US Politics: Primary Schoolin'

[A Horse Named Stranger]

As for RoboRon. Also surprised he dropped out now. Asked our Florida pol-sci guy the other day how long DeNonsense would be able to keep his campaign going (you can PM him your pol questions, and he'd happily answer them afaik). He thought he'd be able to hang around until the SC primary.

The timing is really interesting. My horsean read:

He figured, that the legal cases on which he banked are not moving forward fast enough to oust the orange baboon. So he'd rather exit the race now and try again in four years (seven save us).

[TrackerNeil]

48 minutes ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

DeSantis has dropped out of the Republican primaries, so it looks like the anti-Trump coalescence may happen sooner rather than later and we'll have a long time to see just how much of it there is in the party.

Haha...I figured back in 2022 that DeSantis wouldn't go the distance. On paper, he's a good Republican candidate--former governor, conservative, a gigantic asshole--but in reality he's just not a great campaigner. For terrible people, Trump comes across as quite charismatic, but even terrible people are put off by awkwardness and obvious insincerity.

I suspect that many Republicans want Trump stopped, but not one of them is willing to try to stop him. Even Haley won't directly criticize him, which is going to make for an odd campaign. "I know you love Donald Trump--and so do I!--but for some reason you shouldn't make him president again." Not a winning message.

Edited January 21 by TrackerNeil

[kissdbyfire]

And he's already endorsed Mango, of course. 

Haley also struggled to talk about E. Jean Carroll's case, because "she hasn't been following it and isn't a lawyer".

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

34 minutes ago, TrackerNeil said:

I suspect that many Republicans want Trump stopped, but not one of them is willing to try to stop him. Even Haley won't directly criticize him, which is going to make for an odd campaign. "I know you love Donald Trump--and so do I!--but for some reason you shouldn't make him president again." Not a winning message.

She's actually starting to go after him pretty hard. DeSantis is the one who wouldn't and he had basically no path. I wouldn't be surprised if he got the VP slot or SoS (or something similar) and tried to run again in 2028 assuming Trump wins and he could learn how to be a human (no chance of that).

Edited January 21 by Mr. Chatywin et al.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 minute ago, kissdbyfire said:

And he's already endorsed Mango, of course. 

Haley also struggled to talk about E. Jean Carroll's case, because "she hasn't been following it and isn't a lawyer".

Empty suits always empty suit. You can bet on that every time. 

[Kalbear]

DeSantis dropping out is surprising only in that I didn't think he would actually do it. The result isn't. His brand was always Trump without the legal baggage and that wasn't going to work if Trump with the legal baggage was fine.

It does basically come down to new Hampshire, where Trump is currently leading by double digits over Haley. 

[kissdbyfire]

15 minutes ago, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

Empty suits always empty suit. You can bet on that every time. 

Yeah, they never fail to disappoint, do they?

[Wilbur]

Ron DeSantis just had too big boots to fill.

[Zorral]

Don't ya mean the boots were too high for DeSantis to fill?  

[TrackerNeil]

2 hours ago, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

She's actually starting to go after him pretty hard. 

I'm glad to hear it. That didn't work for Chris Christie, but I guess hope springs eternal. 

Either way, the instant Trump wins the nomination, Haley will line up right behind him. One lesson I learned from 2016 is that there is no conservative principle that outweighs the desire to win.

Edited January 21 by TrackerNeil

[Larry of the Lawn]

13 minutes ago, TrackerNeil said:

I'm glad to hear it. That didn't work for Chris Christie, but I guess hope springs eternal. 

Either way, the instant Trump wins the nomination, Haley will line up right behind him. One lesson I learned from 2016 is that there is no conservative principle that outweighs the desire to win.

I wonder about this all the time.  Like, I get that there are people who can't stomach any Dem, so will vote GOP.  But is there any principle they are actually voting for?  I'm not talking about Trump people, but the "rank and file" GOP voter.  Punitive abortion laws?  Because beyond that I'm not really sure what conservative principles the current GOP even represents.  

I think it's just vibes and voting against what you don't want from here on out. 

[kissdbyfire]

2 minutes ago, Larry of the Lawn said:

I wonder about this all the time.  Like, I get that there are people who can't stomach any Dem, so will vote GOP.  But is there any principle they are actually voting for?  I'm not talking about Trump people, but the "rank and file" GOP voter.  Punitive abortion laws?  Because beyond that I'm not really sure what conservative principles the current GOP even represents.  

I think it's just vibes and voting against what you don't want from here on out. 

Build the wall!
Which = stop the boats! 
And yes, those aren’t principles, but more the absolute lack of principles and just red meat for the diehards who have a constant hard on for cruelty and sticking it to “the other side”. Politics and civil engagement have been reduced to football hooliganism, and the trend is global. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

24 minutes ago, TrackerNeil said:

I'm glad to hear it. That didn't work for Chris Christie, but I guess hope springs eternal. 

Either way, the instant Trump wins the nomination, Haley will line up right behind him. One lesson I learned from 2016 is that there is no conservative principle that outweighs the desire to win.

Most likely, but you never know if he'll say something just too offensive about her. 

18 minutes ago, Larry of the Lawn said:

I wonder about this all the time.  Like, I get that there are people who can't stomach any Dem, so will vote GOP.  But is there any principle they are actually voting for?  I'm not talking about Trump people, but the "rank and file" GOP voter.  Punitive abortion laws?  Because beyond that I'm not really sure what conservative principles the current GOP even represents.  

I think it's just vibes and voting against what you don't want from here on out. 

Gay people are scary? 

[LongRider]

21 minutes ago, Larry of the Lawn said:

But is there any principle they are actually voting for?

The USA is a country for white, evangelical Christian men, period.  White women are for making babies only, and everybody else are just here to be subservient to white X-tian males.   Oh, and don't tax the rich.  

[TrackerNeil]

4 hours ago, Larry of the Lawn said:

But is there any principle they are actually voting for?  I'm not talking about Trump people, but the "rank and file" GOP voter.  Punitive abortion laws?  Because beyond that I'm not really sure what conservative principles the current GOP even represents.  

The GOP has been post-policy for about fifteen years now, so I don't think anyone really knows what Republicans stand for. You can rely on them to cut taxes when they can, and to fuck around with the Affordable Care act, but otherwise it just seems to be grievance politics. It's sad that, about half the time, grievance politics win the day. 

[Kalbear]

The biggest policy the GOP is for - and one that is very popular - is immigration restriction. This is almost always considered the top non-economy issue, and sometimes is viewed as more important than the economy. Ignoring that the gop is answering something people are asking for is a very good way to lose future elections. 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

7 hours ago, Kalbear said:

The biggest policy the GOP is for - and one that is very popular - is immigration restriction. This is almost always considered the top non-economy issue, and sometimes is viewed as more important than the economy. Ignoring that the gop is answering something people are asking for is a very good way to lose future elections. 

The GOP is going after “other”.  While making themselves “other” to the rest of the nation via their xenophobic politics.

[Phylum of Alexandria]

12 hours ago, Larry of the Lawn said:

I wonder about this all the time.  Like, I get that there are people who can't stomach any Dem, so will vote GOP.  But is there any principle they are actually voting for?  I'm not talking about Trump people, but the "rank and file" GOP voter.  Punitive abortion laws?  Because beyond that I'm not really sure what conservative principles the current GOP even represents.  

It's hard to answer given how distorted right wing media can be. 

Still, as I've said before, the best propaganda usually has some nuggets of truth to them. I think it's worth it to look for and address real concerns that are embedded in the nonsense and the inflammatory rhetoric.

The border is a great example. I don't mean work with people who are literally trying to turn it into a war zone, and Republicans in Congress are currently showing that working with Dems on the issue would be against their own political interests. Still, there are good faith concerns about enforcing immigration, for instance the asylum system that's being abused beyond its original design.

I think there are sometimes root causes that, if addressed, can sap the power of GOP propaganda narratives. At least for people not completely in the cult. As for the latter group, their main principles at this point are party loyalty and fealty to the leader.

 

Edited January 22 by Phylum of Alexandria

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

This is how you make a cutting attack ad:
 

 

[Phylum of Alexandria]

If anyone knows some "undecideds," or people thinking they might sit out, or maybe reluctant Trump voters, this might be a good report to share in order to clearly outline the stated and planned agenda for 2025:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/659f18e58ecd8b48c167275a/t/65a845a81c397a74fc70942f/1705526706337/Authoritarian+Playbook+for+2025.pdf