiration somewhere other than Donald Trump.
He needs to channel the spirit of Ronald Reagan."
ME ->
agree for the general election
not sure if this applied to the primacy since we have so many obsessed MAGA heads who are in love with their God.
" But Reagan had weaknesses too. He was skewered as an intellectual lightweight"
ME ->
yes he was mistakenly skewered for this by the Democrats but he had high intellect and very well read .
" If only things were only as bad as during Carter…"
Me ->
totally agree . while in the late 70s we though we were in trouble it was NOTHING like the very deep doo doo we are in now
anyone alive at the time would agree with me.
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The Trump-Cuomo Covid Bromance
The once mortal enemies unite to distort Florida’s success.
By The Editorial BoardFollow
May 31, 2023 6:39 pm ET
The 2024 presidential race is already wild, and the strangest moment so far may be the mutual Covid admiration society of Donald Trump and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In 2020 they were mortal political enemies, but now they’re uniting to praise their performance in order to trash the far better Covid judgment and governance of Ron DeSantis in Florida.
Mr. Trump will say anything to hurt the Sunshine State Governor now running against him for President. Last week he said in a video posted on Truth Social: “How about the fact that he had the third most deaths of any state having to do with the China virus or Covid? Even Cuomo did better, he was number four.”
Mr. Cuomo returned the compliment on Tuesday from his political exile, tweeting that “Donald Trump tells the truth, finally. New York got hit first and worst but New Yorkers acted responsibly. Florida’s policy of denial allowed Covid to spread and that’s why they had a very large second wave.”
Where to begin? The media feted Mr. Cuomo for his handling of Covid in 2020, but his harsh lockdowns continue to have baleful effects on the state’s economy as its recovery lags. We also know Mr. Cuomo made a literally fatal March 2020 decision to admit Covid patients to nursing homes. His administration then tried to fudge the number of nursing-home deaths from Covid.
In sharp contrast, Mr. DeSantis demonstrated true leadership. To the extent Florida had a second Covid “wave” during the summer of 2020, it was because it never had a big first wave in the spring.
Despite having a higher proportion of elderly citizens who were more vulnerable, Mr. DeSantis resisted Anthony Fauci and the media to keep his state’s schools and economy going. He lifted the lockdown in May 2020 and removed all restrictions on business capacity in September. That autumn he fought the teachers union in court to reopen schools far earlier than most states did.
Mr. Trump’s claim about Florida’s relative Covid deaths is a distortion. Florida had more total deaths than New York, but Florida’s population is older and thus more vulnerable to Covid. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that age-adjusted deaths were 245 per 100,000 residents for Florida against 311.5 for New York.
Mr. Trump is trying to deflect from his own Covid record and his Administration’s year-long deference to Dr. Fauci. “Fifteen days to slow the spread” of Covid in March 2020 turned into months of bowing to the healthcare and media clerisy on closing schools and keeping much of the economy shut down. The damage from lost learning and livelihoods has been horrific and paved the way for Joe Biden’s election victory in 2020.
The Trump-Cuomo Covid bromance would be hilarious if it weren’t so deceitful. It’s a lesson for Republican primary voters in what they’ll get again if they renominate the former President who never sidelined Dr. Fauci.
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states no time for a rookie
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/kimberly-guilfoyle-trump-2024/2023/06/01/id/1122021/
No,
we need screw up who has proven he can never get over 45%
who can never adapt or improve
and has been perennial loser past 3 elections
and has more baggage then a Saudi Prince
:roll:
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https://www.nationalreview.com/news/n-h-state-rep-endorses-desantis-pulls-support-from-trump-over-lack-of-loyalty-he-cant-be-trusted/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=31666979
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I am not sure of his strategy of shadowing Trump on everything
I get he is trying to win over MAGA for the primary
but I feel he needs to stand on his own and prove he can win over independents
and trounce the Democrat
the argument he has better chance of winning is greater (in my HO)
then simply saying he is just a better version of "Trump" .
-
Much of the country does not really know him. I am OK with him coming on smoothly instead of with fireworks.
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Want the Next President to be a Republican? Steer Clear of Trump
What is the goal of a political battle?
By Carpe Diem
June 1, 2023
Current polling indicates that Donald Trump is likely to become the Republican nominee for the third time. But he does not appear to have a realistic path to the White House.
To win the presidency, Trump will need to convince Americans who are not fervently in his camp, as well as independents and other non Republicans to vote for him. That is no easy task for an individual who has managed to alienate virtually everyone who is not part of the MAGA faithful.
If Trump is the Republican nominee again in 2024, he will likely win few Democrat voters. Even independents fed up with Joe Biden’s failures and utter incompetence are unlikely to choose Trump in the general election.
Despite Trump’s many successes while in the White House, voters seem to have grown tired of his self-serving, narcissistic character, and petulant behavior. Making matters worse, unlike Democratic voters, Republicans are less likely to vote for the GOP nominee, especially one as polarizing as Trump.
And while many voters believe that Trump was cheated out of a second term, it does the Republican Party no favors to nominate him, only to have him lose to a feeble and often confused man, or to whichever radical leftist the Democrats decide to throw out there.
A primary victory followed by what is likely to be an inevitable loss in the general election will not only be a huge blow to the former president, it will also be a blow to the future of America.
What is the goal of a political battle?
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Is it to win knowing that the battle is the wrong one to win and will lead to losing the war? Where is the evidence that Trump can win the general election? Several polls—for whatever they’re worth—indicate that if the election were held today, Biden would still defeat Trump in several battleground states, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis would defeat Biden in those same polls.
If past precedent is any indication, DeSantis has a far greater shot of picking up Democratic and independent voters in a general election than Trump. Consider that in the 2022 Florida gubernatorial election, DeSantis won independent voters by at least 20 percent—a 30-point bump in ballot share from his narrow victory in 2018. He won Hispanic voters by at least 14 percent—a 22-point increase in ballot share from 2018 and the highest share of the nonwhite vote for a Republican in Florida history. And perhaps most impressively, DeSantis won female voters by at least 7 percent—a 16-point increase in ballot share from 2018.
DeSantis also flipped seven counties from blue to red, including Miami-Dade, where the governor’s 11.3-point margin of victory was the highest for any Republican candidate for governor.
Who’s to say DeSantis couldn’t do what he did in Florida, on a national level?
Are independents—let alone disenchanted Democrats—clamoring for a second Trump term? How well did Trump’s Senate and congressional candidates do in November compared to DeSantis’ historic, nearly 20-point landslide victory? How many prominent members of Trump’s administration are even lukewarm supporters? One hundred-fifty former Trump officials have already endorsed DeSantis.
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Trump accomplished many good things as president, at least several that other Republican presidents probably would not have accomplished. He and his team nominated excellent Supreme Court justices, helped to establish the Abraham Accords, removed barriers to vaccine development that hastened the delivery of admittedly controversial vaccines (autocratic enforcement of mandates was not his fault), cut taxes and regulations, focused on improving American energy production capabilities, and reduced illegal immigration, etc.
The current president has already reversed or prevented advancement of these accomplishments. Considering, however, that Trump has already broken the barriers that facilitated the above listed accomplishments, it is likely that the next Republican president, if not Trump, will return most of his successful policies, including finishing the wall and initiating new programs that the country needs.
In any event, Trump’s likely loss in the general election will lead to further and possibly irreversible damage. How much time does the country have to end the state controlled transition away from fossil fuels? A government that could not implement the three major steps of the Afghanistan withdrawal has no chance at all of implementing the hundreds of thousands of steps required to eliminate fossil fuels in 20 to 30 years, but it sure will be able to generate massive chaos, poverty, and very likely famine.
Additionally, Trump seems to be moving left on abortion and entitlement reform, so there is no guarantee that if elected he will continue some of his prior conservative policies.
Not voting for Trump in the primary will not only save our republic, but it will also help Trump.
Following a Republican presidential victory, likely accompanied by the election of a Republican Senate and House, it will be more likely that Congress will be able to conduct effective hearings into the way that the current chief executive and Congress unlawfully investigated Trump, hunting for crimes and when not finding them, inventing them.
On the other hand, if the Democrats reclaim all of Congress and retain the presidency, the attacks on Trump will likely continue and he will never be vindicated. In addition, their success in destroying him and his associates will further encourage them to use the same tactics on other Republicans.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/news/vets-evangelicals-and-fiscal-hawks-how-desantis-can-break-through-in-the-firewall-state-of-south-carolina/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=31683173
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Sununu goes on with Dana Bash to give her [ :x] the scoop that he is out
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/06/05/nh-gov-sununu-i-will-not-run-for-president-in-2024/
Republicans should only go on CNN if they ARE READY FOR WAR not to play nice
I am ok for Haley going on there - because at least the part I saw was with a supportive crowd
though they have their panel of Axeldouches on to find ways to nitpick at her.
{abortion , abortion , abortion...)
But she apparently did well enough she shut most of them down.
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https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/06/trump-running-for-president-prison-00090931
what a mess he puts us through .
why didn't he just give back the damn documents - but no he had to be a pain in the ass - he just has to be a hard ass for the sake of being a hard ass
that said of course , the leftist lawfare applying rules of law different for him is even more outrageous
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agree with almost all of this :
https://townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/2023/06/06/trump-never-changes-n2624086
I hate to say it but Nikki Haley would have a better chance of beating any Democrat than would Trump
That said, I prefer DeSantis.
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I can readily imagine that some of the documents are cards for him to play in certain eventualities.
Cal Thomas makes a some good points and some seriously unfair ones.
Nikki Haley is a Bush type Republican. Certainly a number of good points, but not what we are looking for. Major props for her though for saying a vote for Biden is a vote for President Harris.
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Mike Pence’s Leap of Faith
Former vice president Mike Pence speaks at the Calvin Coolidge Foundation’s conference at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., February 16, 2023(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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By THE EDITORS
June 7, 2023 6:30 AM
Mike Pence is the latest entrant to the 2024 presidential race. He is a good man, a solid conservative, and as qualified and prepared for the job as anyone in the field, including the current and former president. He undoubtedly would make a fine president. His challenge is the current political environment, and the current Republican presidential field. Much will be asked of him to overcome those hurdles.
Pence brings with him a long-standing commitment to solid Reaganite principles, a deep and public Christian faith, and a wealth of experience. He has been a talk-radio host, a congressman, a member of House leadership, the governor of Indiana, and the vice president. He is a full-spectrum conservative on social, economic, and national-security issues. He is inclined to be a voice for fiscal sanity on entitlements and spending that has been woefully lacking during the past three Republican presidencies.
Pence was an immeasurable asset to Donald Trump in 2016 and in the White House, as his ambassador to social conservatives, the guarantor of his Supreme Court nominee list, and a steady presence behind the scenes of Trump’s administration. He deserves a measure of the credit for the successes of that administration.
He also deserves the nation’s gratitude for his courage in standing up to Trump on January 6 and rejecting the crackpot constitutional theory that Pence was empowered by himself to reject state slates of electors. For this, he was thanked by a pro-Trump mob chanting that he ought to be hanged. Trump remains disgracefully unrepentant about this.
Pence kept his dignity and his integrity in as trying circumstances as any vice president has faced. Trump’s harshest critics, especially those who place little value on conservative policy, blame Pence for not standing up more publicly against the president’s worst impulses during their five-year partnership. This is unfair. There is an important role to be played by the inside man who offers his counsel only in private and does his best to steer the ship of state in the right direction. When Pence was finally put to a choice between public dissent and acquiescence, he made the right call and took the slings and arrows for it.
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Pence presents a particularly stark contrast with Florida governor Ron DeSantis on how to strike the balance between state self-government and the private free-speech rights of business. Social conservatives were — rightly, in our view — alarmed when Pence, as governor of Indiana, bent to economic pressure and watered down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act he had just signed. More civil liberties–minded conservatives and libertarians have been alarmed at DeSantis’s aggressive confrontation with Disney. Pence has criticized DeSantis for overstepping the proper role of government in pressuring business. He will have to answer for his own record in allowing business to interfere with the proper role of government. This will also include his decision, under pressure from hospital lobbyists, to partake in Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion (while claiming to conservatives that he was able to do it in a free-market way).
The party deserves a serious debate on this very question between two serious men. We would like to believe it is ready for one, but the presence of Trump in the field is likely to overshadow them.
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Pence is a traitorous scumbag.
Mike Pence’s Leap of Faith
Former vice president Mike Pence speaks at the Calvin Coolidge Foundation’s conference at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., February 16, 2023(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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143 Comments
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By THE EDITORS
June 7, 2023 6:30 AM
Mike Pence is the latest entrant to the 2024 presidential race. He is a good man, a solid conservative, and as qualified and prepared for the job as anyone in the field, including the current and former president. He undoubtedly would make a fine president. His challenge is the current political environment, and the current Republican presidential field. Much will be asked of him to overcome those hurdles.
Pence brings with him a long-standing commitment to solid Reaganite principles, a deep and public Christian faith, and a wealth of experience. He has been a talk-radio host, a congressman, a member of House leadership, the governor of Indiana, and the vice president. He is a full-spectrum conservative on social, economic, and national-security issues. He is inclined to be a voice for fiscal sanity on entitlements and spending that has been woefully lacking during the past three Republican presidencies.
Pence was an immeasurable asset to Donald Trump in 2016 and in the White House, as his ambassador to social conservatives, the guarantor of his Supreme Court nominee list, and a steady presence behind the scenes of Trump’s administration. He deserves a measure of the credit for the successes of that administration.
He also deserves the nation’s gratitude for his courage in standing up to Trump on January 6 and rejecting the crackpot constitutional theory that Pence was empowered by himself to reject state slates of electors. For this, he was thanked by a pro-Trump mob chanting that he ought to be hanged. Trump remains disgracefully unrepentant about this.
Pence kept his dignity and his integrity in as trying circumstances as any vice president has faced. Trump’s harshest critics, especially those who place little value on conservative policy, blame Pence for not standing up more publicly against the president’s worst impulses during their five-year partnership. This is unfair. There is an important role to be played by the inside man who offers his counsel only in private and does his best to steer the ship of state in the right direction. When Pence was finally put to a choice between public dissent and acquiescence, he made the right call and took the slings and arrows for it.
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Pence presents a particularly stark contrast with Florida governor Ron DeSantis on how to strike the balance between state self-government and the private free-speech rights of business. Social conservatives were — rightly, in our view — alarmed when Pence, as governor of Indiana, bent to economic pressure and watered down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act he had just signed. More civil liberties–minded conservatives and libertarians have been alarmed at DeSantis’s aggressive confrontation with Disney. Pence has criticized DeSantis for overstepping the proper role of government in pressuring business. He will have to answer for his own record in allowing business to interfere with the proper role of government. This will also include his decision, under pressure from hospital lobbyists, to partake in Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion (while claiming to conservatives that he was able to do it in a free-market way).
The party deserves a serious debate on this very question between two serious men. We would like to believe it is ready for one, but the presence of Trump in the field is likely to overshadow them.
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Mike Pence Unloads on Trump in Campaign Kickoff: 'I Chose the Constitution'
Jeff Zymeri here filling in for Brittany Bernstein, who is out this week. A quick reminder before we dive into this week’s edition of The Horse Race: This will be the final installment of the newsletter that's fully available to all email recipients. Beginning Wednesday, June 14, the full text of the newsletter will be available exclusively to NRPLUS subscribers. So if you’re not already a subscriber, please consider signing up here for 60 percent off. If you’re among our tens of thousands of subscribers, thank you for your support; it allows us to continue producing the quality journalism you’ve come to know and love.
Mike Pence dedicated much of his campaign kickoff speech in Des Moines, Iowa on Wednesday to making the case against his former running mate, Donald Trump.
In explaining his rationale for running, the former vice president said that Trump, the current 2024 front-runner, disqualified himself on January 6, 2021, when he tried to pressure his vice president into overturning the results of the 2020 election.
“I chose the Constitution and I always will,” Pence said to applause.
“I had no right to overturn the election and Kamala Harris will have no right to overturn the election when we beat them in 2024,” he continued. "I believe that anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States. And anyone who asks someone else to put themselves over the Constitution should never be president again.”
Pence is counting on his strong social conservative bona fides to carry him to victory in the Hawkeye State, with its large contingent of Evangelical voters. To that end, the former congressman and Indiana governor took Trump to task for abandoning the pro-life legacy they forged together while serving in the White House.
“The sanctity of life has been our party's calling card for half a century — long before Donald Trump was ever a part of it," Pence said. "Now he treats it as an inconvenience, even blaming election losses on overturning Roe vs. Wade."
Pence, by contrast, has already vowed to support a federal 15-week abortion ban.
He also took veiled shots at Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis for making their 2024 kickoff announcements elsewhere.
“I get why people make big announcements back home in their hometown at their resort, even on Twitter, but we wanted to be here in person in Iowa. We are here because we know that Iowa was the right place to start our engines for the great American comeback,” Pence said.
Pence's platform is that of a traditional Republican. “We must resist the politics of personality and the siren song of populism unmoored to conservative principles,” he said, adding that a rediscovery of the conservative values championed by President Reagan will lead Republicans to victory once more.
Drawing further contrasts with Trump and DeSantis, Pence declared that he is running as a fiscal conservative not afraid to tackle entitlements, a defense hawk not afraid to take on both Russia and China. The front-runners in the race have vowed not to touch entitlements and have taken a less strident tone in defense of Ukrainian sovereignty.
On Ukraine, both Trump and DeSantis have expressed interest in ending the war in an expedited fashion even if that means that Ukraine will have to surrender some territory to Russia. “I promise you: I know the difference between a genius and a war criminal. I know the difference between a territorial dispute and a war of aggression,” explained Pence.
“The war in Ukraine is not our war, but freedom is our fight and America must always stand for freedom and when I’m your president, we will,” Pence added.
In addition to taking his fellow Republicans to task, Pence made the case against President Joe Biden, who he accused of presiding over a decline in border security, rampant inflation, and a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“We’re better than this,” argued Pence.
The former vice president said public service is what is required of him and that is why “before God and my family, I am announcing that I am running for president.”
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My Lesson for Republicans Running for President in 2024
A strong record isn’t enough. You need big, bold ideas.
By Scott Walker
June 7, 2023 1:05 pm ET
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Republican presidential candidates debate in Cleveland, Ohio, Aug. 6, 2015. PHOTO: BRIAN SNYDER/REUTERS
Standing at the podium during the first presidential primary debate nearly eight years ago, I suddenly realized I should never have listened to the consultants who told me to play it safe and run on my record. I was near the head of the pack, but my résumé was far from enough to get me on the national ticket. The lesson from my failed campaign is simple: Bold ideas trump strong records.
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My tenure as governor of Wisconsin no doubt got me national attention in the first place. My administration took on the government union bosses and won. I inherited a $3.6 billion structural deficit and left office with a surplus. Wisconsinites experienced the full suite of successful Republican governance: reduced taxes, expanded school choice, voter-ID laws, pro-life protections, concealed carry, reformed welfare and sane universities—with amended seniority and tenure systems and frozen college tuition.
We enacted more common-sense conservative reforms than any other state in the nation. And it worked. I managed to become the first governor in U.S. history to win a recall election. Voters across the country loved that my administration didn’t back down from fights—even when 100,000 protesters occupied our state Capitol. After that, I saw massive interest in a potential run for higher office.
Naturally, that’s what I focused on when I got to the debate stage. I gave solid but safe answers that connected to my record. It wasn’t enough. Primary voters admired what I did in Wisconsin but wanted my plans for the U.S. to be as tenacious as they were during my time in office.
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In retrospect, I should have embraced risk and laid out an aggressive agenda. I wish I’d pushed ideas like a national flat tax, sending the responsibility for education back to the states and schools, work requirements for public assistance, and term limits for public service.
Without a distinguishing pitch, I blended in with many of the other candidates. The only one who really stood out was Donald Trump. Agree with him or not, everyone knew what Mr. Trump wanted to do. “Build the wall,” “lock her up” and “drain the swamp” were clear battle cries at his rallies and in his remarks during debates. He captured the attention of caucus and primary voters and ultimately that of general-election voters.
I’ve been a runner since my teen years, so it should have dawned on me sooner. Even if you’re successful enough to qualify for an event, you start the race at the same line as your competitors. Only a strong finish wins you a race.
As more candidates enter the 2024 contest, they’d do well to remember the lessons I learned the hard way. A record of strong conservative policies may get you onto the debate stage, but you must build on those successes with equally tenacious proposals to go further.
My advice to the contenders for the GOP nomination: Take a risk and lay out a bold vision for the country. Sell it directly to the voters. Anything short of that and you may well find yourself in the dust.
Mr. Walker is president of Young America’s Foundation. He served as governor of Wisconsin, 2011-19, and was a candidate for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination
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https://amgreatness.com/2023/06/07/republican-attacks-on-bidens-age-arent-landing/
"If Trump has zero chance of winning as some insist, it is for reasons that would also bar any other Republican from victory in the general election: an unscrupulous, dishonest news media, a fatally broken electoral process, a weaponized legal system, and a deeply suggestible electorate."
===========
By Matthew Boose
June 7, 2023
Republicans have been waiting years for their attacks on Joe Biden’s advancing age to land. It’s becoming a bit of an absurd pastime. The polls say voters are aware of Biden’s feeble condition, and yet, we read that they would choose Biden again over Trump and his “mean tweets.”
The GOP smart set insists that this reflects Trump’s lack of some ambrosial quality they call “electability” (as if Biden breathes it from every pore). But, if anything, there is a rising sense of dread that Trump should not be dismissed. Trump is almost certainly going to be his party’s nominee in any event.
If Trump has zero chance of winning as some insist, it is for reasons that would also bar any other Republican from victory in the general election: an unscrupulous, dishonest news media, a fatally broken electoral process, a weaponized legal system, and a deeply suggestible electorate.
The media are still not covering Biden’s corrupt business dealing despite a stream of incriminating evidence that grows by the day. Recall, Hunter Biden’s “laptop from Hell” was kept out of the news in 2020 through coordinated skulduggery the extent of which is still being uncovered.
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If Biden received even an ounce of scrutiny Trump does, his approval ratings would drop five or 10 points overnight. But Republicans cannot depend on the tender mercies of their enemies.
Republicans would do well to focus more on Biden’s corruption than his weakness. Attacking the latter has only made a wicked hypocrite look like a victim.
It’s easy to see why this latter approach is tempting. Biden’s feebleness ought to be seen as a potent symbol of the decadence of his era. But the suggestibility of the public that was laid bare during the pandemic-induced hysteria has led many to adjust their expectations radically downward, and few have benefited more from this dynamic than Biden.
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This often gets passed over, but the big shift to mail in voting in 2020 was a mostly psychological phenomenon. It could not have happened without the legal cover of an “emergency,” but it also required the cooperation of an electorate frazzled (and lazy) enough to surrender their custody over the political process.
Has that really changed? Take a look at our current Congress, where you will find Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) stalking around in a hoodie and gym shorts.
A world in which Biden and Fetterman are “electable” is a world where words have no meaning.
But is this not the world toward which we are tending? What is justice in the new America? What is truth?
Our entire political system and civilization are under siege. Trump’s dramatic invocations of a “final battle” are not without merit.
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Another five years of this demoralizing spectacle will have a devastating effect on the nation’s soul, which appears to be spiraling into despair.
The malaise of the post-pandemic era would spell doom for an incumbent in other times, but the normal rules of political logic do not obtain any longer. Compared to a few short years ago, there is a powerful smell of apathy in the air. There is a sense that people hate the way things are, but have grown to accept them.
The appeals to greatness that fill Trump’s soaring rhetoric only work on people with an appreciation for beauty and excellence. The cramped moral vision of social justice and “equity” more and more defines the national character.
It’s very unlikely that Biden will be replaced, supposing fate does not intervene. Democrats brute forced his way into power once before, and they are absolutely prepared to do it again.
All the same there are reasons for cautious optimism. Biden now is an incumbent and he cannot avoid physically campaigning like he did in 2020, which will doubtless tax his body and mind.
But if Biden is somehow ejected, it won’t be because he’s fallen down too many times. The complacency we see and feel around us will have to be replaced with the kind of smoldering rage that Trump tapped into in 2016.
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".If Trump has zero chance of winning as some insist, it is for reasons that would also bar any other Republican from victory in the general election: an unscrupulous, dishonest news media, a fatally broken electoral process, a weaponized legal system, and a deeply suggestible electorate."
not even close
as though/Trump has not degraded morality more and has no baggage
we are trying to get independents..
could anyone imagine how popular Trump would be if he was not flawed?
give me a break
if author states cannot win due to the LEFT which would be same outcome for any other Republican
then he should join GM in a retreat somewhere in fly over country
(no disrespect to GM whose opinions I value! and respect)
but this guy may as well go offline
why bother to fight back?
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I don't disagree with your analysis, but I do think this passage captures , , , something:
""If Trump has zero chance of winning as some insist, it is for reasons that would also bar any other Republican from victory in the general election: an unscrupulous, dishonest news media, a fatally broken electoral process, a weaponized legal system, and a deeply suggestible electorate."
The four interactive variables listed combine to substantial headwinds.
After the indictment yesterday, what is our strategy now? To abandon Trump to the machinations of the Deep State in the hope that by so doing we have someone who will enable us to overcome an unscrupulous, dishonest news media, a fatally broken electoral process, a weaponized legal system, and a deeply suggestible electorate?
Or?
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or
lose ......
for sure
unless Dem candidate is worse .......
our only hope
I am not interested in rallying around Trump
I am interested in rallying for our country our beliefs and supporting the Constitution and our country as a nation
my opinion.
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They (The Deep STATE/One true branch of the FUSA Government) WILL NEVER let Trump or ANY OTHER outsider ever hold real power in this country ever again.
https://thefederalist.com/2023/06/09/latest-trump-indictment-proves-deep-state-is-trying-to-rig-yet-another-election/
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They (The Deep STATE/One true branch of the FUSA Government) WILL NEVER let Trump or ANY OTHER outsider ever hold real power in this country ever again.
https://thefederalist.com/2023/06/09/latest-trump-indictment-proves-deep-state-is-trying-to-rig-yet-another-election/
https://ace.mu.nu/archives/404824.php
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https://babylonbee.com/news/trump-names-hunter-biden-as-his-running-mate-so-doj-will-stop-investigating-him?fbclid=IwAR2Hrq5m5_OLLCzT97MoGo97HztZvWciZQS8_WIJRJiF2on0V8EtisNfp1g
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Hey [asshole] you are up 4.5% :
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2023/06/11/trump-beats-desantis-in-straw-poll-one-day-after-his-indictment-n2624344
:wink:
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/jun/11/donald-trump-surpasses-ron-desantis-post-indictmen/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=%2BTgmRlGix3rvkdze7RgdLCISV1aPnJ5DZ17k%2FmbJTpvk7F%2FObOEw41vaKQNAqU8Q&bt_ts=1686499751831
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https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/jim-jordan-cnn-interview-over-211306150.html
Despite this evidence, Jordan, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, insisted during his interview with Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Trump had declassified the documents. When pressed for evidence by Bash, he simply insisted, “I go on the president’s word.”
“He said he declassified this material,” Jordan added. “He can put it wherever he wants and handle it however he wants.”
“But he says, point blank, on tape as president, ‘I could have declassified it. Now I can’t,'” Bash said. “He says in his own words. It’s on tape as part of this indictment that he did not declassify the material. Therefore, it is classified.”
“Dana, saying he could have is not the same as saying he didn’t,” insisted Jordan.
“But he’s saying point blank in this audio tape he did not declassify it. What you’re saying just doesn’t make sense on its face!” Bash exclaimed.
ME : DO WE REALLY WANT TO BE DEGRADED TO THE LEVEL OF "IT DEPENDS WHAT IS IS ?"
sorry I have had enough of the stupidity
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By Newt Gingrich
June 11, 2023Updated: June 12, 2023
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The planned indictment of former President Donald Trump for “mishandling national secrets” is the natural next phase of the leftwing establishment’s arrogance and corruption.
The left has been desperately trying to stop Trump since he announced his candidacy in 2015 (recall the made-up Trump Tower–Moscow scandal, the phony Russia–Trump collusion scandal, the made-for-TV impeachment effort, etc.).
The constant attacks have only eroded Americans’ trust in government institutions—which is a far bigger problem than the left’s hatred of Trump. There are several other indictments that should have been announced to reestablish the integrity of the rule of law.
First, corrupt FBI agents such as those identified in the Durham Report should have already been indicted for extraordinary violations of their oaths of office. They lied to FISA court judges. They deliberately pursued a case they knew was based on a lie. They leaked knowingly phony information to the left-wing media to further undermine Trump—first as a candidate and then as the President of the United States. They should all face legal consequences.
Other FBI officials should be indicted for colluding to protect Hillary Clinton when she clearly broke the law repeatedly. How many classified documents were saved on then-Secretary of State Clinton’s illegal home server? How did her emails end up on Anthony Weiner’s laptop? How does someone erase more than 32,000 potentially evidentiary emails and get off scot-free? How does a government official order her staff to destroy evidentiary hard drives with a hammer and face no consequences? Further, why did the then-director of the FBI arrogate to himself a decision that belongs to prosecutors and hold a press conference exonerating Clinton during a presidential campaign?
The Durham Report makes crystal clear the FBI’s double standard of aggressive hostility toward Trump and defensive deference toward Clinton. That there have not been any indictments of Clinton (or the Bidens for that matter) demonstrates that the current corrupt senior leadership of the FBI is protecting itself and its allies—and attacking its perceived enemies.
Second, there should be a wave of indictments against the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Delaware, and other universities that have been illegally accepting secret foreign money and refusing to report it to federal authorities.
As the U.S. Department of Education website notes: “Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) requires institutions of higher education that receive federal financial assistance to disclose semiannually to the U.S. Department of Education any gifts received from and contracts with a foreign source that, alone or combined, are valued at $250,000 or more in a calendar year. The statute also requires institutions to report information when owned or controlled by a foreign source.”
We have no idea how many millions of dollars communist China gave to the universities of Pennsylvania and Delaware (where President Joe Biden has education centers). According to estimates (which are likely low), the University of Delaware (which houses about 1,850 boxes of Biden’s vice presidential and senatorial documents) received $6.7 million in anonymous donations from the Chinese government. The University of Pennsylvania received nearly $40 million ($60 million, including contracts). Both universities—and many more—are still breaking the law and not reporting foreign money they receive.
At the same time, former University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann (who also helped create the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington) became Biden’s ambassador to Germany. Former university Board of Trustees’ Chairman David L. Cohen is Biden’s ambassador to Canada.
These two became ambassadors after members of the Biden team received huge salaries from the University of Pennsylvania. At least 10 other people on the Penn Biden Center payroll ended up with senior positions in the Biden administration. This includes Secretary of State Antony Blinken. We have no idea the source of the money paid to Blinken when he managed the Penn Biden Center. Now, he’s America’s chief diplomat.
It is amazing the arrogance with which elite universities take millions from foreign sources and simply ignore the law and reject the federal government’s demands for information. The leadership of these institutions should be indicted for illegally accepting foreign money and hiding it from the public. Instead, they are more likely to become U.S. ambassadors.
Third, President Biden, Hunter Biden, and other members of the Biden family should be under indictment for influence peddling and accepting bribes.
Does anyone seriously believe the widow of the mayor of Moscow sent Hunter Biden $3.5 million out of the goodness of her heart? Did the Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma pay Hunter Biden millions because of his expertise? Does anyone really think a Chinese billionaire sent Hunter Biden an exquisite diamond just because they are just good friends?
Chairman James Comer and the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability have produced evidence that the depth of deliberate corruption in the Biden family operation is worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. The Bidens have created layers of phony companies as pass-throughs to hide a trail of foreign money they’ve been getting.
President Biden claims to know nothing of his son’s business dealings, but the records show then-Vice President Biden was routinely meeting with Hunter Biden’s business associates. The evidence is clear that Biden’s brother was also deeply involved in the influence-peddling scheme.
Much of this was initially reported as Hunter Biden’s laptop began to be investigated. Biden government officials immediately falsely claimed the story was Russian disinformation. Whistleblowers and potential eyewitnesses have been surfacing. Yet, after three years, there has been no action. In fact, FBI leadership insisted that the IRS disband a team that was looking into Hunter Biden and corruption.
These are the indictments that should have been announced this week. Instead, the FBI has protected the Bidens just as it protected the Clintons.
The contrast with the ruthless, dishonest, and illegal efforts to ruin President Trump is stunning.
This is the scale of corruption, bias, and lawlessness with which the American people should weigh the Trump indictments.
From Gingrich360.com
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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https://dailycaller.com/2023/06/12/christie-says-he-doesnt-believe-doj-has-been-weaponized-under-biden-wouldnt-fire-wray/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=29912&pnespid=6qk7FjhEMaVFguTOvD3vAoud5Rb0D8cmKOjty7tmpxNmrjfwgLi1Fopl5GIhf4F41w9nuweu
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https://tldavis.substack.com/p/the-bigger-issues
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They (The Deep STATE/One true branch of the FUSA Government) WILL NEVER let Trump or ANY OTHER outsider ever hold real power in this country ever again.
https://thefederalist.com/2023/06/09/latest-trump-indictment-proves-deep-state-is-trying-to-rig-yet-another-election/
https://ace.mu.nu/archives/404824.php
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/ron-desantis-may-be-next-republican-indicted-jailed/
If he is an outsider...
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They (The Deep STATE/One true branch of the FUSA Government) WILL NEVER let Trump or ANY OTHER outsider ever hold real power in this country ever again.
https://thefederalist.com/2023/06/09/latest-trump-indictment-proves-deep-state-is-trying-to-rig-yet-another-election/
https://ace.mu.nu/archives/404824.php
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/ron-desantis-may-be-next-republican-indicted-jailed/
If he is an outsider...
https://thefederalist.com/2023/06/15/do-any-republicans-really-think-desantis-wont-get-impeached-or-framed-by-the-fbi/
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yes
and furthermore this is why we must win the '24 Senate, Presidential,
and increase the House margin races
I intend on voting harder
:-P
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yes
and furthermore this is why we must win the '24 Senate, Presidential,
and increase the House margin races
I intend on voting harder
:-P
That still doesn’t work against the Dems’ “Vote early and often, especially if you are dead or an illegal alien”.
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Sounds like you want us to give up , , ,
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"That still doesn’t work against the Dems’ “Vote early and often, especially if you are dead or an illegal alien”.
Can't we find dead, or illegal alien Republicans ?
:evil:
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Sounds like you want us to give up , , ,
Hardly. I just know the reality of our current situation. The country we grew up in is gone.
Nationally, we are down to the final box to vote with.
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"That still doesn’t work against the Dems’ “Vote early and often, especially if you are dead or an illegal alien”.
Can't we find dead, or illegal alien Republicans ?
:evil:
If illegal aliens weren’t a lock for Dems, the wall would look like the one in Game of Thrones.
If we do anything the Dems do as far as vote fraud, the Feds will suddenly get really interested in vote fraud, but on us only.
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Shifting over to the Latino vote (which is NOT the same as the illegals vote!) I'm thinking the grooming, chem castration and genital mutilation of children is not real popular with Latinos.
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Shifting over to the Latino vote (which is NOT the same as the illegals vote!) I'm thinking the grooming, chem castration and genital mutilation of children is not real popular with Latinos.
It’s not, but it’s not aimed at them. It’s about the ongoing white genocide.
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I was simply making a point about our potential to increase our vote with Latinos.
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I was simply making a point about our potential to increase our vote with Latinos.
Meaningless.
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GM:
As we have covered before, everyone here is well aware of your opinion on this and at certain point (right now for example) where this simply becomes a fart at the dinner table.
By all means have at it on the electoral thread, but please knock it off here.
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GM:
As we have covered before, everyone here is well aware of your opinion on this and at certain point (right now for example) where this simply becomes a fart at the dinner table.
By all means have at it on the electoral thread, but please knock it off here.
https://tldavis.substack.com/p/a-failed-state
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GM: A post like that would be a better fit in "The Way Forward for the American Creed". Thank you.
That said, please knock it off in this thread.
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/chris-christie-gains-ground-voters-222700689.html
suddenly crats are helping Christie. along.
the comments section is a joke
they all sound like plants ...
:roll:
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https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2023/06/17/gangsta-rap-producer-suge-knight-shows-support-for-donald-trump-free-my-na-trump/
:-o
he may find Trump is his cell mate instead ...... :wink:
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Saw the second half of Newsome's two-night interview with Hannity. The fukker is slick. Hannity could not lay a glove on him. If Biden is crossed out, he will got the nomination. If Biden chooses him for VP, Biden wins. (Remember who is aunt is too.)
He is young, good looking, oozes confidence, lies with smooth bullet points of non-sequitors, his aunt is Nancy Pelosi (!!!) so her machine will ramp up for him. Bill Gates/Fauci/WEF/Big Pharma/the Pravdas/the Progs love him. He will be their next Obama ascendant and their answer to their gerontocracy.
A Biden-Newsome ticket will answer the age/senility and the Cackling Kamala questions for those looking to an excuse to quiet their doubts.
If Biden dies or falls and can't get up I think he rather easily takes the nomination away from Harris. The utter national terror-stricken panic due to her assumption of the Presidency will see to that I think.
Newsome vs. Trump? I think Newsome would have Trump lunging after shiny object after shiny object and going ever more childish in his insults.
Remember the disgrace and shame of his second debate with Biden? I think he is worse in this regard now-- witness the Democrat type demagoguery of his adds aimed at DeSantis! That Cuomo handled the Wuhan Virus better than DeSantis?!? Seriously?!? What an insult to our intelligence!! Or witness the way he turned on Kayli McNamee when she cited a poll he did not like. He cannot even keep his lawyers -- and with the lawfare of the Deep State that is barely begun arrayed against him that could be yet another weak link in his chain of things he needs to be able to do and to handle.
If he calls for support in the street, I strongly suspect it will underwhelm to an embarrassing extent. He let his J6 supporters rot in solitary defended by DC public defenders. The man he pretends to be would have dipped into his billions to see to it that they had good legal representation. Where was he when Tucker began to make his J6 case with the tapes Speaker McCarthy gave him and was shut down by FOX?
With whom would he staff his administration? Who would work with him? I thought Pompeo a truly great Sec State. What chance a working relationship now? etc etc etc.
Newsome was and is a total medical fascism totalitarian and Trump simply is not the man to make the case. Indeed, he is quite weak on this and DeSantis strong-- this is why he made the absurd comparison with Cuomo.
And yet , , , when the man gets in The Zone, he is something special and he has fighting spirit up the wazoo and to take on the forces bent on our Country's destruction will take that in spades , , ,
Newsome vs. DeSantis? Well, we sure would know DeSantis a lot better than we do now should he succeed in getting the nomination! Presently I favor him over Trump.
That said, off the top of my head, I would say that DeSantis can speak articulately of the American Creed (I believe this to be important!) -- a commencement day speech or something like that convinces me of this. He has a strong analytical mind and his lawyerly training and experience should give him what it takes to handle Newsome's smooth lies.
Anyway, , , to bed.
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"Saw the second half of Newsome's two-night interview with Hannity. The fukker is slick. Hannity could not lay a glove on him. If Biden is crossed out, he will got the nomination. "
I watched part of it and was shocked how Newsom ran statistics around Hannity for which he had NO answer.
The Republicans need to study that for his '24 run
which WILL happen when Biden term is near over,
he is not longer needed , and later polls show Newsom performs better.
I would like Kudlow to interview Newsom - he might do a better job concerning economic stats.
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He'll do for America what he's done for California!
"Saw the second half of Newsome's two-night interview with Hannity. The fukker is slick. Hannity could not lay a glove on him. If Biden is crossed out, he will got the nomination. "
I watched part of it and was shocked how Newsom ran statistics around Hannity for which he had NO answer.
The Republicans need to study that for his '24 run
which WILL happen when Biden term is near over,
he is not longer needed , and later polls show Newsom performs better.
I would like Kudlow to interview Newsom - he might do a better job concerning economic stats.
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GM
I don't know if you saw the interview - I only saw a small portion
you miss the point - if you listen to Newsom he has done great things in California
anyone debating him will have to correct him on facts
Hannity could not do it.
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"You miss the point - if you listen to Newsom he has done great things in California. Anyone debating him will have to correct him on facts. Hannity could not do it."
THIS.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/gavin-newsom-drops-truth-bomb-on-fox-hannity-squirms/ar-AA1cG0Q3?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=d250dd2b03bc4540ac34189517bf2426&ei=8
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I am not sure about DeSantis anymore , he gets so much bad press
and does not have the speaking charisma of Trump even though he is clearly better in other ways
Haley might be able to but I agree she is too Bush lite.
I doh't know if Scott could do it although I like his message but so far it is only a message.
Christy is better when debating facts but then he is Christy .....
Cruz maybe but then he is Cruz....
I like Byron Donalds who CAN think and talk and debate on his feet but he is not running
Youngkin maybe ?
Newsom with an adoring all in press once they get to the point it is finally time to throw the mummy under the bus
may well be more formidable then we realize.......
he certainly punched out the fast talking Hannity for a unanimous
decision [though not a knockout or TKO ..... IMHO]
:-o
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Scott (love the vibe!) and Cruz are legislators, utterly lacking in life experience to be a chief executive. Remember how Christie raped Rubio on this?
Christie has executive experience, but I lack any sense of what he is FOR, what his vision is.
Haley? Nice resume, but again what is she FOR?
I remain favoring DeSantis. The campaign is young and some wobbles at the beginning should not be of lasting consequence. OF COURSE he is being attacked! Precisely because he is a genuine threat. Strong record, proven ability to assess a situation and stand strong against the onslaught of the Pravdas, strong logical mind, honed by his years in the law. Can marshal facts really well and make his points rather pithily. Was a Congressman so there should be understanding as far as Congress goes.
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/jun/19/bidens-has-rough-start-summer-twice-indicted-trump/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=pjMReQfEigYobeYyH1eTHRif1OLELc1j%2FDi1AAtKJpu7C68AYBvA5BqBU%2BJ3BEx%2B&bt_ts=1687218216806
BTW, saw night one of two tonight of Brett Baier interviewing Trump.
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https://dailycaller.com/2023/06/20/trump-election-interference-reaction-hunter-biden/?pnespid=7bR6Vi1aNqYexOjA.D3kFZWBshOtV8JyJLKjxvoxsAZmwPmS4NaTDkASeQgJbx3DnLutV3eJ
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/jun/20/bribery-allegations-hurt-joe-biden-with-independen/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=bjC928bDBHe7rTCInYtzqSz6FspWpZ%2FTR6liiqlAlJQmvg6%2Fur0tl6q%2FU4Vf5SHD&bt_ts=1687278732689
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/republicans-voters-support-for-trump-cools-post-indictment/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=31850884
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National review quoting CNN poll:
"Across the political spectrum, Americans of all stripes believe that political bias played a role in the indictment. Ranging from Democrats at the low end (53 percent), to independent voters (67 percent), all the way up to Republicans (92 percent), voters across the country view the Department of Justice’s investigation into the former president as politicized."
------
Trump's lead over DeSanrtis marrowed to 47-26.
(If true) It's not a one man race for the nomination anymore.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/trumps-home-run/
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My post of a few minutes ago in the Europe-Russia-US thread makes a strong case for not letting Putin win in Ukraine. The argument here, as much as I like most of it, argues for pulling the rug from under the Ukes. As stupid and unnecessary as this war was, my thought at the moment is that the toothpaste cannot be put back in the tube. And yes, there are deep problems with proceeding with the war.
==============
The True Meaning of Trump’s MAGA’
Peace and prosperity for all Americans is GOP’s winning 2024 message
By Peter Navarro
Republican voters clearly embrace Make America Great Again principles, including reshoring U.S. factories, securing borders, strategic energy dominance, an end to endless wars, draining the swamp in Washington, and fair elections.
If this MAGA center holds, a Republican supermajority coupled with MAGA-leaning independents and Trump Democrats will deliver a Republican landslide.
Democratic strategists’ best chance of winning is to turn MAGA into a four-letter word associated with domestic terrorism and extremism. President Biden used this messaging with surprising success in the 2022 congressional elections, and Republican strategists must counter it by more clearly articulating “The True Meaning of Trump’s MAGA,” as my new book by that name describes it.
While normally I would shamelessly urge you to buy this book (a 99-cent Amazon Kindle steal), instead, I recommend former Navy SEAL Jack Carr’s new thriller, “Only the Dead,” as a far more entertaining grassroots MAGA primer.
Mr. Carr transcends his genre with razor-sharp prose offering a pitch-perfect MAGA view of America’s domestic fissures and geopolitical threats. Of the endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in which Mr. Carr so bravely fought, Mr. Carr’s protagonist offers this pure MAGA poetry: “They failed you and those they sent to fight. For 20 years. They filled the coffers of their defense industry allies, enjoying dinners and drinks with lobbyists, none of whom had the balls to step into the breach.”
From an Afghan peasant’s view, Mr. Carr reveals it was not just venal lobbyists sending America’s “paper tiger” to defeat. It was a “blind” military command making colossal blunders, e.g., opening a “second front” against Afghan poppy growers, which “turned more of the populace against” the U.S.
On the folly of Ukraine, a new endless war strongly opposed by MAGA, “U.S. ‘sanctions’ had the opposite purported effect,” strengthening the ruble and turning a Russian trade deficit into a massive surplus. Ironically, “because of their dependence on Russian energy,” the European Union transfers “more cash to Russia to fund the special operation in Ukraine than they [send] to Ukraine to fight the Russian military.”
Mr. Carr further illuminates treachery I’ve worried about since al Qaeda made billions “speculating” in the oil futures market prior to its 9/11 attack. It’s not speculation if you can manipulate the market by bombing the twin towers.
In advance of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Carr similarly describes this obscenely profitable “managed speculation”: Anticipating an oil price shock following the invasion, Russian “oligarchs, senior politicians, intelligence directors, military leaders, and other friends of the Russian president” loaded up early on “out of the money” futures.
To evade anticipated U.S. sanctions, Russia sold futures contracts to China and India. Russia then made billions more by shorting oil prices at their peak as Mr. Putin flooded the world market and U.S. sanctions collapsed.
In MAGA Nation, we can only wonder why Mr. Biden’s Pentagon, Treasury Department and National Security Council aren’t investigating.
On the need for secure borders and strategic energy dominance, Mr. Carr laments how easy it is for terrorists from around the world to penetrate our borders even as he bemoans American politicians who spend “money they [don’t] have, throwing gasoline on the coals of inflation” while ignoring an increasing “dependence on foreign energy.”
As one Russian villain channeling MAGA’s Steve Bannon notes, America is “a nation in decline” that has “given up on national sovereignty, weaponized their justice system, politicized their military, and lost faith in their elections.”
As for the very real “Deep Swamp,” fictional Congressman Douglas Linden rails on “the lying, the doublespeak, the insider trading” and “family members” of politicians caught red-handed taking millions from foreign governments hostile to the U.S. Yet he cynically trades campaign contributions for legislative support of lawsuit immunity for Big Pharma vaccines.
Mr. Linden even acknowledges this Mike Lindell fair elections wisdom: “If you wanted to make elections more secure, you would get rid of the machines and require identification to vote.” But if you speak such an obvious truth, the “Twitter mobs” call you a “racist” and a “fascist.” So the congressman is “more than happy to take multiple votes from the same person.” Mr. Carr’s plea for a strong American manufacturing base in the interests of the Trumpian mantra “economic security IS national security” harks back to my Trump White House MAGA days: Most products “come from China, the precursor drugs for the antibiotics also come from China. Total [U.S.] dependence on their enemies only requires one additional step: microchips … [and that means taking] Taiwan.” To this “take Taiwan” end is a Russian plot to frame Iran for nuking Israel. Russia’s gambit is designed to divert America’s focus away from both the confl ict in Ukraine and a Chinese invasion of Taiwan with a new endless Iranian war. Russia’s goal: Spawn a new world order featuring a lethal Chinese-Russian axis with ownership of over 25% of global wheat exports, control of a significant percentage of the world’s energy and food supply, and the ability to starve and freeze out the West.
That it takes a Navy SEAL to illustrate MAGA principles so insightfully speaks as much to Mr. Carr’s blue-collar brilliance as it does to the failure of elitist American politics. We in MAGA want only peace and prosperity for all Americans by following MAGA principles. This must be the winning Republican message in 2024.
Peter Navarro served as former President Donald Trump’s White House manufacturing czar and chief China hawk. This column first appeared at https://peternavarro.sub-stack. com
====================
Putin’s to-do list
What would happen if Russia were to prevail in Ukraine?
By Clifford D. May
Western leaders have long misunderstood Vladimir Putin.
In 2001, President George W. Bush “looked the man in the eye” and “found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy.” Not exactly.
In 2015, President Barack Obama predicted that Mr. Putin would not want to “get bogged down in an inconclusive and paralyzing civil conflict” in Syria. Five hundred thousand slaughtered Arabs later, Mr. Putin has propped up his client, dictator Bashar Assad.
Angela Merkel made Germany dependent on Russian energy in the belief that Mr. Putin’s ambitions would drown in a river of euros. The chancellor was mistaken.
And after Mr. Putin dismembered Georgia in 2008 and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 (while inserting irregular forces into eastern Ukraine to wage an endless insurgency), American and European leaders went out of their way not to provoke him.
This may explain why President Biden, early in 2022, hoped Mr. Putin was planning only a “minor incursion” into Ukraine.
A question worth asking: Should Mr. Putin come out of this war looking and feeling like a winner — I’m hopeful about the current Ukrainian counteroffensive, but I rule nothing out — what would he do next? The answer, I assure you, will not be: “I’m going to Disneyland!”
Moldova is the lowest-hanging fruit. It’s not a NATO member, and its military capabilities are limited. Russia already occupies Transnistria, a strip of what used to be eastern Moldova between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border. Moldova would probably fall to Mr. Putin within days.
Mr. Putin might want to formalize his control of Belarus, to which he recently deployed tactical nuclear weapons.
After that, perhaps a bolder move: The creation of a land bridge to Kaliningrad, a Russian territory — it was Konigsberg when it was captured from Germany in 1945 — 400 miles west of the Russian mainland.
Based in Kaliningrad is the Russian navy’s Baltic Fleet. Russian troops there are equipped with mobile nuclear-capable Iskander-M missiles, and sophisticated air defense systems. Russian tanks would roll west into Lithuania from Belarus and east into Lithuania from Kaliningrad. Mr. Putin would need to take only a ribbon of southern Lithuania — in particular, the main road running from Belarus to Kaliningrad.
But Lithuania is a NATO member, so Mr. Putin wouldn’t dare, right? Don’t be so sure. He’d likely call the invasion “a special military operation to restore Russian territorial contiguity at a time of increased NATO aggression against Russia.”
He might also charge that the Russian minority in Lithuania, roughly 7% of its 2.8 million population, is being oppressed and requires his help. Neighboring Latvia and Estonia, where ethnic Russians are close to a quarter of the population, could be dealt with later.
Mr. Putin could say to NATO: “I’m open to diplomacy — a land-for-peace deal. But if you’d rather wage war, you should understand that extreme measures will be considered.”
Now ask yourself: Which NATO members would be willing to risk a nuclear war with Russia over a ribbon of countryside in the southern Baltics? Turkey? Germany? France? Would most Americans support such a conflict?
It’s tough to see how NATO could survive if it failed to defend one of its members as pledged in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
For Mr. Putin, NATO’s collapse would be a huge victory, one that his communist allies in Beijing and his Islamist allies in Tehran would regard as a significant battle won in their war against the West.
And in both those capitals, as well as in nuclear-armed Pyongyang, a lesson would be learned: The U.S. and Europe cave in to nuclear blackmail.
There’s one more geostrategic reality I want to mention. Sandwiched between Lithuania on the north and Poland on the south is the Suwalki Gap, a narrow stretch of Polish land running from Belarus to Kaliningrad.
A rail link just north of this corridor links Kaliningrad to the Russian mainland. But it functions under an agreement between Russia and Lithuania, whose relations are now severely strained.
A year ago, Lithuania, complying with European sanctions, prohibited the transit of coal, metals and building materials.
Kaliningrad’s governor called that a “serious violation” of the agreement.
A Russian invasion and occupation of the Suwalki Gap would also trigger Article 5. And it would cut off Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia from their NATO allies, complicating any attempt to provide materiel and reinforcements in case of a Russian invasion.
Not just coincidentally, comrade, two years ago, Russian and Belarusian troops staged a military exercise to practice closing off the Suwalki Gap and attacking Lithuania.
Perhaps you’ll say that, after the war in Ukraine, Mr. Putin wouldn’t have the resources and manpower necessary for such aggressions. But if he’s been successful, Tehran and Beijing would be as helpful as possible. The morale of his troops would improve. And he’d have millions of Ukrainians whom he could draft and then — with bayonets pressed against their backs — use as cannon fodder.
This much we should understand by now: Mr. Putin’s mission, as he sees it, is to restore the Russian Empire, which, for less than a century, was rebranded as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
“If Russia is not defeated [in Ukraine], then it will just be a matter of time before it regroups, rearms, and that it will come for somebody next,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte told a reporter last month.
In the Pentagon and at NATO headquarters in Brussels, geopolitical strategists should be imagining scenarios such as those described above. Defense plans based on deterrence rather than appeasement should be established. A good place to do that would be the next NATO summit. It’s scheduled for July in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.
Clifford D. May is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a columnist for The Washing-ton Times
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https://nypost.com/2023/06/21/trump-claims-desantis-attacks-are-personal-calls-him-disloyal-for-running-against-him-i-got-him-elected/
-------------
Strange that the leader for the nomination Trump takes such losing arguments against his currently distant, second place contender, like these flawed arguments will be nails in the coffin.
1. The name calling, desanctimonius? It isn't catchy or effective. It's more like projecting and reflects badly on the name caller.
2. He's been a mediocre governor? Complete inability to celebrate victories other than his own -and his own victories are quite a ways back in the rear view mirror, followed by a LOT of losses.
3. Loyalty? What, this is a Coronation? More like a circus? Loyalty was to not run against him last time. How about a former leader almost Biden's age letting go and giving loyalty and trust to the next generation of leaders?
"I got him elected.". Good f'ing grief. Trump is DELUSIONAL if he thinks his endorsement alone carries all recipients over the finish line. Ummm, how about losing the US Senate, the race in Arizona? Pennsylvania? FOUR LOSSES IN GEORGIA? Lost control of the House same year he endorsed DeSanrtis. THAT was a referendum on HIM. His own loss in 2020? His shameful loss in debate 1 against Biden that year. What about law enforcement relating to these elections? Wasn't he Bill Barr's boss?
He highlights all that is wrong with himself with these lame arguments, insecure with a 30 point lead, oops now 20, when he attacks his alleged protege.
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Well stated!
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and only he , the greatest "deal maker " in history can fix Ukraine
N Korea Iran and China
this would all be fixed with "amazing , greatest deals "in history "
"I have done more for Blacks then any other President in history !
never mind LBJ , Lincoln , Grant (who tried at least while he was able to)
I am tired of BS artists !
so are a hundred million other Americans.
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I do think he is the man best suited to break out of the Ukrainian death spiral that is sucking all of us in.
Ditto China.
Ditto Iran.
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Don't worry, the deep state will not let him win, no matter what.
and only he , the greatest "deal maker " in history can fix Ukraine
N Korea Iran and China
this would all be fixed with "amazing , greatest deals "in history "
"I have done more for Blacks then any other President in history !
never mind LBJ , Lincoln , Grant (who tried at least while he was able to)
I am tired of BS artists !
so are a hundred million other Americans.
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I do think he is the man best suited to break out of the Ukrainian death spiral that is sucking all of us in.
Ditto China.
Ditto Iran.
Never mind the deep state, the voters won't let him win.
I agree that Putin would not have invaded with Trump in the White House. But that ship sailed. Now we're discussing who can frame the best surrender to Putin agreement.
BTW, didn't we lose Hong Kong to China under Trump? Didn't we lose the Wuhan lab origin argument to China and our own deep state under Trump? Now we know it's true. No consequence.
His team prosecuted no one from Obama's IRS targeting scandal, partly because he had no team. Not a charge against Hillary either, in both cases because he was afraid it would come back to bite him. He got bit anyway. Trump kept Fauci at CDC and appointed Jay Powell to Fed chair. Trump's presidency has a great list of accomplishments, see our thread, now almost all undone in part because of his shortcomings. He wasn't the silver bullet we were looking for.
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"I do think he is the man best suited to break out of the Ukrainian death spiral that is sucking all of us in."
I thought you were all in on Ukraine - as long as it takes !
have you had a change of heart?
Trump would give up parts of Ukraine to Putin to make HIS GREAT BEAUTIFUL , greatest in world peace deal
What else does he have to offer - what is he going to do threaten to assassinate Putin ?
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https://www.arthursido.com/2023/06/its-a-small-club-and-you-aint-in-it.html
Do whatever harder!
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https://www.arthursido.com/2023/06/its-a-small-club-and-you-aint-in-it.html
Do whatever harder!
https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1136,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/140/713/868/original/c0ac9ab7adfc65dd.jpeg
(https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1136,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/140/713/868/original/c0ac9ab7adfc65dd.jpeg)
Everything else is just professional wrestling for the rubes.
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much prettier then the Alien monster from the 1979 movie but the same acid tongue
:-D
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/alien-head-tattoo-vector-illustration-1897085356
https://anncoulter.com/2023/06/21/trump-is-the-medias-new-david-duke/
"In 2022, the terrible, awful, rotten midterms for the GOP, Republicans running for the House actually won the popular vote. According to The New York Times’ Nate Cohn, they improved upon Trump’s 2020 performance in nearly every state — including Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia and Nevada.
[yes we did vote harder, and we won!]
How could Republicans win the popular vote in the House races in these states, but not pick up Senate seats?
Only one reason: Trump’s ridiculous candidates, whom he chose based on their commitment to making the “stolen” 2020 election a central campaign issue — Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania, Kari Lake in Arizona, Herschel Walker in Georgia and Adam Laxalt in Nevada."
****"Which is exactly why the media won’t stop talking about him."
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Don't have a citation handy, but saw that Trump is coming out with a plan to reform immigration. On first read it sounded good to me both in its political appeal and in its ability to move America forward.
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https://www.revolver.news/2023/06/hunter-gets-probation-trump-dies-in-prison-newsom-wins-2024-regimes-plan-unfolds-with-stunning-new-info/
Do something harder!
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and we have our first lesbian joint chief of staff
to celebrate
and we replace american flags and USA
on our military equipment to pride flags :wink:
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and we have our first lesbian joint chief of staff
to celebrate
and we replace american flags and USA
on our military equipment to pride flags :wink:
Those are the GAE flags. The Red, white and blue is being phased out.
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20% say right track, 74% wrong track.
https://nypost.com/2023/06/25/us-voters-bitter-about-nations-direction-74-say-its-on-the-wrong-track/
I can't think how a table could be set better for new leadership to step up and turn this ship around.
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So, DeSantis vs. Newsom.
Who wins?
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20% say right track, 74% wrong track.
https://nypost.com/2023/06/25/us-voters-bitter-about-nations-direction-74-say-its-on-the-wrong-track/
I can't think how a table could be set better for new leadership to step up and turn this ship around.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3609791-record-percentage-says-us-headed-in-wrong-direction-nbc-poll/
Record percentage says US headed in wrong direction: NBC poll
BY JULIA MUELLER - 08/21/22 1:41 PM ET
Nearly three-quarters of voters in a new poll said they believed things in the U.S. were headed in the wrong direction.
An NBC News poll revealed just 21 percent of voters feel the nation is headed in the right direction, while 74 percent think the opposite.
Over half of respondents, or 58 percent, said they feel “more worried that America’s best years may already be behind us,” while 35 percent feel more confident the best years are still ahead.
About a third of respondents, or 34 percent, said they think the state of the nation will worsen over the next five years. Just two percent more, or 36 percent, said they think things will get better in that same time period, and 21 percent said they think things will stay the same.
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"An NBC News poll revealed just 21 percent of voters feel the nation is headed in the right direction, while 74 percent think the opposite."
"I can't think how a table could be set better for new leadership to step up and turn this ship around."
YET,
Republicans are not clearly trouncing DNC for some reason
and that is what I want to know.
Seems like people don't like what we have to offer either !
Some of these US on wrong direction are feeling we are not woke enough, not enough abortion , not enough free this or that.
Somethings are clearly missing and not explained by these numbers
Trump should be beating Biden 60 - 40 as should any Republican - yet that does not seem to be supported by ANY polls I have seen.
-
So, DeSantis vs. Newsom.
Who wins?
Doesn't that seem like a near perfect, clarifying contrast for Republicans?
Assume we are in a 50-50 divided nation today and the tie goes to the regime. The question is, what movement in support could happen if the debate and choice is framed in that way. California is an amazing place with amazing resources and an amazing economic past, but by all measures is now headed in the wrong direction, while Florida under DeSanrtis has grown to perhaps best in the nation.
Can we get significantly more than 50% to link policies with results when the case is made, and win a landslide and a mandate out of now divided nation? I don't know the answer to the outcome of that. Just know it will be the most important choice of our lives. And THAT contrast is a much more productive debate than the backward looking contrast of Trump v Biden again.
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"Can we get significantly more than 50% to link policies with results when the case is made, and win a landslide and a mandate out of now divided nation? I don't know the answer to the outcome of that. Just know it will be the most important choice of our lives."
I hope so. It will be tough with the corruption of the media entertainment academia
teachers unions and
race gay hustlers , the legal system , harvest of ballots for cash
trump cannot do it
and so far the media keeps piling on DeSantis taking away his platform and inserting their own endless 24/7 negative reviews fact checks demogaguing of him
of course
My conclusion is , if we can't we will never be able to till the nation crashes and then maybe then , we can rebuild out of the ashes
it is very disturbing to see how Gen Z are all being brainwashed successfully
it bodes poorly for the future of this country
how can anyone not think we are in decline ?
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To ccp's (previous) point, yes I agree. The "wrong direction super majority is also divided on what they want next.
Our challenge in my thinking is a two step process. We need to link lousy results to Democrat policies, crime, inflation, stagnation, war, etc. Like with the Jimmy Carter presidency Step one is the evidence and proof these policies bring bad results. They won't listen to us but the results speak for themselves. Step two is way harder, to bring disillusioned Democrats and (formerly) left onboard with an alternative, positive, more conservative agenda.
I say we should be targeting 60-40 issues but a 54-46 actual outcome could put us on a path to restoring the American Creed.
Example: Abortion laws at 6 weeks do not conform to the 60-40 criteria but pointing out that a baby just short of full term full term is a live, innocent human being deserving some protection does.
Repealing the income tax does not have 60% support. Recognizing we need a healthy, competitive economy maybe does.
More focus, better policies, better messaging, fewer distractions.
---------
Regarding Gen Z / younger voters, how about someone telling them a large part of what they were taught just isn't so. There isn't a good form of socialism/communism, and getting the world off of carbon is going to require some widespread prosperity. Widespread prosperity comes out of what we used to call free enterprise, where government regulation is aimed at ensuring competition, not suppressing it.
If you're old enough to cut your genitals off, you're old enough to understand basic economics.
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good points
but not clear anyone running on our side is doing this .
"More focus, better policies, better messaging, fewer distractions."
well, this certainly rules OUT DJTramp ....
the king of distractions .....
I appreciate you pointing out that abortion at 6 weeks does not meet the 60-40 rule
especially since I know this topic is close to your heart.
You are being realistic about the political reality of this topic .
suppose we take this issue and mold it into maybe 14 or 15 weeks
and stuff that down Pelosi's throat :
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2023/06/25/pelosi-claims-abortion-is-the-democrats-winning-ticket-n2624966
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"Example: Abortion laws at 6 weeks do not conform to the 60-40 criteria but pointing out that a baby just short of full term full term is a live, innocent human being deserving some protection does."
Should DeSantis get the nomination, he will be hit HARD on FL's six week standard.
Agree that pivoting to the other end of the spectrum e.g. the evils of abortion in the latter months is a very good idea.
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/post-roe-era-house-republicans-114437202.html
yup this is already fast becoming a. 24/7 MSM theme
all day and night
this will become pre eminent
This could easily make the difference between win or lose
for us
these people don't give shit about the debt our nations decline
abortion rights rule for them :roll:
every young girly will be thinking about their rights etc blah blah blah
and their suburban moms too
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"every young girly will be thinking about HER rights"
Requesting no prog pronouns here please!
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your right too
men can also have abortions
I am too old to know this .
I am old enough to remember the dark ages :wink:
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"YOU'RE right too"
:evil:
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It seems no one wants a Trump Biden rematch yet those are today the far and away front runners.
Democrats think they need Biden to counter Trump and vice versa.
But Biden won't be the Dem nominee for a number of reasons.
Will that change the currently large support for Trump in the R party?
If Democrats run someone young (like 65 or 70?), will Republicans respond with greater support for a new leader? Yes, likely.
Gavin Newsom is 55. Age isn't his problem, too old or too young.
P.S. Expect MN Gov Tim Walz to jump in once Biden shows implosion. And you thought Sen Amy Klobuchar was exciting! Second term swing state governor with congressional experience in Washington. Who (DeSanrtis) does that match up with? Walz talks the moderate game and governs far Left.
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As can be seen in the Hunter & Joe thread, the War on Rule of law thread, the Comey etc thread, with the IRS whistleblowers it seems like a breaking point may be approaching, thus giving the Dems a chance to dump both Joe, Kommiela, and the gerontocracy all in one move by going to Nancy's nephew.
Newsom has played the dance well by showing respect for Biden, while presenting himself on the national stage by going against DeSantis (whose positions essentially track with Trump) and going into the lion's den with Hannity.
Newsom vs. Trump? IMHO the Pravdas, the Progs and other Dems, the Tech Oligarchs (who have their understandings with Newsom due to CA) those tired of Trump's horseshit, the TDSers etc, will overwhelm Trump in ways that will bring out even more his personal issues.
Question presented:
What happens in the Rep campaign, if Dems jump ship to Newsom?
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https://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2023/06/27/new-poll-desantis-is-beating-biden-handily-in-key-swing-states-however-n2624992
Trump will bring us all down in his sociopathic quest for revenge .
I need to vote harder against HIM too.
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As can be seen in the Hunter & Joe thread, the War on Rule of law thread, the Comey etc thread, with the IRS whistleblowers it seems like a breaking point may be approaching, thus giving the Dems a chance to dump both Joe, Kommiela, and the gerontocracy all in one move by going to Nancy's nephew.
Newsom has played the dance well by showing respect for Biden, while presenting himself on the national stage by going against DeSantis (whose positions essentially track with Trump) and going into the lion's den with Hannity.
Newsom vs. Trump? IMHO the Pravdas, the Progs and other Dems, the Tech Oligarchs (who have their understandings with Newsom due to CA) those tired of Trump's horseshit, the TDSers etc, will overwhelm Trump in ways that will bring out even more his personal issues.
Question presented:
What happens in the Rep campaign, if Dems jump ship to Newsom?
The same as 2020. "Election Fortification".
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well sort of anyway:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumpworld-rages-mccarthy-kevin-trouble-200144450.html
time to rid us of the burden Trump is, is .
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Trump Goes on Fox and Shows His Weakness
His plan for winning back the voters he lost in 2020? Insisting that he actually won.
By
Karl Rove
Follow
June 21, 2023 6:08 pm ET
What Donald Trump said this week could come to haunt him.
He got into trouble during an interview with the well-prepared, fair and focused Fox News anchor Bret Baier. Mr. Baier asked Mr. Trump why after leaving office he’d kept “very sensitive national security defense documents like the war plans for a strike on Iran.”
Rather than say the obvious, wise thing—he shouldn’t speak about an ongoing legal case in which he’s involved—Mr. Trump talked freely and in ways sure to create additional political difficulties for him.
Mr. Trump said he had “every right” to take classified documents. He didn’t. He said “everything was declassified.” His lawyers haven’t made that claim. He insisted he acted “like every other president” in leaving office with boxes upon boxes of papers. No other president did what he did.
In the tall tale spun by Mr. Trump, this was all an innocent accident on his part. The papers he took were “interspersed with all sorts of things—golf shirts, clothing, pants, shoes.” Digging through all that would have taken a lot of time, so he grabbed everything as he exited. He didn’t return what the indictment alleges were highly sensitive documents—including ones dealing with war plans—because he’d been “very busy” and didn’t have time to “go through the boxes and get all my personal things.” As if a heavily scheduled retirement is a legitimate reason to ignore months of requests from the National Archives, a subpoena, a visit from the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s counterterrorism unit and a grand-jury indictment.
It got weirder. There were no classified documents, he claimed, only “newspaper articles . . . copies of articles and magazines.” He held this line even when Mr. Baier pointed out that prosecutors say they have recordings of Mr. Trump at his Bedminster golf club saying the opposite. Mr. Trump also strongly suggested—with no evidence—that the FBI planted classified materials during their Mar-a-Lago search. “They could be stuffing it,” he said. “I don’t know what they put in there.”
Mr. Trump ranged from unpersuasive to incoherent. His comments certainly didn’t help him with the independent voters who’ll decide the 2024 contest. Already, a June 17 CNN/SSRS poll found that by 67% to 33%, independents support indicting Mr. Trump on his handling of the documents. By the same margin, independents said he “put national security at risk” by taking the papers.
Mr. Trump doesn’t seem to have a plan to attract these or other key voters. Mr. Baier asked Mr. Trump how he’d win back suburban women whose defection contributed to the GOP’s loss in 2020. Mr. Trump denied the premise: “I won in 2020 by a lot. OK? Let’s get that straight.”
There were “all of the stuffed ballots,” he told Mr. Baier, and “fake ballots.” When the Fox anchor countered that in more than 50 lawsuits Team Trump didn’t prove any widespread fraud, the former president said he was “trying to get recounts, real recounts”—as if the recounts and audits in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin didn’t happen. Wisconsin has “practically admitted it was rigged,” Mr. Trump declared, though that’s not true, either. The former president wasn’t deterred even when Mr. Baier bluntly told him, “You lost the 2020 election.”
Wild 2020 claims didn’t do his acolytes any good in last year’s midterms. Candidates who stressed them lost badly and Mr. Trump’s obsessing about them is bound to drive more voters away—even some who are now generally inclined to vote for him.
There’s already evidence that his false statements on the 2020 election, as well as the indictment, may be corroding his hold over Republicans and right-leaning independents. The June CNN/SSRS poll found support among those groups for his nomination at 47%, down from 53% in May. His favorable rating among Republicans was 67%, down 10 points from May, while 23% of Republicans said they’d never support him, up from 16% last month. If Mr. Trump keeps this up, many right-leaning voters may conclude that though they liked what he did as president, he has too much baggage.
Trump supporters will counter that the CNN/SSRS survey is only one poll. They’re right. And yes, Mr. Trump still leads bigly in national polls. As we’ve learned the last seven years, Mr. Trump is wildly popular with the GOP base, almost regardless of what he does.
Let’s see if these trends in the CNN/SSRS survey are reflected in other national polls and, more importantly, in polls in the early primary states. If they are, then Mr. Trump’s mounting legal difficulties and continuing refusal to accept his 2020 defeat are likely to be responsible.
Mr. Rove helped organize the political-action committee American Crossroads and is author of “The Triumph of William McKinley” (Simon & Schuster, 2015).
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:-D
of course only a "straw poll"
of course this will be ignored by MSM
who want Trump to win.
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https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2023/07/03/everybody-chill-we-have-a-white-house-to-win-back-n2625238
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Some idle ruminations:
Q: What if the Putin regime crashes from within/is overthrown by people looking to cut a deal with Biden-Blinken? What implications for our 2024 election?
A-1: Biden et al will claim great vision and great success and the Pravdas will echo the claim for and wide.
A-2: This will be devastating politically for Trump and for DeSantis.
A-3: At least half the Rep Party claim "We too supported the War!"
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There is a greater likelihood of Hunter Biden discovering the cure for cancer.
Some idle ruminations:
Q: What if the Putin regime crashes from within/is overthrown by people looking to cut a deal with Biden-Blinken? What implications for our 2024 election?
A-1: Biden et al will claim great vision and great success and the Pravdas will echo the claim for and wide.
A-2: This will be devastating politically for Trump and for DeSantis.
A-3: At least half the Rep Party claim "We too supported the War!"
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".There is a greater likelihood of Hunter Biden discovering the cure for cancer. "
since we are on a, 'what if '
rant,
what if Hunter finds cure for cancer - what does that mean for Trump/DeSantis?
just kidding. a have a smart ass gene somewhere in my DNA
:-D
seriously
if the Ukraine Russia does somehow end on a positive note
we will see the demented one bragging on what a genius he is , and the media
pointing it out 24/7. - no doubt - and of course they will use it against Republicans
That said keep in mind Biden has NEVER been right on foreign policy
so that is re assuring.
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https://nypost.com/2023/07/02/hunter-biden-filmed-himself-smoking-crack-behind-the-wheel/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nypost&utm_source=twitter
Hunter S. Biden
".There is a greater likelihood of Hunter Biden discovering the cure for cancer. "
since we are on a, 'what if '
rant,
what if Hunter finds cure for cancer - what does that mean for Trump/DeSantis?
just kidding. a have a smart ass gene somewhere in my DNA
:-D
seriously
if the Ukraine Russia does somehow end on a positive note
we will see the demented one bragging on what a genius he is , and the media
pointing it out 24/7. - no doubt - and of course they will use it against Republicans
That said keep in mind Biden has NEVER been right on foreign policy
so that is re assuring.
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This could go in a number of threads. I'm putting it in this one because of how Trump is staking out something both important and political here-- here is an example of how he actually would be tough on China.
Off the top of my head, it sounds good to me.
In the real world one suspects China would want a trade-off regarding Taiwan.
Given how he looked the other way with Hong Kong, one could not rule out that Trump would make a deal here.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/hillary-clinton-headlines-list-of-speakers-for-naacp-national-convention-in-boston/ar-AA1dtvH1
of course :roll:
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Wasn't her husband the "first black President"? Because he played saxophone??
Obama, raised by "typical white folks", his words, came later and was only half black.
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John (Prescott) Ellis is an admitted (H.W.) Bush Republican (and first cousin of George W Bush) but also an excellent journalist and political observer of the current scene.
Interesting that maybe three of us strongly see the need to move on to someone else like DeSantis, but the polls are telling a different story. Great insights here, I think.
"the first step toward defeating Trump is to honor him"
"Trump voters won’t consent to his political funeral until they hear the eulogy first."
https://41jellis.medium.com/the-jacksonians-dd5dee06f65a
It didn’t get much coverage, but last week’s Fox News Poll perfectly captured the state of the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination with one remarkable data point. To wit: “Only 13% of GOP primary voters say they would never vote for Donald Trump.”
The Republican Party remains the Donald Trump Party, ceaseless purge attempts by “party elders,” major donors and mainstream media to the contrary. Lest anyone doubt the assertion, look no further than Mr. Trump’s rally in Pickens, South Carolina on Saturday. Fifty thousand people showed up; twice the seating capacity of Madison Square Garden. How big a crowd do you suppose Gov. Ron DeSantis could attract in Pickens, South Carolina on a sweltering hot Saturday afternoon of a holiday weekend? The question is the answer.
There are three parts to the Republican primary/caucus-attending electorate. Part one is suburban. Part two is exurban. Part three is rural. There aren’t any Republican primary voters to speak of in urban areas, which is why they’re not included in a “map” of the GOP primary/caucus-attending electorate.
Part one (suburbia) is where Trump is at least theoretically vulnerable. Part two (exurbia) is where Trump is strong but not invulnerable. Part three (rural) is where Trump is basically invulnerable.
This “map” of the GOP primary/caucus-attending electorate is (obviously) over-simplified and, to some degree, over-stated. But the key to understanding American politics is not how much money people have or how educated they are or how much social media they consume…..it’s where they live that matters most. The codes by which people live in the four geographic “divisions” are distinct (more or less) and produce sharply different views of the world at large.
The reason Trump’s support has never wavered since he lost the 2020 presidential election is that his support in rural and exurban America has never wavered. Indictments have been handed down, allegations of wrong-doing have surfaced (a lot of them), countless crazy rants have been posted (by Trump) on social media in the wee hours, Trump-endorsed candidates have lost key races…….you know the litany. It goes on and on (and on).
Through it all, Trump’s Jacksonian, rural-exurban base has remained loyal. And the more Trump comes under attack, be it from the mainstream media or the Biden Justice Department, Ron DeSantis or Chris Christie, the stronger that loyalty holds fast. Each and every attacker is running headlong into a central tenet of Jacksonian America, which says you never cut and run on one of your own.
Walter Mead, in an essay in Foreign Affairs, described the politics underlying Trump’s rise and enduring appeal as follows:
The distinctively American populism Trump espouses is rooted in the thought and culture of the country’s first populist president, Andrew Jackson. For Jacksonians — who formed the core of Trump’s passionately supportive base — the United States is not a political entity created and defined by a set of intellectual propositions rooted in the Enlightenment and oriented toward the fulfillment of a universal mission. Rather, it is the nation-state of the American people, and its chief business lies at home. Jacksonians see American exceptionalism not as a function of the universal appeal of American ideas, or even as a function of a unique American vocation to transform the world, but rather as rooted in the country’s singular commitment to the equality and dignity of individual American citizens. The role of the U.S. government, Jacksonians believe, is to fulfill the country’s destiny by looking after the physical security and economic well-being of the American people in their national home — and to do that while interfering as little as possible with the individual freedom that makes the country unique.
Jacksonian populism is only intermittently concerned with foreign policy, and indeed it is only intermittently engaged with politics more generally. It took a particular combination of forces and trends to mobilize it this (2016) election cycle, and most of those were domestically focused. In seeking to explain the Jacksonian surge, commentators have looked to factors such as wage stagnation, the loss of good jobs for unskilled workers, the hollowing out of civic life, a rise in drug use — conditions many associate with life in blighted inner cities that have spread across much of the country. But this is a partial and incomplete view. Identity and culture have historically played a major role in American politics, and 2016 was no exception. Jacksonian America felt itself to be under siege, with its values under attack and its future under threat. Trump — flawed as many Jacksonians themselves believed him to be — seemed the only candidate willing to help fight for its survival.
That’s how Trump is perceived in rural and exurban America — the only candidate willing to help fight for the survival of Jacksonian America. At his rallies, Trump pays homage to Jacksonians. When he comes out on stage, he does not bask in their adoration. He walks back and forth across the stage……and, clapping his hands, applauds them — the general saluting the troops. It’s brilliant stagecraft, and greatly appreciated. No politician has ever applauded them before.
There has been much huffing and puffing in the mainstream media and the tonier precincts of conservative politics about “taking Trump on directly” and “ripping the bark off him.” Part of why Trump rolls along, the thinking goes, is that he is allowed to do so by his GOP opponents. Put another way, he can’t be beat if he’s not beaten up.
This is why Chris Christie gets favorable press for “scorching” Trump in press interviews and TV town halls and why Ron DeSantis gets some good ink when he alludes to Trumpian malfeasance or incompetence. This is also why neither Chris Christie nor Ron DeSantis will ever see an audience of 50,000 people in front of them.
To be clear, Trump’s “base” is not wedded to Trump. Like every other “voting bloc,” it is open to suggestions. And it’s as transactional and pragmatic as the next constituency. Take away their Social Security and Medicare and watch your poll numbers collapse. But beneath their transactional concerns lies a code, which compels certain behaviors. And the most important of those “behaviors” are loyalty and respect.
Trump voters won’t consent to his political funeral until they hear the eulogy first. This seems obvious on its face but it’s remarkable (if not amazing) that Trump’s opponents don’t seem to understand that the first step toward defeating Trump is to honor him. Asserting that Trump is some kind of transexual pervert enabler, as a DeSantis video recently did, is so unbelievably stupid it takes your breath away.
“The amazing thing about Trump,” former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes once said, after Trump’s election in 2016, “is…..he just keeps going.” If the other Republicans can’t figure out a eulogy strategy, Trump will go on to become the party’s presidential nominee for the third time in three cycles. Jacksonian America endures. Trump endures as a result.
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good article , Doug
and great thoughts
Attacking Trump does not seem to be breaking . Indeed , attack him and you attack
the MAGAs so their response is to defend the first President who stuck up for them /us.
OTOH if you embrace him then you are also promoting him. :-o
So logically to me the only option left is to neither embrace him or attack him
but embrace the work he has done for us but continue to explain why it is best for all of us to move on
DeSantis may simply not have the charisma
to do that ......
But making the case one appreciates Trump [ :roll:]
but one is better suited to carry on his "greatest the world has ever seen " accomplishments instead of HIM is very tough.
yet, if we stay with him , that will be our best chance to LOSE in '24.
we are so screwed...
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ccp, right.
In the first debate, which Trump will probably not attend and no one will probably watch, Christie can run hard against Trump and DeSantis can run hard against left governance currently named Biden. Position himself as heir to Trump, not rival to Trump.
The polls have been steady so nothing small, no rival stump speech, will shake Trump's lead for the nomination.
The next major development in the Republican race will likely be news that Biden will not be the Democrat nominee.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2023/07/05/politico-what-if-biden-just-dies-one-evening-n2625350
Then the question changes to, who matches up best against new democratic leadership?
I do not believe the dynamic of the race (between two 80-year-olds) will not change in the next 8 to 16 months. At present, polls say, Trump has half the Republican support and 'Not-Trump' has the other half with DeSantis still leading in that lane.
Trump wins the nomination in the current circumstance no matter what the others do (I'm sorry to say). 44-year-old DeSantis at this point is running for nothing more than VP and heir to the movement until something beyond his control changes.
A VP candidate's job is to attack the current administration, policies and direction. Same thing DeSantis (and the others) should be doing right now anyway.
Remove the ego and keep the eyes on the long fight, linking leftist policies to actual results and reforming the election mess.
Food prices up 50%. Gas prices up 50%. Mortgage interest costs up 150%. Left a mess in Afghanistan and emboldened Putin to invade his neighbor, risking a WWIII. Keep the focus on making a positive change in direction, strengthening the nation, the economy, the border - no matter who the names on the ticket end up being.
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Some random thoughts:
1:
a) terrible legal challenges are accelerating for Joe, not just Hunter.
b) Joe's senility advances,
c) Trump is now beating Joe in some polls
d) powerful forces lurk beneath the surface to jettison him for Newsom.
2: Assumption shattering changes could arise in Russia and/or Ukraine:
a) Putin could be defenestrated
b) Russian Army/Wagner could refuse to fight
c) the nuke plant in Ukraine could suffer something dastardly
d) in some of this scenarios Biden claims great victory and Trump/DeSantis will be badly damaged
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May Trump Soon Reach His Waterloo
The former president isn’t Napoleon, but there are similarities in the cults around both men.
Peggy Noonan
July 6, 2023 6:09 pm ET
If you frequently have a screen on, your impression this summer is that all the hungry things are coming closer in. The sharks are coming closer to shore, the beaches suddenly closed. Bears have been coming in closer for years, deer too. Alligators are advancing onto the golf course and creeping out of the pond.
Candidates for president are coming in closer, away from their natural habitat in the greenrooms of the east and into the heartland primary states, marching in July Fourth parades, waving sweatily, hoping someone will wave back. To mark their summer kickoff, a few thoughts on the race.
The first primaries are just more than six months away, the first GOP debate is next month, and yet the only thing to be sure of is that clear and consistent majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents don’t want the choice they’re likely to get, a race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. It has a depressing effect on political talk. If either party were daring and serious about history, it would shake off its front-runner and increase its chances of winning in 2024. It feels weird that, politics being the cold business it is, neither is making this pragmatic decision.
Democrats are stopped by their fear of the apparatus of presidential power. They’re afraid to push against the big, inert, tentacled power blob that is the presidency. They fear they can’t raise money in such circumstances; they fear unsettling things—better the devil you know—and fear that a challenge to Biden-Harris will be interpreted by a major part of their base as a move against the multiracial first female vice president. They fear their party isn’t organized enough, in a way isn’t real enough, to execute an unexpected national primary race.
If Mr. Biden had more imagination than hunger, he’d apprehend his position and move boldly: “After long thought, I judge that I have done the job set for me by history: I removed Donald Trump and saw to the ravages of the pandemic. I now throw open the gates and say to my party: Go pick a president. You did all right last time, you’ll do fine this time too.” What a hero he’d be—impressive to his foes, moving to his friends. History would treat him kindly too: “Not since George Washington . . .” But he has more hunger than imagination.
Many Republicans, the polls say, are also having trouble letting go.
This weekend I reread Paul Johnson’s “Napoleon,” which came out in 2002, part of his series of brief lives. Johnson paints his subject as genius and devil and spends time on his political unscrupulousness: “French rule was corrupt and rapacious.” In conquered nations France took everything not nailed down, especially art, which would go to the Louvre for the convenience of the world. At birth, nature gave Napoleon great gifts but “denied him things that most people, however humble, take for granted—the ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood, or right and wrong.” He was a mountebank who hid his “small feminine hand” inside his waistcoat and lavished his person with cologne.
It should be noted, should your mind be going there, that Donald Trump isn’t Napoleon, who was a serious man, or anyone else. He’s a one-off, and of his time.
But Johnson writes of the cult of Napoleon in a way that is now pertinent. As he rose, “the English intellectuals, if that is not too fancy a term, were divided.” Lord Liverpool, who as a young man had witnessed the French Revolution and never got over its horrors, located his place in history: Napoleon was the man who took a violent French mob and turned it into an army that terrorized Europe. William Wordsworth protested his cruel treatment of the peasants in occupied countries; Samuel Taylor Coleridge saw him as a threat to democratic freedoms—“the evil genius of the planet.” Edmund Burke was of course Napoleon’s most powerful literary foe.
Others, still captivated by the revolution, saw him as its residual heir. Some hated monarchy and welcomed Bonaparte as an enemy of the British throne. Some admired him “more as a criticism of British institutions and ruling personalities than in approval of his doings.” The poets John Keats and Percy Shelley saw him as a romantic hero, a daring breakthrough artist of history. Johnson thinks they were influenced by the work of Napoleon’s paid propagandists, especially the painters Jacques-Louis David and Antoine-Jean Gros.
“The cult of Bonaparte was originally wide, but it did not last,” Johnson writes. It had power in the moment, but it passed. Reality settled in; history made its judgments. The cultists changed the subject, or added nuance when pressed to explain their previous support.
But Johnson sees in the Napoleon cult the beginning of something, the rise of mass and effective political propaganda. “In the twentieth century, this infatuation was to occur time and again.” George Bernard Shaw, that brilliant man, fell for Stalin and became his willing dupe. Norman Mailer and others worshiped Castro; French intellectuals celebrated Mao.
The Irish writer Fintan O’Toole wrote in the New York Times in 2017 of Shaw’s loyalty to Stalin. In political cults there is “the tendency to fantasize. . . . There is the same impatience with the messiness and inefficiency of democracy, and it leads to the same crush on the strongman leader who can cut through the irrelevant natterings of parliaments and parties.”
Back to now. Chris Christie could easily defeat Joe Biden. So could several of the GOP candidates now in the field. Donald Trump wouldn’t, for one big reason: His special superpower is that he is the only Republican who will unite and rally the Democratic base and drive independents away. He keeps the Biden coalition together.
A sad thing is that many bright Trump supporters sense this, and the case against him, but can’t concede it and break from him, in some cases because they fear him and his friends. They don’t want to be a target, they don’t want to be outside the in-group, they want to be safely inside. They curry favor.
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https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_AU4-Dt-8ok
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https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-lashes-out-kim-reynolds-iowa-caucuses-2024-desantis-2023-7
It's not a coronation. Good people are free to choose whoever they think is best for the nomination, and in the general election. He is supposed to EARN their support (words, deeds, debates for example), not 'win' it by shunning or threatening to destroy them if they prefer someone else to carry the ball forward. No one likes a bully. Someone tell Trump that.
Review the tape of Debate 1 2000 vs Biden if anyone thinks Trump is SO good he doesn't need to face his challengers. He.was.awful.
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I remember that debate. A profound embarrassment!
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agree
I can't stand what a petty manchild he is.
he can't simply dispute the '20 election. He has to beat his chest and claim he won by "A LOT!!!!"
and the MAGA fools cheer and clap ........
DeSantis sounds so much better if one listens to what he says
but the MAGAS refuse to give him any credit and the MSM refuse to give him ANYTHING but insults.
reminds me about the corona vaccine - and Trump
LEFT no credit
RIGHT no blame
I pray Trump has sudden medical condition before he brings us all down...
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A lot of betting games going about when Biden drops out of the race.
Smart money says probably later rather than sooner, but I'll take August 2023 just to get in the game.
Key indicator, when Maureen Dowd of the NYT notices it's despicable ("callous and hypocritical that Slow Joe refuses to recognize his out of wedlock granddaughter.
https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2023/07/10/maureen-dowd-joe-bidens-treatment-of-his-seventh-grandchild-is-callous-and-hypocritical/
Umm, Maureen, she's 4 years old now. 4 years of media silence! What changed, do you suppose?!
SOMEBODY gave the marching orders to no longer protect NYT is closer to whoever is really in charge than Joe is.
In August 2023 Joe will announce that he wishes to spend more time with family, especially his young son Hunter (57?) during these formative years before he inevitably grows up and moves out of the house. - Doug 7-11-2023
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I am thinking as late as he can. So he can avoid the "lame duck" label
and the people really behind the operation can continue to press forward
their agenda (backward) as far as they can .
Plus they want to be in the mix for power in the next operation .
So as soon as Newsom announces they and ex Clintonites will be flocking at his feet.
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https://rumble.com/v2zhm2a-video-comparing-trumps-vs.-bidens-weekend-goes-mega-viral.html?mref=22lbp&mc=56yab&fbclid=IwAR11J0wXgyNBIAenksqDG93SZjbwxjH0Ac53_YgFbetPsNQpkw5t3DV37b8
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If he (Biden) stays in the race, he should make a clear public statement that he feels fine and has no suicidal thoughts and pre-order the autopsy should something happen. The powers that be are not him. He is the puppet not the power.
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It appears that the long knives are out for him. Eh tu Gavin?
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have not yet listened to the whole tape
yet
but I like the first 12 minutes
she could be my back up if DeSantis cannot gain traction
though I am not happy with her immigration stance
but perhaps she will address that later in the tape
https://www.westernjournal.com/nikki-haley-forces-tucker-answer-question-shrug/
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saw rest of interview
and thought it was good
the follow up was of course with all MAGA heads starting with Kari Lake - > me -> :roll:
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A lot of politicians would not take the chance of getting booed. Even more would go unrecognized. :-D
https://rumble.com/v2z3c6m-ufc-fighter-jumps-cage-after-win-to-pay-respect-to-trump.html?mref=22lbp&mc=56yab&fbclid=IwAR0cI0C7BQ2QkQM-Avxrr53x1wtpd3wxlxCGxQRGklTru30YUuOAcMj3wFI
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https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2023/07/16/trump-admits-appointing-fbi-director-wray-a-mistake-n2625784
How many high level appointments were a mistake by his own admission? And he did nothing about cleaning up anti Americanism in the rank and file deep state.
I'm not saying it would be easy to do. Just saying he didn't do it.
If he was honest about it, he would say it can't be done in just one term, which is all he's eligible for.
He went ballistic on voting irregularities AFTER he lost - but who had the bully pulpit while it was happening?
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"If he was honest about it"
so he finally comes clean and admits mistakes - sort of , kind of.
"How many high level appointments were a mistake by his own admission?"
The mistakes he sort of admits to are only of the people around him - never himself.
And almost always people who after working from him who turn on him.
They were not loyal enough.
Well, one has to earn loyalty. Funny how more people who left his administration would later come out and write anti-Trump books, go on enemy news station and report negative reviews of him - more than every President in my lifetime put together. Why is that ?
He blames the deep state - maybe - but maybe it is him.
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Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr, Rex Tillerson, John Bolton, Mattis, McMaster, these were his picks!
Fauci, Birx, he kept them on, WHY?
Jerome Powell, are you kidding me? Read these pages, I said pick John Taylor, Stanford Professor, author of the Taylor Rule. But no, the outsider picks and insider and it's business as usual at the Fed. Right down the path to losing reserve currency status, on his watch.
Election insecurity, happened on his watch. Fall of half free Hong Kong, happened on his watch. No shots fired, not even a verbal one. Distracted by covid.
So many accomplishments, almost all undone by his character flaws and losses to follow.
He won't debate Republicans because of his big lead. Then play the tape of his last one. Shameful. Worst performance EVER for an incumbent.
If Trump is the nominee, it's almost a certainty I will vote for him, but my expectation is that we will lose the election and the country. Some here say it's already lost, but why not take one more shot at winning - even if it's just to stall off our demise.
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Powerful points.
Best possible counter arguments I can think of:
a) He came in extraordinarily unconnected with Washington;
b) During the campaign, and from Day One in office he was sabotaged and stabbed in the back by the most nefarious Deep State conspiracy in our country's history;
c) Remember all that he did right-- and it is a lot.
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Our heads are in the same place with this
I am baffled by why so many Republicans still adore him. :-o
if he does win the nomination it will be the first time in my lifetime I ever felt obligated to vote for some one I truly hate.
I was tepid with Ford, Dole, W. (the first time), McCain, Romney
but I did not despise them
or feel they would crash us all.
our only hope is if it is him, the Democrat would be worse ......
God help us.
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The Oddly Cautious Challengers to Trump
On the menu today: The first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 cycle is about five weeks away, and there’s a strange, inverted dynamic at work in the GOP field. Usually, the frontrunner runs a cautious campaign, while the underdogs and longshots take bigger risks, attempting to stand out, gain ground, and peel away supporters from the frontrunner. But so far, it feels like the opposite is happening, with a lot of the longshots running generic, predictable, cookie-cutter campaigns, while Donald Trump is his usual erratic, unpredictable, winging-it self.
A Peculiar Primary
An odd dynamic is at work in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Some of the candidates who are so far behind, with the least to lose, are campaigning very cautiously and predictably, almost afraid to make waves. Meanwhile, frontrunner Donald Trump, who you would think would have the most to lose, is campaigning with his trademark wild abandon and sudden reversals, throwing caution to the wind.
A slew of candidates entered as underdogs and are offering, at least from my perspective, something of a generic, cookie-cutter GOP agenda. Secure the border. Increase domestic energy production. Cut taxes. Build up the military. Roll back or undo “Bidenomics.” Stop “woke” indoctrination in our schools.
There’s nothing wrong with those agenda items, but they are indistinguishable from what every other Republican candidate is promising. Getting up on stage and pledging to enact those policies doesn’t stand out, and a lot of GOP primary voters have heard it all before.
It seems the non-Trump candidates are still struggling to figure out what the modern Republican presidential-primary voters want. About half the party wants Trump again and doesn’t seem interested in any alternative. The candidates competing for the rest can’t quite figure out whether they should try to emulate Trump, try to be different than Trump, or offer a bit from column A and a bit from column B (and if so, in what proportion and what combination).
If everyone sticks to the generic laundry list of priorities, it may well reflect that the campaigns have concluded that Republican presidential-primary voters don’t care about the details of policy, and laying out their agenda in broad strokes is all that is needed to win votes.
I notice quite a few of the GOP presidential-campaign websites do not have “issues” or agenda sections yet. Some of these candidates do feature their most recent media appearances, which sometimes give a sense of their policy proposals. But they don’t have any set-aside section that lays out their to-do list in detail. They all have ways to contribute, and almost all have online stores for campaign merchandise. If you want to peruse them yourself, here are the campaign websites for Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Tim Scott, and Francis Suarez.
You know which GOP candidates do feature an issues page on their websites? Doug Burgum, Will Hurd, Asa Hutchinson, Vivek Ramaswamy, and — I’ll mention him just because we shared a stage in Memphis this weekend — Larry Elder. Oh, and . . . Donald Trump!
I wonder if some campaigns have calculated that putting out specific policy proposals just gives the other rival campaigns targets to snipe at and language to exaggerate, misconstrue, and demonize. I hope this isn’t the case, as “trust me, we’ll work out the details later” is a promise that Republicans have heard many, many times before, often with disappointing results. I agree with Christie’s campaign slogan that “the truth matters,” and the truth is that there are still some of us nerds and geeks out here who actually want to see a policy agenda with specifics from presidential candidates.
“The devil is in the details” is just a saying, people. You don’t make the devil go away by refusing to go into any details.
The campaign websites all have “biography” sections. I think voters ought to really scrutinize a candidate’s history and record, particularly when they’ve had to run an institution and build coalitions to enact changes in policy. But so far, the evidence suggests that GOP primary voters aren’t that interested. Back in 2015, Henry Barbour, a committeeman for the Republican National Committee and an informal adviser to Rick Perry’s campaign, lamented, “We are into an age where it seems like your ability to get yourself on cable news and be a rock star in a reality-TV era matters more than what you’ve accomplished in a state like Texas or New Jersey or Florida. . . . It’s tough, and it’s not good, but it is reality. And campaigns have to deal with what the voters are looking for.”
How much has changed since 2015? The non-Trump candidates spend a lot of time emphasizing their experience, offering it as proof that they know how to get results. But about 45 percent of GOP primary voters in 2016 didn’t care that Donald Trump had never run anything in government before. This cycle, one of the few long-shot candidates who has shown any sign of catching fire is Ramaswamy, who hit 8 percent in a Morning Consult national poll, good enough for third place. At best, Republican primary voters seem uninterested in a candidate’s experience and accomplishments. At worst, maybe they see experience and accomplishments as liabilities, signs that a candidate is part of the dreaded “establishment.”
If you’re rooting for DeSantis, it’s a good sign that he’s shaking up his staff. No, his campaign isn’t collapsing, but his current approach and team haven’t gotten him where he wants to go. The pressure to perform in the upcoming debate keeps increasing, and as our Luther Ray Abel points out, fireworks in some mainstream-media interviews would probably help, too.
Some longshot candidates don’t appear to have much of a plan. Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson endured some mockery for an image of him addressing a crowd of six people. He recently told the New York Times that his goal in Iowa is to finish in the top five, which is an insanely low goal and definition of success. The fifth-place finishers in Iowa in previous cycles were Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, John McCain, Phil Gramm, and Pete du Pont. A fifth-place finish may not even earn a single delegate. No one must try to marginalize Hutchinson because he’s doing a fine job of marginalizing himself.
If you’re a Republican presidential candidate currently polling at five percent or less . . . what are you being cautious for? Where has your current approach gotten you so far?
Longshot candidates, let me be the one to communicate the hard truth that apparently your campaign staff is afraid to tell you: You’re not going to get very far on your charm and good looks. You’ll be lucky if you get noticed on that debate stage amidst all the other candidates making the same promises. Very few voters will be wowed by your resume. Running for president is much, much harder than running for governor or senator. The hours and travel are a slog, the pressure to raise money is relentless, the press coverage and scrutiny are often brutal, and the competition is fierce. If you want the presidency, you must take some chances. Heck, if you just want attention, you must take some chances, too.
On the flip side, Trump keeps making decisions that would damage a normal candidate, but that so far have no sign of impacting his popularity. Remember Trump’s dinner with Kanye and Nick Fuentes? Apparently, GOP voters don’t find that worrying. Remember Trump declaring on Truth Social that “A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution”? There’s no sign that post hurt Trump at all.
Trump called Nevada “disgraceful” and insisted he won the state in 2020. (Here in this dimension, Biden won the state by 33,596 votes, or about 2.4 percentage points.)
He trashed his own former press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany. He blamed Chris Christie for recommending Christopher Wray, Trump’s own appointee to be director of the FBI. He’s argued that disgraced former New York governor Andrew Cuomo handled the pandemic better than his primary rival Ron DeSantis. He’s threatening to skip the debates.
In ordinary politics, these sorts of statements and blame-shifting backfire.
Trump skipped the 2023 Family Leadership Summit in Iowa entirely; we’ll see if this has any effect on his support in Iowa. During The Blaze’s coverage of the event, his biggest cheerleader, Kari Lake, declared, “There’s some lovely people that are on this stage, but I feel like we’re dealing with the B-team here.” More than a few conservatives on social media couldn’t believe that a woman who lost a race to Katie Hobbs had the gall to call multi-term governors and senators the “B-team” — and noted that her preferred “A-team” didn’t even bother to show up in Iowa.
Instead of going to Iowa, Trump stayed in Florida and spoke at the Turning Point Action conference. In that speech, he declared that he was only using the term “crooked” on Joe Biden now, and that “I took the name ‘crooked’ away from Hillary and gave her a new name, ‘beautiful.’ I don’t believe in the same name for two people.”
As far as we can tell, none of this has hindered Trump’s effort to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — in Iowa, New Hampshire, or nationally. Yes, it’s early, and Republican-leaning voters may not be paying too much attention yet.
In fact, Trump remains so erratic that he can switch positions on a dime. For much of the past year, Trump and his supporters have argued that U.S. support for Ukraine is a terrible mistake and waste, and that Volodymyr Zelensky is unworthy of American assistance. At one of Trump’s rallies, Ted Nugent declared Zelensky a “homosexual weirdo.”
Then, this weekend, in an interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo, Trump outlined a scenario where he would dramatically increase U.S. military aid to Ukraine:
“I know Zelensky very well. I felt he was very honorable, because when they asked him about the perfect phone call that I made, he said it was indeed per- he said it was, he didn’t even know what they were talking about! He could have grandstanded, ‘Oh, I felt threatened. . . .’”
“I know Zelensky very well and I know Putin very well. Even better. And I had a good relationship, very good, with both of them. I would tell Zelensky, ‘No more. You gotta make a deal.’ I would tell Putin, ‘If you don’t make a deal, we’re gonna give them a lot. We’re gonna give them more than they’ve ever got, if we have to.’ I will have the deal done in one day. One day.”
So, Trump’s plan is to cut off arms shipments to Ukraine, and then see whether Putin agrees to a deal; if Putin does not, Trump would then ship even more arms to Ukraine.
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/trump-addresses-mistakes-made-during-first-term_5401982.html?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-07-17-1&src_cmp=breaking-2023-07-17-1&utm_medium=email
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The best Kennedy around is a Republican senator from Louisiana, but a Kennedy carrying the RFK namesake is challenging Joe Biden for the nomination and winning some attention. He may not win but he evokes memory of two moments from history. A Kennedy challenged incumbent Jimmy Carter's re-election in 1980. He didn't win but he loosened the jar and Carter went on to lose 44 states to an "actor from California".
In 1968 Eugene McCarthy challenged Lyndon Johnson with a Kennedy waiting in the wings. Johnson won the New Hampshire primary but his performance disappointed by so much that he left the race, and a Republican ended up winning the Presidency.
No conclusion to this story yet, but history tells us that weakening the incumbent does not help the incumbent party, and this incumbent can barely stand up to begin with.
Beating up the challenger in his own party doesn't help the incumbent either.
Democrats should ignore RFK Jr. Attacking him gives him stature. I don't see them attacking (third place) Williamson.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/rfk-jr-responds-to-democrat-attacks-at-weaponization-hearing_5411489.html
Newsome is thinking, give it up already, and Biden is thinking, don't be a lame duck, don't be any lamer than he already is, especially in the face of the exploding corruption scandal. Xi and Vlad are thinking, past the popcorn.
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"In 1968 Eugene McCarthy challenged Lyndon Johnson with a Kennedy waiting in the wings. Johnson won the New Hampshire primary but his performance disappointed by so much that he left the race, and a Republican ended up winning the Presidency."
The way I remember, LBJ decided not to run after McCarthy did well and RFK entered the race but I could be wrong.
I had a bit of a ring side seat of this time.
My mother and future Congresswoman Bella Abzug ran a committee for the Dem Party for 17th CD in Manhattan (a.k.a. the Silk Stock District) that met in our home in support of the McCarthy campaign. The 17th Dems were heavily McCarthy and the fear was that RFK and Humphrey supporters wanting to be delegates at the nominating convention would pretend to be McCarthy supporters and then vote for Humphrey at the Convention so the committee's purpose was to suss out the sincerity of their support for McCarthy.
Among the guests at the meetings:
Ted Sorenson
Allard Lowenstein (McCarthy's campaign manager)
David Halberstam (author e.g. The Best and the Brightest)
Ed Koch
Betty Fridan
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Some subtle analysis here:
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Kamala Harris’s High Presidential Odds
On the menu today: I began this morning by contemplating the question of which figure was most likely to shape the future of Ukraine. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin came first to mind, of course, and then President Joe Biden. But beyond 2025, the person who is most likely to be shaping U.S. policy on this conflict, and everything else, is Vice President Kamala Harris. Right now, Donald Trump is beating Ron DeSantis, and Joe Biden is beating Donald Trump despite barely hanging on to the ability to perform his duties at age 80. This is a recipe for a President Harris to end up calling the shots in the coming years, and considering the consequences, it is remarkably under-discussed.
The Real Presidential Favorite
Right now, Donald Trump looks like a considerable favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination, with slightly more than half of GOP-leaning voters eager to nominate him again, and the other slightly less than half split among the rest of the field. Yes, Ron DeSantis has the largest chunk of that minority, but he’s well behind Trump and has a lot of work to do to regain momentum, consolidate support, and overtake the former president.
The national head-to-head polling numbers between President Joe Biden and Trump are closer than you might think. Right now, in the RealClearPolitics average, Biden is only ahead by half a percentage point. But we don’t select our president through a national popular vote, we do so through an Electoral College. And in those swing states, the early polling points to a tight contest.
In mid June in Arizona, Public Opinion Strategies (POS) found Biden beating Trump by two percentage points, while Ron DeSantis beat Biden by eight percentage points. The same firm surveying at the same time found Biden beating Trump by three percentage points in Pennsylvania, while DeSantis beat Biden by three points. In Georgia, POS found Biden beat Trump by two percentage points, while DeSantis beat Biden by three. In Michigan, the same firm found DeSantis beating Biden by two percentage points, while Trump trails Biden by a point. And in Nevada, POS found DeSantis beating Biden by two points, and Trump losing to Biden by four points.
Perhaps most surprisingly, in my home state of Virginia, POS finds DeSantis and Biden tied, while Biden is ahead of Trump by seven percentage points.
In fact, once you start looking at other states and other pollsters, you see a consistent pattern of DeSantis winning just a few percentage points more support than Trump does in head-to-head matchups with Biden. In North Carolina, Opinion Diagnostics finds DeSantis winning over Biden by five percentage points, while Trump beats Biden by three points. Over in Wisconsin, Marquette University polling found Biden beating DeSantis by two percentage points, but beating Trump by nine points.
These polls were conducted in June and July, and most of their results were within the margin of error. Voters’ preferences may well change between now and then, although both Trump and Biden are the ultimate well-established brands.
You can put as much stock in those polling numbers as you like. I see a Republican Party that has at least one candidate who has good odds of beating Biden in a bunch of key swing states, but appears determined to not nominate that guy. (The fact that DeSantis is beating Biden in so many of these swing states undermines the conventional wisdom that “no one likes DeSantis” and “Biden is in strong shape for reelection.”) The GOP appears hell-bent on nominating the guy who is trailing Biden in a lot of these swing states, and who in fact already lost these swing states in this exact same matchup three years ago.
Right now, Trump appears likely to beat DeSantis and everyone else in the 2024 GOP primary. Right now, Biden appears likely to beat Trump in the 2024 general election.
The good news for Biden is that back in April, a longevity-modeling firm told the Financial Times that its model calculated that Joe Biden will live until age 91, which would take him through a second term. The bad news is that the model only accounts for life expectancy, not quality of health in those final years. Dementia and cognitive impairment are common among those who reach old age, and the presidency requires a man to be at the top of his game, day after day, year after year.
On Tuesday, President Biden had a public meeting with Israeli president Isaac Herzog at the White House, and Biden did not look well. (You can watch the video and judge for yourself.) His head drooped down as he read prepared remarks from a notecard, and his voice was particularly soft and mumbled. (No, Biden did not fall asleep, as Monica Crowley tweeted.) There’s no need to exaggerate the reasons for concern; Biden looked exhausted and was almost inaudible, even though this was his first public event since the previous Thursday. He was not jet-lagged from some long foreign trip; He’d spent the weekend at Camp David. His only scheduled event on Monday was his daily presidential briefing from the intelligence community.
How much more energetic, sharp, and focused do you think Joe Biden will be in the years between January 2025 and January 2029? The likelihood that Biden will no longer be able to perform his duties as he approaches his mid-80s is considerable.
So in the coming years, the person who may well have the biggest role in shaping the U.S. economy, the ongoing U.S. response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the rise of an aggressive China, the nominations to the Supreme Court, and the fentanyl and border crises is . . . Vice President Kamala Harris.
Not many Americans have great confidence in that scenario. As of July 5, 41 percent of registered voters had a favorable opinion of Harris and 53 percent had an unfavorable opinion. A recent NBC poll found just 32 percent of respondents have a favorable opinion of her, the lowest score for any vice president in the poll’s history.
The argument from some Harris fans is that this reflects systemic racism and sexism and “gendered disinformation.” Today in The Hill, Lauren Leader contends, “It’s hard to square the outsized negative attention she receives with any rational critique, and impossible not to see parallels to the only other woman ever to come so close to our nation’s highest office — Hillary Clinton.”
(If you’re Harris, you would probably prefer not to be compared to Hillary Clinton.)
The problem with this counterargument is, you don’t get a record-low approval rating just because of conspiracy theories and criticism from the opposition. Ask Joe Biden if he feels like the opposition is fair to him and his family. Everybody in politics gets this to some degree, and there are just as many left-wing loons spinning conspiracy theories and mean memes about Republicans as right-wing loons doing the same to Democrats.
As this newsletter has mentioned a few times, it isn’t just Republicans who have no faith in Harris; quite a few Democratic officials will say, on background or off the record, that they no longer believe she will ever have “the force, charisma and skill to mount a winning presidential campaign.” This is why you have not seen a single prominent Democratic official or left-of-center columnist calling upon Biden to limit himself to one term and for Harris to be the Democrats’ 2024 presidential nominee. There are reports that even President Biden is disappointed in her performance.
Right now, 17 percent of Democrats have an unfavorable opinion of Harris. I doubt that is driven by right-wing criticism or “gendered disinformation.” Right now, 59 percent of independents feel unfavorably about her, and only 30 percent of independents feel favorable.
We are getting some “Kamala Harris has turned a corner” pieces again, a political tradition as predictable as the biannual “this is the year Texas Democrats win some key statewide races” pieces.
Democrats convinced themselves that Harris was a political superstar, just waiting to burst onto the stage.
Let’s put aside her bizarre rambling for a moment. Harris had arguably the best debut in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary in June 2019 — iironically because she took on Joe Biden over forced-busing policies in the 1970s and landed the line, “That little girl was me.” On paper, Harris did have everything a presidential candidate would want — a unique profile as a minority woman with prosecutorial experience, an extensive fundraising network and base of support in the country’s most populated state, and relative youth and energy compared to bigger names like Biden and Bernie Sanders.
But by November 2019, Harris was ending her campaign before any votes were cast, and a devastating profile in the New York Times pulled back the curtain on her dysfunctional campaign, full of infighting, disgruntled staff, furious managers, finger-pointing, and botched decisions, all presided over by an indecisive candidate. Between that and the rotating carousel of staff coming in and out of Harris’s office during her time as vice president, the evidence is clear: Harris is a lousy manager. The Biden team only allowed her to bring over a handful of her Senate staffers, and it’s been near-constant friction ever since. Even worse, almost every staffer who has a bad experience with her has no fear of crossing her, and is eager to blab about how lousy the experience was to outlets such as the Washington Post and the New York Times. As I wrote back in late 2021:
This illuminates one of the great contrasts between the hype and mythology surrounding Kamala Harris — “Making History,” smiling on the cover of Vogue, etc. — and the mundane reality. A surprising number of people who have actually worked with and for her not only don’t see her as a legend, an icon, or an inspiring leader, they walk away from their experience with her not thinking all that highly of her. She may well have been a talented prosecutor, but in a lot of ways she’s just a standard-issue pol who figured out how to climb the ladder of interest-group dominated California politics. She’s in over her head, her political instincts are terrible, and that’s even before the uniquely challenging dynamics of this particular presidency — unfamiliar staff, old president, few real friendships on Capitol Hill, and an unclear sense of priorities.
Anyway, right now, Harris is the person most likely to be sitting behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office sometime after January 20, 2025.
Good luck, America
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Surprising poll data about DeSantis in there as well.
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agree
I remember hearing this several months ago
about Desantis beating Biden by more than Trump
with Trump neck and neck , a tad up or a tad down.
still more updated recent evidence
Trump will bring the whole stack of conservative cards down
Is that not weird?
So far our #1 candidate does worse compared to the #2 against the opposition.
And a small majority Republicans seem not to care .
Hopefully DeSantis can evolve his approach.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/news/trumps-favorability-among-republicans-slides-amid-criminal-indictments-report/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=32166701
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he No Labels 2024 Election Threat to Trump
If the third party puts a conservative atop its ticket, it could lure Republican voters.
By
Karl Rove
Follow
July 26, 2023 6:19 pm ET
Former President Donald Trump arrives at New Orleans International Airport, July 25. PHOTO: GERALD HERBERT/ASSOCIATED PRESS
It isn’t only Democrats who should worry if No Labels succeeds in getting on every state’s ballot as a third party presidential option. If Donald Trump becomes the GOP nominee, Republicans should be biting their nails, too.
As I wrote last week, for Democrats the danger is that two key voting blocs—blacks and young people—aren’t very enthusiastic about President Biden and could be attracted to a third party. No Labels could also snag defectors from Hispanics, Asian-Americans and suburban voters.
The GOP has a similar problem if Mr. Trump is its nominee. A third party could provide an alternative for Republicans concerned about the former president’s baggage who can’t bring themselves to vote for a Democrat. Alternatively, No Labels could serve as a way station: GOP voters could dally with the idea of voting third-party then decide to skip the presidential race on the ballot or stay home altogether. Either way, Republicans could be in trouble in a tight race.
With more support than the rest of the field combined, Mr. Trump remains the GOP front-runner, but polling indicates that a lethal number of Republicans might not stick with him in the general election. The June 26 Associated Press/National Opinion Research Center poll found 23% of Republicans felt Mr. Trump did something “illegal” with the classified documents seized at Mar-a-Lago and 29% thought it unethical though not illegal. More of these may conclude Mr. Trump also broke the law after the trial begins.
This followed the June 19 Quinnipiac poll, in which 25% of Republicans said Mr. Trump acted “inappropriately” in handling classified documents after leaving office and 16% didn’t know. That 41% of Republicans aren’t rallying to his defense bodes poorly for enthusiasm in the general election. Independents are even more troubled by his behavior: Sixty-two percent said he acted “inappropriately.”
His numbers could get worse if evidence at the trial scheduled for next May shows Mr. Trump endangered national security. When asked “how serious a problem do you think it is if secret military information is shared with people who do not have a security clearance,” 54% of Republicans in a June 20 NBC poll said “very serious” and 25% said “somewhat serious.” Mr. Trump’s legal difficulties are likely to grow as more information becomes available, further depressing his numbers among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents.
What would these disaffected Republicans do if he’s the nominee? Many would swallow their concerns and back him. But some—perhaps enough to matter—could stay home or go for the No Labels ticket, if it featured a person who is conservative in important ways, especially if that candidate is on the top of the ticket.
Assume in November 2024 that 20% of Republicans believe Mr. Trump mishandled classified information by illegally taking hundreds of secret documents when he left office, including some relating to nuclear secrets and battle plans. Assume half those Republicans—10% of the GOP universe—can’t bring themselves to vote for Mr. Trump, either casting their ballot for No Labels or not voting for president.
If 10% of Republicans defect, Mr. Trump wouldn’t flip Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin, states he must carry to regain the White House, let alone snag Michigan or Pennsylvania. He could also lose North Carolina. He won it last time by 74,483 votes out of 5.5 million cast, carrying North Carolina Republicans (37% of the state’s electorate) by a 96% to 4% margin. If 10% of Republicans had stayed home or voted third-party, that would have reduced Mr. Trump’s numbers by 122,650, costing him the state. Things get worse if you factor in any decline among independents, who are 30% of North Carolina’s voters. They backed Mr. Biden 50% to 46% in 2020.
Mr. Trump’s tactics are complicating things for Republicans. He claims the primary is already over. But if true, he should be working to unify the party. Instead, the former president is savagely attacking his opponents and their supporters. Calling Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds ungrateful for remaining publicly neutral in her state’s caucuses is stupid. So is calling financial supporters of his Republican opponents “two-faced, back-stabbing RINOs” and denouncing them as “vultures,” “cowards” and “disloyal.” Such over-the-top rhetoric gives his campaign a crazed tone and will permanently cost Mr. Trump support among Republicans.
If on top of a criminal trial and his trash campaigning, Mr. Trump has to contend with a No Labels ticket with a Reagan Republican on it, he could see a very winnable race for the GOP turn into a very losable one.
A No Labels ticket with a traditional conservative on it could leave both parties at risk in a three-way election—even if No Labels fades, as most third parties do. Either way, the coming contest could become the wildest ride in recent American politics.
Mr. Rove helped organize the political-action committee American Crossroads and is author of “The Triumph of William McKinley” (Simon & Schuster, 2015).
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Ted on O'Reilly said he is Switzerland on DeSantis - Trump
he likes both
pointed out Trump was not long thought to be out after the near disastrous Senate/Congressional elections.
and now is thought to be a shoo in waiting for his coronation
Ted wisely points out he does not know, and will not predict.
I made fun of Dick Morris for stating Trump will NOT be the nominee, and now he FWIW it looks like he was right and I wrong
That said , anything can happen , and I still think Trump's only hope is a Dem nominee is worse than him.
Vivek continues to make his case
He pissed off Kaitlin Collins recently when she tried to get him to claim Climate change is not man made
which he neither denies or agreed but pointed out destroying our economy with technology that does not work
is not the answer
It is clear her audio instructions on the her listening device was telling her to get him to deny "Climate Change" is not man made
so the LEFT wing media can every time his name comes up, scream "CLIMATE CHANGE DENIER " label as they state his name.
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As usual VDH summarizes the situation better then the rest:
https://dailycaller.com/2023/07/27/2024-presidential-election-donald-trump-ron-desantis-vivek-ramaswamy/
I love this guy!
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Trump Is Charged With a Coverup
The evidence in the new indictment, if true, undercuts his defense in the documents case.
By
The Editorial Board
Follow
July 28, 2023 6:20 pm ET
Does Donald Trump not understand the greatest truism in politics—i.e., that it’s not the crime, it’s the coverup? That screams from the page while reading Thursday’s superseding indictment of Mr. Trump, who now stands accused of trying to delete incriminating Mar-a-Lago security video.
Special counsel Jack Smith charged Mr. Trump last month with unlawfully retaining national-security information, as well as concealing classified files at his Florida club. According to this week’s indictment, the feds subpoenaed Mar-a-Lago’s surveillance footage on June 24, 2022. Within hours, Mr. Trump’s valet, Walt Nauta, was planning to fly to the club, while texting its IT director to ask if he was available.
On Saturday, June 25, Mr. Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, a club property manager, “went to the security guard booth where surveillance video is displayed on monitors, walked with a flashlight through the tunnel where the Storage Room was located, and observed and pointed out surveillance cameras.” On Monday morning, Mr. De Oliveira found the IT director, took him “to a small room known as an ‘audio closet,’” and asked him how long the club’s server kept footage. He then said “that ‘the boss’ wanted the server deleted,” the indictment says.
Mr. Trump is entitled to a defense and presumption of innocence, but this is a damaging allegation. Will the Mar-a-Lago IT director take the stand? Prosecutors are presumably telling Messrs. Nauta and De Oliveira, who also face criminal counts, that it would be in their best interests to cooperate and testify to what “the boss” told them.
If Mr. Trump sought to destroy evidence, it undercuts his defense on the document charges. He contends that the Presidential Records Act gives him the right to retain documents from his time in office. But if Mr. Trump believed that, he would have played it straight. If the indictment is right that he hid the files from his own lawyers and tried to wipe the security video to stop anybody from finding out, then he didn’t buy his own defense.
Prudential questions about the wisdom of this prosecution remain. Mr. Trump appears to have kept the files out of pigheadedness, not because he wanted to do something nefarious like sell them to an adversary. The FBI raided Mar-a-Lago to recover the documents.
The episode reflects poorly on Mr. Trump. But is this conduct that truly gives President Biden no choice except to ask a jury to jail his leading political opponent in next year’s election? At least Watergate involved a burglary.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has set a precedent that further entangles law enforcement with presidential politics. Meanwhile, Mr. Garland’s department cut a dubious plea deal for President Biden’s son Hunter, and IRS agents have testified under oath about political interference with their investigation. Republicans who complain about two standards of justice have a point. Democrats want to use multiple prosecutions to help Mr. Trump win the GOP nomination while diminishing him for a rematch with Mr. Biden.
Yet Republicans should also be angry at Mr. Trump, who is again the architect of his own destruction. He led the GOP to defeats, many of them driven by his personal grievances, in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Add his Covid performance, the Jan. 6 riot, a $5 million civil jury verdict for sexual abuse, plus now a truly stupid alleged Mar-a-Lago coverup.
Yet Mr. Trump still expects the GOP will save him from his own recklessness by nominating him for the White House a third time. He wants Republican voters, as he does Messrs. Nauta and De Oliveira, to take the fall with him.
Good luck if they do. The best revenge for Mr. Trump’s supporters would be to nominate a Republican who can beat Mr. Biden. That’s the way to restore apolitical justice.
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couldn't agree more .
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https://www.nationalreview.com/news/biden-and-trump-locked-in-dead-heat-in-2024-match-up-new-poll-reveals/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=32255371
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second
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/08/01/takeaways-gop-campaign-finance-filings/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most
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https://www.nationalreview.com/news/biden-and-trump-locked-in-dead-heat-in-2024-match-up-new-poll-reveals/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=32255371
And the tie goes to which side?
When you think about how awful Biden's presidency and approval has been, this speaks very poorly of Trump that he is even with the worst ever.
Not exactly a ray of sunshine and hope for our side.
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In this, a reply of 2016. He should have beat Hillary by 10+ points.
That said, and yes the point is an obvious one, there is the matter of a large % of the population being siloed from honest reporting.
Changing subjects: We need to protect ourselves from this sort on chicanery:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12362001/Biden-allies-PHOTOSHOPPING-images-80-year-old-president-make-look-younger.html
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Also, both Biden and Hillary (and others) have had obvious work done on their visible aging. Biden was bald, and the face work on both was scary. With Trump, I don't know. The look of their face and hair tells us nothing about the age of their brain and other organs.
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"If you drop 76 charges on a candidate and he goes up in polls, you might want to consider that you might be part of the problem."
https://www.racket.news/p/campaign-2024-officially-chaos
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" "If you drop 76 charges on a candidate and he goes up in polls, you might want to consider that you might be part of the problem."
libs don't care about our values........
they must also be thinking if candidate is Trump - so be it. His negatives are over 60%.
what do we think of this?:
https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-threatens-retribution-for-federal-charges-soon-in-2024-it-will-be-our-turn/
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ccp:
they must also be thinking if candidate is Trump - so be it. His negatives are over 60%.
---------------------
It all strengthens his hardcore support which is enough to win the nomination, and strengthens his opposition on the left and most of the center, enough to lose the general election. A disaster from our point of view, evilly brilliant from theirs.
"Retribution" is not how you win over independents. If you tell them it's bad and they know it's bad, they aren't going to vote for more of it, either way.
If it ends up being Trump v Biden, there for sure will be a third party ticket. That is not in either major party's best interest.
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What do we think of revenge here?
I'm all for it , , , as long as it is based on the rule of law.
As usual Trump's bombast is fertilizer for TDS passions.
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'"Retribution" is not how you win over independents.'
this is what I am thinking
interestingly I feel Vivek has positive vision and surely others agree since he comes out of no where to snatch a percentage of Republicans
not clear about the others.
wonder how he polls with independents who is who we need to reach
cannot find anything on this with a quick search
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Not revenge, retribution per se. Not talking about. Prosecute some Democrats under their own criteria, sure, but it's not a policy we are advocating (aloud).
Everything forward looking (or lose), I think we. The necessity of contrasting past records is (only) in the context of future governance. People in Georgia, Arizona, Nevada mostly don't want to hear about how great Florida is; they want to hear about how their own circumstance will improve and how needed a change of direction will be for our country is.
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Regarding Vivek:
I see him as winning a lot of fans (and deservedly so) but he lacks the life experience to be seriously considered at this level. If Trump gets the nomination, I sense there being a bigly chance there will be a place for him on Team Trump.
The DeSantis debate with Nancy's nephew is a very good call for him and a stellar opportunity to show what he can do when not conflicted about letting loose.
Also a good call was his challenge to Kommiela to put up (and debate) or STFU on FL history standards.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/04/us/politics/trump-iowa-poll.html?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=rundown&pnespid=t7R_Bj5BOLIfyqKZ_z6vAsjR4wnxRsMpLOugm7RxvB1mQiWNDAvblfBpaCp7EMjERmglxd2X
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second
https://freebeacon.com/elections/he-would-absolutely-jump-in-the-race-gavin-newsom-positions-himself-for-presidential-run/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=rundown&pnespid=6rR1DThWbKpH3OeY.mW3T8uM4wD1UcVsNfG5nfF39gFm_lfK2ADrRnqkcbFLuMxAdx1Fzybs
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I don't like the idea of Republicans simply running on their winning issues
for example
why are Rs so terrified of discussing Climate (change?)
it is though they change the subject when confronted about this.
They need to speak about it but explain a better path to deal with it. (man made or not)
Otherwise we will never win gen x z etc support.
I don't understand why it is so hard to say I am not against gays , but they already won the right to have children, marry, cannot be discriminated against
but we do not want them twerking in front of children
and teaching every child gay is to be celebrated.
I still believe most people believe this .
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Well said and agree 100%!
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https://www.showbiz411.com/2023/08/06/donald-trump-has-sunday-morning-meltdown-on-social-media-attacking-judge-in-dc-case-nancy-pelosi-jack-smith-contempt-coming
BUT HE IS POLLING UNDER 50% AS HE ALWAYS HAS!
IF HE WAS POLLING AT 65% I WOULD BE HAPPY TO PLAY ALONG
BUT THIS WILL NOT BRING HIM THE 15% HE NEEDS TO WIN THE PRESIDENCY
FOR GOD'S SAKES !
we are so screwed with this guy.
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My D-congressman says someone other than Biden for Democrat nominee. Dean Phillips is a self-proclaimed centrist who votes same as the rest of the Left in Congress.
He's very rich. I don't know if Phillips vodka is nationwide, but he is the grandson of Big Liquor.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/democrat-dean-phillips-calls-positioned-primary-challenger-biden/story?id=102058270
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DeSantis should be demanding side-by-side polls of
Trump v Biden
DeSantis v Biden
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DeSantis should be demanding side-by-side polls of
Trump v Biden
DeSantis v Biden
Good Idea :))
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12389965/Trump-gains-ground-Iowa-DeSantis-drops-NINE-POINTS-DailyMail-com-poll-shows-Florida-governor-needs-huge-recovery-crucial-caucus-state-Tim-Scott-surges-third.html?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=rundown&pnespid=pqV7FC5EOrkCgfnbpzm.EZaPpwv1CIYpPPq.m7pr8gNm3j3FVvQLy6xSN8_Ycj4Qr9sSCNFg
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DeSantis needs to take lessons from Vivek
stop playing trump and project a positive message
do speak about issues climate change opportunity of equity diversity not hand outs ..... not reverse discrimination
be more reasonable on abortion
at 6 weeks a women may have only missed one cycle and not even be aware she is pregnant - NOT reasonable
reach out to gays with more clarity -
all above not his fault as the MSM onslaught is hard to overcome but.....
Trump is 3 time loser .....
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https://www.oann.com/newsroom/desantis-slips-to-third-in-new-national-poll-pres-trump-expands-lead/
Has he qualified for the 8/23 debate yet?
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https://www.richmondregister.com/opinion/meet-the-unusually-qualified-presidential-candidate-you-ve-never-heard-of/article_cddec98a-3ac5-11ee-85a8-8741f2c2b012.html
of course we rarely see him but once on Newsmax, I think, Gov Burgund did sound good to me FWIW
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My wife played for me a TikTok clip of Vivek interacting with a transexual questioner REALLY well.
The man is seriously bright AND has high emotional IQ.
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so far he has appeared totally prepared for all questions
when I have seen him
even the leftist attempts to mug him with gotcha stuff.
he always leaves them tongue tied while they are figuring out how to outsmart him, and being unable to
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/aug/16/iowa-republicans-see-open-trump-rivals-make-move-c/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=evening&utm_term=evening&utm_content=evening&bt_ee=MsKvgoXL%2FD%2BGkj1nZKGSOyLT8F3cMRPkpCp1e74BrOqdFAf7r0GytIxJboRjAEpA&bt_ts=1692217528710
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second
Trump Georgia trial on Super Tuesday Eve? March 4, 2024, is the requested date for the trial of Donald Trump in Fulton County, Georgia. That date just happens to be the day before Super Tuesday, when the largest number of states hold their presidential primaries. While some contend that this move is designed to force Trump off the campaign trail at a pivotal moment, strategically this actually plays in his favor, making him front and center news as voters go to the polls. Meanwhile, the question of whether Trump will show up to the first GOP primary debate is still up in the air. If he does decide to forego it, he can steal the limelight by scheduling his Georgia jailhouse booking to coincide with the debate.
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What Is the Plan, Republicans?
By CHARLES C. W. COOKE
August 17, 2023 11:58 AM
The broader public hates Donald Trump. Nominating him and then pretending he’s been cheated when he loses is not a strategy; it’s self-destruction.
May I risk the wrath of the hive mind and ask Republican primary voters what their plan is? Is there one? According to pretty much every poll I’ve seen in the last year, Donald Trump is running away with the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination. This is not a favorability test; it means something concrete: It means that, instead of a new candidate being the Republican nominee in 2024, the Republican nominee in 2024 will be Donald Trump.
And the broader public hates Donald Trump.
I have no doubt that there are lots of Republican primary voters who do not know many people who hate Donald Trump. Perhaps you are one of them. But the thing is: Those people that you don’t know still get to vote. There are a lot more of them than there are of you. And like it or not, they are sending about as strong a message as it is possible to send that they do not want Donald Trump to be the Republican nominee in 2024. Unlike the party’s primary voters, they do not believe that the many charges against Trump are frivolous. The bringing of those charges has not caused them to like him more than they did before. The public’s impression of him has worsened, rather than improved, over time. Again, this may not be your personal experience, but the data are clear: The gap between the Republican primary electorate and the voting public is now comparable to the gap between progressives in elite institutions and the voting public. Remember that New Yorker cover showing the cramped and myopic view of America that is exhibited by the residents of New York City? At present, one could mock up a similar drawing depicting the GOP base.
The warning signs could not be brighter. Survey after survey after survey shows that the people whom the Republican Party needs to win if it is to re-take the White House — the people who actually decide elections in America — do not share the primary electorate’s assumptions about Donald Trump. Moreover, they are not going to share those assumptions. Ever. Per ABC/Ipsos, “Fifty percent of Americans say Trump should suspend his presidential campaign, while 33% don’t think he should.” Per AP/NORC, 53 percent of Americans say that they will “definitely” not support Trump, with another 11 percent on top of that saying that they will “probably” not support him. Per NBC, 60 percent of Americans don’t want Trump to run at all. In other words: Voters didn’t want him in; now that he’s in, they want him out; and if he stays in, they’ll reject him. And why wouldn’t they? A majority of the public thinks that the charges against Trump are serious, and has added that judgment to a view that was unfavorable to begin with. Per an averaging of the polls, Trump’s approval rating is 17 points underwater. That Joe Biden is also unpopular does not change these facts.
So: What’s the plan? Is the sky going to open and anoint Donald Trump president? Are the many charges that Trump has invited against himself simply going to disappear? Is the public going to have a miraculous change of heart and start wandering around sharing “based memes”? Even without all his present baggage, Trump was a lousy candidate. He narrowly beat Hillary Clinton in the Electoral College, and then lost badly to Joe Biden. At no point did he win the popular vote; at no point did he even do better than Mitt Romney in the popular vote; at no point did the populist uprising supposedly heralded by his victory over Clinton materialize. 2016 was a fluke — the product of a series of narrow victories in states that Trump then lost in 2020, and that emphatically rejected his pitch in 2022. It cannot, and will not, happen again.
The harsh truth is that Donald Trump lucked out once, and then proved a terrible drag in every subsequent election. If he is nominated in 2024, he will prove a drag again. How do I know this? I know this because, helpfully, the voting public is letting us all know it before Republicans make yet another terrible mistake. If the party’s plan is simply to ignore this information for the time being, and then, when it all becomes horribly clear and the Democrats have won power once again, to pretend stupidly that Trump has been cheated once again, then it will deserve everything that comes to it.
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Charles C W Cooke, he makes such an important point but he makes it in such a way that he insults the people he is trying to persuade and reveals his own hatred for Trump and his supporters.
'and then pretend he was cheated again'
"Are the many charges that Trump has invited against himself simply going to disappear?"
(Doug). He didn't "invite" the Russian collusion debacle that lasted 2 1/2 years and never got an apology or any consequence upon his vindication.
He didn't "invite" impeachment 1, going after Biden Ukraine corruption. That was his job.
He didn't invite NY prosecutor Bragg to make expired, potential misdemeanor bookkeeping errors into felonies.
He didn't "invite" all the mail in ballot shenanigans and "harvesting" that made it the least trusted election ever.
Cooke twice calls 2016 a fluke. What an insult! Where was McCain's, Romney's, Dole's or Gerald Ford's fluke. Clinton was a fluke, 43% of the vote? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_United_States_presidential_election
They called him "President".
Instead Cooke exposes himself to be part of the Trump hate group that caused the Republican party to split and VDH to leave National Review.
All those great points wasted. I suspect his piece persuades no one.
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excellent points Doug
" he makes such an important point but he makes it in such a way that he insults the people he is trying to persuade "
agree 100%
" Is the public going to have a miraculous change of heart and start wandering around sharing “based memes”? Even without all his present baggage, Trump was a lousy candidate. He narrowly beat Hillary Clinton in the Electoral College, and then lost badly to Joe Biden. At no point did he win the popular vote; at no point did he even do better than Mitt Romney in the popular vote; at no point did the populist uprising supposedly heralded by his victory over Clinton materialize. 2016 was a fluke — the product of a series of narrow victories in states that Trump then lost in 2020, and that emphatically rejected his pitch in 2022. It cannot, and will not, happen again."
I don't know if I would call it a fluke but it certainly helped that Hillary was also a terrible candidate with mountain ranges of her own "baggage"
He would not have won against a good candidate
AND NOW Trump's baggage is so insurmountable he can barely keep up with a loser demented make America second rate feeble old man.
This is the point .
Do not attack his policies or his supporters - attack his poor chance of winning
have an image of the future - a positive one
do not avoid issues like abortion or climate change or racism - but fashion responses that are tailored to address these in our way - inclusive - not divisively like Trump and the others
Like Vivek
somehow he does go on CNN and other left as well as the few right wing stations and answers their questions HIS way without simply changing the subject
or sounding wishy washy .
and he refuses to waste time berating Trump
like he did on Jim Acosta recently
I can't find it now
would I vote for Vivek
Am I endorsing him
??
well, it would clearly be risky , so not exactly
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Well said both of you.
I caught Vivek yesterday discussing the Uke War and related geopolitical matters. I was impressed. Fully grasps and articulates the point about the consequences of driving Russia into China's arms. Definitely more fluid than DeSantis in discussing this.
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his discussion of Russia is similar to Trumps in a way
don't keep demonizing Russia with is not the Soviet Union
and try to pull them in to our sphere....
if possible.....
I am not sure what to make of his position on Taiwan tho
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I too was disappointed in his "Once we have our own chips, fukk the Taiwanese" statement of the other day.
A) Stupid to have said it;
B) Stupid to think it-- giving up Taiwan gives China the South China Sea (where 1/3 of the world's trade sails) and allows its navy and shipping to escape any western efforts to contain it in the SCS.
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I agree with the title, not necessarily all of the substance.
http://jewishworldreview.com/0823/hammer081823.php
1. It's August 2023.
And so on.
I agree DeSantis has the most to gain and lose in the first debate.
Impressive point, more has been spent negative on him than Trump and Biden combined. He should brag that into a positive.
With certainly we can say Christy will attack him and I will predict we see him ready for that, could be interesting.
I'm okay with almost all of these competitors. It comes down to the same two things,
Who can get elected (twice), and
Who could get the most accomplished (in two terms)
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policies were good but we ******HAVE TO WIN*****
8-)
Plus:
vote for me. I am an accountant not a lawyer
8-)
https://pjmedia.com/columns/chris-queen/2023/08/19/the-biggest-surprise-from-day-1-of-the-gathering-n1720471
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Emerson Poll: Tied With Biden, Trump Leads GOP by 46 Points
only Trump MAGAS = smart
yelling and screaming LOUDER will not change this.
some thing else will but like others say this is NOT a winning strategy
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Michael Goodwin (reads the forum and) agrees the game changer DeSantis needs is for Biden to drop out.
https://nypost.com/2023/08/19/ron-desantis-needs-a-miracle-to-win-the-2024-election-and-beat-out-both-trump-biden/
(Doug) DeSantis needs to re-establish his second place standing and upward momentum with a strong debate performance.
Trump plans to go on Tucker to compete with the Republican debate viewing Wednesday.
Strange that the guy with the great big lead won't commit to supporting the party's nominee.
Only Trump could win a party nomination by opposing the party.
Trump's horrible first debate with Biden had some really bad moments, and in 2016 as well. His rivals may want to point out weakness displayed in his absence.
Tucker is certainly a talented guy, maybe this Trump -Tucker interview won't be all softballs. Maybe Tucker will rough him up a little bit.
But the key factor in changing the Republican race is Biden dropping out or removed. If they put up a younger, charismatic governor of a major state liberal, maybe people will take a second look at who matches up best against that.
In the meantime, declining polls and having the not-Trump vote evenly divided is a bad thing for the DeSantis campaign.
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/aug/19/chris-christie-calls-overhaul-social-security-medi/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=UdVGNd1wnqL1Diw7C7z3GHC2Qk8b8Is3Rva5HsKsg7eCk4zOWtwlUMV8Fuqt1HAS&bt_ts=1692470213653
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/aug/19/chris-christie-calls-overhaul-social-security-medi/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=UdVGNd1wnqL1Diw7C7z3GHC2Qk8b8Is3Rva5HsKsg7eCk4zOWtwlUMV8Fuqt1HAS&bt_ts=1692470213653
Reform Medicare, social security, that's bold. Say nothing about the rest of spending being 40% over revenues, wimpy.
Tweaking the eligibility dates of two programs is not a tip of the iceberg of the problems we face.
Christie will get just enough support, NH in particular, to mess everything up and screw the Republicans.
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"Strange that the guy with the great big lead won't commit to supporting the party's nominee.
Only Trump could win a party nomination by opposing the party."
Does this not prove Trump is all about Trump and not the party ?
" Tucker is certainly a talented guy, maybe this Trump -Tucker interview won't be all softballs. Maybe Tucker will rough him up a little bit. "
Tucker is certainly capable of getting tough but I would *shocked* if he with Trump -
If he did he knows Trump will proceed to berate him , never go on his show again and put a target on his back - his MO
Tucker will not risk this.
IMHO
In this case , if I am wrong , I would be delighted.
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https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/5-indications-joe-biden-not-run-2024
---------
I would add it is selfish of him and undemocratic for his party that he wait so long to announce he is stepping out.
Unlike the messy debates, polls and primary season for the Republicans, the powers behind Biden want to control the direction and timing of what happens next. They even control much of what happens on the Republican side.
Better for the country would be to let Dem voters have a say in the direction of the disaster their party has become.
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IMHO he is obeying his puppet master (Obama and posse) The play to watch is to sub Newsom for Kommiela.
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According to Fox broadcast:
https://rumble.com/v3a5v41-ronna-mcdaniel-gets-it-wrong-on-republicans-needing-to-appeal-to-independen.html?mref=22lbp&mc=56yab
Rhonda McDaniel explains the strategy is to appeal to independents
Bozo on Fox disagrees and instead of clearly giving reason why this is wrong headed goes on rant about how great Trump is and his immigration policy.
This is a great example of how dumb stupid short sighted , fantasy land the MAGA s are .
OF COURSE THE STRATEGY IS EXACTLY WHAT RHONDA STATES. WE MUST APPEAL TO INDEPENDENTS IF WE WANT TO WIN.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ~ 9 YRS OF POLLING THAT SHOWS TRUMP MAX APPEAL IS ~ 45 % - MAX
THAT THE BOZOS DO NOT UNDERSTAND?
WHAT IS IT ABOUT POLLS THAT SHOW A GOOD MAJORITY WICH **HE WOULD** NOT RUN ANYMORE THAN BIDEN?
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https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2023/08/23/bidens-approval-among-non-white-males-plummets-n2627187
Matt Vespa reports:
"Even CNN said that everyone needs to drop the narrative that Trump can’t win in 2024 should he re-clinch the GOP nomination. Biden’s approvals are poor, with an overwhelming number of Americans feeling that we’re no longer on the right track."
exactly . Trump sucks but Biden sucks more...... :roll: :x
great strategy :x
what a joke during this important time.
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think of it this way
for Trump to win it could only be by electoral college
forget popular vote IMHO
it would be by slim margin
many would stay home
I do not want to have to vote for him - he would be first candidate I would have to vote for I hate.
and he would have to be able to beat the inevitable black districts ballot games
he would have to win over women suburban moms
compare this to Nikki
I think she could bring in the moms some women more ethnic voters
and is competent adjusts learns works super hard can speak
I think she would crush any Dem
I would rather crush them at the ballot box
then worry about revenge and more screaming yelling and personality flaws
anyone else agree ?
she is mostly talking the talk and is less of a Bush rhino in MO
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Here is my take on Nikki:
Good, BUT
a) A Bush type Republican-- though respect for the way she disengaged with serving Trump;
b) I have not citation, but I suspect squishiness on illegals. I cannot picture her deporting a noticeable percentage of the seven million illegals that came in under Biden, let alone any out of the 20-24 million prior illegals;
c) Like the rest of the candidates last night, she has not engaged with the idea that we provoked this unnecessary and apparently endless war. Though veering towards glib at times on geopolitics, VR clearly gets and underlines a point I have repeatedly made here-- that this stupid and unnecessary war has driven Russia into China's arms.
d) Where is she on medical fascism?
e) etc
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"Like the rest of the candidates last night, she has not engaged with the idea that we provoked this unnecessary and apparently endless war. "
you and Doug were both gung ho on supporting Ukraine while I was hesitant and GM was against.
are saying that you know if "trump were the president this would not have happened?"
in any case that bridge has been crossed
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you think Vivek can win?
you think Trump will win?
you think DeSantis will win?
I think Ron has best shot of the 3 and he is my preferred
but I think Nikki would win by a larger margin. unless the magas stay home which is possible.
yes she is weak on the points you mention but anyone can yell and scream they are trumpian on every issue but will that win?
waiting for Doug's opinion.
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"you and Doug were both gung ho on supporting Ukraine"
Well no doubt there is evidence laying about around here somewhere, but the way I remember it is that I was divided, posting both arguments for and against and rather consistently arguing that whether Putin was an anus or not, that Russia was entitled to its version of the Monroe Doctrine..
"are saying that you know if "trump were the president this would not have happened?"
Pretty much.
"in any case that bridge has been crossed"
A point which I have underlined in my frustration with the incoherence of this war for American purposes.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-voters-say-desantis-delivered-best-performance-in-first-primary-debate-poll
Vivek helping Trump and taking steam away from Ron. :x
Trump the best president of the 21st century - LOL - big deal vs Bush vs Obama.
Trump thanks him of course.
The jokes on us keep coming .
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I continue to favor DeSantis over Trump.
I continue to like Ramaswamy, but find him not ready for prime time. He does improve the conversation though, so glad to see him get some attention.
IMHO ALL the candidates failed to connect to the central point that they must make (NH did make it one time) which is the very real chance that Trump loses to Biden. They need to insist on polls not only between the Rep candidates, but each candidate vs. Biden.
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Another take that DeSantis did what he needed to do in the debate.
https://issuesinsights.com/2023/08/24/guv-rons-great-republican-comeback/
Traveling up north in the short MN summer. I did not see the debate (yet).
I did not expect DeSantis could shout down all the others, just wanted him to have a good night looking Presidential and staying on message.
I don't like the way this campaign is going - but it is still early.
On Crafty's point, R.D. needs to start polling significantly better than Trump in the general election, then make winning the central point.
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"IMHO ALL the candidates failed to connect to the central point that they must make (NH did make it one time) which is the very real chance that Trump loses to Biden. They need to insist on polls not only between the Rep candidates, but each candidate vs. Biden."
something rotten in Denmark that we DO NOT see such polls?
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Weekend-Jolt.png Dark Mode
WITH JUDSON BERGERAugust 26 2023
hero
The Candidate Who Isn’t There
Dear Weekend Jolter,
The candidate helped along in his improbable 2016 victory by his opponent’s own hubris has entered the next phase in his hoped-for comeback by following in her footsteps — and skipping Wisconsin.
Euripides couldn’t have scripted it better. But the irony is only tragic — for Donald Trump — if he loses.
The Republican front-runner’s decision to sit out Wednesday’s kickoff debate and let the undercard cast scrap was made primarily because of his lofty position in the polls. As Rich Lowry writes, the GOP presidential race in some ways resembles an incumbent president’s effort to manage his marginal challengers. Trump’s 40-point leads make him look, and evidently feel, indomitable — potentially more secure in his position in the party than the incumbent president should feel in his.
Indeed, the debate in Milwaukee had the feel of a rowdy House subcommittee meeting about a bill that’s never going to pass. The disagreements were pointed at times, the enmity toward one candidate in particular profound — and theoretical. The primary campaign, moreover, has the feel of a race that’s never going to launch, in part because its front-runner is campaigning as the candidate who isn’t there. Trump, aside from skipping this week’s, has indicated he doesn’t plan to do any debates. His stop at the Iowa State Fair lasted all of about 45 minutes. Brittany Bernstein and Jeff Blehar did the yeoman’s work of reviewing his 2024 campaign appearances to date and counted a paltry number in comparison to his opponents’. Brittany reports Trump has held fewer than 40 campaign events since entering in November, “and just 17 of those events have been in the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.” Contrast that with Ron DeSantis (78 campaign stops in early primary states) or Nikki Haley (88) or Vivek Ramaswamy (105). This infrequency may become more noticeable as he’s pulled from the campaign trail and into various courtrooms (and jails) in the months ahead.
As Jeff observes, it is all so arrogant and high-handed, and yet “it is also a perfectly intelligent, sound strategy. . . . Trump is playing a ‘prevent defense’ for at least one manifestly obvious reason: because he is, at this point, lapping the field in all polls.”
But just as the sense of inevitability harmed Hillary Clinton, twice, the new basement campaign could harm Trump. Rich writes, in arguing that the GOP race is not as “over” as it looks:
The cockiness could well be justified, but a sense of inevitability can be a two-edged sword. On the one hand, it disheartens the opposition and communicates strength; on the other, it can fade into a high-handed sense of taking the voters for granted.
Charles C. W. Cooke seconds that notion:
In 2023, Trump is cutting an arrogant, lazy, bored figure, whose lackluster vapor-campaign seems to have more in common with 2016 Hillary Clinton and 2020 Joe Biden than with his 2016 effort.
Whether this hurts him is a question, at least in part, for his challengers to resolve. Their conundrum is a maddening one: How to compete against a candidate who not only isn’t there but seems to be politically impervious to cannonballs’ worth of bad headlines and who, in the minds of many campaign strategists, cannot be reproached too severely for fear of alienating his soft supporters? (Natan Ehrenreich gets into that challenge here.)
Wednesday’s debate showed the candidates scattering into starkly different camps in their approach. While Ramaswamy continued to gush only praise for Trump, and Chris Christie was characteristically unequivocal in his disdain for the man, Mike Pence and Haley were appropriately firm and forceful. DeSantis struggled, initially deflecting the question of whether Pence did the right thing on January 6, and later conceding “Mike did his duty.” The candidates don’t need to go the full Christie, but, as NR’s editorial states, Republican voters won’t move on from Trump “if none of Trump’s rivals ask them to.” Phil Klein urges DeSantis to stop campaigning with an “abundance of caution” and worrying about whom he’ll upset. And Noah Rothman offers a specific suggestion for candidates at these debates — home in on how the former president’s legal woes will take him off the trail. The message looks something like this:
Unfair and undesirable though it may be, Donald Trump is not here for you because he cannot be here for you. Yes, he has avoided this stage in part because the polls have convinced him that he can take your votes for granted. But the former president is going to have to spend most of the next year of his life devoting his attention to things other than the future of our party and our country. Get used to it.
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https://news.yahoo.com/nikki-haley-candidate-fear-most-074041084.html
no evidence she can win the nomination and
yes she is too Bush like - but I want to win most of all.
of course I don't know what the insider Dems are really thinking but this seems consistent with common sense.
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Trump’s Super Tuesday Trial Date
He might be buoyed to the GOP nomination before voters know the verdict, only to lose to Biden.
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Aug. 28, 2023 6:20 pm ET
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2024 Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump PHOTO: SERGIO FLORES/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
When Donald Trump won the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, he spent Super Tuesday barnstorming Columbus, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky., holding his signature rallies. Next year Mr. Trump might be stuck in a defendant’s chair at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., and how the public will respond is anybody’s guess.
Mr. Trump has been indicted four times, but the first case to be resolved might be the one involving his 2020 election subversion. On Monday the judge overseeing that prosecution penciled in a trial date: March 4. Super Tuesday is March 5, with more than a dozen states scheduled to vote for presidential nominees. “My primary concern here,” District Judge Tanya Chutkan said, “is the interest of justice.”
OPINION: POTOMAC WATCH
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It’s all well and good to argue that nobody is above the law, and a criminal defendant’s business or personal obligations don’t determine his trial schedule. Yet whatever happens in Judge Chutkan’s courtroom, including her decision about when it happens, is bound to affect the 2024 presidential election. This is a matter of judgment, and it won’t do to pretend that the courtroom is hermetically sealed.
Federal prosecutors asked for a Jan. 2 trial date, two weeks before Iowa kicks off the 2024 voting with its Jan. 15 caucuses. Mr. Trump countered that this date was too soon to be fair, with one of his lawyers calling it “a request for a show trial.” His legal team asked for the trial to begin no earlier than April 2026, by which point Mr. Trump intends to be back in the Oval Office with a new Attorney General and possession of the pardon pen.
What a spectacular mess. Mr. Trump made himself legally vulnerable with his terrible behavior, but the timing of the 2020 election case is the Justice Department’s doing. Special counsel Jack Smith finally moved to secure an indictment two and a half years after the alleged conduct and less than six months before the 2024 primaries begin. We’ve argued that the better part of prosecutorial valor was to let voters settle the issue of Mr. Trump’s culpability. Once Mr. Smith decided to indict, however, there was never going to be an opportune day to put Mr. Trump on trial.
The March 4 choice means that at least some Republican voters from early and Super Tuesday states will probably see their ballots as a chance to protest what they view as unfair treatment of Mr. Trump. Voting for him will be their way of giving the establishment the middle finger. Mr. Trump might have the GOP nomination sewn up before a verdict arrives and voters learn whether he’s a convicted felon. This would certainly delight Democrats.
Perhaps Mr. Trump’s legal team will find ways to delay the trial from March 4. Or maybe the prosecution will come up short in court. We’ve pointed out Mr. Trump’s likely defense that he had absolute immunity for actions taken in the course of his presidential duties. The press continues mostly to miss that argument, other than the occasional attempt at refutation. It isn’t impossible to imagine the question eventually going to the Supreme Court.
But the stubborn fact for Republicans, even those fond of Mr. Trump, is that his legal risks are political risks for the GOP. The next federal case, set for a May 20 trial in Florida, involves allegations that Mr. Trump squirreled away national secrets and then tried to delete Mar-a-Lago security tapes to cover it up. Most analysts say that’s the strongest indictment.
It’s incumbent on Mr. Trump’s Republican opponents to make the case directly to GOP voters that they shouldn’t roll the dice. The way to restore impartial justice is to nominate a candidate who can beat an aging and politically vulnerable President Biden.
Sending Mr. Trump to a 2024 rematch he is likely to lose among independent voters and many Republicans would accomplish nothing. It would be a strange and self-destructive catharsis for Republicans to try to “own the libs” by making Mr. Biden’s re-election easier.
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One more opinion that neither Biden nor Harris may be the nominee. The only other name they could come up with (on short notice) was Gavin Newsom.
https://themessenger.com/opinion/what-happens-if-biden-and-harris-both-decide-not-to-run-in-2024
Looks like the machine behind the puppets is rigging both sides.
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https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/08/30/what_if_biden_backs_out_of_the_race_149692.html
(Doug). It seems everyone knows he is pulling out except slow Joe. As lipson points out, a very late pull out rigs the Democratic race to just those who already have name recognition and big money machines in place, namely failed states Governors, one in particular.
Republican candidates need to be running against the policies, not the person who is about to disappear.
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"Republican candidates need to be running against the policies, not the person who is about to disappear."
THIS.
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/aug/29/why-trump-winning-gop-primary-handily/
-------------------
Great half of an article summarizing everything Trump did right. Missing the half of an article on everything he did wrong.
From the article:
"When Mr. Trump left office, gas prices were $2.38 a gallon, the inflation rate was 1.3%, and a 30-year-fixed mortgage interest rate was 2.77%."
Article goes on to mention moving the embassy (Israel), great trade agreements and building the wall. It reads just like our exhaustive Trump accomplishments thread.
It points out nearly all the current candidates plan to continue those policies, so why not just elect the real thing.
Why not? Well that's the part they omitted. Trump couldn't keep his personal flaws out of it. Hated virtually everyone on his own team at one point or another, all the way up to his Vice President, and he made those fights personal and public.
He excites only half the Republican base, but nearly all the Democrats and a majority of Independence to vote against him.
The author admits the other candidates would pursue the same policies and omits the outright admission on Trump's part (just by his third candidacy) that it takes more than one term to do this.
Whoever else rises to the top will also be attacked by the media and deep state regime. But the BS like the Steele Dossier would not be believed if it was Haley or DeSantis. Neither of those would have had hush money payments to Stormy Daniels to cover up. Neither of those would have stirred up a riot at the Capitol. And so on.
With desantis, they say he was banning books in schools, but then we find out he was banning pornography taught to little children. Charges like those don't have the same lasting power.
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-open-to-ramaswamy-as-vice-president-i-think-hes-great-5482944?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-08-30-1&src_cmp=breaking-2023-08-30-1&utm_medium=email&est=5VDD5B5a6lvrZx9Ymg7xCDXo3VWfEQqvjv6AXJFQwvMxQdz4rWbgaoAoda1z4qr%2BW%2BmG
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Backhanded compliment. Trump praising Vivek means he does not see him as even a potential threat.
Imagine current polling is 60-40 Trump over Vivek. What names would he have for him, little dick vivek or worse?
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they are both using one another.
Being a VP is normally quite an honor
but doing so for Trump is not.
so many magas still yelling and screaming all sorts of nonsense about trump
he is the only one who can do this , do that, such as end Ukraine overnight
he is the greatest pres of the 21st century - weird comment if you ask me
and if elected again could become the greatest in history
these people are nuts
same people screaming about Biden being a liar as is his whole administration (true no doubt) also love DJT -
no mention he is also a gigantic liar
how can we get out of this Trump curse?
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Trump ripped DeSantis today on electricity rates in Florida. Accusation is that Florida power and light gave a 9 million campaign contribution and DeSantis raised electricity rates. Pretty hard to believe that that charge isn't easily answered. Electric prices are going up because of federal mandates.
But if DeSantis fights back in kind, he will turn a huge number of voters he needs to attract against him, even more than they already are.
DeSantis needs to keep his focus on the run for president, the run against Biden and the machine and the policies, and leave the hitting of trump to others, not even surrogates.
Clay and Buck, the guys taking the rush time slot, started in ever so delicately today on this.
The point was made that Trump can't win Georgia and Republicans can't win without Georgia. They went to Great lengths to show that all Republicans except Trump and the Trump selected Senate candidates performed better and won, while Trump lost. Begs the question, why would Democrats cheat on just part of the ballot - on hundreds of thousands of ballots? It makes no sense. And what kind of organized cheat doesn't have Stacy Abrams in on it? Again, makes no sense.
Now imagine you are a conservative radio host and your audience is pulling 50 Trump to 20 DeSantis. No matter what you think personally, there is no way you are going to endorse either, much less the latter.
So they closed it by saying we are only trying to help Trump win by pointing out the problem and suggesting he make peace with popular Gov Kemp, etc.
But the point is out there. Trump can't win Georgia, lost three in a row there counting the Senate as once each time, and trails in state polling there now.
No one said it, but how about we put someone else at the top of the ticket and start winning again before it's too late.
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"Clay and Buck, the guys taking the rush time slot, started in ever so delicately today on this."
makes me wonder what Rush would have done.
I suspect he too would be virulent Trump supporter
especially after getting M of Freedom.
would rush have kept pressing for the candidate that may most likely lose?
like Mark Levin (who hedges when it comes to DeSantis )
food for thought
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Rush was a good friend of trump and they had things in common, but I thought he was careful when it came down to Trump and Cruz to be respectful of his listeners on both sides of that. You commit to one, and you lose the others. That was not his business plan and he saw the radio show as a business. He also saw before we did that Trump could win in 2016. That doesn't mean he would see Trump's path to victory now. His show would be without substance if he did not cover the points of merit on both sides of a conservative contest. My humble opinion.
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"But if DeSantis fights back in kind, he will turn a huge number of voters he needs to attract against him, even more than they already are.
DeSantis needs to keep his focus on the run for president, the run against Biden and the machine and the policies, and leave the hitting of trump to others, not even surrogates."
IMHO DeSantis erred in not responding to Trump's attacks on the National Sales Tax vote, comparing his Wuhan performance to Cuomo, and the like. The whole point is that Trump makes needless enemies and by so doing irritates the hell out of American voters. If DeS. is too chickenshit to say that he has not a chance.
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I don't think chicken s*** will be his problem.
https://www.factcheck.org/2023/08/desantis-military-service-as-navy-lawyer-for-seal-commander/
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https://pjmedia.com/columns/victor-davis-hanson/2023/09/01/from-one-unapologetic-media-hoax-to-the-next-n1723688
as always summarizes the situation better than anyone I know .
" So will we at last expect the media finally to confront the truth?
Answer — only if Joe Biden’s cognitive and physical health continues to deteriorate geometrically to the point that he can no longer finish his term or run for reelection — and thus becomes expendable."
I would also add they will not turn on Joe for as long as they can, to keep him from being a lame duck, and only will if they can come up with alternative that polls better than him such as Newsom. Till then Joe will be propped up like a mummy in sarcophagus .
As for Newsom I am not clear how he polls but for sure this is being looked at by the shysters . Fact they are not saying anything publicly certainly says mountains .
https://www.betcalifornia.com/gavin-newsom-odds
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https://patriotpost.us/opinion/100148-republicans-stop-the-self-defeating-victimology-2023-09-01
wake the heck up Trump heads ! :wink:
PS: to Dick Morris - I don't care you want another campaign job, I want to win.
go away you opportunist sycophant !
promotes Clinton a dem now Trump - obviously a self serving opportunist
I don't care what he says anymore
remember he also told us romney would win and we would do great in '22 both total blunders which he seems to ignore when he does same for '24.
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FWIW
some hot air on the prospect:
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/would-desantis-beat-biden/
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no sooner did I post my distaste for Dick
I read some more chapters on Doug Schoen's book including one in which he calls Morris a political genius show he learned a great deal from him when he was asked to work with him in 1969.
He and others including Jerry Nadler came out of upper East Side high school together . Morris helped Jerrod Nadler win the high school president job. He roomed with Nads @ Columbia .
Morris worked the upper West Side Democrat party in his early 20s with polling and working with a Mid Town Irish Democrat political machine.
They were all crats in NYC which was 2 to 1 Democrat
Schoen helped Republicans Guliani and Bloomberg win in a Democrat town , thought impossible.
Book started slow but had piqued my interest now I am over half way through. It is an easy read.
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"Morris worked the upper West Side Democrat party in his early 20s with polling and working with a Mid Town Irish Democrat political machine."
If I am not mistaken this is where Bella Abzug, who co-chaired a committee with my mother in the 17th CD (Silk Stocking district; Upper East Side, district from which John Lindsay and Ed Koch started out as Congressmen) wound up.
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/sep/4/donna-brazile-former-dnc-chair-warns-biden-dems-tr/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=b%2FSAMKzm6HpKy0fIUoQziUsjQx8D5GZpXZFvj4IA62DjNLdkfY8ChAuQbF6AeKP9&bt_ts=1693831826410
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2eUIlhrE5A
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https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/09/biden-vs-trump-by-the-numbers.php
John Hinderaker
BIDEN VS. TRUMP, BY THE NUMBERS
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday on its own extensive poll on Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The article begins:
Voters overwhelmingly think President Biden is too old to run for re-election and give him low marks for handling the economy and other issues important to their vote, according to a new Wall Street Journal poll that offers a stark warning to the 80-year-old incumbent ahead of the 2024 contest.
Specifically:
73% of voters said they feel Biden is too old to seek a second term, compared with 47% of voters who said the same of the 77-year-old Trump. Two-thirds of Democrats said Biden was too old to run again.
Emphasis added. And, remarkably, only 36% of respondents think Biden is “mentally up for the job.”
Biden also scores poorly on the issues. He is under water on the economy, 37%/59%, with respondents saying the economy has gotten worse rather than better in the last two years by 58%/28%. Biden is under water on inflation and the cost of living, 34%/63%, and on the border, 30%/63%.
So voters think Biden is too old to run, isn’t mentally capable of being president, and has done a terrible job on the economy and the border. With those numbers he can’t possibly be re-elected, right?
Wrong, if he runs against Donald Trump. The Journal poll finds the two men tied at 46%/46%, despite Biden’s horrific drawbacks. Why? Voters think Biden is more likable and more honest, and a lot of them think Trump is too old and not up to the job, either. And, of course, a great number of them simply hate Trump, for various reasons.
Also, if you wonder how Biden can possibly be competitive, part of the answer is that Democrats don’t care about the same things you do:
Democrats plan to rally supporters behind issues such as abortion rights, which proved a key factor in the party outperforming expectations in the 2022 midterm elections. Abortion was the top priority among Democrats in the Journal poll, with 16% naming it as the issue most important to their 2024 vote, ahead of the economy and climate, which each stood at 12%
Now that abortion has been returned to the states, it makes no sense for it to be your number one priority in a presidential candidate. Nevertheless, this is where we are.
But here is the point: the Democrats aren’t going to nominate Joe Biden. They are just hoping he can limp through the next year so they don’t have to deal with Kamala Harris. Gavin Newsom is 25 years younger than Biden, isn’t burdened with Biden’s record in office or his growing scandals, and is a far more plausible demagogue and liar than Biden. If nominated, as I think he will be, and if Trump is the GOP nominee, Newsom will crush him. The only Democrat against whom Trump can run a competitive race is Joe Biden. If Newsom or another lesser-known figure is the Democrats’ nominee, Republicans can only hope that our current red state/blue state polarization insulates us against a 1964-style rout, although the House would surely be lost.
The Democrats have long been known as the Evil Party, while Republicans are the Stupid Party. In 2024, I expect the Democrats to continue being evil, but they won’t be stupid. Let’s hope the Republicans aren’t stupid either.
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caveat CNN poll.
like I said before she is not my first choice but I want to win:
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4191620-biden-trails-haley-polling-neck-and-neck-with-other-republicans/
That said I still do not think the candidate will be Biden.
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(I see ccp already posted same poll.)
I was traveling with Democrats during the first debate, plan to watch it later. Went to various searches and it said register to watch and I declined. What morons the RNC are to allow viewership to be constrained.
Polling is still so early that it's almost meaningless, and CNN is not the most reliable, but current results may surprise people. Most voters did not see the debate but perceptions matter anyway.
General Election: CNN
Biden 46, Trump 47
Biden 47, DeSantis 47
Biden 46, Ramaswamy 45
Biden 43, Haley 49
Biden 44, Pence 46
Biden 44, Scott 46
Christie 44, Biden 42
Wednesday, September 6
(Doug) Lesson number one, if you're a Democrat get Biden off the ticket.
DeSantis pulling no better than Trump, but all he has had is negative attacks, no positive introduction.
Pence and Tim Scott, surprisingly good.
Nikki Haley steals the show.
Biden approval with blacks is down 30 points from 82% at the start to 52% now.
The political game in divided America now comes down to suburban women.
Maybe Nikki Haley has a chance with them.
If this poll means anything, Vivek is disqualified; he is the only one losing to Biden. And get Asa Hutchinson off the stage.
I heard Chris Christie this morning. Without pushback he might convince someone of something. He bragged how he got things done in New Jersey, defeated an incumbent Democrat and had 60% approval by re-election. No mention of his approval (disapproval)at the end of his term. Would he win New Jersey? No.
Someone remind me why we don't like Nikki Haley. Too soft on the border? She would have to be tough on the border to win the nomination, and would be crazy to not finish that job if elected.
Two term Governor plus foreign policy statesmanship experience as UN ambassador. Presents herself well. I call that qualified. Tied to Trump. Separated herself from Trump.
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and like John F. Kelly had the integrity not to come out bashing about Trump later
like Barr, Bolton, Scaramucchi (sp.?). and that aid who worked with Trump and testified against him at the Congressional 1/6 kangaroo court and now works at CNN, and others.
" Separated herself from Trump "
as an aside -
my feeling about John Kelly is he is a man of honor, integrity , a patriot who is the type of people we need in politics and the military - and all the Big Mouth could do was to bash him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kelly
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/sep/9/donald-trump-accuses-ron-desantis-having-sided-com/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=WPeuYPVO7OLNCqfh32wbHVWC%2F37nwRTWQZ%2Ft9k0UpL5ssE3t6cpwvQebqWeq2vVg&bt_ts=1694289671055
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No one for freedom is pro tariff. Trump tariffs were taxes on American businesses and consumers. The tariff strategy was to get China to remove theirs - and it didn't work for a number of reasons. The strategy was interrupted by covid and the fact that Trump wasn't reelected.
Two sides to this coin. Tariffs bad, standing up to China, necessary.
DeSantis should take it as further evidence Trump sees him coming in his rear view mirror.
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I liked Nikkis response in Hoover interview about China
she basically states what we all know :
China is at war with us
and we must respond in kind!
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Strange view from the Left, pick the most bland and non controversial ticket. From his view, keep the focus on anti-trump, not Democratic scandals or extremists. He goes through all the usual names and their flaws, then picks these:
"A Democratic dream ticket in the mold of Joe Biden would be Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky for president (age: 45), and Gina Riamondo, former governor of Rhode Island and current commerce secretary (age: 52) as vice president. Both are pragmatic, centrist Democrats who have demonstrated the ability to mobilize moderates and independents."
https://www.salon.com/2023/09/11/what-if-biden-bows-out/
---------------------
(Doug). He's right about this, so for sure they won't do it.
Americans deserve two choices on the ballot that are not wild eyed crazy radical right or left.
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this part is becoming totally annoying to me:
"Chief among them is the certainty that the Republicans and their media outlets will go all-in to raise doubts about Biden's age
Again we let the Dems control the wording of the problem
It is not his age.
Darn it - the guy is clearly SENILE !!!
Why are the conservative media going along with the word "age"?
We need to start saying he is senile which he clearly is.
I don't give s hoot what some partial personal president doctors say " he is fit to serve"
We all can see that is crap .
SENILE , SENILE, SENILE, SENILE - repeat after me media : "S-E-N-I-L-E" !
thank you
-
PS :
this can't wait till next yr
yeah I know Kamala . But they picked her so let her be President - get it over with
she like Biden will be controlled by all the Clinton/Obama mobs anyway ....
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Excellent point, let's not allow them to conflate age with senility. Age is a different issue, stamina etc, can he or she handle the demands of the job, assuming they are otherwise competent.
Old can mean wise or experienced.
Senility is a form of incompetence, and creates vulnerability to being manipulated or controlled by others. Cf. the last two and a half years.
I would also caution against playing the senile card. In the first debate 2000,Biden beat expectations. The bar is even lower now. A record number of people came out to vote against Trump. That's what they want in a candidate. No reason to think that won't happen again.
We need to go after the policies, no matter who is on the ticket.
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"We need to go after the policies, no matter who is on the ticket."
THIS!!!
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my concern is that the LEFT always seizes control of the wording
"age" is used (as mentioned by Laura last night) instead of cognitive impairment, senility , dementia for a reason
and that is solely because Trump is old too.
So if Biden is too old then Trump is also by association
notice how miraculously almost all at once the LEFT media comes out using word "age"?
I think we need both - attack his lack of cognition and his policies - all of it.
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Exactly so.
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Intriguing comment by Jesse Waters today on The Five:
The gist being that the author of the POTP op ed piece that has the chattering class chattering calling for Magoo to not run again is a proven CIA mouthpiece e.g. major player in bringing down Fllynn, the lap top was Russian intel, the Steele dossier was good etc. JW suggested that the timing of the play here implies that the CIA is nervous about what the impeachment inquiry will find out ABOUT THEM.
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https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/and-so-it-begins-washington-posts-david-ignatius-calls-on-joe-biden-to-not-run-in-2024/
From Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ignatius
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/establishment-voice-calls-for-harris-to-quit-biden-too
His bottom line"
"That's what this column — "President Biden should not run again in 2024" — is really about. Yes, voters think Biden is too old to be president. But that would be OK if he just had a better vice president. Harris, however, is a terrible vice president. But she can't be dumped because of identity politics inside the Democratic Party. So better that Biden goes and takes Harris with him. That is the only way to solve the party's Harris problem without setting off war over the 2024 ticket."
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"That's what this column — "President Biden should not run again in 2024" — is really about. Yes, voters think Biden is too old to be president. But that would be OK if he just had a better vice president. Harris, however, is a terrible vice president. But she can't be dumped because of identity politics inside the Democratic Party. So better that Biden goes and takes Harris with him. That is the only way to solve the party's Harris problem without setting off war over the 2024 ticket.
If Biden drops out, does that take out Harris too? I guess she would enter the primaries as a presidential candidate (if she wants to). The machine would have to decide whether to destroy her or not. What are they going to offer her, a supreme court seat? I don't think so.
Wouldn't the eventual nominee also be under pressure to renominate her as running mate? No one on their side admits she's a failure. Just that she hasn't caught on, PR etc.
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Agree Doug
polling differentiation on K's "favorability"
https://www.latimes.com/projects/kamala-harris-approval-rating-polls-vs-biden-other-vps/
'No one on their side admits she's a failure. Just that she hasn't caught on, PR etc."
right
in my artilce link posted above :
"Since taking office, Harris has been assigned one of the administration’s thorniest issues: stemming the influx of immigrants attempting to cross U.S. borders. Republicans have sought to make her the face of an issue that they believe could help them politically.
After taking on that role, Harris’ approval ratings began to decline, with unfavorable opinions surpassing favorable ones in June 2021"
[ oh that is the reason - beyond her control :roll: :|]
Look at gender and racial and party differences on favorability
What has been her qualification prior to being VP or since after serious failures in performance in even simply speaking intelligently?
We know the answer :wink:
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I underline the point made here the other day:
Tis' easy to tee off on Magoo for senility, and important to do so for his being corrupt and compromised, but most of all the focus needs to be on the issues so what when we face someone else, the foundation is already laid, and so that if/when we win we have an actual mandate.
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good point
the article illustrate the "approval" of a VP is also closely tied to the approval of the President
so you and Doug's points on this makes total sense for the best strategy
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https://www.nationalreview.com/news/trump-dodges-questions-about-classified-documents-during-megyn-kelly-interview/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=32712987
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/sep/15/trump-builds-better-machine-campaign-team-and-admi/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=evening&utm_term=evening&utm_content=evening&bt_ee=LkNTEsSeFI3pN6CzhTn0TRKw7DC9uv0%2B14U%2BBoKp%2FdbAuFWU35YNcJbkzbh5kCys&bt_ts=1694820635019
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/sep/15/trump-builds-better-machine-campaign-team-and-admi/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=evening&utm_term=evening&utm_content=evening&bt_ee=LkNTEsSeFI3pN6CzhTn0TRKw7DC9uv0%2B14U%2BBoKp%2FdbAuFWU35YNcJbkzbh5kCys&bt_ts=1694820635019
"Trump burned through 92% of his executive staff over four years. The lion’s share of the departures came over his first two years on the job.
He also lost 14 of his Cabinet members including three chiefs of staff — Mr. Priebus, John Kelly, and Mick Mulvaney — and blew through security advisers and press secretaries."
We need a proven team builder and leader for this job, And we most certainly need an 8 year, 16 year plan. Is this the person who can do it?
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https://dailycaller.com/2023/09/15/joe-biden-swing-state-trump/
The part Trump's ego will gloat over 24/7 - "some polls have me ahead of Biden by a lot " [in key swing states.]
The part he will ignore. He is ahead with only 41% of the vote ( like I was thinking his only chance of winning is if the opponent is worse and Biden is 35%.)
Another part Trump will ignore is 24% are undecided but of the undecided he is behind 49% to 38 %
The only temporarily good thing is this after the poll - all of MSNBC PBS CBS ABC CNN WP NYT ==>. will :cry: :cry: :cry:
BOTTOM LINE ->
I agree with Doug's post above
Trump is NOT the answer.
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https://lists.youmaker.com/archive/Hy9WFyurJL/RF0I0266W/WzemO4smCnuw
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"Oath and Honor" — billed as a memoir and "urgent warning"
""gripping first-hand account from inside the halls of Congress as Donald Trump and his enablers betrayed the American people and the Constitution ... by the House Republican leader who dared to stand up to it."
What could be in here we don't already know up and down inside out internally externally
I agree DJT is a problem but the enemy is the Democrat Party
Another :roll: anti Trump book is not going to change anyone's mind.
https://www.istockphoto.com/video/waste-of-time-gm473008659-20664477
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Super tough question by Bret 17:20-20:45
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWxfmM-9bDw
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Yes, I saw this somewhere prior.
Good questions - direct right to the point and even mentions "narcissism" adjective ! :-D
He simply changes the subject, throws out all the great things he did do, states for every critic there "10" and later makes it "20" times more people love me.
:roll:
The most important numbers are his favorable ratings are always well less than 50% - I wish Bret asked him about that number .
Fortunately the Dems do not as yet have a strong candidate so we have a chance but not without this person sweating it out till post election.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4220759-washington-post-says-poll-showing-trump-beating-biden-likely-an-outlier/
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Here's an additional thought:
Trump is clearly distinguishing himself on abortion, calling DeSantis's 6 week standard "clearly a great error" or something like that.
Regardless of where we individually stand on what the standard should be, it seems clear that this issue really hurt Reps in the 2022 elections and DeSantis has failed to take an off ramp on this when he could have said he opposes a federal standard.
DeSantis has also failed to articulate a vision on geopolitics, pretty much saying nothing since he scuttled back from calling Ukraine "a territorial dispute.
The point is supporting DeSantis is that he would be more likely to beat Biden than Trump.
At this moment that does not appear to be the case.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/news/trump-leads-biden-by-9-points-in-new-washington-post-abc-news-poll/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=32815056
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I am very skeptical of this sudden poll that has Trump up by 9 to 10 points
I don't believe it.
First it comes from an enemy poll source.
Second it comes out just *before the second Republican debate* essentially wiping out one of the biggest reasons other candidates ability to market themselves as better positioned to beat Biden then Trump.
Third , I suspect it may be done for 2 reasons
1) to wake up the Biden administration that they need to do something about immigration and inflation as they are losing grounds in polls
2) to insure that Trump is the nominee
We know the Don will be going around beating his chest like a teenage gorilla bloviating how great he is .... with this.....
I just don't believe it.
We shall see with other polls coming likely after the debate ,....
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I did not think of those things.
I like the way you think, very astute analysis there.
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Waters had another take tonight on the WP poll
it is Bezos' WP going after Biden due to the FTC going after tech company monopolies
undoubtably in conjunction with his slump in the polls.
very possible too.
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ABC News/WashPost: Trump 52, Biden 42 | NBC News: Trump 46, Biden 46
Let me guess, both polls have an error of + - 3%.
Is the truth somewhere in between?
The Wash Post poll has Biden approval at 37%. Hard to hide the fact that won't get him reelected.
Either way, it is still Sept 2023. Things change
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Deeper in that poll (Washington Post), 30% 'approve' of Biden's handling of the economy. That is about as low as you can go in a poll everyone knows will be jumped on for partisan advantage.
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/09/abc-nbc-polls-show-the-economy-hurts-biden-more-than-age.html?utm_source=msn&utm_medium=f1&utm_campaign=feed-part
Worse yet, if you remove Slow Joe from that equation, what would any of the others do differently, Kamala, Gavin, et al. Joe merely governed right down the (Left wing) party line signing every bill Nancy put on his desk and every executive order his Obama holdover advisers put on his desk. All with 100% support of his (dying) party.
He killed a pipeline in his first minute in office, banned ANWR (again), made sure every new oil or gas investment would be worthless, thus not made. (The fruit of those investments not made then can not bail him out with new oil and gas coming to market now.) He overspent on everything by 40%(!), triggered the tripling of our debt cost, destroyed the housing industry, drained the strategic petroleum reserve to (almost) win the midterm (sorry, can't drain it twice), left arsenal and Americans in Afghanistan and set off the never ending war in Ukraine with his world renowned weakness. (Sending them weapons made for our security He isn't replacing.) And he blew up the Nord stream, or at least said he would and it happened.
He lost the support of the 18 to 35 voters - by a wide margin.
Jim Clyburn who swung the nomination to Biden famously said "all of us knew...". Knew what? These policies would have these results.
Tell me how you undo all that between now and the election - without instantly changing course and adopting our policies, which they will never do.
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In recent days we have seen Newsom make moves to appear reasonable. In the context of the WaPo poll and related developments susch as the debate in late November with DeSantis, it seems clear to me that the play for him to replace Kommiela or Magoo is underway.
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In recent days we have seen Newsom make moves to appear reasonable. In the context of the WaPo poll and related developments susch as the debate in late November with DeSantis, it seems clear to me that the play for him to replace Kommiela or Magoo is underway.
Agreed. For what little I know about Newsom, it seems he is the only one able and inclined to pull it off, and is making moves to do that. The debate, if it happens, will be telling.
My question, way ahead of its time, who would he pick as a running mate if he is supposed to replace both Biden and Harris?
Someone just as far Left as Gavin with immense Washington and foreign policy experience and instant credibility that could make it a 16 year plan. Who could that be? It's kind of a shallow bench.
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A) One option is that Magoo replaces Harris with him. How do we think this plays out?
B) If the choice is Trump vs. Newsom, how do we think this plays out?
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https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nysun.com%2Farticle%2Fwill-nikki-haley-break-out-of-the-republican-primary-pack-in-wednesdays-gop-debate-and-is-this-ron-desantis-last-chance
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A) One option is that Magoo replaces Harris with him. How do we think this plays out?
B) If the choice is Trump vs. Newsom, how do we think this plays out?
Don't know but,
A. If I were GN I wouldn't leave the Governor job for VP and very bad vibe for the administration to single out Kamala as the problem. What did she do wrong, miss a funeral? She isn't the one who didn't solve the border. They didn't want it solved. She didn't drive up gas prices and inflation, all of them did.
B. This scenario very likely at this point, Newsom vs. Trump. Earlier I thought changing the Dem candidate to a younger Governor would change the R race, but right now only Trump can take down Trump. (The latest court order is interesting.)
Newsom is a Biden supporter. He would most likely get in timed with Biden stepping out, could be just after the first of the year. They are likely looking at the latest date to do that because of the lame duck thing, also Biden's legal troubles. The Nov 30 debate is likely timed to jumpstart the public discussion of his candidacy.
It could be that all but Joe (and Jill?) are already on board with the switch out. When it happens, either Kamala endorses Newsom or jumps in herself - without backing or support of the cabal and no chance of winning, so she bows out as the team player. At the August(?) convention he picks someone else as running mate because of the same state issue.
Assume indicted or convicted Trump is the R nominee, the race is Trump v Newsom from Jan through Nov with lame duck sitting quietly in Delaware. How that changes the race is that Trump has to get focused on policy differences instead of hoping Joe falls on the podium. By November that could favor Republicans given Dems have no way out of the current mess without adopting better policies, Republican policies. )
Looks like Newsom is already making the case for more Republican policies:
https://youtu.be/agzDslqvNXM?si=Ff5KaYDaLIAbGenE
This guy is slick. I wonder how DeSantis gets a word in, even with Hannity's help. He's all over the map.
Newsom is taking a debate he doesn't have to and Trump is ducking debates he should be in. Bad sign.
Also Newsom in the race might slow the "no labels" and other not-Trump choices that would otherwise hurt Dems.
Newsom certainly can unite Democrats, but he cannot fully untie himself from the disastrous Biden record. Lowest black unemployment etc, bullsh*t, people know that happened under Trump - and they work but can't afford gas. $6 in LA today. By November, a median income household can buy half of a median priced home. Spin THAT. And the debt cost is 3 times what it was 4 years ago.
Strangest year in politics is ahead of us.
----------------
Question for the debate tonight, can someone, DeSantis or Haley, emerge as a possible next Reagan, rather than as one of the seven dwarfs soon forgotten.
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"What did she do wrong, miss a funeral?"
She persuaded the entire political spectrum that she is a fg moron, totally unsuited for the Presidency.
Newsom is young, good looking and slick and as such would be a powerful symbol of moving beyond the gerontocracy. Should he be the VP pick, then Joe could announce him at the convention. This would solve a lot of the timing problems concerning the chattering class at present having to do with deadlines. Newsom has shown steadfast loyalty to Magoo by promising not to run if Magoo is; this should make is easier for Magoo to throw the Kackling Kommie off the bus.
The whole country would get the message-- and Trump haters would have an excuse to vote Dem because Magoo could and likely would be 25th Amendmented.
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The Real Donald Trump Live on Truth Social
Here’s what voters can look forward to if he’s nominated again.
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Sept. 26, 2023 6:29 pm ET
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Former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social profile. PHOTO: TAIDGH BARRON/ZUMA PRESS
Donald Trump suggested the other day that Gen. Mark Milley, the nation’s highest military officer, deserves execution—as in death. He said NBC should be investigated for treason and that the FBI should raid the homes of Senate Democrats. Then he accused President Biden of being manipulated by “the Fascists in the White House.”
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If Republicans missed these remarks, they must not be following Mr. Trump’s feed on Truth Social, his media site. But reading him there is the way to get a direct mind-meld with Mr. Trump’s true social and political self.
Here was part of Mr. Trump’s send-off for Mr. Milley, who’s finishing his tenure as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs: “This guy turned out to be a Woke train wreck who, if the Fake News reporting is correct, was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States. This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!”
We realize no one is supposed to take Mr. Trump’s words seriously, but what if some crank does and decides to shoot Gen. Milley in his retirement?
How about a campaign pledge to abridge the First Amendment? Mr. Trump: “Comcast, with its one-side and vicious coverage by NBC NEWS, and in particular MSNBC, often and correctly referred to as MSDNC (Democrat National Committee!), should be investigated for its ‘Country Threatening Treason.’ . . . I say up front, openly, and proudly, that when I WIN the Presidency of the United States, they and others of the LameStream Media will be thoroughly scrutinized for their knowingly dishonest and corrupt coverage.”
Mr. Trump also uses Truth Social to amplify unhinged posts from others, including one recently calling the 2021 Capitol riot a “Fedsurrection,” involving Antifa leftists in MAGA disguise, and “the Deep State coordinated their actions through proxies.” Mr. Trump or his social-media team hit the button to “retruth” this lunacy to his millions of followers.
Some Republicans are feeling giddy these days because Mr. Biden is down in the polls, losing head-to-head even against Mr. Trump. But many voters may have forgotten what it was like to hear from, and live with, Mr. Trump day after day. As President, Mr. Biden gets more attention now, and Mr. Trump is ducking the GOP presidential debates.
But if Mr. Trump is nominated again, his every word will get attention. That’s the baggage Republicans will carry—and the reason Democrats think even Mr. Biden can win.
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Looks like I won't get to see this one either. I read and heard enough clips to get the gist of it. The format is terrible and virtually unwatchable. It should be a showcase of why Dem policies suck for this country, not a food fight of Republicans attacking each other.
10 people on stage all trying to advance themselves (especially the moderators) more so than fix the country. The field needs to narrow, and narrow to the right ones, soon!
That said, word is DeSantis looked and sounded Presidential and Nikki Haley showed plenty of fight. The rest I see as past their expiration date for this cycle..
VDH says the party needs to unite behind one candidate and one agenda.
Mike Pence would have been a fine President in normal times but cannot unite us now. Chris Christie also cannot with his hatred for half of them. Vivek and Bergum are too new to the scene to break out. Second try at a first impression? I don't think so. That leaves the two aforementioned plus Trump.
My solution: DeSantis and Haley join forces to take on each other. So what if it's called a race for second place. Pick their own moderator. Pick their own topics. Each get 75 seconds uninterrupted to make their case with minimalist moderating. Invite DT and make it 3. Take charge of this process instead of being somebody else's puppet on stage ("let's see a show of hands", "write a name on the card to vote off the island"). The point is to build on each other's points and presentation on why we need to put the current path in the rear view mirror, not tear each other down.
Run a series of great debates and in the end, one drops out to leave the strongest challenge to the frontrunner in the primaries. In the end, unite.
One of the biggest hits on Trump's one term Presidency was that he sucked in his first debate with Biden. No one calls him out on that. Also, he governed (bloviated) in a way that aimed at winning a squeaker in the electoral college instead trying to win the country with large, impossible to cheat or challenge, majorities.
We all know people who will never vote for Trump for reasons beyond his economic and foreign policies.
As VDH pointed out (famous people caught reading the forum), we need a candidate and agenda that can win 55% of the vote, not 48, 49 or worse. We are not on track to doing that.
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Here we go with more lousy national polling:
Biden 45, Trump 40
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4225778-biden-tops-trump-by-5-points-in-new-survey/amp/
Just 15 points different than the previous, all with "margin of error 3%"?
Something like six states matter if this is a close election, not how many people you can find in California, Illinois and New York. And we know Trump can't win Georgia, so the question becomes can he win the other five by large margins or not.
If not, we need to try someone else.
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Good assessment Doug.
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funny how one WP poll came out with Trump beating Biden by 10 points JUST PRIOR TO THE DEBATE.
What a coincidence! I thought it was purposeful BS to throw a wrench into the debate.
at least that poll was not brought up during the debate though Dana had to ask the candidates something akin to what is your path to making up Trump's huge lead .
Ron did very well especially at the end.
Nikki kicked Vivek (pronounced Vi vake "like cake" as per Vivek when asked by Bill O'Reilly who politely asked him how does he pronounce his name.
Tim did better but got into a bit too much fighting with Nikki and Vivek.
Bergum is very good but agree with Doug - he is not know enough and beyond his take on energy and China ( both of which he is excellent on ) we never learn anything else about him.
Chris was his usual self - good debater good points on DJT but no chance or appeal anymore.
His day is long gone.
The Univision moderately if I recall mostly pressed the illegal card DACA , and I think Tim and maybe Vivek push to get rid of birth citizenship whose purpose was for slaves NOT for illegals coming in or pregnant visitors coming over to give birth in a US hospital.
AGREE WITH DOUG.
personally I would like to see contenders narrow down to the Ron and Nikki
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Agree that Bergum surprised to the upside, but he is going nowhere.
Random points:
Nikki slimed Ron with accusation he was against fracking-- he was against off-shore on the coast-- given role of tourism for Florida this strikes me as perfectly reasonable.
Generally I thought Ron did well, but he did continue to embrace hard line Life position instead of anti-third trimester/none of Fed's business.
Vivek polished up his act from last time, but even as I like some things he says A LOT, he strikes me as a slickster. Seems like Nikki nailed him pretty hard on his Chinese connections and the inconsistencies with his current verbiage.
Tim-- good man, nice man, loved his dialing in the blame on LBJ and the Great Society, but utterly lacks frame of mind of chief executive.
Pence: A good and decent man with a resume well suited for the Presidency, but simply does not arouse support.
Chris-- as usual.
I thought the moderators were hideously weak-- somebody should have brought a fog horn or a whistle. The cross talk brought down the dignity of the event quite a bit. What a snide condescending ___ the Univision woman was.
ALL OF THEM failed to dial in the central points:
a) How do each of them stack up against Biden? Trump purportedly up 10, but IIRC same poll had Nikki up 6 and DeSantis close to that; and
b) the Dems have timed the trials for the election. Candidate Trump represents a commitment without knowledge of all the facts and a high potential for deceptive ambush attacks-- just like last time.
PS: Newsom is seriously slippery.
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Agreed. Two other observations subject to correction since I saw clips out of context.
Haley said,
(Wash Post). Her skewering of Ramaswamy offered one of the most memorable lines of the evening.
“Honestly, every time I hear you I feel a little bit dumber,” she said.
(Doug) I think this followed him dodging the question on tic toc, saying he needed to reach young people to win the election.
Vivek is a smart guy. I would note this statement was over the top.
Second, Chris Christie made a point about Donald Trump ducking the debates. Said if he kept doing it they would all have to call him Donald Duck.
That's not very funny, not very clever, plus he is trying to tell us how bad Trump is by being like Trump. Tacky.
Given both of those points, DeSantis won the debate and leads the race for second place.
Two other points, somebody (Christy?) Said the current president was sleeping with a teacher's union member (Jill Biden). Cheap insult. Later Mike Pence said he had been sleeping with a teacher for 35 years. Where was the filter on saying that? We already know Pence is the world's best family man, self-awarded.
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Second place (for DeSantis)is relevant in this situation with two front runners pushing 80, one facing corruption charges and the other facing 5 or more big court cases even if they are bs. Deep bench is good.
The slickness of Newsom will make a contest of it, but what if he is just too slick for the swing states, and too Californian. Who is their backup quarterback, Butti?
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https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2023/09/28/who_really_won_the_gop_candidates_debate.html
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https://www.mediaite.com/politics/exclusive-robert-f-kennedy-jr-planning-to-announce-independent-run/
Talk about the stupid party, they were morons to not treat him better. He was no threat to win a primary.
They refused secret Service protection for him, a Kennedy running for President.
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Update. Oops:
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/09/29/rfk-jrs-independent-run-is-why-republicans-lose-n2164489
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Reps and independents who cannot bring themselves to vote for Trump , , ,
https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/09/democrats-2024-plan-is-working-to-perfection/?bypass_key=MzhhdFBOajhjeWVhZEpFblBVcjN1Zz09OjpRMUoxWmtGb2EyMVNhaXN6SzNscWFURnRMekpGUVQwOQ%3D%3D
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Agee with AM
The LEFT has a pincer attack on the Right
Attack Trump daily with media warfare, lawfare, etc. Go after his money, his family, all those that worked with him, bribe (book deals , CNN gigs etc.) and extort (indict them for something to get plea deal with stipulation they turn on Trump )
and at the same time dupe the Right into nominating him and shut off any other candidates.
It does not help we have Trump now virtually every day tweeting :
this person should be executed
this person should be shot
that person(s) e should be shot killed
he sounds more and more desperate/unhinged and despotic every day
yes this is frustrating hat tip to AM!
I agree with these sentiments sometimes ( like shooting people at the border, would fix the problem fast but I admit that would be nuts - unless it was against cartels )
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https://resistthemainstream.com/nikki-haley-responds-to-trump-teams-birdcage-gift/?utm_source=newsletter2
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I don't understand why the new Trump is so mean to his Republican rivals, just like the old Trump. He shouldn't treat Democrats that way, much less his own.
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" the new Trump "
exactly :roll:
where did I hear that Trump has toned it down?
I think a guest on O'Reilly........
like the song
"the new Trump , just like the old Trump"
or meet the "real Hillary' campaign attempted
or getting to know the real Hillary ......
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Biden-Newsom vs. Trump-____
Who wins?
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/newsom-repeals-california-law-prohibiting-doctors-from-sharing-unapproved-covid-information/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=32900689
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwYaV-Cg5ws
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rnc-issues-a-warning-to-chris-christie-and-vivek-ramaswamy-about-fox-news/ar-AA1hDED1?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=6f753f83dc094a27866d73f6667aab1f&ei=25#image=1
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rnc-issues-a-warning-to-chris-christie-and-vivek-ramaswamy-about-fox-news/ar-AA1hDED1?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=6f753f83dc094a27866d73f6667aab1f&ei=25#image=1
Doesn't that restriction violate a couple of key freedoms?
Are we not the party of liberty?
Management of these debates has been terrible.
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My impression when I read RNC trying to prohibit debate between Vivek and Christie was negative too.
Rhonda McDaniel seems to be messing up again. I don't have faith in her.
" Management of these debates has been terrible. "
Agree.
I thought it good they limited the debates away from CNN and the other MSM networks whose sole purpose would be to make the candidates look bad.
Yet, we get a rabid enemy partisan Univision "moderator" in the second debate who did everything she could to piss off the debaters and the viewers with gross extreme enemy partisan views about such topic as illegals etc.
Something is very wrong with the formats as well; such as asking questions but then allowing only 1 to 3 candidates to even answer each one stimulating others to interrupt so they can give their answer.......
We don't really learn enough from the candidates this way
Voting for the best candidate need not be for the one who has the best canned speech, or the best one line zinger.
How does each feel about a variety of issues , what is their overall plan etc.
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Kelly includes a number of cheap shots in here, but plenty of them sound plausible. Stuff like this is culmulatively damaging.
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/god-help-us-john-kelly-confirms-trump-mocked-veterans-during-arlington-memorial-service/amp/
The list of people who used to work for Trump but now loathe him is long. Plenty of them are not worthy of respect, but a pattern like that speaks for itself.
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I think you are right.
Sadly, I believe Kelly over Trump on this.
John does not strike me as the type of person who would make this up based on his history of service and we all can imagine Trump saying all these things in a nanosecond.
That all said, nothing has stopped MAGA's support of Trump.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/news/haley-surges-past-desantis-in-post-debate-new-hampshire-primary-poll/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=32921146
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpqz8j5sINo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYN04UeLcA0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXUG_xsjNwc
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https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/09/how_trump_beats_michelle_obama_in_2024.html
sounds quite logical and pieces fit together
will she announce prior to SC Dem Primary?
The new calendar puts South Carolina first on Feb. 3, 2024
Agree the choice of Chicago ad Democrat Convertion does sound like a set up for her.
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https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2023/10/05/hillary_clinton_there_needs_to_be_a_formal_deprogramming_of_the_trump_cult_members.html
an Amanpour no less :roll:
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https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2023/10/05/hillary_clinton_there_needs_to_be_a_formal_deprogramming_of_the_trump_cult_members.html
Upside down logic, people who advocate more Liberty for the people and more power back to the States are authoritarians?
And this very bizarre admission of guilt:
"And we have to just be smarter about how we are trying to empower the right people inside the Republican party."
(Doug) She's talking about her people, the MSM, elevating Trump in the Republican 2016 nomination race.
And now her people, the prosecutors in New York, Atlanta, DC, are elevating Trump again with their unprecedented prosecution persecution.
And now they're doing it again with the Kevin McCarthy ouster, likely to lead to a harder line Republican House leader.
WHY ARE DEMOCRATS INVOLVED WITH PICKING REPUBLICAN LEADERS?
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https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/09/rfk-jr-independent-campaign-00120607
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What one liberal thinks:
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4235818-the-trump-collapse-is-coming-and-hes-taking-biden-down-with-him/
Trump's legal troubles will catch up with him, and his mouth,. He will tank and someone else will be the nominee,. Biden and Trump need each other, and Biden will get replaced too.
I don't agree. I think Biden will tank first, already has. If Biden leaves the ticket (and Trump stumbles in his legal troubles) the dynamic for Trump changes.
One thing we can all agree on, danger ahead for both parties.
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https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/09/rfk-jr-independent-campaign-00120607
'Conventional wisdom' at this moment is Bobby Jr takes more from Trump than from Biden. I don't buy that, (even the premise it will be Trump and Biden).
Let's assume RFK is a liberal Democrat. The question of vaccine is fading further into the rear view mirror and other issues rise. Thinking of disgruntled Republicans, do you see Mitt Romney or Liz Cheney or Bill Kristol supporting a liberal Democrat? I don't. But an anti-war Democrat might.
What happened to the so called, no labels people? Quiet lately. Moderate Democrats I know would take a Manchin over any far left choice and be tempted over a bumbling Biden no longer moderate.
Then you have the green choice.
Trump is thinking, the more choices the better. He has hard core support. Biden doesn't.
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RFK was on Sean last night and Sean pressed him with a very long list of lefty-prog-Dem things that RFK had said. For example, "You called the NRA 'terrorist'. Do you still think that?" RFK was weak, whiny, and evasive in response. Sean offered to have him come back to discuss things more fully. I did not catch RFK accepting.
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Right. Republicans don't think the NRA is terrorist. Republicans think terrorists are terrorists. "RFK was weak, whiny, and evasive in response." Yes. He can't energize both sides.
Reminds me in a different way of Michelle O, so popular because she is non-political. Have her stand up there for months and defend 12 years of Obama Biden policies and resultsand hurl the insults at Republicans that they all find necessary., then see if she stays above the political fray.
RFK is also weak in his voice, a medical condition no fault of his own, and he will be 70 at election time, not that old to us, but past the generally accepted retirement age. Is that what young voters want to replace Joe Biden with? Bobby Kennedy, in 1968 was young and vibrant. Barack Obama's sudden rise to fame was about being young and exciting and vibrant.
"Clean and articulate." Bill Clinton as well. Donald Trump is old but his demeanor is young and vibrant. Joe Biden OTOH won his election from his basement barely able to speak.
My take is that 1% might favor RFK Jr for his long held anti-vax views and the rest think they are getting someone exciting and they're not.
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https://dailycaller.com/2023/10/11/donald-trump-trounces-joe-biden-michigan-michigan-poll/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=29912&pnespid=rLhtET5AO.5B1ffE.G3kCIuMo0_.D5JtJ_.ixLZ1tANmBEVZpImpLJa0NQOoO9ywi1WzimJ.
20% for Anyone Else
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The Electoral College map at the bottom of this piece will, if true, inspire a lot of “Progressive” bed wetting:
https://skeshel.substack.com/p/what-happens-if-both-newsweek-and?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&fbclid=IwAR0hfeA8C3xyWXOULO3kSOyS5iYdum0roYOCs-MmaAkk5jr2BPNvooyZLIw
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Donald Trump’s Israeli War Insight
He attacks Netanyahu in a crisis because of old personal grudges.
By
The Editorial Board
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Oct. 12, 2023 6:41 pm ET
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Former President Donald Trump PHOTO: CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH/SHUTTERSTOCK
The front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination for some reason used the words “smart” and “Hezbollah” in the same sentence on Wednesday night. Whatever Donald Trump meant to convey, Republicans might look at the sparks going up around the world as they decide whether to sign up for four more years of this strategic insight.
OPINION: POTOMAC WATCH
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Paul Gigot interviews Mark Dubowitz on Israel, Hamas and Iran
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“Two nights ago I read all of Biden’s security people, can you imagine, national defense people,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday night in West Palm Beach. “And they said ‘Gee, I hope Hezbollah doesn’t attack from the north. Because that’s the most vulnerable spot.’ And I said, wait a minute, you know Hezbollah is very smart. They’re all very smart. The press doesn’t like when they say, you know. I said that President Xi of China, 1.4 billion people, he controls it with an iron fist. I said he’s a very smart man. They killed me the next day. I said he was smart. What am I gonna say?”
We’ll leave it to Trump partisans to explain that soliloquy, and the speech included some hardy perennials about rigged elections and this one about Vladimir Putin: “I got along with him very good. You know, I actually got along with the tough guys the best.”
Perhaps Mr. Trump’s most revealing comments were about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an ally he is supposed to be friendly with. In his rambling, Mr. Trump brought up that the Israeli leader declined to participate in the 2020 U.S. operation to kill Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. “I’ll never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down.”
Mr. Netanyahu is the political leader of America’s closest friend in the Middle East, which is staring down the worst security crisis in 50 years. At least 27 Americans are dead and more are missing. But Mr. Trump can’t separate this from his personal grievances.
He’s also mad because Mr. Netanyahu publicly acknowledged that President Biden won the 2020 election, as if a foreign leader could say anything else. “He was very early—like earlier than most. I haven’t spoken to him since. F— him,” he told a writer for Axios.
For once Mr. Trump’s competition for the GOP presidential nomination is criticizing him. It’s “absurd that anyone, much less someone running for President, would choose now to attack our friend and ally, Israel,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in a post on Twitter. Vice President Mike Pence also hit Mr. Trump’s comments.
Mr. Trump has an impressive record of support for Israel that he could stick to touting. This includes moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, after other Presidents promised but failed to deliver. And there are the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab states that Mr. Biden has supported and has been trying to extend to Saudi Arabia.
But Mr. Trump can’t help himself from making everything about himself. That’s the same way he handled the Covid crisis, and it’s what voters would get in a second Trump term in much more dangerous world.
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https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1713505170875654623
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no access
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https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1713556354470666250
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/2016-republican-rival-endorses-trump-for-president-5511562?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-10-17-2&src_cmp=breaking-2023-10-17-2&utm_medium=email&cta_utm_source=News&est=PyHtpHKA7rsAJ6p3axsi3CJSbaInB7q4hjsf9%2Fe68CZ1Uk3WiHEJKHMK2jvfb2KJN4f%2F
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https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/insight/2023/10/15/salena-zito-voters-biden-trump-age-fitness-presidency/stories/202310150038
(She talks with real voters in Pennsylvania)
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(Doug) RCP polls show Trump leads by 40 or 50 for the R nomination but the betting odds for that are only 70%. For some reason, with 30% odds, the race for second place is relevant.
I think the odds Biden will be out are closer to 100%. (But I've been wrong, often)
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I know a Republican who kept writing in Bobby Jindal's name the past 2 elections rather then vote for Trump.
Now Bobby Jindal backs Trump.
Maybe now that person will vote Trump with a clothespin on the nose.
(like me)
We are now in a war in the Middle East - one of the historical hypothetical scenerios that could lead to WW III.
Trump must be devastated he is not the center of attention.
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Israel Reshuffles the U.S. Presidential Election Deck
The Hamas crisis is a sudden opportunity for Nikki Haley and Mike Pence.
Daniel Henninger
By
Daniel Henninger
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Oct. 18, 2023 6:31 pm ET
Suddenly in the aftermath of the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7, we have a presidential election about national security. And that could shuffle the U.S. presidential-candidate deck.
The foreign-policy debate on the Republican side—China, Ukraine, the open border—had become rote. No longer. Hamas’s killing of civilians and seizing of hostages, including presumably Americans, has forced the world’s troubles to the top of the presidential agenda.
Joe Biden flew to the Israeli war zone and gave a worthy speech of commitment to the U.S. ally.
Support for Rep. Jim Jordan as House speaker depended in large part on the imperative to pass aid bills for Israel and Ukraine.
After Donald Trump, days after the massacre, reflexively posted statements of derision about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and admiration for Hezbollah as “smart,” he spent the week refocusing attention on his foreign-policy accomplishments.
After one weekend in October, the table has filled with national-security crises: an existential threat to Israel, Iran exploiting the Middle East cauldron, what comes next for Taiwan, and Russia’s war against Ukraine, on the border of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The U.S. southern border sits as an open, bleeding wound.
Let’s cut to the chase. Actually two chases.
One, which presidential candidate is up to—or qualified for—this new challenge?
Two, which party is willing to pay to do what is necessary for the U.S. to meet the challenge?
The second question answers itself. The Democratic foreign-policy establishment isn’t as far left as the party’s dominant wing. But the party of the Squad, Bernie Sanders, anti-Israel demonstrators and cash-starved progressive city governments controls the Democrats’ limitless domestic spending priorities, which simply no longer include a robust national defense. Any Democratic president with control of one congressional chamber will keep inflation-adjusted defense spending flat at best. After Oct. 7, flat puts us at risk.
The U.S. has fallen below an adequate level of readiness in almost every area—weapons systems and inventories, troop levels and recruitment, ships and airplanes, training rotations, the aging of the nuclear deterrent.
These dilemmas consume hours of pondering and planning by Pentagon analysts. The Israel-Hamas war makes clear the pondering is over among our adversaries. It would be naive to think that Tehran, Beijing, Moscow and possibly Pyongyang aren’t right now comparing notes on how to exploit the U.S. security nightmares Iran has just created in the Middle East.
That the U.S. needs real leadership in its next president is a cliché because it’s true and needs repeating. A Republican presidential contest that had become desultory has been rebooted by events in the Middle East.
The Democrats’ legal assault on Mr. Trump looked as if it had handed him the nomination. But it’s by no means clear that the former president is the right person to lead the country through what lies ahead.
Mr. Trump produced a largely credible foreign policy, but he has since become impossibly variable. His criticism of Mr. Netanyahu over a 2020 incident hours after the massacre was an incomprehensibly wrong note. Mr. Trump’s head currently is in too many disparate places, and that won’t get better. It has become a risk factor.
The candidates for whom the Israeli crisis and its broader implications create an opening are Nikki Haley and Mike Pence. They are the only two other GOP contenders with credible foreign-policy experience.
Ron DeSantis’s remarks on foreign policy always seem targeted at some constituency. He spent this week bogged down in a marginal argument with Ms. Haley over refugees from the Middle East. He looks determined to hold onto the Trump-Ramaswamy isolationist faction in the party. But as in 1941, events have isolated the isolationists.
Chris Christie and Doug Burgum have been running on their state experience, and Tim Scott’s appeal is domestic and cultural issues.
The tectonic plates of global politics have shifted beneath this campaign. The next U.S. president should be able to explain in detail the country’s national-security needs, including the trade-offs, such as the reality that long-term entitlement spending has to be on the table.
Ms. Haley has shown she can do that. If former Vice President Pence is ever going to play to his proven strength and make the case for a Reaganite foreign policy, the time is now.
An ABC/Ipsos poll taken after the Hamas massacre put public support for Mr. Biden’s handling of the crisis at a startling 41%. The public simply has lost faith in his competence. We’ll find out soon enough how much this crisis alters the Biden pattern.
In a national-security crisis, what a nation needs from its leaders is experience, focus and stamina. Former chess champion Garry Kasparov recently floated in these pages the idea of Mr. Biden’s ceding the Democratic nomination to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a retired four-star Army general.
However improbable, as of Oct. 7 an Austin candidacy would be a problem for Republicans. There’s still time for GOP voters to figure out what their party, and the country, is going to need in a president, now and for a very long time.
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https://www.dickmorris.com/trump-pulls-ahead-of-biden/
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/exclusive-black-lives-matter-leader-stands-behind-j6-prisoners-endorses-trump-5513609?utm_source=Goodevening&src_src=Goodevening&utm_campaign=gv-2023-10-20&src_cmp=gv-2023-10-20&utm_medium=email&cta_utm_source=Goodevening&est=2yxCHCQiWryAzonKf3RZQeg7ZJpMLw38uPlMyli%2FuIKGVD04mMSVQNbbSWv2Kr5OeMZ8
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https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/21/democrats-black-voters-2024-00122846
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They've been saying the opposite which makes no sense.
https://harvardharrispoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/HHP_Oct23_KeyResults.pdf
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if poll is accurate the argument that Trump can't beat Biden is caput
The argument that DeSantis or Haley would do better against Biden is caput
Looks Trump will be the candidate from a jail cell
or house arrest in M a L
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one silver lining if Trump wins
we finally get rid of Cher
maybe she can take some of her friends overseas with her.
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"if poll is accurate the argument that Trump can't beat Biden is caput."
- As I read that I think of the Georgia elections last 3 times where we lost the Presidency and the Senate in a (formerly?) red Republican state, (Republicans won every other race) and I think of Lucy holding the football and we are Charlie Brown, America's favorite but not exactly a winner.
Take one more kick at it?
Not if I don't have to.
I posted the final Carter Reagan debate. Different times but similar challenges. Inflation, stagnation, cold war strategies, social issues, Middle East trouble, energy and oil, environment, taxes, deficits, regulations.
They actually had an "election day" back then where you see all your neighbors but cast the ballot in private. A week before the election, even the day of the election, no one knew who would win, and it was a 3 way contest. Reagan won by 10 points, won 44 states including Calif, NY, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, etc, every state west of Georgia except MN.
Trump has an excellent pre covid, 3 year record, he is the hero of half of the R party, BUT he doesn't have the disposition to win over the rest.
While we look for 60-40 issues to emphasize, we are finding 70-30 issues and better, the border, inflation, the economy. Yet we head down a path that says we do no better than 50-50, and the tie goes to who best controls the media and the vote harvesting.
Even the mess in the House tied back to Trump.
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" - As I read that I think of the Georgia elections last 3 times where we lost the Presidency and the Senate in a (formerly?) red Republican state, (Republicans won every other race) and I think of Lucy holding the football and we are Charlie Brown, America's favorite but not exactly a winner."
agree with all you said.
we really need to win the Senate and increase lead in Congress as well as we all know.
recent history does not bode well for that if we look at last 3 elections
and I think it at least in part due to Trump (and McConnell)
so far the mid east situation has done nothing for Biden's poll numbers
wondering if it proliferates what would that mean for him.
perhaps people will rally around the war president perhaps he will get blame - I have no idea
thinking back in history have we ever had war president voted out?
Roosevelt died few months before end of war
LBJ resigned but good chance he would have lost if he did not.
Reagan survived Grenada :wink:/ and Lebanon bombing both 40 yrs ago 1983.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/11/us/politics/trump-netanyahu-israel.html
Criticizes Israel just days after the attacks began.
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NYT blocked
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/longtime-desantis-ally-flips-to-trump-over-israel-issue-never-let-us-down-5516491?utm_source=Goodevening&src_src=Goodevening&utm_campaign=gv-2023-10-25&src_cmp=gv-2023-10-25&utm_medium=email&cta_utm_source=Goodevening&est=ENaJNRuSIqR4y6oT6JlaEX%2FQbhReENOmWNdtlh2UiPZFO9gIFt%2Fyx%2FaPom1ZHBI6FqnZ
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https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/11/us/politics/trump-netanyahu-israel.html
Criticizes Israel just days after the attacks began.
"Paywall blocked"
Trump Criticizes Netanyahu and Israeli Intelligence in Florida Speech
The attacks were a major focus of Mr. Trump’s remarks to a crowd of superfans in his home state, which has a significant number of Jewish voters.
Donald Trump, wearing a suit and red tie, standing on a stage with a black background.
Donald Trump mixed his usual stump speech with a focus on Israel in remarks to supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
Michael Gold
By Michael Gold
Reporting from West Palm Beach, Fla.
Oct. 11, 2023
Former President Donald J. Trump, who frequently paints himself as the fiercest defender of Israel to ever occupy the White House, on Wednesday criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech in Florida just days after deadly Hamas attacks rocked the country.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters in West Palm Beach, a few miles from his residence at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump related a story he said he had never told about Israel’s role in the killing of Iran’s top security and intelligence commander, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, by an American drone strike in 2020.
Mr. Trump said that Israel had been working with the United States on a plan for the attack, but that he had received a call shortly beforehand to let him know that Israel would not take part. The United States proceeded anyway.
“But I’ll never forget,” Mr. Trump said. “I’ll never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down. That was a very terrible thing.”
He then criticized Israeli intelligence, pointing in part to failures to anticipate and stop Hamas, the Islamic militant group, from executing such a large-scale and devastating attack. “They’ve got to straighten it out,” Mr. Trump said.
At the same time, Mr. Trump, who frequently paints himself as a staunch ally of Israel, vowed that he would “fully support” the country in its war against Hamas.
The attacks were a major focus of Mr. Trump’s remarks in Florida, which is home to a significant number of Jewish voters. As he has recently, Mr. Trump attacked President Biden, blaming him for the assault and repeating a falsehood about U.S. funds to Iran, a longtime backer of Hamas. He also repeated his suggestion that the bloodshed would not have happened if he were president.
But, in a new flourish, Mr. Trump then tied the current conflict to his conspiracy theories and lies about the 2020 election.
“If the election wasn’t rigged,” he said, “there would be nobody even thinking about going into Israel.”
Mr. Trump also appeared to blame the Biden administration for clashes on Israel’s northern border, which the former president attributed to Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed militant organization in Lebanon committed to the destruction of the Jewish state. He then repeatedly called Hezbollah “very smart.”
Mr. Trump’s appearance in West Palm Beach marked a bit of a homecoming. He has held a flurry of campaign events in Iowa and New Hampshire, and last week, he traveled to New York to attend a civil fraud trial he faces there.
In Florida, he spoke at a convention center for a meeting hosted by Club 47 USA, which describes itself as the largest pro-Trump club in America and a “corporation formed to support” the former president’s agenda.
The friendly crowd, Mr. Trump said, accounted for his decision to recount the story about the strike against Mr. Suleimani. “Nobody’s heard this story before,” he said. “But I’d like to tell it to Club 47, because you’ve been so loyal.”
Mr. Netanyahu commended Mr. Trump at the time. But some in Israel were more muted, wary that Iran might retaliate against Israel for the American attack.
Mr. Trump has been critical of Mr. Netanyahu before, telling the Axios reporter Barak Ravid that he was particularly incensed after the prime minister congratulated Mr. Biden for his 2020 election victory.
Mr. Trump also criticized Mr. Netanyahu in a Fox News Radio interview that is expected to air on Thursday. In a clip from that interview that aired on television on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said that Mr. Netanyahu “was not prepared and Israel was not prepared.”
He again suggested Israeli intelligence had been deficient, saying, “Thousands of people knew about it and they let this slip by. ”
Mr. Trump’s remarks in Florida drew near-immediate criticism from the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, his closest rival in the primary.
“Terrorists have murdered at least 1,200 Israelis and 22 Americans and are holding more hostage, so it is absurd that anyone, much less someone running for President, would choose now to attack our friend and ally, Israel, much less praise Hezbollah terrorists as ‘very smart.’” Mr. DeSantis said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
More at link. Paywall blocked.
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Remember Eugene McCarthy, 1968. He didn't win NH but he shook up the race.
Look for Dean Phillips to get in.
Who, you ask...
And he will win more votes than RFKjr would have.
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" Former President Donald J. Trump, who frequently paints himself as the fiercest defender of Israel to ever occupy the White House, on Wednesday criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech in Florida just days after deadly Hamas attacks rocked the country."
I am not totally against criticism of Ben but better to do in private - especially with an ongoing war.
That said it always one way with Trump.
He uses his giant mouth to criticize anyone and everyone who in some way irritates him
BUT IS A PUSSY WHEN SOMEONE CRITCIZES HIM!
jack ass.
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one would think we could have a candidate who would trounce Biden but no of course not :roll:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/
of course ,polls especially this long out mean very little but this is not encouraging
if we can't win with a blow out this time we never will.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/backlash-after-nbc-taps-lester-holt-kristen-welker-to-moderate-republican-debate-absolute-insanity/ar-AA1iU7ai?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=f82007e05dac4812a03eaa8b8ca349e6&ei=10
however the Fox debates were lousy too
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/backlash-after-nbc-taps-lester-holt-kristen-welker-to-moderate-republican-debate-absolute-insanity/ar-AA1iU7ai?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=f82007e05dac4812a03eaa8b8ca349e6&ei=10
however the Fox debates were lousy too
I like Hugh Hewitt, their token conservative. I don't agree with him on everything but he is very good. He's the one who got Trump with the nuclear triad question 8 years ago, and got pounded back for it.
Regarding the other two, it's a Republican debate, they can do their job or expose their bias. People like DeSantis and Haley can handle their 'mainstream' questions fine, or at least they need to.
Trump should join in. What is he afraid of, a Biden like screw up? Having to do the hard work of preparing?
DeSantis teased him on this, a sense of entitlement, lost a little zip on the fast ball.
Trump says RD is falling like a dead bird in the sky, but I'll bet he hates having a little banter thrown back at him.
40-50 point lead and he's afraid of blowing it. Like a typical MN sports team, he's going to play 'prevent defense' all the way into the playoffs and then blow the big one, again.
He's upside down in his approvals and he has a chance to go on prime time with Lester Holt and his top challengers, quadruple the audience and hit it out of the park. But no... like Biden, an old guys can't overrule his advisors? Wait a year, literally through trials, to face the public? Good luck with that.
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Calling Gavin, can you pick up the phone! One day left to file in NH?
Biden's Approval Rating Among Dems Drops 11 Points in One Month
https://www.axios.com/2023/10/26/biden-approval-rating-democrats-israel-gaza
It's hard to juggle the interests of the Hamas wing of the Dem party with the interests of the American wing.
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You heard it here first.
https://firehydrantoffreedom.com/index.php?topic=2752.msg163731#msg163731
Yes, Dean Phillips is in. Who?
Longshot? Why? He votes Left like Nancy Pelisi, he speaks moderate, was adopted into a silver spoon, is one of the richest members of Congress, and unlike failing Joe he is upright most of the day and likely to stay that way through November and beyond.
If you are a Democrat, switch horses. If you are a Republican, be scared. He can reach to the middle way better than slow Joe.
https://m.startribune.com/democratic-u-s-rep-dean-phillips-launches-longshot-bid-for-presidency/600315200/
From the article, "his political differences from Biden are slim to none and the Minnesotan has backed Biden's work as president."
Who actually thinks NH Democrats will hear smooth Dean, in person, and choose Absent Joe? Out of what, loyalty? Economic record? World peace? The belief he can beat Trump? How? From the basement again?
Oops, Slow Joe isn't on the ballot in NH (and neither of them will carry SC). Go figure.
Gavin won't jump in (yet) because (Obama and the machine) advisors make those decisions.
Both parties better wake up.
Phillips has one problem that Newsom and Biden also have, how to separate from the awful record of Joe Biden. Like Bernie, he supports the "good" kind of socialism?
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Speaking of the Dem machine, NY Times has 50 stories online and no mention of Dean Phillips. NH paper doesn't have the announcement yet either, I guess the campaign isn't fully up to speed yet.
https://www.unionleader.com/
CBS has it,
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/minnesota/news/who-is-dean-phillips-minnesota-representative-democrat-joe-biden-2024-presidential-election/
"I think President Biden has done a spectacular job for our country," Phillips said. "
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some stuff on Dean Philips
He labels himself a moderate Dem like you say, but he is a Jewish Democrat (meaning hard core Democrat "his whole life")
Brown University (strike against him)
Stepson of Dear Abby
has conservative review liberty score of ***2%***!
George McGovern (along with MLK Jr) was a role model
calls Joe Biden "a wonderful and remarkable man"
he is no "moderate" as Doug implies.
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=dean+philipps+youtube++announcement&mid=6963B3A2ED022042A4CB6963B3A2ED022042A4CB&FORM=VIRE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Phillips
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/27/dean-phillips-presidential-campaign-2024-00123919
OTOH Biden's approval rating :
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president-biden-job-approval-7320.html#!
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Right. He is no moderate. He speaks moderate.
They didn't mention that the Republican he took out was the Chairman of the Ways and Means committee.
Our district ( MN-3, west suburbs of Mpls) was Republican for all my life until 2018. Rich suburbs had already flipped liberal for Obama, and then with Trump we lost them all. 2018 was also the midterm under them Mueller cloud.
Phillips opponent was an anti-trump Republican but that was of no matter in that political environment. Now our district is gone permanently.
Phillips didn't live in the district but he can buy a home anywhere. He speaks the suburban political language and that is where these elections are now fought, the suburbs of Milwaukee, the suburbs of Atlanta, the suburbs of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh , the suburbs of Phoenix, the suburbs of Las Vegas, the suburbs of Detroit.
I have a bad feeling about all this. His own people put "long shot" in the headline. All he can do it at this point is surpass expectations. The resistance of the democratic establishment only helps him out there in the cafes and the town halls. He'll be the best listener you ever saw.
Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, they were not listeners, they were not "problem solvers". Bill Clinton felt your pain like no one else. He served two terms. What were his core principles? Nobody knows.
Trump dodges debates and Biden dodges being president, while Phillips is just a simple (trust fund baby) man of the people. He inherited two and a half times more than Trump did.
One question before we close this out:
Hey Dean, name one problem you ever solved?
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" Trump dodges debates and Biden dodges being president "
Trump campaign:
Scowl for the cameras
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=trump%20scowl%20%20images&qs=n&form=QBIR&sp=-1&lq=0&pq=trump%20scowl%20%20images&sc=0-19&cvid=7C7BDB73960842D5850264A551C4C2BD&ghsh=0&ghacc=0&first=1
Certainly the LEFT has boxed him into this position but that does not help us get more than the MAGA heads .....
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/president-trump-vows-to-protect-israel-us-jews-from-antisemitic-maniacs-5518841?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-10-29-2&src_cmp=breaking-2023-10-29-2&utm_medium=email&est=rgNvBobdTyVujGfZLVDsz%2BxP0XjZQycAl8oXxnQjo%2BhBluLLYMSr1RO8YqhyawGFdg%2Fv
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Tim Alberta has a nice story on Dean Phillips, Den Phillips has a warning for Democrats, Trump is going to beat Biden.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/dean-phillips-has-a-warning-for-democrats/ar-AA1iX0dQ
(Doug) has a warning for Dean Phillips. Age isn't why Voters think we are on the wrong path 77-17:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/10/27/battleground_state_independents_reject_biden_on_economy__149973.html
It's the policies stupid, that Dean Phillips voted for 100%.
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" It's the policies stupid, that Dean Phillips voted for 100%."
didn't he call Biden a "wonderful and remarkable man"
the Dem line jornolister/nonsense line is to state what a great job Biden did but he is a teensie weensie too old
:roll:
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I've been on the parallels of Bidenomics to Carter stagnation. Josh Krashaar points out the connection to Carter's foreign policy woes.
https://www.axios.com/2023/10/29/biden-israel-war-jimmy-carter
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https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/10/30/joe-bidens-big-new-hampshire-blunder-00124145
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(Doug). New Hampshire is a potential swing state. South Carolina is not.
Joe Biden will try to explain from the bully pulpit if he can find it how New Hampshire isn't a real primary anymore after 120 years because he says it isn't and he is the establishment and the power and the glory amen, while trying not to drool.
New Hampshire is a real primary and Joe Biden is not on the ballot. Pretty easy name to spell on a write in. Murkowski won in Alaska. He will get enough write in votes to authenticate his loss.
The 'machine' never should have let the Philips train start rolling.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/10/why-nikki-haley-is-gaining-in-iowa/
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All I can figure is that this level of snark and angst can only be inspired by the concern so feeble an opposition might reveal what a husk of a candidate Biden truly is:
https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2023/10/30/dems-are-freaking-out-over-this-little-known-minnesota-congresscritter-n4923449
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I see that in Iowa both DeSantis and Haley are 16% each and that Trump is 43%. The article showed that many are not locked into their current first choice and that Haley is moving up (10%?!?) whereas DeSantis is not.
Here is another way of looking at it: DeSantis-Haley are 32% and that Trump is 43%, i.e. a 11% lead, which at this point is not definitive-- and we have yet to account for the minor players. The article made the point that DeSantis is playing for the Trump vote and Haley for the anti-Trump vote. Restated, whether it becomes Trump or DeSantis, between them the MAGA vote is 58%.
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All I can figure is that this level of snark and angst can only be inspired by the concern so feeble an opposition might reveal what a husk of a candidate Biden truly is:
https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2023/10/30/dems-are-freaking-out-over-this-little-known-minnesota-congresscritter-n4923449
Both Trump and Biden and their supporters are looking VERY insecure this primary season considering what leads they are purported to have.
One of my Dem buddies is a big financial backer of Dean Phillips, as if he needed one, and I'm already bugging him about getting "us" a tour of the Phillips White House.
I joke only slightly. I think the race for second place on both sides is extremely relevant at this point with such old, flawed and troubled frontrunners.
The Republican oversight committee lhas the goods on Joe and Trump is up to his eyeballs in court appearances that are 99% BS but only one has to stick.
Trump has had a life of good health but is a walking risk group and Biden is way past health risk.
Even Kirk Cousins needs a back up.
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/florida-sen-rick-scott-endorses-trump-in-2024-race-5522330?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-11-03-2&src_cmp=breaking-2023-11-03-2&utm_medium=email&est=L%2BhC583CnFiCn%2FYhoLBDlXUp7D7xREgMo53wJfFPfq1yq6sPme0%2Ben2riBETJ2Kp8Xpi
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/florida-sen-rick-scott-endorses-trump-in-2024-race-5522330?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-11-03-2&src_cmp=breaking-2023-11-03-2&utm_medium=email&est=L%2BhC583CnFiCn%2FYhoLBDlXUp7D7xREgMo53wJfFPfq1yq6sPme0%2Ben2riBETJ2Kp8Xpi
I wonder when the last time was that people felt we had the best candidate possible from both sides, Reagan and Mondale?
I don't get what is happening right now but I can read polls and so can Rick Scott.
DeSantis is still winning the race for second place but if something happens to Trump, his supporters won't forgive DeSantis for running against him .
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"I wonder when the last time was that people felt we had the best candidate possible from both sides, Reagan and Mondale?"
IS THERE NO ONE ELSE??!!!!
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=troy+is+there+no+one+else&mid=A5E11413C996A8738E38A5E11413C996A8738E38&FORM=VIRE
ME:
IF ONLY THERE WAS SOMEONE ELSE!!!
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For Nikki Haley, Opportunity Knocks Again
She has a knack for being in the right place at the right time—and, more important, for making the most of her good luck.
By
Barton Swaim
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Nov. 3, 2023 5:14 pm ET
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Nikki Haley speaks at Poor Boy’s Diner in Londonderry, N.H., Nov. 2. PHOTO: BARTON SWAIM
Manchester, N.H.
You might say Nikki Haley has an exceptional sense of timing, or that she possesses the most valuable political gift of all: luck. That’s not to diminish the former South Carolina governor’s political skill or competence; it’s to point out that at crucial moments in her career, things have gone her way—either because she took the right opportunities at the right time, or because those opportunities fell into her lap, or both. Probably both.
Things are trending her way again. In February, when Ms. Haley announced her campaign for the presidency, not much happened. Six months later at the first GOP presidential debate, she acquitted herself well by all accounts. Then, after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, the nation, and the Republican Party, turned its attention to global affairs. Ms. Haley served as United Nations ambassador during the first two years of Donald Trump’s presidency, giving her more foreign-policy experience than any Republican candidate except Mike Pence, who last weekend suspended his campaign. Another capable performance at the third GOP debate on Wednesday night—in which the front-runner, Mr. Trump, again isn’t participating—would likely move things further in her direction.
It’s not simply a matter of her résumé. Ms. Haley, 51, is the only candidate in the GOP race who can articulate a hawkish Reaganite vision of global American leadership. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by far the most accomplished executive in the race, zigs and zags on matters of foreign policy. Vivek Ramaswamy enunciates a cerebral albeit less-than-coherent version of Mr. Trump’s semi-isolationism. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott speaks with conviction only about domestic affairs. That leaves Ms. Haley. “A strong America doesn’t start wars,” she said on Monday at the South Carolina State House in Columbia. “A strong America prevents wars, and we have to start being a strong and proud America again.”
Ms. Haley polls second only to Mr. Trump in New Hampshire and South Carolina. The latest data out of Iowa, where Mr. DeSantis has spent the bulk of his time and money, has Ms. Haley tied with the Florida governor. A third-place finish for him would likely end his campaign.
At the State House, where she filed officially as a candidate in the Feb. 24 primary, Ms. Haley was introduced by three allies who’d backed her since her improbable run for governor in 2010: state Rep. Nathan Ballentine, state Sen. Tom Davis and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman. In her speech, Ms. Haley called them “three very lucky charms,” and said they don’t care about polls but “about being in the right place at the right time.”
One of them, Mr. Davis, served as chief of staff to Ms. Haley’s predecessor, Gov. Mark Sanford, for whom I also worked from 2007 to 2011. Mr. Sanford cared immensely about policies and the principles behind them; Ms. Haley, less so. She often seemed more interested in boosterism, relentlessly touting economic-development announcements and requiring cabinet agencies to answer the phone with the words “It’s a great day in South Carolina.”
OPINION: POTOMAC WATCH
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I asked Mr. Davis what he’d seen in her back in 2010 and why he supported her presidential bid now. “There’s something about her demeanor, her confidence, her ability to communicate,” he said, noting dryly that some of his Senate colleagues put a single-serve box of Lucky Charms on his desk after that press event. “There’s something you sense about her. It sounds trite to say it, but Nikki’s got ‘it,’ whatever ‘it’ is. You can’t tie it back to a set of policies or a set of ideas. Ideas and policies, those excite me and you. But I can recognize a political talent when I see it. And there’s something about Nikki—she has this ability to size up a situation and capitalize on it. I think that’s executive leadership.”
I might call it an ability to take advantage of political opportunity. In 2010 Ms. Haley, a state representative, was trailing a U.S. congressman, the attorney general and the lieutenant governor for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Sarah Palin, at the height of her short-lived political power, endorsed her in a rally on the State House grounds. I was there—it was an electrifying moment in a state that had never had a female governor. Ms. Haley shot to the top, made effective use of the girl-power theme without overdoing it, and never looked back. She won handily in November.
Ms. Haley is often and fairly credited with removing the Confederate flag from the State House grounds. A 1996 compromise had moved it from atop the capitol to a spot near a Confederate monument. After a white racist psychopath murdered nine black Charleston churchgoers in June 2015, the desire to remove the flag altogether was overwhelming and bipartisan. To her credit, the governor oversaw the ceremonies remembering the dead and removing the flag with dignity. She managed to show the right level of emotion without seeming to perform, and she called, appropriately, for the killer to be sentenced to death, which he was.
In her second memoir, “With All Due Respect,” Ms. Haley claims that she had come into office in 2011 intending to remove the flag. “I made a point, early on,” she writes, “of talking to both Republicans and Democrats to see if there was the political will to take the flag down once and for all. Members of both parties pushed back against the idea.” That may be true. But in an October 2014 debate—eight months before the murders—she dismissed her Democratic challenger’s suggestion that the flag be removed. “I spend a lot of my days on the phone with CEOs and recruiting jobs to this state,” she said. “I can honestly say I have not had one conversation with a single CEO about the Confederate flag.”
That her years as governor are remembered in the mainstream press entirely for bringing down the flag, and not at all for dismissing the idea of its removal, is a feat of good fortune no other Republican would have managed.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/former-obama-strategist-wonders-if-biden-should-stay-in-presidential-race/ar-AA1jqodt?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=4f19148a149b43d0b08f69973fd52f1d&ei=24
what legitimate concerns?
I am confused.
We keep hearing from the Dems that Joe is a good and honorable man who has done a fabulous job.
So what more do the Dems Need Axel ROD!?
I know, it is the message not the policies . :wink:
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https://thehill.com/opinion/4288198-biden-2-0-expect-a-more-aggressively-left-wing-second-term/
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Biden vote for me or you will get Trump
Phillips vote for me or you will get Biden
Harris vote for me or you wil not be able to get abortion, blacks will not be able to vote, we will not be able to address the root source of immigration
Trump vote for me or you get Bidenomics (good) but then you will have to suffer with my personality and annoying antics and BS along the way
All the other Republicans - vote for me or you will get Biden/Harris/ or Trump
The voters -> they all suck!
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I disagree, but post it anyway:
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-case-for-nikki-haley/
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Maddows:
if Trump convicted his lead turns to losses in all the swing districts he was supposedly ahead in NYT poll
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rachel-maddow-brings-up-poll-numbers-ignored-by-people-worried-donald-trump-will-win-in-2024/ar-AA1jxugI?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=3dcdfef7435b44c9baf4a77292ca9070&ei=9
Andy on , I think Travis radio yesterday :
I don't recall all the details but he thinks Trump has no chance of winning and the NYT is suspect not only because anything political coming from them is,
but also because the LEFT wants DJT to be nominee.
Andy states the DC case is much more of a threat to DJT since it is IN DC and jury will be out to get Trump as is the judge.
He points out that while some legal analysts point out the Florida case is more of a threat it is as a matter of fact under the jurisdiction of a favorable judge and jury and is thus less of a threat of conviction then DC .
On CNN last night someone pointed out again what we already know - Trump has a "ceiling" problem. Dems ready to pounce on this.
The DNC lawyer mob fighting him on that front will get a conviction , perhaps just prior to the election and flip the poll favorability numbers
MAGAs blind to all this or whatever, will support Trump regardless.
On the point does Andy think Biden will not be nominee he was less sure but seemed, like me to think he will not be.
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Interesting point by Rachel!
I would add the distinction between Federal and State charges-- even if he wins, Trump cannot pardon himself for a State conviction.
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I voted today. Walked in and the first thing they told me was I could put my ID away, they won't be using that.
Looks like everything I cared about locally and across the country lost and lost by wide margins. .
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Diane Feinstein, Joe Biden, Mitch McConnell, I'm no doctor but I know when people look like they're on their last breath. Oops one of them is gone. As conservatives we have very little say in what happens next in this country, but the Governor of a "red state" picks who will replace Mitch McConnell and we just lost that race by 10 points.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/why-andy-beshears-victory-is-a-bad-omen-for-republicans/ar-AA1jz66P
Control of the US Senate is crucial and we of course have no chance in Calif etc but we keep losing in Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, even Ohio, now Kentucky?
But I keep seeing polls showing Biden upside down and Trump leading all over. I don't know what the trick is there but if you want to know the real value of something, attach it to a deposit slip, hand it to a bank teller and see how much money they ring up in your account.
Two good polls lately, as they say, that and a quarter won't buy a cup of coffee.
This is the era of Trump, he is the de facto leader of the party, what did he do to swing the elections in Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio? We know swung the Senate elections in Georgia, twice times two, four critical races lost recently there while Kemp and others win.
But Trump, he gets anointed, doesn't have to campaign or debate. Because he is SO good.
Is anybody else getting sick of losing?
This isn't some silly team sport we're talking about. This is our country, our civilization, our world we are screwing up.
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The lib sites are all over this this AM .
NYT WP NEWSWeek PBS NPR CNN MSDNC etc
I don't trust their take on the outcome.
On a quick search I do not see any conservative sources yet who are trying to break it down
We will see in the next couple of days, I guess.
I thought Youngkin addressing the abortion situation with recommending a 15 week with exceptions was a good compromise.
I don't know if that is why we lost in VA or not, but if it was abortion as the reason this compromise did not work.
On fox last night was Hilton bashing Youngkin for making abortion an important topic claiming he should have ignored it. Jason Chaffin disagreed as I had.
Is ignoring a topic because Republicans poll poorly a good strategy? Such as Climate change. We don't have to make it front and center but totally ignoring does not seem logical . OTOH many voters are not logical they vote for their wallets and hearts.
I know abortion is a topic close to your heart.
Maybe or maybe not that made the difference.
I don't know.
But if even a 15 week compromise can't win on this issue then I don't how to reach the girlies on this at all.
Some state lower races do not always correlate well with national polls.
We lost governor in Ky but won sec of state and AG in Kentucky -
We did win MS governor.
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"We lost governor in Ky but won sec of state and AG in Kentucky..."
- Which proves it is a 'red state', but it's the Governor who will have a say in which party controls the US Senate for the 6 years or more.
We are out spent and out-messaged in every race while party officials sit on their fat salaries. Why isn't Ronna McDaniel fired this morning? Why isn't NBC fired and the debate moved? Why isn't debating a requirement for party endorsement? Why haven't they found a way to raise money like the other party, found a way to put out a message?, found a way to clean up the elections?
We aren't even rearranging deck chairs on this sinking ship.
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"but the Governor of a "red state" picks who will replace Mitch McConnell and we just lost that race by 10 points."
Fk.
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"but the Governor of a "red state" picks who will replace Mitch McConnell and we just lost that race by 10 points."
:-o :-o :-o
can the old crow make it to '26? as bad as he is he is still better than a crat.
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renthood
Recapping election results in Kentucky, Virginia, and Ohio, it's clear the Republican Party struggled.
Nate Jackson
Republicans have a problem connecting with voters on some big cultural issues. Most conservatives see major problems running rampant in our society, and we see that one party is disproportionately responsible. So why does that party keep winning?
Abortion kills perhaps as many as a million American children each year — wildly more than any other cause, including the Democrat bugaboo of "gun violence." Yet Democrats demand abortion policies as permissive as those of only a few socialist/communist countries in the world, and they won at the ballot box yesterday.
Democrat Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is going to get a lot of attention from the national party as a rising national star after winning reelection in his deep-red state. He won primarily by being a left-winger who convinced voters he's not certifiably insane. He distanced himself from Joe Biden and he focused on state issues — most of which exhibited that he actually is far more competent and likable than Biden. The state is growing economically, even as voters struggle with the inflation Beshear's party caused. Voters approved of the way the governor handled natural disasters like floods and tornadoes, and even when it came to not-so-natural ones like COVID, voters at least declined to punish Beshear for typical Democrat tyranny.
Arguably, Beshear's key to victory was using abortion to his advantage, painting his opponent, state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, as an "extremist" and himself as a protector of limited government. Yet Beshear is the social extremist, having vetoed a GOP bill banning so-called "gender-affirming care" for children.
It shouldn't go without mentioning that Cameron was repeatedly cast as the "protégé" of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, who bears the distinction of being the least popular politician in America. Clearly, McConnell should be thinking about retiring, not picking the next generation of leaders.
Then again, Cameron's closing argument was that he was endorsed by Donald Trump, who boasted that Cameron is his guy, "not really 'a McConnell guy.'"
For what it's worth, McConnell last won in 2020 with nearly 58% of the vote. Trump won Kentucky in 2020 with 62%.
Overall, many of the same dynamics played out in neighboring Virginia, where Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin suffered a setback by not only failing to help his party take the state Senate but by losing the state House the GOP had won back in 2021. That said, it wasn't a disaster, either. Virginia Republicans lost three House seats and sit at a 49-51 minority, all while gaining a seat in the Senate.
Youngkin has been floated by some GOPers desperate for a viable challenger to Trump for the presidential nomination as a late-entering savior. Yesterday's results will likely put that idea to rest. Virginia voters like Youngkin and he may still have a national future, but a state that is dominated by the suburbs of Washington, DC, declined to give him and his party unified control in Richmond. That will hamper his agenda for the next two years and likely lower his profile unless he can effectively govern with a bipartisan coalition. Moreover, given that Virginia also often serves as a bellwether a year ahead of national elections, yesterday's results bode ill for the GOP in 2024.
A side note about Virginia state races. Democrat Susanna Gibson became famous by soliciting donations for live-streaming sex with her husband and then having the chutzpah to decry the publicity as "an illegal invasion of my privacy designed to humiliate me." She is currently trailing her Republican opponent in a race for a state House seat, which at least would be a minor defeat for pornography and a victory for those who want to keep her bedroom out of government.
Finally, back to abortion, Ohio voters overwhelmingly passed Issue 1, a constitutional amendment codifying the "right" to abortion, and the result wasn't even close. Ohio backed Trump by eight points, and the abortion amendment succeeded by 12 points yesterday. Democrats successfully turned their extremist position into one of limited government, and Ohio voters went for it, just as voters have in similar ballot issues in six other states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
The ugly reality in Ohio is that the language of Issue 1 endangers all children, not just those in the womb. It establishes "an individual right to one's own reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion." That opens the door for medical mutilation on the gender front. And because it's now enshrined in the state constitution, legislators will have little wiggle room in the future.
Planned Parenthood's butchers are rejoicing at the newly secured revenue streams, which is why the company and numerous other out-of-state actors spent so heavily to win.
Voters in Ohio also approved Issue 2, which legalizes pot in the state and — sarcasm alert — should really help the mental capacity of voters in the future.
What connects all the dots here? Democrats are master manipulators of voter emotions. Democrats want to kill children in the womb and groom and mutilate them once out of it. Yet these members of the Party of Big Government are successfully framing both issues as keeping government out of decisions made at home. They are casting Republicans as power-hungry prudes who want to take control of people's intimate decisions. The emotional appeal — especially to women voters — is incredibly strong.
Exit question: Where's "keep the government out of my bedroom" during Pride Month?
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second
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/takeaways-from-tuesdays-elections-5519511?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-11-08-2&src_cmp=breaking-2023-11-08-2&utm_medium=email&est=KFxoaecy9OoMbF17w2AgGyAbR2Ny3fowpiq9f0G86Obhbtu9ZBqe20rfhymEpRMjweyb
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second
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/takeaways-from-tuesdays-elections-5519511?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-11-08-2&src_cmp=breaking-2023-11-08-2&utm_medium=email&est=KFxoaecy9OoMbF17w2AgGyAbR2Ny3fowpiq9f0G86Obhbtu9ZBqe20rfhymEpRMjweyb
They have some valid points about realignment and flaws on the R side, that to me doesn't get you to a Trump voter, ticket splitter pulling the lever for the Democrat or for unrestricted abortion, for higher taxes, bigger government, more intrusion etc.
Beshear seems to be a handsome likeable young man with a beautiful wife and speaks and governs as a moderate. But he will put a Democrat in the Senate and that is a vote for Chuck Schumer and Hamas and men in women's sports, trillion dollar deficits, inflation and all the rest of it.
Strange times and strange politics.
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-wins-over-desantis-biggest-donor-who-says-america-needs-strongest-commander-back-5525629?utm_source=Goodevening&src_src=Goodevening&utm_campaign=gv-2023-11-08&src_cmp=gv-2023-11-08&utm_medium=email&est=XNNOVNbrEAUAy1SNzD30ogtLAJJfKuRhZJHD6CNzdVy0qLKsQP4HzXfnMLZxfQ5PTAYc
Can't say I disagree with his analysis.
DeSantis is not wrong to make the point about the consequences of Trump conviction(s) and I certainly continue to prefer him over Haley.
It will be intersting to see the two of them in 45 minutes.
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Are Republicans Tired of All the Losing?
Another lousy Election Day shows the GOP has a brand problem.
By
The Editorial Board
Follow
Nov. 8, 2023 6:44 pm ET
Democrats are buoyant about their Tuesday night election showing, and why not? They handed Republicans another drubbing with their twin issue set of abortion rights and fear and loathing of the MAGAGOP. Republicans have a brand perception problem.
Start in Virginia, where Democrats picked up the state House of Delegates and held control of the state Senate. GOP gains in the Legislature were always going to be a tall order two years into Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s term when incumbent parties typically lose seats. President Biden won the state by 10 points and congressional Democrats in 2022 carried all seven of the state Senate’s swing districts.
Mr. Youngkin nonetheless deserves credit for investing his political capital to seek gains. The result was disappointing, but it’s not the giant failure the Trumpians on cable TV are claiming. Republicans picked up one seat in the state Senate for a 21-19 split. Democrats retook the House, though they’re on track for a thin majority of 51-49.
National Democrats poured in millions of dollars to tarnish Mr. Youngkin, who showed in 2021 he could carry a state that has moved left. They reprised their 2022 strategy of pounding GOP candidates on abortion in the race’s final weeks. Mr. Youngkin tried to parry the attacks by unifying Republicans around a 15-week limit with exceptions. But that wasn’t enough to blunt the claims that Republicans are extremists who will outlaw all abortions.
That’s especially true in the suburbs. Democrats defeated a Republican incumbent in suburban Richmond who sensibly explained that her support for a 15-week compromise was informed by her own experience as an obstetrician delivering premature infants.
They won a Loudoun County seat in a district that Gov. Youngkin carried by less than one point in 2021. Former prosecutor Russet Perry ran as a champion of abortion rights and defeated the GOP’s Juan Pablo Segura, a local businessman. Northern Virginia has become toxic for the GOP since Mr. Trump became the leading face of the party. The recent GOP House chaos on Capitol Hill didn’t help.
Abortion was also important in Kentucky, where Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear cruised to re-election in a state Mr. Trump carried by more than 25 points in 2020. Gov. Beshear styles himself as a moderate, and he ran ads suggesting the GOP would force rape survivors to give birth to their attacker’s children.
Republican candidate Daniel Cameron offered inconsistent answers about which abortion exceptions he’d support, in a high-wire act of trying to placate different parts of the electorate. He also touted Mr. Trump’s endorsement to win the GOP primary, but Mr. Beshear used that to peel away non-MAGA GOP voters.
Ohio voters approved a ballot measure enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution, and it wasn’t close at 56% to 43%. The Democratic Pennsylvania state Supreme Court candidate, Daniel McCaffery, also ran on abortion and promised to defend “voting rights” if Mr. Trump tries to overturn the next election as he did in 2020. He said he was running for “the policy court,” and he won in a rout.
The sobering message for Republicans is that they’re losing on abortion, and the choices are unpalatable compromises or more nights in the political wilderness. The results suggest that the GOP’s Nikki Haley, who has said that a federal 15-week limit on abortion is political fantasy, is right if the GOP is going to win among suburbanites and independents.
***
Democrats racked up these wins even though President Biden’s approval rating is down near 40%. The immediate effect of Tuesday’s results was to let Mr. Biden off the media hook for those awful poll numbers, as White House spinners say abortion and MAGA are all Mr. Biden needs to win in 2024. They might be right, though Democrats are still taking an enormous risk given that Mr. Biden must endure another campaign year after he turns 81 on Nov. 20 and is in obvious decline.
But elections, not polls, are the measure of political success, and Republicans have the bigger problem. Mr. Trump’s partisans often claim he is realigning the party to include more working-class voters. That’s true, but so far that has been more than offset by the flight of moderates and suburban women from the GOP.
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I look forward to hearing the impressions of those who watched the debate.
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debate much better with fewer people and less interrupting each other and less noise from the crowd
I liked Tim Scott, but all were good except Vivek who makes occasional good points but then talks too much and becomes insulting to others
though I enjoyed his insults to MSM and Rhonda McDaniel :))
my
post debate
conclusion
my choice 1st DeSantis
2nd Scott
3rd Haley
4th Trump
5th Christie
Vivek I am leaving off the table
still hoping for something to happen to Trump so he drops out.
His only chance to win remains the same:
the hope that more people dislike the Dem more than him which is
hard to do but the Dems are so bad it is possible it appears.
NBC was fair and mostly ok, except possibly for choice of questions
such as going wild with abortion question of all candidates so the Dem operatives can study the answers but I guess it makes sense since abortion is hurting our side
Some post interviewers especially some Democrat woman on NBC had a hard time suppressing her disgust with the post debate interview answers
she did not like.
clearly they learned from the mistakes of the first 2 debates and having 5 instead of 8 made it easier.
I notice Breitbart only mentions the whole thing in a negative way while telling us how great Trumps rally was to his usual lies
10s of thousands of people present when the whole partly empty stadium only holds ~ 5,000
I still fear he will drag us into the garbage can
agree with PJ media
From PJMEdias Downey
Never Mind the Economy — It's Abortion, Stupid!
and they will use the MSM to endlessly push this.
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Voters Want Anyone but Trump or Biden
Neither looks good in the latest polls. Both parties should consider alternatives for the 2024 presidential election.
By
Karl Rove
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Nov. 8, 2023 5:30 pm ET
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Wonder Land: Citing the president’s age lets Democrats off the hook for the political failure of his economic policies. Images: AP/AFP/EPA/Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly
As Democrats savor their victories in Tuesday’s Ohio abortion referendum, Kentucky governor’s race and Virginia and New Jersey legislative contests, they might be tempted to ignore the implications of a Nov. 3 New York Times/Siena College poll that shows Donald Trump beating Joe Biden in five of six 2024 battleground states. Mr. Trump lost all six in 2020.
Mr. Trump leads Mr. Biden by 5 points in Arizona, 6 in Georgia, 5 in Michigan, 10 in Nevada and 4 in Pennsylvania. Mr. Biden beats Mr. Trump only in Wisconsin, by 2 points. Among the combined six-state sample of 3,662 registered voters, Mr. Trump leads by four points, 48% to 44%. If the 2024 election plays out this way—adjusting for reapportionment but otherwise assuming other states stay the same—Mr. Trump would flip the White House, winning 302 electoral votes to Mr. Biden’s 236. Last time it was 232 Trump, 306 Biden.
The poll shows a real risk for Mr. Biden from three blocs critical to his 2020 victory and his hopes for a 2024 repeat—young, Latino and black voters. His drop among these groups is driven by poor approval numbers on key issues—especially the economy—and a widespread feeling that he’s too old (71% of respondents agreed) and doesn’t have the “mental sharpness” to be president (62%).
Team Biden’s response was predictable and anemic. Campaign manager Julia Chavez Rodriguez emailed supporters to say polls a year before the election “are not predictive” before asking for a $25 donation. Spokesman Kevin Munoz opined that “predictions more than a year out tend to look a little different a year later,” then said a Gallup poll had Barack Obama trailing Mitt Romney by 8 points a year before the 2012 election. Actually, Mr. Obama’s overall numbers were much better than that: He led Mr. Romney 46% to 44.3% on Nov. 7, 2011, in the RealClearPolitics average.
Mr. Obama also had advantages Mr. Biden doesn’t. The public saw Mr. Obama as a strong leader—young, energetic, mentally sharp and a much better and more natural political talent than Mr. Biden. He prosecuted his argument that Mr. Romney was a heartless plutocrat from a position of strength. Mr. Biden is operating from a position of extreme weakness. It will be much harder for him to take Mr. Trump down.
There was more dangerous news in the Times/Siena poll for both parties’ front-runners. Though not as well-known as Mr. Biden or Mr. Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley beats Mr. Biden in all six battlegrounds now. In four states, her margins are wider than Mr. Trump’s: She leads Mr. Biden by 7 points in Arizona, 3 in Georgia, 10 in Michigan and Pennsylvania, 6 in Nevada, and 13 in Wisconsin. Among the combined six states, Ms. Haley leads by 8 points (46% to 38%), twice Mr. Trump’s margin.
Mr. Biden may think he can caricature Ms. Haley as “ultra-MAGA,” but the Times/Siena survey shows voters know the difference between the GOP and Mr. Trump. A generic Republican beats Mr. Biden by even bigger margins in every battleground state, leading the Democrat by 14 to 18 points in each one. When all six are combined, the generic GOP candidate’s lead over Mr. Biden is 16 points (52% to 36%), four times Mr. Trump’s.
This suggests Republicans could score a historic victory next year if they run a new face. Apparently voters like what they see as the GOP’s values on the economy, defense, immigration, crime and the national debt. Democratic messaging mavens can try casting a fresh Republican as a Jan. 6 insurrectionist, an election-denying fabulist, a demagogic white supremacist. But voters wouldn’t be responding so positively in polls if they thought “Republican” was synonymous with all that nonsense.
Democrats are right to be scared, but Republicans should be concerned, too. Both party’s front-runners have enormous weaknesses. Joe and Jill Biden are deluding themselves if they believe only he can defeat Mr. Trump. But the GOP leader could sink his own campaign with his constant trashing of his intra-party rivals and their supporters. Turned off, they could fail to turn out or even turn away from the GOP.
Neither party’s front-runner will be easily dislodged. But if no changes are made, Americans will get the worst dumpster fire of a campaign in history. It doesn’t have to be this way, and everyone but Messrs. Trump and Biden has good reason to try changing it. The party that picks a fresh face will likely win the White House.
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Nikki Haley Stands Out on Foreign Policy at the Republican Debate
Christie is also strong, but DeSantis hedges, and Ramaswamy goes 1930s isolationist.
By
The Editorial Board
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Nov. 9, 2023 12:20 am ET
The third Republican presidential debate Wednesday night was useful in many ways, and especially in revealing the emerging GOP fault line on foreign policy. Nikki Haley and Chris Christie stood out for supporting Israel and Ukraine and scoring President Biden for weakness that invited aggression from adversaries. Vivek Ramaswamy showed himself to be a full-throated isolationist, while Ron DeSantis and Tim Scott were hedgers, especially on aiding Ukraine.
Front-runner Donald Trump again was a no-show as he tries to persuade everyone that the campaign is over before anyone votes. His foreign-policy views have turned in a more isolationist direction since 2020, to the extent he’s clear about anything. His main argument is that no wars began while he was President, so no wars will begin if he’s elected again.
Oh, and he’d end the war in Ukraine “in 24 hours.” The clear implication is that he’d do that by cutting off Ukraine and giving Vladimir Putin a large chunk of that country.
Mr. Ramaswamy went further and declared that Ukraine isn’t worth defending. He spun a series of falsehoods, insults and half-truths about Ukraine, including an apparent implication that its President, Volodymyr Zelensky, might be a Nazi.
Ukraine “celebrated a Nazi in its ranks—the comedian in cargo pants, a man called Zelensky—doing it in their own ranks,” Mr. Ramaswamy said in the debate. Press reports later said his campaign said the candidate was referring to someone other than Mr. Zelensky. But Mr. Ramaswamy surely knows that one of Vladimir Putin’s propaganda points is that Ukraine is run by Nazis.
Mr. Ramaswamy also claimed that parts of eastern Ukraine now occupied by Russia haven’t even been part of Ukraine since 2014. Well, yes, but that’s because Russia armed breakaway militias that took up arms against the Kyiv government, and later Moscow held fake elections and eventually annexed the region.
Mr. Ramaswamy used a slur pulled from the 1930s history of isolationism by denouncing that “bloodthirsty members of both parties” have a “hunger” for war and get rich off it. If Mr. Ramaswamy believes this, he should be running as an antiwar, left-wing Democrat.
We relate Mr. Ramaswamy’s views at this length not because he has a chance to win the nomination. After an initial burst of support as he stuck to domestic issues, he has faded in the polls as he has shown that he is out of his depth in a time of multiplying threats.
Ms. Haley, on the other hand, benefits from her experience as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. When aid to Israel came up, she rightly said that Iran is behind the militias attacking Israel and U.S. bases in the region. She also noted that Russia, China and Iran are working together as an “unholy alliance” against our allies and U.S. interests.
“A strong America doesn’t start wars,” she said. “A strong America prevents wars.” Ms. Haley overall had another strong performance.
Mr. DeSantis also had his moments, and his promise of getting to a 355-ship Navy by the end of his first term is the right ambition. The Navy is now at about 290.
But he continues to equivocate on aid to Ukraine in a way that pales next to Ms. Haley’s clear conviction. He won’t say he’d cut Ukraine off altogether, but he hedges by saying that Europe should do more when several countries are now contributing more as a share of GDP; that the war should end (has he talked to Mr. Putin?); and that he won’t send U.S. troops to Ukraine (which he wasn’t asked and which no one has proposed to do).
Mr. Trump is leading the field by a mile, and thus the press corps tends to dismiss these debates as irrelevant. But they are helpful in sorting out the views and preparation of the candidates. That’s especially important on national security as the world’s rogues are on the march and the U.S. is unprepared.
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good *real* analyses of the debate CD.
I am surprised that Tim Scott did not get better reviews.
Except for the last sentence of his presentation (something about Christain values - while not wrong - came off as out of place) I thought he did well.
Seems like the Bush crowd loves Nikki. I would place her higher if she were stronger on immigration.
I would be surprised if vivek does NOT fall off after debate and apparently will be surprised Tim does not move up as I have not read any other review that agrees with me that he was good.
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On NewsNation
Dec 6 7 - 9 PM
https://www.al.com/news/2023/11/megyn-kelly-to-moderate-next-republican-presidential-debate-at-university-of-alabama.html
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I missed the first 20 minutes of the debate. Herewith some random impressions:
a) ALL of them have seriously raised their games;
b) Tim Scott is a good man, but what is a/the reason to vote for him? As a vaxx against the attacks of racial Marxism? For his advocacy of a federal standard of abortion (again, what basis in the C for doing so?)? IIRC he was the one who made the grown-up point about being able to supply/fight in three theaters of war.
c) Vivek is super bright and made some subtle and perceptive points that show some real thinking-- naturally they went over the heads of pretty much everyone. Unfortunately, he is far too impressed with himself and fearlessly leaps through the portal into the dimension of specious and condescending glibness- with some unpleasant cheap shots thrown in. The snarky crack about him in the first debate about him being our Obama far too often is dead on.
d) Agreed that Haley is a Bushie. Should she become president my prediction is she will be quite weak on culture wars, enforcing the border, deporting the illegals, etc. Brings zero to the issue of election integrity.
She gets the Axis of Evil thing, but lacks humility on how much we (Hillary, State Dept, Blinken, Joe & Hunter) had to do with provoking the war with Russia. She lacks humility on what seems to be the fact-- this war has become a WW1 meatgrinder stalemate. Not implausible that there is A LOT of "take the money and run" going on.
She had the courage to take on entitlements IIRC.
e) IMHO DeSantis far and away remains the best on domestic issues AND THE EXECUTIVE COMPETENCE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. Very impressed with him in this regard. He continues to mumble with regard to Ukraine but seems OK on the rest of geopolitics and is very clear and very good on China. Not sure how/why but somehow he does not inspire.
f) There was substantial discussion about entitlements. Some manned up (Christie of course, Haley?) but I am not remembering how the rest answered. Trump of course is a firm panderer on this subject.
g) I was expecting hideousness from NBC, but they were not awful.
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Nikki Haley Stands Out on Foreign Policy at the Republican Debate
Christie is also strong, but DeSantis hedges, and Ramaswamy goes 1930s isolationist.
WSJ Editorial Board
--------------------------
Haley has identified herself as 100% hawk while the party has gone 50% for no assistance whatsoever to Ukraine. Is nuanced wrong on that?
From the article:
"Mr. DeSantis also had his moments, and his promise of getting to a 355-ship Navy by the end of his first term is the right ambition. The Navy is now at about 290."
(Doug). Isn't that the exact focus we need to deter and or fight a war over Taiwan in the South China Sea?
(WSJ continued) " But he continues to equivocate on aid to Ukraine in a way that pales next to Ms. Haley’s clear conviction. He won’t say he’d cut Ukraine off altogether..."
(Doug). That is pretty much my view. No blank check, but we can play a role in the resistance, being a thorn in Putin's plan as long as that is what the Ukrainian people want.
Haley would have sent enough support for Ukraine to win the war at the start. Really? Enough arms, troops, training to defeat Russia (rather than keep this war contained in Ukraine)?
What would be the risks, consequences and scale of that? I thought we had some fear of major nuclear powers.
------------
I heard the ending on radio and some clips, did not see any of it.
I like what Crafty wrote: (DeSantis) "far and away remains the best on domestic issues AND THE EXECUTIVE COMPETENCE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. Very impressed with him in this regard."
No he has not caught on or inspired (yet) but if this was a race for second place he has been quite steady and consistent. Flashiest probably isn't my main criteria (but winning is).
Can you win and can you get it done. He hasn't demonstrated he can win (nationally) but is the most likely to get it done if elected.
Trump, if he wins, will be a mere pause in the march to Leftism. It will be all about him and he is officially running for final term, lame duck status. DeSantis is running for a change of direction in the country we so badly need.
I am waiting for the next shoe to drop. Trump, Biden seem to need each other. Once Biden is out, or Trump convicted of something, anything, the dynamic changes, probably too late.
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On NewsNation
Dec 6 7 - 9 PM
https://www.al.com/news/2023/11/megyn-kelly-to-moderate-next-republican-presidential-debate-at-university-of-alabama.html
Megyn Kelly, yes, also Eliana Johnson, Free Beacon Editor, is VERY good. (Daughter of Scott Johnson, Powerline blog founder who took down Dan Rather. )
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Would love to see a Trump-DeSantis ticket. If Trump is knocked out (e.g. state felony conviction?) Then DeSantis steps in.
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Would love to see a Trump-DeSantis ticket. If Trump is knocked out (e.g. state felony conviction?) Then DeSantis steps in.
Same state. Very hard for either to change their residency.
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https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/11/09/post-election_analysis_virginia_ohio_kentucky_and_mississippi_150035.html
Bottom line, local circumstances, not much for significant change going forward.
(Trump will win Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio and lose Virginia, Minnesota etc.
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"Would love to see a Trump-DeSantis ticket."
only if DeSantis gets down on his knees and privately and PUBLICALLY begs for forgiveness
and only if Trump - who is always vengeful would grant forgiveness
neither will happen
I don't think De Santis should tarnish himself with Trump frankly
but that said we are running out of time to beat back " Open Society"
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https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/dick-morris-joe-biden-democrats/2023/11/08/id/1141468/
It's not that Morris knows, but this makes sense, solves almost all their problems.
There are a lot of reasons Joe doesn't want to be lame duck yet and the powers that be trust the insider elites more than they trust the primary voters.
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That is a very astute analysis.
I would modify it to say upon withdrawal, Biden will pledge his delegates to Nancy's Newphew.
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The DeSantis-Trump Social Security Punt
They refuse to reform programs that everyone knows are unsustainable.
By The Editorial Board
Nov. 9, 2023 6:40 pm ET
Review and Outlook: In the third Republican presidential debate on Nov. 8, 2023, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, Tim Scott and Vivek Ramaswamy revealed the emerging GOP fault line on foreign policy. Images: Getty Images/Reuters Composite: Mark Kelly
Donald Trump wasn’t on stage at the GOP debate on Wednesday, though he seemed to occupy Ron DeSantis’s mind. That would explain the Florida Governor’s punt on reforming entitlements that ruled out even gradually raising the Social Security retirement age.
The former President this spring lambasted Mr. DeSantis for supporting Paul Ryan’s entitlement reforms while in Congress. “DeSantis is colluding with his globalist handlers to go full Never Trump in order to gaslight the people into thinking that Medicare and Social Security should be ripped away from hard-working Americans,” the Trump campaign declared.
Two decades ago Mr. Trump supported raising the retirement age to 70 and creating private retirement accounts. But he now rejects even modest changes to Social Security. When the subject of entitlement reform came up during the debate, most candidates bobbed and weaved like Muhammad Ali.
Vivek Ramaswamy said the solution to America’s entitlement problems is “sacrificing foreign wars.” Sorry, abandoning national defense won’t save Social Security. In the past two years alone, Social Security benefits have increased by $219 billion—about the size of the Navy’s budget last year.
The truth tellers on stage, Nikki Haley and Chris Christie, argued for gradually raising the retirement age for younger Americans to slow the growth in Social Security spending, which this past fiscal year added up to $1.3 trillion. Mr. DeSantis dismissed the idea, saying “when life expectancy is declining, I don’t see how you could raise it the other direction.”
Life expectancy did decline in 2021 to 76.4 years from 78.8 in 2019, but the drop owed almost entirely to Covid and drug overdoses. The latter have been increasing among young people for more than two decades, but that has no bearing on how long seniors can expect to live and in what condition.
Covid’s impact on deaths was a blip like the 1918 Spanish influenza, which caused life expectancy to fall by more than 10 years. So-called excess deaths this year have returned to pre-pandemic trends, and therefore life expectancy for seniors should too. At age 65, Americans could expect to live 19.6 more years in 2019, up from 16.4 in 1980.
Yet the Social Security retirement age has increased by only two years since the early 1980s when Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill cut a deal with Ronald Reagan to shore up the program. The compromise gradually raised the retirement age for future generations to 67 from 65 and increased payroll taxes.
Life expectancy was 61.7 years in 1935 when Social Security was established. If the retirement age had increased in line with life expectancy, it would now be about 80 years. No candidate is proposing to raise the retirement age to 80, but Ms. Haley was right to say it should better reflect increasing life expectancy.
Like Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security will have to be reformed eventually because its current course is unsustainable. But denialism by GOP candidates will make it that much harder to sell modest benefit adjustments to voters, giving Democrats more leverage to demand bigger tax increases. Is that what Messrs. DeSantis and Trump want?
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The DeSantis-Trump Social Security Punt
They refuse to reform programs that everyone knows are unsustainable.
By
The Editorial Board
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Nov. 9, 2023 6:40 pm ET
Donald Trump wasn’t on stage at the GOP debate on Wednesday, though he seemed to occupy Ron DeSantis’s mind. That would explain the Florida Governor’s punt on reforming entitlements that ruled out even gradually raising the Social Security retirement age.
The former President this spring lambasted Mr. DeSantis for supporting Paul Ryan’s entitlement reforms while in Congress. “DeSantis is colluding with his globalist handlers to go full Never Trump in order to gaslight the people into thinking that Medicare and Social Security should be ripped away from hard-working Americans,” the Trump campaign declared.
Two decades ago Mr. Trump supported raising the retirement age to 70 and creating private retirement accounts. But he now rejects even modest changes to Social Security. When the subject of entitlement reform came up during the debate, most candidates bobbed and weaved like Muhammad Ali.
Vivek Ramaswamy said the solution to America’s entitlement problems is “sacrificing foreign wars.” Sorry, abandoning national defense won’t save Social Security. In the past two years alone, Social Security benefits have increased by $219 billion—about the size of the Navy’s budget last year.
The truth tellers on stage, Nikki Haley and Chris Christie, argued for gradually raising the retirement age for younger Americans to slow the growth in Social Security spending, which this past fiscal year added up to $1.3 trillion. Mr. DeSantis dismissed the idea, saying “when life expectancy is declining, I don’t see how you could raise it the other direction.”
Life expectancy did decline in 2021 to 76.4 years from 78.8 in 2019, but the drop owed almost entirely to Covid and drug overdoses. The latter have been increasing among young people for more than two decades, but that has no bearing on how long seniors can expect to live and in what condition.
Covid’s impact on deaths was a blip like the 1918 Spanish influenza, which caused life expectancy to fall by more than 10 years. So-called excess deaths this year have returned to pre-pandemic trends, and therefore life expectancy for seniors should too. At age 65, Americans could expect to live 19.6 more years in 2019, up from 16.4 in 1980.
Yet the Social Security retirement age has increased by only two years since the early 1980s when Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill cut a deal with Ronald Reagan to shore up the program. The compromise gradually raised the retirement age for future generations to 67 from 65 and increased payroll taxes.
Life expectancy was 61.7 years in 1935 when Social Security was established. If the retirement age had increased in line with life expectancy, it would now be about 80 years. No candidate is proposing to raise the retirement age to 80, but Ms. Haley was right to say it should better reflect increasing life expectancy.
Like Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security will have to be reformed eventually because its current course is unsustainable. But denialism by GOP candidates will make it that much harder to sell modest benefit adjustments to voters, giving Democrats more leverage to demand bigger tax increases. Is that what Messrs. DeSantis and Trump want?
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https://themessenger.com/politics/desantis-won-debate-but-nearly-70-of-republicans-didnt-watch-poll
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https://themessenger.com/politics/desantis-won-debate-but-nearly-70-of-republicans-didnt-watch-poll
Finding more saying either DeSantis won or that DeSantis and Haley were the winners of this debate (and all of them) .
https://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-haley-desantis-look-strongest-in-gop-debate-2938091/?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=topnews&utm_source=opinion_editorials&utm_term=EDITORIAL%3A%20Haley%2C%20DeSantis%20look%20strongest%20in%2
It's not a serious comment anymore to say Trump won by not being there, that he is winning back voters by hiding in the basement. I know he is out doing large rallies, what we call preaching to the choir, but I also remember him choking the whole year of 2020 and in his Biden debate in particular.
He is showing insecurity, not confidence, and mentioned before, sitting on a lead is how good sports teams lose championships.
Meanwhile I wish the entire electorate would watch DeSantis v. Newsom debate the two competing models of government.
Newsom, I assume, is too smug to know he should duck out of this one.
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Joe Manchin, Big D Democrat, of the so called "no labels" "movement" , he will be 77, shouldn't he be somebody's VP choice - for "gravitas" , not the leader of a new generation?
I hope he runs. He's a Democrat from the beginning to the end. They hold the majority right now because he never switched. He's not running for reelection because he would lose as a Democrat. In a sense we're lucky he didn't switch, he would have been a thorn in our side all this time.
The so-called Centrists mock and deride the 'extremes', like people who favor any individual liberty, but the so called centrists are a self righteous bunch themselves. Why is the correct answer always in the middle? Abort half a baby. Run a one trillion dollar deficit. Defend half our southern border. Pay half our military. Mandate half as many EVs. How about half as many biological men screwing up women's sports or sexualing only half the kids in Kindergarten through third grade?
These "centrists" are never held up to scrutiny and they aren't all of one mindset. But where they might be is right where most Democrats were when they thought they were voting for moderate Joe and got this far Left cabal soon to be headed by Kamala from the Hamas, and defund-the-Police, let-crime-be, wing of the Democrat Party.
Give them a choice. (And not a "ranked choice"!)
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Well look at that, Rep Jim ("we all knew") Clyburn agrees with me.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/11/opinions/third-party-run-is-a-risk-we-cant-afford-clyburn/index.html
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"He is showing insecurity, not confidence, and mentioned before, sitting on a lead is how good sports teams lose championships."
and how good companies slide.
MSFT AMZN AAPL NVDA CEOs all keep an element of paranoia needed to be sure to CONTINUE keeping in front.
It appears he has won most of the UFC crowd :wink:
" Why is the correct answer always in the middle? "
Good question but I guess from a practical point of view it is to reach those who decide every national election
the minority who can vote either party depending on what their thoughts are at election time.
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God bless Tim ! good man .
I don't know if Trump would ask him to join his team. I don't think he should if he does.
Better to keep on being Senator and maybe make another run in future for his sake.
For me, it is DeSantis alone.
Haley is now my second choice. But agree she is rino lite .
Christie is qualified but he is Christie. Too much baggage and also rino lite.
I would take Haley over Trump. Trump goes too far. Drudge has him calling opponents "vermin" and yes that is clearly Hitler like.
OTOH Haley is too Bush like I think. All in all I want to win and it seems Haley would have better chance of winning than Trump.
Boy, would the first female President turning out to be a Republican piss off the LEFT enough. Glass ceiling broken by a , a , a "far right" women.
That would annoy the libs ..... Hillary would have her eternal frown.
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https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2023/11/13/resign-ronna-n2631083
I keep scratching my head as to why she is still head of RNC.
Funny how Trump likes winners yet will not call for her being fired.
The past few times she has been on cable, such as with Laura recently she had not impressed me at all.
Always excuses with some get the Repubs to vote early only as the new strategy.
As for only one Repub lawyer mentioned in Kurt's piece I would add we are outgunned as most lawyers are crats to begin with; I guess at least 3/4 I think. So we are out gunned on the legal front.
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Yes, God Bless Tim. I'm glad he is conservative and glad he is on our side.
I would love to have him become a great leader of our nation..
The leap from anywhere else to President is a giant one. In this cycle we have two candidates that are essentially incumbents running. Tim Scott is running with legislative experience also against two three counting Christie that are / were two term Governors - namely executive experience for an executive position. DeSantis has legislative experience, second term Governor, and served in the military.
On the point of race and politics, we have some GREAT black conservatives in this country and Tim Scott is one of them. My observation is that their biggest fans are mostly white and already conservative. Our hope is that one of these people will break through and bring blacks and minorities in the millions with them to the conservative side but that's not what has happened. Oddly it's actually Trump who started to break through in that regard, and it may be too little, too late.
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https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/wild-day-as-the-ukrainian-game-of?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1351274&post_id=138835575&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo1ODg4MTI0MCwicG9zdF9pZCI6MTM4ODM1NTc1LCJpYXQiOjE2OTk5MTQ1MzMsImV4cCI6MTcwMjUwNjUzMywiaXNzIjoicHViLTEzNTEyNzQiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.c5bqHQICFkNLwcXTL16Nx2_19Oxim7Bl4XXBN7N4A-w&r=z2120&utm_medium=email
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more issues then simply pounding the table - "we need more growth"
pointed out Haley playing the class warfare card - me -> bad
with guest Steve Hilton - believe the GOP should ignore abortion or at least not campaign on it.
me - not sure - fine with me if they ignore it - but the LEFT will do nothing but speak about it 24/7365 so not sure how to totally ignore it since it will be front and center in our faces thanks to MSM
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/why-would-we-punish-the-people-who-vote-republican-steve-hilton/vi-AA1jT04S
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https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/presidential-polls
Biden did win pop vote by ~ 5 mill as per the count
but barely won in the battle ground states
Now polls have Trump up by ~ 2 %
I don't think because Trump up by much but more that Biden is down.
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After Scott's Exit, DeSantis and Haley Take the Gloves Off
With Senator Tim Scott (R., S.C.) out of the 2024 presidential race, voters can expect the battle between Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley to heat up, strategists say, with the former South Carolina governor well positioned to win over Scott’s supporters.
The two are expected to duke it out to become the leading non-Trump candidate. DeSantis came out swinging this week, going after Haley over everything from her response to the riots in the wake of George Floyd’s death to her views on immigration to her recent comments about the need for verification for social-media users.
The Florida governor accused Haley of caving to the Left’s narrative on the Black Lives Matter riots.
"She has never fought any big fight on our behalf as conservatives and won any big fight. Anytime the guns come out, anytime the Left does, she cuts and runs," he said during an appearance on a South Carolina radio show.
In the days after Floyd’s murder, Haley tweeted: “It’s important to understand that the death of George Floyd was personal and painful for many. In order to heal, it needs to be personal and painful for everyone.”
“I called out the National Guard,” DeSantis said. “I said I'm standing with police. She was tweeting that it needed to be personal and painful for every single person. And I'm thinking to myself, why does that need to be personal and painful for you or me, we had nothing to do with it? It just shows an example of her adopting this left-wing mindset and accepting the narrative.”
He also took aim at Haley for dismissing a bill, while she was serving as South Carolina governor, to prevent biological boys from using girls’ restrooms. She called the bill “unnecessary” when it was introduced in 2016.
"In Florida, we said girls and women should be protected in bathrooms and locker rooms," DeSantis said. "You should not have boys barging in, men going in there. It's not appropriate. And so we did that without any question. Of course, we're going to do that.”
The Florida governor also fired shots at Haley over her reaction to his feud with Disney.
"She criticized me for standing up for kids and the innocence of their curriculum against Disney where they wanted the sexualized curriculum in elementary school. So I stood up for parents, I stood up for kids, she sided with a woke corporation. So that is just I think what you see in terms of that, it's just par for the course," he said. "She will kowtow to elite opinions, the media, and big corporations. That is how she falls down. You can pretty much set your clock to it."
Later on Tuesday, the DeSantis campaign called Haley “a Democrat in sheep’s clothing” on immigration, claiming she “opposed the border wall" and that she "supports unlimited immigration into the United States — or at least until big corporations tell her otherwise.”
The statement came in response to a New York Post article that noted Haley said in 2015 that a border wall alone would not address illegal immigration and that other measures like drones and in-person surveillance would be needed. It also noted that, in a 2019 podcast appearance, she said, “Immigrants are the fabric of America. It’s what makes us great. We need as many immigrants as we can. We need the skills, we need the talent, we need the culture. We need all of that.”
Haley was widely panned for suggesting on Tuesday that “every person on social media should be verified, by their name.”
“That’s, first of all, it’s a national-security threat. When you do that, all of a sudden, people have to stand by what they say,” she said. “And it gets rid of the Russian bots, the Iranian bots and the Chinese bots. And then you’re gonna get some civility, when people know their name is next to what they say.”
DeSantis blasted the comments in a post on X: “You know who were anonymous writers back in the day? Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison when they wrote the Federalist Papers. They were not 'national security threats,' nor are the many conservative Americans across the country who exercise their Constitutional right to voice their opinions without fear of being harassed or canceled by the school they go to or the company they work for. Haley's proposal to ban anonymous speech online — similar to what China recently did — is dangerous and unconstitutional. It will be dead on arrival in my administration.”
After Haley received widespread criticism over her remarks, her campaign appeared to walk them back.
“Russia, China, and Iran are engaging in wide-scale information warfare. Ignoring this national security threat is dangerous and naive," the campaign told me on Wednesday. "Social media companies need to do a better job of verifying users as human in order to crack down on anonymous foreign bots. We can do this while protecting America’s right to free speech and Americans who post anonymously.”
The campaign added that Haley’s main concern is “cracking down on Chinese, Russian, Iranian, etc. bots that engage in massive online information warfare,” leaving out any mention of her vow to combat online incivility by forcing social-media companies to eliminate anonymity.
DeSantis’s onslaught comes as strategists say the Florida governor will need to step up his attacks against Haley as she shows sustained momentum in the race and stands to benefit even more from Scott’s exit.
“I think that DeSantis has to be aggressive against Haley,” GOP strategist John Feehery told me.
“I think DeSantis largely ignored Haley, but I think that comes at his peril, I don't think he can ignore her anymore,” he said, adding that, while it isn’t a “done deal” for Haley to become the leading non-Trump candidate, she’ll likely become the chosen horse of the party's establishment wing from now on.
“Scott's well-liked in South Carolina, so I think that that's good for Haley and gives her a stronger rationale to donors that [she] can beat Trump in South Carolina," Feehery said. "I'm not sure if that's true, but that's what she's going to say, and it makes it a lot easier for her to make that case if Scott's out of the race.”
Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio told donors that Haley is the most likely candidate to benefit from Scott’s exit, specifically in Iowa, according to a memo obtained by Axios.
"Despite the narrative that the DeSantis team is trying to push, it's clear that other candidates dropping out is not causing voters to consolidate around him," the memo says.
The poll, conducted among a sample of 600 likely Republican caucus-goers from November 9 to 12 and commissioned by Trump’s MAGA INC. super PAC, found that 43 percent of Scott supporters picked Haley as their second choice. Twenty-two percent chose Trump and 16 percent chose DeSantis. Still, Scott was polling in the single digits, meaning he did not have significant support to pick up.
With Scott and former vice president Mike Pence having left the race, the big question remains who will the Evangelicals be looking toward, said South Carolina–based strategist Dave Wilson.
“Nikki Haley has very strong momentum going in her favor right now,” he said, but he suggested that DeSantis could deploy his wife, Casey DeSantis, who has a “great ability to speak to that audience, much better than he does on the campaign trail.”
“I think Tim Scott dropping out is enough of a momentum to make people potentially revisit their appreciation for Nikki Haley one more time” he said, noting she has been pulling the “never-Trumper”-style Republican voters.
“Nikki Haley has an ability to come back to her home state and woo those Tim Scott voters back, keeping in mind she was the person who appointed Tim Scott to the U.S. Senate,” he said, adding that DeSantis, for his part, should get out to South Carolina more often.
The Haley campaign plans to spend $10 million on TV, radio, and digital ads in Iowa and New Hampshire beginning in December.
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https://thehill.com/media/4312952-desantis-ingraham-haley-direct-debate/
This might be a good opportunity for the top candidates to leave the RNC and MSM behind.
I think Haley is kind of a flame thrower but otherwise this is an excellent opportunity to re-frame things.
At this moment, Trump is far and away the leader and only these two people have a chance to catch him. Let's showcase them. They should have very serious and very thorough and thoughtful debates, maybe a series of them if they are serious.
From the article:
“He [DeSantis] will debate Nikki Haley. He is set to debate Gavin Newsom. And if Trump finds the courage, Ron DeSantis will debate him too,”
Let's go! They want media exposure. Give the audience something to tune in for. And don't limit viewing to one cable channel or show. Open it up to everyone.
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https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/17/michael-rappaport-considering-voting-for-donald-trump/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=29912&pnespid=6OlpAjtJMP8HxOjOq23tH4yOthOrCJUqNuq_xeY1pQxmKv6gXwmoB1fznxevYEplnm0krZC9
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/iowa-crowd-cheers-nearly-nonstop-as-trump-seeks-to-wrap-up-gop-primary-5532317?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-11-19-2&src_cmp=breaking-2023-11-19-2&utm_medium=email&est=AdsSQcPCc81j9alWws5owl8zXA%2FO1Hm1IcdntSAzxpEC%2FJE4x3eMJ0eYyNltfSSYcbfM
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New poll finds Biden trails all the leading Republican presidential primary candidates
BY MALLORY WILSON THE WASHINGTON TIMES
President Biden’s slide in the polls now puts him behind all of the top Republican candidates.
A poll from Marquette Law School shows former President Donald Trump leading Mr. Biden 52% to 48% and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ahead of the president 51% to 49%.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has the biggest lead over Mr. Biden with registered voters nationwide favoring her 55% to 45%.
Ms. Haley has been rising in the polls since the third GOP debate in Miami earlier this month. When likely voters are added into the mix, Ms. Haley leads the president by an even larger margin of 56% to 44%. Mr. Trump sees his support go down by 1 point from 51% to 49% and Mr. DeSantis’ support stays the same.
Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis still trail behind Mr. Trump in the GOP race. The former president grabs 54% of Republican voters, while the other two tie at 12%. The numbers show an increase in support for Ms. Haley since March, but a decline for Mr. DeSantis.
Mr. Biden turns 81 on Monday and is the oldest president in history. Voters have worried that he is too old to effectively serve another term.
The poll found that 57% of voters said the phrase “is too old to be president” describes Mr. Biden “very well,” while 23% said it fits him “somewhat well.”
Mr. Trump, 77, isn’t too far behind the president in age, but not as many voters consider him to be too old to serve as president. The poll found that 23% of voters said the phrase fit him “very well” and 28% said it fits him “somewhat well.”
The survey was conducted Nov. 2-7. The sample size for registered voters was 856 voters nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. The sample size for likely voters was 688 with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. For Republican/Republican-leaning voters, the sample size was 398 with a margin of error of plus or minus 6.6 percentage points
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/iowa-crowd-cheers-nearly-nonstop-as-trump-seeks-to-wrap-up-gop-primary-5532317?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-11-19-2&src_cmp=breaking-2023-11-19-2&utm_medium=email&est=AdsSQcPCc81j9alWws5owl8zXA%2FO1Hm1IcdntSAzxpEC%2FJE4x3eMJ0eYyNltfSSYcbfM
He is a master campaigner and has a very strong record to run on, pre-covid.
Trump: "I think the reason we’re doing so well in the polls is that the people see it; they see it as a persecution of a political candidate," President Trump told the audience, referring to the 91 criminal charges he faces. "They see it as a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time."
(Doug). That's right but too bad that had to become the main criteria.
We thought the Left was picking our candidate for us by trying to remove him from the field. Instead they are (again) picking our candidate for us by elevating him.
Nailed to the cross and comes back to life. A certain religious group has been through this before.
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annoying how abortion is at top of list of "issues that matter to people" and economy closer to bottom:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/where-nikki-haley-stands-on-the-issues-that-matter-to-voters/ar-AA1kg2uA?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=3f34aed1d80940768c0e7561dfe8e4fb&ei=11
I would not say she is rino, but still not sure she is fighting the LEFT enough.
primary race not close anyway.
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Very bizarre and painful to read a hard core Leftist. So much projection. They are worried Republicans will steal the election. How? Make America great again is a dark and negative message?? Republicans are fascists??!! Right while Democrat policies embrace the dictionary definition of fascism, and coincidentally the party is home to the wide open anti-semitism of our day.
A pollster who doesn't believe polls. When they are against him.
Biden has done such a good job, if only people could see that. He's wrong that Republicans can not possibly get more than 46% to favor a message of stop the insanity.
He hits on some truths. Republicans have been decimated by the abortion issue. And talk of 2024 being all Republican is premature, again. Trump will motivate the anti-Trump voters. Democrats who are disillusioned don't automatically become Republicans. Republicans don't have a unified and coherent message.
On abortion, Democrats have won at every turn since Dobbs , framed only as a women's issue, but getting overconfident on that could come back to bite them. For one thing Trump has laid off the issue, and for another, the closer you look at what late term abortion really is, the more inhumane and immoral it looks. People who worry about the comfort of chickens in a chicken coop are defending the practice of imploding the head and sucking out the body of an unborn that looks a lot like a baby. I don't think the electorate has fully considered both sides of it.
On the economy - and the border, nothing sells Republican policies like having Democrats in control. With a year to go, Dems in power have a choice of moving toward 'R' policies or continuing with failure. We see a head fake on border control but that won't stop the damage already in progress. On the economy and excessive government spending, we are in the middle of a budget fight and we'll see where it leads.
My bet is the Dems in control cannot change their ways and that things only get worse.
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How about that reelection slogan, “After All We’ve Done For You” ?
I'm surprised to see such a ruthless take (below) in the FT. No indication the author is conservative, but truth slips out.
He ends by saying at least one of the Biden, Harris team must go, but really he is saying both.
I'm assuming a handoff to Newsom is already in the works leaving, the author as the one out of the know. Or maybe he knows and is laying the groundwork.
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Biden can’t spin his way to re-election
The problem is the fundamental Democratic offering, not a failure to communicate
JANAN GANESH
Subscribe at ft.com
There are clever, well-meaning liberals who would have Joe Biden and Kamala Harris run for re-election on the slogan “After All We’ve Done For You”. According to their account of things, the president has given America an economic boom, infrastructure galore and other blessings that voters, hung up on such ephemera as the price of food, are failing to notice or appreciate. (“It’s not him. It’s us.”) The solution? That recourse of doomed governments everywhere: to communicate its achievements better.
This is worse than conceited. It is tactical public relations fluff. To prevent a second term of Donald Trump, Democrats must accept that what is going wrong is their basic proposition — an aged candidate, his unpopular running mate, the inflation he has overseen — not the framing or messaging of it.
The Democrats have had years to cultivate a successor to Biden. Donors, grassroots, apparatchiks, potential candidates and the man himself should have settled on, if not an individual, then a process for choosing one while governing. Instead, more out of inertia than calculation, the party is set to put a man who looks each and every one of his 81 years through the kind of grueling nationwide campaign that lockdowns spared him in 2020.
If he had a George HW Bush or even an Al Gore as vice-president, Biden’s frailty might not be so off-putting to voters. And so to the Democrats’ second un-spinnable problem. Harris is out of her element at this level of electoral politics. She was the first candidate of note to quit the last presidential primaries. Those who outlasted her included the mayor of Indiana’s fourth city. Pointing these things out when Biden selected her was, among liberals, thankless work.
Again, the instinct of Democrats is to lose themselves in comms-speak about the need to “relaunch” her, to give her issues to “own”, as though this were a gauche but high-potential rookie and not a person closing in on 60. Harris is about as good a politician as she will ever be, which mightn’t be quite good enough. That, given the actuarial odds that she will assume the highest office on Earth one day, is a fundamental problem, not a presentational snag.
There is something of the Versailles court about the Democratic elite. Politesse matters. People walk on eggshells around obvious losers. For the second time in a decade, the first being the coronation of Hillary Clinton in 2016, the Democrats are putting a flawed ticket in front of voters on the grounds that it would be bad form to disrupt the line of precedence. (I’d admire the institutionalism if the free world weren’t on the line.)
If messaging matters, think of the conflicting messages going out here. First: Trump is a threat to the republic. Second: the job of beating him should go to the default candidates, to avoid an internal fuss. But their ratings are dire? Ah, what are you going to do.
There is something else the Democrats can’t spin or present their way out of: the material experience of voters. Any president who oversaw high inflation would be in electoral trouble. But one who had passed vast spending bills, to which those price rises could be plausibly (even if speciously) attributed, should be doomed. It is a measure of Trump’s unattractiveness, and of public disquiet at the Republican erosion of abortion rights, that Biden is still competitive.
The Democrats’ main error since 2020, after the lack of succession planning, was to attempt an economic overhaul for which there was more demand from commentators than voters. Biden’s big-government reforms have been likened to Lyndon Johnson’s, even Franklin Roosevelt’s, but both those presidents won landslides. Biden’s win was smaller than either of Bill Clinton’s. It was never enough for an epochal rupture with “neoliberalism”. He should have been a transitional president whose ultimate service was removing Trump. As it is, he stands associated with the worst inflation that lots of Americans have known. Better communication? Democrats should consider that reminding voters of his free-spending record might implicate him even further in high retail prices.
Biden can claim to have been the best president elected this century: more honourable at home than Trump, less derelict abroad than Barack Obama, with nothing like George W Bush’s Iraq war to his name. But Americans next November have to decide who leads them for the following four years. The Democratic proposition — a man eight years older than US male life expectancy, with an unloved lieutenant — asks voters to accept too much risk. For the world’s sake, at least one half of that offering should be changed, not just sold better.
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Excerpt from The Hill, the question they fear:
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/4315849-democrats-fear-this-one-simple-question-will-doom-biden/
...
“Were you better off four years ago than you are now?”
This is a reverse of arguably the most important question ever asked in a presidential debate. During the final week of the 1980 presidential race between Democratic President Jimmy Carter and GOP nominee Ronald Reagan, the two candidates held their sole debate on October 28.
Reagan used his closing remarks to look into the camera and ask Americans the question — one that became the defining moment of the election: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”
He then followed with: “Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was? Do you feel that our security is as safe, that we’re as strong as we were four years ago?”
Now, the reverse of that question is the one Biden should fear most: “Were you better off four years ago than you are now?”
There is no doubt that former President Donald Trump and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will use variations of those questions to pummel Biden. And with good reason.
Tens of millions of Americans do believe they were much better off four years ago than now. Americans who know mortgage rates were at record lows; gasoline prices were well below three dollars per gallon; inflation was under control; our border was more secure; our major cities were not homeless encampments; crime was dramatically lower; and the world was more at peace.
To add insult to injury for President Biden, while confirming the worry of the Democratic operatives, the Financial Times just ran an article headlined “Only 14% of US voters say Joe Biden has made them better off.” Ouch.
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DeSantis and Haley Play a Game of 'No You' on China while Trump Glides By
As the race for second place heats up, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis have begun to play a game of "Who was cozier with Chinese business while governor?"
At least $18 million has been spent in the presidential race on TV ads mentioning China, according to AdImpact data, with Republicans accounting for 90 percent of that spending. Nearly $26 million has been spent on digital ads on the topic, though Republicans account for just 58 percent of that spending.
The latest ammunition in the fight comes from a recent Miami Herald report that reveals that DeSantis and committees affiliated with him have received $340,000 from Xianbin Meng, the CEO of a Tampa refrigerant company with direct backing from China, companies associated with Meng, and the companies’ employees. Meng, the CEO of iGas USA, gave DeSantis more than $11,000 just three months ago.
DeSantis held a rally at iGas’s Tampa complex last year. A state-controlled Chinese company owns roughly a third of iGas.
Meng’s companies and employees have given more than $1.1 million in federal and state political contributions in the past five years. The report notes that the giving represents a “sharp increase” in political activity by the companies and employees.
The donations began as Congress weighed a bill to phase out the refrigerants that iGas imports from China. The bill passed, but Meng’s company has “had some success pushing for changes to the implementation of the law,” according to the report.
The DeSantis campaign dismissed the reporting as “silly in the face of his actions and record towards China as a governor.”
That record includes signing bills preventing sensitive data from being stored on CCP-owned or affiliated servers and banning access to CCP-affiliated apps like TikTok on government devices. The governor also signed legislation preventing Chinese Communist Party affiliates from buying land near military bases.
But the Haley campaign has blasted DeSantis for having stayed quiet when Cirrus Aircraft, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corp. (AVIC) of China, opened two new locations in Florida — including one 12.7 miles away from the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division.
While the federal government hasn’t accused Cirrus of any wrongdoing, the U.S. imposed sanctions on AVIC in 2020 after finding it to be a possible national-security threat. AVIC makes fighter jets, helicopters, and drones for the Chinese military.
The DeSantis campaign told the New York Post that the governor “uniquely recognizes the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party and spent his governorship working to end pre-existing state ties with China and build up protections against future Chinese incursions.”
DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin then turned the attention toward Haley, who he said “spent her governorship courting Chinese businesses to South Carolina, calling them a friend, and failing to pursue corrective efforts to safeguard her state from the threat of the CCP.”
Under Haley’s leadership, Chinese investments in the Palmetto State more than doubled from $308 million in 2011 to almost $670 million in 2015, according to the Washington Post. Haley oversaw the greatest Chinese investment of any Republican governor in 2015, when adjusted for GDP, after having brought in more than $565 million in Chinese investment for the year. Haley oversaw a total of $1.43 billion in Chinese investment in the state.
The campaign defended the former governor’s record. “Every governor running for president tried to recruit Chinese businesses to their state. Nikki Haley did it ten years ago. Ron DeSantis is aggressively recruiting Chinese companies now and just this month he scrubbed the Florida government website of proof of his recruitment,” the campaign said in a statement to National Review.
“The question is who will take on China as Xi Jinping ups the ante, and the clear answer is Nikki Haley,” the statement added.
DeSantis and the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down have specifically seized on Haley’s role in recruiting a Chinese fiberglass company to the state, with the PAC claiming in an ad that she allowed the company to get “dangerously close” to the Fort Jackson military base and that she is “too dangerous to lead.”
China Jushi, a partially state-owned company, announced an agreement with Richland County in 2016 to bring a manufacturing plant to the county that would create 400 new jobs and invest $300 million in the region.
Haley celebrated the agreement at the time as a “huge win for our state.”
State-owned China National Building Material Company Limited owns almost 27 percent of China Jushi, according to the company's website. China Jushi has a Communist Party Committee with 618 members.
While the factory is roughly five miles from Fort Jackson, the Washington Post gave the Never Back Down ad “Three Pinocchios” over its claims about dangers. “There is no indication it is a spy center for China, as suggested by the ad’s use of the phrase ‘eyes and ears,’” the fact-check says.
The Never Back Down ad claims that Haley gave the company 197 acres of land for free. However, the contract involved only the county and the company and includes provisions that would require the company to pay back part of the land’s $4.9 million value if the company did not invest an expected amount of money or create an expected number of jobs.
The South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development provided $7 million in incentives for the deal. The council is chaired by the state’s commerce secretary, who is appointed by the governor.
Asked during a campaign stop in Iowa last month why she "gave China thousands of acres of land in South Carolina,” Haley replied, “Don't believe what you read on the internet. We didn't sell any land to the Chinese. But, yes, I recruited a fiberglass company."
South Carolina governor Henry McMaster told reporters of China Jushi, “As far as anybody knows, they’ve caused no trouble and pose no threat.”
Haley said in 2012 that bringing Chinese companies to the state could help remind Americans what's it's like to have a "passion again" to "work with urgency."
"It reminds us of what this energy feels like . . . that we need to focus on that again," Haley said.
But now, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. has warned about the potential dangers of Chinese investments: “Chinese investors have bought nearly 400,000 acres of American land, much of it near military bases. I’ll do everything in my power to prevent China from buying any more land and force it to sell what it already owns,” she wrote for the Wall Street Journal in June.
Haley’s campaign has fired back at DeSantis over his own record of courting Chinese business after reporting by The Messenger revealed that references to China were removed from the website of Enterprise Florida, a public-private partnership chaired by DeSantis.
The site scrubbed references to a Hong Kong office and efforts to recruit Chinese investment after the Washington Examiner reported on DeSantis’s alleged ties to China.
While the site once had a page showing the group’s board of directors, including DeSantis as the board’s chairman, that page was later removed and began returning a “404 Page Not Found.”
The DeSantis administration told the outlet “outdated information” was removed from the website and that Enterprise Florida ended its relationship with Chinese businesses earlier this year “upon the realization that companies on the Hong Kong stock exchange have become infiltrated with investments from China’s military.”
An ad by the pro-Haley Stand for America super PAC also accused DeSantis of voting to “fast-track Obama’s Chinese trade deals.” The Washington Post said the claim appeared to be false, giving it four Pinocchios.
The ad claims DeSantis gave millions to Chinese companies, though the cited Washington Times article makes no mention of DeSantis. It goes on to point out two votes DeSantis supported as a congressman in 2015, though one was a bipartisan budget passed to avert a government default and did not mention China. The second, the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, extended Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), allowing a president to “fast-track” trade legislation. That bill passed with the support of 190 Republicans.
While DeSantis and Haley have trained their attacks on each other, front-runner Donald Trump’s record of making amiable comments about China and doing business in the country has largely escaped scrutiny.
Trump, who owns 114 trademarks in China for possible business opportunities, according to financial filings released earlier this month, recently called Chinese president Xi Jinping a “very smart person” during a campaign rally in Iowa.
Trump said President Biden "walked up with a man who looks like a piece of granite, he's strong like granite, I know him very well, President Xi of China," referring to a meeting between Biden and Xi in San Francisco last week.
"He's a fierce person," Trump added. "Now the press doesn't like it when I say good things about him, but what can I say: he runs 1.4 billion people with an iron hand."
"He happens to be a very smart person," Trump said. "Our leader is a stupid person."
As DeSantis and Haley battle it out in the polls, the Florida governor has pulled two major endorsements in Iowa recently: Governor Kim Reynolds and Family Leader president Bob Vander Plaats, an influential Evangelical conservative.
“We need to find somebody who can win in 2024,” Vander Plaats told Bret Baier on Tuesday night when he threw his support behind DeSantis, citing the GOP’s less-than-stellar performance in the 2022 midterms.
Iowa-based pollster J. Ann Selzer told me DeSantis is “popular with Iowa Republicans” and noted that Vander Plaats has a record of endorsing eventual caucus winners.
“These endorsements get DeSantis much-needed attention, so likely to not hurt. We’ll have to see if they help him enough to make [a] difference,” Selzer said in a statement.
Iowa senate president Amy Sinclair, who has endorsed DeSantis herself, told me Reynolds and Vander Plaats “bring strong political organizations to the team that will take DeSantis’s already historic ground game to the next level.”
“Their endorsements tell Iowans that DeSantis is the proven conservative fighter who can beat Trump and Biden, and then lead America's revival,” she said.
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thought I would check in
all sounds good to me:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/terrible-choices-deep-distrust-path-135113800.html
If he would stick to this we should be good.
It seems like re aligning our priorities should breed success and "long term" return to sensible not progressive success for the US
I hesitate to think that with Trump, even if he wins we will lose the next one from him overkill his personal interests.
Any thoughts?
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Is that the link you intended?
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https://news.yahoo.com/5-questions-looming-over-president-230000479.html
(There are way more than 5)
His age.
The economy.
Democrat divisions over Israel Palestine
3rd party competitors
Can he make Trump unelectable
(Doug)
1. It's not age, it's the degradation of his already limited intelligence. And no, they got him this far but there is no cure for 'aging'.
2. The economy will change when policies improve. For the most part,, not likely in this time frame. Large downside risks.
3. Division over Israel won't go away. He mostly picked the right side but all the opponents to that are from his own political party.
4. The 3rd party challenges we know of are all Democrats. I don't buy that Dems like RFK and Manchin et Al will pull from Trump.
5. Trump's so-called legal challenges are turning into discovery that may help him and also delays that prevent some sort of outcome in a timely manner.
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Nikki Haley’s Medicare Advantage
A new study shows insurer competition reduces costs.
By
The Editorial Board
Follow
Nov. 23, 2023 4:16 pm ET
Few politicians are willing to touch entitlements these days, but Nikki Haley dared to do so in the recent debate on Medicare. A new study shows her pitch to expand the Medicare Advantage program could lower costs and improve care.
Medicare Advantage plans are growing rapidly and cover about half of the entitlement’s beneficiaries. Private insurers administer the plans and are paid by Medicare per beneficiary. Insurers compete for patients by offering benefits, including vision and dental care that aren’t available in traditional fee-for-service Medicare.
Lower premiums have made Advantage plans popular in particular among low-income seniors. Plans are able to offer more benefits at lower cost in part by reducing unnecessary care and expensive hospital stays.
Avalere, a healthcare consulting firm, analyzed utilization rates in traditional Medicare versus Advantage plans. After adjusting for disease and demographics, Avalere found that fee-for-service utilization was 12% higher for skilled nursing homes and 37% higher for hospital inpatient care in 2019.
Hospitals are the biggest driver of Medicare spending. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has tried to use performance-based payment models such as accountable care organizations (ACOs) to improve preventative care and reduce hospital admissions. But these haven’t moved the dial as much as Medicare Advantage plans.
The Avalere study doesn’t dissect why healthcare utilization is so much lower in Medicare Advantage. Democrats who oppose private competition accuse insurers of putting up bureaucratic hurdles to treatments. That may be true in some cases, but it doesn’t explain why inpatient hospital utilization is so much lower among Advantage patients.
One reason is private insurers have a financial incentive to keep patients out of the hospital by improving adherence to treatments and coordination of care. CMS also scores plans based on quality metrics, including diabetes control, medication adherence and post-emergency room visits. Higher-rated plans receive bonuses.
As Ms. Haley noted at the GOP debate, the Medicare Board of Trustees estimated this year that the program’s hospital trust fund—financed by payroll taxes—would run dry by 2031. If fee-for-service utilization rates were similar to those in the Advantage program, Avalere projects that the hospital trust fund would remain solvent until 2048.
But instead of expanding Medicare Advantage, the Biden Administration is trying to limit the program’s growth by restricting plan marketing and reducing payments for treating higher-risk patients under the guise of rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. The reason is purely ideological: Progressives loathe private medicine and want the government to control all healthcare.
As an alternative to competition, the Administration is resorting to brute government force to curb Medicare spending: restricting access to new Alzheimer’s treatments, imposing price controls on other medicines, and reducing reimbursements to doctors. CMS recently finalized a rule cutting physician fees by 3.4% next year, which it purported to offset partly by increasing payments to ACOs that treat more minorities.
Medicare’s low reimbursement rates are driving doctors to leave private practice for hospitals, which reduces provider competition and increases healthcare spending. Ms. Haley’s idea of unleashing private competition isn’t a panacea to runaway entitlement spending, but it’s less painful than the price and reimbursement controls that Democrats want.
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Not clear on how she would "expand" Medicare advantage.
I just did a quick search and no specifics come up.
This is the most I have seen:
https://meaww.com/internet-applauds-candidate-nikki-haley-as-she-reveals-her-plan-for-improving-healthcare-system-in-second-gop-debate
Does she mean to get more seniors into them?
Does she mean expand to other groups - younger people? Those too young for Medicare but cannot afford their own insurance and do not get through work.
----------------------------------------------------------------
We all know the problems, so pointing that out is the easy part.
Calling for more competition may be helpful but it is not like there is not already some competition.
Agree with transparency concerning Pharmacy Benefits Managers! for sure.
There is a lot of competition already in it though there are a few major players like Humana United Health Care etc.
I have gotten many solicitations for them the past few yrs .
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I still think Dr. Ben Carson's proposal of 2016 was and is the best and is actually worthy of genuine support.
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second
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/what-happens-if-a-sitting-president-dies-while-running-for-reelection/ar-AA1ktrhi?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=0fc549737f004ba9a53b60c68aaf7c88&ei=7
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Funny at least to me to know Newsom and Harris don't like each other. That battle is coming. Get the popcorn, as they say...
https://themessenger.com/opinion/kamala-harris-gavin-newsom-democratic-civil-war-california-ambition-president
Besides lowest popularity in history and being first to leave the 2020 race with 0.0 delegates, Harris has absolutely zero executive experience.
Her closest brushes with executive experience come from running a prosecutors' office that did not prosecute, and to stand (sit) with President Biden while Obama advisers ran his White House.
Newsom, also overrated, has emerged as the heir apparent to a nearly deceased incumbent.
So how does this substitution happen?
Not without a fight.
https://themessenger.com/opinion/kamala-harris-gavin-newsom-democratic-civil-war-california-ambition-president
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It is hard to believe Biden actually be the nominee.
Someone(s) somewhere ( I read and listen to a good amount of political news) stated Biden will announce an alternative to himself during the convention and shake up the race.
News is it is running past deadlines in many states for someone else to enter.
God, if he should win, move over Barbara Streisand and Cher - > I would want to leave the US and escape to I don't know where.
Tahiti?
Switzerland?
NZ?
South Pole?
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"Someone(s) somewhere ( I read and listen to a good amount of political news) stated Biden will announce an alternative to himself during the convention and shake up the race."
A post here not too long ago discussed this.
Seems quite plausible to me.
Did I see that the DeSantis-Newsom debate on Hannity is this coming week?
Could be a real good chance for DeSantis to reframe things in a powerful way , , ,
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9 PM Hannity's slot for 90 minutes on Fox
Nov 30 - Thursday :
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4320985-desantis-newsom-debate-what-we-know-about-red-vs-blue-state-live-event/
I look forward to it and have my fingers crossed for Ron
though I am a bit nervous Newsom is slicker as well as a BS er
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FWIW IMHO this could very well turn into a histocally pivotal moment.
For example Newsom could close the deal with the Dem powers to have Magoo hand off his delegates to him in the run up to the Dem Convention or at the Conventions itself.
For DeSantis, this is make or break as to whether he hs the chops to be a winning nominee should Trump somehow not get the nomination (e.g. some legal trouble not yet calculated). Also, can he put Newsom on his heels regarding China and by so doing blunt Haley's present momentum on geopolitics?
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Right, this could be career defining for both of them. I sort of predict and hope both present their side of it as well as is possible. The facts favor DeSantis and the charisma and media backup go to Newsom.
DeSantis trails Trump by 50-60 points and Newsom isn't even running (yet), so in one sense this isn't even relevant. But Trump is 77 and Biden 81 and both face what normal people would call insurmountable legal troubles.
Ironically, DeSantis needs Newsom to far outshine Biden. He needs the dynamic in the race to change, and knocking out Biden is way easier than knocking out Trump. (Only Trump can knock out Trump.)
I expect to see DeSantis ready for all the cheap shots and distortions Newsom will throw at him. He needs to hit it out of the park. He needs to win a few independents over to the conservative side and let conservatives know he is up to the job. And even that may not be enough.
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https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2023/11/27/the-guy-who-cant-win-v-the-guy-who-will-lose-n2631622
knock out the MAGA and Marxist nuts and we are left with the rest of the country who has no preferred candidate.
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https://washingtontimes-dc.newsmemory.com/?token=35e9f9270bb4ba4089253ab1f5a674bf_656600ff_6d25b5f&selDate=20231128
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https://washingtontimes-dc.newsmemory.com/?token=35e9f9270bb4ba4089253ab1f5a674bf_656600ff_6d25b5f&selDate=20231128
Even if his America First 2.0 messaging matched conservatism perfectly in the issue polls, is he the right guy with the right experience for the job? (No)
Also he has been running to be the best conservative, not to win more people over to conservatism. In my view.
Trump jumped from private success to President, but that is the exception, not the path. Also he was well known nationally for decades, not new on the scene. And his main experience was show business, Apprentice, Celebrity Apprentice, where maybe none of us saw him but millions did, and he perfected his comfort speaking to the camera.
Running a government, perhaps the largest government in the world, is different than running your own solely owned business, no matter how big or how successful it is.
Being unwilling to take any of the steps in between is not a good sign. In his 30s and worried about his sell by date. You only get one chance at a first impression and then you are a perennial candidate. Harold Stassen was a young Governor sensation before he was a perennial has been.
Obama first ran for State Senator and US Senator first and was still new on the scene. Hillary went up to NY and handed herself a Senate seat first, then lost. The so called "actor" President that no one took seriously at first served two terms as California Governor first.
Trump accomplished a lot, mostly undone since, but he also struggled with the process and lost reelection.
Vivek needs a save face exit from this race, soon, and needs to work on reaching more to the general electorate, not just 4% of the 40% (Republicans), then needs to hope Trump picks him for VP.
But should Trump pick him? Probably not.
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" But should Trump pick him? Probably not "
I rather feel sorry for whoever he does pick
Agree with what you stated.
Vivek might have political future in some other role but not as President or as VP at this time.
Trump would be wise not to pick him as VP.
I don't know who he should pick . I like Pompeo but being a VP to Trump would be a poor choice for Pompeo.
Same goes for anyone I can think of.
Kari Lake would fit Trump's bill maybe and would be a fine lacky for him, but not good for us......
I dunno.
Trump could do well with other syncaphants. Mike Huckabee who I usually ignore, Dick Morris, Steve Bannon or some other total MAGA
none would bring in new voters to us.
I don't think anyone who would want to be his BP would bring in any new voters with him lead on the ticket.
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DeSantis would bring superior executive skills , , ,
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I doubt Trump would pick him since he holds grudges
and I doubt Ron would accept
but of course I could be wrong, and not rarely so.
for example after the 2022 election fiasco I thought Trump was surely done and Ron would take over.
we see how that turned out at least so far.
:wink:
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I find myself similarly situated haha.
============
https://www.oann.com/newsroom/ex-blm-leader-endorses-trump/
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/gavin-newsom-ron-desantis-fox-news-debate-florida-california-239e637b
DeSantis vs. Newsom: a Scorecard
Here’s a cheat sheet to keep track of Thursday’s debate between the Florida and California governors.
By
The Editorial Board
Nov. 28, 2023 6:47 pm
Journal Editorial Report: Despite denials, the California governor is acting like a candidate.
Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis are set to square off Thursday evening in a Fox News debate, and it should be instructive. Besides offering voters a look of the alternatives to Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the showdown between the California and Florida governors could provide a revealing policy contrast.
Sacramento has rushed to the left in recent decades while Tallahassee has moved to the right. Since winning election in 2018, Messrs. Newsom and DeSantis have advanced sharply different policies on Covid lockdowns, taxes, school choice and climate regulation, among other things. In case you’ll be keeping track at home, here is a scorecard of policy results.
• Unemployment. Despite a shrinking labor force, California’s 4.8% jobless rate is the second highest in the country and nearly twice as high as Florida’s (2.8%). California has paid $48.7 billion in unemployment benefits since January 2019—nine times as much as Florida. One reason for the disparity: Fewer Californians are starting businesses.
• Business formation. Florida has received 2.7 million new business applications since January 2019—one for every eight residents—compared to 2.3 million for California, or about one for every 18 residents. Small businesses in California pay a top income-tax rate of 13.3% compared to zero in Florida, contributing to the Golden State’s more onerous business burden.
• Personal income. Business and worker earnings have increased by an annual compounded 7.7% (in current dollars) in Florida since the first quarter of 2019 compared to 5% in California. Had California’s earnings grown at the same rate as Florida’s, the Golden State would be about $255 billion richer and collect tens of billions of dollars in more tax revenue.
• Population migration. Between July 2019 and July 2022—the latest available Census Bureau data—1,044,494 Californians left for other states while 737,433 people on net moved to Florida. According to the latest IRS data, California lost $55.7 billion in adjusted gross income between 2019 and 2021 from population migration while Florida gained $80.6 billion.
• Energy prices. Electricity prices are twice as high in California as in Florida owing to green energy mandates. Californians also pay about $1.80 more per gallon for gasoline on average than Floridians because of higher taxes and climate regulation. Gas prices have increased about 70 cents more per gallon under Mr. Newsom than Mr. DeSantis.
• Taxes and spending. State and local taxes in California add up to $10,167 per capita versus $5,406 in Florida. Higher taxes drive more spending. California spent about $14,755 per capita (including federal dollars) in 2021 compared to $8,816 in Florida.
• Pensions. Public-worker pension payments were $51.2 billion in California last year versus $7.3 billion in Florida. To fund growing pension bills, Californians will have to pay even higher taxes. Each Californian is on the hook for about $18,500 in unfunded pension obligations compared to $5,200 for each Floridian.
• Medicaid. California spends $129.2 billion annually on Medicaid—more than four times as much as Florida ($39.7 billion). California has expanded Medicaid coverage to illegal immigrants under the ages of 26 and over 50. Next year all undocumented immigrants in California will be eligible for Medicaid.
• Homelessness. The federal government counted 171,521 homeless in California last year versus 25,959 in Florida. California’s Prop. 47—which was backed by Mr. Newsom—has effectively decriminalized drug use, making it harder to force addicts on the street into treatment.
• Deficit. Despite its higher taxes, California boasted a $31.5 billion budget shortfall in May while Florida ran a $17.7 billion surplus. Personal income tax collections in California for the current fiscal year that started in July are running about $20 billion below Sacramento’s projections, auguring another large deficit.
• Student learning. California spends about 45% more per pupil on K-12 education than Florida, but its student test scores are significantly lower, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Only 30% of fourth-graders in California rated proficient in math last year compared to 41% in Florida. California’s prolonged pandemic school shutdowns magnified learning loss.
Our guess is that Mr. Newsom won’t want to talk about much of this and will instead spend most of his time flogging abortion and Donald Trump. But that will be revealing too.
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good post
suggest you email that to Sean H. Hopefully he has seen it.
But Gavin has a way of either disputing the numbers by throwing more into the exchange
and deflecting or changing the subject as we saw in Sean's previous interviews.
Ron hopefully will not let him pull his BS lines or like you point out change the subject.
Agree Gavin's answers to every question will
be
Trump
abortion
Maga
threat to democracy
threat to rule of law
blah blah blah
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Homelessness:
https://www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2023/11/CA-vs-FL-homelessness-1.png
Gas prices:
https://www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2023/11/CA-v-FL-gasoline-prices.png
Mentioned previously, electric prices are double in California.
HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?
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https://issuesinsights.com/2023/11/29/desantis-needs-to-win-the-newsom-debate-heres-how/
Sorry to overhype this, it's just that the future of the Republic and of western civilization as we knew it depends on it.
Since I don't get 'cable' I need to figure out where to watch it.
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I agree-- this is a big deal.
If it fails to be a big deal, then that too is a big deal.
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https://hannity.com/media-room/this-week-sean-hannity-hosts-desantis-vs-newsom-the-great-red-vs-blue-state-debate-details/
also on Fox News radio
Does this help?
download this app:
https://radio.foxnews.com/
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https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/top-takeaways-real-winner-of-desantis-newsom-debate
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/republican-desantis-democrat-newsom-clash-in-acrimonious-debate/ar-AA1kOYi7
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/12/01/desantis_takes_on_newsom_in_red_vs_blue_state_debate_150139.html
No I didn't get to watch or listen.
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REALLY wish Sean had kept a proper leash on Newsom and his interrupting and cross talk0 which forced DeSantis to respond in kind. Too much of the night was the two of them talking at the same time. Wish I had stuck around for the post debate fact check but I was already outta there by the time it had rolled around.
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agreed
"I am not a hall monitor"
So Newsome could cut off Ron nearly every answer and make it about identity politics, distort the statistics,
and bring up abortion as much as he can. Occasionally brings up Trump or Haley to use their criticisms against DeSantis.
And Newsome started would literally not shut up or answer the true statistics or the questions.
Ron did well.
I thought he could do even more about the immigration.
Like we don't need *immigration reform* (Dem code we need to raise legal immigration higher then 1,000,000 per yr then we will be happy to send a billion to pretend we are enforcing the border).
Simply enforce immigration law that exists!
I agree with post debate analysis that Ron was made it about different political approaches while the Gav made it all about identity politics the poor gays the rich vs poor etc.
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Credit to Sean for getting Newsom on but he had no power or leverage to control him.
Haven't seen a fact check yet.
Strange media experience for me, all these public interest events on paid TV. I could have signed up for Hulu for $80 plus (to see grown men talk over each other), then forget to cancel. They wanted my email and birth date, besides credit card and address - to see a one time program. And Hulu is Disney owned. No thank you.
Newsom won’t ever come back on and I've given Republicans enough, I shouldn't have to pay to see them debate.
Downloaded Fox radio app. It was supposed to be on there. They had a different show on.
View from the Left:
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/01/newsom-desantis-hannity-fox-debate-00129531
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If the red state blue state debate had gone smoother, more Lincoln Douglas style, there could be a follow up with national issues and what policies and priorities should be.
DeSantis has been accused of being a book banner. He addressed the issue directly, even brought one of the books.
Newsom was confronted with the poop issue. It most certainly happened under his watch. What is his defense?
Regarding poop, imagine you are a middle-class homeowner in california (is there such a thing?), and your septic or sewer system starts leaking onto your own property. Now imagine the zeal of the state and local regulators coming after you to fix it and clean up your mess. My point being, unequal treatment under the law. It's not just the numbers of the homelessness, it's that they are considered by liberals to be subhuman and not accountable to the laws that govern the rest of us.
What was the point on the Parkland shooting, 11 months before DeSantis took office? Aren't shootings overall worse in Democrat jurisdictions, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington DC?
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https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2023/11/30/fact-check-newsom-claims-more-floridians-moving-to-california-than-vice-versa/
(Newsom reframed the statistic to find his truth.)
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Sorry you could no see debate . It was worth the watch.
Ron did well but Gavin displayed a leftist's penchant for not answering questions changing the topic or cherry picking one glib response and he certainly did interrupt Ron while he was speaking at nearly EVERY answer talking over him. I was hoping Sean would simply tell him to shut the F up so Ron could finish but he never did. Gav was surely as rude as Trump was the first debate he had last time interrupting yelling at high volume and not letting Ron either get a word in edgewise or talking over him.
Politico of course is the one sided obnoxious leftist Democrat view:
It was Hannity and DeSantis v. Newsom in messy Fox debate
The Fox News host often grilled Newsom but couldn’t control the candidates.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — The debate between Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom was a big mess. There was even some poop. Fox News moderator Sean Hannity didn’t help clean things up.
DeSantis, the Florida Republican and 2024 hopeful, was looking for a campaign spark heading into the fourth GOP primary debate on Wednesday in Alabama to reverse the downward direction of his presidential bid. The governor’s team savored the chance to have the night to themselves on primetime opposite a liberal Democrat from California.
Newsom’s aim wasn’t so much to present his vision for America — he’s not running for president — as to tag DeSantis as an uncaring bully who moved to weaken gun laws after a mass shooting. Newsom also said DeSantis had flip-flopped on key issues like immigration and China in an effort to explain why the Republican governor is trailing so far behind Donald Trump.
me: who does not think Gav is not running to be back up for Biden? raise your hands - no one raised hand.
He is running for '24 if needed, or '28 for sure.
His ex wife says he always wanted to be president.
“He’s in a death spiral,” Newsom said.
The California governor pleased the White House with frequent defenses of President Joe Biden, “Bidenomics,” and by correcting DeSantis’ pronunciation of Kamala Harris.
Why did they agree to a Fox News-sponsored “debate” hosted by Hannity? Both participants are starved for national attention, and their respective suns have been blocked out by the aging leaders of their parties, 81-year-old Biden and Trump, 77. The extreme hunger for conflict from the next generation of politicians was on display Thursday night between DeSantis, 45, and Newsom, 56.
The 2024 Republican debates have been so devoid of spectacle, and, frankly, so lame, that the unlikely trio of DeSantis, Newsom and Hannity rushed to make their own entertainment. The 90-minute showdown, with the red state and blue state governors frequently talking over each other, included a surprise prop from DeSantis: a color-coded map of San Francisco covered in brown splotches representing human feces.
me : without a doubt Gav talked OVER Ron nearly every time Ron answered a question. He would interrupt shout over him , not let him finish speaking just like Trump did in first '20 debate.
I was begging Sean to jump in and tell him to SFU and let Ron finish but Sean just let him yell throughout. Probably self serving to not annoy the GAv so he would agree to another debate with Sean in future I am guessing.
The Hannity Factor
Benefiting from the one-on-one square off, DeSantis got his shots in on Newsom — with Hannity’s help. The host took a layup from DeSantis to suggest that school districts in California were teaching students about how to masturbate. Hannity also teed up a question on education and LGBTQ+ rights under the banner of “parental rights.” He premised a question about Biden with his own opinion that the president is experiencing “cognitive decline.”
me: Hannity only jumped in around 2 x and only because Gavin would NOT answer the original question.
Hannity repeatedly pressed Newsom over whether he supported abortion at any point in a pregnancy but didn’t similarly lean on DeSantis about how his signing a six-week abortion ban into law in Florida was out of step with public opinion.
me: I have to agree - IMHO 6 week ban is too short . And true as Newsom pointed out many women will not even know they are pregnant or be able to get to doctor in time.
That said Gav WOULD NOT ANSWER either Ron or Sean if he would agree to abortion up to day of birth or not - GAv's response was only that is very rare and up to the patient and their doctor, BS
There was a clear incentive for Hannity himself to prove his relevance and staying power at Fox after the departure of ratings-king Tucker Carlson. Hannity’s ability to host two high profile governors — and convince Newsom to appear on Fox — was an undeniable win. Within the first two minutes of the broadcast, he mentioned being the longest tenured cable TV host.
stage
But Hannity struggled to corral the leading governors on the debate stage, repeatedly begging them not to make him a “hall monitor.” They mostly ignored his pleas as they interrupted each other and appeared to enjoy doing so.
me: True, but the vast majority of interruptions and the only prolonged ones were the Democrat on stage
The me: True, but the vast majority of interruptions and the only prolonged ones were the Democrat on stage probably undermined DeSantis’ overall case — giving viewers the sense that the Florida governor couldn’t fend for himself and needed an extra hand from the host. “Hannity basically tried to be a human life preserver for a drowning Ron DeSantis,” Newsom adviser Sean Clegg said of the host’s approach.
The obsequiousness probably undermined DeSantis’ overall case — giving viewers the sense that the Florida governor couldn’t fend for himself and needed an extra hand from the host. “Hannity basically tried to be a human life preserver for a drowning Ron DeSantis,” Newsom adviser Sean Clegg said of the host’s approach
me: what the hell does this word "obsequiousness" have to do with anything . I had to look up the meaning and it does not fit here at all ! BS left winger tripe. And no, Sean did not need to bail out Ron.
Two times, I think he jumped in to get Newsom to simply answer the question rather then attack Ron.
DeSantis in his comfort zone
The format with Newsom gave DeSantis an opening that he hasn’t had during the last three GOP presidential debates. At Thursday’s debate, DeSantis was able to mock his opponent without competing for attention from several rivals onstage.
He seemed to have more control over the conversation, elaborating about specific policies he backed as governor of Florida — which could help him attract the attention of big donors. He questioned Biden’s ability to run for a second term given his advanced age and theorized about why Newsom had asked for the exchange in the first place.
“Why won’t you just admit that you’re running?” DeSantis asked.
me: Gav kept denying he was running for something, and denied Biden is compromised; "I would pick a 100 yo Biden over you anytime or something like that he said among other lies that Biden and Harris are both strong. Ron would say most Americans don't agree with you as they can see for themselves. Politico skips over this obvious point of course.
DeSantis played the debate pretty straight. He repeated several times that Newsom was being “slick” and “slippery,” casually dismissed entire answers as lies and said Californians were leaving the state “in droves” — an effective attack particularly with the right. “He went on a binge of putting out a lot of left-wing platitudes,” DeSantis said of Newsom at one point.
me: well Gavin does remind me of Slick Willy, and he did put out the left wing platitudes on abortion, guns, tax the wealthy, gays, women etc.
Republican presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis participates in the first debate of the GOP primary season hosted by FOX News at the Fiserv Forum on Aug. 23, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
CALIFORNIA
Hannity wants a red vs. blue state debate. Newsom and DeSantis have other plans.
BY CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO | NOVEMBER 27, 2023 06:36 AM
DeSantis stumbled with more casual viewers as his answers veered into a digital-heavy direction, including dropping bombs on Newsom over his French Laundry dinner with no explanation and trying to tie him to the district attorney of Los Angeles, who is not a household name.
me: Ron showed charts and gave statistics from reliable sources on serious crime in Ca. vs Fl.
nearly immediately Gav goes into murder is higher "per capita" in Fl than Ca. and of courses launches an assault on gun rights . So Gav tries to deflect crime to all about guns. I thought Ron could have been a bit more effective here though he did point out that the gun laws in Ca are very strict compared to Fl and we have more mass shootings in Cl even despite this. But Gav would raise his voice talk over Ron or Sean and keep repeating murder and mass shootings are higher in Florida and of course make it all seem to be due to guns.
But if voters didn’t like DeSantis before the made-for-TV clash with Newsom, it’s hard to see how he changed any minds Thursday night.
Newsom fought on culture
Newsom was far more emotive than DeSantis when delivering certain responses, especially about the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Fla., that claimed the lives of 17 people in 2018. He put DeSantis on the spot over loosening gun laws during his term, eliciting an odd response from the Florida governor who delved into a complaint about retail theft in California. It was the flip side of having the floor with only a Democrat — no Republican would have leveled similar charges in the GOP debates.
Newsom also expressed dismay about DeSantis’ policies regarding LGBTQ+ rights — one of his most effective exchanges of the night. It came after DeSantis held up a page from the book “Gender Queer” that depicted oral sex — a book Desantis claimed is in California public schools but has been removed from some Florida districts. In response, Newsom criticized Florida for removing books from school libraries that contain themes about gender identity and sexual orientation.
me: of course Gav keeps pointing yelling how Ron demeans and insults gays because he is keeping grooming out of schools ( YES GROOMING - what else is it?) He kept repeating Ron banned 1,400 books in school libraries as though Gays can't be gay marry and have kids and get tax benefits like everyone else in the US.
“I don’t like the way you demean the LGBTQ community,” Newsom said. “I don’t like how you humiliate people you disagree with. I find this primarily offensive.”
Hannity’s assistance for DeSantis impacted on Newsom but didn’t rattle him. He also accused DeSantis of pursuing culture-war fights because he was trying to compete with Trump to win the 2024 GOP nomination for president. He frequently drew attention to DeSantis’ failure to catch on in the race and asked him at one point when he was going to drop out to allow rival Republican Nikki Haley a chance to catch Trump. The exchanges helped Newsom bring the California versus Florida debate back to 2024 so he could undermine DeSantis’ electability argument.
“You are trolling folks and trying to play political games so you can out-Trump Trump,” Newsom said. “How is that going for you, Ron? You are down 41 points in your own home state.”
me: as for the poop in San Fran image it is notable it was from a reputable website as pointed out
and it was an image of the feces found in SF by people who are tracking it and the entrire city showed feces.
Me: my bottom line is Newsom was typical lib - never admit to anything even when confronted with facts,
lie, ignore stats that they don't like, talk and shout over their opponent, change the topic, turn to identity politics , to demeaning womens rights and take one fact such as murders higher in Fl than Ca PER CAPITA ( I don't know if true ) and ignore all other serious crime rape aggravated assault robberies etc. statistics and yell it back to the Conservative.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THIS: example murder per capita is higher in Fl!
and then jump the guns are the problems for all crime.
And when confronted about gun laws in Ca are strict ignore THAT stat or incongruity .
Ron did well
but Gavin the lying very smug with that ubiquitous lib smirk ( I am smarter then thou, I am right you are wrong) the entire time will be loved by the LEFT.
every time he was confronted with facts he did not like the smirk comes on as though he is telegraphing the facts are untrue and false and he knows better - a pathological liar - who lies to you, knows they lie to you, and knows you know he/she is lying, and goes on lying to your face anyway.
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except for not controlling Newsome's constant very irritating shouting and interruption that were relentless and without end . When the much fewer times Ron would fight back it was pretty much from what I recall only after Newsome would start it and not stop.
Sean had good questions
had the fact charts clear and ready
and did not interject except for 2 maybe 3 times.
and he did ask relevant questions.
We should learn the several talking points from Newsome
better answers for identity politics , switching and baiting from crime to guns
isn't anal intercourse still being done in Fl as well as Cal?
no limits there.
and Ron mentioned how Gavin is in bed with teachers unions and that is why he would not open up schools as fast as Ron did (august '20 I think)
so Gav points out he followed Fauci's advise ! ignoring that was only early in the epidemic.
one thing Ron did not do is state when exactly did Newsom open schools in Ca. He must not have know the date as he just said "much later" .
looks like it was April '21.
Gav of course denied this hurt children ed :roll:
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https://thelibertydaily.com/gruesome-newsoms-wife-reportedly-stepped-shut-down-his/
Both Politico and NBC News reported that they were planning to go over time and then never came back from the commercial break. Newsom's wife called it.
He wants the national attention. She could see it's going badly. Just my take.
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At the end of debate Sean asked if both wanted to go on longer and both agreed.
Commercial break.
Back and Sean announces by mutual agreement both had other engagements and agreed to continue.
No other reason given.
I never heard anything about Newsom's wife.
I don't know if she thought it going badly. When does a Dem ever admit to anything.
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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/newsom-desantis-debate-sudden-end/
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Finally an alleged link for the record :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyiFD_OsTPE
A day late.
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https://hotair.com/karen-townsend/2023/12/01/some-thoughts-on-the-red-state-vs-blue-state-debate-n595921
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2023/12/01/desantis-newsom-debate-fox-blue-states-losing/71746426007/
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If you agree with everything Newsom does and oppose everything DeSantis does, this is your view I guess. But then what about homelessness, crime, gas prices, electricity prices, home prices, taxes, insurance costs, taxes, parental rights, businesses and people leaving, and human feces on public sidewalks? Who cares about those?
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article282529493.html
Many elephants in the room they refuse to acknowledge, but talking points for Leftists are here.
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With a couple of days for reflection on the debate, here are my takeaways:
a) Failure of Hannity to impose order made for a decidedly unpresidential experience for the viewer. DeSantis "won" but did not show him as a future President.
b) DeSantis has just had another turnover at the top of his team. Again, not looking presidential.
c) He has not cracked the code on how to go after Trump, and with Trump "beating" Biden in the polls, the heart of his sales pitch dissipates.
d) He would make/have made an ideal running mate for Trump, but Trump blew it.
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CD
Agree with all of your conclusions ; spot on.
Barring Trump dies, it looks like him.
Even though he leads Biden by 2 to 4 points ~ in the general he still only captures around 45% of the population.
Kennedy takes some ~ 10% (?)and West ~ 2 %
I believe many will simply stay home.
We have to keep convincing the Independents Trump is the lesser of two evils and they need to vote.
As for Muslims who are swearing up and down they will not vote for Biden they sure as hell are not going to vote for Trump.
What a God awful situation for us. :-o
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DeSantis Predicts Iowa Win as Political Operation Backing Campaign Fractures
Florida governor and Nikki Haley are to face off in a debate on Wednesday, as they compete to be the GOP’s top Trump alternative
By
John McCormick, Alex Leary, and Kimberly S. Johnson
Dec. 3, 2023 12:57 pm ET
Press” program. “It’s going to help propel us to the nomination. But I think we’ll have a lot of work that we’ll have to do beyond that. I don’t think you take anything for granted.”
DeSantis and Haley, a former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, are set to appear in a debate in Alabama on Wednesday that might feature as few as three candidates. Trump, the former president and nomination front-runner, won’t participate and has skipped all three previous primary debates.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he was confident he would meet the Republican National Committee’s fundraising and polling requirements for debate participation. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is expected to qualify.
DeSantis drew a burst of much-needed media attention last week for his feisty televised debate with California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Despite his upbeat projections, DeSantis faces increasing turbulence. Internal turmoil continues to plague Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting him that has played an outsize and nontraditional role by handling many of the tasks normally handled by a campaign.
GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, in red tie, drew a surge in attention last week for his debate with California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. PHOTO: FOX NEWS CHANNEL/ZUMA PRESS
In recent days, top people working with the PAC have left, either by resignation or firing, adding to a portrait of disarray. Among those who quit are Chris Jankowski, who served as chief executive. His successor, Kristin Davison, was fired only days into the job.
On Saturday, DeSantis completed his tour of all 99 Iowa counties. He has heavily focused his campaign on the state that will start the nomination process and contends that emphasis and a well-funded ground organization will be rewarded with strong support there.
The Florida governor, however, has lost ground in Iowa since early this year. An Iowa Poll in late October showed DeSantis and Haley tied at 16%, with Trump at 43%. Other recent surveys have shown Trump with similarly wide leads.
In his “Meet the Press” appearance, DeSantis refused to say whether he would sign, as president, a six-week abortion ban similar to the one he signed in Florida, saying the question is moot because Congress lacks enough Republican votes to pass such legislation.
He also vowed to replace the Affordable Care Act, which has driven the nation’s healthcare uninsured rate lower and is increasingly popular in polling.
“We need to have a healthcare plan that works,” he said, without offering specifics. “Obamacare hasn’t worked. We are going to replace and supersede with a better plan.”
DeSantis also refused to condemn Trump’s recent use of “vermin” to describe political opponents, a word that for many invoked the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler. “I don’t use the term,” he said. “But what I don’t do is play the media’s game, where I’m asked to referee other people. He’s responsible for his words. He’s responsible for his conduct. I’m responsible for mine.”
The Florida governor predicted the race would continue to narrow and warned that if Trump is the GOP nominee the general election would be a referendum on the former president and “a lot of the issues that he’s dealing with” instead of a cleaner focus on President Biden.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has visited all 99 Iowa counties. PHOTO: LILY SMITH/THE DES MOINES REGISTER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
At an event in Newton marking the 99th county he has visited in Iowa, DeSantis appeared Saturday with Gov. Kim Reynolds and conservative Christian leader Bob Vander Plaats, two highly sought-after endorsers now campaigning on his behalf.
“In our country right now we need somebody to know that they fear God, they don’t believe they are God,” Vander Plaats said in an implied shot at Trump. “We need somebody of strong character.”
DeSantis touted his conservative record in Florida, including rejecting Covid restrictions. He said he would follow through with campaign promises, something he suggested Trump failed to do.
“We’ve got to have a president who can come in and not just be a caretaker for four years, but a change agent for eight,” he said, alluding to how Trump could only serve another four years if elected. DeSantis also suggested Trump has gotten into “needless food fights” and been a divisive force.
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Trump was also in Iowa on Saturday, making two stops designed to drive caucus turnout. He criticized DeSantis and Reynolds for opposing him and mocked his rival’s campaign struggles. “He seems to be dropping like a very, very sick bird into the ground,” he said in Ankeny.
Trump reminded the crowd of DeSantis’s congressional record, which included opposing corn-based ethanol mandates and support of nonbinding budget resolutions that would raise the retirement age for Social Security. DeSantis during the campaign has said he supports ethanol and has said any changes to entitlement programs should be targeted to younger people. Trump’s campaign also released a new television ad for Iowa featuring Reynolds’s past praise of him.
Julie Routh, an Iowan who attended the DeSantis rally, noted Trump’s age, legal troubles, rants and insults as reasons she switched her support to the Florida governor. “I want someone with good character,” she said.
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Paul Scott, an Iowan trying to decide between DeSantis, Trump and Ramaswamy, said the Florida governor moved up on his list after the weekend event. “Many of the things he’s done in Florida I support,” he said, pointing to how DeSantis kept schools and businesses open during the pandemic.
Richard Rogers, another rally attendee, expressed a distrust of polling and said he thinks DeSantis could triumph in the state next month. He said he was an early backer of DeSantis because the governor shares his “deep-seated” principles on a variety of issues and is a military veteran like he is.
Should Trump eventually be the Republican nominee, Rogers said it could depress turnout and hurt the GOP with down-ballot races. “Trump will hurt the party all the way to the bottom,” he said.
In Iowa and beyond, the DeSantis campaign has been heavily reliant on Never Back Down. The super PAC can’t legally coordinate with the campaign, but it has run the bulk of the governor’s advertising and ground operation. That has triggered communication issues and rising frustration from DeSantis and his closest advisers, people familiar with the situation say.
A new super PAC called Fight Right has been formed by DeSantis’ allies, underscoring a power struggle playing out during critical moments of the campaign.
“Iowa caucus winners have shown it takes a combination of hard work, air support and grassroots organizing to win,” said David Polyansky, a DeSantis deputy campaign manager. He praised Never Back Down’s ground effort and said it would contribute to success on Jan. 15.
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Some real batshit mixed in here:
Trump’s Second-Term Plans: Anti-‘Woke’ University, ‘Freedom Cities’
Former president wants more active government, upending GOP orthodoxy
Donald Trump has outlined a governing platform that is barely recognizable to previous generations of Republican politicians. LINDSAY DEDARIO/REUTERS
By Andrew RestucciaFollow
and Aaron ZitnerFollow
Updated Dec. 2, 2023 12:25 am ET
WASHINGTON—As he campaigns to retake the White House, Donald Trump has increasingly tossed aside the principles of limited government and local control that have defined the Republican Party for decades.
The former president is laying plans to wield his executive authority to influence school curricula, prevent doctors from providing medical interventions for young transgender people and pressure police departments to adopt more severe anticrime policies. All are areas where state or local officials have traditionally taken the lead.
He has said he would establish a government-backed anti-“woke” university, create a national credentialing body to certify teachers “who embrace patriotic values” and erect “freedom cities” on federal land. He has pledged to marshal the power of the government to investigate and punish his critics.
It is a governing platform barely recognizable to prior generations of Republican politicians, who campaigned against one-size-fits-all federal dictates and argued that state legislators, mayors and town halls were best positioned to oversee their communities. While many of his proposals would be difficult to achieve, the second-term agenda outlined by Trump could require waves of new federal intervention, even as he calls for firing government workers, neutering the “deep state” and cutting regulations.
“If Trump wins, the days of small government conservatism may be over,” said Lanhee Chen, a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution who served as the policy director of Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
A transformed GOP Agenda
For Trump, a second presidential term would mark the culmination of a yearslong campaign to reshape the party in his image, moving away from the core ideals espoused for decades by Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, William F. Buckley and other idols of the conservative movement. Instead, Trump has rallied his millions of supporters in part by tapping into the cultural and social grievances that animate the conservative base.
The rapid shift in the priorities of the party has led to something of an existential crisis for longtime Republican officials. They have privately said the GOP of today is unrecognizable from even a decade ago, when many Republicans were campaigning on leaner government, balanced budgets, entitlement reform and free trade.
As president, Trump presided over four straight years of rising annual deficits, signing bipartisan budget agreements that boosted federal spending. He launched a trade war with China. And earlier this year, he warned his party not to “cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security.”
“What do we stand for as Republicans? The orthodoxy is a little bit upside down,” said Margaret Spellings, who led the Education Department and the Domestic Policy Council during the George W. Bush administration.
Fighting the culture wars
The former president’s allies contend that the party needed shaking up, and that Republicans were losing elections because they misjudged what American voters wanted. They contend that government intervention is a necessary corrective to what they view as overreach at the hands of liberals promoting their own ideas on diversity and education.
Brooke Rollins—a Trump White House official who now leads the America First Policy Institute, a think tank run by former Trump aides—argued that the majority of the public thinks that “the federal government [should] ensure that it is working on behalf of the people.”
“When local or state government drifts away from that, either unintentionally or intentionally, then I think that the vision is with an America First approach that the federal government will lean in and pull freedom back to where it should be,” Rollins said.
A Trump campaign spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s approach has won partial buy-in from powerful conservative groups. Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said conservative policy has to “account for the reality of the damage that has been imposed by the culture war.”
Though Trump’s education policy proposals break with the longstanding conservative belief that schools should be controlled locally, Roberts argued that exceptions should be made to ban critical race theory from school curricula, for example, or to ensure that transgender athletes compete on teams only of the sex they were assigned at birth.
“For two generations, conservatives have said, ‘Let’s apply the principle of subsidiarity’ ”—the idea that decisions should be made at the most appropriate local level, Roberts said. “And what has happened is that federal money changed how those local entities, particularly local school boards, make decisions. It’s worse than that—it’s corrupted and diseased it. And so any conservative running for office would want to correct that.”
Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, a former Republican senator and governor, said Trump’s ideas were “antithetical to conservative thought and conservative history.” The federal government funds only a small portion of elementary and secondary education and yet Trump would use that money to “mandate 100% of the control.”
“That’s not conservative—but that’s the point: Trump is not a conservative,” said Gregg, who has endorsed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s presidential bid. “He’s an iconoclastic populist, and his views have no relation to any philosophical views. They’re all related to his personal views, which are built on all sorts of different platforms depending on what he sees in the mirror in the morning.”
Gregg said he found it ironic that Trump was proposing a muscular use of federal authority over schools, given that conservatives had once attacked Gregg for overreaching with a landmark, bipartisan bill he co-authored, known as No Child Left Behind. That bill, signed by then-President George W. Bush in 2002, required reading and math assessment tests for students in certain grades. Schools faced sanctions for failing to move more students toward proficiency, but the states, and not the federal government, set the standards.
Even some of Trump’s allies have privately expressed doubts about several of his proposals. Several former Trump administration officials said they were skeptical of the feasibility of the former president’s plan, announced in a video message on his social-media platform last month, to establish an “American Academy” funded by “taxing, fining and suing” what he calls “excessively large” private university endowments. Trump pitched the government-backed free online school as an alternative to the current higher education system. “There will be no wokeness or jihadism allowed,” Trump said.
Roberts, Heritage’s president, said he “loves” the university plan but opposes Trump’s proposal for federal certification of teachers. “I hate it. It’s a terrible idea,” he said. Heritage wants to end teacher certification altogether. As with many of his second-term proposals, Trump has offered little detail about the plan other than to say he would create a “credentialing body to certify teachers who embrace patriotic values and support the American Way of Life.”
Using government to counter liberalism
Trump’s platform is an expansive example of the reorientation among some within the GOP more broadly in favor of a more active federal government. In Congress, some Republicans have pushed for such federal measures as caps on credit-card interest rates, social-media regulations and worker protections in contracts that fit awkwardly with the party’s business-oriented impulses.
Like Trump, several other GOP presidential candidates say that an aggressive use of federal authority is needed to push back against a liberal social agenda that they say has taken hold in schools, academia, the media and corporate boardrooms. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has argued that “old-guard corporate Republicanism isn’t up to the task.”
The idea is an extension of one advanced in an influential 2016 essay, “The Flight 93 Election,” by Michael Anton, who went on to be a Trump national security aide. He said that the U.S. was “headed off a cliff” because of liberal dominance of institutions, and traditional conservatives weren’t prepared for the seriousness of the fight.
Trump’s governing philosophy is at times difficult to decipher. Unlike with past presidents, his résumé doesn’t include years of government service during which he staked out consistent positions on issues of the day. People who have worked for him said he is unconcerned with hewing to timeworn party rules, and the former president has privately and publicly expressed disdain for Republican standard-bearers such as Bush.
“Certain things hit him viscerally, and he wants to fix them personally. He thinks Republicans have been too passive in the face of a lot of these issues,” said Joe Grogan, Trump’s former Domestic Policy Council director. “He’s totally nondoctrinaire. He’s definitely willing to throw the old rules away.”
Trump’s unorthodox and unpredictable approach to governing continued throughout his White House tenure, and a second term would push that approach further.
In dozens of policy proposals outlined in speeches and on his campaign website, Trump has called for vastly expanding the power of the presidency, shifting authority away from federal agencies and to himself. He has said he would slash major federal programs and revive a mandate from his first term to eliminate two regulations for every new one that is put in place.
“For anyone to say he loves big government—that’s just wrong,” Rollins said.
More government means more bureaucracy
Implementing many of his other proposals could require building additional layers of government bureaucracy, some of which could overrule or duplicate existing state and local efforts. Credentialing teachers on the federal level could mean creating a new government body that would complicate existing state certification efforts.
Setting up a new government-backed university could require a labyrinthine system of government contracts to hire instructors and staff. Trump’s proposals to direct the government to investigate everything from MSNBC to hospitals could require hiring additional lawyers and other employees to carry out the probes.
Donald Trump has made many proposals that call for expanding presidential power if he recaptures the White House. PHOTO: ALON SKUY/GETTY IMAGES
Other vaguely defined ideas—like Trump’s proposals to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to declassify and publish documents on “Deep State spying” and an independent auditing system to monitor U.S. intelligence agencies—would also likely require new government programs.
Washington policy-making veterans said many of Trump’s plans are unlikely to come to fruition even if he wins a second term, citing logistical and financial hurdles, potential opposition from Congress and likely court challenges.
The former president’s proposals “might make for good stump speech fodder (at least for his MAGA base), but are miles from the real world of programs and policies,” Michael Petrilli, an education policy analyst and the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, said in an email. “The point of these proposals is to take sides in the culture war, not to present a governing agenda.”
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https://apnews.com/article/fourth-republican-presidential-debate-candidates-11038f48f805d5e6b881e3547fe807d8
Tomorrow?
I wish Vivek and Christie would go away. Trump should jump in but he won't. He's following the Biden in the basement routine that worked so well.
Important point that also won't be followed:
This should be a contest of who can beat up on Biden and Dem policies the best, not beat up on each other.
If they did that, they wouldn't need to interrupt and talk over each other, the program would be watchable for independents and persuadables, and it would help them in the general election. But no, they each want the nomination more than they want to save the country, and so none of these four at this point have a chance to do any of it, while the poorest debater of them all sits out.
Frustrating for those of us in the armchair. We wait for the next election to throw the bums out and then watch our own side self-destruct almost every four years.
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Regarding DeSantis campaign turmoil, it's a symptom and a distraction. The problem isn't money, it's that not enough agree he should be the new leader.
At this point he needs incremental improvement. He needs (1) a slight bump from his Newsom debate. He needs (2) to beat the polls in Iowa, finish a strong second. (I don't see how he beats Trump). He needs (3) the Vivek and Christie shows to end (also not happening). To truly take on Trump he needs (4) Haley out, that isn't going to happen. And he needs (5) Trump to step in it or suffer some real setback that right now isn't in the cards. So he needs to pretend the race for second matters right up until the end - in case a door opens.
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"I wish Vivek and Christie would go away."
The VR vote will go to Trump, and the Christie vote, and anti-Trump vote, will go to Haley.
"Trump should jump in but he won't. He's following the Biden in the basement routine that worked so well."
a) It DID work;
b) He is rather busy facing some 140 years in prison and/or the destruction of his business empire.
"This should be a contest of who can beat up on Biden and Dem policies the best, not beat up on each other."
Worth noting that at the moment this favors Haley-- but I would offer that this formulation leaves the great divide in the Rep Party in place.
"If they did that, they wouldn't need to interrupt and talk over each other, the program would be watchable for independents and persuadables, and it would help them in the general election. But no, they each want the nomination more than they want to save the country, and so none of these four at this point have a chance to do any of it"
I would come at this from a different direction-- the moderators (are you reading the forum here Sean?) need to put a muzzle on this and insist on regular order.
"while the poorest debater of them all sits out."
Ummm , , , Trump raped Megyn Kelly, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, etc etc
"Frustrating for those of us in the armchair. We wait for the next election to throw the bums out and then watch our own side self-destruct almost every four years."
Agree.
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"Regarding DeSantis campaign turmoil, it's a symptom and a distraction."
For the record, if I have it right, the turmoil is in a PAC which technically is not subject to his control.
"The problem isn't money, it's that not enough agree he should be the new leader."
a) His six week abortion signature and poor follow up explanations lead many to ignore him from the get go. Note that Trump has taken a very different tack.
b) He has yet to crack the code on how to go after Trump-- my post today of the article about his second term positions offers fertile material here-- but I suspect RD will not seize the opportunity.
c) He should be comparing his polling numbers against Biden with Trump's. Haley should do this too.
d) Though on the whole I think he has geopolitics right, he has not cracked the code on how to communicate it-- contrast Haley, who agree or disagree, has.
"To truly take on Trump he needs (4) Haley out, that isn't going to happen."
Were she to be hit by lightning tomorrow (NOT wishing for this! Just setting up hypothetical!) where would her vote go? Not clear to me.
"And he needs (5) Trump to step in it or suffer some real setback that right now isn't in the cards. So he needs to pretend the race for second matters right up until the end - in case a door opens."
EXACTLY. To this end, debate food fights do not really serve him, even if/when he "wins". He needs to inspire- to show he can LEAD the country. He CAN do this. I posted here either before or soon after he announced about a really good speech he gave giving voice to our American Creed. With Trump an unguided missile in this regard, IMHO this is where he has his best chance of pulling an inside straight.
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Doug and CD both make excellent points.
I agree about Vivek.
I was totally dismayed and indeed, even shocked when I saw he and CC are in this debate. Why is Rhonda Mcdaniel so foggy minded.
What a waste of time and of course Vivek will (despite some good ideas) use his big mouth to bash (like Dana Bash) fellow R's which is NOT what we need now.
Christie seems to not realize his bashing Trump is a waste of time and not needed from his standpoint since we hear 24/7 why Trump will ruin the nation, democracy, our Republic, Nazi, autocrat, dictator, Putin lover
on every single media outlet except for the few conservative sites and radio we do have on our side.
We all notice how the frenzied screams yells yelps calls and proclamations of how he is the worst danger to world has stepped up just in the past week.
I think Liz Cheney will run as independent. I read today the Dems worry if she does that she would siphon votes from Biden. This is clearly a lie. Clear if she were to run she would get zero votes from Dems and a small fraction from Trump.
If Haley dropped out the never Trumps would have her to vote for.
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"Why is Rhonda Mcdaniel so foggy minded"?
It's the Romney genetics.
VR is glib, arrogant, and lacking in self-awareness. He also says some really intelligent things (some with win-win paradigm shift potential)- things that I would like to hear from the other candidates-- Trump in particular would benefit.
Cheney is delusional-- and irrelevant except as Pravda click bait.
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With the exception of the incredibly unnecessary and stupid comment about "dictator", Trump was in oustanding form for one hour with Sean in front of a live audience in Iowa. Excellent ability to flow between and integrate different subjects, deflate concerns, present a vision for a way up from the hole in which we find ourselves.
On the subject of deficits/spending/SS and Medicare/payments on the national debt Trump's answer was drill baby drill. Glib wishful thinking or crafty win-win mind? In the fullness of time, perhaps all will be revealed. Regardless, politically it struck me as astute.
Hannity did not bring up Trump's actions and inactions during the Chinese Cooties.
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Agreed CD
I turned it on sometime into the meeting
and I heard Trump going off about Afghansitan etc which we have all heard a thousand times before and I had to switch stations for a bit because I can't take any more of past topics.
But then after next commercial and I turned it back on and was truly very impressed overall.
Mostly forward thinking (agree making us exploit the oil we have I find hard to believe will due much if anything about debt and social security medicare and the rest ) and with more *specifics*.
Not just he will solve all the US problems etc. Less simply beating his chest. Less looking backward
The "dictator thing Trump was joking when he said yes but then clearly pointed out he meant only the "first day" with regards to securing the border (good) and re booting fracking and Anwar (good)
Perhaps he should have simply said NO.
After the interview Abby Philips on CNN
purposely took this out of context to say Trump said he would be dictator the first day and sickeningly CNN left wing drive by style did not point out it was only about energy and illegal immigration
and thus concluded with her lacky staged guest he ADMITS TO PLANNING ON BEING A DICTATOR !!!!!
God awful how I hate the left wing media.
Every time I channel surf and run by MsLSD OR CnN
it is all about the dangers of trump
the polls have them going even more bananas,
they cannot sleep they cannot think straight they have totally tunnel vision and thoughts 24/7 about the dangers of Trump.
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https://spectator.org/gop-game-changer-winning-over-black-voters-republicans/
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/10/07/how_can_the_republican_party_reach_black_voters_146525.html
I don't know why the GOP can't work harder to fight the LEFT propaganda on this:
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/timing-gops-outreach-black-voters-better-rcna24040
Rhonda McDaniel in 2020 on Black outreach:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ronna-mcdaniel-trumps-accomplishments-in-black-communities-boosting-votes
Black women certainly not impressed. 98% voted Dem! God awful .
70% mothers without being married
How can we reach them?
capitalism is not enough in my view
how about we come with better health care support (I admit do not know how to do this)
real economic zones in Black areas
agree with education support
make it VERY CLEAR that GOP does NOT support racism in any form
not just say well some are good people !
Rhonda seems like mostly her answer then was simply "trump" went to Detroit etc once as significant.
That is dismally weak outreach
Opening an GOP office and an urban setting alone is not enough.
I am not sure what else they are doing.
Can't find much
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ccp, great questions and comments. Some random responses.
We preach to the choir. We don't really know how to reach anyone else. We don't try. We get blocked, and they don't let us reach them. Every long while they get the message anyway.
Capitalism the word is evil because that's what they learned, they were never taught the good parts or why every other system is worse, and generally nothing can change their mind since it's never really tried. I would call it economic freedom, not capitalism. Example that explains capitalism, a shovel might cost $20 at Home Depot. A trencher may cost $50,000 at a machinery store. A hut could be built without power tools with one person. A tall building requires cranes and so on. Without some of these advances, we are worse off. The productivity gains were needed to escape poverty and pursue higher interests, but look around. Only people who already knew this are reading it.
Another point is the welfare state helped some but mostly worked to destroy families, culture and neighborhoods.
"make it VERY CLEAR that GOP does NOT support racism in any form
not just say well some are good people !"
- Further to that is the racism of low expectations. "Voter ID is racist" is insulting to many or most they refer to. Downgrading school expectations, same thing.
Trump alone has had some ability to reach minorities, as counterintuitive as that seems. Through his celebrity and his boldness, I guess.
Last point for the moment mentioned many times previously, a 1% or 2% movement in politics is gargantuan, and we are potentially getting more than that. Look at the margins in the key states.
We have to keep trying. Better messaging, reach out wider, reach out differently, but mainly the way we teach them our way is better happens when they see the other side govern.
In my inner city work I saw the excitement in 2008 of having a first 'black' President. Over the 8 years they noticed nothing got better for them, plus they saw no one discriminated against him, just the opposite. Then Biden was the self appointed hero of blacks and same thing. Strangely, they made better gains under Trump.
Some economic (and other) lessons today are hopefully self explanatory. Men in women's sports destroys women's sports. Defund the police and let the perps go leads to more crime, worse crimes and more victims. Open border floods the country with new people, and competes for your Healthcare and your welfare, not just your jobs and homes. Cutting off energy supplies drives up the cost. Excessive spending drives up the costs. Everything they do drives up the costs. Hard to not notice. And a late term fetus is a human. Though shalt not... what?
Now back to debate 4 on networks no one can find and no persuadables will watch, and soliciting those who already gave for more money to reach all the same people, targeted caucus goers in Iowa for example.
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https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4345136-five-reasons-why-this-final-trump-less-gop-debate-really-matters/
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I thought the debate last night actually was quite good.
Some snap impressions:
*Perhaps I am biased but overall I would score DeSantis as the "winner". His best performance so far. He may even be a reader of this forum-- he followed my advice to articulate American Creed and by so doing be more inspirational.
*Haley took some heavy hits I thought around some of her new wealthy backers.
*Christie stayed the course unapologeticly and did so rather well.
*Vivek continued his weird mix of some really intelligent things and childish insults.
*Overall I suspect the ratings were low, and few minds were changed.
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Agree
Best debate though Megyn would immediately put each candidate on their heels with questions
like you are so freakin' much behind why are you bothering.
I thought Ron was really good and post debate Newsnation analysis liked how he handled education
speaking of trade schools.
Nikki was very good.
I don't know why making 8 million is such a crime. Why shouldn't she. Vivek keeps making corporate donations a crime . Easy for him to say when he is worth near a billion.
Who does not take donations when they are offered ?
Does not mean they are beholden to the donors. Her answer is the donors come to her after they hear her policies not the other way around.
Did not change my choices:
#1 - Ron
#2 - Nikki
#3 - DJT
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Again I didn't see it. The highlights are all of the infighting. Too bad they don't eliminate more candidates this close to the voting. Too bad the voting for the primaries is so far ahead of the general election. Since Trump won't debate, too bad DeSantis and Haley can't. I understand there are party rules against unsanctioned debates. Just profanity for what I think about that. The party has been a complete hindrance. But any talk of uni party distracts from the choices. There is nothing to the left of Republicans that will save this country.
I agree with the ccp ranking.
Regarding Vivek and Christie, they should at least have to show upward momentum in order to be on the main stage with 2.5% of 40% (Republican Party) support at this late date.
What I mostly see are talking points that will later be used in the general election against whoever is the nominee.
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Nikki even came down the stronger for immigration.
She would deport every illegal who came to US since Biden was President.
She was a bit more muddy about those who were here prior.
She pointed out her parents went through the legal process and are too, annoyed, angry at those who simply see fit to overstay visas, walk in etc.
I agree Doug. Only controversy shows up in the media not ideas or policies.
Christie did not hurt the debate , goes after Trump pointed out when candidates were asked do they think that Trump is unfit for office they all refused to say calling them cowards etc.
They had too little to say why they are better for office except age
though Nikki did say we don't need the drama.
Vivek like CD said has some good ideas but then just like Trump , throws a monkey wrench into his gears and starts to be his tempered self criticizing the others for bogus stuff that just becomes fodderrish talking points for the LEFT .
He is brilliant in a theoretical way but dumb in strategic presentation in my view.
He claims his employees "loved" him. I wonder .......?
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https://fox2now.com/video/watch-the-full-newsnation-gop-debate/9232911/
Here you go, Doug.
I thought it very worth the watch.
It was close to 90 minutes, I think.
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Forgot to mention
I am furious that Tik Tok aired multiple commercials during the debate.
Smart ass CCP :x
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https://notthebee.com/article/please-enjoy-these-gop-debate-highlights-of-megyn-kelly-ending-chris-christie-and-vivek-ending-nikki-haley?utm_source=Not+The+Bee+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12072023
I had forgotten how VR had raped Nikki on failure to name the three provinces. The clip here nicely captures the terrified expression on her face.
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vivake was not the first to say that . I did as well as GM did. :-D
that said I don't read too much into it.
her point is we can't give an inch to Putin because he and the world will take more.
so she doesn't know the russian provinces by heart and vivake memorized them prior to the debate.
I have thought the whole thing was boderline questionable whether we should be there much at all.
though I sort of come down on side it is better we are.
Didn't Christie say he would be willing to send US troops there? or was it Taiwan?
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I don't disagree-- but in the Entertainment Food Fight dimension of all this, IMHO it was a big score.
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The Real Trump Risk for Republicans
Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are warning the GOP that a second term will fail.
By
The Editorial Board
Follow
Dec. 7, 2023 5:53 pm ET
The pundits are saying that Donald Trump emerged unscathed from Wednesday night’s debate because only Chris Christie attacked him as a would-be dictator. But that misses something important about what happened on stage. Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis warned GOP voters that Mr. Trump is likely to fail in a second term and explained why—and the best evidence is the record of his first term.
Mr. Christie chided his Republican rivals for failing to take on the former President directly, which is true to some extent. But the former New Jersey Governor’s warnings that Mr. Trump is a threat to the republic won’t persuade GOP voters who remember Democrats saying the same in 2016.
The more potent attacks during the debate were on his record as President. Ms. Haley gamely noted that he added $9 trillion to the national debt in four years, “and we’re all paying the price of that.” Mr. Trump spent like a Democrat on domestic programs, and there’s little reason to think he would show spending restraint during a second term.
He showed no resistance to the $2 trillion Covid blowout in March 2020. He tapped Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds to extend the enhanced unemployment benefits during the summer of 2020 after they had lapsed. He even complained that Congress’s $900 billion Covid spending bill in December 2020 was too stingy.
Mr. Trump also pushed Republicans to increase the bill’s $600 stimulus checks for each adult and child to $2,000, which Democrats then embraced. Democratic candidates in the two Georgia Senate runoffs campaigned on passing a bigger pandemic spending bill if the party won control of Congress, which they did. The $6 trillion in Covid relief fueled the runaway inflation.
Mr. Trump’s successes on judges, tax reform and deregulation were based on conventional conservative ideas that were teed up for him. Former Reps. Kevin Brady and Paul Ryan and Sen. Pat Toomey midwifed the 2017 tax reform. Mr. Trump nearly blew up the legislation toward the end when he reportedly dallied with Steve Bannon’s recommendation to raise the top marginal tax rate to 44%.
The Federalist Society gave Mr. Trump originalist judicial nominees, which Mitch McConnell made sure were confirmed. Deregulation happened thanks to Mike Pence’s guidance and nominees like Neomi Rao at the White House budget office. Those people and others like them aren’t coming back for a second Trump term. Instead the country will get Mr. Bannon and immigration svengali Stephen Miller.
Mr. Trump was far less successful on his signature issues of immigration and trade. As Mr. Christie pointed out during the debate, his tariffs didn’t change Chinese behavior but did hurt growth and American consumers. Nor did Mr. Trump solve the immigration issue or build the border wall he promised, as Mr. DeSantis noted.
Shortly after signing off on a draft bipartisan immigration compromise in Congress that would have increased border security, he went on Fox News and scuttled it. His positions on issues changed by the hour depending on whom he had last consulted. His legislative failure on immigration made it possible for Mr. Biden to use executive discretion to open the southern border gates.
Mr. Trump also didn’t rebuild the military as much as he claims. The Navy had 297 ships at the end of fiscal year 2020, far fewer than his 355-ship goal or even the 308 ships called for by Barack Obama. His budgets filled some holes in operations and maintenance. But the military is increasingly stretched and U.S. weapons supply lines are inadequate.
The former President famously failed to replace ObamaCare as he promised, and he blames the late Sen. John McCain. But Mr. Trump contributed enormously by making an enemy of McCain, and he never took the time to master the policy or sell it to the public.
***
The fundamental problem that Ms. Haley identified is that chaos follows Mr. Trump wherever he goes, like the dust cloud that follows Pig-Pen in the Charlie Brown cartoon. As Ms. Haley put it, “you can’t defeat Democrat chaos with Republican chaos. And that’s what Donald Trump gives us.”
We think American institutions are strong enough to contain whatever designs Mr. Trump has to abuse presidential power. The danger for Republican voters to consider is that his chaos theory of governance would result in a second term that failed to deliver on his promises and set up the left for huge gains in 2026 and 2028.
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The names of those three provinces...
Crimea, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Mykolayiv, and Zaporizhzhya
Geez, who didn't know that?
https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/ukraine/russia-occupied-territories-of-ukraine/#:~:text=Ukraine-,Executive%20Summary,part%20of%20the%20Russian%20Federation.
Trump didn't know what the nuclear triad was, and won.
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Another view:
For four minutes and five seconds, Haley could not name three provinces in eastern Ukraine America’s sons and daughters would be forced to defend. Eventually, she said “Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea.” That’s the wrong answer. The right answer would be Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia. The only scenario in which Crimea is part of the answer is if you fantasize leading the U.S. into WWIII.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/nimarata-the-pinata/
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NH has been running strongly on her geopolitical chops. VR has correctly pointed out that experience is not that same as wisdom/getting things right, and as a way of razzing and unbalancing NH hit her effectively with the gotcha in question. She DID look rattled, and but for his adolescent insults he would have more effectively planted in voters' minds (well, the few of us who were watching on the rather minor channel question) doubt about her claims to expertise.
If I were in the mix, the point I would be making is to raise the question of how much all this came to be because of the Bidens' corruption.
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This deserves comment, IMHO.
The Real Trump Risk for Republicans
Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are warning the GOP that a second term will fail.
WSJ Editorial Board
...
The more potent attacks during the debate were on his record as President. Ms. Haley gamely noted that he added $9 trillion to the national debt in four years, “and we’re all paying the price of that.” Mr. Trump spent like a Democrat on domestic programs, and there’s little reason to think he would show spending restraint during a second term.
He showed no resistance to the $2 trillion Covid blowout in March 2020. He tapped Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds to extend the enhanced unemployment benefits during the summer of 2020 after they had lapsed. He even complained that Congress’s $900 billion Covid spending bill in December 2020 was too stingy.
Mr. Trump also pushed Republicans to increase the bill’s $600 stimulus checks for each adult and child to $2,000, which Democrats then embraced. Democratic candidates in the two Georgia Senate runoffs campaigned on passing a bigger pandemic spending bill if the party won control of Congress, which they did. The $6 trillion in Covid relief fueled the runaway inflation.
[Doug] Trump spent too much all the way through, but in particular his good economic record is pre-covid. He was no great President, constitutionalist or conservative during the pandemic. Yes, part of the Bidenflation was spending started on his watch.
Mr. Trump’s successes on judges, tax reform and deregulation were based on conventional conservative ideas that were teed up for him. Former Reps. Kevin Brady and Paul Ryan and Sen. Pat Toomey midwifed the 2017 tax reform. Mr. Trump nearly blew up the legislation toward the end when he reportedly dallied with Steve Bannon’s recommendation to raise the top marginal tax rate to 44%.
The Federalist Society gave Mr. Trump originalist judicial nominees, which Mitch McConnell made sure were confirmed. Deregulation happened thanks to Mike Pence’s guidance and nominees like Neomi Rao at the White House budget office. Those people and others like them aren’t coming back for a second Trump term. Instead the country will get Mr. Bannon and immigration svengali Stephen Miller.
[Doug] There is no good point to be made detracting from these accomplishments because others helped. Any Republican could have picked those Judges? No. You had to get elected to do that.
Mr. Trump was far less successful on his signature issues of immigration and trade. As Mr. Christie pointed out during the debate, his tariffs didn’t change Chinese behavior but did hurt growth and American consumers. Nor did Mr. Trump solve the immigration issue or build the border wall he promised, as Mr. DeSantis noted.
[Doug] The trade attack on China was interrupted by covid. He took too long to start on the wall. Recall also he was distracted, slowed and lost Congress to the phony Russian Collusion political crime. The wall was also interrupted by not winning a second term. Refer back to my criticism of his first HORRID debate with Joe Biden relating to him not having a second term. He beat Jeb Bush but he didn't beat Slow Joe Biden.
Shortly after signing off on a draft bipartisan immigration compromise in Congress that would have increased border security, he went on Fox News and scuttled it. His positions on issues changed by the hour depending on whom he had last consulted. His legislative failure on immigration made it possible for Mr. Biden to use executive discretion to open the southern border gates.
[Doug] His unstable leadership record was a problem, but mixing "immigration reform" with border security is to play the Left's game.
Mr. Trump also didn’t rebuild the military as much as he claims. The Navy had 297 ships at the end of fiscal year 2020, far fewer than his 355-ship goal or even the 308 ships called for by Barack Obama. His budgets filled some holes in operations and maintenance. But the military is increasingly stretched and U.S. weapons supply lines are inadequate.
The former President famously failed to replace ObamaCare as he promised, and he blames the late Sen. John McCain. But Mr. Trump contributed enormously by making an enemy of McCain, and he never took the time to master the policy or sell it to the public.
[Doug] Fair points. Hard to rebuild the military with the losing of Congress. Disgraceful the way he treated McCain, and I'm no fan of his. McCain died and he still couldn't show respect. His fights with others on his own staff and cabinet also distracted and slowed his agenda.
The fundamental problem that Ms. Haley identified is that chaos follows Mr. Trump wherever he goes, like the dust cloud that follows Pig-Pen in the Charlie Brown cartoon. As Ms. Haley put it, “you can’t defeat Democrat chaos with Republican chaos. And that’s what Donald Trump gives us.”
[Doug] Right. Also what DeSantis has been pounding, Trump proved you can't do this in a lasting way in one term. And you can't do it while distracted and you can't do it while alienating everyone around you. The country needs a strong leader, headed in the right direction and eligible for two terms.
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"raise the question of how much all this came to be because of the Bidens' corruption"
Yes. Also the point that these enemies cowered (and waited) when Trump occupied the White House and are more emboldened now than we could have imagined.
I can't find it but there was a cartoon of Putin on a staircase marked in years, and he attacks Crimea during Obama, steps over four Trump years and attacks Ukraine under Biden. The graphic tells the story better than words. Remember that Kim Jung Un crawled into a hole after getting a meeting with Trump and Iran lost Soleimani under Trump. Then they trained and launched Gaza into Israel under Biden.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-vows-revenge-soleimani-killing-if-trump-not-put-trial-2022-01-03/
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https://fox2now.com/video/watch-the-full-newsnation-gop-debate/9232911/
Here you go, Doug.
I thought it very worth the watch.
It was close to 90 minutes, I think.
Thanks ccp. Yes I watched, mostly listened to it yesterday. Not quite the same as live because I've already heard all the reaction to it.
All made some good and great points, but Vivek and Christie should not have been there. Regarding those two, if a pundit were to be President,. I would take VDH and a few others ahead of Vivek. Christie is qualified with his experience as governor, he is just not for me and really is trying to undermine what he says is his own party.
Hey Christie, it isn't that Trump is unfit. Trump is Trump, a different sort of fit. It's not that he lost his marbles and too old isn't the point. Its that he has these other attributes (mentioned recently and often) that detract from his success. DeSantis put the age thing well, Father Time eventually catches up with you.
It isn't whether Haley knows Ukrainian provinces. It's that she has a different view from Vivek of the threat Putin faces to us.
Some critic (on the Left) was up in arms about DeSantis saying "man dresses" in Iraq. Maybe he shouldn't have. He was pointing for one thing he was there and that you couldn't tell a IED guy from a civilian without intelligence.
One more reason DeSantis couldn't call Trump unfit, he needs Trump voters, later if not now, and was actively courting them. He said a number of ood things about Trump I thought. But he (DeSantis) could do more to reform the FBI etc than Trump could, IMHO. For Trump it just looks personal. And again, that two terms thing.
Vivek made a good point about the President alone cleaning up the Executive Branch. Detractors on the Left call that dictatorial (when Republicans do it), but the constitution calls for a singular executive. These agencies, IRS etc are his/her responsibility. They can spend less than they are budgeted for example and can retract rules the agencies made that never went through Congress.
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Truly speaking of famous people reading the forum, I wish they, the powers that be, would read and act on ALL of it here.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/cnn-iowa-debate-will-be-a-desantis-haley-cage-match/ar-AA1lapYc
Ramiswami has seen his last debate in this race. Should drop now. Christie is out of the Iowa debate and out of the New Hampshire debate if he drops below 10% there.
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good deal except the CNN part.
they will skew towards Nikki.
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and just to prove my thinking about CNN
here is the proof:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/opinion-the-finest-speech-ever-given-in-a-presidential-debate/ar-AA1l9oaO?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=0e0d7a88d0e649788f475d132560f26e&ei=76
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and just to prove my thinking about CNN
here is the proof:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/opinion-the-finest-speech-ever-given-in-a-presidential-debate/ar-AA1l9oaO?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=0e0d7a88d0e649788f475d132560f26e&ei=76
Yes, what bologna. Great speech and he still sits at a 0.025 market share of the 40% of the market that is Republican, and declining.
I've seen him way more than he deserves and still have no idea what kind of President he would be. But I'm very clear that he hates Trump, not long after he loved Trump. And Trump didn't change.
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"good deal except the CNN part.
they will skew towards Nikki."
--------------------------------
Correct but... that is the game we are playing.
Trump faced Biden, and Chris Wallace. It was two against one. And he whined and he interrupted and he lost.
That was a general election debate and this is for the Iowa Republican primary. By now DeSantis knows how his market thinks and he genuinely identifies with them. It's strange because he is a Harvard Yale guy and presumably they are hard working, humble Midwesterners, but like Crafty says, it's the American Creed thing.
He's seen woke. He's fought woke. He's won against woke. Florida does not have a conservative media. It is/was not a conservative state. Florida went for Obama twice. DeSantis knows how to call out a liberal narrative questioner; he does it all the time and that's part of what got him here.
If they put up that kind of thing question after question, that's a high hanging curve ball over the center of the plate for him. If he can't hit it out of the park, he's not our guy.
Besides, I don't think Haley is liberal enough for their tastes either. She's a hawk, wants to deport Biden's new people and promises to cut the size of government. The Leftist moderator will want to take down both of them, and especially Trump in abstentia. And DeSantis' latest tact has been (mostly) to defend Trump (but do it better), and there is your Republican market. You win second place by being liked by Trumps 70% market share, not by CNN or Christie's 2.5%.
Here's where Nikki missed it. That question about 0 to $8 million in 10 seconds, or whatever it was. If I were her...
'Look Megyn. I ran a business with 32 billion dollars per year in revenue for 8 years. That's 500 times bigger than Vivek's business today. The fact that I did not take a billion dollar salary or profit for that is called public service. Now can we get back to who's going to bring down inflation, secure the border, shrink runaway government and lead America to rise up to the very real China threat?'
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https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiatives/state-and-local-finance-initiative/projects/state-fiscal-briefs/south-carolina
https://search.brave.com/search?q=Roivant+Sciences+revenues&source=web
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'Look Megyn. I ran a business with 32 billion dollars per year in revenue for 8 years. That's 500 times bigger than Vivek's business today. The fact that I did not take a billion dollar salary or profit for that is called public service. Now can we get back to who's going to bring down inflation, secure the border, shrink runaway government and lead America to rise up to the very real China threat?'
fantastic 2 thumbs up! :-D
hope she is reading this forum and uses this answer to counter the snotty brat
when this comes up courtesy of some "journolister " at CNN
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/cnn-s-chris-wallace-straight-up-asks-is-donald-trump-a-dictator-in-waiting-pushes-back-on-no-answer/ar-AA1lftW2?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=f7ac8b2948f14805aab0a4b168e81330&ei=11
I don't know how one goes from this topic to quoting the "great" Taylor Swift.
What!
I am losing my mind over this.
Sorry.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1effZM7l_fk
"I know everyone is frustrated"
has just replaced
'Everything' s great and you people don't appreciate it. '
My favorite comes Dem Whip Jim Clyburn:
"All of us knew."
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I only caught the tail end of Bill Maher last night
and heard John Avalon (CNN "political analyst") trying to convince us the economy is good and it is much better than it was 3 yrs ago. In other words since Biden's reign began . Great point. But John, you left out that 3 yrs ago the economy was literally shut down for corona epidemic as were schools businesses
etc.
:roll: :wink:
Maher of course nodded in agreement. :roll:
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Another big sin of ommission for me is when discussing the decrease in the inflation rate is the failure to mention that Biden et al wanted to spend an additional $5 TRILLION on the "Build Back Better" and would have succeeded but for Senators Manchin and Sinema.
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/could-hillary-clinton-be-democrats-new-choice-for-2024-post-5535871?utm_source=Morningbrief&src_src=Morningbrief&utm_campaign=mb-2023-11-27&src_cmp=mb-2023-11-27&utm_medium=email&est=Sk5zGpKfoyyZ0eyFnjtrjdJkNoH9%2Bk6j7leyxHzPrZgbnzsc918w7zRz4S8%3D
just the thought of this makes me look like this:
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=the+scream&qpvt=the+scream&form=IGRE&first=1
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-suffers-another-cognitive-lapse-implies-dallas-is-another-country/vi-AA1lgMTg?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=831ba5ed70464784bd0366fff44c0756&ei=12
The WSJ poll that has Trump leading Biden 47 to 43
also has Haley leading 51 to 34 allowing her to make the case once again she would have better chance of winning
Of course it is only a WSJ poll for FWIW
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Surprised that Haley is not leading her talking points with that poll.
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second
https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/09/iowa-voters-trump-lead-airtight-seems/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=29912&pnespid=6uY8Ey9HNq0Hi.6buGS7SZiRvQmqTsZvcrizxPli9B9m8JY3Y2lr4CoTVBbZvwanAX0I6yam
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https://themessenger.com/opinion/joe-biden-withdraw-2024-one-term-family-hunter-tax-evasion-indictment
Give a nice speech about how much you love your son and your country.
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Haley vs. Trump vs. Biden
She beats the President by 17 in the latest WSJ poll. Trump wins by 4.
By
The Editorial Board
Follow
Dec. 14, 2023 6:42 pm ET
Democrats have assisted Donald Trump’s campaign for the GOP presidential nomination in so many ways that it’s hard to keep track. There are the four indictments, the legacy of mistrust from the failed Russia collusion lie from 2016, and the great Biden inflation. But most helpful is how Democrats have undermined the argument that Mr. Trump can’t defeat President Biden.
The he-can’t-win case was strong after Mr. Trump led the GOP to defeat in elections in 2018, 2020, the 2021 Georgia Senate races, and again in 2022 with disappointing gains in the House and defeat in the Senate. This is one reason Ron DeSantis surged in the polls in early 2023 after his big victory in the Florida Governor’s race. Most polls at the time showed Mr. Trump losing to Mr. Biden in a rematch, while other Republicans ran ahead or at least closer.
But Mr. Biden has become so unpopular that Mr. Trump is now leading the President in most head-to-head surveys. In the latest WSJ poll published on the weekend, Mr. Trump is leading Mr. Biden 47%-43% nationwide. Mr. Biden led 45%-43% last December.
This is despite the poll’s finding that Mr. Trump’s unfavorability rating is 56%. Mr. Biden’s is higher at 61%. Most voters in both parties don’t think Mr. Biden is up to the job of President for another four years.
But the WSJ survey also asked voters about their preference if the GOP nominee were Mr. DeSantis, or former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Mr. DeSantis was tied with Mr. Biden at 45%. Ms. Haley blew the President away 51%-34%. Ms. Haley consistently beats Mr. Biden by more than Mr. Trump does—often a lot more.
Polls taken 11 months from Election Day are hardly definitive, but their timing as voting begins in the primaries is a huge benefit to Mr. Trump. They mask his vulnerabilities that could reappear once he’s campaigning every day before the voters. And they let GOP voters believe that those vulnerabilities don’t matter.
If Mr. Trump gets the GOP nomination, he will owe a great debt to Democrats for insisting on Mr. Biden as their nominee.
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… to start your Sunday. Surprised he’s retained 37%.
Is Joe Biden in free fall?
The Hill News / by J.T. Young / December 17, 2023 at 09:11AM
As bad as polling has been for Joe Biden recently, it just got significantly worse on Thursday.
In addition to overall polling, two specific polls — one by Rasmussen and one by Bloomberg/Morning Consult — shed new light on what could be an ominous new trend for Democrats. If true and a trend, then there is no light at the end of the tunnel for Biden next November.
National polls were already bad for the incumbent president. According to Real Clear Politics’s Dec. 14 average of national polls, Biden trailed GOP frontrunner Donalf Trump 44.1 percent to 47.3 percent. He also trailed in twelve of the fourteen polls used to make that average; Biden led in only one — and that by a scant 1 percent — and was tied in the other. On Nov. 14, the same RCP average showed Trump ahead by just 0.8 of a percentage point; on Aug. 14, Biden led by 0.7 of a percentage point. For an average of national polls, these are large changes in a short time.
The impact of today’s Trump lead is only compounded by the fact that Biden won in 2020’s popular vote by 4.4 percentage points, even as he squeaked out an Electoral College victory by winning six states by less than 3 percent of their popular vote. That effectively means that Biden is actually 7.6 percentage points behind where he needs to be to beat the former president again in 2024.
So, what specifically made this generally bad news even worse for Biden?
On Dec. 14, Rasmussen released their poll of likely voters (that is, voters indicating they will be more likely to vote than just registered voter polls). In a head-to-head matchup, Trump led Biden by a staggering 10 percentage points: 48 percent to 38 percent. In Rasmussen’s results on a three-way matchup that included Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a configuration that favors Biden by dropping third-party candidates Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who will likely draw more votes from Biden — Trump still led by 8 percentage points: 40 percent to 32 percent, with 16 percent for Kennedy.
The kicker according to Rasmussen: “This is a reversal of our November survey, when Biden led by four points, with 46% to Trump’s 42%. The new survey also shows stronger support for third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”
A Dec. 14, Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll takes the bad news to another level of specificity by tracking voters in the six battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin — that Biden narrowly won in 2020 to secure his Electoral College victory.
In a head-to-head matchup, Trump led in all six of these states, his narrowest lead being 2 percentage points in Pennsylvania and his largest lead being 6 percentage points in Georgia. In a five-way matchup that includes Kennedy, West and Stein, Trump still leads in all six of these battleground states, with his narrowest lead being 1 percentage point in Pennsylvania and his largest lead being 7 percentage points in Georgia.
Mind you, Trump does not need to carry all six states to win in 2024; he needs to flip just 35 electoral votes to do so. Pennsylvania and Georgia alone would do it, as well as other combinations that do not require Trump to win Pennsylvania.
All this bad news raises the specter of an even worse verdict for the president and his party: Is Biden in free-fall? In other words, is a consensus starting to coalesce against Biden that time cannot correct?
The election is less than 11 months away. These latest polls raise the possibility that momentum is starting to feed on itself and becoming a self-fulfilling verdict on Biden’s presidency. It further raises the question as to what could change such a verdict if it is indeed being shaped.
It is hard to see an issue out there that could go right for Biden in the coming months that he must not first take responsibility for having made wrong in the first place: foreign policy fiascos; a tepid economy and torrid inflation; excessive spending deficits and debt; an open-border immigration policy; an extremist environmental approach.
One last look at these latest polls offers one more revelation: Biden is perilously close to 37 percent. Why is 37 percent important? That is the percentage of voters who self-identified as Democrats in his 2020 victory. Today’s polling numbers warn that Biden could be edging closer to retaining only his base. Or, put another way: that Biden has lost the rest of the country.
J.T. Young was a professional staffer in the House and Senate from 1987-2000, served in the Department of Treasury and Office of Management and Budget from 2001-2004, and was director of government relations for a Fortune 20 company from 2004-2023.
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/lead-strategist-for-desantis-super-pac-jeff-roe-resigns-after-washington-post-article-5548312?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-12-17-2&src_cmp=breaking-2023-12-17-2&utm_medium=email&est=hiRwyME4yitkFuTQ00Srh5HI%2Bqh2UJMNo39huI9mzd1PxM8fQtg8i8v5EZDYRbEVR4wE
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Latest fox nationwide poll:
Trump 69, DeSantis 12, Haley 9, Ramaswamy 5, Christie 2
Trump 50, Biden 46
Iowa
Trump 58, DeSantis 22, Haley 13, Ramaswamy 4, Christie 3
New Hampshire
Trump 44, Haley 29, Christie 10, DeSantis 11, Ramaswamy 5
Haley polls 2 points better than Trump in the general election. DeSantis 4 points worse.
----------
I like DeSantis. He maintains second place nationally, the only other in double digits. But in reality he isn't catching on.
The 3 candidates ranked by how conservative they aim their campaign,
DeSantis, Trump, Haley.
Their general election numbers are exactly the opposite.
Haley at 29 in NH has the best chance for an early upset.
But realistically, something has to change structurally in this race, sooner rather than later, or the nomination is Trump's.
On the other side, the reason Dems support Biden is because he is allegedly the only one who can beat Trump. Biden trails Trump in seven swing states. What is Plan B for them?
Biden should be telling Newsom or someone now that he is getting out before the end of the year.
DeSantis (and or Haley) need Biden to drop out in order to change the face of the race.
Hunter's (and Joe's) legal troubles (and impeachment prospects) are serious now. That should cause him to bail but more likely it motivates him to double down on holding power against the wished of all but Jill. Without incumbency and being the nominee, he is even more powerless.
I think we underestimate how popular Trump is on the right and I think Trump supporters underestimate how much he damage he does to our cause in the longer run.
The table has (almost) never been set better for our side to win all branches and chambers of government. Who else feels we about to blow it - again?
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Tangent: Trump went to the UFC last night and got cheered.
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well he only goes to events where he will be cheered
does he go to soccer matches?
or Washington Commanders game?
How about an NBA game?
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IIRC he has gone to NFL and/or MLB , , ,
And where do Magoo and Kommiela go?
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https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1736545520678572535
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https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1736545520678572535
Oh my. Keep your powder dry.
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pre covid
Trump => "all time highs" "look at your 401 Ks and thank me".
now stock market at new highs :
Trump => stock market "making the rich richer"
what a joke
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When the stock market was high under Trump the LEFT cried this helps the rich.
So, when Trump now states this he is being satirical, but I would have preferred he point this out.
So when Biden beats his chest that the market is all time high we should all sarcastically point out that is great for the rich but what about everyone else !!!!
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More detail on that latest poll:
DeSantis (R) 47, Biden (D) 47
Trump (R) 50, Biden (D) 46
Haley (R) 49, Biden (D) 43
I wish it were the other way around. DeSantis can't brag and Haley's advantage doesn't matter if Trump was going to win anyway.
Watch these polls tighten after the nomination is locked in.
Also subtract 7 points for mail in voting.
Biden approval at 33%, Pew Research:
(https://mcusercontent.com/dc8d30edd7976d2ddf9c2bf96/images/1206e12b-1ca5-edb5-64e4-62e6b4dd5c00.png)
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The picture below tells a story about how Biden will have trouble impressing young people. He looks older than my grandpa looked in a casket yet age is the least of his problems. Mental decay and starting with very little intellect surpass it. Failed results from failed policies are bringing down his acceptance, spending, inflation, taxes, regulations, war on energy, worse than non-existent border enforcement, plus nothing he has subjected us to on climate change has made a dime's worth of difference on the planet as the coal usage shifts to other countries on other continents emitting the same greenhouse gasses into the same air. On top of that people are just now finding out he is the most corrupt President we have ever had, just from being too weak to say no to his greedy, money grubbing relatives.
Making Democrat matters worse if that's possible, Newsom is too male, too white, and has a record of worse policies with worse results. Kamala is less popular than Joe, and there is no damage free way of resolving which of those two should replace him. It's a too late for a newcomer to burst on the scene. Dean Phillips ran a liquor store and has 2% in the latest poll, doesn't even get a mention at the link.
Michelle Obama, you don't want this job and how would you walk over Kamala to get it anyway?
(https://unherd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1235241659-scaled-e1702922522154-1024x573.jpg)
https://unherd.com/thepost/you-thought-joe-biden-was-bad-look-at-his-democrat-rivals/
I don't think the man can dress himself.
https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/19/jill-biden-joe-schedule-white-house-rest-age/
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Hillary is working with her mob behind the scenes it seems
as she is getting more "high profile"
she is a mere 76 ish.
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https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/12/colorado-bars-trump-from-the-ballot.php
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IS voter suppression
I thought
EVERY VOTE COUNTS only for Democrats
NO votes count if Republican !
this won't stand.....after listening to legal experts.
what will be interesting is how the triumvirate of woke women on the SCOTUS will rule on this.
particularly Kenji Jones.
And with perfect coordination of the media hit squad, MSPCP had segment that Just. Thomas should recuse himself from this case and had the propublica self appointed hitman on last night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5icQ-hQi9Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqj0VboeAlM
It is so funny/sad to watch CNN state "the Republicans" will claim, Trump supporters will claim this is more evidence the "deep state" is going after Trump the law is not applied equally etc......
As though it ain't obvious it is. Only that Republicans claim it is.
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Restraint is to not say, we'll show you what an armed insurrection looks like. Instead Trump and conservatives are asking the courts to resolve this.
Armed insurrection is a redundancy. How do you insurrect without arms? Isn't that a protest? Peaceful protest? Our last armed insurrection was 1776? We also had some trouble in the 1860s. Actually this law had to do with the civil war.
Wasn't Trump tried and acquitted in the Senate for this? The point then was to keep him off the ballot now. Asked and answered in the proper venue.
'Trump' isn't hard to spell. Murkowski won a write in race.
My first reaction is to go out and buy arms - legally.
Free and fair elections why we don't have insurrection.
Supreme Court needs to put out some 9-0 decisions, soon.
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from last night's cable discussions the ruling bars people from writing his name in the ballot .
such votes will simply not be counted.
for Trump every vote does not count.
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Byron York,
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/democratic-lawfare-vs-donald-trump
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"from last night's cable discussions the ruling bars people from writing his name in the ballot - such votes will simply not be counted."
- Unbelievable!
"LET’S GO PEACEFULLY AND PATRIOTICALLY TO THE CAPITOL"
Now they have people like me defending Trump.
Before all this lawfare against Trump started, DeSantis was leading him:
https://nypost.com/2022/12/08/desantis-ahead-of-trump-by-5-points-in-2024-gop-primary-poll/
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" Now they have people like me defending Trump. "
I feel the same way .
This is so outrageous, so much like Communist countries we used to read about, I want to vote even more for him just to stick it in their faces.
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causing Pamela Brown to take a small gasp of air when he tells her the effects of Colorado ruling on Trump's '24 prospects:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/12/20/pollster-frank-luntz-donald-trump-is-more-likely-beat-biden-after-colorado-ballot-removal/
It is even true for me - I feel more encouraged to vote for him with enthusiasm! :-o
Shut down the shysters!!! NOW !
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Coulter
the contrarian view:
https://anncoulter.com/2023/12/20/bidens-three-paths-to-victory1/
Rasmussan poll on drudge - Biden approval at 46%?!?^#^&*@$
And we are 11 mo away from election.
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https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2023/12/22/cook-political-reports-shift-two-states-to-toss-up-amid-bidens-weak-polling-n4924939
just remarkable we are not trouncing Biden in the polls by 15 points.
I wonder why?
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A similar question arose when Trump was running against Hillary.
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Yes this is WAY too close considering the circumstances, and latest latest NYT poll has Biden UP by 2 points. Remember the tie or anything within the margin of error goes to the Democrat.
Maybe all the polls will tighten up after Trump has the nomination clinched. Here we go again... duped into thinking Trump can win; people are not taking the alternatives seriously. If he can win Georgia this time, why did he lose the last five times counting Senate races.
Gov Kemp won and all the other Republican office holders won so it's not like it's a blue state. Only Trump lost and all the races he touched.
Covid rules, mail in voting, 2000 miles, Soros state Secretaries of state, 2000 mules, unsecured voting machines, same software, no voter ID, media and big tech actively slanted and blocking conservative messaged, lack of standing if you challenge, nothing has gotten any better.
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Exactly so.
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" and blocking conservative messaged, lack of standing if you challenge, nothing has gotten any better. "
then Trump screwing us over with 5% of his messaging by throwing gold to his enemies
with
statements like
"vermin"
"poisoning the blood"
Greg Kelly of Newsmax telling us last night that these idiot triggering outburts are all planned by Trump
I doubt it, but say they are -
that means he is more stupid then ever.
He already has 42.5 % of the voters. He needs to get the other 7.5% +
Comments like above will not endear him to anyone who not already in the tank for him.
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Love Tucker, but the idea strikes me as silly.
https://amgreatness.com/2023/12/26/on-president-trumps-vice-presidential-choice/
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https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/26/old-man-bad-joe-biden-age-losing-argument/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=29912&pnespid=sLtrGD0ZOqQAhOve9j2xS5vXoRW3SIloPLmlkPR3rkBmv6CqNeDZt.L4xwWsV7DVzf0nhJJA
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https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/26/old-man-bad-joe-biden-age-losing-argument/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=29912&pnespid=sLtrGD0ZOqQAhOve9j2xS5vXoRW3SIloPLmlkPR3rkBmv6CqNeDZt.L4xwWsV7DVzf0nhJJA
It's not just that we might lose the argument, to defeat Joe on age is a complete wasted opportunity. To run against his age is to join them in denying the main threat facing the country is his policies, their policies are killing our country.
I heard DeSantis again this morning making rational, common sense arguments about what is wrong, what he will do about it, and how it will take two terms to do it in a way that can't just be undone by the next Obama/Biden to come through. All true.
From my point of view, too bad people at least on the right aren't picking up on this.
One conservative pundit made a persuasive argument about how DeSantis should drop out and endorse Trump for the betterment of his own career; he is still young and has plenty of time.
The country is not young and doesn't have plenty of time. It will never happen but for the greatness and even survival of the country Trump should drop out and endorse DeSantis in my view, in his own best interest or continuing his legacy of positive accomplishments. He will not because of ego (and positive polling).
Trump had a thousand positive accomplishments, see our thread, and none of them were lasting. This time, if there is another term, it will be even harder for him to remake the country and put wokism, Leftism in the trash heap of history.
Trump was brought down by Covid and his reaction to it. He was leading by miles the day before that burst on the scene, then he paused his agenda and became a follower of Fauci and company, not a leader. Meanwhile Democrats activated right under their lockdowns starting with the George Floyd fraud and the push for early voting and mail in, drop box voting. On Trump's watch. Who manned the bully pulpit while that happened?
With all the media hype of Nikki Haley and her momentum she still slightly trails DeSantis and that is only on the first rung of a ladder while Trump has been at the top all along.
The only poll that matters is next November.
I keep saying it, still wrong, but the next shoe to drop is Biden. I wish it would happen (drop out, not death) sooner rather than later - for his own party's good as well. We will NOT look back on these Biden years fondly even if he wins reelection.
He isn't bold enough to stand up to his own corrupt family and isn't bold enough to replace Kamala on his ticket. How is he going to be bold enough to solve what ails America, especially since he is the problem.
Even Sen. John Fetterman is starting to get it. Suddenly he is the smartest Democrat in Washington.
We are screwed and it's our own doing.
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interesting article
about how age does not matter historically,
Forgot to mention how Reagan turned that argument around in his favor with the debate
forgot to mention William Henry Harrison died after being in office for only 30 days!
I still hold it is not **age** but mental or physical fitness that is a factor.
But I agree this will not likely be a make or break issue for Biden since when it comes down to it
people are going to conclude:
Joe is not mentally fit! So I am going to vote for Trump who is mentally fit! :wink:
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IMHO age becomes a lazy man argument -- what happens if/when Joe hands off to Newsom?
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"I keep saying it, still wrong, but the next shoe to drop is Biden. I wish it would happen (drop out, not death) sooner rather than later - for his own party's good as well. We will NOT look back on these Biden years fondly even if he wins reelection."
agree
*we will not look at Biden yrs fondly*
but I wonder about the lib historians:
Beschloss:
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/alex-christy/2023/09/29/beschloss-compares-biden-lincoln-fdr-while-condemning-gop-debate
Meacham:
https://www.foxnews.com/media/msnbc-jon-meacham-biden-speechwriter
[states he got fired by MSNBC though I saw him bashing Trump the other night on MSPCP]
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Sounds like MSNBC did the right thing on this one.
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Successful political movements build coalitions by addition, but one trait of today’s MAGA leaders is that they focus on subtraction. Donald Trump regularly trashes anyone who doesn’t support him for the GOP nomination as a “RINO,” or Republican in name only, or much worse. And now his son, Donald Trump Jr., has cast out Nikki Haley.
Trump Junior declared this week that he won’t allow the Ambassador to the United Nations in his father’s Administration to be his vice presidential nominee. “I wouldn’t have her on. I would go to great lengths to make sure that that doesn’t happen,” Trump Jr. told Newsmax, a cable news outlet. Ms. Haley is “a puppet of the establishment,” he said, “no different than academia and Harvard.”
That’s dumb, but apparently Trump Jr. doesn’t think his father will need to unite the party if his old man wins the nomination. Ms. Haley may be too smart to accept a VP nod given what happened to Mike Pence. But perhaps the Trump campaign has begun to think it has the GOP nomination in the bag and that it can’t possibly lose to President Biden. So it can afford to banish anyone who doesn’t wear a MAGA hat.
That could mean alienating millions of voters who may not like Mr. Biden’s record but have doubts about returning Mr. Trump’s chaotic governance to the Oval Office. Before Mr. Biden came along, Mr. Trump’s approval rating never rose above 50% in office, and the man from Mar-a-Lago’s popularity isn’t much better now. Ms. Haley has been gaining in the polls in New Hampshire of late, and that may explain Junior’s bile. But if Trump senior does beat her, he’ll need her voters more than she needs to be his running mate.
==================
MARC:
Are there not large differences between Haley and Trump wrt Ukraine?
Are not her mega-donors, the mega libertarian Koch brothers, hard line libertarian open border immigration types?
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How Different Is Trump, Really?
When it comes to ‘norm violation,’ it’s still one man vs. whole institutions.
By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.
Dec. 26, 2023 4:51 pm ET
You might not want Donald Trump for president, but you probably don’t want Liz Cheney either, judging by a recent piece in this newspaper.
Checks and balances, she maintains, won’t work to contain Mr. Trump because he might have “allies” in Congress.
Uh huh. The need of a president to get voters to send him allies in Congress is a check and balance.
Nor will courts constrain Mr. Trump because he will dismiss their rulings apparently in much the way Americans dismiss the acquittal of O.J. Simpson. But saying and doing are different things. A president can disagree all he wants with a ruling. Ms. Cheney, in our federal system of convoluted and dispersed powers, greatly exaggerates a president’s ability to proceed illegally without destruction raining down on his head both personally and politically.
The founders didn’t rely on the “responsible” persons Ms. Cheney cites by way of listing Republican colleagues who fail the responsible-person test. The founders relied on contending branches of government, competition, self-interest, freedom of speech and assembly.
Anyone can comfortably predict President Trump will commit “illegal or unconstitutional acts” because all presidents do and spend all day in court defending themselves. Example: Joe Biden’s cynical efforts to persuade young voters that he can erase their student debts.
In the New York Times Matthew Schmitz, founder of Compact magazine, points out that Mr. Trump, in practice and deed, actually combines colorful rhetoric with policies notable mainly for their “moderation” and “pragmatism.”
Paul Poast, an international-relations expert at the University of Chicago, points out also in the Times that Mr. Trump had become a “NATO fan” once he could take credit for foreign members increasing their spending.
“Insurrection” is not the word recommended by the events of Jan. 6; it’s only the word the narrative framers find most delicious.
Another reality: Any Democrat can far more freely presume on bureaucratic and institutional support for off-color acts than a President Trump could. Hillary Clinton could rely on the media, FBI and Justice Department to traffic in her made-up collusion evidence. Mr. Biden could rely on them to create a smoke screen blaming Russia and then minimize an unavoidable investigation into his son’s publicly flaunted activities.
Rudy Giuliani was slapped with a $148 million court judgment for demeaning two Georgia poll workers. No court will be doing the same for those soiled by fabricated collusion allegations.
The prosecution of enemies? Oh never mind. But even with the advantages Democrats enjoy, whistleblowers emerge, media outlets break ranks, an infinity of actors discover a personal opportunity in thwarting a president. Then the obstreperous and unpredictable voters have their say.
Hard to unsmell, though, is a growing odor of self-fulfilling prophecy in the Trump-as-dictator jeremiads. He looks increasingly like he might win. If his presidency isn’t a disaster, that would be a disaster, personally and professionally, for the Jeremiahs, who may hope to thwart him in advance by inciting civil disorder and extraconstitutional sabotage.
Ms. Cheney misses what should be her real point. A vote for Mr. Trump in the GOP primary is a vote to continue the form of political warfare Ms. Cheney now exemplifies, the wild assertion, the conspiracy mongering.
Four years ago Mr. Biden could have endorsed the Durham investigation into his own party’s collusion dirty trick, though you might as well expect an act of transformative leadership from your cat.
He at least wisely kept a distance from collusion until he needed his own accusations of Russian interference to distract from his son’s laptop. Mr. Biden unwisely also followed Mrs. Clinton in the malpractice of denigrating Mr. Trump’s 74 million voters, painting all opposition as white supremacy.
Which brings us to the crowning irony. No shortage of Republicans—including a likely majority in elective office—secretly crave to see Mr. Trump in the rearview mirror. You know who doesn’t? As his polls crumble, Mr. Biden’s only hope of re-election is having Mr. Trump as his opponent. Now Mr. Biden’s panic meets Ms. Cheney’s panic: Mr. Trump will win and make a mockery of her hair-on-fire predictions.
A very large caliper capable of very fine measurements has been needed since the Trump advent to say who is the bigger crumbum in our politics: Mr. Trump or some of his enemies—Mrs. Clinton, Adam Schiff, the intelligence manipulators James Clapper and John Brennan, the dictatorship shouters.
What the country really needs is a race between a Democrat and Republican who, whatever their differences, realize the urgency of moving our politics away from the deliberately false, the hysterical, the conspiracy-mongering in favor of a boring discussion of interests and policies.
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How Different Is Trump, Really?
When it comes to ‘norm violation,’ it’s still one man vs. whole institutions.
By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.
Dec. 26, 2023 4:51 pm ET
...
"Mr. Trump, in practice and deed, actually combines colorful rhetoric with policies notable mainly for their “moderation” and “pragmatism.” "
To a recent WSJ Kim Strassel post I was going say we are lucky to have someone like her writing in mainstream media and this piece also provides an excellent perspective of the current times. Very VDH like in connecting the dots and calling out the fallacies and hypocrisies.
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possible the word fury comes from "furies" in English otherwise the word is Erinyees:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Furies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erinyes
What I found interesting is Shakespeare did NOT invent this general phrase. I don't know if since he is a white man and lifted this today he could keep his professorship of English at an Ivy league school:
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/hell-has-no-fury-like-a-woman-scorned.html
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Previously there was reference to Trump's "colorful rhetoric" and pragmatic policies. Over the top rhetoric allowed Trump to draw attention to himself in a way other Republicans can't. It helped him and it hurt him. The way he went after John McCain was ruthless, came back to bite him. A man who did not serve his country attacked a man who did serve and was held and tortured by the enemy. Blame him for being shot down in war? And now we have socialized medicine, perhaps impossible to undo, partly Trump's doing.
The way he went after Bush and Cheney was ruthless, came back to bite him. It was not colorful rhetoric.
Most conservatives liked Dick Cheney. The Cheney Lieberman debate was probably the best debate in modern times. The Trump Biden debate was the worst.
Dick Cheney understood and articulated peace through strength. Donald Trump succeeded with deterrence through strength - and other qualities like being unpredictable.
I don't think Liz Cheney takes this whole thing personally because of attacks on her, it's because of the attacks on her father. I even wonder if her father would want her to take this fight to this level. She elevates herself with people who will never support her, Nancy Pelosi for example and the mainstream media. She distances herself from the current Republican Party which could have been her future. She was a very high-ranking House member, the highest of any Republican woman at the time this all blew up.
Back to Trump but it applies to both of them, in tennis we call these unforced errors. We call almost every error an unforced error. You win by having fewer of them, all other things equal.
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-speaks-directly-to-the-needs-of-black-people-blm-leader-says-5554071?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-12-28-1&src_cmp=breaking-2023-12-28-1&utm_medium=email&est=msoZ%2B947fHqk4G7P5utvB%2FW0nh4syc9OiE64F96gLY5CVU%2FsuxTGRgSEq%2FRnim5q%2FAz7
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second
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-demands-maine-secretary-recuse-herself-from-ballot-challenge-over-jan-6-statements-5554022?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-12-28-2&src_cmp=breaking-2023-12-28-2&utm_medium=email&est=E6f9gCzhYpIXpKwETp7BcEccsPXsYZZiBHWA39sc4%2FFYPPXVuzd2fuKYUX%2B53TpajV97
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https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/biden-2024-election-polls-strong-rcna130507
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https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/biden-2024-election-polls-strong-rcna130507
A slightly one sided analysis (understatement) with a couple of holes in it.
The 2022 stuff is true. The abortion results are true, so far, but Trump was the least restrictive Republican on abortion.
His analysis of the cases against Trump is BS.
He completely ignores polls showing Biden losing all swing states, and ignores that central point, Biden is polling worse than Democrats in general, worse than Democrats in 2022 and worse than Biden himself in 2020, far worse, now that we know him and know the results of his policies. Author doesn't say how you undo that because he admits his bias in the byline, Democrat Strategist.
The danger for Republicans is that the Trump surge coincides with Trump silence. And the dirrysecrey of 2020 is that record vote for Biden was really record vote against Trump. He does big rallies in front of super friendly crowds and people who want to can pull up video but he skipped all the debates and doesn't do any media interviews.
When he does speak we hear things like vermin and poisoning the blood. A little like Biden, when he gets back into it he is always capable of stepping in it.
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" When he does speak we hear things like vermin and poisoning the blood. A little like Biden, when he gets back into it he is always capable of stepping in it. "
and the MSM ignore EVERYTHING else and run with his tweets......
and he does not, cannot control this.....
Now everyone is dumping on Nikki due to the cause of the Civil War answer.
She was thinking too much and instead of simply saying slavery was the core reason she was trying , I guess, to be easy on Southern voters by confounding it with State's rights.
Lincoln clearly stated he started the Civil to save the Union not for emancipation which did not occur till after Gettysburg.
I have read and would doubt most Northerners joined or were conscripted in the war did so to free Blacks but to fight the Confederates who were called *Rebels* NOT SLAVE OWNERS.
Of course I still hold it was always about slavery though in the beginning that was not the battle cry. The reason the South seceded was of course economic and the economic power was based on slavery, cotton,
and otherwise. So I and most everyone else would say slavery was the reason for the Civil War.
She over thought it and thus flubbed one question.
The MSM media runs with this, ignores everything else and tells Blacks . SEE WE TOLD YOU REPUBLICANS ARE RACISTS WHO WANT TO PUT YOU BACK IN CHAINS.
Gotta keep the Black vote in line...........
At least some Blacks are seeing through the grift, con or propaganda.
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"I still hold it was always about slavery"
As openly and clearly stated by the Acts of Secession by the various southern states.
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glancing over the succession proclamations of each state I only see Texas actually used the word slavery
Missouri and Kentucky were border states but apparently they did have succession bills from groups not authorized by their states.
I remember a poster on the Gilder board yrs ago named Gene who was from NC.
He mentioned the idea it was about state's rights and less about slavery.
I am just trying to figure out what Nikki was thinking and why she was hedging. Had to be an attempt not to insult Southerners.
At least that is all I can think of.
Or perhaps she launched her twisted answer to try to make it about government control?
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"glancing over the succession proclamations of each state I only see Texas actually used the word slavery"
Not doubting you, but not my understanding at all.
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well I am certainly no expert but this is what I found:
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/secession-acts-thirteen-confederate-states
One way or the other slavery was the core reason for Civil War, of course.
Again I am just trying to figure out what Nikki was thinking.
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Well, that certainly supports what you say, but OTOH I know I have read official ringing declarations about Slavery being the reason.
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In a northern school I was taught the Civil War was fought over slavery.
Sometime in young adulthood somebody told me that's all wrong, look into it, it was all about other issues economic issues, state's rights, etc.
But that of course would be states' rights as it pertains to slavery.
Looking at it a little more objectively, the north won, the South lost, and slaves were freed.
Isn't that about right?
The question sounds like a plant. Somebody knew she would have trouble with it, a southerner in the North?
The what was she thinking question is interesting. Was she talking about the Revolutionary war? Was she trying to appease white South Carolina voters while she was in New hampshire? Did she lose focus or was that her answer?
If she thought the answer needed to be nuanced, she could have diverted, I'm not here to talk about the 1860s I'm here to talk about changing the course of the country today.
But no. It was a gaffe, a big one.
If it was a legitimate states rights issue then it was legitimate in their time to think of slaves as farm animals? Not something you want to think or speak of today. Today we regulate the treatment of farm animals more so than they did of slaves.
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another failing Trump backed state party head:
the left jumping all over this:
https://dnyuz.com/2023/12/30/mutiny-erupts-in-a-michigan-g-o-p-overtaken-by-chaos/
T
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https://pjmedia.com/benbartee/2023/12/31/watch-maine-secretary-of-state-cries-about-death-threats-n4925124
Claims
RULE OF LAW
FOLLOWING THE CONSTITUTION
RULE OF LAW
Sounds good for MSNBC but everyone else knows that is hogwash.
Typical Dem
shyster the law then hide behind he/she is defending it.
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https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2024/1/1/24011179/2024-predictions-trump-politics-ohtani-oppenheimer-elections
24 predictions for 2024. Vox is a Liberal site but these predictions do not seem biased. Vox predicts Trump win, Republicans take the Senate. They also predict Democrats take the house narrowly. It would be nice if Republicans could take all three IMHO.
I didn't read through the detail but a Trump win with 55% certainty means that the outcomes of these legal cases are not going to be valid or convincing enough to affect Trump supporters.
They are mostly predicting things that are already in motion. Also coming in 2024 are some major unexpecteds.
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redistricting in NC
favorable to Repubs for 3 to 5 seats.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democrats-fear-electoral-bloodbath-in-north-carolina/ar-AA1mlOA3
but of course the shysters will not sit still:
https://news.yahoo.com/lawsuit-alleges-north-carolina-redistricting-190000073.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
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https://www.foxnews.com/video/6344097448112
I can't seem to pull up a transcript of this to post and critique, Biden's Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors. It seemed like the strongest case I've seen for promoting more of the same when a President has a 33% approval rate.
More on Jared Berstein here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rqclkA3ha8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Bernstein
Proponent of Modern Monetary Theory, (Deficits don't matter)
Degrees in Music and Social Work.
No more economic training than anyone here. How do they get off calling him an economist?
I bring back my accusation of Barack Obama, never read a book about economics that wasn't about tearing down the free enterprise system.
Americans are wrong. Everything is fine. Give us 4 more years.
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Perter Navarro occasionally gets it right. This may not happen but it is most certainly the Democrats' strategists 2024 dream. And he's right. Republicans should be prepared for it, warn of it and aim at it.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jan/2/coming-joe-biden-coup-and-michelle-obama-gavin-new/
Coming Joe Biden coup and the Michelle Obama-Gavin Newsom election gambit
Elite Democrats will reject the president, and Republicans must be prepared
(Doug summarizing) They avoid the race to the Left primary fight and just ride in the general election with their hero, if it's Michelle. Not explained is how they step over unpopular Kamala to get there. Also unspoken is why Michelle would want to do it. She has everything now. Even Barack would much rather call the shots from 10 blocks away, or wherever he is, than be the political face and target one more time.
Newsom wants the job but is positioned even worse than Joe politically, IMHO. He is the face of everything wrong in California. Joe was the face of centrism and pragmatism in the Senate (until he got this job).
Again, how does a white man, Governor, step over a black woman, Vice President, without a fight, without a primary, without a vote except in the back rooms of the convention and how does that play?
Like Dean Phillips, one of the richest members in Congress who can't buy a headline, how do you win when Joe couldn't if your campaign slogan is "more of the same"? Put "Younger and Better Looking" on the bumper sticker?
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Worth remembering is that Navarro also made one of the most cogent arguments for election fraud in the aftermath of the 2020 election. In my opinion, he is making a VERY prescient point here.
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https://dailycaller.com/2024/01/02/trump-fox-news-iowa-cnn-debate/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=29912&pnespid=s_JsCyFANrMay6XFomW.HZLWuQK_C5d9LLXsyudqsBxmDrzo00nzQrolmqDavLbb8bdeFwHg
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https://washingtontimes-dc.newsmemory.com/?token=fa0b1df5a98444eee5677945f4b93f7e_659577e1_6d25b5f&selDate=20240103
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https://www.ft.com/content/9edcf793-aaf7-42e2-97d0-dd58e9fab8ea?segmentId=b385c2ad-87ed-d8ff-aaec-0f8435cd42d9
Ruchir Sharma: top 10 trends for 2024
Europe’s economy will be more resilient than the US, the dollar will weaken and investors will demand a premium on long-term debt
Ruchir Sharma: top 10 trends for 2024 on x (opens in a new window)
The year gone by played out as if the pandemic had never happened. The widely anticipated global recession never came. Markets surged. Disinflation was the buzzword. The post-pandemic world unexpectedly resembled 2019 — the year before the coronavirus supposedly changed our lives forever.
Yet in the end, 2023 was a reminder that most years turn out to be a mix of the surprising and the predictable. Not all the purely contrarian bets would have paid off. Europe’s economy fell farther behind the US. American mega cap tech stocks again led the charge.
With that in mind, my top 10 predictions for 2024 focus on how current trends will evolve. The price of money, inflation and big tech will remain at the heart of the global conversation, though not in quite the same ways. Meanwhile, politics will command centre stage for a simple reason: the world has never seen a bigger year for elections.
1. Elections in the world’s biggest democracies, including India, shown
Democracy in overdrive
Elections are scheduled to occur in more than 30 democracies including the three largest — the US, India and Indonesia. In all, 46 per cent of the global population will have an opportunity to vote, the largest share since 1800 when such records first began, says Deutsche Bank research. And voters will bring their dissatisfaction with them.
The recent rise of angry populists reflects a deeper trend — distrust of incumbents. In the 50 most populated democracies, seated politicians won re-election 70 per cent of the time in the late 2000s; now they win 30 per cent of the time. Leaders of India and Indonesia buck this trend but US president Joe Biden exemplifies it.
Incumbents used to enjoy the obvious advantage of high office and high visibility, but that is no longer a guarantee of popularity. Over the past 30 years, US presidents have seen their approval ratings wither away in their first terms, to lower and lower levels. At just 38 per cent, Biden’s approval rating is at a record low for this stage of a presidency. And many of his developed world peers are no more popular. These trends foretell upheaval in the roster of world leaders.
2. Joe Biden with images reflecting various national bonds, from euros and yen to gilts and treasuries
Bond vigilantes versus politicians
The surreal calm of 2023 gave way to mild euphoria in the closing weeks of the year as inflation fell faster than expected, creating hopes that interest rates will keep falling. This overlooks one key trend.
In a campaign season political leaders are much more likely to raise than cut spending, which means mounting deficits. In the US, Biden spending programmes have already pushed the deficit up to 6 per cent of GDP, double its long-term trend and five times the average for developed economies.
The key issue is the “term premium”, or the added pay-off bond investors demand for the risk of holding long-term debt. In the 2010s, with inflation low and central banks buying bonds by the billions, that risk disappeared. Only now, debts and deficits are much larger than before the pandemic, inflation has not fully retreated, and central banks are no longer big bond buyers. Even if inflation fades further, investors probably will demand something extra to keep absorbing the huge supply of government bonds. That means interest rates, long-term rates in particular, will not fall anywhere near as much as they did in previous disinflation cycles.
3. Immigrants trekking through Mexico aiming for the border, a man rescued from a ship in the Mediterranean and barbed wire fences near Calais
Backlash against immigration
For many reasons — from labour market shortages in the western world to war in Ukraine — immigration has exploded, up since 2019 by 20 per cent in Canada, near 35 per cent in the US and near 45 per cent in the UK.
These flows are a huge plus to economies facing worker shortages, even if they are unpopular. Dutch rightwing populist Geert Wilders came first in the national ballot last year on a migrant-bashing platform. Migrants also became a campaign issue in Poland, which has become less welcoming of new waves of refugees — despite a particularly dire need. Poland’s working age population growth rate had turned negative, before the influx of immigrants turned it around.
The next hotspot is the US, the largest nation with surging immigration and a 2024 election. Though the immigrants are reducing wage pressure, helping to lower inflation, the blowback is already loud and clear, led by Donald Trump. Its main target is illegal immigrants, who outnumbered legal immigrants by 2mn to 1.6mn in 2023. Whoever wins the election, the backlash is likely to spill over and slow the flow of immigrants — and the benefits they bring.
4. US houses and the New York Stock Exchange
The no-bust cycle
Interest rates rose so sharply, it seemed almost certain that indebted businesses would fail quickly, consumers would hunker down immediately, markets would tank, recession would strike, and the world would face a classic bust in 2023.
But the economy, at least in the US, proved remarkably resilient. One reason: Americans are locked into lower rates. Investment grade companies have been selling bonds with longer terms, which now average 12 years, so the burden of recent rate hikes has yet to strike. US homeowners still pay an average mortgage rate of 3.75 per cent — roughly half the rate on new mortgages.
Another: during the 2010s action shifted from public to private financial markets, where there are signs of weakening, including slower flows to private funds and fewer sales of PE-owned companies. But private firms don’t have to report returns as frequently as public funds do, so the weakness won’t be fully visible for a while.
The air could still come out slowly of both the economy and the markets. In a way that’s already happening, as seen in the public markets. The S&P 500 has not made a new high in two years, and is now 20 per cent above its 150-year trend, down from 45 per cent in late 2021. With borrowing costs still relatively high, the economy is likely to slide downward as well, though possibly avoiding the classic bust.
5. German shoppers, and a gas installation in Lithuania
European resilience
In 2023, the US economy grew at 2.5 per cent, five times faster than Europe, widening a gap that has been growing for years if not decades. Europe can seem hopeless, and trashing its economic prospects rarely inspires much pushback.
But against a backdrop of zero expectations, even small changes for the better can rekindle animal spirits and Japan demonstrated that point last year. Europe could do the same this year. As the Ukraine war-related energy crunch eases, inflation has collapsed from over 10 per cent to 2.5 per cent. Real wages were falling, now they are growing at a pace of 3 per cent, the fastest in three decades, giving consumers a lot of spending power.
Europeans were hit harder by recent rate hikes than Americans because they have more mortgages and other long-term loans with floating rates. Now, having absorbed much of the pain of tighter money, Europe faces less pain down the road than the US does. Also, the trillions amassed by consumers during the pandemic are largely spent in the US, but continue to grow in Europe. Excess household savings currently amount to 14 per cent of annual incomes, up from 11 per cent two years ago, according to JPMorgan.
The markets are taking notice. Excluding the mega cap stocks, which juiced US returns, the average stock in Europe outperformed the mighty US market in 2023. And the signs above point to a wider comeback in 2024.
6. Xi Jinping, some Chinese banknotes and the skyline in Beijing
China fading
Many China watchers continue to parrot the Beijing party line, that growth is purring along at 5 per cent — perhaps double its real potential. Asked why Beijing is not taking more aggressive steps to rescue a faltering economy, the answer from Chinese policymakers is, well, the official growth rate is fine, why take more action?
Behind this absurdity are global bragging rights. President Xi Jinping aims for China to overtake the US as the world’s dominant economy, and his officials closely track its progress in nominal dollar terms — not in PPP terms, which is commonly used among western academics. In nominal terms, China’s GDP is now 66 per cent of US GDP, down from 76 per cent in 2021. Aggressive stimulus could weaken the renminbi, further shrinking the economy in dollar terms — and leaving the paramount leader farther from his goal. Better to keep up the charade, and pretend China is not fading.
Global investors are looking past this nonsense, and will continue to reduce their exposure to China. Net foreign direct investment into the country has just turned negative for the first time. Beijing can avoid a crisis with this extend-and-pretend game, but that won’t keep its economy and markets from losing share to its peers.
7. A worker inspects a smartphone component at a Realme factory in Noida, India, a Polish construction site and a Mexican 10 peso coin
Emerging outside China
Not so long ago, many smaller emerging economies thrived by selling raw materials to the largest one, and grew in lockstep with China. No longer. The link has broken. Now a fading China is more of an opportunity than a challenge for the rest of the emerging world.
China until recently was drawing more than 10 per cent of global foreign direct investment, and as those flows reversed, the big gainers were rival emerging countries, led by Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Poland and above all Mexico, which has seen its share more than double to 4.2 per cent.
Investors are moving to countries where they can trust the economic authorities. During the pandemic, emerging world governments refrained from borrowing too heavily. Central banks avoided large bond purchases, and moved more quickly than developed world peers to raise rates when inflation returned. Even Turkey and Argentina, once emblems of irresponsibility, have embraced policy orthodoxy.
At the start of 2023, many observers feared that rising rates would rekindle the instability of the 1990s, when dozens of emerging nations were defaulting each year. What happened? Two minor emerging markets (Ghana and Ethiopia) and not a single major one defaulted in the course of the year. Emerging nations are surprising for their resilience, not their fragility, and the world is likely to start taking notice in the coming year.
8. A $100 bill and the US Treasury
Dollar decline
Late in 2022, the value of the dollar hit a two-decade high against other major currencies and has since drifted downward. History suggests that dollar down-cycles last around seven years. And signs are the decline could accelerate. Even now, the dollar remains overvalued against every major currency.
Most economists are still confident that the dollar won’t fall much because there is no alternative and investors will never tire of buying US debt. Too confident. At over 10 per cent of GDP, the US twin deficit — including the government budget and the current account — is more than twice the average for other countries. Since 2000 US net debts to the rest of the world have more than quadrupled to 66 per cent of GDP — while on average other developed countries were reducing their debt load and emerging as net creditors.
The search for alternatives is on. Foreign central banks are moving reserves to rival currencies, and buying gold at a record pace. The United Arab Emirates recently joined Russia and other oil producers who accept payment in currencies other than the dollar. And if America’s rising debt burden slows its economy faster than expected — a real possibility — the dollar faces a double-barrelled threat in 2024.
9. An Nvidia chip, a Tesla badge and the frontage of an Apple store
Splintering the Magnificent Seven
In 2023 the big US tech stocks boomed anew on the widespread assumption that they are the only firms rich enough to capitalise on the next big thing, artificial intelligence. Yet only three of the seven are major players in AI: Microsoft, Alphabet and Nvidia. Only one, Nvidia, is making real money on AI. The rest, blessed by association with the buzzword du jour, saw their stock market value rise well in excess of their earnings growth.
This is a familiar syndrome: a new innovation excites investors, who pour money into any company loosely related to that innovation, until they realise that most aren’t going to make money on it anytime soon. This happened in the dotcom era, and it is happening now. Already expectations for 2024 earnings by the big seven are fracturing: rising rapidly for Nvidia, barely at all for Apple, and shrinking for Tesla.
AI mania is unfolding against an unusual backdrop, in that the rest of the tech sector is in a mini recession. Venture capital funding has fallen sharply. Led by Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft, more than 1,100 technology firms laid off workers last year; the net loss of 70,000 jobs made tech the only sector, outside motion pictures, to downsize in 2023. A further culling, not a boom, is more likely in 2024.
10. Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon, and an AMC cinema
Hollywood’s Napoleon complex
No doubt the pandemic left many people leery of indoor spaces, but for the most part bars, restaurants and other entertainments are packed again. Movie theatres, however, are not. Ticket sales have yet to top 900mn in the US domestic market, down from 1.2bn in 2019 and nearly 1.6bn at the peak in 2002.
Hollywood’s problems are well known, including the challenges from streaming services and other online media, and the limits of its blockbuster action film formula. Underplayed in all this is a growing tendency to filter scripts through a progressive lens, increasing their appeal to the liberal 30 per cent of the population, at the risk of alienating the rest. One can hear the axes grinding in many new releases but perhaps most crudely in Napoleon, a politicised parody of one of history’s most complex figures.
In Ridley Scott’s telling, the emperor was neither grand military strategist, nor champion of republican revolution, nor civil service and education reformer — just a cranky little murderer. The film ends with a scroll of battlefield death tolls. Asked whether he had seen it, a French-born conservative friend told me “of course not”. He knew Hollywood would render Napoleon to fit its own political worldview. That may draw applause from the Academy — it won’t help revive box office revenues.
The writer is chair of Rockefeller International and an FT columnist
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This thread is for the 2024 election. That post would fit better in "political economics".
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-says-he-will-mass-deport-migrants-with-225-year-old-law-fdr-used-to-remove-thousands-of-japanese-and-germans-during-the-second-world-war-and-cancel-every-biden-policy-that-has-caused-a-catastrophe-of-historic-proportions/ar-AA1mpGHw
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https://www.ft.com/content/9edcf793-aaf7-42e2-97d0-dd58e9fab8ea?segmentId=b385c2ad-87ed-d8ff-aaec-0f8435cd42d9
Ruchir Sharma: top 10 trends for 2024
Europe’s economy will be more resilient than the US, the dollar will weaken and investors will demand a premium on long-term debt
Interesting piece, Doug. I found the China info worth mulling, particularly in view of China’s expansionist posture.
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Again, this thread is for the American 2024 election.
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I wonder if the surprise Dem nomination will be Raskin......
He has been on every show campaigning for the President(cy)
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Hasn't he been fighting cancer?
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True
I am not clear if he is in a temporary remission or in a situation with good prognosis and maybe cured
although usually the wait is ~ 5 yrs to know for sure.
When has health stopped a Democrat
Biden Feinstein Fetterman Ginsberg etc.
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Trump Summons the Furies in Iowa
The former president knows his enemies’ lunacy makes his fans love him. So he encourages those enemies, who may end up re-electing him.
By Barton Swaim
Jan. 5, 2024 1:57 pm ET
Wonder Land: Since the Trump indictments have 'sucked out all the oxygen' from the primaries, Ron DeSantis was right to remind Iowa and New Hampshire voters that to get the job done requires a two term presidency. Images: AFP/Getty Images/AP/Reuters Composite: Mark Kelly
Coralville, Iowa
It was around 1 p.m., and he was scheduled to speak at 6. I had just arrived and was hoping to get a bite before the event. But already some 200 people waited outside the Hyatt convention center in this Iowa City suburb. I feared the line would grow fast, and the campaign had stopped issuing media passes—claiming, credibly as it turned out, a lack of space. I got in line and spent the next several hours talking with Iowans who want to give Donald Trump a second term.
Whether they’ll all caucus for Mr. Trump on Jan. 15 is another question. Some significant minority of the people I spoke with can fairly be called fans of the former president who aren’t otherwise politically engaged. Several said they had rarely or never caucused before. None, however, said they’ll likely support some other candidate if Mr. Trump is on the ballot. People who come to hear Mr. Trump aren’t there to assess him but to see their guy and commune with each other.
The first thing you notice at a Trump rally is the paraphernalia. Four out of five people are wearing some Trump-themed item: red MAGA hats, hoodies and sweatshirts bearing the words “Trump vs. Everybody” and “We the People ARE PISSED,” hats answering “Yes, I’m a Trump girl. Get over it,” beanies with the number 47. In Coralville, these items could be purchased at stands manned by industrious entrepreneurs hoping to make a few bucks off a form of fandom as intense as you might find at a Taylor Swift concert.
By 3:30 the line stretched around the far end of the hotel and into an adjacent parking garage—I would guess 5,000 people. Clipboard-wielding campaign volunteers collected phone numbers; jolly peddlers hawked Trump-themed scarves and gloves; local TV reporters queried fans on their enthusiasm.
I happened to meet eyes with a lithe woman in her 70s, her mostly red attire festooned with Trump buttons. “How many of these haff you been to?” she asked in what sounded like a Swiss German accent. “Ziss is my 42nd!” On the bill of her MAGA hat were embroidered the words “Happy days are here again.”
Mr. Trump frequently derides his primary opponents, especially Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, and his crowds obligingly boo and gesture thumbs-down. But many people at Trump rallies speak favorably about Mr. DeSantis (less so Ms. Haley). What keeps most of them aligned with Mr. Trump is the left’s never-ending campaign to jail, disqualify or otherwise destroy him.
I spoke to many people who regarded the four criminal indictments of Mr. Trump as proof that he is the man the left fears most. Jerry Donavan, a machinist from Des Moines, answered my question about the indictments with a question of his own: Why did I think the left wanted so badly to destroy Mr. Trump? When I failed to answer, he said, “Exactly.” He conceded that Mr. Trump is “kind of a bad guy, kind of an a—hole, really,“ but insisted the indictments only prove his point and said he’d “vote for Trump if he was on death row.”
The Democratic and media resistance, for its part, appears readier even than in 2016 to count Mr. Trump a would-be dictator rather than a legitimate political figure. An edition of the Atlantic was given to the question of Mr. Trump’s dictatorial propensities. In the Washington Post Robert Kagan wrote a 6,000-word essay contending that a second-term Mr. Trump won’t be checked by countervailing institutions and so will become America’s first dictator.
The Never Trump alarmists never bother to acknowledge the left’s antidemocratic and extraconstitutional behavior in recent years—the attempt to get rid of a president by falsely claiming he’d conspired with Russia; proposals to pack the Supreme Court and add states to the union merely to add Senate seats; the campaign to smear Brett Kavanaugh; the false claim by 51 former intelligence officials that Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation; the decisions to bar Mr. Trump from the Colorado and Maine ballots on grounds that he is guilty of a crime with which he hasn’t been charged.
(MARC: To this list I would add the Alinskyite determination to sever the chain of custody of votes wherever and whenever possible!!!)
This newspaper’s Holman Jenkins has surmised that these self-dramatizing resistors are consciously justifying their own further unconstitutional and undemocratic behavior if Mr. Trump wins a second term. There is, in addition, the implausibility of their putative worry—that a man who shows so little interest in policy and ideology, and whose attention span is almost nonexistent, could somehow achieve despotic powers. It’s an idea so dumb, to paraphrase George Orwell, that only an intellectual could believe it.
True, Mr. Trump has always delighted in sounding like a strongman. Plainly he admires autocrats, but he admires them for their media savvy and panache rather than their accomplishments and wouldn’t know how to arrogate new powers to himself if he wanted to. His enemies can be counted on not to notice that distinction.
Give the Never Trumpers this much: Lately Mr. Trump has turned up the volume on his strongman bombast. His campaign speeches often include the tag line “I am your retribution.” In September he claimed that Gen. Mark Milley, who reportedly conferred with Chinese officials about Mr. Trump’s erratic behavior after the 2020 election, behaved so egregiously “that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” He has talked of revoking broadcast licenses of news outlets he dislikes.
In an interview last month, Sean Hannity all but begged Mr. Trump to disavow any dictatorial aims. “Under no circumstances—you are promising America tonight you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody,” Mr. Hannity prompted. Mr. Trump: “Except for day one.” Briefly flummoxed, Mr. Hannity asked him to clarify. Mr. Trump: “I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
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This sort of talk, together with the left’s declared intention to treat Mr. Trump as an insurrectionist if he wins, raises the problem of personnel in a second Trump administration. Few accomplished people in law and national security will want to risk their careers and reputations by stepping into that war zone. That leaves rabble-rousing loyalists like Kash Patel, briefly deputy to the acting director of national intelligence under Mr. Trump. In a December interview, Mr. Patel remarked that in a second Trump term “we will go out and find the conspirators not just in government, but in the media.” The Trump campaign distanced itself from Mr. Patel’s remark.
But would Mr. Patel, to cite one example, find a top cabinet spot in a second Trump presidency? William Barr, who served as attorney general during the Trump administration, recalls in his memoir that the president repeatedly said he wanted to make Mr. Patel deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation—a promotion averted with some effort by Mr. Barr and others in the Justice Department.
The fans I spoke with in Coralville didn’t seem interested in getting even with Mr. Trump’s foes, but the theme of retribution made more than one onstage appearance. A young local pastor, Joel Tenney, stated confidently that “when Donald Trump becomes the 47th president of the United States, there will be retribution against all those who have promoted evil in this country.” This conspicuously creepy line drew mild applause and suggested a tendency among people in Mr. Trump’s outer orbit to sound his themes and attract his attention.
Forty-two minutes later the former president appeared. He faced the crowd, pointing here and there, giving the thumbs-up sign and mouthing “thank you” for a strange 2½ minutes as Lee Greenwood blasted from the loudspeakers. “And I’m proud to be an American, / Where at least I know I’m free.”
Mr. Trump’s campaign speeches are much like they were in 2016. He shifts between teleprompter-dependent lines on policies and accomplishments, and wild, unpredictable riffs on the corruption and stupidity of his opponents. In ’16 the riffs were at least entertaining—Jeb Bush was a “very nice person” but “low energy”; Ted Cruz’s father was in on JFK’s assassination.
Eight years later, he’s still the showman but less funny. The chief component of Mr. Trump’s speeches in 2023-24 is resentment at other Republicans’ disloyalty. Mr. DeSantis is the main target. First Mr. Trump read from the teleprompter the sort of campaign-ad talking point that didn’t sound like a normal English sentence: “DeSanctis [sic] spent his entire political career vindictively trying to kill the ethanol industry, voting again and again to devastate Iowa families by eliminating the billions and billions of dollars generated each year from ethanol and wiping out about 48,000 jobs.”
Then began a repetitive four-minute riff—I’ve heard it at previous rallies—in which he dwelt on Mr. DeSantis’s answer about whether he would run for president by saying, as Mr. Trump remembers it, “No comment.” Here’s a compressed rendition:
“You know who he loved? You know who he loved? Fauci! He loved me, too, I got him elected. He loved me, too, ’cause I got him elected, he loved me. And yeah, I did. Four years later they said, ‘Will you vote, or will you run against President Trump?’ And he said, ‘I have no comment.’ I said, ‘No comment? You know what that means. No comment means he’s gonna run!’ And I said, ‘This guy’s gonna run.’ . . . And a lot of my people said ‘Sir, don’t attack him, he’s a Republican.’ I said, ‘No thanks, I don’t need your advice.’ ”
A later riff, which I’ll spare you, criticized Ms. Haley for the same sin: running.
Most candidates avoid mentioning important endorsements of their opponents, but Mr. Trump spent another few minutes castigating Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds for backing Mr. DeSantis. “We love loyalty in life,” he said. “Don’t you think? Loyalty?” His claim that Ms. Reynolds is now “the least popular governor in the entire nation”—accompanied by the trademark “Did you see that?” as if referring to an actual report—received feeble applause from his Iowa audience.
Even Mr. Trump’s ironic nihilism, or maybe the term is nihilist irony, sounds brutal and unfunny in a way it didn’t a few years ago. At one point he mentioned a favorable poll from the Des Moines Register. The newspaper has “a great pollster, actually, a very powerful pollster, a very good, talented pollster.” A brief pause, then: “Of course if my numbers were bad I wouldn’t be saying that. I’d say ‘They have a terrible pollster.’ ”
An hour into the speech, the loudspeakers suddenly piped in electric keyboard music sounding like something from a documentary about space travel. The effect was to get the audience to stop bellowing after every line and allow Mr. Trump to get to the end. “We are a nation that in many ways has become a joke,” the candidate intoned, drawing on the sort of apocalyptic language last heard in his 2017 inaugural address—a speech that convinced Democrats and liberal intellectuals, if they needed convincing, that the Brownshirts had finally come to America. “We are a nation that has become hostile to liberty, freedom, faith and even to God. We are a nation whose economy is collapsing into a cesspool of ruin, whose supply chain is broken, whose stores are not stocked, whose deliveries are not coming, and whose educational system is ranked at the very bottom of every single list.”
After the rally I sat exhausted in the Hyatt’s bar over french fries and a beer watching the happy rallygoers at other tables. I wished they could see what I see, or that I could see what they see. What they see, I guess, is a wiser, savvier President Trump foiling his enemies and setting America on a better course. What I see is a catastrophe in which cultural VIPs in government and the media give themselves license to ruin a duly elected president, and his fans, refusing to take it a second time, responding with incomprehending rage.
I’m not sure what Mr. Trump sees. He knows that his enemies’ insane need to defeat him by nonelectoral means tends to fortify his support, and he encourages them to indulge their dumbest instincts. He may ride their foolishness all the way to the White House.
As a matter of cosmic justice, the Democrats, particularly Mr. Biden, deserve a Trump victory in 2024. They have done everything possible to ensure his nomination—funding his preferred candidates, no matter how crazy, defaming his sane Republican opponents, hounding him with spurious lawsuits. They assumed he was unelectable. Thanks to them, he isn’t. He will likely win the nomination.
And, as a consequence of Mr. Biden’s plenary incompetence and perverse refusal to exit the scene, Mr. Trump may win the presidency. Then the real fun starts. Happy days are here again.
Mr. Swaim is a Journal editorial page writer.
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https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-biden-marks-jan-6-anniversary-with-campaign-speech-on-sacred-cause-of-democracy
notice the man who introduces President Joe Biden and "Doctor" (with emphasis) Jill Biden.
has these ears :roll::
https://twofeatherplugs.com/blogs/two-feather-plugs-blog/the-history-of-why-people-have-stretched-ears
Trump is all about the past he claims while then spending the whole speech about talking about the past specifically 1/6/23.
Invokes George Washington (wait I thought his memory is as a slave holder).
A real Professor, John Turley's rebuttal:
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2024/01/06/jonathon-turley-criticizes-bidens-anti-free-speech-administration-n2633267
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https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2024/01/07/jpmorgan-analyst-predicts-timing-of-when-biden-will-drop-out-how-he-will-be-replaced-n2168418
He will drop out between super Tuesday and November according to a JP Morgan prediction, not very specific there, " for health reasons".
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The party of "democracy]" is trying to take the voters out of choosing the replacement (and trying to hold the general election without the opponent on the ballot).
If he is unable to serve them for health reasons known now, then why isn't he unable to serve now?
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https://dailycaller.com/2024/01/07/barack-obama-urged-president-joe-biden-campaign-move-aggressively-against-trump-private-lunch-report/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=29912&pnespid=uaB3Uz9KbKAEi.jbrznuQ5bdsReqT4RwMbe13eVrvg9m_xze_TOs0JEc47yUh92fpU0Rm73v
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:roll:
https://nypost.com/2024/01/08/news/new-batch-of-jeffrey-epstein-court-documents-are-released/
tapes disintegrated in thin air
can we please get Trump off the headlines !
I don't want to keep dealing with this every single day
his name blurs out everything else .
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https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2024/01/07/stefanik-i-have-concerns-about-the-treatment-of-january-6-hostages/
Meet the Press Jan 7 2024
Should see full show video for context. But it seems NBC takes that down off of youtube.
She stands up and calls them out.
Later as (Big Trump hater) Peggy Noonan points out, Stefanik engages in the political but shifts back to policy, which is a winning move for them.
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https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2024/01/08/cnns-first-road-to-270-map-is-out-and-team-biden-wont-like-it-n4925292
#1 Trump has a iron clad ceiling below 50%
#2 I never underestimate the Dems willingness to cheat lie and do everything else to change the numbers
#3 and of course we have a yr of propaganda left for the MSM to tell us all is well and with BS data etc.
and the lawfare (which is same as war) but with added the "rules of war" all determine by shysters -
[whatever the rules of war horseshit is.]
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Just posted this on my FB page:
Just watched Gov. Nikki Haley on the FOX Town Hall hosted by Bret Baier an Martha MacCallum (two of the best anchors anywhere, and a very good team when they work together)
The event was well run, and the questions from the audience were articulate and thoughtful.
A fine job by Gov. Halley and she rose in my estimation.
Tomorrow night is my first choice, Gov. DeSantis. He'll need his A game after Halley's performance tonight.
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Fox News host Jesse Watters predicted that former First Lady Michelle Obama could replace President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket Monday.
Former President Barack Obama reportedly told Biden during a lunch meeting to attack former President Trump more aggressively, even suggesting the hiring of a former campaign staffer to serve as senior strategist. Trump has led Biden in general polling, being 2.2% ahead of the incumbent in the RealClearPolitics average of general election polls from Dec. 4 to Jan. 2. (RELATED: ‘He Lost Me’: Jonathan Turley Rebuts Biden’s ‘Assault On Democracy’ Speech In Less Than 60 Seconds)
“The Obamas say Joe Biden is going to lose, so they’re staging a hostile takeover. Obama world is telling everyone who will listen in Washington that the Biden campaign is complacent, unimaginative, they don’t understand the threat of losing to Trump,” Watters said. “Team Biden says Biden is way too Zen. I think when he says way too Zen, he means barely alive, but I don’t want to put words in the former president’s mouth.”
WATCH:
“The Washington Post is reporting Obama has been visiting Biden to tell him he needs a full overhaul of his campaign,” Watters continued. “Obama is pushing Biden to push his political operation outside and beyond his advisors. Translation, Barack and Michelle are taking over, and the media agrees.”
Biden attacked Trump and his supporters in speeches near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and at a Charleston, South Carolina church that was the site of a 2015 mass shooting. The Biden campaign released an ad labeling Trump and his supporters as an “extremist movement” following a meeting with historians.
“Biden’s trying to throw Trump in prison the rest of his life, strip his business license strip him off the ballot and just called him a combination of Hitler and King George III and the Obamas think he should go on the attack?” Watters asked. “I am afraid to ask what this would look like, but if Trump is not damaged goods by the convention, Michelle Obama is presenting herself as plan B.”
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"Former President Barack Obama reportedly told Biden during a lunch meeting to attack former President Trump more aggressively, even suggesting the hiring of a former campaign staffer to serve as senior strategist."
My question how is this possible
The entire left wing media corporate DNC complex is already doing this 24-7.
"The Biden campaign released an ad labeling Trump and his supporters as an “extremist movement” following a meeting with historians."
These stinking liberal lying historians.
Jesse predicts Michelle will be the nominee announced at DNC.
Quick search does not show any new polls exploring such an event.
But I agree with others, Joe will announce someone else.
I noticed Newsome was in Mexico with Bill Clinton.
Could a Newsome/Hillary ticket be in the cards?
mafia family Clinton vs mafia family Obama gang war?
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https://townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/2024/01/09/the-evil-of-two-lessers-n2633330
yup.......
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"Former President Barack Obama reportedly told Biden during a lunch meeting..."
Translated, Obama is going public with his frustrations. It likely means he already suggested Joe step down and he (Jill) is refusing.
"My question how is this possible
The entire left wing media corporate DNC complex is already doing this 24-7."
Lipstick on a pig. The pig is the policies and the policies came from Obama. It's going on 16 years since the exciting candidate of change Barack Obama turned into the mess he left behind. Lipstick doesn't cover that, nor does a fresh face.
Biden can't 'hand it' to anyone but Kamala and he would have to resign to do that.
Don't underestimate the role of Biden's legal troubles in all this. Slow Joe understands power and losing his is his biggest fear. Also Presidents have a vision of their legacy. From Joe's point of view, he can beat this guy, again, the same as last time.
Michelle has personal popularity. That doesn't perfectly translate to popularity of policies and governance, and it's hard to give up. If Michelle wants to be (a legitimate) President, she can jump into the primaries like anyone else, and she didn't. Every indication is she likes her life the way it is and only enjoys one side of today's divisive politics, dishing it out, not taking the blows or taking responsibility. If they steer this to her, she takes the hit of that elite insider move along with the baggage of 3 failed Presidential terms. Voters already rejected the Obama legacy once when he left office. She might win and then she will be Joe, taking instructions from her husband while the country goes down the tubes.
Democrats have dug an even deeper hole for themselves than Republicans.
Republicans actually want Trump by wide margins and have good options still open to them. Democrats don't want Biden - or any of the others.
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"Translated, Obama is going public with his frustrations. It likely means he already suggested Joe step down and he (Jill) is refusing."
Agree -
The writing of Obama's intentions was actually telegraphed via David Alexdouche a few weeks ago who suggested Joe pass the Torch ( so someone else can burn down the country)
We knew he would never have said this w/o the Snake's approval.
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IMHO there is nothing that would stop her from saying what everyone would assume anyway-- that if elected she would be the face of Baraq 3.0/4.0.
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I was perusing a couple pieces today predicting that Biden would not be the Dem’s presidential candidate later this year, which inspired me to look at the dates of the various conventions, w/ Repubs being in mid-July & Dems being in the second week of Aug. IIRC. This got me to thinking:
Imagine if the Dems wait for the Repubs to nominate their candidate, at this point presumably Trump, and then some three weeks later Biden drops his candidacy and by some mechanism beyond my ken the Dems nominate someone without the baggage of both Trump and Biden? Giving the Dems penchant for playing fast and loose w/ the rules—witness various far from kosher voter registration schemes for one—that might be their most likely path to victory.
Thoughts? I’m sure there are various parliamentary or whatever procedures that would need to be wrestled w/, but the more I think about it the more it seems the Dems best path forward would involve a switcheroo like the one I’ve described.
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That the Dems could switcheroo AFTER the Rep convention is not something that had occurred to me.
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It has always annoyed me that the Dem Convention is AFTER the Republican one.
Thus they have 3 weeks to be able to coordinate their response to our platform.
Should we take a pool
as to who will be the substitute
or not?
Newsome
Mrs. Obama
Oprah
Robert Dinero
Joe Scarborough
Jammy Rascal
Hakeem Jeffries
Barbra Streisand too old ; she will supply the money though
Same for Soros but maybe his son
Hillary.....
Claudine Gay
:wink:
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That the Dems could switcheroo AFTER the Rep convention is not something that had occurred to me.
Yes, but only with (Jill) Biden's consent (or if he dies). All indications are that the powers behind the curtain have been telling him to step out and he refuses. Their threats to go public with criticism are used up. They already went public.
They should have run Newsom in the primaries against the incumbent when he wouldn't step out, but they didn't.
We assume Democrats have a master plan but remember, they are the other stupid party.
They gave Biden the power (big mistake) and now he has it.
If you believe Democrats, and Biden does, he got more votes than Barack ever did. He's the 'Big Guy' now, and getting even bigger as his mind gets smaller.
Jill knows, if he drops out now he is a loser President for eternity.
Republicans cannot make that switch after the delegates are set, (again only if the candidate dies). After the early primaries and after super Tuesday, if vote tallies look like the polls today, 50 point lead (except NH), he is unstoppable to the nomination and to November. Trump will not step out even if (impeached twice and) convicted of 91 felonies, not even if taken off all the blue state ballots. He will be the nominee if he wins the delegates and we will know that very soon. Democrats will know soon too; they won't have to wait until after the R convention.
They're waiting for Joe and Joe isn't budging.
If they want to use the 1968 model, get Dean Phillips to win the New Hampshire primary (or come really close) to show Biden weakness, then have Newsom, Michelle and Kamala all jump in right after if they want to. Let the voters decide.
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Iowa (Trafalgar): Trump 52, Haley 18, DeSantis 18, Ramaswamy 5, Christie 3
(from RCP)
For months we have heard about the Haley momentum and the demise of DeSantis yet she still isn't really in second place and is a mile or a marathon behind Trump.
But possibly she could take second in Iowa and win New Hampshire in the very near future. In conventional times, that would completely upset the race.
If so yes, DeSantis will drop out. But he is more likely to endorse Trump than Haley. His voters as likely to go to Trump as Haley. And maybe he will endorse neither, just put the campaign on hold.
If anything close to this happens, my thought is this will not affect Trump's core support across the nation because nothing else did. In this scenario, it is still a big win for Trump in Iowa and he will blame RINOs and crossovers for upsetting NH, and move on.
Thinking further on this, perhaps DeSantis should take the VP job but I guess it won't and can't be offered. Same state and no way to fake otherwise - like Cheney did.
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That the Dems could switcheroo AFTER the Rep convention is not something that had occurred to me.
Yes, but only with (Jill) Biden's consent (or if he dies). All indications are that the powers behind the curtain have been telling him to step out and he refuses. Their threats to go public with criticism are used up. They already went public.
They should have run Newsom in the primaries against the incumbent when he wouldn't step out, but they didn't.
We assume Democrats have a master plan but remember, they are the other stupid party.
They gave Biden the power (big mistake) and now he has it.
If you believe Democrats, and Biden does, he got more votes than Barack ever did. He's the 'Big Guy' now, and getting even bigger as his mind gets smaller.
Jill knows, if he drops out now he is a loser President for eternity.
Republicans cannot make that switch after the delegates are set, (again only if the candidate dies). After the early primaries and after super Tuesday, if vote tallies look like the polls today, 50 point lead (except NH), he is unstoppable to the nomination and to November. Trump will not step out even if (impeached twice and) convicted of 91 felonies, not even if taken off all the blue state ballots. He will be the nominee if he wins the delegates and we will know that very soon. Democrats will know soon too; they won't have to wait until after the R convention.
They're waiting for Joe and Joe isn't budging.
If they want to use the 1968 model, get Dean Phillips to win the New Hampshire primary (or come really close) to show Biden weakness, then have Newsom, Michelle and Kamala all jump in right after if they want to. Let the voters decide.
Appreciate the perspective, Doug, particularly as I claim no expertise where convention dynamics are concerned. Rather, I've an abiding belief that the current iteration of the Democratic Party has little problem sorting out what their desired outcome for a given issue is, and then backward engineering what needs to be bent, warped, spindled, and mutilated to achieve that outcome. Can't help but conclude someone is one of their puzzle palaces is noodling on what all needs to occur should Joe play pocket pool or something in public, making it clear to all he needs to be bounced from the ballot.
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"I've an abiding belief that the current iteration of the Democratic Party has little problem sorting out their desired outcome for a given issue is, and then backward engineering what needs to be bent, warped, spindled, and mutilated to achieve that outcome."
Yup.
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FWIW
Listening to Bill O'Reilly podcast
He thinks it a long shot but still suspects Michelle O could be the announced nominee and speculates a recent interview she gave warning of the "threat to democracy" is a prelude to this.
He would still be surprised if it is Biden.
He had pollster John McLaughlin (not one of the fastest guitarists ever of same name)
who disagreed saying all the signs are Biden will be nominee - it is late, no indication he wants to step away, etc.
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=beatles+song+michelle&mid=03431E7E7E730A5898C503431E7E7E730A5898C5&FORM=VIRE
another cool song by John McLaughlin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRgqITBGcbs
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Trump was quite a bit less than an hour last night for his FOX town hall with Baier & MacCallum. Was he just late?
Anyway, for me the highlight was how he responded to a question on abortion. Measured and thoughtful, it actually was almost eloquent.
Plenty of the usual, which for me includes dishonest bullsh*t about DeSantis' record on the Wuhan Virus and Fauci. Something of a mystery to me why DeSantis does not take him on about it!
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Did not listen to Trump
after hearing all his idiotic dumb ass stuff he is reported to say on the MSM I can't stomach to listen to him and any good positions he takes mixed in with the sick pathological stuff. His good points are ever drowned out by the dumb shit he can't control which is what ends up all over the tabloids.
It is remarkable we can't have a candidate who refuses and is unable to correct himself over 8 yrs.
But for sure the same can be said of Biden.
I agree I understand he has moderated the abortion issue- deflects to the states I guess
DeSantis on Morning Joe/Mika this AM.
Of course the entire 10 minutes is mostly about bashing Trump and how lousy Ron is doing in the polls.
Nothing really of substance of course.
However, Ron does get questioned and answers Trump on the covid situation head on:
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&ei=UTF-8&p=desantis+on+msnbc&type=E210US1494G0#id=0&vid=245974cbc73bf0b3bae60c247749a4a4&action=click
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I would make it a centerpiece of an ad with suitable supporting video.
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I liked the part where Ron is asked about the Trump lawyer argument that he could assassinate his political opponents and still be protected by Presidential immunity.
And yes I get the pure legal perspective though crazy.
And I liked Ron's response saying this completely (assassinated() killed the argument for full legal immunity.
Dumb ass Trump who simply has to push on purpose everything beyond limits.
SCOTUS must be pulling their hair out.
They will go down in history as the most consequential SCOTUS thanks to Trump and enemy DNC lawyers taking everything over the top.
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Nor does his penchant for hot babe lawyers serve him well-- witness the most recent one saying that Kavanaugh owes Trump.
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as far as I know she still works for Trump
though
she should be replaced immediately upon such a public statement.....
but this is likely how Trump himself thinks and I would be surprised if he didn't say it to her.
though not for the MSM........
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Exactly so.
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One more debate I did not see. I've read a few takes. All say Trump won by not being there and by setting up the scenario where they just fight each other, not fight Trump or even fight Biden.
DeSantis did fine but loses by not winning.
These debates should a clinic on American Creed and what's wrong with current governance, drawing in and capturing undecided voters of all types. Not so.
So let's say Haley wins second where I hoped RD would. Where does that leave her, where does that leave us? She isn't the heir apparent if she becomes the anti-Trump. His runningmate probably is (unless they have a falling out).
Cruz sort of won second place last time. Got labeled Lying Ted etc. Retreated to just trying to be a great Senator, not a national leader.
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"These debates should a clinic on American Creed and what's wrong with current governance, drawing in and capturing undecided voters of all types."
THIS.
DeSantis is looking thoroughly fuct in NH, and as a result things are looking ominous for him overall even if he does well in Iowa.
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I don't really believe this but say if true:
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/01/poll_analysis_a_surge_in_black_voter_support_for_trump.html
I would hope Ronna would have enough sense to try to recruit these people to help get the ballots out for Trump.
Just like the Dems do for their Black supporters.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12961207/Vivek-Ramaswamy-worried-Trump-surprise-attack.html
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" Vote for "TRUMP,” don’t waste your vote! Vivek is not MAGA,' the post went on. "
Well, I am thinking MAGA is not simply Trump.
MAGA is us - not Trump - and others *beside* DJT are quite capable at giving *us* a voice we have not had in over 30 yrs too.
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anti-Trump Luntz punts:
https://www.conservativereview.com/ucla-medical-school-suddenly-stops-antiracist-exercise-following-civil-rights-complaint-2666949632.html
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Not the link you were looking for.
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thank you for the pointing out the mis post
here is the correct link:
https://www.newsweek.com/anti-trump-pollster-admits-hed-place-150k-bet-donald-trump-winning-1860523
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIX2nXeKW0M
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https://www.bizpacreview.com/2024/01/14/nikki-haley-dodges-when-asked-straight-up-if-a-man-can-become-a-woman-1427677/?utm_campaign=bizpac&utm_content=Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_source=Get%20Response&utm_term=EMAIL
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https://www.bizpacreview.com/2024/01/14/nikki-haley-dodges-when-asked-straight-up-if-a-man-can-become-a-woman-1427677/?utm_campaign=bizpac&utm_content=Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_source=Get%20Response&utm_term=EMAIL
I joke sometimes about girls and women with eye shadow and make up. God did such a great job but must have got that part wrong and that's why they need to do that. This trans thing takes it to another level.
As recently as 2020 I see mainstream opinion AND LAW that female genital mutilation is wrong, criminal, horrible. This one is from 2019: https://islamic-relief.org/news/islam-must-never-be-used-to-justify-fgm/
Wrong for so many reasons, they are juvenile, non-consensual, it's done for a non-medical purpose.
And now something far more intrusive is sanctioned and paid for by the government and promoted in the schools under the guise of gender-what? Affirmation? What a criminal crock.
Men and women have run the spectrum for masculinity and femininity since the beginning of time. Now we tell them it is easily 'corrected', reversing words like "affirmation" and pretending with terms like gender change. Isn't the chromosome different? Have they really, fully changed?
Why are Leftists pushing this? Why are doctors allowed to do it? What diseases and ailments are we neglecting while we chase this and spend fortunes on it? What is the success rate? No medicine or other treatment would ever be approved by the government with a failure rate like that.
Suddenly this is the issue of the day. I'm afraid to post this and running for nothing.
No doubt they are afraid to speak out as well.
Strange, strange strange time we live in.
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https://www.realclearpolitics.com/elections/live_results/2024_iowa_republican_caucuses.html
51% to 20% DeSantis, Haley close third.
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Trump spoke very well in his acceptance speech, even spoke graciously (by Trump standards) of DeS, NK, and VR.
VR spoke briefly and well and threw his support (nearly 8%) to Trump.
DeS, was , , , OK; spoke simply of getting his ticket punched to continue. Given his very weak polling in NH and not great in SC, the prognosis is not good.
NH actually spoke well and rousingly of the strategy going forward against two old men, neither of whom the country wanted, nursing their backward looking grievances and how she far outpolled Trump against Biden. She may have come in behind DeS last night, but that will not last long is my guess.
Observation: One talking head spoke of the actual number of people who voted last night-- which given the caucus rules of Iowa was quite small, and cranked the numbers on money spent and concluded that it was over $1M per vote?!? Do I have this right?!?
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I think DeSantis will drop out today. He was not prepared to do that last night. Wanted to enjoy the second place finish for a moment and didn't want to backstab the people who went through below zero wind chills and spent their evening there to support him. But in a way, he goes out as a winner and if he stays in longer he goes out as a loser.
Haley should do the same. She will take a try at New Hampshire but unless she wins it, she will need to drop out before losing in her home state South Carolina, just as DeSantis would have lost to Trump in Florida.
This is a steamroller now. Does she really want to fight him or does she want to be the heir apparent to him should something happen.
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One way to think of it :
52% of Republicans wanted Trump
47% voted against him.
Almost split.
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All eyes now turn to the Phillips versus Biden race in New hampshire.
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Yes.
And to their credit Ron and Nikki are top tier for future roles.
Vivek has some future role but I don't think he could be President unless he gets some other Federal level position and proves himself there first.
Maybe Ambassador to China where he will verbally kick Xi's tuchus.
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What say we? Nikki or Donald?
====================================
owa Gives Trump II a Boost
New Hampshire is the best chance to make it a real GOP race.
By The WSJ Editorial Board
Jan. 15, 2024 11:41 pm ET
Donald Trump romped to victory in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night, launching the former President on his quest for a third GOP nomination. The vote nonetheless revealed weaknesses that could pose problems in a general election, so Republicans in New Hampshire should think hard if they want to gamble on another Trump run.
Mr. Trump’s victory was the widest in Iowa caucus history for a non-incumbent race, with close to 51% of the vote
at this writing. Ron DeSantis with about 21% was running slightly ahead of Nikki Haley for a distant second. The result is a show of organizational strength that Mr. Trump didn’t have in 2016 when he lost the state to Ted Cruz.
It’s also a sign that he is running almost as a quasi-incumbent in the eyes of his supporters. Voters recall the economy was better under Mr. Trump with little inflation, and America’s enemies weren’t on the march.
***
President Biden and Democrats claim to loathe Mr. Trump, but they have also helped make another Trump nomination possible. Mr. Biden’s failing Presidency and unpopularity have diminished the argument that Mr. Trump can’t win again, despite the GOP’s multiple election defeats since he came to dominate the Republican Party.
The four Democratic indictments and attempts to strike him from the ballot have also rallied many Republicans behind Mr. Trump to put a thumb in the eye of the Democratic left. The polls show that support for Mr. Trump popped after his initial indictment last March, and it has climbed in the wake of the others.
Mr. Trump plays a martyr-for-the-cause note at every rally. Iowa’s caucuses, Mr. Trump said on the weekend, “are your personal chance to score the ultimate victory over all of the liars, cheaters, thugs, perverts, frauds, crooks, creeps—and other quite nice people.”
All of this has made it far more difficult for opponents to break through. Mr. DeSantis seemed the likeliest candidate to do so after his 2022 victory and stellar governing record in fast-growing Florida. But his Iowa result is disappointing after he invested so much time and money in the state.
He tried a version of the Cruz strategy by running to Mr. Trump’s right on abortion and as an anti-woke warrior. But there isn’t much room in that lane. The Florida Governor earned some evangelical support in Iowa for Florida’s ban on abortion after six weeks, but Mr. Trump ran as the President whose Supreme Court appointees voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. Mr. DeSantis waffled on aid to Ukraine to appeal to Trump voters, but this has made him look inconstant.
Mr. DeSantis faces no clear path to the nomination. He’s well behind Ms. Haley in New Hampshire and South Carolina. If he believes, as he says, that Mr. Trump can’t win in November, he should leave the race and give Ms. Haley a chance to take on Mr. Trump one on one.
Ms. Haley has pursued a strategy of appealing to Republicans who either don’t like Mr. Trump or are open to someone else, and that helped her finish a close third in Iowa. The entrance poll says she won among voters who decided in the last two weeks, and she did well among the suburban voters who will determine who wins in November. She has a chance to make a race of it in New Hampshire on Jan. 23, which is why Mr. Trump is attacking her so aggressively on TV.
Ms. Haley’s relative strength in the Granite State speaks to Mr. Trump’s weakness in the general election. Independents can vote in either party primary in the swing state, and Ms. Haley is attracting these voters who will be crucial in the half dozen states that will be decisive in November. It’s also one reason most polls show she defeats Mr. Biden easily while Mr. Trump is barely ahead despite the President’s historically low approval rating of 40%.
Mr. Trump wants to shut down the GOP race early, but Republican voters deserve a debate over his first-term record, the peril from his indictments, and his agenda for a second term. Second terms typically fail, and Mr. Trump can only serve one more.
He could be a convicted felon by the summer, and the Iowa entrance poll showed that no fewer than 32% of GOP caucus-goers said that a conviction would be disqualifying. But by then it may be too late for Republicans to choose another candidate. Meantime, Mr. Trump won’t get on stage with anyone unless Granite State voters make a race of it.
***
It’s hard to believe, but both political parties are on a path to nominate candidates most voters say they don’t want. Mr. Biden may be the only nominee Mr. Trump can beat, and vice versa. Republicans have a chance to think twice about their choice, and the Iowa result means there isn’t much time to do it.
Democrats are also taking a huge gamble. Mr. Biden’s approval rating is so low that he can’t run on his record. His strategy is to make the election all about Mr. Trump, but that is tempting fate. If Mr. Biden believes that Mr. Trump really is a threat to democracy, he would drop his re-election bid even at this late date. The party could use late primaries and the August convention to choose from other candidates who are younger and not tied to the ball-and-chain of Mr. Biden’s record.
The President whose main claim to history is denying Mr. Trump a second term in 2020 could midwife his return to the Oval Office four years later. He would then join Hillary Clinton in a special class of Democratic infamy. Mr. Trump is counting on him.
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second
Presentism is among the most pernicious tendencies of our age. The urge to view historical events through the sentiments and values of the present reflects a lack of perspective, empathy and imagination. It leads to the tyranny that tears down statues, cancels art and rewrites literature. It reaches its nadir in the epic nonsense of some third-rate functionary at a leading American institution thinking he is equipped to pass moral judgment on William Penn.
There’s another form of presentism, less malevolent but equally misleading and potentially as dangerous. Just as always seeing history from the standpoint of the now corrupts our understanding of the past, peering ahead can distort our ability to make useful judgments about the future.
When we attempt to predict some event ahead, we see its implications only from the perspective of our immediate contemporary conditions. We should also know that any event in the future will carry the impact of other events that will occur between now and then. What seems likely to us in a year may look very different when the passing year’s events have intervened.
This is obvious when it comes to the unforeseen. Picture yourself in August 2001 estimating what would happen to the world in 2002. All your reasoned judgments would flow from extrapolations of what you knew at the time, bereft of knowledge of the most important historic event in decades, which would change everything weeks later.
But this is much more than simply saying the future is inherently unknowable, or that we can’t predict events like 9/11. The way events change our perspective applies also to things that are highly predictable—or even certainties. Even well-informed anticipation of the effects of something we know is going to happen can be at sharp variance with the actual effects of that event.
Let me give a poignant example. Most of us can have a high level of confidence that we will outlive our parents. It is a near-certainty and something we all know in advance. But as anyone who has lost a parent knows, the actual realization of that predictable event surpasses the ambit of our experience and transforms our outlook on life itself in ways even the most vivid imagination could not convey.
If it’s true of certainties, like death, then it’s even more true of high-probability events. As those probabilities harden into reality, our perception of them, and the new reality they create, can change out of all recognition. Anticipation of time future in time present is rarely validated.
READ MORE FREE EXPRESSION
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Having tried to go all T.S. Eliot on you, I want to root this in the prosaic present. We are at the moment in the political cycle—the start of an election season—when maximum attention is focused on the imminent future. This year we seem to start with an especially high level of confidence in at least the immediate outcome—the identities of the two main candidates in November’s election.
But I suspect, and polling suggests, that the confidence in that outcome isn’t matched by satisfaction with it. We are in a very odd state in which large numbers of Americans view the prospect of a 2020 presidential election rerun between Joe Biden and Donald Trump as simultaneously inevitable and somehow unbelievable.
I doubt that we have collectively or individually come close to grasping what the reality will be like when it arrives, assuming it does. It is a world of difference between the two men being the probable nominees of their respective parties and their being the actual declared nominees.
In ways we can’t predict, perceptions will change, perhaps dramatically. Voters on both sides who are disinclined now to support their nominee will have to decide whether to throw in their lot with him after all. Or perhaps they will switch—or turn to an alternative emerging reality, a third-party candidate with a real shot.
I think we are especially unprepared for what the world will feel like when the hard reality of Mr. Trump as the Republican nominee—and the sharply increased likelihood of a second Trump presidential term—sinks in with his most inveterate opponents. I suspect that even among those Democrats who worry a lot about Mr. Biden’s visible electoral frailties many have not really brought themselves to admit the looming reality that a Trump victory is a strong possibility.
What happens when they do? We are warned repeatedly about the perilous fragility of our democracy—and those warnings aren’t wrong.
But what about the activist left—with its representatives in the Biden administration, the permanent government and bureaucracy, the media, academia, and cultural institutions, in groups like Black Lives Matter and the anti-Israel protesters who have dominated our screens in the past few months? What happens when they decide the unthinkable is about to become real? Do they use the powerful tools they have to try to prevent it?
We haven’t begun to see what the future we confidently expect really looks like
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https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/17/davos-trumps-potential-return-to-white-house-is-dominating-small-talk.html
Climate change
ESG
How to make money
How to spend when you have so much money
How to manipulate the masses
hobnobbing with celebrities/hookers/politicians
Instead:
TRUMP !!! OMG!
How can we profit from this?
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Nikki Haley Has a South Carolina Problem: Her Home State Is Trump Country
Former president has a big advantage thanks to his popularity in the state
By
Eliza Collins
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Cameron McWhirter
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Jan. 18, 2024 5:00 am ET
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Nikki Haley spent most of her political career in her home state of South Carolina. PHOTO: ADAM GLANZMAN/BLOOMBERG NEWS
Nikki Haley’s long-shot strategy to win the Republican presidential nomination is to pull off an upset in New Hampshire next week over former President Donald Trump—then beat him again in her home state of South Carolina a month later.
But she has a problem: South Carolina is Trump Country.
Haley, who turns 52 years old on Saturday, grew up in the small city of Bamberg, S.C., went to Clemson University and spent most of her political career in the Palmetto State, serving as its popular governor from 2011 to 2017.
Despite Haley’s deep personal ties and political legacy, Trump, 77, has been considered the front-runner in South Carolina for months. Haley lags behind Trump by about 30 points in most state polls taken before the GOP field narrowed following the Iowa caucuses. Surveys show Trump with about 50% or more support of those polled, while Haley attracts about 20%. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has polled in the low teens or lower.
“South Carolina likes Nikki Haley but South Carolina loves Donald Trump,” said Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from the Charleston area who hasn’t endorsed a candidate. Mace started her congressional career highly critical of Trump, but she has since said she would consider backing the former president in the primary.
Trump is looking to quickly lock up the nomination after his win in Iowa on Monday, when DeSantis came in a distant second followed by Haley in third. To blunt Trump’s rise, Haley would need to win, or come very close, in New Hampshire on Jan. 23, and then score a convincing win on her home turf in South Carolina’s Feb. 24 contest.
Nikki Haley is hoping to do well in the New Hampshire primary and gain momentum for her campaign. PHOTO: ADAM GLANZMAN/BLOOMBERG NEWS
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Haley said: “If we can be strong in New Hampshire…we’re going to be even stronger in South Carolina…This is a marathon. It’s not a sprint.”
A Haley spokeswoman said that Haley won the governor’s mansion as the Tea Party, antiestablishment candidate and that she built a conservative record as the state’s chief executive. She said Haley signed restrictive abortion legislation and cracked down on illegal immigration as governor. Haley won by roughly 4.5 percentage points for her first race for governor in 2010 and 14.5 percentage points for her re-election in 2014.
Rep. Ralph Norman, one of the most prominent Republican elected officials in South Carolina to endorse Haley, said he expected her to campaign hard in her home state and ultimately do well. He said the race now is between Haley and Trump.
“Nikki has always come through,” Norman said.
But Trump, who carried South Carolina in the last competitive Republican primary in 2016, has far more top endorsements in the state, including Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican. Trump has noted his wide lead in South Carolina polls and said Haley should be doing better there given her résumé.
“I think it’s a Trump state,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), who has endorsed Trump. The state’s other senator, Tim Scott, was briefly a GOP candidate for president. He hasn’t endorsed a candidate, but has been lobbied by all remaining candidates, according to a person familiar with the matter.
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Donald Trump secured 51% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, while Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley lagged behind with 21% and 19%. WSJ Senior Political Correspondent Molly Ball explains what the results mean for the Republican nomination race. Photo: Jim Watson/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Some allies have urged DeSantis to drop out because he is expected to do poorly in New Hampshire and South Carolina, but so far he has resisted those calls. The primary in his home state of Florida isn’t until March 19; Trump has a big lead in polling there.
A DeSantis spokesman said Haley “will be out of this race after failing to win her home state.”
Haley’s first order of business will be in New Hampshire, where recent polling has shown her eating into Trump’s lead—with one having her cut it to single digits. Haley could appeal to the state’s more-centrist electorate.
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After that primary, she will have a month to campaign in a place she knows well—though she will be an underdog.
South Carolina is a Republican stronghold, with a large conservative evangelical population in much of the state. GOP voters around Charleston, many retired and wealthy, tend to back more-moderate candidates. Republican presidential nominees have carried the state in every general election since 1980.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
What should be Haley’s campaign strategy? Join the conversation below.
Alex Stroman, a former executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party who worked on Trump’s 2017 inauguration, said Haley will have to win in New Hampshire to show South Carolina voters she is viable.
“South Carolinians are not going to reward Nikki Haley just for being from our state,” Stroman said. “If she can win in New Hampshire and then in South Carolina, that would give her critical momentum,” he said, adding later: “It totally changes the dynamic.”
Many Republican voters in South Carolina will vote for Trump in part because they believe his legal problems are unfair and have been directed by his political enemies, said Chad Connelly, a former state GOP chairman. Voters liked Haley as governor, but that was years ago, he added.
“Trump people are fiercely loyal,” he said.
Alex Leary and Siobhan Hughes contributed to this article
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https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2024/01/17/trump-develops-strong-relationship-with-north-dakota-gov-doug-burgum/
hmmmm......
doesn't check the DEI box though.
He would make good secretary of Dept. of Energy though.
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I liked the little I saw of Burgham in the presidential campaign.
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https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2024/01/17/the-woman-trump-reportedly-says-would-be-a-killer-vp-n2633793
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elise_Stefanik
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A fine Congresswoman it would seem, but a heart beat away from a 78 year old President?
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Haley Could Win New Hampshire. Then What?
Trump attacks her viciously every day, but she’s been strangely tepid in going back at him.
By Barton Swaim
Jan. 18, 2024 4:54 pm ET
‘You know how to do this,” Nikki Haley told a New Hampshire audience on Jan. 3. “You know Iowa starts it. You know that you correct it.” Ron DeSantis, speaking in Iowa, sharply criticized his rival for saying Iowa needed correcting. But she had a point. The winner of the New Hampshire primary tends not to be the person who won the Iowa caucuses the week before.
The likelihood of that happening in 2024 appears slim but not impossible. Donald Trump won in Iowa with 51% of the vote in a four-way race. Mr. DeSantis took 21% of the vote. Ms. Haley came in third with 19%.
Ms. Haley is expected to perform much better in the Granite State on Tuesday. At present she’s polling in the low 30s, and Mr. DeSantis remains in the single digits. Registered independents can vote in the Republican primary and conceivably could do so in sufficient numbers for Ms. Haley to come out on top. It isn’t unthinkable, moreover, that Chris Christie’s and even some of Vivek Ramaswamy’s supporters could find their way to Ms. Haley as the non-Trump candidate.
But a campaign can’t depend on too many coulds and maybes. On Tuesday night, in her first public event in New Hampshire after the Iowa caucuses, Ms. Haley sounded more like an also-ran. She addressed a group of about 150 in a hotel ballroom in Bretton Woods, a resort town in the rural north of the state. (The hotel was the site of the Bretton Woods Conference, which created the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank—a curious choice of location for a politician much of her party’s base vilifies as a billionaire-backed “globalist.”)
Ms. Haley’s talk was the same one I heard her give multiple times in November. Her listeners weren’t wowed. Many of her lines drew tepid applause or none at all. Her jokes fell flat. “We all know people over 75 who can run circles around us,” she said. “And then we know Joe Biden.” Silence. Her usual shot at Mr. Trump—“chaos follows him”—drew claps from some and glum stares from others. Near the end of her talk, describing the sort of “mandate” a double-digit victory over Mr. Biden would allow Republicans to claim, she asked, in what sounded like an exasperated tone, “Don’t you want that?”
Her cautious criticism of Mr. Trump sounds disingenuous. She began her reproval by noting that she voted for him twice and was honored to serve in his administration. “But rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him,” she said. “You know I’m right. Chaos follows him.” Plainly the formulation is calculated not to offend. You could take it, as Mr. Trump likely does, as a compliment, particularly when prefaced by “rightly or wrongly.”
Mr. Trump, for his part, can be counted on not to speak of her with similar delicacy. Last week on his social-media network, Truth Social, he suggested Ms. Haley wasn’t eligible to be president because her parents were born abroad. At a Wednesday rally in Atkinson, N.H., he called her backers “pro-amnesty, pro-China and pro-war” and accused her of using fake poll numbers. His campaign surrogate Mr. Ramaswamy, speaking at the podium with Mr. Trump expressing smug approval behind him, was even more unkind in his gibes at Ms. Haley’s expense.
My guess is that Ms. Haley and her campaign quickly realized the “chaos” line wasn’t cutting it. On Thursday she spoke at a rally in Hollis, N.H., near Nashua, and inveighed against Mr. Trump directly and repeatedly. She cleverly, if not quite correctly, categorized Mr. Trump with Mr. Biden by saying “the majority of Americans don’t want to see two 80-year-olds battling it out for president.” (Mr. Biden is 81; Mr. Trump will turn 78 in June.) “Everybody wants to talk about how good the economy was under Trump,” she went on. “He put us $8 trillion in debt in four years.”
And this, on Mr. Trump’s propensity to malign people with whom he’s fallen out: “It’s the drama and the vengeance and the vindictiveness that we want to get out of the way.”
Apart from that, and a nice line about avoiding a Kamala Harris presidency, her talk was the same one she’s been giving for months. Introducing her, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu referred to “her speech, so to say,” as if he too has grown weary of it.
Having heard it fewer times than Mr. Sununu but often enough to anticipate its phrases, I’m impressed by its incoherence. There are moments of an identifiably conservative outlook, particularly on defense and deterrence, but mainly it’s a litany of unrelated policy goals: mental-health care for veterans, term limits, vocational classes in high schools, the elimination of the federal gas tax and earmark spending, cognitive tests for presidential candidates over 75, and so on.
There may be a strategy here. To win, the Haley campaign will have to do what John McCain did in 2000 and 2008, when he attracted enough independents to pull off an upset. After the talk ended on Thursday, I turned to the woman to my left and asked what she thought. “I liked her,” Jacqui O’Shea, 54, said. “I mean, I lean Democratic, but to me she seems smart.” Was there anything Ms. O’Shea didn’t agree with? “Not really. I wanted to ask about abortion rights and gun control. Those mean a lot to me. But they didn’t come up.”
After New Hampshire comes South Carolina, and polls there suggest a result similar to Iowa’s. Gov. Henry McMaster, Ms. Haley’s predecessor in Columbia, endorsed Mr. Trump months before she announced her candidacy last year. That a presidential candidate should lose the state she served as governor but somehow march on to the nomination would appear, let’s say, unlikely.
As for the John McCain strategy, the careful reader will recall a singular fact about the Arizona senator: He was never president.
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Third
Why Doesn’t Anyone Want to Debate DeSantis?
Another political norm seems to be going by the wayside in this odd political season.
James Freeman
Jan. 16, 2024 5:38 pm ET
We keep seeing media reports about how awkward Gov. Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.) is in front of a camera and how he lacks the ability to effectively execute a handshake or even a smile when he’s in the spotlight. Yet for some reason his chief rivals have no interest in getting on a stage with him. Both the candidate who finished ahead of Mr. DeSantis in Iowa and the candidate who finished just behind him have now made it clear they don’t want to debate the Florida man. Are they afraid the content of his remarks will leave them feeling awkward?
Former President Donald Trump, who won Iowa by a large margin and enjoys a significant lead in national polls, has felt free to skip debates all through this election cycle rather than risk defeat to an upstart. But even one of the upstarts has decided it’s not in her interest to take on the Florida governor. Meg Kinnard reports for the Associated Press:
Nikki Haley said Tuesday that she wouldn’t participate in the next Republican presidential debate unless former President Donald Trump takes part in it, leaving Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the only candidate committed to Thursday’s event.
“We’ve had five great debates in this campaign,” Haley said in a statement, released as she campaigned in New Hampshire. “Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.”
Arielle Mitropoulos of New Hampshire’s ABC affiliate WMUR-TV has more on the Thursday event:
The debate will be held at Saint Anselm College, but it’s still unclear who will appear on the debate stage.
To earn a spot, candidates have to either finish in the Top 3 in the Iowa caucuses or be polling at least 10% in two national polls or in two New Hampshire polls of Republican primary voters during a certain window of time.
So far, former President Donald Trump has qualified, along with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
If only the Florida governor accepts, WMUR and Saint Anselm College should proceed with the event and let voters decide what they think of his answers—and of the decisions by Mr. Trump and Ms. Haley to avoid having their arguments tested in a competitive arena.
One could argue that for the Granite State it’s especially important to encourage Republican competition this year because on the Democratic side President Joe Biden and his allies have gone to great lengths to make New Hampshire irrelevant. The Democratic National Committee has stripped the state of its official status as the first-in-the-nation primary and Mr. Biden isn’t even appearing on the ballot next week, though his campaign is urging supporters to write in his name.
Mr. Biden’s effort to trash a political norm and make New Hampshire’s primary a nonevent may be succeeding. For a time on Tuesday afternoon, the “Most Popular” list on the website of Manchester’s Union Leader newspaper showed no stories about the upcoming primary among the top five. The sixth story listed, “Trump to return to NH Jan. 16,” appeared just below “Ben’s Sugar Shack moves to new digs as maple season approaches” and right above “Manchester aldermen asked to sign off on sale of Fisher Cats minor league baseball team.”
Of course Mr. Biden won’t be debating in the state, either. That’s a shame because voters are missing out on what would surely have been a lively and informative discussion. Democratic rival Marianne Williamson is not afraid of debating—or of much else for that matter. Adam Sexton reports for WMUR on her recent event taking questions from voters in Manchester:
“Somebody told me when I turned 50, 50 is the age past which you don’t care what other people think anymore, which I also found to be true. Turning 60, I thought, not only do I not care what other people think, I have to say something,” she said. “At 70, I’m only 71, so I’m only beginning, but I feel how different it is in a good way.”
“I think a lot of it has to do with your spiritual beliefs,” she continued. “If you’re afraid of death, then I guess getting older is really quite horrible. But if you’re not, you know, if you have a sense of something more, it’s pretty fantastic, in a way.”
Another Biden rival, Rep. Dean Phillips (D., Minn.), has been suggesting for a while that President Biden doesn’t engage in much communication—on a debate stage or anywhere else. Now Mr. Phillips is offering another critique of Biden congressional relations that is not going to please the White House. Martin Pengelly reports for the Guardian:
Dean Phillips, the Minnesota congressman mounting a long-shot challenge to Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, praised the Trump White House for its outreach on issues and legislation he worked on and said he had “not seen any of that reach-out by the Biden White House”.
“I don’t believe that we’ve had a president recently that invested in the way one needs to develop … those relationships and that work ethic,” Phillips told Johanna Maska, host of the Press Advance podcast and a former aide to Barack Obama.
“And I’ll be forthright: the Trump White House worked very closely with me in my office on two really important initiatives.”
“Worse than Trump” is an epithet usually reserved in media circles for Republicans who might pose a threat of enacting conservative policies. Yet in contrast to Biden inaction, the congressman noted Mr. Trump’s help as president on deferring deportation for Liberians and also on the Covid-related Paycheck Protection Program.
Speaking of immigration, Mr. Phillips is getting increasingly vocal about President Biden’s failures in this era, which may be a signal of rising dissatisfaction among Democrats with White House border policies.
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"As for the John McCain strategy, the careful reader will recall a singular fact about the Arizona senator: He was never president."
Author seems underwhelmed by her.
I remember her stepping in for Trump at a press dinner. She had a nice stage presence and good writers. But it was fun, not serious material.
Giving the same speech over and over with stale lines is not a good sign.
Eugene McCarthy was never President also.
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https://www.vox.com/trump-investigations/2024/1/17/24041580/trump-court-dates-2024-election-republican-primary
Trump has alternating court appearances and primaries. I don't see any of those early court dated doing him harm at this point so he should glide to the nomination. By summer or fall maybe something will take it's toll, or so the Left is betting.
Maybe DeSantis sees something there. I thought he would drop out. Maybe Nikki will weaken Trump in NH and that will benefit DeSantis. I don't see it at this point.
Funny how they had the earlier part of the 4 years to bring charges, but no. They had to all be during the election season, actually helping Trump both ways. The political motive behind it is way too obvious.
Regarding J6 "insurrection" and taking his name off the ballot for same reason, he was tried in the Senate, that's where you try Presidents, and found not guilty. Was Chief Justice Roberts right, the trial was a sham? Nonetheless, he was vindicated.
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I liked the little I saw of Burgham in the presidential campaign.
Me too. I just thought the step from not nationally known to president was too great, especially with so many others running.
I'd be happy to have him as our president if he could win.
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Lipson argues the Republican nomination is over, and hints at Trump’s strategy moving forward:
How Trump captured his party
DeSantis’s loss in Iowa doomed him. Haley must win New Hampshire and South Carolina to survive
January 18, 2024 | 3:14 pm
Vintage news outlets, with lots of time to kill and space to fill, are desperately trying to say the Republican primary contest is still open. It’s not.
Ron DeSantis’s campaign is already filled with embalming fluid. True, he finished second in Iowa, but that was his most favorable terrain, and he failed to win outright. DeSantis’s basic strategy was to draw away Trump voters by taking strong, socially conservative positions, such as banning abortions after six weeks in Florida. It didn’t convince primary voters. That spells the end for DeSantis nationally because it failed in a state where he spent a lot of time and money and where Republicans are very conservative. To invert the song, “New York, New York,” if he can’t make it there, he can’t make it anywhere.
DeSantis didn’t win a single one of the state’s 100 counties. Trump won ninety-nine, and Nikki Haley captured the remaining one by a single vote. DeSantis claims “he punched his ticket out of Iowa.” He was punched, all right. In the face.
He knows he can’t do well in New Hampshire, where the Republican base is less conservative and Independents can vote in the primary. So he decided to concentrate on the much more conservative state of South Carolina, the home of former governor Nikki Haley. If DeSantis finishes ahead of her there, he would humiliate Haley — but that’s not enough. He has to finish well ahead of Trump, not just ahead of Haley. Polls show DeSantis is far behind the former president in South Carolina. If real-life voters say the same thing, the DeSantis campaign is over. Given Trump’s popularity among Republicans, he’ll be forced to pull out. His own political future dictates that he do so gracefully and endorse Trump.
It’s unclear if the Florida governor ever had a chance, but if he did, it wasn’t by convincing Republicans he was more conservative than the former president, who flipped the Supreme Court, cut regulations and tried to close the border. Equally important, Trump has convinced average Republicans he will fight hard for them, take enormous punishment for doing it and refuse to buckle to establishment pressure.
DeSantis’s best shot — the one he didn’t take — was to say, “I agree with Republican voters on the kind of conservative government we need. I share that vision. The real issue is to put those policies into practice. We can’t let the bureaucrats and Democrats in Congress block us, as they did to Trump. In Florida, I’ve proven I can implement conservative policies. Not just talk about them. Get them enacted. And I’ve proven I can build a solid Republican majority in a state that was purple until I was elected. I can do all that nationally.”
That’s not the platform DeSantis chose for his presidential campaign. He chose to run as “I’m more conservative than Trump.” It wasn’t enough to draw away primary voters from a former president, who rebuilt the party in his image and whose four years in office are remembered fondly by those voters.
What about Haley? She’s not in the morgue, but she’s in the ICU and the hearse is pulling up to the hospital door. To survive, Haley must not only to win in New Hampshire but win convincingly. Then, she has to build on that momentum to secure a big victory in her home state.
New Hampshire is Haley’s best shot, just as Iowa was for DeSantis. Polls in the Granite State show Haley is within shouting distance of Trump. If she closes the gap and wins, even slightly, the media will anoint her. If she goes on to win in South Carolina, they will fill the front pages and cable news with her praise, not because they love her but because they loathe Trump.
If Haley does win in New Hampshire, Trump and DeSantis will slam her victory, saying she won only because Independents can vote in the state’s Republican primary. Actually, that’s Haley’s strongest argument. She will say that Republicans need those votes in November to reclaim the White House and carry down-ballot races. “I’m the best candidate to win those swing voters to our cause,” she will say, “and New Hampshire proves it.” She’s say that even if she loses but carries the Independent vote. Unfortunately for her, that won’t convince most Republicans.
Haley may well be correct that she is the strongest Republican in the general election. But that argument doesn’t persuade primary voters for three reasons. First, there is grave uncertainty about how conservative Haley really is, or, rather, how committed she is to an uncompromising populist agenda when she faces daunting opposition from the Washington establishment and entrenched bureaucrats.
Haley’s stance as the most moderate of the top Republicans has helped her among more educated, higher-income, centrist primary voters. But those are not the party’s majority, and they are certainly not its activist base. Trump reshaped the party in his image, and the median Republican voter is convinced Haley she is closer to Mitch McConnell than to Jim Jordan and James Comer… or to Donald Trump. They’ve been burned before, especially on Supreme Court appointments by Republican presidents. They simply don’t trust Haley to stand up to the formidable, entrenched opposition she would meet if elected.
Second, Haley’s argument for electability would be much compelling if President Biden looked much stronger. He looks weak and beatable. Poll after poll puts Biden’s popularity well below 40 percent and far below that on key issues like border security and the economy. He’s hurt by Hunter Biden’s troubles, too, because an increasing number of voters believe the president himself is corrupt.
Biden’s physical and cognitive problems have also become harder to hide. He’s signaling those troubles by disappearing from public view, refusing to answer questions, and never holding press conferences. Even his short, canned videos reveal the problem. His latest was only twelve seconds. Yet he couldn’t get through it without needing an editing cut, piecing two parts of his extremely brief talk. It’s painful to watch. The idea of a ninety-minute debate with Trump looks like a bridge too far. Biden will try desperately to invent some reason to avoid it. But voters will notice.
Biden’s visible decline raises the prospect that, if he is reelected, Kamala Harris would be sitting in the Oval Office sometime during the next four years. Voters hate, hate, hate that prospect. Time after time, the White House has tried to reintroduce her to the public. And time after time, the public has said, “Please stop.” Still, Biden cannot drop her because he fears it would insult the African-American voters he needs to win. Normally, vice presidential candidates don’t matter much in the general election, even when they are as dreadful as Sarah Palin. This time looks different. Voters have reached a firm conclusion that Harris is unfit to be president. Her presence weakens an already vulnerable ticket.
That weakness undermines Nikki Haley’s main argument, that she is the only Republican who can win the White House. Republican primary voters now believe Trump can win. They could be wrong, of course, but they are surely encouraged by polls in swing states.
Finally, Trump is winning the primaries because he has reshaped his party’s base. His voters are the ones who trampled through snow and ice to vote for him in Iowa. They would walk through tropical storms in the South. Those voters are why he is very likely to win the other contested primaries, although New Hampshire is still in doubt. If Trump does win in New Hampshire, the race is effectively over. Haley should concede then and avoid the embarrassment of losing in her home states. DeSantis may wait until after South Carolina. Both will endorse Trump to preserve their own political futures.
Trump has been aided, quite substantially, by not tweeting (or whatever it is called now) and by not appearing constantly on cable TV. Why? Because much as his fans love it, he conjures up just as much animosity, perhaps more. That’s why Trump’s best shot going into the general election is to make the election all about Biden, not about Trump himself or about a face-to-face comparison. His best campaign slogan would be Ronald Reagan’s in 1980. “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” That’s an easy argument for him to win.
Trump will drive home that “better off” message and enumerate Biden’s failures. He’ll talk about his record of strong economic growth, low unemployment, rising real wages, a strenuous effort to close the border and the lack of foreign wars during his term. The more he mentions revenge or the 2020 election, the worse he’ll do with Independents.
Biden will stay in the basement and go with his strongest argument: “Trump is a danger to our democracy.” That argument would be far stronger if most Democrats didn’t want to keep Trump off the ballot and blue states weren’t trying to do it. Centrist Independents may not be too happy about Trump, but they can’t be convinced you favor democracy if you want to keep your main opponent off the ballot and throw him in jail.
As the race stands now, Trump has effectively captured the nomination and reshaped the party in his image. He will run on a record that many Independent voters think is stronger than President Biden’s.
It’s a long way until November. But it’s even longer if you are a frail eighty-one-year-old incumbent with dismal poll numbers.
By
Charles Lipson
Charles Lipson is the Peter B. Ritzma professor of political science emeritus at the University of Chicago, where he founded the Program on International Politics, Economics and Security, and a Spectator contributing writer.
https://thespectator.com/politics/donald-trump-captured-republican-party-primaries/?fbclid=IwAR0RaGhb5MLEfzwDju9ngqrHrr5_SwkX-wC0tth2LsHY5i3JuVF-4uuWgME
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" As the race stands now, Trump has effectively captured the nomination and reshaped the party in his image. He will run on a record that many Independent voters think is stronger than President Biden’s."
I prefer to say he filled a void within the Republican Party rather then shaped it.
Or he won us over with the hopes, dreams, values we all had (the conservatives) that no one else would take on.
The RINO's were really not representing us.
We existed long before Trump and he became our spokesperson.
A spokesperson we were craving would come along for 30 yrs.
But alas,
We need more than just him.
We barely have the Congress which could change in a yr.
We still have big problems in Mitch McConnell's Senate and no majority yet to boot.
Thank God for now, as we have a Conservative majority in the Supreme Court.
If we can get more people to wake up and see the light like Jamie Dimon......
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This Isn’t Only a Trump Election
The non-elite feel more alienated than ever, even invaded, and they’ll be looking for better options.
WSJ
By Peggy Noonan
Jan. 18, 2024 6:40 pm ET
He got 51% of a modest turnout in a small state, but a win’s a win and a 30-point win is a landslide. Still, part of what we saw in Iowa was Donald Trump’s continual losing battle with himself. His Des Moines victory speech was unusually gracious and statesmanlike. The strategy was to reassure moderates and centrists and to undermine the coming argument against him in New Hampshire: that he’s a bad man who’s violent in his rhetoric because he’s violent in his heart.
“I really think this is time now for everybody, our country, to come together . . . whether it’s Republican or Democrat or liberal or conservative, it would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world,” he said. “I wanna congratulate Ron and Nikki. . . . They’re very smart people, very capable people.” “We’re going to rebuild the capital of our country, Washington D.C. We’re going to scrub those beautiful marble columns . . . and get the graffiti off them.” “We’re going to rebuild our cities, and we’ll work with the Democrats to do it. I’d be glad to work with the people in New York. We’re going to work with the people in Chicago and L.A. We’re going to rebuild our cities and we’re going to make them safe.”
He was trying to turn a page, but what followed the next day—late-night rants on social media, putdowns of Nikki Haley—marked a return to verbal incontinence. He can’t sustain normality. It makes him nervous. Something he said about Doug Burgum showed his assumption. The North Dakota governor, Mr. Trump said, didn’t succeed in his presidential bid because he didn’t gain “traction,” he wasn’t controversial. “Sometimes being a little controversial is good.” It is, but Mr. Trump is a poor judge of the line between controversial and destructive.
In New Hampshire, Ms. Haley may gain traction, may even triumph. Something good may happen for Ron DeSantis. Life is surprise. But it’s time: Ms. Haley should take Mr. Trump on directly and make the serious case against him. Not “I don’t like all the things he says,” but something deeper, truer, more substantive. She could ruminate on the Trump tragedy. He was a breakthrough figure, he did defeat a weak and detached establishment. But he can’t be president again because there’s something wrong with him. We all know this, we all use different words to describe the “something,” but we know what it produces: impeachments, embarrassments, scandal, 1/6.
Meanwhile three things cause unique disquiet among the non-Trump-supporting majority in America, especially after Iowa. One is that in 2016 Trump supporters didn’t know precisely what they were getting. Now they do. Eight years ago it was a very American thing to do, giving the outsider a chance. You never know in life, people grow in office, the presidency softens rough edges. That didn’t happen. They know what they’re electing now.
Second, when Mr. Trump first came in, in 2017, he didn’t know a president’s true and legitimate powers, he wasn’t interested in history, wasn’t up nights reading Robert Caro. He got rolled by a Republican Congress, was too incompetent to get a wall, was surrounded by political aides who were inexperienced and unaccomplished—the famous “island of broken toys.” This time he’ll go in with experience and can be more effectively bad. How long will it take before he starts saying the Constitution mandates a limit of two presidential terms, but his second term was stolen so that means he gets another term after this one?
Third, Mr. Trump shouldn’t be president, and neither should Joe Biden, because they aren’t what we need for the future. What do we need? Someone who feels in her or his gut the wound of the open border and will stop illegal immigration; someone who can cut through the knot of “globalism” vs. “isolationism,” a serious argument that is becoming a cartoon one (internationalists don’t really want to start wars all over; isolationists know we are part of the world and can’t just pull up the bridge). If we can cut through all that we’ll go some distance to forging a true national stance toward the world, and only then can we answer the proper strategy toward China, the responsibility of America in Asia and the Mideast. Someone who can take on identity politics, who knows we all must stand equal. Someone who can reiterate the idea that we do have national values.
Those few (but huge) things, if a leader got them right, would mark a national comeback, and not a further sinking into the mire of the dramas of the past decade.
G.K. Chesterton wrote: “What we all dread most is a maze with no center.” That’s what our national politics feel like now.
Eight years ago I wrote of the driving force behind support for political newcomer Donald Trump. America had devolved into a protected class of the socially and politically influential vs. regular people at the mercy of the protected class’s favored doctrines and political decisions. I think it still pertains, but eight years later I see new shadings. The distance between the elites and the non-elite has widened, the estrangement deepened. When the university presidents testified before Congress in December it became a catastrophe for the elites in part because viewers could fairly come away thinking: They don’t just live far away and have their own ideology, they have their own private language. Their minds seemed to work in a kind of self-satisfied robot loop: “It depends on the context. It depends on the context.” All this delivered with an honestly unconscious condescension.
Something else that I think has changed is—well, something I haven’t fully thought through, but I think the unprotected at this point do not only feel ignored and betrayed, they feel invaded. Twenty twenty, that epic, nation-changing year, tripped something off, began something new, a sense among regular people that some new ideology that doesn’t even have a name had entered their lives on all levels, in their intimate family and work space. The pandemic, with its protocols and regulations and vaccine mandates; the strange things taught in the schools, which were suddenly brought into your home by Zoom; the obsessions with gender and race, the redefinitions of the founding and meaning of America. At the office, the stupid and insulting race and gender instructions, and the index you have to meet when hiring to achieve what someone has decided is the right “diversity” balance.
I think people feel invaded by the ideology with no name. They know it is unhealthy for society, is in fact guaranteed to make us, as a people who must live together, weaker and more divided.
We are not sufficiently noting that this isn’t only a Trump election, it is also the first national election since the full impact of 2020 and its epochal changes sank in.
Voters are going to want more options. Talk will turn seriously to a third-party bid. The great unanswered question will be whether those mounting that party have enough imagination to understand what they could be this year.
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https://townhall.com/tipsheet/rebeccadowns/2024/01/19/heres-who-tim-scott-is-endorsing-for-2024-n2633883
slowly everyone is falling in line
Looks I will too....
God grant us an even worse Dem opponent. :oops:
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https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-nikki-haley-jan-6_n_65ab471be4b076abd7abb095
Trump of course rehashing for the endless number of times how he is alleged to have offered Pelosi NG
and she refused.
Problem is he was not talking about Pelosi!
78 yo .....
What a gigantic gaff.
What is he going to tweet about this - my guess - nothing.
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Trump Isn’t Serious About the National Debt
He joins Democrats in saying that any reform to Social Security would toss granny off a cliff.
By
The Editorial Board
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Jan. 19, 2024 6:43 pm ET
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MAGA Republicans claim to be worried about the country’s $34 trillion debt, and this week the House Budget Committee advanced a bill to create a bipartisan fiscal commission. Have they checked with Donald Trump?
After winning the Iowa caucuses Monday, Mr. Trump replayed a golden oldie of a campaign pledge: “We’re also going to pay off the national debt. It’s about time.” He said the same thing in 2016, before he added about $8 trillion to the tab. Roughly half of that was Covid relief, so perhaps voters grade him on a curve. Less forgivable is that he’s now playing for the Democrats on entitlements.
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“Americans were promised a secure retirement. Nikki Haley’s plan ends that,” says the grim narrator of a Trump advertisement playing in New Hampshire. A new radio spot adds: “Year after year, you paid into Social Security. Now Nikki Haley wants to keep you from collecting what’s yours.” The Trump campaign alleges Ms. Haley would cut benefits “for 82 percent of Americans.”
This is dishonest. Social Security is running out of money, and doing nothing will result in a 23% cut to benefits within a decade. The retirement trust fund, according to the latest report, will be depleted in 2033, at which point the incoming cash “will be sufficient to pay 77 percent of scheduled benefits.” Does Mr. Trump have any plan to prevent this outcome in only nine years? Nope.
Ms. Haley hasn’t issued a detailed proposal, but what she says doesn’t fit Mr. Trump’s narrative. “I will protect those receiving Social Security and Medicare—that’s a promise,” she said last fall. “We’ll keep these programs the same for anyone who’s in their 40s, 50s, 60s, or older, period.”
Then she added that she would “limit benefits on the wealthy” and “raise the retirement age only for younger people who are just entering the system. Americans are living 15 years longer than they were in the ’30s. If we don’t get out of this 20th-century mindset, Social Security and Medicare won’t survive.”
Whatever Mr. Trump might say about getting the debt under control, it won’t happen without changes to these programs. Social Security was 19% of total federal outlays in 2022. Medicare was 12% and Medicaid 9%. The category of “other means tested entitlements” was another 10%. Add those up, and they’re half of federal spending. As social programs keep growing, they crowd out everything that’s counted as “discretionary,” including national defense, which was 12%.
This problem will get worse. By the year 2053, Social Security outlays will climb to 6.2% of GDP from 4.8%, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. Medicare will go to 5.5% from 2.8%. “Rising health care costs per person and the aging of the population are the main reasons for the sharp increase in projected spending on the major health care programs,” CBO dryly notes. Ditto for Social Security.
Republicans used to grasp this reality, and Democrats hammered them as heartless while pretending not to understand math. Recall the Medicare attack ad in which a doppelgänger of Rep. Paul Ryan pushed a grandma in a wheelchair off a cliff.
Today the putative leader of the Republican Party is taking the same line against Ms. Haley. She’s the one candidate in 2024 who is honest about what’s driving the debt, and Mr. Trump is trashing her for it. Ron DeSantis has switched jerseys on this issue as well. He has been arguing that because life expectancy has dipped slightly amid Covid and the opioid epidemic, the U.S. can’t possibly adjust Social Security to account for the enormous gains in health and longevity since the 1930s.
It’s dizzying. House Republicans are at one another’s throats over modest bills to keep the government running, and some of the rabble rousers are now debating whether to knife their second Speaker in three months. Yet Mr. Trump is running a presidential campaign all but promising America a future as a broke, weak welfare state, and none of the MAGA debt agonists object. Incoherence, thy name is Donald Trump’s Republican Party.
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https://www.bizpacreview.com/2024/01/22/trump-makes-absolutely-explosive-revelation-about-nikki-haley-at-new-hampshire-rally-1429833/?utm_campaign=bizpac&utm_content=Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_source=Get%20Response&utm_term=EMAIL
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https://nypost.com/2024/01/22/opinion/maga-republicans-need-to-align-with-fed-up-biden-voters-to-win/
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Not a stupid piece at all.
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The 2024 Republican Choice
A second, chaotic Trump term, or a new conservative beginning?
By The Editorial Board
Jan. 21, 2024 5:56 pm ET
The polls show Americans want to move on from President Biden, and Republicans have a choice to make about the alternative to offer voters in November. Will it be the prospect of a second Donald Trump term, with its inevitable turmoil and polarization, or will the GOP look forward to forge a new conservative governing coalition?
That’s the essence of the choice facing Republicans as New Hampshire holds its primary on Tuesday. The Trump campaign, the press and the Biden Democrats say the race is over. Mr. Biden wants Mr. Trump as the nominee because he believes Mr. Trump is the easiest to beat. But before the die is cast, it’s worth thinking about the risks GOP voters would be taking, both in November and in a second term if by some chance Mr. Trump defeated Mr. Biden.
***
The election risks are sitting in plain sight. Mr. Trump faces 91 felony charges in four different indictments. You can think the indictments are politically motivated and an awful precedent, as these columns have argued. But they exist, and amid the legal battling a jury could convict Mr. Trump by the summer.
Then what? Mr. Trump would never withdraw. But no fewer than 31% of Iowa caucus voters said in the entrance poll that a conviction would make Mr. Trump unfit for the White House. That would mean Mr. Trump can’t win. GOP voters would have played into Democratic and media hands.
If Mr. Trump does somehow win, Democrats predict a second Trump term will end in dictatorship. But that undersells the resilience of American institutions, which have held up so far against the stress test of Mr. Trump and his enemies, including the riot of Jan. 6, 2021. Congress responded quickly and ratified the Electoral College votes. The plotters were a rump group opposed across the government. There was nothing close to a coup d’état.
The better question in our view is whether Mr. Trump can deliver the policy and political victories that GOP voters want. There are many reasons to think he can’t.
Start with the fact that Mr. Trump would be an immediate lame duck. He can’t serve more than one more term, and if he does win it will be narrowly with little political capital. He has never reached an approval rating above 50%, and his rolling seven-week RealClearPolitics average favorability is 41.5%. If there’s a strong third-party ticket, he might win with the smallest plurality since 1912. Mr. Trump would lack the most potent presidential power—the ability to persuade.
Republicans are favored to win a Senate majority, albeit narrowly. But the House is up for grabs and could easily go Democratic. If the first term is a guide, Democrats will oppose anything Mr. Trump proposes that isn’t one of their priorities. Mr. Trump could use executive power to repeal Mr. Biden’s regulations and appoint judges. He could approve drilling for domestic energy in particular. But if Democrats control either house of Congress, conservative legislative priorities would be dead on arrival.
Trump supporters say his first term was successful until the midterms and Covid, and it was on the economy, deregulation and judges. But tax reform was teed up for him by years of spade work in the House GOP. The Federalist Society gave him a list of judges to nominate and Mitch McConnell moved them through the Senate. A GOP Senate could still confirm judges, but the current Republican House can’t pass a budget, much less come up with a governing agenda for 2025.
One reason is the intellectual confusion of the Trump-era GOP. There’s nothing like the unified agenda that Ronald Reagan carried into office after 1980, or even Mr. Trump after 2016. Republicans favor lower taxes, but Mr. Trump wants to raise the price of every import with a 10% border tax. They want to reduce the national debt but he won’t touch entitlements. They favor “peace through strength” but won’t seriously increase defense spending. The MAGA GOP has no desire to limit government but wants to use it for its own political purposes.
Mr. Trump says he now knows from hard experience how to manage the executive branch, but his governing style is undisciplined to say the least. The internal opposition will still be implacable, the leaks unending, the press relentlessly hostile. This is another reason the Trump-as-Hitler fears are implausible.
It also isn’t clear Mr. Trump could attract first-rate advisers. The lure of power is strong, but anyone who takes a job had better have a lawyer on retainer. No conservative who wants a career in the law is likely to accept a job in the White House or Justice—not after what Mr. Trump asked his lawyers to do after the 2020 election.
Looking ahead, a second Trump term would surely mean a Republican wipeout in the 2026 midterms. The Senate map that year tilts strongly Democratic. There would be no more Supreme Court confirmations. If the GOP takes another MAGA turn in 2028, the stage would be set for Democrats to run the election table, break the Senate filibuster, and pack the Court.
***
The failing Biden Presidency obscures all of this for millions of GOP voters, who see a Trump victory as a return to better, pre-Covid times. This misses that Mr. Biden’s failure presents the GOP with an historic opportunity. The President hasn’t fulfilled his promise of a return to normalcy and instead has delivered more polarization. Bidenomics hasn’t lifted real incomes, while the world is more dangerous than at any time since the 1930s.
But a Trump victory will bring no return to normalcy, nor the “unity” he sometimes mentions before he denounces some other former ally. A different GOP nominee would shake up political categories, win independents, and offer a better chance at a conservative restoration.
If Republicans nominate Mr. Trump again, that’s democracy—the worst system except for all the others. But our unhappy guess is that, sooner or later, the choice will end in tears for his voters.
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https://dailycaller.com/2024/01/22/biden-challenger-dean-phillips-says-president-going-to-get-creamed-says-party-is-deluded-to-think-otherwise/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=29912&pnespid=6qQ6CSlObPgAi6DAqynuTpWQpBCtXYUpKOLnw.lvrwNmo..MBcFsA7Y4yYpXmCeoG86dQvaf
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https://twitter.com/SteveLovesAmmo/status/1749918457573818513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1749918457573818513%7Ctwgr%5E5ce17d6616f872393703b0bee81e2deef7eadb18%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paragonpride.com%2Fforum%2Fthreads%2F2024-politics-serious-and-satire.12815%2Fpage-12
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second
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/wall-street-opposition-to-trump-dropping-investors-say-5573173?utm_source=Goodevening&src_src=Goodevening&utm_campaign=gv-2024-01-24&src_cmp=gv-2024-01-24&utm_medium=email&utm_content=digital&est=2S81%2B%2FbJrxhTn6ACAoQYGuGj1G3lEaQM%2FFqyFkJBohKph%2FWQRIx3onIAPxErT0Ywbcud
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https://twitter.com/SteveLovesAmmo/status/1749918457573818513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1749918457573818513%7Ctwgr%5E5ce17d6616f872393703b0bee81e2deef7eadb18%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paragonpride.com%2Fforum%2Fthreads%2F2024-politics-serious-and-satire.12815%2Fpage-12
For fun I was hoping he might disrupt the Biden train but he was only able to get 20% of the vote against someone who wasn't even on the ballot.
Please don't be fooled by my congressman Dean Phillips. He has the gift of moderate speak and he votes identical to Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries and Ilhan Omar. That is dishonesty by definition in my humble opinion.
He says he is running to continue the Biden policies. It doesn't get much worse or more left than that.
If he is starting to think right on anything at this point is just Bill Clinton like slickness, without the charisma.
He had his chance and he blew it.
OTOH, he isn't going away. He didn't leave his seat in Congress and raise his National profile for nothing. He has more money than God (God doesn't use money). Inherited his adopted father's inherited big vodka business. What is more patriotic than selling High profit, cheap booze to working people and not paying Healthcare to your workers until called out on it politically.
Other than that, nice guy.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/donald-trump-s-chances-stung-by-alarming-poll-for-gop/ar-BB1hg4yX?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=63b414c0b39549de875ad6b9851bf10c&ei=17
How many of these were Dems crossing over?
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https://amgreatness.com/2024/01/26/how-steve-cortes-ended-desantis-campaigntwice/
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The Trump-MAGA Purge
The former President wants to banish Haley’s donors and anyone else who doesn’t bow down before him.
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Jan. 25, 2024 6:31 pm ET
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Wonder Land: Despite wins in both Iowa and New Hampshire, too many independents and unhappy Republicans don’t know what the former president stands for. Images: AFP/Getty Images/Reuters Composite: Mark Kelly
Donald Trump has decided the way to unite the GOP, after his 54% to 43% victory in New Hampshire, is to purge Republicans who are still skeptical of him. Retribution is at the top of his mind, as he said when launching his campaign. Yet this politics of subtraction will make it harder to beat President Biden.
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Many of Nikki Haley’s supporters, including longtime Republicans, aren’t persuaded that Mr. Trump deserves a second term. In New Hampshire this week, “three-quarters (77%) of Haley voters said they would not vote for Trump in November,” according to a Fox News survey of 2,000 people. This is a symptom of Mr. Trump’s political weakness, not its cause. The obvious move for Mr. Trump is to assuage the concerns of these voters and welcome them into the fold.
Instead he wants to banish them. “Nikki ‘Birdbrain’ Haley is very bad for the Republican Party and, indeed, our Country,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday on his social-media site. “Anybody that makes a ‘Contribution’ to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them, and will not accept them.”
Ms. Haley’s donors aren’t naifs and presumably won’t be intimidated from exercising their constitutional rights. But Mr. Trump’s threat reveals once again where his heart is. When his aides tell him that he should disavow the notion of payback, he does it, for a moment. Then he reverts to form.
“I don’t get too angry. I get even,” he said Tuesday night in New Hampshire, in what was supposed to be a victory speech. He may find people react to his threats by voting for another candidate, or not at all.
A similar bad omen for Republicans is the GOP dysfunction in big swing states, including Arizona and Michigan. The latest is that Kari Lake secretly audiotaped the Arizona state party chair, Jeff DeWit, urging her in 2023 to skip this year’s Senate race. The “ask” from “back east” was if there were “any companies out there or something that could just put her on the payroll?” Mr. DeWit proffered. “Is there a number at which . . . ”
Mr. DeWit’s words were ill-chosen, and he resigned Wednesday. But as he did he decried the “betrayal of trust” involved in the recording of “an open, unguarded exchange between friends in the living room of her house,” which occurred “while I was actually employing Lake in my private company.” He said his proposal to Ms. Lake was not a bribe but a suggestion, for her sake and the GOP’s, that she find something else to do for two years and then run for Governor again in 2026. The leaked tape looks like an attempt by Ms. Lake and her allies to take over the state party.
What a fiasco. In the past six years, Arizona Republicans have lost both U.S. Senate seats, as well as Ms. Lake’s narrow 2022 defeat for the governorship. The state’s three-way Senate contest this November could be a good opportunity for a GOP pickup, with liberal voters split between independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and presumptive Democratic nominee Rep. Ruben Gallego. Yet the GOP seems prepared to nominate the polarizing Ms. Lake, who’s again busy firing inside the tent.
If Mr. Trump and other MAGA figures spend the coming months trying to purify the GOP of everyone who won’t kiss his ring, it will be a high act of self-sabotage. It will also be a good reason to vote for someone else.
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" If Mr. Trump and other MAGA figures spend the coming months trying to purify the GOP of everyone who won’t kiss his ring, it will be a high act of self-sabotage. It will also be a good reason to vote for someone else. "
there is no one else unless we are talking about Biden or RFKJr
I suspect many will stay home.
Even Cheney would not come out and say she would vote for Biden , she would stay home is my hunch.
Sununu said what we (or at least me) say - he would vote for Trump since he is the party nominee - he is still better than any crat. (Margaret Hoover's face turned into the elephant man when he said that - she would vote for anyone other then trump - she irritates the heck out of me - like all these other ex Bush people who now voice the Democrat Party themes.
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Nikki Haley Needs a Rationale
Republican voters are open to voting for someone other than Trump—but why her?
Kimberley A. Strassel
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Kimberley A. Strassel
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Jan. 25, 2024 6:08 pm ET
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Potomac Watch: Not all rich people are elitist—and that helps explain the growing chasm between a disconnected 'elite 1%' and average Americans. Images: Reuters/AFP/Getty Images/Zuma Press Composite: Mark Kelly
From the sound of a vituperative Donald Trump in New Hampshire on Tuesday night, Nikki Haley is doing something right. From the look of those South Carolina polls, she isn’t doing nearly enough. Now is the moment to see if a Trump challenger can hit on a magic formula.
The notion that this contest is already over is absurd. Only 434,000 voters in two states have so far recorded a preference for a Republican nominee—about 1.4% of the 31 million who took part in the 2016 GOP presidential primaries. In the race to secure 1,215 delegates for the nomination, Mr. Trump leads Ms. Haley, 32 to 17. That Haley number is almost exactly what Mr. Trump had after the first two races in 2016, the year he won.
Math can hold a dubious place in politics, but time is also on this competition’s side. It’s a month before the South Carolina primary, and we’re in an anything-can-happen political era—buffeted by prosecutors, leaks, bizarre scandals, Supreme Court moments and elderly candidates. Ms. Haley needs only one thing to keep this a live fight—money—and she’s got plenty of it. Mr. Trump knows this, which explains his irate Truth Social threat to bar permanently “from the MAGA camp”—“from this moment forth”—anybody who “makes a ‘contribution’ to Birdbrain.”
Ms. Haley’s donor loyalty isn’t the only thing crawling under Mr. Trump’s skin. After months of rivals’ tiptoeing around the putative incumbent, Ms. Haley in the days leading to New Hampshire sharpened her criticism—raising concern about Mr. Trump’s age, lumping him in with Joe Biden, reminding Republicans of his record of losing elections. Attacking Mr. Trump can be risky, for fear of alienating voters already fed up with the left’s lawfare assault on the former president. But factual criticisms are digestible, even persuasive, and Ms. Haley’s emerging formula helped boost her to 43% of the Granite State vote—7 points higher than polls predicted.
Ms. Haley has money, she has a two-person race, and she has arguments for why Mr. Trump would be the wrong nominee. What’s missing is the case for why she’d be the right one. “Stand for America” and “Generational Change” aren’t going to set the masses alight, at least not to the degree she needs to start winning.
Campaign slogans can be overrated, but they can also capture a national desire. Liberals wield the shorthand “MAGA” as a term of scorn, but don’t forget its actual promise—make America great again. Mr. Trump still uses his catch phrase to great effect, animating his audiences with a promise of a “movement” that is “pro-border, pro-jobs, pro-freedom” and “100% pro-America.” This time around he doesn’t even have to bother with policy specifics; voters know what he did last time and simply expect a repeat.
Ms. Haley doesn’t have that luxury. She certainly has reform specifics—on taxes and education, healthcare and entitlements. But outside her in-person events, or the occasional debate minutes devoted to substance, few hear them. Most of her TV ads feature anodyne promises to “fix the economy,” “beat China” and “strengthen the cause of freedom”—promises that could as easily feature in a Biden ad.
Mostly she lacks an animating rationale for her candidacy, one that can be articulated in a few words, then illustrated and propelled by a handful of hard-charging policy priorities. MAGA resonates, but there are other ways to speak to today’s bipartisan American frustration. This column last week described the tens of millions of Americans who feel impotent against a ruling elite. And there’s no lack of recent prior examples of Republicans tapping into parts of that rage. Glenn Youngkin channeled parental anger over the education machine. Ron DeSantis tapped into voter disgust with corporate social engineering. Vivek Ramaswamy initially got traction with his calls for deep-state overhaul.
A fruitful and unifying kernel (a basis for that Haley rationale) rests in the simple word “freedom,” a word that is bigger even than MAGA, and has grown more powerful during three years of stifling Biden rule. Average Americans want to be free again—free from failing teachers and diversity mandates, from Facebook censorship and three-hour wash cycles, from IRS complexity, smash-and-grab robberies and unchecked illegal immigration. They want a candidate who promises to guarantee that freedom by going to war with spenders on both sides, tyrannical bureaucrats, ivory-tower institutions, and bad guys around the world.
That’s a movement that’s even bigger than MAGA, especially if it could be harnessed by someone who doesn’t have Mr. Trump’s baggage or alienating ways. It’d take some thought and prioritization—and require a reboot by Ms. Haley’s campaign. But what she needs most right now is to capture attention in a big way.
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and Trump proves one can have both charisma
but also the antonyms of charisma at the very same time:
unappealing repellent
repugnant revolting
unalluring scurrilous
detestable uncultivated
unfriendly uncivil
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https://amgreatness.com/2024/01/26/how-steve-cortes-ended-desantis-campaigntwice/
"The DeSantis campaign relied on the “not-Trump” vote to coalesce around a “Trump-ish” person that Trump people would support later. DeSantis sought to thread a needle in time."
I get that it didn't work but I don't get what he could have done better.
Trump has a certain loyalty that was earned by him and cemented by the prosecutions, and he eliminated most of the unforced errors by staying out of the mix in the debates.
RD could have been more centrist but he isn't. He could have been more flamboyant and charismatic but he isn't. He could have praised Trump policies more, separate that from the person, but the loyalty is more to the person than the policies.
As Nikki defines herself as the anti Trump and loses, DeSantis may be in a better place to follow Trump than her whenever that time comes.
But still he carries the mantle of tried hard but didn't catch on.
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The GOP race was over when .
When DeSantis polled better before entering than after,
When the field got crowded and Trump left them to fight each other,
When Trump led DeSantis in Florida by 20 points,
When Trump led Haley in SC by 20 points,
UPDATE: 27 points:. https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/01/26/poll-trump-27-points-ahead-of-haley-in-south-carolina/
When Iowa proved polls right, even in caucuses,
When Trump consistently led Biden in general election polls removing the electability issue,
When Biden refused to drop out, eliminating the generational issue,
When all the 3rd party hopefuls were anti-Trumpers, not anti-Bideners.
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"I get that it didn't work but I don't get what he could have done better."
With the benefit of hindsight (and surely I did not see this at the time) he should have been willing to brawl with Trump when Trump went after him with a series of ads mocking him. THIS was the moment to make his case-- which this article summarized well.
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This will be the first Presidential election since when 1960 that there will be NO debate between the two party nominees.
I would be shocked if Biden is allowed to debate.
And I will be surprised too if he is the final nominee.
Some are suggesting the real nominee will be announced in late Spring or early Summer.
The DNC is just waiting now.
Any thoughts? on this?
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The GOP race was over when .
When DeSantis polled better before entering than after,
When the field got crowded and Trump left them to fight each other,
When Trump led DeSantis in Florida by 20 points,
When Trump led Haley in SC by 20 points,
When Iowa proved polls right, even in caucuses,
When Trump consistently led Biden in general election polls removing the electability issue,
When Biden refused to drop out, eliminating the generational issue,
When all the 3rd party hopefuls were anti-Trumpets, not anti-Bideners.
Responding to several posts above.
Pardon me for going all English major on this list, but I think a major DeSantis problems was his failure to develop his own "voice." Donald has his distinct, bombastic and abrasive style that appeals to disenfranchised Americans, Nikki has her measured and soothing delivery the country club and (overlapping) RINO klatches find appealing, Vivek owns a data driven and direct delivery appealing to independents and libertarians, while Ron ... has great policies and results delivered in a white bread tone sans much in the way of oratorial inflection or particular passion.
Make no mistake, I'm not arguing in favor of oratorial artifice--of which there is plenty of already--and wish it was possible to live somewhere leadership quals were measured by results rather than marketing and delivery but hey, the water in which the electorate swims is the water within which the electorate swims. Indeed, I keep meaning to write a piece arguing modern media methods are responsible for many of the political ills we endure as the same techniques used to sell tampons, toilet bowl cleaner, and toothpaste--30 second or so audio and visual sensory bombardments seeking to short circuit reason and appeal directly to emotion--are how our political candidates are sold too. One of the reason I suspect the MSM loathes Trump to the degree that they do is that he unabashedly has beat them at that game, turning their tools against them.
Speaking of which, and excuse the non-sequitur, what the hell happened to Kennedy? Did I miss him dying or dropping out? How'd he go from the existential threat and spoiler that was gonna siphon off Biden voters aghast media hand-wringers warbled about to cricketland? The MSM get together and decide if they stopped reporting on him (and hence marketing him) he'd go find a Kennebunkport rock to crawl under?
And to Doug's list I'd add "When the media made a martyr of Trump." Nothing like a virtual crucifixion and subsequent rise from the digital dead to get excite the True Believers.
And edited to add a response to CCP's question. Given the unprincipled boldness with which "Progressives," the permanent bureaucracy, and the MSM slathered on their lies last time around and how few consequences they endured for their duplicity I'd expect more of the same. Squared. If not more.
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BBG:. "When the media made a martyr of Trump."
Right.. He built a bond with his fans and this cemented it, starting with phony Russian collusion? Ukraine "perfect" phone call, the Big Lie, Jan 6, impeachment 2.0 trial after leaving officr, armed raid on Mara Lago for what all President keep, the attack on his business, the xrazy lady raped in a store and 91 felony charges withiut noticeable wrongdoing.
Hindsight is fair game and wanted but I don't think any of it would break the bond. He leads Haley by 27 in her home state, and they love her.
Rush Limbaugh and Trump for a long time didn't know each other, then became close. Trump wanted Rush's audience. Rush commented about both of them, the media didn't make, the media can't break them. Only Trump himself can break the bond with his followers, and attacking him only makes it stronger, it seems.
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Why the pundits say the primaries are over:
GOP: Trump 73, Haley 19
Dem: Biden 72, Phillips 4, Williamson 4
- Emerson latest
Only Trump can knock Trump out the primaries. I have no idea what can knock Biden out. He's barely in but kept the decks clear and is winning by a landslide.
General Election: 5-Way: Trump (R) 41, Biden (D) 39, Kennedy (I) 5, Stein (G) 1, West (I) 1
Not much of a lead under the circumstances!
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we keep seeing headlines on drudge for example
economy is great
consumer confidence is up :roll:
rasmussen has Biden favorable 47%
I don't know who or what to believe anymore
everyone is stepping up to the microphones screaming and yelling their own agendas
I can only with a few I trust
I like O'Reilly he seems legit though leans rights
he recommends a sight called tangle as being mostly unbiased
with objective news:
https://www.readtangle.com/
I have not checked it out so cannot say for sure if any good
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"He recommends a site" :evil:
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… by the lies they tell:
Turning the border against Trump
Democrats and RINOs desperately try to wipe the open borders off their shoes
JAN 30, 2024
If President Trump wins in November, he can thank Texas Governor Greg Abbott for the win. No one has done more to change public opinion about Biden’s Open Borders policy than Abbott. He shipped the invaders to sanctuary cities and lo and behold, black voters suddenly rose against Democrats who bent over backward for the illegal aliens.
In November, the Wall Street Journal reported, “By championing legal and illegal immigrants and largely ignoring border security, the Democrat Party has alienated key voting groups—including Hispanics.”
Hispanics? It is worse than that because the invasion of illegal aliens puts the black vote in jeopardy for Democrats. Black voters provide one out of four Democrat votes.
The New York Times chimed in, “Black voters are more disconnected from the Democrat Party than they have been in decades, frustrated with what many see as inaction on their political priorities and unhappy with President Biden, a candidate they helped lift to the White House just three years ago.
“New polls by The New York Times and Siena College found that 22% of black voters in six of the most important battleground states said they would support former President Donald J. Trump in next year’s election, and 71% would back Mr. Biden.
“The drift in support is striking, given that Mr. Trump won just 8% of black voters nationally in 2020 and 6% in 2016, according to the Pew Research Center. A Republican presidential candidate has not won more than 12% of the black vote in nearly half a century.”
The black vote is only part of the problem. Most Americans oppose Biden’s refusal to enforce immigration laws.
Paul Bedard reported yesterday, “A sizable majority of the public supports Texas’s construction of a wall along its border with Mexico and feels that President Joe Biden’s efforts to stop it are the first step toward civil war.
“In a sobering analysis of the escalating topic, 69% of likely 2024 voters said that they support the border wall and razor-wire fence that Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has ordered. Among those, a majority, 51%, said they strongly back Texas in its fight to stop illegal immigration and the surge of gotaways getting past federal border agents.”
The governors of 25 states signed a letter of support and some sent National Guardsmen and state troopers to help guard the border.
Bedard wrote, “The topic threatens more than Biden’s re-election plans. A majority of voters told Rasmussen Reports that Biden is stoking the fires of civil war.”
Well, how does one spin their way out of this mess? The Obama-Ordered Open Borders policy is dog shit in the eyes of the electorate. Ever step in dog doo? Back when I was a kid and owners never picked up on their pets, I occasionally did and scraping it off your shoe is nearly impossible.
The Einsteins in DC believe they can do so by shifting the blame to President Trump — you know, the man the people elected to get the wall built that Democrats and RINOs refused to build.
The same pieces of, um, open borders now want to blame Mister Trump for the mess they made. The claim is Biden cannot defend our border unless we send billions more to Ukraine. If true, why didn’t the border close down when we gave that first $100 billion ($100,000,000,000) to Zelensky?
Democrats and RINOs in the Senate agreed to a bill that would allow 5,000 illegal aliens in each day — claiming they are refugees — before arresting even one. This is a compromise between those who want an open border and those who want no border at all.
The press is not going into details. Instead it shows Biden as a great man who wants to close the border door and Trump as a villain with his foot in the door.
On Sunday, Meet the Press showed two clips. One had Biden braying, “If that bill were the law today, I'd shut down the border right now and fix it quickly. A bipartisan bill would be good for America and help fix our broken immigration system and allow speedy access for those who deserve to be here. And Congress needs to get it done.”
The other showed Trump saying, “I'd rather have no bill than a bad bill, a bad bill you can't have and that's what was happening in the House.”
Then the show’s hostess interviewed Little Nikki, who said, “But the reality is every time he’s talking about defending himself in court, he's not talking about getting our economy back on track. He’s not talking about closing the border. He’s not talking about how we’re going to get our kids reading again and getting us focused again. He's not talking about law and order. That's the problem is — he’s not talking about what the American people want.”
His whole presidency is based on his desire to close the border. We all know where he stands. We also know he can fix the economy because he did so before. Haley and the rest of the in-crowd wants to erase our memories about the border.
It could be shut today. Biden says he cannot. He lies, but the press plays along and pretends that Biden cannot enforce the law until Ukraine gets more money.
The Hill screeched, “Former President Trump’s push to kill the border deal in order to deny President Biden a legislative win is upsetting members on both sides of the aisle as negotiators hope to wrap up work on an agreement within days.
“Trump had been the sleeping giant in the background of talks, but his wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, coupled with his recent remarks calling for Republicans to oppose any border package short of H.R. 2, have complicated the path forward for the Senate.
“Lawmakers say they are worried that killing the deal would be a major disservice given the situation at the border and in Ukraine.”
It quoted deranged Democrat Senator Debbie Stabenow, who said, “If politics get in the way of this — if Donald Trump who wants to help his friend [Russian President Vladimir Putin] with Ukraine and wants to keep the border alive as a major issue — if that prevails, that would be a really horrible disposition to all this.”
And delirous Democrat Senator Mitt Romney said, “The reality is that we have a crisis at the border, the American people are suffering as a result of what’s happening at the border, and someone running for president ought to try to get the problem solved as opposed to saying, ‘Hey, save that problem. Don’t solve it. Let me take credit for solving it later.’”
This strategy is stupid — so stupid that Larry, Curly and Moe wouldn’t touch it with Shemp’s pole.
Lemme show you why.
The Jeff Bezos Post said, “Republican front-runner Donald Trump said he wants to be held responsible for blocking a bipartisan border security bill in the works in the Senate as President Biden seeks emergency authority to rein in a record surge of unauthorized border crossings.”
Emergency authority?
They really want you to believe his hands are tied. Sheesh.
Trump said, “As the leader of our party, there is zero chance I will support this horrible open borders betrayal of America. I’ll fight it all the way. A lot of the senators are trying to say, respectfully, they’re blaming it on me. I say, that’s okay. Please blame it on me. Please.”
For more than 8 years, these America Last fools have called President Trump’s efforts to close the border racist and a bunch of other deplorable names. The attempt to reverse the political polarity and blame him for this mess is ridiculous and I cannot see how it works.
They know it.
The Bezos Post said, “The increase in apprehensions at the southwest border has become a top-level policy challenge for the Biden administration and a core theme of Trump’s bid for a rematch this November. Biden’s management of the southern border and immigration is his worst-rated issue in polls, while survey respondents say they trust Trump more on the issue.”
Increase in apprehensions? That’s like saying Biden reduced inflation. Politics is all smoke and mirrors, I suppose, but the public knows better on these two issues. It sees open borders for what it is — something you cannot easily scrape from your shoe. The stench stays with them.
I thank Governor Abbott for changing public opinion about the invasion by sending the invaders to those smug, self-righteous sanctuary cities.
https://donsurber.substack.com/p/turning-the-border-against-trump?r=1qo1e&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&fbclid=IwAR0HhnRKr1ZhkCZumvajdXR3VDKgNqKxuysoOEXEZ40rR6XC8Zs078UHc5I
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DeSantis deserves credit to for shipping out illegals to Martha's Vineyard and elsewhere.
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DeSantis deserves credit to for shipping out illegals to Martha's Vineyard and elsewhere.
Right, and also the great praise of Gov Abbott (which I agree with) is in direct contradiction to what Michael Yon was saying a short time ago. We need to sort that out.
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IMHO Yon has a point, albeit overstated, even now.
Were Abbot to truly act upon his assertion of invasion per Art 1 Section 10 Clause 3 he would be barbing up the entire border. In a certain sense what we have now is Kabuki theater.
Or, is it possible that Texas's argument that the Feds have to prove the park in question is federal land a preface to asserting Texas's sovereignty over the entire border?
That said, unlike Yon, I do praise Abbot. What he is doing here is politically potent.
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Bloomberg Swing State Polls published this morning:
Georgia: Trump 49, Biden 41
Arizona: Trump 47, Biden 44
Wisconsin: Trump 49, Biden 44
North Carolina: Trump 49, Biden 39
Michigan: Trump 47, Biden 42
Pennsylvania: Trump 48, Biden 45
Nevada: Trump 48, Biden 40
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/
Biden won all but NC on that list last time, and still only won by 44,000 votes.
It's so easy to say polls don't matter, it's too early, they're often wrong, etc.
Then results start coming in showing the polls were right.
Looking at this, unless it is all wrong or manipulated, is there ANY chance Joe Biden will be the nominee come November?
Also recall the early voting phenomenon especially of Democrats. They can't wait until the last day of October to switch him out.
If they switch him out, doesn't the new guy (or gal) have to defend the same record, same policies?
Looking back to Obama's reelection in 2012, I used to torture Obama supporters with the question, is it his (disastrous) economic record you like best about him or his (atrocious) foreign policy you like best? (All they can point to is hatred of Republicans.)
Biden has an even worse record to defend - without the charisma.
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we know with certain he will be convicted in DC
Left wing media reporting this the past few days:
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4439535-swing-state-voters-trump-convicted-2024/
Don't know what to make of this.
It will embolden us but not sure about the "swing voters" if true or not.
I am thinking if he is sentenced to jail can they appeal and delay imprisonment long enough for him to pardon himself?
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“It’s Haley’s job to make the very unlikely seem possible,” Mark Weaver, veteran Republican strategist, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “She has to keep a straight face while doing it, which is the hard part.”
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https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2024/02/01/the-black-swan-events-that-could-determine-this-election-n2634404
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https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2024/02/01/the-black-swan-events-that-could-determine-this-election-n2634404
Point is well taken, they aren't out of tricks and we better not be surprised.
Hard to top covid and (and George Floyd), shutting the world economy down right when we hit best economy ever - but they will try.
Building things up is harder than tearing things down. They need an event that makes people rally around Biden and the Democrats. If they knew how, they would have done it already. They spent extra trillions with nothing to show for it, just more inflation and more wars.
Weird that they didn't throw a tickertape parade when Biden got out us out of Afghanistan. They actually did want to celebrate it until it all went wrong. What is there that can go right for him? Win the war in Ukraine? Win in Gaza? How? We don't even know which side we're on. Maybe an illegal will cure cancer before election day. https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/06/12/joe-biden-cure-cancer-campaign-richmond-bolduan-sot-ath-vpx.cnn
Their policies don't build us up or pull us together. Their policies came to be known as Build Back Broker. Debt, crime, suicide and skyrocketing mental health issues tell the story.
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I shouldn't have posted favorable polls because here it swings the other way.
https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3889
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https://www.bizpacreview.com/2024/02/01/rasmussen-deals-gloating-nikki-haley-a-humiliating-reality-check-1433036/?utm_campaign=bizpac&utm_content=Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_source=Get%20Response&utm_term=EMAIL
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Latest Betting Odds: Trump 43%, Biden 33%, M. Obama 8%, Haley 4%, Newsom 3.7%, Kennedy 3.3%, Harris 1.7%
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/elections/betting-odds/2024/president/
A couple of very strange things there: Michelle O is the leading alternative to Trump-Biden? They must know something I don't. Harris 1.7%? That's about as statistically close to zero as you can get without hitting it - and she might be the incumbent!
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Where the candidates stand on crypto:
https://www.cato.org/blog/where-trump-biden-stand-cbdcs
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James O’Keefe works his magic on a “date” with Biden’s cybersecurity analyst. Dude starts telling all, not that the MSM will cover any of it.
Worth a watch on O’Keefe’s X pages but be prepared to cringe:
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2024/01/31/new-james-okeefe-undercover-video-exposes-dysfunctional-biden-white-house-n4926017
Someone is gonna need to update his resume.
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" Weird that they didn't throw a tickertape parade when Biden got out us out of Afghanistan "
They did hold one, we just missed it.
It was given in Kabul for the Taliban....... :wink:
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ccp: "I hope they are polling to determine who the best VP pick would be to perhaps woo independents."
The answer is Nikki but the best guess nominee at this point is Elise Stafanik. Maybe she will have a voice with suburban, independent leaning women.
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My concerns with Nikki:
A) She is not true MAGA;
B) Rapport with Trump would never be there;
C) Trump would look hypocritical with his base, and with everyone else.
For me ES seems like a pick based upon a condescending view of we voters- just like Oz in PA and Herschel Walker in GA. Sure she is a pro-Trump Congresswoman, but what on earth are her creds to step in as President?!?
Who do we think would be a good choice?
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Important point from a recent, great BBG post:
“In a sobering analysis of the escalating topic, 69% of likely 2024 voters said that they support the border wall and razor-wire fence that Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has ordered."
My thought, we are looking for 60-40 issues to run on, not 50-50 ones (or worse), and here a 70% issue clearly favoring Republicans rises right to the top.
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Trump had an extended serious interview (40 minutes?) with Maria Bartiromo today. I thought it quite strong and well worth tracking down to post here.
Regarding VP, he spoke well of Tim Scott being a better spokesman for him (Trump) than himself (Scott).
Also interviewing very well today was Gov. Kristi Noem. She is now on my radar screen for VP.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwMAU2yRKzI
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Trump had an extended serious interview (40 minutes?) with Maria Bartiromo today. I thought it quite strong and well worth tracking down to post here.
Regarding VP, he spoke well of Tim Scott being a better spokesman for him (Trump) than himself (Scott).
Also interviewing very well today was Gov. Kristi Noem. She is now on my radar screen for VP.
I wondered what you thought of her when you asked who should be Trump's running mate / VP.
There aren't that many female, two term Republican governors available if you eliminate Nikki Haley. (Also eliminating DeSantis on state and gender.)
Noem served in the state House and Congress before being elected to two terms Governor. On foreign affairs, she served on the House Armed Services Committee.
It's not a swing state but it is a model for the nation that holds up against Calif, NY quite well. In her reelection she won roughly the same percent as Trump in her state.
She is perhaps readier to step in as President if needed, more so than Stefanik, with extended government executive experience.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristi_Noem
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Wasn't she busted for an extramarital affair recently?
I wonder if Condoleezza Rice would fit?
Why does it have to be a woman?
Rick Scott?
Tom Cotton?
Josh Hawley?
not enough crossover appeal for them, I guess.
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"Wasn't she busted for an extramarital affair recently?"
With Corey Lewandowski?
Do note my description of the Trump interview-- that he described Tim Scott as being a great advocate for him (Trump) since he withdrew from his campaign.
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According to the piece, Biden admin fears photos in report showing mishandled docs will be a game changer:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-camp-reportedly-fears-photos-special-counsel-classified-docs-probe-could-devastate-reelection-bid?fbclid=IwAR0pcD8ZlX57UOLdtbjaGfpmH6Pr232kEZRL4T3xYVmb5hRDNZYp18Saqj8
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"Wasn't she busted for an extramarital affair recently?"
With Corey Lewandowski?
-------------------------------
Reportedly, allegedly, anonymous sources...
If true, that's really stupid. She seems very ambitious and this would kill it. Intact family and raising her children is her proudest accomplishment. Known cheater does not balance the ticket with Trump.
If false, this is a really really mean hit piece:. Left wing sites all picked up on it but why is "American Greatness" the source?
https://amgreatness.com/2021/09/28/kristi-noem-shows-why-republicans-cant-have-nice-things/
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Congratulations to slow, old Joe! In the first in the nation (really the second in the nation) primary, Biden defeated his two rivals by 96%-2%-2%. That's gotta feel great!
That's 20 points better than Putin's last reelection race:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Russian_presidential_election
Biden's win is closer to Saddam Hussein's 1995 win with 99.96%:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Iraqi_presidential_referendum
Unbelievable.
O great one, how did you do it?
See BBG post of Matt Taibi. The key in all 3 cases is keeping opponents off the ballot and keeping voters from voting for alternatives.
Does anyone believe Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg no longer want to be President, or don't believe they can match wits with Slow Joe and his record?
Democracy for the undemocratic. And like with Trump, I don't recall seeing Biden debate his challengers - because no one is worthy of being on the stage with him.
Whose job is it to pressure the incumbent and front runner to face his challengers? The pathetic media and voting public.
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One would be hard pressed to imagine a more thorough attempt at self-immolation:
FaniGate and the American Way of Scandal
By Charles Lipson - RCP ContributorFebruary 06, 2024
To qualify as a first-rate American political scandal, the escapade should include three juicy elements: sex, money, and the abuse of power.
Fani Willis and Nathan Wade hit the trifecta.
Willis is the District Attorney for Fulton County (Atlanta), Georgia. Her position and use of it against Donald Trump is the power dimension of the story. Willis brought a major criminal case against Trump and multiple associates for attempting to meddle with the state’s vote count in 2020 and the determination of its electors. That case put Willis in the national spotlight, where she is wilting.
The money dimension is intertwined with Willis’ power. She used her wide-ranging authority to hire her dear, dear friend and former mentor, Nathan Wade, to prosecute the case. Her office is paying him generously with taxpayer money.
Willis’ belated admission that she and Wade have a “personal relationship” (wink, wink, nod, nod) raises two insurmountable problems for the prosecutor. The first is that Willis not only hired her friend, but he then seems to have returned the favor by booking lavish vacations for the two of them. (Willis claims, somewhat dubiously, that she split the costs with him.) The second problem is that Willis chose a prosecutor who has zero experience handling complex criminal cases like the one against Trump and his co-defendants. Appointing Wade introduced obvious questions about cronyism.
Most of Nathan Wade’s legal experience has come not as a criminal lawyer but as a municipal judge dealing with speeding tickets and fender benders. Fani Willis could have picked a more experienced criminal attorney by throwing a dart at the membership list of the Georgia State Bar Association.
Instead of throwing that dart, Willis put her “friend” in charge of a complicated, high-profile RICO case (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) that includes the former president of the United States. It’s a wonderful opportunity for Wade to learn on the job – and get paid as he learns.
And he’s been paid very handsomely. Atlanta’s taxpayers have forked over more than $650,000 to his law firm. That sum dwarfs the DA’s payments to the two other experts she hired, one of them a RICO expert. Together, they have received less than $100,000.
The third leg of any first-rate American scandal is S-E-X. Once again, Fani Willis does not disappoint. After she hired her bosom buddy, Nathan, they took an ocean cruise and flew together to the West Coast, all while Wade was still married.
Wade and Willis have been asked repeatedly if they have an amorous association. Until a few days ago, they refused to say anything. Finally, Willis grudgingly admitted the obvious. Well, sort of. She said she and Wade had a “personal relationship,” but she also filed a document with the Georgia Superior Court saying the “salacious” allegations about her and Willis were without “merit.” That’s a classic “non-denial denial.” The old Nixon campaign crowd would be proud.
We learned about the salacious allegations because of Nathan Wade’s nasty divorce from his wife of 26 years. Joycelyn and Nathan Wade have been separated, but she is none too happy with his dalliance, her public humiliation, and the alleged diversion of marital income to pay for Nathan’s trips. She claimed her estranged husband left her nearly penniless while he was spending lavishly and hiding their joint income. To support her claims, Mrs. Wade has publicly disclosed credit card statements that include line items for her husband’s pleasure jaunts with the DA. Neither Wade nor Willis has denied those trips together.
Joycelyn’s exposure of her husband and his paramour was assisted by one of Trump’s RICO co-defendants, Mike Roman, and his attorney, Ashleigh Merchant. Their aims are obvious. They want to expose the prosecution as corrupt, remove Willis and her office from the case, delay the trial, and either get the case thrown out or moved to a friendlier venue than Atlanta. (Wade has some additional troubles because of his bills to Willis’ office. Roman’s attorney claims Wade billed the DA for 24 hours work on a single day in November 2021. He also seems to have begun his work and billing before he was authorized to do so.)
The risks to Willis and Wade mounted when the judge in the divorce case scheduled a session to question them about their relationship, their joint expenditures, and Nathan’s income. To avoid that unpleasantness, Wade reached a preliminary, last-minute settlement with his wife.
The escape from hard questions may only be temporary, however. The judge in the RICO case has set a hearing for Feb. 15 to deal with two related issues. Should Wade, Willis, and Willis’ law firm be thrown off the case for misconduct (or its appearance)? Does their behavior warrant dismissing the case entirely? Roman’s attorney has subpoenaed Wade, Willis, and multiple members of the DA’s office to testify in that hearing.
Although the hearing was prompted by Roman’s attorney, the political controversy revolves around his co-defendant, Donald Trump. The Georgia case poses four problems for the former president. The first is its possible impact on voters in November. Trump is being charged with a grave crime against a constitutional republic: trying to overturn a democratic election. Second, the case forces Trump to devote time and money to defending himself in court when he needs to be devoting it to campaigning. Third, if the RICO case continues, as seems likely, Trump could be incriminated by his co-defendants, some of whom have already pled guilty. They have incentives to lessen their sentences by providing information against Trump, if they have any.
Finally, because the case is being prosecuted in state court, a conviction cannot be erased by a presidential pardon, should Trump retake the White House. And Fani Willis has all but said that a conviction would mean prison time for the former president. Even the Georgia governor, a Republican, cannot help. Only a state board has the power to pardon, and then only after a felon has been convicted and served five years. Preemptive pardons are not allowed. (The law was enacted in the 1930s, when the governor was caught in a cash-for-pardons scheme.) As you can imagine, the state legislature is now under enormous pressure to change that law.
Meanwhile, the legislature is actively pursuing Fani Willis. The state Senate has reestablished a committee to review her conduct, while the state House is considering impeachment hearings. The state bar could also undertake an investigation.
Willis is also vulnerable to felony charges for public corruption, thanks to her hiring Wade and traveling on vacation with him. Willis says she and Wade each paid for themselves. But even if that’s true, Wade only had the money to afford those trips because Willis had showered him with taxpayer funds. She needs to explain why she hired an attorney with no RICO experience to try the most important case ever brought by a Fulton County District Attorney.
Removing Wade and Willis from the case wouldn’t necessarily end it, but it would certainly delay a trial for months as a new prosecutorial team mastered its brief. Since the new team would likely come from a different county, the case would be moved outside the Atlanta area.
What could kill the case entirely are two other misadventures by Willis and her office.
The first was Willis’ recent rousing speech to black churchgoers. Most of it was predictable and self-serving. The DA said she had done nothing wrong, recited deceptive dollar amounts regarding her payments to outside attorneys, and avoided any mention of her relationship with Nathan Wade. What she did say, however, raises serious difficulties for a fair trial. The attacks on her and Wade, she clearly implied, were based entirely on their race. She pointed out that Wade was the only black among the three outside lawyers she hired. Yet, astoundingly, this black man was the only one being attacked. What other explanation could there be besides racism? She explicitly denied she was “playing the race card” even as she did so, making an impassioned speech all about the racial victimhood that she, Nathan Wade, and her audience experienced.
That speech, like so much of Fani Willis’ behavior, was a Mount Everest of bad judgment. First of all, it defied common sense. Nathan Wade was being scrutinized because he was paid far more than the other attorneys, has no expertise in the relevant legal field, and is apparently sleeping with the woman who hired him. It also opened the door for Trump and his co-defendants to assert that inflammatory racial rhetoric had poisoned the jury pool locally, and perhaps statewide. Defense attorneys could also charge Willis with professional misconduct and petition the courts to transfer the case out of Atlanta on that basis alone. Virtually any other Georgia jurisdiction would be more favorable to Trump and his allies.
The second blunder is equally troubling. Nathan Wade traveled to Washington and billed Willis’ office for eight hours of meetings at the White House. For a local prosecutor to meet privately with Biden aides while prosecuting Biden’s principal political opponent is inexcusable. It certainly gives the appearance of injecting partisan political calculations into what should be unbiased, nonpartisan justice. The American people need to know exactly who attended those meetings, what was said, and whether there were other communications. All that information should be disclosed fully, under oath.
The Biden White House and Fani Willis have a lot at stake here. They have always claimed their prosecutions were entirely free of political taint. It is mere chance, they say, that it took three years to bring the various cases against Trump and that they are culminating as the election approaches. The Department of Justice has repeatedly said the same thing about the other cases against Trump.
That’s the only thing they could say. Acknowledging any political interference would:
Fatally undermine the cases against Trump.
Boost the former president politically.
Damage an already-beleaguered Biden administration.
Erode faith in the Department of Justice.
Violate our nation’s constitutional protections against judicial bias and political prosecutions.
The public is right to be skeptical of their denials. To resolve those doubts, Nathan Wade should testify, under oath, about his meetings at the Biden White House. Did he or Fani Willis hold any other discussions with the White House or Department of Justice, perhaps by phone or email?
You can bet Wade and Willis won’t testify voluntarily. They will claim it would improperly interfere with their prosecution. The Biden administration will undoubtedly resist any effort to pry into their communications.
A cover-up would be inexcusable, whether it is by Willis or the White House. The issue here is fundamental for the unbiased, apolitical administration of justice and for public confidence in that system.
As these questions pile up and the stench ripens, we can see three familiar dimensions of a good, old-fashioned American political scandal: sex, money, and the abuse of power, all exploding during an election year. Get out your popcorn and prepare to wallow in FaniGate.
Charles Lipson is the Peter B. Ritzma Professor of Political Science Emeritus at the University of Chicago, where he founded the Program on International Politics, Economics, and Security. He can be reached at charles.lipson@gmail.com.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/02/06/fanigate_and_the_american_way_of_scandal_150439.html?fbclid=IwAR3Is2ALNoBqQgPlUg8NyLt0vGZ6vtOD8fkxd6jpeKoRkP69FGUtR8wYEBs
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2nd post. Some specific aspects of this poll is likely inspiring heartburn in Biden circles:
https://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2024/02/06/shocking-nbc-polls-shows-why-trump-is-now-expanding-the-map-n4926160
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https://www.istockphoto.com/video/excited-man-wishing-with-fingers-crossed-gm1367854022-437984998
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Trump’s new ad pulls no punches:
https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1754955393024065896?s=61&t=L5uifCqWy8R8rhj_J8HNJw
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2nd Post. Haley comes in second in Nevada vote even though Trump WAS NOT on the ballot:
Haley loses to 'none of these candidates' in Nevada GOP primary
The Hill News / by Julia Mueller / February 07, 2024 at 12:12AM
A new state law required a presidential preference primary in Nevada, but the state GOP charged ahead with its long-standing caucus system anyway.
Nikki Haley was projected to lose Nevada’s state-run Republican presidential preference primary, according to Decision Desk HQ, a stunning development that comes despite former President Trump's name not being on the ballot.
Voters were given a choice on the ballot to select a box that said “none of these candidates,” though they couldn't write in a name. That option was projected to win.
The former South Carolina governor was projected to come in second.
No delegates were at stake in Tuesday's primary. Trump's name wasn't on the ballot because he will be taking part in Nevada's GOP-run caucus on Thursday instead. The caucus will award all of the state's 26 delegates to the winner, who is expected to be the former president.
Still, the fact that Haley lost is a major embarrassment for the candidate, who has argued she is the better general election candidate to square off against President Biden, the likely Democratic nominee, but who has struggled to chip away at Trump's support among the Republican base.
A new state law required a presidential preference primary in Nevada, but the state GOP charged ahead with its long-standing caucus system anyway. After opting to take part in the primary, Haley was barred from participating in the caucus.
“Your primary vote doesn’t mean anything. It’s your caucus vote,” Trump told supporters in Las Vegas last month.
The primary-caucus clash has stoked confusion in the Silver State. Though candidates couldn’t participate in both events, election officials have said that registered Republicans can vote in both.
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) told the Nevada Independent before the votes that he planned to cast a ballot in both races, siding with Trump in the caucuses and voting for the “none” option in the primary.
The “none” option is required on the state-run ballots.
Trump won both Iowa and New Hampshire last month, and he’s polling well ahead of Haley in South Carolina, Haley’s home state and the next state to vote in the Republican lineup with its GOP primary on Feb. 24.
Biden was projected to win Nevada's Democratic primary, which will award delegates, earlier on Tuesday night.
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Nikki disappointed me a lot lately
especially with recent opinions on the immigration scam
She could not call it what it was.
She tries way too hard splitting hairs
instead on taking firm conservative positions
I have lost all interest in her.
Time to drop out.
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the good news McDaniel out as head of DNC
I wonder if Jason Miller would fit the job?
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Morning Consult: SC: Trump 68, Haley 31
Down 37 points in her home state. Doesn't look good for the challenger.
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talks to people in the WH "all the time" :-o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwb5Lfh51JA
Hill : I am still here to serve my country if needed..... :wink:
I can't find the Clinton thread so put here.
too many threads
and the search button not helpful
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Here is fine for that.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPrGu0WZB-A&t=57s
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https://www.realclearpolitics.com/elections/betting-odds/2024/president/
The news is that Joe Biden the incumbent president is so low, a one in four chance of winning? Trump leading but well under 50% odds.
What surprises me is that Michelle Obama has three times the betting odds of winning the presidency as does vice president Kamala harris. And Obama has greater than 1/3 of Biden's odds who appears to be both the incumbent and the nominee.
Am I missing something?
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If Michelle who I read hated to be First Lady
were to run I can only imagine she would be as protected as Joe.
Only prewritten speeches, rigged interviews, no debates.
Just an immediate coronation.
I suspect she would creamed if really challenged or expected to think and speak on her feet.
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https://amgreatness.com/2024/02/12/charlottesville-and-trump-will-the-big-lie-finally-die/
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Not exactly 2024, but a sound response to the criticisms of Trump on NATO:
NATO appears to be less worried about Trump's remarks than the Dems and the Trump haters. Here is what was said by the head of NATO. "The leader of NATO said he’s not concerned about the U.S. pulling out of the alliance even if former President Donald Trump wins reelection in November.
“I’m confident that the United States will remain a staunch ally” no matter who wins, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview Wednesday during his dayslong visit to Washington.
The NATO chief is in town to make his pitch that supporting Ukraine and rearming NATO — issues that are inexorably intertwined — helps the U.S. in the Pacific and creates American jobs.
“I worked with former President Trump for the four years he was president,” Stoltenberg told POLITICO, when Trump repeatedly threatened to leave the alliance as he thundered about NATO allies failing to keep up with defense spending pledges.
The NATO chief also pointed to the traditional bipartisan support for NATO in Congress, something he said he witnessed on Tuesday while meeting with Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Stoltenberg also noted that Trump’s criticism of NATO wasn’t really aimed at the alliance, but at individual countries that have failed to live up to the 2014 pledge to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense by 2024. “It’s important to listen,” he said, because the criticism from Trump “is not a criticism of NATO not investing enough in NATO.”https://www.politico.com/.../nato-chief-trump-ukraine...
In 2014, three Allies spent 2% of GDP or more on defence; this increased to seven Allies in 2022. Moreover, 2022 was the eighth consecutive year of rising defense spending across European Allies and Canada, amounting to a rise of 2.2% in real terms compared to 2021. One last point, NATO nations still aren't paying their fair share, but they are doing better. Trump's statement which basically pushed back on the idea of "Let Mikey do it." And scared a few nations into waking up. Today more nations are expanding their spending on defense, which was all that Trump wanted. For all of you who believe that Trump will just leave NATO. He can't it is a treaty, and it take a vote of congress to remove ourselves from a treaty....
=====================
The WSJ, never a fan of Trump, sees it differently:
Donald Trump says many provocative things, often intentionally, to rile up opponents and dominate the airwaves. But his comments Saturday that he once told the leader of a NATO ally that he’d invite Vladimir Putin to invade is the reason many Americans won’t vote for him again even against a mentally declining President Biden.
OPINION: POTOMAC WATCH
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Riffing at a rally in South Carolina, Mr. Trump recalled a conversation with an unnamed head of state about how he’d respond if a NATO member that hadn’t spent enough on defense was attacked by Russia. “One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, ‘Well, sir, if we don’t pay, and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’” Mr. Trump told the crowd.
“‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’” the former President said he replied. ‘“No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.’”
A charitable interpretation is that this is an extreme version of his boasts that he forced NATO countries in Europe to increase defense spending. There’s no doubt he coaxed more money from allies in his first term.
But this isn’t 2020 any more. Russia has invaded Ukraine, bombed its cities and civilians, mused about using nuclear weapons, and threatened Finland and Sweden for seeking to join NATO. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty pledges every member of the alliance to aid another treaty member if attacked. The only time it has been invoked was after the 9/11 attacks on America.
Deterrence depends on a combination of force and the will to use it. Mr. Trump’s boasts that he wouldn’t aid an ally will sow doubt in the minds of our allies and might encourage Mr. Putin to think he could get away with another invasion. Mr. Putin has all but said that the Baltic states are rightfully Russia’s.
Mr. Trump’s comments drew rebukes from several governments, and even the typically diplomatic NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. “Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the U.S., and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “I expect that regardless of who wins the presidential election the U.S. will remain a strong and committed NATO Ally.”
Mr. Trump’s riff also comes in the context of his lobbying against more U.S. military aid for Ukraine. He boasts about his admiration for Mr. Putin, and his bromance with the dictator during their 2018 Helsinki summit was a low point of his Presidency. Mr. Trump now says he’ll end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, even before he’s inaugurated. The only way to do that is to deny Ukraine more weapons and tell President Volodymyr Zelensky to give Mr. Putin what he wants. The word for that isn’t peace; it’s appeasement.
The U.S. should be having an election debate over the growing dangers to U.S. security and how to counter them. Instead we have an incumbent who has presided over the collapse of U.S. deterrence, and a GOP front-runner who dotes on dictators. No wonder Mr. Putin is looking so confident these days.
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If you are a member state of Nato, your agreement is that you will spend 2% on defense, which collectively adds up to deterrence, and many or most member states are not doing that. Trump is saying he will not defend states that do not pay in their share. From my own years studying business law I ask, which party is not living up to their commitment in this scenario? Which side is letting down the deterrence of the group?
https://www.forces.net/news/world/nato-which-countries-pay-their-share-defence
Let's try it a different way. You don't pay your premium in the years leading up to the fire. will the insurance company be there for you? And vice versa, if you want them to be there for you, what is it that you need to do on your part, Keep up your side of the bargain.
Is a member state in name only a member state?
For all we heard about this last time around, the result of Trump's so-called reckless talk was that more and more member states started paying in more, and enemies attacked less during his time.
In our tenth year of having Trump on the national US Presidential stage, you would think serious people would separate Trump's words from his actions a little better.
He doesn't have to pull us out of NATO. He is Commander in Chief. If Belgium is attacked, he can send in roughly the number of troops Belgium would have sent in to help us (and it rounds to zero).
Secondly, what is the worry now that Tucker let Putin show us what a warm, lovable, rationally acting fuzzball he really is?
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsxUPbm7vUw
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m4_KibqaRU
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/republicans-huge-underperformance-in-oklahoma-raises-alarm-bells/ar-BB1igP0q?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=1a3ad2e3ad624cc6b25dd8e717e92790&ei=20
He is still too busy not controlling his trolls of the LEFT instead of sounding Presidential and winning over the extra few percent he needs.
He is winning : BUT NOT BY A LOT!
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https://nypost.com/2024/02/14/news/trump-lashes-out-at-mazi-pilip-calls-for-real-gop-candidate-to-face-tom-suozzi-in-november-election/
Way to go Trump.
The usual "classless ass". [I get to call him ass twice]
:roll: :x
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"Pilip, a 47-year-old Nassau County legislator — and a registered Democrat who ran on the Republican line — earned 46.1% of the votes behind Suozzi’s 53.8% with 93% of ballots tallied Tuesday night."
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazi_Melesa_Pilip
I admit I don't know her but this is most likely but bothered Trump:
Donald Trump
Regarding the multiple indictments facing Donald Trump, Pilip has said: "Trump has to go through his process" and "No one's above the law. We have great candidates right now. Trump is one of them. We'll wait and see. Whoever the nominee is, we'll support him all the way."[57][58]
She does not sound polished. Was she a manchurian candidate altogether. I would think not since the Dems already had a good candidate.
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Good podcast from Kelly Meghan yesterday with 3 people on
including Andrew McCarthy and Michael Knowles.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bombshell-new-details-on-star-crossed-lovers-fani-willis/id1532976305?i=1000645363387
Main point all agree she will likely have to step down today based on Judge decision.
She and her boyfriend may face ethics charges and even criminal charges.
Ironically, what they are alleged to have done is at it's root similar to the RICO charges they are accusing Trump and ~ 18 others of!
Would the case against Trump have to be dropped if she is taken off it. They say that a new prosecutor would have to be appointed by the Governor to re assess it and then take it up - or decline it!
The case is flimsy to start with so there is a chance it could all be dropped though they thought unlikely.
If I understood the explanation right.
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The identity boxes checked off, but the little I heard of Pilip left me underwhelmed.
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First the WP article about McDaniel and Trump:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/inside-trump-s-ouster-of-ronna-mcdaniel-as-rnc-chair/ar-BB1in3mS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lara_Trump
I question this part from Wikipedia "
"RNC co-chair campaign
On February 12, 2024, Lara Trump was endorsed by Donald Trump for the Republican National Committee's co-chair, alongside North Carolina Republican Party leader Michael Whatley for chair.[26][27] Within a week, she declared that if she were to become co-chair, then "every single penny will go to the number one and the only job of the RNC — that is electing Donald J. Trump as president of the United States and saving this country."[28]"
What about Congressional and Senatorial seats?
Obviously her credentials other then being a Trump spokesperson are unclear for this role.
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Working from memory: Back in 1972 my father was the Chair for the State of PA of Dems for Nixon. In that context he met with Nixon's campaign manager John Connally (former Gov. of TX, was in the car with JFK, former Senator, Secretary of the Treasury)
I remember him telling me "These people are ruthless AND they don't give a fuck about anyone down ticket."
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"I remember him telling me "These people are ruthless AND they don't give a fuck about anyone down ticket."
I would guess if a candidate kisses the ring long and hard enough he might get a visit from his highness to the state for a rally and at the rally a 10 second shout out.
Beyond that nothing.
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https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2024/02/17/bill-barrs-2024-endorsement-reflects-why-trump-is-favored-to-win-n4926527
Pay walled but somewhere I got to read it and the surprise is Barr would vote Trump over Biden.
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Glad to see it.
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Your questions, answered.
Q: Did you listen to Ezra Klein's recent take on Biden stepping down? What are your thoughts on it?
— John from Bogotá, Colombia
Tangle: I did. And I found it incredibly persuasive.
For those of you who missed it, Klein made the case in a 25-minute podcast monologue that President Biden should step aside and allow the Democratic party to tap his replacement. You can go read or listen to it here. He starts by making the case that Biden has been a good president and that everyone he speaks to who is close to Biden says he is genuinely running the show. I'm not going to get into those arguments here, but it’s what Klein says next that is the most interesting:
Biden is very clearly not the same man he was four years ago, and although he might be able to serve as president, he does not appear to be up for campaigning for president.
Trump is winning right now, and Democrats need an injection of something new to turn the tables.
It is not too late to change course.
Biden needs to realize that his legacy is on the line, and it’d be better for him to concede that it should be someone else and step down now.
Once he does that, Democrats could use the convention to pick a nominee, which would be an incredible spectacle and media bonanza that'd be good for the party.
There is a ton of talent on the Democratic bench behind Biden.
After days of speeches and jockeying for attention, whoever came out as the nominee wouldn't be Biden or Trump, and Democrats could say they listened to the country, and this candidate would immediately be at an advantage.
I think all of this is right. I actually think it is a pretty brilliant reframing of the choices Democrats have. Yes, it is in some ways "anti-democratic" because in this scenario the primaries (where Biden is destroying the other candidates) would be over and the party’s delegates would be the ones choosing. But that blame would mostly fall to Biden for taking so long to step down. And if or when he does, the party has only one option, which is taking it to the convention. On the upside, the delegates picking the next candidate would be representatives from each state, casting votes based on what they hear and see from voters and the candidates. It would have been better to have had a genuinely open primary, but putting alternatives forward at the convention is better than doing nothing at all.
I also think the media spectacle — stealing the attention from Trump and doing something a bit radical to energize the Democratic base — would be very smart. It would be an absolute media blowout, with live speeches from Democrats nationally televised for days on end culminating with a massive reveal of the nominee, followed by all the earned media that nominee would get heading into November. Even better for Democrats is that it'd take weeks or months for the Republican party to gather the opposition research and framing to take the candidate down a notch.
Could it backfire? Definitely, and Klein acknowledges that. But I still think it’s a better option for the party than forcing a second Biden term on unenthusiastic Democratic voters, many of whom will only be casting a ballot to stop Trump.
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Ezra Klein is right about Biden weakness and fooling himself about party and policy strength otherwise, IMHO. Nate Silver just made that similar point as well. If Biden can't campaign energetically, it may not matter how he can govern.
From the above:
Klein: "...[Biden] step down now.
Once he does that, Democrats could use the convention to pick a nominee, which would be an incredible spectacle and media bonanza that'd be good for the party."
[Doug] "incredible spectacle"? Like how House Republicans looked picking a leader? It isn't going to be a unifying event.
Small problem. "The convention" is not the people picking anything, and this party, always stressing "democracy" already has a problem with being top down, not 'of the people', in my view.
Klein: "There is a ton of talent on the Democratic bench behind Biden."
[Doug] What??!! Newsom is polling way worse than Biden. Harris is polling worse than Biden. And look at the 8 stooges on the stage in 2020 (or however many there were). Is Corey Booker going to step in unvetted? Pete Buttigieg? Amy Klobuchar? Kamala Harris, already mentioned. Didn't win a single state, not even a delegate. The Cherokee lady, Elizabeth Warren (75)? Bernie Sanders (83)? The only one who helped herself in the debates was the lady from Hawaii, and didn't she leave the party?
Who am I missing, Hillary Clinton (77)? Bloomberg (82)? Adam Schiff??
Hakeem Jeffries? Chuck Schumer? Who are these leaders with a ton of talent? They put them in charge of House and Senate. Go ahead, put them on the national ticket for and up or down vote.
Trying to think of a Dem Governor whose state is not a mess, Polis from Colorado? Again unvetted, not nationally known. His state is trending down, not up. Another sanctuary city/state being overrun by Dem caused human catastrophes:
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2024/01/31/denver-sanctuary-city-n2634339
Look at their 'rules'. The running mate has to be a black woman who can never be elevated to President? And that's how we chase the white female suburban voter, much less the black vote. What a mess.
Are they really going to elevate Michelle Obama who clearly doesn't want it, ahead of Kamala Harris who did nothing wrong (in their view)? Switch out without having a single voter cast a single vote? And that's good for the party? Because she's popular - for staying out of politics and governing. What's her qualification, better school lunches?
The last strategy I heard (on liberal radio) is elect him first, then step down. That's still dishonest and undemocratic. But who cares.
No matter who they pick, they run on the Biden record and platform, right? He's winning all the primaries. There is no change course. They think age is the problem - when nearly every major issue is polling against them.
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"incredible spectacle"
Major click bait for the Prog Pravdas to provide bread & circuses for the plebes until the insiders push Nancy's nephew across the finish line. Once nominated he greases his way (remember how he foiled Hannity?) on a message of new, young, good looking, blah blah. The plebes will have their excuse to vote against Bad Orange Man.
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"Who am I missing, Hillary Clinton (77)? Bloomberg (82)? Adam Schiff??"
possibly worth adding Gretchen Whitmer and Kathy Hochul to the list.
very deep bench I read :roll:
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If the Ides of March take out the Obama's Marionette, then I'm thinking Bryll Cream takes out the Cackling Kommie with the help of his aunt.
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Tulsi Gabbard ?
Kristi Noem ?
I am not crazy about either but I don't know who would be good.
Too bad about Pence - he is / was ready to step up but of course that ended on 1/6th.
Pompeo seems the best to me.
He does not check boxes. (personally I don't care but some do)
Maybe best saved as a SoS... though
Ted Cruz has the chops but not the appeal.
I don't know.
When Reagan picked H Bush he had a great resume then one time President who fell to Clinton.
Same for W picking Cheney though he got us into the Iraq war.
I don't know of anyone now really.
I only know I don't want a Republican version of Harris .......
Some of the names being bandied about do not inspire enough confidence in me.
For me the important thing is we have someone who is ready to step up and take command and keep us all safe and prosperous.
I don't want another Republican version of DEI.
Could Tulsi rise up? Kari Lake? I am not saying they could not - just that I don't want to find out the hard way.
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Tulsi is cute when she was on Tucker, and for a former Dem has some things we like, but not even close to ready for this level.
Noem is cute and on the whole has been a good MAGA gov of a low population density relatively homogenous state, but I'm not sensing the fire in the belly needed to take on the Woken Dead Progs.
I suspect he is mentioning them as a way of giving them respect and to pander to the women's vote.
Cruz is a very good lawyer and a very good Senator but totally lacks the executive chops-- and would not serve well as a vote getter.
Trump is giving a lot of spotllight to Sen. Tim Scott. Scott could be a good choice for adding oomph to the wedge that Trump is establishing for the black/POC vote. Scott's relentless positive patriotism could be a really good counterweight. His emotional IQ seems to be good. At the moment my first choice.
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I had not seen this:
The names included Gabbard, DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. *
* source : https://nypost.com/2024/02/20/us-news/trump-vice-president-short-list-incudes-desantis-gabbard-scott-noem/
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DeSantis is not eligible, so probably should be read as a peace offering.
Donalds is also Florida so also not eligible, so probably should be read as a) encouragement, and b) pandering. :-D
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can't be from same state?
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Correct.
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Bet this has panties twisting in some circles:
https://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2024/02/22/teamsters-make-first-donation-to-republicans-since-2004-n4926678?fbclid=IwAR3UjwEa81Clf-sqeWtMaQ6r-6b_XdqMKQrH9O892s4S_dgATcGR4CN77qw
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I may have seen on a FOX screen that Haley is up 14 points over Biden , , ,
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" I may have seen on a FOX screen that Haley is up 14 points over Biden , , ,"
I don't see any recent polling on Halley Biden with search.
Listened to part of Mark Levin's podcast from yesterday.
He is very worried about the elections and not impressed or reassured by any polling that shows Trump up a few points.
He said we should be up 10.
Of course he left out the reason why we are not - Trump himself.
Mark L
Pointed put how the DNC and Biden are flowing with cash - the RNC is not.
We have Rhonda McDaniel - 3 x loser
We have McConnell in the Senate who refuses to step aside.
We have a Congress that is dysfunctional and thinks we will lose Congress.
So even if Trump wins (holding our breath) we have a Rino Senate a Dem Congress and the rest will be toast.
Bill O'Reilly wishes Trump would play the "statesman" but of course he knows he will not.....
Kurt Schlicter gives Trump a better chance of winning now compared to few months ago but still thinks his odds less than 50/50.
Everyone knows the DEM-MEDIA-LAWYER-MONEY-MACHINE has a wrecking ball ready to go.
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Trump was calm and measured on Ingraham the other night. Very good!
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https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/donald-trump-appears-melanias-name-32207511
oh no :-o
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The page seems rather click baity to me, and I can't see the clip in question, AND he seems pretty fg sharp to me. Four trials, life imprisonment AND his fortune in play AND he is running for President!!!
Glad to see Melania reappear-- she seems to be a good influence on him, he does better when she is around.
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ccp: "I like many believe the polls with Trump ahead are a mirage."
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Polling so far has proved generally accurate.
They are always wrong on the preface, 'if the election were held today...'
It isn't.
I can't believe Joe will be the nominee. So many things can change but the primaries are basically over.
Trump's legal troubles are already priced into the market, as they say in stocks. The economy. The wars. The next pandemic. Infidelity? It's getting harder and harder to surprise us.
Our problem in my view isn't that his lead is a mirage but that his lead is too small. Tie goes to the Democrat in a world of vote harvesting, mail-ins, etc.
Even all the '3rd party' threats don't change much. I know a lot of anti Trumper who won't vote for Biden again either.
Perot swing the 1992 election to Clinton because two credible voices beat up on the incumbent, while "new Democrat" Clinton distanced himself from far Leftism. But this time Biden is the only incumbent. RFKjr isn't running because he doesn't like the Republican. That's a given. He's running because the Democrat isn't up to the task. .
The drifting away of blacks and Hispanics from the party is killing their irrational coalition of underclass and over educated elites thinking and voting alike.
Even the illegals didn't come here looking for a third world country.
Their failed governance IS our message.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ronna-mcdaniel-stepping-down-is-smart-move-kevin-mccarthy-says/ar-BB1iUSiy?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=df34ba36bcc141a4949dba62247391dc&ei=10
I respect his opinion.
Seems to me the Congress was better with him when he leader then now, if not for Gaetz and crew.
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Apparently the turnout for Trump in SC was quite large.
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Apparently the turnout for Trump in SC was quite large.
Jeepers, at this rate maybe a big dose of democracy is coming our way this November. No doubt that thought leaves many quaking in their Birkenstocks or whatever effete weenies are wearing these days.
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https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/2024-election/trump-biden-young-voters-poll/
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/joe-biden-should-endorse-gov-gretchen-whitmer-and-step-aside-opinion/ar-BB1j1EB0?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=0fcb0d41732d49b19bfa7356e47b0fcf&ei=14
Included in reasons to vote for her:
1) For one thing, she would be the first female president, and it's about time. She would not be hobbled by the baggage of Hillary Clinton, and has executive experience, a centrist mindset, decency, relative youth, and evident intelligence.
2) Like Biden himself, the 52-year-old Whitmer can point proudly to not having attended Harvard (as Elise Stefanik has), Yale (JD Vance), Stanford (Josh Hawley), or Princeton (Ted Cruz).
3) One might ask: What about the issues? The issues are always important, and they point in all directions. The Democrats are more aligned with American majorities on gun control, abortion rights, and healthcare—but the Republicans can benefit from the culture wars and have a strong case on immigration. But 2024 is simply not about the issues. It is about preventing enormous damage to America and the world.
AND OF COURSE FINALLY:
"Despite the challenges fate has thrown in his way, Biden found spectacular success; he has had a fantastic run and is now a part of America's history. He could attach true greatness to that part by pulling out of the race at the right moment. What was once unthinkable may be a must to save the country."
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not really anything we don't already know, and I am not sure I agree with all of it, but I like O'Reilly's practical commonsense view of things:
https://www.billoreilly.com/b/The-Trump-Dilemma/460036915187694878.html
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⅛ of Dem voters choose “uncommitted.”
https://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2024/02/28/it-wasnt-only-the-high-uncommitted-vote-in-michigan-that-worries-democrats-n4926834
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Ouch, this will leave a mark:
https://x.com/scottadamssays/status/1762595451621212387?s=61&t=L5uifCqWy8R8rhj_J8HNJw
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https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2024/02/29/so-who-will-trump-pick-for-veep-n2635823
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Solid analysis here. Good criteria. Difficult choice, no easy answer.
Must be super competent. Someone who reaches out to key independents but must be solid conservative, anti-Left if needed to become President.
It really should be the person he chooses to be his successor.
His dark horse, I like Robert O'Brien
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https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/katie-britt-alabama-gop-response/2024/02/29/id/1155500/
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" To re-elect Biden would be like the Titanic backing up and hitting the iceberg again."
- from Saturday morning Powerline week in pictures
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/03/the-week-in-pictures-gemini-ai-edition.php
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" To re-elect Biden would be like the Titanic backing up and hitting the iceberg again."
- from Saturday morning Powerline week in pictures
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/03/the-week-in-pictures-gemini-ai-edition.php
:-D :evil: :wink:
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/gingrich-katie-britt-s-gop-rebuttal-to-state-of-the-union-an-audition-for-trump-vp-list/ar-BB1jfARR?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=DCTS&cvid=0d8ed7e82bda406c82276776ce7dcb72&ei=15
of the other names in the article the only one I would feel safe with is DeSantis or possibly Scott.
none of the others do I feel secure with being one step away from "leader if the free world"
DeSantis may be better off waiting for 2028.
Scott I don't know if he has the moxy to be President
But then again who else is there?
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I'm well aware of the gaps in his resume including lack of relevant life experience, but Vivek speaks MAGA better than Trump.
Among other things, a VP candidate traditionally serves as the pit bull that allows the Presidential candidate to adopt a loftier persona. Vivek can do that for sure AND speak lofty pro-American Creed fluently.
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Interesting!
So you like Vivek for VP.
Wow.
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Just ruminating on his pluses , , ,
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Perhaps a WH press secretary?
or maybe chief of staff?
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Just ruminating on his pluses , , ,
You might be right. I was resistant to Vivek in the debates, thought he wasn't fully qualified to run for the top of the ticket, thought others were better qualified. I thought, even if he hit a perfect note on every issue, he wasn't necessarily the right guy for the job, never ran a government of any size and now he runs for President? People accused him then of running to be Trump's VP. Well now is that time.
1. As Crafty said, his campaign role is to make the attack, make it clearly and forcefully and draw attention to it. "Allow the Presidential candidate to adopt a loftier persona".
2. "Vivek speaks MAGA better than Trump'. aka: American Creed. He gets it.
3. "his resume including lack of relevant life experience" [for top of the ticket], but his accomplishments are impressive, and we want someone accomplished. Contrast him with the sleep-her-way-to-the-top lady who drastically underperformed when elevated.
4. Sharp as a tack. Again, contrast him with both Joe and Kamala and contrast with every MSM lackey who decides to take him on.
5. Bold and able to draw attention to himself. Our side generally lacks a podium. We lack a network. That was Trump's skill, he knew (knows) how to draw attention to get out his message. Most conservatives (like us) go through life with our message mostly unnoticed.
6. The Trump Life Insurance policy. Like Kamala was for Joe, no rational opposition wacko is going to knock off the top of the ticket because the one that follows, in this case, would be even more solidly conservative than Trump. Impeachment defense also. Vivek might govern 'more MAGA than Trump', more conservative than a Republican House, more conservative than a Republican Senate.
7. Same goes for Trump's health or death and Trump is an older guy with a couple extra pounds. If the VP found himself suddenly President, Vivek would have very strong upside risk. Fast learner. He could very possibly be a better President than Trump. He would by then have the knowledge and experience needed, have a team already in place and fully understand the game plan.
8. And then there is 2028 ( and the eight years that follow). This is not a four year plan. I believe DeSantis won second place and should be top of the ticket in 2028. But he isn't really eligible to be running mate (and doesn't want it). He didn't fully catch on, even with conservatives. When Trump picks his running mate, that person might become the successor to lead the movement whether Trump wins or loses. We need that person to live and breathe The American Creed, big picture, (sometimes called MAGA) whether they win the next nomination or not. Vivek could do that.
9. I watched and listened to Javier Millei of Argentina and thought, why can't we have one of those? The great minds of our side like Thomas Sowell and Victor Hanson won't run and I suppose couldn't get elected. But Vivek could be that if given the chance. He's smart, and it isn't rocket science to want to keep more freedoms and minimize the government interference in our lives.
10. Color. I was thinking Trump should pick a woman, but all the other criteria come first, who can help get him elected, who would govern well if thrown into the top job. Vivek's not a woman, not black, not Hispanic, but it would also not be two stereotyped Republican white guys standing on the stage in 2024 either. There are 4 million Indian-Americans in the US. Many are not fully tied to either party. That's not a small number when the last race was decided by 40,000 votes. Also he presents (relative) youth to our side where we really need help.
11. This sounds most trivial of all but I was driving across the heartland and noticed Trump-Pence signs still standing. I thought maybe bring Pence back but that doesn't bring any new independents to the ticket or to the movement. But notice how their name fits on the signs. ) Biden-Harris, Trump-Pence. They don't pick Murkowskis (though she won a write-in campaign in her home state). We haven't a long name on a (winning) national ticket in a long time, not really since Eisenhower, and he won WWII. Gore-Lieberman didn't flow off the tongue. Kennedy and Johnson were easy names and just three letter each (they went by their initials). The really big stars don't need a last name, Jesus, Elvis, Bono, Dr. Phil. No one needs to learn 'Ramaswamy'. Trump-Vivek! fits just fine.
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Doug likes Vivek for VP
wow twice now.
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Also just thinking aloud and I hadn't really thought about it before. Each of the possibilities previously mentioned has plusses and minuses. We have the whole country to pick from, it better be some with real upside, future potential.
I like Rubio and DeSantis but they have the Florida problem. A sitting governor can't fool anyone by changing his residence. Ramaswamy is (originally) from Ohio.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivek_Ramaswamy
Valedictorian high school. Summa cum Laude Harvard. JD Yale. Phi Beta Kappa.
libertarian. (I kept the small L)
Entrepreneur, employer, self made billionaire.
Accomplished pianist. Former nationally ranked tennis player?!! This I have to see.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/19/vivek-ramaswamy-the-ceo-of-anti-woke-inc
Got his start on media on Tucker.
Finished 4th in Iowa beating or outlasting some pretty big names, a former VP, Sen Tim Scott, Gov Chris Christie, Governors of North Dakota and Arkansas, besides Trump, losing only to DeSantis and Haley. Neither will be picked so really he starts at the top of the list as far as being vetted.
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Accomplished pianist. Former nationally ranked tennis player?!! This I have to see.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/19/vivek-ramaswamy-the-ceo-of-anti-woke-inc
Here is video of Vivek playing tennis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-EdFpRe9lk
Looks like good forehand and backhand to me.
https://www.newsweek.com/vivek-ramaswamy-tennis-skills-ridiculed-martina-navratilova-1821824
Ok, he is not elite world class but he has excellent overall strokes if you ask me.
Wish I could hit a ball like that.
I think in my younger days I looked better shirtless though.
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Thanks ccp. If that video is authentic, he is the real deal in tennis. Rankings are computerized, you play the tournaments and turn in your scores. Can't fake it. That's a very Federer-like, one-handed backhand and his forehand is a machine. OTOH, I would call his golf swing beginnerish, but he didn't claim to be a golfer..
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TOH, I would call his golf swing beginnerish, but he didn't claim to be a golfer..
He'll be able to work on his golf game once he is President. :)
Or if VP at Trump's golf course in NJ.
That is how Baraq learned to play golf:
https://thegolfnewsnet.com/golfnewsnetteam/2017/03/19/how-many-rounds-president-barack-obama-play-golf-office-103838/
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https://washingtontimes-dc.newsmemory.com/?token=a352e7aec37a1d4b278cb4826a047f27_65e5e2b2_6d25b5f&selDate=20240304
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2024/03/04/trump-biden-unhappy-voters-presidential-election-democrat-republican/72788422007/
RFK Jr now has enough signatures to be on the ballot in Arizona and Georgia, reportedly.
I notice it's time to change our language again. The word turnout is meaningless now that a Democrat voter doesn't need to open their front door to have his or her vote (votes?) counted. Also, there's no such thing anymore as election day.
Democratic pollsters ( link above) try to reason that it is advantage biden, but polls say that voters prefer Trump on issues of the economy and national security.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/national-security-daily/2023/11/10/biden-losing-to-trump-on-natsec-00126441
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-biden-trump-economy-presidential-race-rcna136834
"according to our poll, the electorate — including the all-important swing voter group — ultimately feels that Trump did a good job in office and that his policies improved their lives, but say the opposite of Biden."
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4505308-trump-edges-out-biden-in-three-potentially-game-changing-areas/
(Doug) Don't forget we need the House and Senate also, and state and local, or this is all for naught.
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https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/1764969125078553079
Michelle Obama's office says she's not running
I suppose she would say the same thing if she was planning to step in at the last minute, but really she has never shown any inclination to give up the life and high popularity she has now to take on the widespread disapproval their policies have earned.
If she could do something great. If this were Lincoln's time and she could free the slaves if elected maybe she would be motivated, but what's exciting for Democrats to do more of in 2024? They're running out of liberal babies to abort. Every migrant in the world who wanted to get in already had 12 years to do so. Our soldiers can already get free gender removal surgery. Socialized medicine is the law of the land. The only super rich left are all Lefties. Pipelines are cancelled and they've got shutoff switches on all the new cars. Tax rate increases no longer bring in more money. We spend 40% more than we take in, 2.3 Trillion/yr on social spending programs, how do you top that, take it to 3T and add a new trillion in debt every 30 days?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_programs_in_the_United_States.
The
opposition is being rounded up and jailed, in some cases held without charges. Election day is now a mail-in season or just have any liberal NGO fill out and turn in your ballot at the midnight drop boxes.
I mean really, what's left to do if you are far-Left in America in 2024?
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The overwhelming majority of respondents — 62% of men and 68% of women — said that the U.S. was headed in the “wrong direction” under Biden.
- Latest NYT poll
https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyt-poll-spells-problems-for-biden
[Doug] Since most women are liberal, I can't even imagine what direction they want to head in. In any case I can't really name a Democrat who strays from the Biden policies. Not challenger Dean Phillips. He fully endorses the Biden agenda. Not non-candidate Michelle Obama. Not Barack, these ARE his policies. Not Bernie, he won the policy fight without having to take the arrows. Not one Dem House member. Only Fetterman of recent, Sinema a little, and the vacating Manchin have shown a hint of resistance.
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https://www.yahoo.com/gma/mitch-mcconnell-endorses-donald-trump-153248304.html
Haley congratulated him and "wishes" him well.
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https://www.yahoo.com/gma/mitch-mcconnell-endorses-donald-trump-153248304.html
Haley congratulated him and "wishes" him well.
Yes Haley is out. Now it seems she is fishing for the VP job, says trump will have to earn the support of those who didn't choose him in the primaries.
Would she be the best to help him win? Maybe yes.
Would she be the best President to follow him? Likely no. Back to that squishy middle thing.
Could he walk back the bad blood and the term "birdbrain"? Sure. He's Trump. It's politics. He was just messing with her.
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She would be asked continuously by the Pravdas about all the things she said about Trump (chaos, old and diminished, etc)
============
Trump on Gaza
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-breaks-silence-on-israel-s-military-campaign-in-gaza-finish-the-problem/ar-BB1jo5hj?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=f2fd241710924271b58c5e06e057fd21&ei=25
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Democrats are squirming.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/it-s-not-just-that-biden-is-old/ar-BB1jq1qm
Objective and brutal. And this is The Atlantic.
"I’m no political-messaging expert, but the shut-up-and-get-behind-this-guy approach seems a tad off-putting."
"The plane has taken off. It is clearly sputtering. The pilot is not saying much. When he does, he sounds shaky. He is not inspiring confidence. A solid majority of passengers would much rather someone else were at the controls. They have voiced this concern repeatedly. (For the record, the Federal Aviation Administration’s compulsory retirement age for commercial pilots is 65.)
But the flight attendants keep telling us it’s too late. The plane’s already in the air. And this is the only captain we have available. Trust us, in private he’s in peak form. He’s not senile. Please remain seated, and keep your seat belts fastened."
-------------------------------------------
Another Atlantic story tells how last minute changes haven't gone so well:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/03/president-retire-biden-johnson-truman/677621/
Truman's one term led to Eisenhower. Johnson dropping out led to Nixon. Replacing Eagleton for VP only yielded one state, Massachusetts for McGovern.
Changing out Biden's name for the same policies doesn't remove the turmoil.
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/rfk-jr-fuels-talk-libertarian-190001602.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
The 2020 candidate was on newsmax or newsnation - I forget which - saying she is open to the idea as if both sides make it mutually beneficial it could happen
This is important because I believe the consensus is this would hurt Biden more then Trump if RFK jr were to get on the ballot and makes sense since the Dems have sicced their mobster lawyers after him.
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anyone think Biden will come out with the "era of big government is over"
and see his poll numbers shoot up 20%?
For once we need to have immediate good and to the point rebuttals within 24 hrs.
anyone care to bet if he makes it without at least one moment of cognitive failure?
he is probably on namenda aricept provigil caffeine and has audio device telling him what to say and his glasses are tinkered with so he can read his lines well.
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anyone think Biden will come out with the "era of big government is over"
and see his poll numbers shoot up 20%?
For once we need to have immediate good and to the point rebuttals within 24 hrs.
anyone care to bet if he makes it without at least one moment of cognitive failure?
he is probably on namenda aricept provigil caffeine and has audio device telling him what to say and his glasses are tinkered with so he can read his lines well.
I quit watching the news for the most part as it's clear they are little more than mouthpieces for the Deep State and ever more leftward leaning status quo that does nothing for me but wind me up. I do turn it on, however, in advance of my 50 mile commute to catch the weather and traffic report most mornings.
Tuned in this morning as the talking head with nice hair and capped teeth framed by an engaging smile informed the unwashed masses that heroic Joe Biden was in fact working on his State of the Union Speech all day today, making last minute changes outlining his many accomplishments and otherwise taking the lead as his moment to make the case for reelection in front of the voters was indeed occurring later tonight and good ol' Joe is determined to aptly embrace this opportunity!
Uh, horseshit. Biden's handlers likely have him in the closest thing to a medically induced coma so as to minmize expenditure of mental and physical energy in an effort to husband it all in the hope that later today he can devote it all to reading off the teleprompter the speech his handlers have prepared for him to mouth as they fret all the while he'll go off script and ad lib wacky stuff about how black kids liked touching the hair on his legs back in the day or otherwise recapitulating some mumbling sidetrack his mind is prone to wandering down even back when he was in somewhat better control of his segues and digressions. Hell, I bet they'll have him wired up with something that vibrates, provides a low voltage dose of current, or otherwise signals it's time to stop wandering the empty corridors of his mind and stick with the script for the freaking love of Gaia or whatever. My money is on some sort of remote control dildo shoved up his ass that "Doctor Jill" controls, perhaps connoting that if he stays on track she'll service him afterward while allowing him to smell some wigs....
Whoa. And now you see why I stopped letting bubble headed bleach blonds and their news reading kin wind me up, though I have no doubt working on the speech is the last thing Joe's handlers are pressing him for today. It'll be intersting to see how quickly the "what President Biden was seeking to speak to is ..." damage control emerges today. Bet they got a large war room set up to devote to that singular task.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/in-state-of-the-union-biden-to-sharpen-contrast-with-trump/ar-BB1ju4hC?ocid=msedgntphdr&cvid=5724d4ffa5e2401ce90bab82b731c526&ei=27
will be about all his accomplishments (roughly 15 seconds) and otherwise all about why Trump is a threat to Democracy.
"this is no joke"
"I am not kidding"
BBG - is this the morning guy you avoid , like me?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumby#/media/File:Gumby_sm.png
equals this :
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=QSR9FJpT&id=083669F5C0FDE3E1499099D7810978FC7A94B03B&thid=OIP.QSR9FJpT3jTBbsspMjtTNwHaIl&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F94sl3om8nxm11.jpg&cdnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2FR.41247d149a53de34c16ecb29323b5337%3Frik%3DO7CUevx4CYHXmQ%26pid%3DImgRaw%26r%3D0&exph=1304&expw=1125&q=joe+scarborough&simid=608041849379781798&form=IRPRST&ck=742DBBDB06D7F8F0233B09DEB593277C&selectedindex=12&itb=0&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0&vt=0&sim=11
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https://dailycaller.com/2024/03/06/trump-biden-sotu-address-play-by-play-commentary/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=29912&pnespid=6uN7CSRLaqYAgfjF9im7GJSd4xK2CIcrILe7z.V6sAZmbsHPvdRm8P3nJvcD_L7TySHlRWlt
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https://dailycaller.com/2024/03/06/trump-biden-sotu-address-play-by-play-commentary/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=29912&pnespid=6uN7CSRLaqYAgfjF9im7GJSd4xK2CIcrILe7z.V6sAZmbsHPvdRm8P3nJvcD_L7TySHlRWlt
:-D :-D :-D
Hopefully there is a way to easily count the number of folks that tune in here so it can be compared/contrasted to what the MSM pulls in. It would be a hoot if this eclipsed say, CNN, let alone a big 3 legacy TV news room.
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When they do the ratings of the speech, I hope they show how many watched the whole thing. He could be charged with some form of very slow torture.
I think I will read a transcript instead.
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Obviously he will present his economic case in the best light possible. It's a great economy. You people are all wrong about it. Low unemployment, he will take credit for the progress made under his predecessor and ignore that all the "growth" on his watch was the reopening after covid shutdowns.
We know some things he won't mention. The Afghan withdrawal, the $6 billion he sent to Iran pre-10/7, energy exports, tripling the cost of the national debt and adding a trillion to it every hundred days?
What I wonder (in fear) is what will he lay out for his vision and agenda for the future. Will people snicker if he talks about what he will do in the next 4 years? Will he repeat the Clinton line, 'we can do more'? If they come up with some real stuff they want to do, or blame the Republican House for what didn't happened, will he explain why he didn't do it when he had the trifecta and Democrat power, White House, House and Senate?
Whatever new spending they come up with, we could have afforded better when he started than when he finishes. Our real spending power is falling.
The big one that I hope to win SOTU bingo with is, will he cure cancer?
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/06/12/joe-biden-cure-cancer-campaign-richmond-bolduan-sot-ath-vpx.cnn
That alone justifies his reelection.
------------------------------------
Biden Urged To Wed Billionaire Tax With Social Security in SOTU
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/03/07/biden_urged_to_wed_billionaire_tax_with_social_security_in_sotu_150617.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13168311/Joe-Biden-tax-raises-corporations-billionaires.html
He will no doubt have clever stuff like that. Like Hillary said, you can't afford all my ideas.
Who does a billionaires' tax hit hardest? Clue, not the billionaire.
Port in Gaza: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjli4fv6a
The speech’s March 7 delivery date is the latest one for a State of the Union address in history.
Democrats terrified: https://www.mattmargolis.com/p/democrats-are-terrified-of-biden?publication_id=238232&post_id=142391471&isFreemail=false&r=131lq&triedRedirect=true
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https://www.axios.com/2024/03/07/state-of-the-union-biden-us-economy
don't worry historian John Meacham is in the mix
remember he will tell us Joe is up their with the Presidential greats.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/former-congressional-candidate-endorsed-by-trump-surrenders-for-murder/ar-BB1jv0Yh?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=8baf1c2131da4a50a91ca528fb61a0f5&ei=79
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she was obviously quite nervous
it showed , she was nearly gasping for air
a bit of crying even
From now on we need a seasoned communicator not an "up and coming" politician
I would rather have seen Stephen Miller give the rebuttal
He would not get stage fright and he can articulate and communicate common sense facts as well as anyone.
I don't understand why we can't have anyone give a rock star rebuttal.
Marco reaching for water
Bobby Jindal disappointment and I can't even remember any of the others most likely because they were weak.
For God's sake
Pick someone who can crush a response.
Don't pick a girl because she is a girl
Pick a woman who can get up their and sound strong.
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Agree!
I found her cloying and turned her off after two minutes.
Then there's this adolescent stupidity from Trump:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/fox-business-host-relentlessly-shames-trump-rep-for-defending-his-obscene-name-calling/ar-BB1jyD87?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=b24ed914503742fd999a17a59f834bd2&ei=14
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Crafty's word of the day :
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cloying
:-D
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I don't know how significant this is; caveat this is from Newsweek an enemy "news" source.
I heard something yesterday that Trump re assures the RNC money will not be used for his debts ( :roll:)
but I knew this was trouble the second I saw this:
https://www.newsweek.com/lara-trumps-rnc-takeover-sparks-fury-some-republicans-1877540
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same old DNC mantra :
https://www.billoreilly.com/b/Whos-Zoomin-Who/196534223770769743.html
tax the rich and more spending to their favorite constituents.
like my sister told me when I asked her how her fellow teachers are always voting for the crats and how can this be paid for ?
her response was it is ALWAYS "the rich should pay"
is not envy one of the 7 sins ?
a lot of free shitters out there.
Ingraham pointed out higher taxes on the rich would bring in $500 billion over the next decade
That would not even pay the debt for one yr.
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This is what I am afraid of Trump puts his personal power above the interests of the country
I don't like FB but TT is far worse:
https://www.billoreilly.com/b/Whos-Zoomin-Who/196534223770769743.html
We are so screwed .
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I follow The Hill though rarely post anything of theirs as I consider ‘em just another house organ of the Deep State, though to be fair they occasionally post an opinion piece expressing heterodox views. Between this item and one I posted earlier re higher ed I think I’m seeming an emerging election trend: finding some pet piece of orthodoxy and extrapolating wildly about how a Trump victory would cause the end of life as we know it where a given issue area is concerned.
In this instance the author conflates the horribly managed Covid series of boondoggles with the anti-vax movement, utterly ignoring the roles the media, government, regulators, et al played as they all hyped Covid, failing to note how that hype and mismanagement lead to today’s distrust of the players rather than Trump. Dimes to dollars we’ll se this structure replayed throughought this election season:
Trump's vaccine rhetoric sends chills through public health circles
The Hill News / by Nathaniel Weixel / Mar 9, 2024 at 12:10 PM
Public health advocates are watching in growing alarm as former President Trump increasingly embraces the anti-vaccine movement.
"I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate," Trump said in a recent campaign rally in Richmond, Va.
It's a line Trump has repeated, and his campaign said he is only referring to school COVID-19 vaccine mandates — but that hasn’t eased fears that the GOP leader could accelerate already worrying trends of declining child vaccination.
Trump “is an important voice. He has a big platform. And he uses that platform, in this case, to do harm. Because he's implying by saying that we shouldn't mandate vaccines, vaccines are in some ways ineffective or unsafe,” said Paul Offit, a pediatrician and vaccine expert at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The ironic part, Offit noted, is that the Trump administration kickstarted Operation Warp Speed, which helped drug companies use a relatively new technology to make two very effective and safe COVID-19 vaccines in less than a year.
Throughout the campaign, Trump has performed a complicated tap dance regarding COVID vaccines. He simultaneously wants to take credit for their speedy development but has also criticized their use and knocked his now former rivals for being too pro-vaccine.
In a post on Truth Social reacting to Biden's State of the Union speech on Thursday, Trump again claimed credit for the COVID-19 shots.
"You're welcome, Joe, nine month approval time vs. 12 years that it would have taken you!"
Every state and the District of Columbia requires children to get vaccinated against certain diseases before they start school, including measles, mumps, polio, tetanus, whooping cough and chickenpox. A plan to withhold federal funding would have widespread impact.
“Like most states, Virginia requires MMR vaccine, chickenpox vaccine, polio, etc. So Trump would take millions in federal funds away from all Virginia public schools," former GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock (Va.) wrote in response to his campaign threat on X, formerly Twitter.
Since the public health emergency ended last May, no state requires students to get the COVID-19 vaccine, while 21 states have laws specifically banning schools from requiring COVID-19 shots.
Trump’s campaign says his comments only apply to states that mandate COVID-19 vaccines — making it essentially an empty threat.
“If you actually listen to the entire section, and also if you’ve been following his speeches for the past year, he’s talking about COVID vaccines in addition to masks in the same breath. This isn’t anything new,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in an email.
Experts say the politicization of vaccines has led to an increase in hesitancy and is sparking more outbreaks of preventable diseases like measles.
There have been measles outbreaks in 15 states this year, most recently in Florida, where state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo did not recommend parents vaccinate their children or keep unvaccinated students home from school as a precaution.
Instead, he sent a letter to parents advising them to make their own decisions about school attendance.
Ladapo was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2021 and has since aligned himself with anti-vaccine sentiments, primarily about the COVID-19 shots.
Ladapo told people not to get the most recent shot and has drawn sharp rebukes from the medical community — as well as federal health agencies — for claims that the shots alter human DNA, can potentially cause cancer, and are generally unsafe.
Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said he worries that Trump is signaling he will empower more people like Ladapo if he wins reelection.
“I worry about any administration that doesn't follow good evidence and good science, that they will put more and more people like them in their administration,” Benjamin said.
“We know that Trump had some extraordinarily competent people [in his first term]. But we also know that he had some extraordinarily incompetent people, and that in many situations, some of the really incompetent people carried the day because they aligned with his philosophy,” Benjamin added.
Robert Blendon, a professor emeritus of health politics at the Harvard School of Public Health, said the experience in Florida and the comments from Trump are part of a much broader Republican backlash against public health expertise and government mandates that can be traced to anti-COVID policies.
“It isn't that he's just going after these anti-vaccine votes,” Blendon said of Trump.
Trust in public health authorities has dropped precipitously among Republicans since 2021, and Blendon said Trump is a symbol of that. The anti-vaccine movement has never been associated with one particular political party, whereas the public health backlash is strongly Republican-centric.
“That's made it very, very powerful,” Blendon said. “There are Republicans in the House and Senate, who when they're not investigating public health, want to cut back the budget ... so it has caught on within the Republican base very widely.”
Whether it’s anti-vaccine specifically or anti-public health more broadly, the sentiment is growing.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of kindergartners whose parents opted them out of school-required vaccinations rose to the highest level yet during the 2022-2023 school year.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a well-known vaccine skeptic who is running for president as an independent, has gained a major platform to spread misinformation and widely debunked claims about vaccines.
He has falsely claimed vaccines cause autism, falsely declared the coronavirus shot is the world’s deadliest vaccine and questioned the safety of shots’ ingredients.
Offit, the vaccine expert, said he thinks public health officials could have done a better messaging job on the COVID-19 shots, and that by mandating vaccines they “inadvertently leaned into a Libertarian left hook.”
Still, Offit said he is concerned about the increasing anti-science rhetoric from politicians like Trump.
"I feel like we're on the edge of a precipice here ... you have the most contagious of the vaccine preventable diseases coming back to some extent, and with Donald Trump basically casting aspersions on vaccines, that's only going to worsen.”
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4517350-trump-vaccine-rhetoric-public-health/
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Savage new Trump ad:
https://x.com/TeamTrump/status/1766547654887010692?s=20
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My read on Trump and the Vaxx issue is that for too long his self love about the good work he did getting the vaxxes on line quickly (and the advanced stuff he received when he was stick) led him to underappreciate what was happening to us little people, and now, listening to his audience he corrects.
========
As good as that ad is I saw a better one which brutally ticks off how many years he may or may not survive and finishes with Harris
cackling.
Also see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59njPVe0Q0Q
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https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2024/03/11/are-the-republicans-getting-ready-for-the-election-legal-fight-or-are-they-blowing-it-again-n2636306
If I understand correctly something like 80% of the lawyers are crats - so we start off very outnumbered.
Ex AG attorney , I can't think of his name at the moment was on Newsmax pointing out that working for Trump is nearly a career killer due to the left wing mafia.
A firm will not hire or allow anyone to work for Trump since they will be worried to lose business and most of them are pro Dem party anyway so it is very hard to find attorneys to work for our side.
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https://apnews.com/article/no-labels-candidates-selection-third-party-ea3f28a5e35f0789e873ac42369b0a77
Am I mistaken here or could the "No Labels" party also be called "No Primaries"?
Are elites going to pick these candidates behind closed doors, and then tell the American people what's best for them? And that's a better system?? How so?
What about RFKjr's party, who picked him for top of the ticket? Self anointed man/person of the people?
Nobody seems to like the two parties but at least they have a party, a primary and a process in 50 states known to anyone who wants to jump in.
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(3) NO LABELS RAMPS UP CAMPAIGN IN BATTLEGROUND STATES: Centrist group No Labels said it is moving forward with a bipartisan “unity ticket” and will announce its candidate selection process this week.
No Labels qualified for ballot access in at least 13 states, including battleground states Nevada and Georgia.
Why It Matters: No Labels stated openly that their 2024 strategy is to act as Electoral College spoilers by blocking Biden or Trump from getting to 270 electoral votes and forcing Biden and Trump to make a deal with their “unity ticket.” If no candidate reaches at least 270 electoral votes, the current GOP-controlled House would then cast one vote per state to elect a President, and the Senate would cast a vote to elect the Vice President. It’s an unlikely scenario right now, but the constitutional process would likely still result in accusations of illegitimacy, regardless of which candidate is selected. – R.C.
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(4) FED COURT BLOCKS TEXAS SUIT OVER IMMIGRANT PAROLE FLIGHTS: Southern District of Texas Judge Drew B. Tipton said Texas and 19 other states did not have standing to bring a lawsuit over the Biden administration’s migrant parole flights, which have flown over 375,000 migrants into the United States.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the parole flights are a “key element” of the Biden administration’s efforts to address the unprecedented levels of “irregular migration.”
Why It Matters: Biden administration comments on the flights make clear that the goal is not to stop the border crisis but to accelerate immigration to further a long-term political strategy. Mass amnesty and/or a pathway to citizenship would very likely create a constitutional crisis, as states like Texas and Florida, where the margin of Republican victory in the 2020 Presidential election was significantly lower than the estimated illegal immigrant population, would probably not comply. – R.C.
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This is just a start. Already mentioned, the rich pay 23% effective federal tax, not 8% as Joe lied, but don't expect factcheck.org to catch that small discrepancy. Same for that the job growth is all part time jobs and people are needing more and more of them.
https://www.factcheck.org/2022/03/factchecking-bidens-state-of-the-union-address/
Biden said the planned release of 60 million barrels of global oil reserves, including 30 million from the U.S., “will help blunt gas prices here at home.” But energy experts said the emergency measures aren’t enough to have an impact.
He said the economy added 369,000 manufacturing jobs last year, which is about right. But the manufacturing sector hasn’t recovered all the jobs lost during the pandemic, and manufacturing job growth (3.1%) is slower than overall job growth (4.6%).
The president said “our economy created over 6.5 million new jobs just last year, more jobs in one year than ever before.” That’s true based on raw numbers, but not on a percentage basis. The claim also doesn’t acknowledge the unique economic conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden prematurely claimed he’d be the first president to cut the annual deficit by $1 trillion in a single year. Even if it happens at the end of this fiscal year, the deficit would still be among the highest in history.
Biden suggested that a soldier from Ohio developed lung cancer “from prolonged exposure to burn pits.” A scientific review by the National Academies, however, found there is not enough evidence to conclude such exposure is associated with cancer.
He implied that the United States no longer invests almost 2% of its GDP in research and development, falling behind China. But recent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data show total U.S. R&D intensity was over 3% — higher than China’s 2.2%, though China may soon surpass the U.S.
He said, “Now our infrastructure is ranked 13th in the world.” A 2019 report supports that, but some say the ranking underrates the U.S.
Biden misleadingly said the tax cuts enacted in 2017 “benefited the top 1% of Americans.” Americans in every income category got tax cuts. It isn’t until 2027 when most of the individual income tax cuts in the law are set to expire that the top 1% sees the lion’s share of the tax benefits.
The president wrongly called gun manufacturing “the only industry in America that can’t be sued.” Though gun manufacturers are protected from some civil lawsuits, there are exceptions. There are also other industries that are shielded from certain legal actions.
[Doug] Oops, did they end there, run out of paper or something? It's only a one hour speech, why not fact check ALL of it?
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“the only industry in America that can’t be sued.”
immediately this comes to mind:
You can only sue a social media platform in limited circumstances. Because the law does not view them as publishers or speakers of content posted by users, they cannot be held liable for third-party content. They also can't be held liable for their good faith decision to remove content they find objectionable.
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Global Chaos or the Orange Peril?
Biden hopes voters will fear Trump 2.0 more than a drift toward World War III.
Walter Russell Mead
WSJ
March 11, 2024 6:22 pm ET
The clearest takeaway from President Biden’s State of the Union address last week was that he believes that Donald Trump poses a greater peril to the U.S. than Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Ali Khamenei, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis all rolled into one. The president came to the podium less focused on unifying America in the face of proliferating foreign threats than on launching his re-election campaign against the Orange Peril.
That was probably a mistake. Even if Mr. Biden is 100% correct about the danger Mr. Trump poses to American democracy, voter concerns about the competence of the Biden foreign policy may end up helping Mr. Trump return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Rather than telling voters, again, about Mr. Trump’s shortcomings, Mr. Biden needed to explain why the world situation has grown so dramatically worse on his watch and how he intends to stop the grim slide.
Having survived four years of Mr. Trump in the White House, many voters may be less worried about Trump 2.0 than what looks increasingly like a global drift toward World War III. Mr. Biden’s approach to foreign threats doesn’t inspire much confidence. A Feb. 21 Quinnipiac poll showed 60% of respondents disapproving of the president’s foreign policy, with 36% approving. The poll found 62% disapproved of his response to the Israel-Hamas war, and 63% disapproved of his handling of the situation at the Mexican border. An Associated Press/NORC poll conducted in late January found only 38% of voters approved of how Mr. Biden is handling “the U.S. relationship with China.” A February Harvard CAPS-Harris poll got similarly dismal results, with 61% calling Mr. Biden’s Iran policy “unsuccessful” and 71% wanting tougher policies on the southern border.
Worse for the incumbent, as the world crisis grows hotter, voters care more about foreign policy. AP/NORC pollsters found that the share of Democrats who named foreign-policy issues other than immigration as a major priority more than doubled (from 16% to 34%) from December 2022 to December 2023. The share of Republicans increased from 23% to 46%.
On domestic issues, the president can reasonably hope that nine months of continued prosperity along with cooling inflation will change public perceptions about his leadership. When it comes to world events, the outlook is darker. Even if Congress approves the president’s aid request for Ukraine, Russia is unlikely to suffer major defeats before the U.S. election. The situation at America’s southern border is likely to remain an open sore. The Middle East is unlikely to bring Mr. Biden much joy, and the risk of more war that requires deeper American involvement is real. Xi Jinping will continue to test America and its allies. From Venezuela to North Korea, the potential for bold moves by bad actors is disturbingly high, and it isn’t clear how much the administration can do to minimize these risks.
Against this background, Mr. Biden’s rhetorical strategy in his State of the Union address was to insist that his policies are working or would work if Congress would only provide the necessary support. He stands by every major foreign-policy decision the administration has made. As Mr. Biden sees it, his administration has the right strategy for Ukraine, and the right approach to the Gaza war, and everything is going fine in the competition with China.
Even if Mr. Biden is right, and there were no better choices available than the ones he has made, this approach to foreign policy is a major and quite possibly fatal political mistake. It tells voters that four more years of Mr. Biden means four more years of widening war, growing threats and more border chaos. When the world situation is bad and getting worse, you want to be a change candidate.
In reality, many of the president’s problems are the result of his continuing inability to deter our adversaries from steps that undermine our security. The administration’s failure to deter Russia from invading Ukraine, China from backing Russia or stepping up the pressure on Taiwan and the Philippines, and Iran from heating up its proxy wars against America and our Middle East allies is largely responsible for the sense of crisis abroad and weakness at home.
Voters don’t want to hear Mr. Biden talk about how brilliant his foreign-policy record is. They want to know what he’d do differently in a second term, and they want to see signs of those changes now.
The American people have their concerns about Mr. Trump. The latest Harvard CAPS-Harris poll found that 56% of those surveyed believed that Mr. Trump has committed crimes that disqualify him from the presidency. Among respondents, 50% feared that he’s a threat to democracy if re-elected. Yet including “leaners” Mr. Trump won a head-to-head matchup with Mr. Biden 53-47. His lead remained constant in multiple-candidate races.
Running as a continuity candidate in foreign affairs won’t help Joe Biden keep the Orange Peril out of the White House.
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Katie Britt
JD Vance
Marco Rubio
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Britches are likely being soiled in certain quarters:
https://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2024/03/13/confirmed-minority-voters-shifting-to-gop-in-large-numbers-n4927263
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Rubio is from FL, as such a non-starter.
Britt? Seriously? More accurately thhis would be a serious case of pandering and condescension.
Vance? Why? How would he be replaced?
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https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2024/03/14/republicans-should-consider-the-innovative-strategy-of-not-screwing-this-up-n2636383
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I really like the pushback this portrays and the concept.
But Megyn Kelly is correct the main reason women vote more crat is due to abortion.
https://www.breitbart.com/2024-election/2024/03/15/exclusive-trump-2024-national-press-secretary-karoline-leavitt-the-republican-party-is-the-party-of-women/
Trump is well aware of this and I think he is trying to be very reasonable with it.
I can't find a Trump's actual position on it at present.
All I find is enemy MSM sites discussing it.
He was not for 6 week National ban.
Anyone find anything about his stated stance on it.
Of course he is in the box trying to appease the Religious Right on this too.
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I remember hearing him discuss this at some length in a big FOX interview (I think I commented here at the time) and found him thoughtful and nuanced.
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Polls of course at this point don't matter but Trump is leading in enough States to win the election without the toss-ups of Pennsylvania , Arizona and Wisconsin . This assumes he holds on to his lead in Nevada Michigan and Georgia .
https://archive.is/pbGs4
Per CNN electoral map.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4528659-biden-sees-no-polling-bump-after-state-of-the-union/
They want to tell us his only problem is he's old, but he is measurably on the wrong side of polling on almost every major issue.
We expected a lethargic, slurring Biden at the SOTU and we got an 'amped up' President, slurring with high energy and anger. Doesn't that solve the age issue? Guess not. No bump.
Why not? High energy Joe doesn't make inflation go away or world peace come back. It doesn't close the border or remove the crime from the streets. His problem never was that he is old; his problem is that he is wrong.
Plus he is unlistenable, negating the whole advantage of a 'bully pulpit'. If anything, he IS the bully, siccing lawfare on his opponents and labeling everyone who disagrees with him an extremist. Using agencies and surrogates to destroy them while he hides behind the curtain.
Funny it was Democrats who sell youthfulness and vigor as important qualities for leading the country when they think it favors them, cf. Kennedy, Clinton. An old guy was promised to be a one term bridge to the next leadership, until he wasn't.
Joe's angry tone is more suited for a challenger (as he was last time) than an incumbent. But old dog can't learn new trick. Why is he mad at us? He's the one f*cking everything up.
Out of this, he handed Trump his best line yet: (paraphrase?)
'An angry Joe Biden shouldn't be shouting at America. An angry America should be shouting at Joe Biden'.
As Joe tries to 'amp up' his campaign more and more, the line becomes more lasting and persuasive.
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" This assumes he holds on to his lead in Nevada "
from my recall every presidential election sees a last minute "union" bump for the Democrats in Nevada that miraculously turns the election for a Democrat win.
:roll:
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Piece on the implications of various voting trends that asks "will 2024 be an extinction level event for Dems?" I'd guess not given the thumbs on various scales out in electoral land, but the piece is well worth exploring, with this postscript giving you its flavor:
Postscript: For political science geeks, one fact of this election cycle is that Trump is closer to the views of the “median voter” than Biden. That’s what Silver means by saying “Democrats’ increasing progressivism and generational turnover is the root of the problem.” In other words, Trump is the more moderate candidate in this race, which explains his huge gains among independent voters. Don’t expect the media to recognize or report this. This aspect of the race will require a separate note.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/03/are-dems-heading-for-extinction-level-election.php
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https://nypost.com/2024/03/19/us-news/trump-sues-abc-george-george-stephanopoulos-for-defamation-after-host-accused-him-of-rape-in-mace-interview/
surely he saw my post asking about this last week! :-D
he should sue for 530 million in damages!
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https://www.bizpacreview.com/2024/03/19/leftists-whine-that-trumps-raising-money-off-of-their-bloodbath-hoax-1446304/?utm_campaign=bizpac&utm_content=Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_source=Get%20Response&utm_term=EMAIL
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https://washingtonstand.com/news/rnc-announces-expanded-election-integrity-division-ahead-of-november-elections
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so before the trial Stormy gets headlines for being terrified she will be killed.
what a lying w
and the DTS media puts it as a headline.
She says this:
"My friend was like, you might actually have a problem. I don’t want to scare you, but based on the things you’ve told me. Now. You’re the whole Republican Party’s problem. And they like to make their problems go away."
"I mean, people have been suspiciously killed for political reasons."
name one person who is believed to be killed by Republicans for political reasons. Name one!
she must be mixing it up with the Clintons.
and the whole case out of NY is based on twisted legal logic that no honest lawyer would not think it is absolute ridiculous
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Trump's poll numbers are a result of all the Dem lies:
The Left's Lies Are Powering Trump's Lead
Voters do not buy the Left's and media's lies about Trump anymore.
TIPPINSIGHTS EDITORIAL BOARD
March 20, 2024 . 6:49 AM 5 min read
RealClearPolitics Dashboard - Screenshot taken on Mar 20, 2024 at 5:30 a.m.
The RealClearPolitics polling averages, the gold standard to understand the nation's current mood, have the Democrats truly worried.
Nationwide, former President Trump has a +1.7% lead over President Biden. In Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada, Trump leads Biden by over five points, significantly greater than Biden's 2020 victory margins of 0.4%, 0.3%, 3.2%, and 3.4%, respectively. Trump is leading in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, although by not such commanding leads.
If Trump's leads hold, he will indeed be reelected in November. We can confidently say so because 2024 is a rematch, the first of its kind in over a century. Even if third-party candidates enter, they will likely be more noise than signal.
The 2020 election was extremely close. Liberal NPR analyzed the results and showed what a nail-biter match it was: "Just 44,000 votes in Georgia, Arizona, and Wisconsin separated Biden and Trump from a tie in the Electoral College." We calculate the 44,000 votes to be about a margin of 0.6% in each of these states.
Trump is no ordinary candidate. He faces 91 criminal charges in four separate cases, including two in federal court under an aggressive prosecutor. He was impeached twice by the House and was the target of the J6 Committee, a Congressional creation designed to use taxpayer dollars to malign him for nearly 18 months. Media coverage during his presidency was so negative that it often swung to a 90-10 imbalance. At 77 years, Trump is only about three years younger than Biden, even as most Americans cite Biden's advanced age as a reason for his unpopularity.
So, what is powering Trump's performance?
Of course, Biden's failure as president, indicated by his 55.5% disapproval rating and the country's 65% wrong-track number, are factors. Public memory is short, and Americans tend to view their presidents more fondly in hindsight. Voters tell reporters they are nostalgic for Trump's years (low inflation, no new wars, a controlled border, a strong economy, and low unemployment).
But there is something more to it. Voters do not buy the Left's and media's lies about Trump anymore. On Saturday, campaigning in Michigan, Trump said that there would be a "bloodbath" if he loses the election. CBS News, Rolling Stone, and NBC News all carried headlines about the bloodbath comment. The Biden team criticized the former president's "threats of political violence." The problem? Trump was talking about auto manufacturing.
Americans see that the Left has tried every trick in the book - from ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ to the latest Fani Willis RICO case - to bring Trump down. In each instance, the Left lied about what Trump supposedly did, sometimes using laws and lawfare to frame him.
In the Jean E. Carroll case, New York State pushed a law - valid only for one year - that allowed her to bring a rape case against Trump. The case was so fragile because Carroll could not even remember the year (in the mid-1990s) that the assault happened. There was no evidence presented (video footing, DNA evidence, witnesses) at all other than two friendly witnesses who testified that Carroll told them about the assault.
New York Attorney General Letitia James's civil suit against Trump relied on an obscure, rarely-used New York law that penalizes businesses that falsify records. James, who campaigned that she would "get Trump," filed a complaint in the court of Judge Engoran, who was so biased that he disallowed every motion that Trump made. Trump's arguments that he paid back all of his bank loans with interest, so there was no victim, fell on Engoran's deaf years. Even the banks filed a statement that they profited from dealing with Trump. Yet, Trump was charged a $450 million fine and forbidden to do business in a city where his name is synonymous with the city's landscape.
In many cases, the Left itself did what it accused Trump of doing. Biden held on to more classified documents than Trump ever did, in more locations than Trump. Biden was not even authorized to take them because he was a senator or Vice President. Yet, the Special Counsel decided that Biden would not be charged because he was too mentally frail to face a criminal trial. Meanwhile, Jack Smith's case against Trump is proceeding aggressively.
The Left has created such a bad situation for itself that it reminds us of the classic Cry Wolf bedtime story. Even if Trump were legitimately to be held guilty by a court of law, millions of Americans would never accept the verdict.
And then, there's the wokeness. The Left, chasing ideological purity, is thoroughly disconnected from how average Americans feel. The Left's mantra, which states that no human is illegal, might appeal in Hollywood. But America is also a nation of laws, and when someone crosses the border without proper documentation, they violate America's laws - and are deemed illegal.
The Left's argument that migrants are entitled to apply for asylum - and until their cases are adjudicated against them, they are legal - does not move voters. What Americans see is that 8 million people, none of them vetted, have crossed the border illegally - and not all of them are fleeing persecution due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or their inclusion in a particular social group. In fact, the majority of the border crossers are young men looking for better employment opportunities. Asylum provisions do not include economic hardships.
Laken Riley, a 21-year woman, was brutally raped and murdered on the University of Georgia campus by an illegal alien who was already wanted for crimes in New York. Biden, in his State of the Union, mispronounced the victim's name, but acknowledged correctly that the accused was an illegal immigrant. Almost in the same breath, Biden said that several murders are committed by legal residents - a bizarre justification for the Riley murder. Worse, the next day, on MSNBC, Biden apologized for calling the murderer an illegal.
Despite the corporate media's portrayal of the November election as a battle between democracy and dictatorship, Trump, who switched parties seven times in 13 years, epitomizes a political movement that resonates with the common man on Main Street and is reshaping the political realignment of key voting blocs. Trump transcends parties and has an uncanny ability to connect with ordinary Americans, underscoring a shift in the political dynamics, challenging traditional narratives, and highlighting the complexities of contemporary politics. Simply put, MAGA is not a derogatory term, except in the eyes of the leftist media and ultra-liberals, who often adopt a condescending attitude akin to their dismissal of the Tea Party. Most Americans recognize this reality.
Elections are nearly always a referendum on the incumbent. In a rematch, such a referendum becomes much easier. All voters have to answer is a simple question that Ronald Reagan posed 40 years ago: "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?"
By orders of magnitude in the swing states, Americans are saying they are decidedly not better off, and it is time for Biden to be sent packing.
https://tippinsights.com/the-lefts-lies-are-powering-trumps-lead/?ref=tippinsights-newsletter#google_vignette
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Cogent analysis of some things to watch for 2024. I know Marc is no fan of Hogan, but he is the only flavor of Republican likely to be elected in MD and it would be fun to flip the senate if just to reduce the size of Chuck’s pulpit:
Chuck Schumer’s New Elections
By James Freeman
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Last week this column noted the effort by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) to bully a friendly democracy into replacing its duly elected leadership. Mr. Schumer’s call for new elections in Israel to pick a government more to his liking is an outrage that should not be repeated. And perhaps it won’t be. As luck would have it, upcoming elections could result in new majority leadership in another government—the one employing Mr. Schumer.
Nearly eight months from Election Day the picture is admittedly murky. But a challenging map for Democrats now looks even more challenging. Erin Cox, Scott Clement, Lateshia Beachum and Emily Guskin report for the Washington Post:
With control of the U.S. Senate in play, voters in deep-blue Maryland favor Republican Larry Hogan by double digits over potential Democratic rivals, according to a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll.
The former governor left office with high job-approval ratings and is better known than those competitors, but he faces a crosscurrent Democrats hope to exploit: The poll found Maryland voters said by a 20-point margin that they prefer Democratic control of the U.S. Senate.
Hogan’s surprise entrance into the race last month upended what had been largely seen as a contest between Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D). The Post-UMD poll finds that if the general election were held today, voters say they would support Hogan over Trone, 49 percent to 37 percent; and Hogan over Alsobrooks, 50 percent to 36 percent.
So Maryland voters are sending mixed signals—they prefer Mr. Hogan but also prefer that his party not run the U.S. Senate. What signals deep trouble for Mr. Schumer is that mixed signals from voters about a formerly safe seat for Democrats mean a lot of money and time will now have to be spent there—resources that he would surely rather spend in places like Ohio, Arizona and Montana.
Also, the contest for the suddenly competitive Maryland seat is not wholly unrelated to Mr. Schumer’s trashing of democratic and diplomatic norms. Earlier this week the former governor and now Senate candidate Mr. Hogan opined in the Journal:
The Democratic Party is splintering over Israel. Although it isn’t clear what America’s future partnership with our closest ally will look like, the outcome of the race to succeed Sen. Ben Cardin (D., Md.) could signal the direction. Mr. Cardin has been one of Israel’s most important supporters. When he retires next January, the world will be watching to see who picks up his mantle. One reason I am running for this seat is because we need pro-Israel champions in the Senate who will stand up to the loudest, angriest voices.
And if You Really Had to Pick a Government in the Middle East to Change...
Agence France Presse reports:
Germany on Wednesday said it had summoned the Iranian ambassador over an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in 2022 that Berlin believes was planned with the help of Tehran.
A German-Iranian national was in December sentenced to two years and nine months in prison over the plot to attack a synagogue in the western German city of Bochum...
In handing down the verdict, the Duesseldorf court said the attack had been planned with the help of “Iranian state agencies”.
Second City Second Thoughts
Last year’s Chicago mayoral election brought the disappointing news that the Windy City was not among those jurisdictions seeking to check their leftist excesses. But now Midway voters may finally have decided that enough is enough. Alice Yin and Jake Sheridan report for the Chicago Tribune:
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Bring Chicago Home referendum was in peril Tuesday in the primary election, in what would be a stinging defeat for his grassroots base that sought to persuade voters to grant the city’s new progressives in charge a tax increase to address the homelessness crisis.
According to unofficial results from the Chicago Board of Elections, with 96% of precincts reporting, 53.9% of votes were against the referendum, to 46.1% in favor...
The referendum was set up to become Johnson’s first levy hike as mayor, after campaigning on a “tax-the-rich” agenda that caught fire last year amid a tumultuous election where he adopted Bring Chicago Home as a key pledge. A defeat would signal trouble for Johnson’s leftist coalition that took over City Hall for the first time in decades but has since faced nonstop resistance from politically moderate foes and business interests, on top of sky-high costs from the migrant crisis.
Could there be a more delightful and salutary phenomenon than moderates making trouble for leftist coalitions?
The ‘Hellhole’ of Boundless Opportunity
Journal columnist Jason Riley writes about liberal political analyst Ruy Teixeira:
Mr. Teixeira believes that Democratic activists have made a mistake in encouraging Latinos to see themselves as “brown people who are oppressed in the United States, who live in this dystopian hellhole” and suffer nonstop discrimination. “That’s not the way Hispanics—working-class people particularly—think about the world. They think about, ‘I’m here to get ahead in life. I’m here to make a good life for my family. I want communities with safe streets and plenty of opportunity. I’m an American.’ ”
Amen.
Beltway Bracketology
It’s hard to top this month’s NCAA basketball tournament for pure entertainment value. But the libertarians at the Cato Institute are pitching a March tournament of their own:
Thirty-two unaffordable federal spending programs are going head-to-head in a classic, single-elimination tournament format. And you get to decide the worst of the bunch... vote for the worse program in each of the current round’s matchups. Then return here for successive rounds through April 11th, when we ultimately crown the 2024 Spending Madness Champion!
There are bound to be critics who question how fans can possibly get excited about a tournament field comprised entirely of losers. But imagine the taxpayer excitement if every single one of them could face elimination. It’s fan-tastic!
James Freeman is the co-author of “The Cost: Trump, China and American Revival” and also the co-author of “Borrowed Time: Two Centuries of Booms, Busts and Bailouts at Citi.”
https://apple.news/Ae_QjtOrgS4yImn92wgQD1g
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https://patriotpost.us/articles/105399-trump-gets-strategic-on-abortion-2024-03-22
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-is-building-a-superstructure-to-stop-trump-from-stealing-the-election/ar-BB1kry93?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=45c927c7160d4e3c99c0e8cfee4e15a2&ei=55
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https://sashastone.substack.com/p/why-trump-is-polling-ahead-of-biden
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https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/what-the-polls-say-today-kennedy-hurts-biden-helps-trump.html
He can't escape that he is a Democrat dissatisfied with the incumbent, as nearly all Democrats should be.
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as I posted a week or two ago
he may well be able to team up with the Libertarian Party and thus the LEFT will NOT be able to shut him down
the pricks
good for him.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/robert-f-kennedy-jr-libertarian-party-election/2024/03/25/id/1158500/
both he and Libertarian party could benefit.
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https://amgreatness.com/2024/03/27/record-high-10-million-immigration-cases-completed-in-2023/
I was surprised at the assertion of procedures taking well less than one year. Is this a pears and apples thing?
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Another issue Dems will have to cheat their way around:
Law and Order Is a Killer Problem for Democrats
COMMENTARY
By Charles Lipson - RCP ContributorMarch 26, 2024
Polling data shows Democrats are in deep trouble on the issues of domestic safety and unbiased justice. Voters say they want law and order and aren’t getting it. They want enforcement of criminal statutes duly passed by their representatives. They abhor favoritism for some and targeting for others. They want personal safety and basic fairness. They deserve them. And they are angry.
They resent the wide-open border, street shootings, street-corner gangs dealing drugs, carjackings, and unchecked shoplifting. They are stunned that squatters can simply take over houses from their rightful owners. They are troubled by the aggressive prosecution of Donald Trump, while Joe Biden skips away from his family’s extensive grifting operation and a garage full of classified documents.
Although these issues are usually considered separately, they are also important together. The concerns overlap and reinforce each other, harming Biden and his political party. Democrats are seen as weak on crime and feckless on border security, but relentless in prosecuting their principal election opponent and trying to bankrupt him.
Any consideration of law and order as a political issue should begin with the basic obligation of governments at all levels. In liberal democracies, the state should provide that safety with due respect for each citizen’s constitutional rights, without undue force, and without favoritism or political bias. The goal is to let citizens pursue their own private goals in peace, feeling secure in their lives, property, and home life. In democracies like ours, that order must be secured by enforcing statutes and rulings by courts. When disputes arise, as they often do, they should be settled by neutral third parties, either courts or arbiters, using well-established laws and procedures. When state prosecutors are involved, their responsibility is to act without bias, partisanship, or favoritism. Remember, they are part of the executive branch. They are not legislative monarchs. They don’t get to make laws themselves or disregard those that have been passed.
When does government fail to meet those obligations? It fails when the executive branch:
Exceeds its discretionary authority to ignore the enforcement of some laws against some people but vigorously enforces them against others; and
Flouts the basic obligation to enforce laws fairly, without partisanship and within constitutional limits.
This failure is particularly noxious when the state targets political enemies or disfavored people, such as African Americans in the segregationist South – or conservative populists and their leaders today.
What Americans feel today is a mounting sense that these violations are piling up and that they harm safety, property, and civil rights of citizens in a democracy.
First, they see an erosion of social order. That’s not a problem caused entirely by government. Local communities are also responsible. Violent crime is concentrated among the poor, particularly in black communities because of a breakdown in family life, the disintegration of social norms, and the lack of decent schooling and job opportunities. They don’t trust the police because of hard experience: decades of brutal mistreatment.
These problems have been amplified because of atrocious public policies that go uncorrected after years of failure. Public schools are dreadful in almost every major U.S. city. They are really employment programs for teachers protected by powerful unions. They don’t prepare students for the modern workforce or instill the knowledge and values needed for citizenship. (That failure is why Republican-controlled states are now moving rapidly to give parents school choice, including the funds to educate their children in private schools.)
Progressive cities and states have been unwilling to enforce laws protecting people and property on the specious grounds that doing so would jail too many minorities and thus undermine “social justice.” But don’t people in impoverished communities have as much right to live in peace and safety as people in middle-class neighborhoods? Shouldn’t they have a chance to shop in local stores, rather than see them closed because of rampant organized shoplifting and strong-armed robberies which go unprosecuted and, hence, undeterred? Shouldn’t they be able to stop at the gas station and fill up their cars without fear of carjacking? Shouldn’t they be able to walk the streets or sit on their front porch, rather than huddle inside, afraid of street-corner drug gangs and random shootings? It’s a perversion of language to call these dysfunctional public policies “progressive.”
The breakdown of civic order was obvious in the rioting and arson that followed the death of George Floyd in 2020. Almost no one was punished. The Democratic National Convention, held that summer, spent far more time genuflecting to the rioters’ grievances than condemning the riots themselves. Many speakers focused their outrage on police forces across the country.
The most “progressive” politicians advocated the outright abolition of local police forces. The effects on public safety were utterly predictable. Surprisingly, it wasn’t butterflies, rainbows, and unicorns. If there was a pot of gold, it was looted.
Second, voters see a president and a party utterly unwilling to enforce border laws. Controlling entry into the country is a basic feature of every country’s sovereignty. Citizens know it. They also know Joe Biden inherited a border that was largely (but not completely) secure. In his first week as president, Biden systematically dismantled the policies that ensured border control.
We are living with the consequences of this president’s catastrophic decisions. Since he took office, between 7 and 10 million people have crossed the border illegally. With them have come vast quantities of illegal drugs, manufactured in Mexico from precursor chemicals sent from China. Those drugs kill some 100,000 Americans each year. No one has any idea how many spies and terrorists have also infiltrated. When the state of Texas, fed up with an open border, erected its own barbed wire barrier (it worked), the Biden administration’s Department of Justice sued to have it removed without offering any substitute.
The massive influx of illegal immigrants is crushing city and state budgets. Those jurisdictions simply don’t have the money to provide housing, schooling, food, or medical care for this huge population of indigents. They can’t cope with the violent criminal gangs that have immigrated (some from as far away as Chile), have enriched themselves with drug sales and human trafficking, and have become entrenched across the U.S.
Some financial effects of this influx are currently hidden but will be felt soon. I was privately informed that a major research hospital, far from the southern border, is now losing over $1 billion per year in uncompensated medical care for illegal aliens. Numbers like that will soon break the hospital and others like it across America. If Washington picks up the tab, it will be another massive hit to the deficit.
Democrats have become so entrapped by these problems that they can no longer speak straight. They cannot say the plain words, “illegal immigration.” They faint at the words “illegal alien,” a term used in statutes for decades. Today’s Democrats condemn that language and try to mask the harsh reality with gooey phrases like “asylum seekers” (very few qualify), “irregular immigration,” and even “newcomers.”
Evasive phrases like these may be popular in toney Greenwich, Connecticut, but not in Gary, Indiana. The growing anger in poor, minority communities about crime and illegal immigration is a serious problem for Democrats, who can’t win without overwhelming support and turnout from African Americans. They are none too happy about competing with illegal immigrants for lower-skilled jobs and public resources.
Democrats didn’t expect that problem with their core constituency. Nor did they expect it from Hispanics, who voted overwhelming for Biden in 2020 but are now slipping away. Whether that shift among Hispanics is temporary or permanent will affect elections for years to come. In either case, it will affect the outcome in 2024.
Third, while the federal government and blue states are steadfastly refusing to enforce basic laws on immigration, theft, squatting, and so on, they are simultaneously mounting zealous legal attacks on Biden’s general election opponent. Several states tried to keep him off the 2024 ballot until the Supreme Court stopped them. Prosecutors in New York and Georgia, plus Biden’s Department of Justice, are now trying to imprison Donald Trump, tie him down in court during the campaign season for alleged misdeeds that happened years ago, while also hoping to break him financially, a process led by local prosecutors who campaigned on the promise to “get Trump.” As Letitia James once told a supporter, “We’re definitely gonna sue him, we’re gonna be a real pain in the a--."
In fulfilling that promise, James and fellow partisan prosecutors (and, alas, judges) have trampled on his basic constitutional protections and their own duties as officers of the court. Honest legal systems do not operate under the principle of “Show me the man, and I’ll find you the crime” a dictum popularized behind the Iron Curtain during the reign of terror by Stalin’s secret police. It should be anathema in a democracy, not the best explanation for actions by Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Atlanta prosecutor Fani Willis, or local New York judge Arthur Engoron. Nor should their actions be cheered by rabid partisans, much as they hate Trump. Yet that is exactly what they are saying on social media. They want vengeance.
Independent voters want something else. They want fairness. Many are not in love with Trump’s candidacy, but they still think he is being manhandled by prosecutors and judges. And they think that is fundamentally wrong. It will drive some of them to vote for him, or at least against his opponent.
Our Constitution is supposed to protect citizens against biased, politicized law enforcement. There are explicit constitutional protections against excessive fines, for instance. Those shouldn’t just be meaningless words on paper. Yet Judge Engoron, who oversaw the bench trial concerning Trump’s bank loans, ordered the former president to post a half-billion dollar bond simply to appeal the questionable legal decision. (On the final day to post it, a state appeals court cut the bond in half and eased a few restrictions the trial judge imposed on the Trump Organization’s business.)
Trump has said he will abide by the appellate decision. He has little choice. If he doesn’t post the bond, he loses even the right to appeal. Meanwhile, James blasts out another a taunting tweet each day, gleefully observing that Trump owes another $100,000 in interest. She loves it and says so brazenly.
James and Judge Engoron are attempting to break the former president financially before he can appeal a court decision. Whether Trump wins or loses on appeal, he should have the right to raise his legal arguments without overwhelming financial impediments. The judge could have easily accommodated that appeal, but he refused. He could have easily accepted a lower bond, such as the $100 million proffered by Trump, but he refused. Meanwhile, James was gleefully preparing to seize Trump’s properties and force a fire sale until the state appellate court lowered Trump’s bond and gave him 10 more days to comply.
These were shameful exercises of partisan power, done under the color of law. They may end up helping Trump politically, but that’s not the point here. The crucial point is that they undermine the unbiased, non-partisan rule of law, a foundational principle in any true democracy.
Voters can see the fundamental unfairness. So can investors, who are worried by what looks like the arbitrary loss of Trump’s property rights. When that happens in Manhattan, the capital of world finance, there will be consequences.
Each of these issues – massive illegal immigration, biased law enforcement, the erosion of property rights, and “Get Trump” lawfare – is important in its own right. Together, they are even more important. Taken together, they reinforce Americans’ sense of unease, social division, and betrayal by a justice system tilted against political enemies. They are frustrated by governments at all levels that seem arbitrary, inept, and unwilling to meet their most basic obligations.
If the polls are right, voters will make their frustration felt in November.
Charles Lipson is the Peter B. Ritzma Professor of Political Science Emeritus at the University of Chicago, where he founded the Program on International Politics, Economics, and Security. He can be reached at charles.lipson@gmail.com.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/03/26/law_and_order_is_a_killer_problem_for_democrats_150702.html
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Ramiro was my car mechanic for over twenty years in Hermosa Beach on one edge of Dog Brothers Holy Ground. His garage, with four men working under him is now in Lomita. Mexican born and raised and naturalized American citizen. My Spanish always chuckled him and so though his English was fine, we usually speak in Spanish- until I run out of Spanish to describe something about my vehicle.
When my son moved back to LA I was able to pick up the phone and recruit his help for my son in finding a cheap beater car with a good shot at being reliable.
I mention these things to give a sense of the relationship.
So we were talking today.
"Who you going to vote for?" I asked.
"TRUMP!!!"
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Meddlers for RFK Jr.
Democrats may get bitten by a tactic they use to great effect in GOP primaries.
Kimberley A. Strassel
By
Kimberley A. Strassel
Follow
March 28, 2024 5:51 pm ET
Democrats are finally alive to the threat of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—and it’s about time. They worry not only that the gadfly might pull crucial votes away from Joe Biden. They worry more that Republicans will help make that happen—by running the same playbook Democrats honed in GOP primaries. And why not? All’s fair in love and meddling.
Mr. Kennedy’s announcement this week of a running mate—tech entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan—was met with louder-than-usual howls of “Spoiler!” The Democratic National Committee is assembling a team dedicated to the destruction of Mr. Kennedy and other third-party candidates, led by veteran strategist Mary Beth Cahill. Left-wing groups are already working to block Mr. Kennedy from the ballot in key swing states, rolling out liberal legal titan Marc Elias to file complaints of campaign irregularities.
It’s shaping up to be a banner year for independent candidates, and for that the major-party pols can blame themselves. The public is as excited about a Joe Biden-Donald Trump rematch as they are septic repair, one reason recent polls show Mr. Kennedy with double-digit support. Green Party contender Jill Stein is in the mix, as is leftist academic Cornel West. No Labels is on the ballot in 18 states, if still desperately seeking a candidate (anyone?). And the Libertarian Party—which consistently manages to get on all 50 state ballots—will choose a standard bearer at its national convention in May. It’s even flirting with the idea of nominating Mr. Kennedy.
None of these minor candidates have a shot of winning. But dread is now building among Democrats that these third-party campaigns are dangling in front of Republicans a ripe and tempting new tactic—one Democrats know all about, having perfected it. For more than a decade, left-wing groups have interfered in GOP primaries, boosting the candidates they consider most beatable in a general election. Only this month, a group associated with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer dumped millions into highlighting the “too conservative” Ohio businessman Bernie Moreno, who won the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate.
Modify this strategy for a general election and a third-party campaign. How long before GOP super PACs are running ads in swing states highlighting, say, Mr. Kennedy’s proposal to ban fracking (something Mr. Biden hasn’t done), labeling him an “extreme environmentalist”? How many young climate activists might like the sounds of that label? Imagine an ad reminding young voters—frustrated by Mr. Biden’s collapsed promises on college debt—that Ms. Stein was for student-loan forgiveness before it was cool.
And those are the subtle scenarios. Why not a GOP-funded ad on urban radio stations that directly slams Mr. Biden for his failure to help minorities and touts Mr. West? A recent article in Mother Jones posited such a “sneaky” and “weaponized” move by the GOP, under the headline: “Will RFK Jr. and Other Third-Party Candidates Help Doom Democracy?” The piece somehow failed to note that it was the Democrats who mainstreamed such tactics.
Recent elections have come down to a handful of voters in key states. Mr. Biden in 2020 eked out his Electoral College victory by 10,000 votes in Arizona, 12,000 in Georgia and 21,000 in Wisconsin. What Republicans surely understand is that they don’t necessarily need those Biden voters suddenly to pledge fealty to Mr. Trump. They simply need them not to vote for Mr. Biden a second time. It helps to flag some palatable alternatives.
Mr. Trump has already cottoned on to the potential, aided this week by Mr. Kennedy’s choice of a solidly progressive running mate. “RFK Jr. is the most Radical Left Candidate in the race, by far,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. “His running mate, Nicole Shanahan, is even more ‘Liberal’ than him, if that’s possible. . . . He is Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, not mine. I love that he is running!” No doubt. Message to conservative voters: This guy is toxic and unacceptable. Message to progressive voters: Hate Biden? Feast your eyes!
The Trump comments will add to Democratic paranoia, already in evidence in their reaction to the news that a little-known heir and political donor, Tim Mellon, has this cycle given $20 million to an organization supporting the RFK Jr. campaign and $15 million for pro-Trump efforts. The donations might mean nothing, as Mr. Mellon has a history of giving money to Democratic rebels, including Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. But the DNC has already branded it meddling, declared Mr. Kennedy a “stalking horse for Trump,” and thrown up billboards in Michigan that read: “RFK Jr. powered by MAGA/Trump. Same biggest donor Timothy Mellon.”
That looks to be the Democratic strategic response for now—to drive home that any vote for a third party is a vote for Mr. Trump. And there is a risk that Republicans—if they’re too blatant—could underline that point. Then again, as Democrats have so capably proved with their own meddling, a lot of voters don’t calculate beyond top-line impressions. And so the third-party games begin.
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From Free Beacon, one minute.
https://youtu.be/MZxbBEIfo2E?si=a1lDXbwuSPHIGUdW
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Polls are wrong before they start. "If the election were held today..." Well it isn't.
Republicans missed the so-called red-wave in 2022 and had underperformance in lots of other elections. That said, it's hard not to comment on the state of the race. These polls represent what is possible, not a forecast of what will happen next fall.
1. The Hill switched it's column from 'most likely senate seats to flip' most likely to flip other than Joe Manchin's seat is West Virginia which is already flipped in terms of inevitable math. Even if Joe was staying and he's not. The next 5 are also Republicans taking Dem seats, the first 3 likely, the next are possible but not likely. A 4 seat swing, 49R-51D to 53R-47D is nation changing. No wonder Democrats want Sonia Sotomayor out now.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4564443-senate-rankings-seats-flip/
2. WSJ poll released yesterday(?) has Trump leading in nearly every swing state, except Pennsylvania and a tie in Wisconsin, which he doesn't need if he wins the others.
https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/WSJ_Swing_States_Partial_March_2024.pdf
3. RCP polling averages tabulated comes to an electoral lead for Trump of 293-245.
https://www.realclearpolling.com/maps/president/2024/no-toss-up/electoral-college
4. Rasmussen has a very positive release today, Trump up by 6,7, 8 depending on the '3rd party' inclusions.
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/biden_administration/election_2024_trump_8_over_biden_third_party_candidates_have_little_impact
5. Polling internals are killing Joe and the Democrats. 28 point swing on independents since 2020. Winning with Hispanics. Nearly even with blacks and young voters.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/04/04/nolte-donald-trump-holds-eight-point-lead-joe-biden/
6. Here's one more, a real world result: mayor race in Wassau Wisconsin, 9 point swing since 2020. Holy cow.
7. The 'no labels' group was supposed to put forward a candidate to compete with Trump for the no-far-Left vote. Looks like they won't: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4575052-no-labels-party-passes-2024-election-candidate/
8. Oops, here come the polls swinging the other way:
https://thehill.com/elections/4575110-biden-up-pennsylvania-survey/
Warning. The election is not being held today. Democrats have WAY more money in every race and lots of other things can change, like Republicans shooting themselves, Democrat ballot box stuffing and media and social media creating havoc. If you want to win you have to work for it and earn it.
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The good news re 2024 and the Culture Wars the MSM won’t bring us:
This week's wins
Don't let the news media get you down. We are winning
APR 05, 2024
On Monday, the Washington Post (owned Jeff Bezos) said, “Democrats spar over registration as worries over young and minority voters grow.
“The rise in Trump support among nonregistered voters has run up against a long-held Democratic policy priority of growing the voter rolls.”
It’s called the Trump Effect. After 4 years of FJB, young black people and young Hispanic people see what young white people see in him — a leader who cares about them. FJB only cares about the bribes.
The story said, “Aaron Strauss, an influential data scientist who helps direct progressive spending at the firm OpenLabs, sparked private disagreements over this issue in January when he sent about a dozen major Democratic donors a confidential memo that challenged traditional nonpartisan registration.”
Strauss said, “Indeed, if we were to blindly register nonvoters and get them on the rolls, we would be distinctly aiding Trump’s quest for a personal dictatorship.”
The story said, “He also warned that efforts to gain Democratic votes among younger and non-black people of color were often expensive — costing more than $1,200 per net vote in 2020, by one estimate — because the groups now include so many non-Democrats. Among voters of color, he wrote that ‘only African American registration is clearly a prime opportunity,’ adding that netting Democratic voters among Black people cost approximately $575 per vote in 2020.”
We are winning. Young people want to be on the winning team.
People also know the 2020 election was not on the up-and-up. They are fixing that.
AP reported, “Private money to fund elections will be banned in Wisconsin after voters approved a constitutional amendment on April 2 put forward by Republicans in reaction to grants received in 2020 that were funded by donations from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
“Voters also approved a second question put on the ballot by the Republican-controlled Legislature that amends the constitution to say that only election officials can administer elections. That’s already state law, but putting it in the constitution makes it more difficult to repeal or change.
“Democrats opposed both measures, which they argued would make it more difficult to conduct elections in the presidential battleground state.”
By more difficult to conduct elections, AP and the Democrat Party meant more difficult to steal elections.
It is not as if the election boards needed Zuckbucks. He ponied up $300 million — or less than 1% of the state government’s $49.7 billion ($49,700,000,000) budget.
No, the money was used by Democrats in key states to stuff the ballot boxes. Voters in Wisconsin saw through it like Jacqueline Bisset’s T-shirt in The Deep and voted accordingly.
We are winning overseas. The Trans-Nazis got Scotland to enact a dopey hate speech law that criminalized call a man a man and a woman a woman, among other things. JK Rowling — who like Stephen King became a billionaire writing books that people want to read — stood up for free speech (unlike the increasingly fascist King).
BBC reported, “JK Rowling hate law posts not criminal, police say.”
It is unclear if this applies her alone because she is a celebrity, but she is speaking out and standing up for free speech.
She had tweeted, “I hope every woman in Scotland who wishes to speak up for the reality and importance of biological sex will be reassured by this announcement, and I trust that all women — irrespective of profile or financial means — will be treated equally under the law.
“If they go after any woman for simply calling a man a man, I'll repeat that woman's words and they can charge us both at once.”
The land that gave the world William Wallace and Rob Roy MacGregor has turned into a pansy land filled with girly men in dresses instead of kilts. They tuck it in now. How embarrassing it is to watch the shrinkage from an ocean away.
But a lady from England will save the Scots from their biggest threat: the Scottish Parliament.
The tranny wars continue here and Christians are winning. Biden declared Easter Sunday something called “Transgender Day of Visibility,” which Obama began celebrating each March 31 at tranny day when he took office, likely at the request of his spouse.
The angry reaction to Biden’s declaration was so swift and so fierce that Biden now denies that he did what he did. The two religions — Christianity and Trans Insanity — do not mix.
Trump got in a good one, telling a rally in Green Bay, “What the hell was Biden thinking when he declared Easter Sunday to be 'Trans Visibility Day'? Such total disrespect to Christians. November 5th is going to be called ‘CHRISTIAN Visibility Day’ when Christians turn out in numbers that nobody's ever seen before.”
However, the big issue on Christian Visibility Day will be kicking the illegal aliens out. Governor Abbott of Texas was brilliant when he began shipping these invaders to New York and other Democrat-run hellholes.
Abbott made illegals the Old Maid card of politics. He now has sanctuary cities fighting one another on who gets stuck with them.
The Daily Mail reported, “Denver warns new migrants to leave sanctuary city and move elsewhere — saying that their lack of resources means asylum seekers will suffer.”
Breitbart reported, “Michigan Poll Shows Trump Leading Biden as Voters Express Support for Mass Deportation of Illegal Aliens.”
Dumping the illegals on Democrats destroyed decades of propaganda. Conservatives win when they force Democrats to practice what they preach.
Meanwhile, there was a comeuppance in Cajun country.
Benny Johnson tweeted, “LSU Women’s Basketball Team skipped the National Anthem. Iowa stood proud.
“LSU just got their ass beat with the entire stadium cheering against them. Season over.
“Let this be a lesson to all players: the cringy, selfish woke athlete moment is OVER.”
The lack of sportsmanship from LSU’s trash-talking Angel Reese also made the LSU Tigers the villainesses. None of them are slaves and Miss Reese likely will become a millionaire when she joins a European women’s team next season. (After 28 years, the WNBA is still just a summer league.)
Jason Whitlock has been on Reese’s case all week long. In response to a critic, he tweeted, “Adultification is some new term made up on a college campus to blame white supremacy for a problem related to black illegitimacy. You know what adultifies a child? Single-parent households lacking the proper supervision and roles.
“No father in the house exposes young black girls (and boys) to sexual exploitation and experience long before they're ready. No father in the house forces young black boys to play the role of man of the house long before they’re ready. Emanuel Acho calling a 21-year-old grown isn’t harming black girls. You know it. I know it. Exit fantasyland and deal with the reality we created.”
He is right, as is Johnson. Woke is a joke in sports now. My take is that William Thomas passing himself off a woman swimmer began the inevitable fall. Americans still have chivalry in their souls. You can do what you want to me, but leave the women alone.
LGBT’s next-door neighbor, DEI, is on the ropes. The Austin American-Statesman sobbed, “A week after state Sen. Brandon Creighton warned Texas university system administrators about the state's expectations for higher education institutions to comply with Senate Bill 17 — an anti-DEI law that went into effect in January — the University of Texas has laid off at least 60 staff members who previously worked in diversity, equity and inclusion-related positions, according to three people with knowledge of the terminations.”
Texas is following Florida’s lead on this but as Reagan said, “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
Scott Adams proved Reagan’s point by tweeting, “Whoever came up with Didn't Earn It as the description of DEI might have saved the world.
“Normally, the clever alternative names people use to mock the other side’s policy are nothing but grin-worthy. This one could collapse the whole racist system. It’s that strong.”
Speaking of earning, dumping Ronna Romney McDaniels as RNC chairwoman worked. The money is pouring in.
Axios reported, “Trump, RNC report raising $65.6 million in March.”
The money doubled the amount of cash on hand the party — not the RNC staff — has to spend. Trump taking over the RNC hit limousine drivers the hardest.
I know I have done posts like this in the past. Guess what? I will do posts like this in the future because following the media reports with their lies and faux outrage can be depressing. History is not on their side, just as it was not on the side of the Confederacy — which Democrats created as a means to resist Lincoln.
They tell us: we will bury you.
Nikita Khrushchev said the same thing. He’s in the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
https://donsurber.substack.com/p/this-weeks-wins?r=1qo1e&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&fbclid=IwAR2QR3HH3zmt3rEKXdsjBb7YRl-zNH_a_byJNzpl_JJXfz6dfI5jQHSt3KM&triedRedirect=true
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/will-second-term-trump-radical-restrained-routed-by-resistance
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/07/biden-ohio-general-election-ballot
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https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/04/08/beschloss_the_last_thing_democrats_need_is_people_protesting_bidens_handling_of_israel_at_the_convention.html
Deja vu Chicago 1968.
Quoting NBC Michael Beschloss on Morning Joe is something I hoped I'd never do, but his fear is a sure prediction.
He accidentally hit a home run with this exactly wrong statement, just remove the word not to find truth:
"I'm sure that Joe Biden and his people do not look at this primarily through a domestic election political lens, but, ..."
- Umm, yes they do and it is a no-win coalition. He's losing the moderates and he's losing the radicals,
Funny wording, Presidential "Historian' refers to the Presidency as "Joe Biden and his people". No one believes Slow Joe is calling the shots, like a lost dog.
Joe is supposed to be the moderate. Someone help him out, what is the moderate position in between defending our closest ally and appeasing the radical protesters who want Israel destroyed?
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" Michael Beschloss "
He is a Democrat partisan joke.
right :
" I am sure domestic politics has nothing to do with Biden's policies "
HOW STUPID DOES HE THINK LISTENERS ARE?
If course the DEMs are all nodding in unosin.
The objective people right off know it is BS.
He even is giving Jimmy Carter and Mika's "dad" credit for the Camp David accords.
I agree that was Jimmy Carter's work to help facilitate the peace between Egypt and Israel was his ONLY success I don't agree he or especially anti Semite Mika's dad deserve the main credit.
Frankly the most credit belongs to Anwar Sadat who initiated it and later lost his life over it.
Sadat turned from enemy of Israel to a friend.
Brezinski / Carter just moved it and Begin along in my opinion
and of course took more credit then they deserved.
At least that is what I recall.
every day they lie repeatedly to our faces without a care in the world other then defeating Rs.
I would also add that the fact the Dems are able to raise so much money is clear demonstration how Jews support the DNC before they stick up for themselves or Israel.
I really doubt many if any Jews will switch parties for '24.
The only way to get them to consider it is their own wealth and wellbeing were at stake.
They think they are immune. They are mistaken.
As we are seeing with the rise in anti-Semitism .
Goddamn fools.
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This is a seemingly meaningless data point:
"recent high-quality California polls show Biden ahead of Trump in the state by about 20 points in a head-to-head matchup, down from Biden’s nearly 30-point winning margin in California in 2020."
Except for two things, 1. Doug's law, margin of victory or loss matters, and 2. What is happening there is happening across the country.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/electoral-college-question-looming-2024-rcna145950
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Karl Rove on I think Trey Gowdy last evening pointing out the 10s of thousands of Nikki Haley voters
even after she was clearly losing points out how many Rs may sit it out.
Not clear But DJT could do more to reach out to them.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6350485077112
not clear to me if his point is important or not but DJT should not take any chances IMHO.
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ccp: "I really doubt many if any Jews will switch parties for '24."
Right. I see it this way. When a D voter becomes an R voter, that is a two point play. Not going to happen with a lifetime liberal Jew (or other liberal group member). That is too far to ask for anyone fully invested for 8 years hating Trump and a lifetime of hating, opposing Republicans. .
But there is a big difference between strongly approve of the incumbent and supporting none of the above.
The no labels choice would have given them another outlet, and maybe RFK if they look too closely.
My sample size is small but a moderate Dem Jew who strongly defends Israel is not going to vote for Biden (or for Omar or the squad).
Majority of young black voters say they won't vote. That's a long way from 98% voting Dem, the way it used to be.
Arab/Muslim Americans falling into a similar situation, for different reasons. Whay about gays? Do they like inflation, crime, war, do lesbians like biological men destroying girls and women's sports? How is woke working out for them now that gay marriage and gay rights is the law of the land?
No one strongly approves of the job Joe Biden is doing. All they have left is hatred of the opponent. That and ballot vagueness got them 2020 by 40,000 votes, and abortion kept them from getting wiped out in 2022.
Trump just said abortion is for the states to decide. How inflamed can you get about that, and how exciting is it, really, to have the right to stab and extract a beating heart from within you?
Abortion, tax the rich, and Republicans are racist gets old quickly when it takes $80 to fill your tank and your credit card balance grew past what you can pay in full.
Bringing one or two of them home to the American Creed will take long, strong, clear, consistent messaging.
The anti black racism was all on the Left. The antisemitism is on The Left. It's the Left taking away the right to defend yourself. Unfortunately perhaps, Trump is the only vehicle for figuring back. When will they see it.
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ccp: "I really doubt many if any Jews will switch parties for '24."
Right. I see it this way. When a D voter becomes an R voter, that is a two point play. Not going to happen with a lifetime liberal Jew (or other liberal group member). That is too far to ask for anyone fully invested for 8 years hating Trump and a lifetime of hating, opposing Republicans. .
But there is a big difference between strongly approve of the incumbent and supporting none of the above.
The no labels choice would have given them another outlet, and maybe RFK if they don't look too closely.
My sample size is small but a moderate Dem Jew who strongly defends Israel is not going to vote for Biden (or for Omar or the squad).
Majority of young black voters say they won't vote. That's a long way from 98% voting Dem, the way it used to be.
Arab/Muslim Americans falling into a similar situation, for different reasons. What about gays? Do they like inflation, crime, war, do lesbians like biological men destroying girls and women's sports? How is woke working out for them now that gay marriage and gay rights is the law of the land?
No one strongly approves of the job Joe Biden is doing. All they have left is hatred of the opponent. That and ballot vagueness got them 2020 by 40,000 votes, and abortion kept them from getting wiped out in 2022.
Trump just said abortion is for the states to decide. How inflamed can you get about that, and how exciting is it, really, to stab and extract a beating heart within you?
That, and tax the rich, and Republicans are racist gets old quickly when it takes $80 to fill your tank, and your credit card balances went past what you can pay in full.
Bringing one or two of them home to the American Creed will take long, strong, clear, consistent messaging.
The anti black racism was all on the Left. The antisemitism is on The Left. It's the Left taking away the right to defend yourself. Unfortunately perhaps, Trump is the only vehicle for figuring back. When will they see it.
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"That, and tax the rich, and Republicans are racist gets old quickly when it takes $80 to fill your tank, and your credit card balances went past what you can pay in full.
Bringing one or two of them home to the American Creed will take long, strong, clear, consistent messaging."
So does incessant screaming and preaching into the MSM mike about "defending democracy"
which is the most cynical distortion of the truth I recall in US media.
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The overall advantage goes always to Democrats, but this is kind of funny. Trump's event brought in twice as much as Biden's 3 President event.
That wasn't the big difference. Only one guy, Trump, was the headliner for his own event. At Biden's fundraiser with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Joe wasn't the guy people went there to see. 3rd billing, if that.
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https://www.hola.com/us/celebrities/20240408358387/donald-trump-solar-eclipse-ad/
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https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-responds-to-lindsey-grahams-criticism-of-his-abortion-announcement-5625229?utm_source=Goodevening&src_src=Goodevening&utm_campaign=gv-2024-04-09&src_cmp=gv-2024-04-09&utm_medium=email&est=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYvAqcwcVzc7PzLYPrHFRB710wA0AIj31kx5JTWZu9FddhEg4S8RP
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yet we have this:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/rcna146915
we don't need this now :x
Rob Schmitt had someone on who is very pro life - no abortion
I can't find it yet since it was just tonight, and my point is even she agrees to a 15 week compromise.
She is honest and realizes most Americans would / could agree with this, and yes WE NEED TO WIN.
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Real Clear Investigations does a deep dive into “non-partisan” voter registration efforts that are anything but non-partisan:
https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2024/04/10/how_taxpayers_will_heavily_subsidize_democrat_boots_on_the_ground_this_election_1023475.html?fbclid=IwAR3PQ6B7qqTd2iEYlVfonKic3lqXd26_0ff-DfDf1C3TevWj5_TiKhqZ4g0_aem_ATTJ0fXDWaQvoupad_azuf_sezlBQQGaU1MpjfM-6Las4snerpefXOJxalogC7bxBsmSxKupUApw9wdkUmH_aq9D
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https://www.thewrap.com/oj-juror-who-raised-black-power-fist-salute-black-panther/
what I worry about is jury nullification in Trump trials
like they did in Simpson trial - as a different juror then this stated quite matter of factly on a later interview
payback for Rodney King police getting off.
Obviously, what the prosecutors are counting on as we all can see.
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majority think Trump committed serious Federal crimes
in NYT poll
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/majority-of-voters-think-trump-committed-serious-federal-crimes-according-to-nyt-poll/ar-BB1lzjIU?cvid=206a25e4384c4d4f9c0de80dd32c2d7a&ei=24
not mentioned of course is this:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12103467/Impeachment-voters-say-Biden-committed-high-crimes-misdemeanors-office-poll-says.html
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So what would DJT do at this point other then tell us over and over again that this would NEVER have happened if he was President which is all hypothetical and conjecture and not factual reality?
He states Israel should finish the job ASAP but how much is he willing to commit to US assistance other then supplying arms?
Bottom line he is boasting big.
Questions remain.
I suspect he would not give too much space for Hamas and their Palestinian supporters (the majority)
I suspect he would not cave to the anti Zionists
I suspect he would do his best to supply arms etc.
I wonder if he would commit to any further US involvement.
Sounds to me like Biden has been ultimately supportive of Israel militarily but a failure on the PR front and caving into the anti-semites at home front.
Would DJT support a strike against Iran?
No one can say.
Ruminating about the windbag boasts of Trump.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/donald-trump-s-gettysburg-remarks-trashed-by-civil-war-historian-unhinged/ar-BB1lEU1O?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=83173eedea8c401aad456727f5a34098&ei=16
" A Civil War historian has called the remarks Donald Trump made about Gettysburg during a campaign rally "unhinged."
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, T.J. Stiles said the former president's take on the Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought between July 1-3, 1863, and killed an estimated 51,000 people, was "inarticulate" and "reductive."
51,000 people were NOT killed. That is the number of total casualties.
In McPherson's 'Battle Cry of Freedom' he estimates that of total casualties during the Civil War battles that around ~ 15 % were deaths.
The rest of course wounded, missing, or captured.
Of course some of the missing were also actually killed vs deserters.
https://www.historynet.com/gettysburg-casualties/
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CCP:
I take something of a different tone here.
The man is dealing with a tidal wave of legal issues, including at present being required to be in court for a stalinesque show trial based upon a disgrace to America of a legal charge while being gagged by court order in front of a jury quite likely to convict regardless of the facts or the law all while running for president.
Actually, I find how he is holding up quite impressive.
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I would like to know what DJT WOULD do in the situation in the Middle East.
His schtick is that this would never have happened because adversaries would be so terrified of his unpredictable behavior.
But we do not know that.
What would he do now?
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"His schtick is that this would never have happened because adversaries would be so terrified of his unpredictable behavior. But we do not know that."
Disagree. We do know that. He hit Iran hard with sanctions and withdrew from the JCPOA. He killed Suleiman. He killed Bagdaddy. He killed 250 Wagners. He sent 39 cruise missiles up Russia's ass in Syria between the main course and desert at Mar al Lago with Xi sitting right there. He recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capitol. He took down the ISIS Caliphate. It is his work that changed the landscape in ways that set up things like this: https://www.dailywire.com/news/saudi-arabia-publicly-acknowledges-defending-israel-from-iranian-attacks-reports?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=benshapiro&fbclid=IwAR1ra5h-fBJ7tq8gNYhgWhQXtZYfgtJJnQqy8U6lrWKdXiJ8KAGwE4qqmK0
Seems to me like a pretty strong track record.
"What would he do now?"
He has said that Israel made a mistake by taking too long in Gaza. Sounds to me like he is saying that Israel should have kept moving forward and not fallen pray to Magoo's dithering. He would reimpose and enforce sanctions on Iran. He would not give Israel excrement.
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Great post. The actions described tell why Oct 7 might not have happened under Trump. And the Russian Ukraine invasion. The action against Soleimani means the next Soleimani must wonder if the next attack he orders will be his last.
Moving the embassy was bold. Abraham Accords are game changing.
Just backing Israel verbally and in the phony UN is a major step up from what we have now.
We visited the beautiful Golden Gate bridge Sunday. Yesterday it was blocked by "Free Palestine" protesters. Good grief. Hope they don't block the airport today.
Whatever "Palestine" is, wouldn't throwing Hamas out be the first step?
In Florida, blocking traffic is against the law.
The Chicago convention will show what a mess the Dem party is. Besides the liberal Jews with no political home, are the gays excited about Jihadists taking over their party?
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Yes, Florida immediately clears and arrests traffic blockers.
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great points
I agree. 8-)
need to push back on Obama Sullivan Blinks Rhodes appeasement approach which is a sure failure.
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stealing from Trump pre election:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/president-biden-moves-to-triple-tariff-rates-on-chinese-steel-and-aluminum/ar-BB1lLAaQ?ocid=msedgntphdr&cvid=e1eb6978e79445698071f43b3ce5d6ef&ei=33
Trying to pull a Clinton - steal from Rs just before the election
The media now will laud this oppose to bashing it when it was DJT.