A Rolling Stone article (by Asawin Suebsaeng).
As he prepares to announce his own 2024 run, Trump has been soliciting dirt on DeSantis and other potential primary rivals.... Trump has also spread gossip about DeSantis, including unverified allegations about his private life. Rolling Stone is declining to repeat what Trump has said. This type of gossip accumulation and dissemination is a common habit of Trump’s....
Before the election results came in on Tuesday, Trump threatened to release information about the governor. “I will tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal... “I know more about him than anybody other than perhaps his wife, who is really running his campaign.”...
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170 comments:
Trump was the right man at the right time. This is no longer the right time. He is now an albatross who can only sink the party and with it the country.
I'm reminded of the scene in Man on the Moon (I tried to find the quote, but came up empty) where Andy Kaufman is being told SNL won't let him back on because the fans voted him off the show. He immediately contrives to put it into a skit where he goes on SNL and challenges the fans' reaction. There's some back and forth and the producers finally have to say it straight out, "You don't get it. They don't want you back .That's it, you're not going back."
It's always been an open question with Trump (as with Kaufman)--how much is real and how much is calculation? Hopefully he settles down and adopts a role more appropriate for where his political career is right now--kingmaker, rally guest, golfer. But we have to wonder what he will put the Republican Party through before he accepts his fate.
This is fucking despicable. Trump is a fucking low life. I've had it with his shit.
Who wrote that article? Party now Democrats, because crime and the economy are still the top two issues in America, and you now own them. I don’t notice you pointing to solutions, because you spent the campaign pretending they are not a concern once you make abortion at all times legal.
You know this "Rolling Stone article (by Asawin Suebsaeng)" is intended to stir-up GOP internecine warfare before the Democrats employ the very same "despicable" tactics to "ratfuck" Desantis.
I backed Carly Fiorina in the Iowa caucuses. I met her a number of times. I thought she was very smart, hardworking and pretty.
And then Trump said in a debate, "Look at that face." That was uncalled for.
But I voted for Trump because he won the nomination and I'd never vote for Crooked Hillary. Trump turned out to be a very good President despite his bad personality and poor judgment. But now we have a better alternative. No need to stick with Trump.
Oh...so now we're going to believe a Rolling Stone article on things Donald Trump has said? So bad they can't be repeated?
Have we forgotten about the "Rape on Campus" fake news for which they paid out a $1.6 Million dollar settlement to Phi Kappa Psi at the University of Virginia?
Looks like the J6 committee was VERY effective.
It's too bad he doesn't have anyone who can tell him to stop. It's been too bad, since election day 2020. Stop.
Après moi, le déluge.
Trump's actions here will alienate him. Trump is losing supporters by the second.
lesson #1 in politics - you don't crap on your own team - or your own team's future.
Trump's actions here will alienate him. Trump is losing supporters by the second.
lesson #1 in politics - you don't crap on your own team - or your own team's future.
Rolling Stone has been lying and making shit up about Trump for 6 years. Unless they have a source I don't believe it.'
But if y'all want to live in fantasy land - go at it.
Rolling Stone has been lying and making shit up about Trump for 6 years. Unless they have a source I don't believe it.'
But if y'all want to live in fantasy land - go at it.
Rolling stone is not a legitimate news source.
Note to self: Ignore Dave Begley from now on. either a liberal democrat or an idiot.
He tried to blackmail DeSantis. Unbelievable.
Dave Begley: "This is fucking despicable. Trump is a fucking low life. I've had it with his shit."
Oppo research on candidates is standard practice everywhere and has been forever. Gee, I wonder if the dems are doing it too on DeSantis? Probably not, they are rather dainty about that stuff, n'est ce pas? I wonder if the democraticals will come up with a portfolio, lets call it a dossier, on DeSantis? Nah. That would never happen.
Recall the entirety of the GOPe supported and worked with the democraticals for 6+ years in smearing Trump and all of the GOPe helped to impeach Trump over those 6+ years, though most of them knew in the end they couldn't vote for such BS charges....but they wanted to. Oh how they wanted to.
But now the handpicked candidate of the GOPe (whether you believe DeSantis has the strength to withstand their pressure and truly enact solid policies that benefit the American people instead of just Wall Street et al) is having oppo research conducted on him....by his potential opponents and suddenly, that's completely out of bounds?
Since when?
And if what has been "dug up" on DeSantis is crap or BS or whatever, that will quickly be seen through and will have no lasting negative effects on DeSantis. It would strengthen him actually. Particularly if whatever it is comes out sooner rather than later and gives him time to recover. Takes away any potential Oct Surprise on that issue later on, if it exists.
Remember, DeSantis was, still is actually, a Navy dude, so.....
Better yet for DeSantis fans is if Trump pushes something provably false or seen as over the top, and when has Trump not been over the top, it would allow DeSantis to stand up bravely, taking the slings and arrows with courage for his family and it would just be another "nail in the political coffin" for Trump, wouldn't it?
So I say, do your worst and lets have it out right now ("right now" = after the runoff). The sooner the better.
But that's just me.
It's Rolling Stone. Of course they're going to play up the conflict and make Trump look bad. And the NY Post, while conservative, has mostly been anti-Trump.
Let's see what actually happens. If Trump pulls that crap it will hurt him, but competitive run for the nomination, even with some mud-slinging, is never as big a problem as the media likes to make it out to be.
Dave Begley - I concur.
Dave Begley - I concur.
First of all, its coming from "Rolling Stone". So I have to take this with a grain of salt.
On the other hand, it's Trump and it fits his character, so it's very believable that he's gathering info on his most serious competitor- at this time (things can change).
Still, wouldn't it be smart to gather information about your competitors now, if you know you're planning to run? I am sure Trump has been at it with DeSantis for some time. Just in case.
All that said, that Trump would insinuate the lowest attacks, and be ready and almost anxious to put them out there is believable. And THAT is what I can no longer tolerate. This can be done without the gutter approach. I know politics are down and dirty and that the Democrats regularly work the lowest forms of it, but that doesn't mean I want my person to be the leading mud-slinger. How do you stand upright when you've been grappling around in the muck with pigs for months? How do you look like a leader when your hands are crusted with shit?
Trump has been attacked and betrayed by republicans for 6 years.
McConnell and the GOPe have sabotaged numerous candidates in 2022 and now blame trump for their betrayal.
Now all those republicans are backing Desantis. So is all the corporate money. And they are attacking Trump. But Trump can’t fire back.
The Desantis supporters are just hypocrites.
It is also classic how Rolling Stone is being used by the regime to support Desantis and supposedly Intelligent people accept it at face value.
Dave Begley said...
This is fucking despicable. Trump is a fucking low life. I've had it with his shit.
I am sick of your stupidity.
The gop machine sabotaged the midterm candidates they didn’t like, is blaming trump for their betrayals, and trying to replace him in a campaign coordinated with regime organs like Rolling Stone.
Trump isn’t the problem here.
People who support Mitch McConnell are the problem.
It’s in Rolling Stone, so my immediate response is to ask whether it’s even true. If it (accidentally?) does turn out to be true then Trump will have no place in the future of the GOP at all. Oh, wait!
If Trump does destroy both his and DeSantis’s careers then the Republicans in 2024 will need to look to another governor (please, God, not a senator unless it’s Rand Paul). President Youngkin, anyone? Then Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears moves up — would she be the first black woman to govern a state? And not just “a” state, but the leading state of the Old Confederacy.
Rather too agitated. I didn't get all that from what Trump said. It was stupid, it was silly, but Trump is more likely to be the ratfuckee than the ratfucker in politics.
Still, I'm glad that young Asawin is assimilating so well to our American ways. He has a bright future in the dark arts of journalism.
Wikipedia's article about Ratfucking.
"Rolling Stone" is certainly a reliable source on GOP politics. ;)
Trump did many good things but fucked up monumentally on many others.
Politics (like job performance in general) is 'what have you done for me lately?'
Trump had his moment in the sun, but now that he is underperforming, it's time to put him out onto the ice floe...
Same old schtick.
I remember when he issued that threat against the parents of the Ricketts family in 2016. And didn't he claim that Ted Cruz's dad killed JFK or some such thing?
I voted for him twice. I gave him more money than I've ever given a politician (not a ton, but a lot for me).
And I've had it with him. Go away.
Rolling Stone of quotes that don't quote in forever infamy. As for Trump, there are other people who will follow principle come DOJ, day, night, or The Twilight Fringe.
Rolling Stone is declining to repeat what Trump has said. This type of gossip accumulation and dissemination is a common habit of Trump’s
Whenever I think about principled refusals to disseminate gossip, the first example that always comes to my mind is Rolling Stone magazine.
Following the Democrat impeachment model of public, private, and individual people... persons? Nooo... ooo... nooo. No.
tim maguire: "But we have to wonder what he will put the Republican Party through before he accepts his fate."
Do you think he might spend millions attacking republicans like McConnell and McCarthy happily did?
Because gee, that would be terrible wouldn't it? And where are McConnell and McCarthy right now? Oh, right. Safely and securely in positions of leadership and in charge of the "republican" effort.
Hmmmmmmmmmm
The number of Republicans that Trump ruined the careers of is something that Democrats could only dream of. Good Donnie!
I have a prediction for 2024.
1)DeSantis runs in the primary and narrowly defeats Trump.
2)Trump creates the Orange Man Party, and runs as a 3rd party candidate.
3) Dems can't believe their luck and run Gonk Fetterman.
Say hello to President Fetterman.
tim maguire said...But we have to wonder what he [Trump] will put the Republican Party through before he accepts his fate.
I'm more concerned with what Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are going to put the Republican Party through. They helped sabotage and pull money from GOP candidates that won primaries supported by MAGA voters. Those weren't "the right kind of Republicans". They did it to Kari Lake and Masters in AZ.
Are we all in the mood now to join the National Review, Bill Kristol, Charlie Sykes, Paul Ryan, and Mitch McConnell wing of the GOP? We might as well start taking "conservative" Jennifer Rubin seriously. We're gonna go back to being Neocons who start fake wars? Suck the life out of the middle and working class to give $$$$ to NATO?
Punish and vilify the MAGA base, and the GOP is done for a long, long time.
Don't worry, Dave Begley, his sycophants will be along soon to explain how 1. It's DeSantis' fault 2. It's McConnell's fault 3. It's YOUR fault.
My supposition is that this is all show, so that Trump can, ultimately, portray DeSantis as a fighter for all the people. Makes me throw up a little in my mouth. DeSantis is precisely what we don't need. he is a bigger(if you can believe it) bully than Trump ever was. He used "woke" 21 times in his acceptance speech. The Bogeyman of the right, wokeness. Bull. Attack away, you right wing trolls.
Vicki From Pasadena
Whenever Trump goes after him with garbage personal attacks, DeSantis should respond the way Reagan did to Carter: "There you go again."
I think Trump was a necessity to wake up (not go woke) the right and teach them not to be pushovers. It really, IMO, helped right the ship. So he was good for both the Trump brand at first and the country.
Now it appears all he focuses on his own aggrandizement even to the detriment of the US.
The real outcome of 2022 on 2024: Trump isn't the nominee, but Biden is.
And ironically we'd have Trump to thank for it.
"Trump was the right man at the right time. This is no longer the right time."
Or--hear me out--maybe he was always the wrong man and Trumpers (like their hero) cannot admit they were wrong.
"a role more appropriate for where his political career is right now"
He's a fundraiser. A donation-garnerer. But he's also a fund-hoarder. Maybe even a fund-waster.
D.D. Driver said...Or--hear me out--maybe he was always the wrong man
He actually won election the first time and was a fine president. So we can safely dismiss that theory without further ado.
BREAKING NEWS! In 2020 Trump got 1.1 million more votes in Florida than DeSantis got in 2022: 5.7 million to 4.6 million.
Rolling Stone has been lying and making shit up about Trump for 6 years. Unless they have a source I don't believe it.
Oh fer fuck's sake. Trump's dopey comments were reported by the Federalist's Mollie Hemmingway and by the Wall Street Journal. You can verify that with seven seconds of searching. Why play dumb?
Big Mike: "If Trump does destroy both his and DeSantis’s careers then the Republicans in 2024 will need to look to another governor (please, God, not a senator unless it’s Rand Paul)."
What could Trump possibly "know" that would destroy DeSantis' career? Why is everyone freaking out? I mean, there can't possibly be anything there, can there?
And if there is something that could truly destroy DeSantis' career out there, don't you think the New Soviet Democraticals would find it too? In which case wouldn't it be better to find out up front?
I am trying to understand what the official position of Dave Begley and the Althouse Blog Commissar (self-appointed) actually is:
- Is it that there is something out there that could destroy DeSantis and Trump knows it and should keep his mouth shut.....even though the dems will find it too?
or
- There isn't anything there and Trump is just making trouble? Which would be fantastic for DeSantis by the way. Can you imagine, having Trump attack you improperly/illegitimately and then surviving it to become the salvation of the republican party?
I mean, that's a movie script and dream come true for DeSantis....assuming nothing is there.
Which makes me wonder how it is that all those forces that opposed pretty much everything Trump was trying to do from 2017-2021 are so strongly backing DeSantis, and with such seeming confidence. Almost like they have something they can hold over DeSantis.
Makes me go hmmmmmmmmmm.
Drago and Gusty, it's not an either or question. You can recognize that the Paul Ryan/Mitch McConnell wing will not bring effective winning leadership and recognize that Trump has become a net negative. Worse, Trump is a loose cannon who can and just might destroy everything on his way out the door.
Whatever else you are looking for in a party leader, he must first and foremost be a party man. Trump has a decision to make.
D.D. Driver: "Or--hear me out--maybe he was always the wrong man and Trumpers (like their hero) cannot admit they were wrong."
Interesting theory. Who was the "right man" in 2016? Beto?
Not that it matters of course.
Real American: "Whenever Trump goes after him with garbage personal attacks, DeSantis should respond the way Reagan did to Carter: "There you go again.""
I don't think you guys are getting this.
If the supposed potential attacks are "garbage", then DeSantis should almost be paying Trump to attack him in that way! It's a gift!
Assuming the attacks are "garbage" of course.
I mean, have you seen DeSantis and his family? That's a Hallmark All-American Baseball Card with Extra Bubblegum! Winner winner chicken dinner!
To have Snidely Whiplash Trump seen as tying Ron's amazing wife to the railroad tracks would be fantastic politics for Ron.
Lilly, a dog: "I have a prediction for 2024.
1)DeSantis runs in the primary and narrowly defeats Trump.
2)Trump creates the Orange Man Party, and runs as a 3rd party candidate.
3) Dems can't believe their luck and run Gonk Fetterman."
So, the McConnell/Murkowski strategy, right?
Gusty Winds said...
tim maguire said...But we have to wonder what he [Trump] will put the Republican Party through before he accepts his fate.
I'm more concerned with what Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are going to put the Republican Party through. They helped sabotage and pull money from GOP candidates that won primaries supported by MAGA voters. Those weren't "the right kind of Republicans". They did it to Kari Lake and Masters in AZ.
Are we all in the mood now to join the National Review, Bill Kristol, Charlie Sykes, Paul Ryan, and Mitch McConnell wing of the GOP? We might as well start taking "conservative" Jennifer Rubin seriously. We're gonna go back to being Neocons who start fake wars? Suck the life out of the middle and working class to give $$$$ to NATO?
Punish and vilify the MAGA base, and the GOP is done for a long, long time.
11/10/22, 10:08 AM
100% THIS^^^^^
Narayanan - Midterm elections never "garner" (sorry) voter turnout like presidential years. You know this.
Biden did lose Florida in 2020 - but only by about 3.3%
Trump: 5.6+ mil
Biden: 5.3 mil
Trump: 51.2% to Biden: 47.9%
A solid win - but much closer percentage wise than the off-year mid-term gov race. Where DeSantis beat Crist by almost 20%.
Narayanan - Midterm elections never "garner" (sorry) voter turnout like presidential years. You know this.
Biden did lose Florida in 2020 - but only by about 3.3%
Trump: 5.6+ mil
Biden: 5.3 mil
Trump: 51.2% to Biden: 47.9%
A solid win - but much closer percentage wise than the off-year mid-term gov race. Where DeSantis beat Crist by almost 20%.
Trump crapped all over the future. Trump is old and even if he were to run in 2024 - he will probably lose.
If Ever-Trumpers want to go away mad - fine. Go Start the Trump Party. Hopefully your guy can live forever.
McConnell and Trump have the same objective. LOSE! They just do it differently.
I am sure that the Rolling Stone will be willing to use the allegedly slanderous comment against DeSantis if he is the GOP nominee in 2024.
Tim Maguire - You're speaking like an adult. That dose not compute with the Ever-Trumpers.
Fortunately, we don't have to trust the Rolling Stone, because it was on Fox two days ago.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-senate-republican-leadership-change-warns-potential-2024-gop-candidates-against-running
Rolling Stone: Donald Trump wants to spread rumors and lies that Ron DeSantis likes to sleep with young prostitutes.
People abandoning Trump: Oh my GOD! This is awful! I'm sick of Donald Trump! Go away!! We LOVE Ron DeSantis!
A week later....
NBC News...: Fact checkers and experts say there may be some truth to the allegations that Ron DeSantis likes to sleep with young prostitutes.
One more week later:
NBC News: We're going live to a press conference where Gloria Allred is representing a former prostitute who claims she slept with Ron DeSantis when she was 16.
The next week...
MSNBC: Tonight our guests are Adam Schiff and John Brennan who both claim they have indisputable evidence that Ron DeSantis likes to sleep with young Russian prostitutes.
A month later...
Democrat Controlled US Senate Hearing broadcast live on MSNBC "Miss Romanov. We thank you for your bravery in coming forward to testify as to the nature of the sexual desires of Governor Ron DeSantis and his abuse of young women. Ms. Allred we appreciate you helping Miss Romanov. Now tell me Miss Romanov...in your written statement to the committee you say Governor DeSantis likes gimp masks and ball gags while wearing Nazi armbands...can you please elaborate on that activity"
Did we forget how it works? Or have we all conveniently lost our memories for how corrupt and evil the liberal media is, along with our establishment leaders in both parties?
Prole: "why play dumb"
eh - I don't think they are playing. Ever-Trumper stupidity is real. & the lash out will be fierce.
Blame, bomb, twist, but MCConnell and Ryan, whine. rinse. repeat.
I do think Trump is finished as a Republican candidate- on Tuesday night, Ron DeSantis was the only Republican winner that matters nationally. Results matter, and in the most important races, most of Trump's endorsed candidates failed- there is no sugercoating this result, even if I do agree that it wouldn't have mattered who the Republicans ran in Pennsylvania. I do have to remind people that Republicans lost Senate races in 2018 and 2020 where the GOP establishment got exactly the candidates it wanted- both of the Georgia races in 2020 that were lost were lost by mainstream GOP elite candidates, and both were incumbents- neither could get over 50% of the vote in the first round, nor the second round- that isn't on Trump's head- it was a credit to the Democrats who were willing to do what was necessary to win the races (and they did was necessary this year, too).
Drago is correct, though- DeSantis should be paying Trump to attack him. This only makes DeSantis stronger in my opinion. I think DeSantis is likely to defeat Trump in the primaries if he runs. I, for one, like DeSantis a lot, and think he would be a formidable candidate to run against, and I would be perfectly happy to have him as President. My main worry, though, is that a Republican can't win a national race any longer, no matter how strong they are. Mass mail-in voting has changed things even more than the demographic trends themselves have moved states that used to go to Republicans into states that are reliably Democratic even in bad times. In other words, it isn't going to matter who the candidate is in 2024- they are going to lose given the GOP's spinelessness and refusal to fight back as a party.
Trump pointed out this fact yesterday:
Florida 2020:
Trump/Pence: 5,668,731 Votes
Florida 2022
Ron DeSantis: 4,609,110 Votes
That's a million votes. And you expect Trump him to ride off into the sunset now???
After Tuesday, I realize that the country really is fucked, and that only tenable path forward to a better future, a future I am unlikely to live to see, is probably through the Hellfire of a progressive socialist state. I think it might be better in the long run if the Democrats hold the Senate and the House this round. Let them take the full blame for the disaster that Biden is building with every executive order.
tim maguire: "Drago and Gusty, it's not an either or question. You can recognize that the Paul Ryan/Mitch McConnell wing will not bring effective winning leadership and recognize that Trump has become a net negative. Worse, Trump is a loose cannon who can and just might destroy everything on his way out the door."
It most certainly is an either/or.
And guess what? McConnell and McCarthy and the Ryans and the Luntz's are still completely and fully running the show and there is zero sign they won't be going forward. Either them or their handpicked lackeys that will follow them.
We just watched an election where ALL the Trump-endorsed candidates, not all stellar but many of whom could win and excite the base, were sabotaged by the party leaders, openly, brazenly. And those that performed that sabotage are right now being rewarded.
As we speak the GOPe is saying nada about what is happening in Nevada and AZ where the democraticals are going to trickle out "new votes" over days and weeks and try to steal those seats. Including AZ where Ducey is happy to let them. Not to mention its beginning to look like the dems might just be able to "find" enough votes to keep us out of the House majority.....maybe.
The GOPe-ers election plan worked to perfection. They put forth no agenda items to help the working class and drove them away, put together ZERO national messaging strategy, sabotaged their own non-preferred candidates, shipped out narratives that undermined GOP candidates (Graham announces desire to pass a Fed law to outlaw abortion after 15 weeks?!; McConnell announcing the First Order of Business after election would be....Ukraine funding?!), etc.
Come on. Do you really think all that was an accident? Really?
Not to worry though! Happy days are ahead. Trump will soon be indicted by a corrupt DOJ....with FULL GOPe support. I guess that will be necessary to send a message to everyone who won't play ball with the establishment.
That's what all the pre-programmed "Emmanuel Goldstein-ing" is all about.
But I think you might be surprised by what the grassroots does next in terms of supporting republicans..........
.....hint: Check out the Tories in Britain and what the next election there portends. Btw, Brexit is never going to get done....like building the wall or repealing obamacare or reforming the national security state or refocusing our military strategy to engage the ChiComs or reshoring jobs or really securing the border....etc etc etc
It's okay. You'll always have Trump to blame for that while McConnell and McCarthy cash in.
Althouse Blog Commissar (self-appointed): "Prole: "why play dumb"
eh - I don't think they are playing. Ever-Trumper stupidity is real."
HBTPFH has demonstrated conclusively he is the least informed republican/conservative commenter on political matters at Althouse blog.
And nothing is going to change that because if there were something that would change it, it would have already occurred.
Come back Jen Rubin and Bill kristol all is forgiven.
Lets run Romney-Ryan in 2024.
Its the way to victory!
I believe this is a misuse of the term "ratfuck," which originated at USC with Donald Segretti, et al., and was that political operative's preferred method of secret sabotage against political opponents of Nixon. The Wikipedia article on the term completely omits that a primary tactic of ratfucking, a necesity for it to work, is that it is done surreptitiously, not openly.
Hillary Clinton's campaign performed ratfucking with their Russian Dossier against Trump, and her campaign was only discovered to be the originator of the document - via cutouts - after long investigation. I don't know if she has even been asked under oath about her role in it all. She still does not receive the credit she deserves for the greatest ratfucking lies ever, lasting years and still believed by most Democrats.
Trump insinuating he has dirt on DeSantis is mere noise, battlespace preparation, chaff dispersed to cause consternation among supporters of DeSantis and salivation or siezures among the press. It is no more ratfucking than openly stating one's opponent has bad policy, dresses funny, or has bad breath.
Words mean things. Segretti went to prison for his secretive ratfucking efforts. Trump's words are not ratfucking in any sense of the word other than as "a waaaay lower bar for ratfucking."
In 2000 Segretti served as co-chair of John McCain's campaign in Orange County. God help the country.
Althouse Blog Commissar (self-appointed): "Trump crapped all over the future. Trump is old and even if he were to run in 2024 - he will probably lose.
If Ever-Trumpers want to go away mad - fine."
If Trump is completely over, his "crapping all over" something makes not a whit of difference. If Trump is old and toothless then let him rant by the shores of Mar A Lago and ignore him.
But every day is another exercise in trying to explain why it is that Trump is the big problem for republicans now, the biggest republican problem from the past and the biggest problem for the future.
Every single day. On every single issue. Paul Ryan and Mitch and Mike et al must be doing hourly high fives.
And those of us who wish to call out your beloved GOPe "gods" and try to hold them accountable to some degree aren't going anywhere.
Toughen up and get used to it tiger.
If its one thing Republicans need to do, is listen to the MSM and Mitch McConnell. They've NEVER steered us wrong. If only we'd ignored Trump and nominated Kascich or Yeb! this never would've happened. Sad.
If only we'd listened to Mitch in Oct 2016 and let Hillary win. If we'd done so, those pesky social issues would be off the table since Hillary would've put 3 Liberals - including Moderate Garland - on the SCOTUS. Meanwhile, Yeb! would've won in 2020 on a plaform of tax cuts for the rich, climate change, open borders, and support for wars in the middle east.
Its not too late Republicans! We can still have Yeb in 2024, he's tanned, fit, and ready to rumble.
Red wave or not, the best news of 2022 is Abrams and Beto are dead and buried, and both burned tens of millions of D dollars on the way to the grave...
'That's a million votes. And you expect Trump him to ride off into the sunset now???'
Presidential elections are not midterms.
One thing is not like the other...
DeSantis understands what power means. He barely won four years ago, yet governed as if he had been elected unanimously. He picks his fights carefully and has an extreme amount of personal and organizational discipline. He actively supports others on the down-ticket Republican "team," down to the local school board level.
As a consequence, he won yesterday the single most lopsided Republican victory in the State of Florida since Reconstruction.
I have very little doubt that a Republican presidential campaign run by DeSantis and his team would have a strategy to beat the Democrat campaign in every winnable state, up to and including using mail-in ballots, ballot harvesting, and early voting exactly as the Dems use them.
He isn't going to sit on the sidelines and cry about how unfair it all is that the Dems are such meanies and cheaters. Nothing he has done in office the last four years, including his few missteps, has shown anything other than a relentless, disciplined man with an eagerness to use all available power to move his agenda forward.
It's about damned time the Right in this country had such a leader. Trump opened the door, but DeSantis is going to walk through that door.
Blogger Hunter Biden's tax payer funded Hooker said...I don't think they are playing. Ever-Trumper stupidity is real. & the lash out will be fierce.
ALL of us Republicans followed and supported the Bush family for President from 1988 to 2008. 30 years. They gave us a FAKE war, with FAKE WMD's...and when Bush 43 was leaving in 2008 help looked like a deer in headlights as the economy CRASHED. 30 years.
The remanence of that mistake is still alive and well in the GOPe. Trump has been around for 6 years. Changed the game.
I think Ron DeSantis is a rock star. I love the guy. I'm not saying I wouldn't vote for him if he gets the nomination.
But abandoning Trump at this time lets the J6 committee win. It lets for former Twitter censors win. It lets the Bush family win. It lets the Lincoln Project win. And Jim Acosta, and Bill Kristol, and the douchebags at the National Review, etc...
Let it play out. Maybe these two dudes team up? Trump endorsed DeSantis. Came out of the polling place and told the world he voted for DeSantis.
And now we're supposed to freak out because Rolling Stone told us to? And because Paul Ryan says it's "time to move on"? Nope.
Yancey: "Results matter, and in the most important races, most of Trump's endorsed candidates failed"
But, but 2016! And McConnell! And the Bulwark!
But Trump or no Trump is mostly beside the point now. It'll be hard to unlock the Dem lock on the presidential vote no matter what.
Dave Begley,
Fiorina's track record at HP didn't give you pause?
The last thing -- ok, make that one of several last things -- we need on the "right" is our own version of Failing Upward.
Gusty Winds: "That's a million votes. And you expect Trump him to ride off into the sunset now???"
It's not possible for Trump to ride off into the sunset anyway.
The GOPe/Biden admin are going to go Full Stasi and indict Trump and send him to prison, destroy his businesses and likely continue to go after his children as well. Biden/McConnell and crew are going to make it quite clear that no one challenges the establishment and "gets away with it" anymore.
But yeah, Trump should just meekly go into that goodnight.....uh huh.
Attacking one prospective candidate at the cost of another is precisely the strategy to guarantee division. Everyone should know by now to ignore what Trump is 'quoted as saying', and watch what he actually does.
Some of you all are so many chumps to believe anything that you read, anything coming out of the media mouthpieces. As if 6 years of relentlessly-negative press coverage wasn't enough to school you about the treachery of the press and its absolutely ruthless commitment to consistency of negative messaging. If it wasn't enough, then nothing ever will be. They have you beat 2 years before the next election. Use your heads, instead.
Gusty Winds posted:
Trump pointed out this fact yesterday:
Florida 2020: Trump/Pence: 5,668,731 Votes
Florida 2022: Ron DeSantis: 4,609,110 Votes
That's a million votes. And you expect Trump him to ride off into the sunset now???
----------
But 2020 was a presidential election. 2022 was a midterm election.
As someone who works as a poll watcher every election, I have personal knowledge that the turnout in presidential election years is far, far greater than during midterms. That would account for the difference.
It warms my cynical heart to see powerful pols slander and make insinuations against one another--so it's a little disappointing that DeSantis hasn't yet shat back . . .
Trump is trying to provoke him, or to scare him off the way the DS tried to scare Trump in '16.
OR, they have an understanding already.
After Tuesday, I realize that the country really is fucked, and that only tenable path forward
Viable path... now we are truly fucked, judged, labeled, aborted, cannibalized, and sequestered in darkness.
h/t underage girls... girls of all ages shared with "benefits", in the closet ("privacy"), and the "burden" of evidence aborted, perhaps cannibalized, then sequestered.
demos-cracy is aborted at The Twilight Fringe. h/t WaPooo
I am also really tired of Donald Trump.
Thank you for defeating Hillary and becoming a good POTUS. But, you lost to a fucking senile moron in Joe Biden and you helped to lose the Senate in 2020. It was mostly because you have a big mouth with no filters.
I do not think Trump's ego and narcissism are any worse than most politicians. However, he displays it so proudly that he annoys moderate voters who might otherwise vote for conservatives.
Reagan won 49/50 states in 1980 because he knew how to soothe people's concerns, not inflame them like Trump. Reagan was also a team player because he knew that he needed a team to help him across the finish line. Trump is proving to be anything but a team player.
I am done with his childish bullshit.
Although I voted for him twice because of the alternatives, I have come to detest Trump. Just the lowest form of lowlife, an angry, stupid fake, whose only superpower is his narcissism. My greatest hope is that his shitty diet takes its inevitable toll before we get to 2024.
tim maguire said...
Drago and Gusty, it's not an either or question. You can recognize that the Paul Ryan/Mitch McConnell wing will not bring effective winning leadership and recognize that Trump has become a net negative. Worse, Trump is a loose cannon who can and just might destroy everything on his way out the door.
Whatever else you are looking for in a party leader, he must first and foremost be a party man. Trump has a decision to make.
The problem here is the people who are attacking Trump. They are attacking a Republican too.
I know that is tough for you people to understand but it is right there. This is the Romney wing that started this crap.
I will not support a party that has Mitch McConnell in it from this point on. He is a traitor that backstabbed his party and his voters. I will not support a party that has people like Raffensburger, Vos, Doucey et al that helped democrats rig the elections.
Now people are getting the vapors that Trump is going to return fire on the people that are attacking him through Rolling Stone, NYT's and WAPO?
Republican Romney voters that supported Mitt Romney spending millions of dollars trashing Newt Gingrich in 2012 are the same people attacking Trump now.
You are all hypocrites and ingrates.
You deserve to be a minority party and that is all you ever will be unless you pull your heads out of your asses.
Trump swinging at everything was fine and dandy when he was ahead. Now he’s behind and it’s not a winning combination.
I which he’d do his typical flip flop, when we have some decent people win, even though not endorsed (sic) by Trump, he’d get behind them. People can get behind trump when his winning is our winning. Now, we have parted ways and trump still wants his winning his way.
Gusty Winds said...
Trump pointed out this fact yesterday:
Florida 2020:
Trump/Pence: 5,668,731 Votes
Florida 2022
Ron DeSantis: 4,609,110 Votes
That's a million votes. And you expect Trump him to ride off into the sunset now???
11/10/22, 11:19 AM
I understand (and may be wrong) that mid-term voting is notably lower than the presidential election year. In addition, 2020 saw massive turnout - you could say, unprecedented. What others think he should do is not necessarily just ‘go away’ but his message isn’t helping.
In addition, I think the Democrat message that all republicans are evil, has fared well, to the point that the non-political voter will not vote Republican, but does not know why.
Erick Erickson wrote today on his Substack: "McConnell, at the end of the day, spent close to $400 million to get the Senate and will have to raise and spend more now for Georgia. Trump spent $15 million and no, Trump’s rallies do not amount to much, particularly when he spends the time attacking other Republicans." McConnell's spending rescued JD Vance's candidacy. I guess if he had unlimited funds, maybe he could have also saved Masters' or Bolducs' campaigns, but he had to choose and he chose the candidate with the best chance. McConnell's observation a few months ago that candidate quality was pretty important in Senate races has been proven true in spades.
What could Trump possibly "know" that would destroy DeSantis' career? Why is everyone freaking out? I mean, there can't possibly be anything there, can there?
And if there is something that could truly destroy DeSantis' career out there, don't you think the New Soviet Democraticals would find it too? In which case wouldn't it be better to find out up front?
@Drago, I agree almost completely. The only difference between you and I is that oppo researchers might make something up (like the pissing Russian hookers in the fake dossier). I was trying to play with Dumbocrat minds that the first black female governor might be a Republican. BTW, I love Winnie Sears and her AR.
If something does come up I recommend DeSantis channel Horacio Nelson: “Publish and be damned!”
Trump has also spread gossip about DeSantis, including unverified allegations about his private life. Rolling Stone is declining to repeat what Trump has said.
What's fascinating about this is that Rolling Stone is protecting DeSantis from Trump.
(Or at least alleging they are).
Never in a million years would I predict that anybody in the MSM would protect a Republican from a scurrilous charge. That's new, right? Normally Rolling Stone would be all, "he's a Nazi" and "worse than Trump."
What this article is trying to do is send Trump down (duh), and simultaneously send DeSantis up (shocking!)
Think about this dynamic for a second. Which primary is of critical importance? The Republican primary. Which Republican does the media hate the most? Trump. Who will they attack all the time, 24/7? Trump.
DeSantis looks better and better and better. They can't say shit about him.
What are they going to say? "We'll impeach him, too!"
The longer Trump stays in the race, the more favors he does the Republican party and DeSantis.
Meanwhile, Old Man Joe will be eating ice cream and shaking hands with invisible people.
Cheer up, Republicans! 2024 is looking sweet.
Trump fans should remind themselves that DeSantis sent illegal immigrants on planes to Martha's Vineyard, and kept the state open during COVID-19.
He's Republican Enough For Me
And if we're really lucky, a whole swarm of new voters will abandon Joe Biden and vote for DeSantis. I insist -- and it's fookin' obvious -- that the 2020 vote and 2022 vote was an anti-Trump vote, and nothing more than that. You can't tell me that people adore Joe Biden.
At this point, I think that conservatives who want to stick with Trump are making the classic mistake of fighting the last war. I voted for Trump twice, and would still vote for him again over anyone the dems put up, but I don't think he can ever win again. There are simply far too many people who will never vote for him, and who in fact despise him so much they will vote for literally anyone or anything to keep him from winning. (See Fetterman, for example.)
To support Trump at this point is to make the same mistake the Dems made with Hillary in 2016: Thy thought that she deserved to be the nominee and the president because she had somehow been cheated out of it by the right, sexism, Obama, or whatever. So 2016 was going to be her vindication. But it didn't work out that way because, fairly or unfairly (I say fairly), most Americans really and truly could not stand her and were never going to vote for her. Keep in mind that, in 2016, Trump wasn't all that formidable as a GOP candidate because conservatives had little or no reason in 2016 to believe that he would actually govern as a conservative. But Hillary was so reviled by so many that even the 2016 version of Trump was able to beat her in an electoral landslide.
Trump did a lot of good for the GOP and the country because of the policies he pursued and stuck with, and by demonstrating just how fake and corrupt the media and the D.C. establishment had become. His ascendancy and success were deeply destabilizing to the elites, and that impact will not soon be forgotten.
But he made two big mistakes as far as I'm concerned: First, he unnecessarily alienated a lot of people by being crass and belligerent. There were simply way too many cringeworthy moments, and they added up. "Shithole countries" comes to mind, just as one example among many. His core supporters enjoyed that kind of reckless rhetoric, but obviously it was a huge turnoff for many. And it fed into the narrative that he was racist, etc. I wish he had better impulse control in that respect.
The second thing big mistake was caving to Fauci et al on the lockdowns.
Blogger tim maguire said...
D.D. Driver said...Or--hear me out--maybe he was always the wrong man
He actually won election the first time and was a fine president. So we can safely dismiss that theory without further ado.
Didley Driver is a lefty troll. He/she can be safely ignored.
The irony of all this sudden Trump hate is that it is based on a comment ("DeSanctimony") on an awful TV ad by the DeSantis people. It was cringeworthy and I hope not to see anything like it in 2024. I agree that Trump is finished after his attempt at king making flopped. I still have hopes for Kari Lake in AZ but Oz was miscast.
Yancey Ward said...
After Tuesday, I realize that the country really is fucked, and that only tenable path forward to a better future, a future I am unlikely to live to see, is probably through the Hellfire of a progressive socialist state. I think it might be better in the long run if the Democrats hold the Senate and the House this round. Let them take the full blame for the disaster that Biden is building with every executive order.
The core issue is that Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan have been "fortified."
They have a month of voting where they mail ballots to 105% of the population then they send out operatives to harvest them.
This system was put into place by Regime toadies that are both republican and democrat.
The Regime is the problem here and it has a lot of money and organization behind it.
The Regime is trying to bait Republican voters to blame Trump while it is pulling this BS in the background.
And there are idiots that are always ready to attack Trump for anything.
ConradBibby said...
At this point, I think that conservatives who want to stick with Trump are making the classic mistake of fighting the last war.
The Conservatives that want to get rid of Trump are fighting the wrong war.
The problem is the month long voting process where ballots are mailed and operatives spend a month collecting them and filling them out.
And the people that put his system are all backing Desantis right now in order to take Trump down.
It is actually a brilliant strategy that preys upon the biggest weakness of a lot of Republican voters.
Big Mike: "If something does come up I recommend DeSantis channel Horacio Nelson: “Publish and be damned!”"
Exactly!
I don't see any downside.
Douglas B. Levene shows up with the laughable GOPe talking points.
McConnell personally sabotaged every republican candidate you mentioned, particularly Masters and Bolduc but also JD Vance.
Your establishment schtick is transparently and hilariously false. As we speak McConnell is dancing a jig (such as it is) with Chuck Schumer. Those two always did work quite well together....just not to the benefit of the republican base.
Saint Croix said...
Trump has also spread gossip about DeSantis, including unverified allegations about his private life. Rolling Stone is declining to repeat what Trump has said.
What's fascinating about this is that Rolling Stone is protecting DeSantis from Trump.
(Or at least alleging they are).
Never in a million years would I predict that anybody in the MSM would protect a Republican from a scurrilous charge. That's new, right? Normally Rolling Stone would be all, "he's a Nazi" and "worse than Trump."
What this article is trying to do is send Trump down (duh), and simultaneously send DeSantis up (shocking!)
Think about this dynamic for a second. Which primary is of critical importance? The Republican primary. Which Republican does the media hate the most? Trump. Who will they attack all the time, 24/7? Trump.
It should be obvious to you what is happening. But apparently you can only go so far before your Trump hate takes over.
DeSantis looks better and better and better. They can't say shit about him.
What are they going to say? "We'll impeach him, too!"
They will say the same thing about him they say about every Republican that wins the nomination.
Only stupid people think that Desantis will somehow be able to resist this.
Saint Croix said...
The longer Trump stays in the race, the more favors he does the Republican party and DeSantis.
Meanwhile, Old Man Joe will be eating ice cream and shaking hands with invisible people.
Cheer up, Republicans! 2024 is looking sweet.
Trump fans should remind themselves that DeSantis sent illegal immigrants on planes to Martha's Vineyard, and kept the state open during COVID-19.
He's Republican Enough For Me
And if we're really lucky, a whole swarm of new voters will abandon Joe Biden and vote for DeSantis. I insist -- and it's fookin' obvious -- that the 2020 vote and 2022 vote was an anti-Trump vote, and nothing more than that. You can't tell me that people adore Joe Biden.
That is just dumb.
Desantis has zero chance in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin or Michigan even in an honest vote.
You Romney Voters just don't understand the political realignment that Trump caused.
Those working class voters Trump brought in are not blinkered diehards like you.
They hate the Republican Party. You are a bunch of amnesty loving free trade with China jerkoffs that start wars.
Pretending these elections are honest is also just dumb.
You people are being led around like idiots by the Rolling Stones for gods sake.
Douglas B...
"McConnell, at the end of the day, spent close to $400 million to get the Senate and will have to raise and spend more now for Georgia. Trump spent $15 million"
Trump is cheap.
The thing that bothers me is the pro Trump, anti-GOPe people who are taking the view that any candidate now who accepts the support of the GOP leaders and donors is necessarily compromised. This means that the only possible candidate is Trump, or another billionaire willing to self fund, or a person hand picked and funded by Trump (which isn’t going to happen because he needs to be the star.)
This is a dead end. If Trump wasn’t going to work within the existing structure of the party, he either needed to start a competitive third party (but he doesn’t have the discipline for that) or find allies within the GOP to start taking over key leadership positions to transform it from within and oust the current leaders.
Otherwise this whole enterprise is just a mission of destruction, not reconstruction.
It’s also a false premise that someone like DeSantis should be presumed to be compromised because he’s willing to take support and funding. I might lean toward that assumption with a Senator or with someone who came out of nowhere, but when you are dealing with someone who has built a solid resume outside of DC, there’s no reason to assume guilt of insider status.
Achilles said...The problem here is the people who are attacking Trump. They are attacking a Republican too.
I know that is tough for you people to understand but it is right there. This is the Romney wing that started this crap.
I will not support a party that has Mitch McConnell in it from this point on. He is a traitor that backstabbed his party and his voters. I will not support a party that has people like Raffensburger, Vos, Doucey et al that helped democrats rig the elections.
Now people are getting the vapors that Trump is going to return fire on the people that are attacking him through Rolling Stone, NYT's and WAPO?
Republican Romney voters that supported Mitt Romney spending millions of dollars trashing Newt Gingrich in 2012 are the same people attacking Trump now.
You are all hypocrites and ingrates.
You deserve to be a minority party and that is all you ever will be unless you pull your heads out of your asses.
11/10/22, 12:34 PM
THIS^^^
Michael K said...
The irony of all this sudden Trump hate is that it is based on a comment ("DeSanctimony") on an awful TV ad by the DeSantis people. It was cringeworthy and I hope not to see anything like it in 2024. I agree that Trump is finished after his attempt at king making flopped. I still have hopes for Kari Lake in AZ but Oz was miscast.
Political junkies that populate boards like this think that Desantis Ad where he says God put him on Earth on the 8th day to fight democrats think that ad is just dreamy and powerful.
People who don't like politics are going to say exactly what Trump did.
The ad was a smarmy douchebag politician blowing sunshine up his own ass.
Desantis is listening to the wrong people right now.
One point of caution about the DeSantis big win in FL, and his doing better than Republicans in general, is that he is coming off what everybody seems to agree was a very strong performance in handling the hurricane. That is what governors get big, bipartisan points for in their states.
It is certainly a credit to him, and an indicator to Floridians and to the general public that he is an effective leader--which is good for his national prospects.
But the fact remains that Republicans as a party did not get the Red Wave, and need to figure out why. I am not sure that DeSantis has figured it out either--he may have been in a unique position to get a big "bump" because of the hurricane.
(I would also say Charlie Crist was a big factor, but the quality of Dem opponents doesn't seem to have much to do with any of this).
Althouse Blog Commissar (self-appointed): "Trump is cheap."
DeSantis sat on $200M.
DeSantis is cheap.
McConnell told active funders to specifically not fund certain races. McConnell is Schumers best pal.
McConnell gave Murkowski $10M to attack the republican Senate candidate in Alaska. McConnell is the epitome of GOPe "dreamy".
McConnell and Rove spent millions in PA to pump up the democratical Gov nominee Shapiro against Mastriano. Hooray for McConnell and Rove! Let's leave them in charge to "lead" us to a brighter "republican" future.
OMG. I have been SO WRONG supporting Donald Trump. Mid-term Tuesday was like being born again. I was blind and now I can see!
All of a sudden I believe the media, Democrats, and the GOPe was telling the truth all along. Trump lied about EVERYTHING. I've realized the error of my ways and now believe everything I formerly thought were just lies and hoaxes. (list is from twitter - promoted by Scott Adams):
Russian Collusion
Steele Dossier Hooker story and peeing on the bed
Russia paying bounties on US Soldiers in Afghanistan
Trump called Neo-Nazis "fine people"
Trump suggested drinking bleach to fight COVID
Trump mocked a crippled reporter
Trump overfed koi fish in Japan
Trump cleared protestors with teargas for bible photo op
Hunter's laptop was Russian disinformation
2020 Elections were fair because no court found major fraud
Jan 6th was an insurrection to overthrow the US Government
Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of The Beast
Border Patrol Agents whipped illegal border crossers
Oh And...Paul Pelosi's attacker was a MAGA Republican nudist. The Vaccine is safe and effective and I am immediately going to get my first COVID shot and catch up on boosters 2-5 right after work. Put it in my veins!!! As GOD as my witness, I will never leave the house without a mask again!!!
Because of these mid-terms I now have more faith in Global Warming than I do in Jesus Christ. I'm selling my car and I'm not going to even buy a Tesla. I'm going horse and buggy, and logging off twitter.
I've already called the University of Wisconsin so I can start my new medical career. I want to support the gender transitions of 12 year old via irreversible surgeries.
I'm penning fan letters to Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney, and the entire Bush Family thanking them for all the open and monetary support they gave MAGA GOP candidates this mid-term cycle. They tried their best. And that's all we can really ask of them.
I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood to send a Trillion more dollars to Ukraine. And while were at it...we need another middle east War on Terror. There are WMDs out there somewhere!!! Those were the good old days.
I apologize to everyone for being a conspiracy theorist. My subscription to Rolling Stone starts immediately. I've also finally paid the NYTs to get through the paywall. I've deleted every pre-programmed channel on my TV and will now only watch MSNBC. Jimmy Kimmel is my new best friend.
I've also sent a group apology email to Bill Kristol, Charlie Sykes, the entire National Review Staff, Jennifer Rubin, and George Will. I know realize it was THIER Republican Party to play with. Not mine. I'm just a poor boy...nobody loves me.
I now regret ever supporting Donald J. Trump and wish I would have listened to the MSM and all establishment politicians for the last six years. They obviously love and care about all of us...but especially me.
Sniff. Sniff. Tear... Who's got some fentanyl??? Fresh from the our open border. Bet it's not as bad as they say it is. Let's party!!!
I agree with CStanley that DeSantis taking Wall St. money doesn't necessarily make him a GOPe tool. As Willie Sutton said about bank robbery--"Its where the money is."
Along with all the comments questioning the honesty of Rolling Stones journalism; I’m very happy nobody is taking Gov. Abbott’s win in Texas as a sign he’s a 2024 contender. He’s not. He’s double digits better than Beto, but let’s look at just how low that bar is.
The number of Republicans that Trump ruined the careers of is something that Democrats could only dream of. Good Donnie!
Dreamy Obama lost more than 1,000 seats - state and federal - during his eight years in office.
Trump's a piker compared to President Precious.
Trump's belligerent and self-serving rhetoric makes him undesirable, and now - un- electable. That Ever-Trumpers do not understand this - I have no answer.
This has nothing to do with other elected officials. Yammering on about Romney or Mitch McConnell doesn't save Trump.
Here's another little tidbit for consideration and this one has been going around for months:
Blake Masters early on refused to agree to support McConnell for leader, so McConnell kneecapped him (pulled $9M from Masters and gave it to Murkowski to attack Tshibaka) in exchange for Schumer to leave Ted Budd in NC alone.
Why? Budd agreed early on to support McConnell and and to support....wait for it...and Ukraine war funding! The Grift Must Go On!
Gee, is it time yet for another "That Trump is so disloyal!" thread?
Again, McConnell is laughing his a** off today. He, like the Biden's, gets away with it all again and again.
Ah, the smell of infighting among righties. Smells like schadenfreude.
Two things can be true at once.
The existing DC Republican leadership can be mediocre, self-interested and uninspiring AND Trump can be petulant, whining and selfishly focused only on his loss in 2020.
Nobody likes a whiner. Nobody likes a loser. Period.
Right now, Ron DeSantis is a winner, historically so in Florida history, anyway. Demonstrably a winner. He won hugely. The people down the ticket from him in Florida won hugely, as well. He is quite obviously seen as a winner.
Trump lost his last election to a guy who is barely functional. Nobody cares if things were shady in some states. They really don't. That was two years ago. Trump sounds like Hillary with all his whining about it.
The time to have done something about it was when the various Dem-controlled states were changing up their election procedures. Not go whining to the courts but actually setting up Republican vote-harvesting operations. Trump and his people didn't have the foresight to figure out that they needed to change and adapt.
Instead, he let Fauci lead him around by the nose and cried about it when he lost.
DeSantis has given absolutely no indication that he lets other people lead him around by the nose like Trump did. Hell, Trump is still bragging about the "vaccine" development process he "led."
I know all the Trump loyalists like to categorize DeSantis as in the back pocket of the "establishment" but last time I checked, RDS was a founder of the House Freedom Caucus, and not exactly "to the manor born" when it comes to "insider DC."
I'll let Ace say it best from earlier today:
"Anyway, if you prefer Trump, you prefer Trump. But claiming that DeSantis is a Johnny-Come-Lately establishment liberal is just a flat-out lie. He was fighting the GOP Establishment before Trump was enmeshed in the GOP enough to even know there was a GOP Establishment to fight."
Gusty Winds said: "All of a sudden I believe the media, Democrats, and the GOPe was telling the truth all along. Trump lied about EVERYTHING. I've realized the error of my ways and now believe everything I formerly thought were just lies and hoaxes. "
This is just silly. I'd say at least 99% of the bad stuff said about Trump was utter and complete lies. Acknowledging that doesn't change the fact that he is now too toxic to too many voters to win another term. That's just reality, and it's time to face it.
This strategy of pretending that Trump is still viable and that he is the only potential candidate who can save the country will lead to disaster. I understand the emotional impulse of wanting to see Trump rumble back to victory and vanquish his enemies. It would make a great story, if this were a movie. The reality is that we need to win the WH in 2024. If Trump were more or less guaranteed to win in 2024, I'd say sure, let's go for it -- De Santis and the rest can wait four years. But Trump can't win. If Trump, as the supposed leader of the GOP, couldn't pull off a red wave in 2022, with inflation and all the other help that Biden was giving, he won't be able to do it in 2024 either.
A male friend of mine just told me he's done with Trump. He is a land use attorney and is plugged into the high dollar set of Republicans. They think Trump is an anchor at this point.
Said that for Herschel Walker to have a chance in GA - Kemp should help and Trump should stay out of it.
DeSantis sat on $200M.
I suppose he could have spent it and won by thirty points instead of twenty — I think it’s called “Making the rubble bounce.”
Is the only source for this quote Rolling Stone? Jeezum, I had believed it.
Achilles,
You might put some Tar on your Heel if you're going to hold firm like that.
Maynard: "Reagan won 49/50 states in 1980 because he knew how to soothe people's concerns, not inflame them like Trump."
Just a bit outside......he tried the history corner and missed.
Reagan won 49/50 states in 1984, losing only Minnesota (Ed Rollins never heard the end of it for missing 50/50, read his book, its a good one) after presiding over massive economic growth of 8+% in the first quarter of '84 alone (after Volcker squeezed the snot out of inflation from '81 to '83) and relative peace and increasing national pride following Carter's horrific tenure and the vast wasteland that was the '70s.
And who was the dem nominee in 1984? Walter Mondale. The VP of the agonizing Carter Admin. And what did Mondale literally promise during the first debate? To raise everyone's taxes! (Question for Mondale's political advisors: What would you say you do here?)
So, yeah, I think there other much more important things beyond Reagan soothing people's concerns that might have played a role in that wipeout.
Plus Miami Vice premiered that year, so Reagan had that going for him. Which is nice.
How is Wall Street money worse that real estate money?
Why is Trump's money divine - but all the other money is not good enough...
In fact... it's dirty... it's dark... it's not Trumpian.
Trump humpers play the same game as the left. Have fun trashing all the candidates that go against your precious super-Trump. Name-calling... repetitive BS.
boatbuilder: "I agree with CStanley that DeSantis taking Wall St. money doesn't necessarily make him a GOPe tool. As Willie Sutton said about bank robbery--"Its where the money is."'
That's fair enough. But this isn't just plain old everyday "wall street" money. This is the Wall Street and Hedge Fund money that sold America out for decades and were adamantly opposed to Trump economic and foreign policy positions. These cats support open borders, not challenging the EU or the ChiComs, shipping jobs and industries overseas, not requiring NATO to live up to its responsibilities, alot of the woke crap, etc. Basically, they are the anti-Trumps (if I may use that as shorthand)
Does all that matter? Maybe. DeSantis is being billed as the dude that can give us all the Trump good stuff without all the Trump bad stuff.
But if that's the case, why would these guys be funding DeSantis if DeSantis is going to give us all of that? Some might begin to wonder if these funders see DeSantis as a winner but one that can be molded into something they want if they jump on the bandwagon early enough. Early money is always persuasive money.
The question is clear: Is DeSantis using them to get to the White House to give us what we want, or will they be riding DeSantis into the White House to get what they want? The answer is not so clear, yet.
Warning sign: the Bushes, Paul Ryan, etc are all fully in the DeSantis camp.
Hmmmmmmmmmm.
I think Trump was a great president in what he accomplished and how he focused on the welfare of average Americans. However I believe Trump was a big part of the reason the Rs underperformed in the mid-terms. Certainly the announcement that he planned a presidential announcement just prior to the election I am sure was a negative to those voters who were on the edge of going with the Rs, but got the cold shivers when Trump reared his ugly head. He is such an easy target and he has no idea when to keep his mouth shut; he just walks right into the traps that get set for him by the Ds. He will cause nothing but damage to the R effort in 2024. As many who I have some respect for have said: He is the only candidate that the Rs could run who would lose to Biden.
I believe that some of you who get all uptight when someone picks on Trump should take a step back and ask yourself if it is more important to prove your loyalty to Trump or win the presidential election. I voted for Trump twice, but it is time for him to shuffle off.
I'm hoping the last few people clinging to his inner circle - get out soon. Save yourselves! Don't go down with a sinking Ship.
Ron's team is superior.
Plus:
A true leader understands when they have become a liability. A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage, and the voters have given us that very clear message... I could not support him.”
—VA Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears (R) comes out against Trump’s 2024 candidacy
At least trumpetdaddy at 11:44AM sounds like a winner who you could go to political war with.
DeSantis needs to win the nomination first, convince many of us he won't be the puppet of the puppeteers, will focus on America's working class and new would-be republicans that historically ignored the republican party, and all the while demand accountability from the corrupt losers that currently run the republican party. Along with all the mechanics of electioneering as well without pulling a Romney 2012.
But I'm telling you, all its gonna take is one picture of DeSantis sitting there strategizing with Ryan, McConnell, McCarthy or the rest of that loser crew while the DOJ/FBI physically goes after Trump and DeSantis will never get to the political Promised Land.
Minn Farm guy said..
"He [trump] is such an easy target and he has no idea when to keep his mouth shut; he just walks right into the traps that get set for him by the Ds"
This
Ah, the smell of infighting among righties. Smells like schadenfreude.
It smells like intelligent, independent people with brains are having an intense discussion of ideas.
Inga knows nothing of the sort. She and her hive mind lefties just take their orders from the DNC media.
Inga - I still have you anti-Biden quotes. Shall I roll them out?
Inga- you support a crook.
I agree that Trump is finished after his attempt at king making flopped. I still have hopes for Kari Lake in AZ but Oz was miscast.
@Dr. Michael K., repeating what I wrote as part of a comment on a different Althouse thread yesterday or the day before. If you’re going set out to play kingmaker then you’d damned well better make some kings. Keeping my fingers crossed for Lake and Laxalt. From where I sit in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Masters is dreaming if he thinks there are enough uncounted Republican votes in Arizona to put him in.
Trump needs to remember the sorry end of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, the original Kingmaker. And he really did get men put on the English throne.
Shorter version: Trump would never have done that and isn’t it awesome he did?
Said that for Herschel Walker to have a chance in GA - Kemp should help and Trump should stay out of it.
@Hunter Biden’s Hooker,Herschel needs to go hat in hand to Kemp and ask for his support, and he has to be the one to tell Trump to stay out of Georgia.
And, thanks for the boost for Winnie Sears
So, yeah, I think there other much more important things beyond Reagan soothing people's concerns that might have played a role in that wipeout.
Yes. Obviously.
My point is that the DNC Media tried to do to Reagan what they do to every GOP nominee, not just Trump. They failed because Reagan was emotionally far more mature than Trump and was also more disciplined. He had also developed a sophisticated fundamental understanding of America and its politics. Thus, he was able to take advantage of the Carter Administrations failures.
Mondale was one of the last nice guys in politics, in the footsteps of his mentor. (It's very much a Minn'sota thing). Imagine if Reagan had behaved like Trump...
All the Trumps horses and all of Trumps men couldn't put Trumps 7-dimensional Chess board together again.
Blogger Inga said...
Ah, the smell of infighting among righties. Smells like schadenfreude.
How would you know? The Democrats all follow along like the good sheep they are. This goes back to Tammany Hall and there has not been a new idea, except for more graft, from a Democrat since Roosevelt and those were mostly bad ones.
If you’re going set out to play kingmaker then you’d damned well better make some kings. Keeping my fingers crossed for Lake and Laxalt. From where I sit in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Masters is dreaming if he thinks there are enough uncounted Republican votes in Arizona to put him in.
I still have hopes for Lake. I did not vote for Masters in the primary. He would still be better than Kelly who has not had a new thought since astronaut school. John Glenn was also a great astronaut but an awful Senator.
“Inga - I still have you anti-Biden quotes. Shall I roll them out?”
Feel free. My opinion on Biden hasn’t changed. But as I said then, better a dog catcher than Trump. Now all you fools who couldn’t defend Trump enough, are reaping what you’ve sown. And yes, it really tickles me to see you righties all bumfucked at what Trump did to you and the Republican Party. We warned you idiots. Yup, breaking up the Trump cult is going to be painful… to you people.
Drago said: The question is clear: Is DeSantis using them to get to the White House to give us what we want, or will they be riding DeSantis into the White House to get what they want? The answer is not so clear, yet.
Fair enough, but as I commented above, there is not (I don’t think) another billionaire on the horizon to self fund a campaign and I think Trump’s supporters should consider the possibility that he may no longer be electable*. Even aside from that, he’s too old IMO even though he can still run laps around Biden both mentally and physically.
What DeSantis does have now is political capital. McConnell and the moneybag holders can’t argue with success, so he doesn’t have to take the money as quid pro quo. Time will tell of course.
And it’s pretty obvious why the Bushes and Paul Ryan support him- they want to dethrone Trump. I don’t think that has much to do with policy, it’s personal.
* I know some don’t agree and have argued the opposite, that no other Republican is electable- I disagree. I think the assumption that he gets all the votes he got before is faulty. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe you guys are- but I hope it can at least be open for discussion without forming a circular firing squad.
Maynard: "It smells like intelligent, independent people with brains are having an intense discussion of ideas.
Inga knows nothing of the sort. She and her hive mind lefties just take their orders from the DNC media."
Its true. Inga has no idea how healthy a discussion of these points amongst republicans actually is. She has no idea because as you point out, she is a New Soviet Democratical and, lets face it, the very word "debate" ain't exactly welcome over there.
It always begs the question that I periodically raise relative to the New Soviet Democraticals: Is it a long-term advantage to have a base of voice-actuated automaton NPC voters like Inga, or is it a long-term disadvantage.
There are pros and cons naturally and reasonable people, non NPC types, can agree or disagree.
ConradBibby,
You need to throw away your sarcasm detector and replace it with a brand new one. It doesn't seem to be working at all.
Earnest Prole: "Shorter version: Trump would never have done that and isn’t it awesome he did?"
Hey, a "shorter version" of a version that doesn't exist! Well done.
A photo of DeSantis in the same room as ... evil republicans!. oh no.
I guess the Trump's "grab em by the pussy" tape didn't matter.
Trump hanging with the Clintons? that photo didn't matter.
No one will give a crap if there's a photo of DeSantis talking to other politicians. Well, except Trump's shirking fan-boy base.
That Trump-humpers want to torpedo DeSantis...
“ I remember when he issued that threat against the parents of the Ricketts family in 2016.”
Since I live in Nebraska, I remember that very well. Joe and Marlene Ricketts had given millions to Scott Walker and Trump was mad. Walker withdrew and later Trump flew into the Omaha airport for a rally. I was there. Trump praised Governor Pete Ricketts to the stars. I thought that was really weird.
To be clear, I’ve had it with Trump’s bad judgment and I’m convinced he can’t win a general election. We have a proven winner and effective guy with Ron. And no drama.
And if Trump has real dirt on Ron, bring it.
BTW, I think the DOJ will indict Trump and a DC jury will convict him. Politically it would be stupid, but the Deep State and Dems have TDS and they want to see Trump locked up.
If I were a person of the Left I would be enjoying the fuck out of this thread. As it is, I find it pretty dispiriting. Trump was a great president (to my surprise), but he is undeniably an asshole. I grew to enjoy this aspect of his personality, but very many did not. I know lots of decent and smart people who naturally gravitate to the right who would not EVER consider voting for Trump and would, in fact, go out of their way to vote against him. He cannot win and should not be the nominee. His personality and judgement are fatally flawed. I'm no goddamn Biden supporter or GOPe. Stupid party is right.
“If I were a person of the Left I would be enjoying the fuck out of this thread.”
I am!
Ruperts WALL STREET JOURNAL and the last losing presidents favorite rag the NEW YORK POST say trump is the biggest loser and is trumpty dumpty on front page. Oh boy it might be 8th day; God needs a man.... (8th day, church or bible much?) The POST did have good horse racing handicappers though so that's a saving grace. No BILL FINLEY though. Rupert what's next, God needed a man?
Althouse Blog Commissar (self-appointed): "That Trump-humpers want to torpedo DeSantis..."
According to many on this blog, DeSantis is bullet proof and Trump is completely washed up and powerless.
If that is truly the case, by what mechanism/tactic would DeSantis be torpedoed? There isn't/aren't any.
Further, if that is the case, continued attacks by Trump would only HELP DeSantis and accelerate his positioning as the candidate to beat for 2024.
Of course, I expect the Luntz-Humpers to continue with this bizarre contradictory narrative strategy to further the Emmanuel Goldstein-ing of Trump to provide support to Garland for what is sure to be a corrupt indictment against Trump soon, which will be cheered and supported by the entire GOPe.
Old and slow: "He cannot win and should not be the nominee. His personality and judgement are fatally flawed. I'm no goddamn Biden supporter or GOPe. Stupid party is right."
Then DeSantis will have no problem defeating Trump straight up in the primary and that will solve all the problems and DeSantis will be the stronger for it.
It's all good. Chin up!
Better yet, you already have the perfect pre-planned 2024 DeSantis Loses excuse built into the process: Trump! With any luck, the GOPe can perhaps get another 2 or 3 cycles of failure blamed on Trump completely leaving them free to engage in their real full time job: Lying to the base and grifting.
I guess I'm still struggling to figure out the thinking of those who want Trump to slink away into the sunset while the entire Government, both federal and some states, are corruptly gunning for him, his family and his businesses with full vocal support of the GOPe who were all enablers for the entire Russia Collusion hoax.
But then, I was never a quitter either, so I'm never going to understand it.
Dave Begley: "BTW, I think the DOJ will indict Trump and a DC jury will convict him. Politically it would be stupid, but the Deep State and Dems have TDS and they want to see Trump locked up."
BTW, I think the DOJ will indict Trump and a DC jury will convict him. Politically it would be stupid, but the Deep State and Dems and the entire GOPe without exception have TDS and they want to see Trump locked up.
FIFY
Donald Trump's daughter Tiffany is supposed to be getting married this weekend at Mar-A-Lago. Hurricane Nicole has probably complicated that, with guests having trouble getting there and so on but I haven't read that it's being canceled or anything. So my point is, Trump has a family event to focus on, one that should be enjoyable and fun and happy and yet he's spending time and energy spewing out looney tirades, like this email he sent out this afternoon, which includes:
NewsCorp, which is Fox, the Wall Street Journal, and the no longer great New York Post (bring back Col!), is all in for Governor Ron DeSanctimonious, an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations, who didn’t have to close up his State, but did, unlike other Republican Governors, whose overall numbers for a Republican, were just average—middle of the pack—including COVID, and who has the advantage of SUNSHINE, where people from badly run States up North would go no matter who the Governor was, just like I did!
I think Trump is claiming that DeSantis doesn't get credit for dealing with Covid, it was the Florida sunshine that did it? Ha!
If we wanted a demented old fool for President, we could just keep the one we've already got.
CStanley: "* I know some don’t agree and have argued the opposite, that no other Republican is electable- I disagree. I think the assumption that he gets all the votes he got before is faulty. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe you guys are- but I hope it can at least be open for discussion without forming a circular firing squad."
No candidate on the Rep side can win in 2024 if they only "get all the votes he/she got before". Talk about variable change. We are in the wild midst of a realignment (depending on the candidate) and if you aren't changing and growing then you're shrinking. No static strategy will survive.
And if Trump is all these "wounded" this and "sinking ship" that and "has nothing left" over there, then DeSantis will mop the floor with him.
Of course, in the general election you will lose many working class/minority/disengaged sometime-voters particularly in the midwest, that's a given. And you'll be back to shagging after the white suburban women vote, which is already quite culturally democratical which means you'll have to back off some of your conservative principles/policies, and once you do that you lose even more working class voters (it's a vicious circle), but that's the choice you have to make. And the GOPe-ers who'll be running the DeSantis campaign are perfectly okay with that. In fact its their preference.
And none of us knows quite how terrible the economy/state of the nation will be after 2 more years of the marxists new world order. But its gonna be real bad and those lower class/working class workers will be the most devastated and looking for someone with whom they feel a connection. That's the future winning coalition for republicans, but we are on the opposite McConnell/Ryan/Luntz pathway now so that's out.
I don't know what comes after.
The most important thing is to be the most useful idiot. Every court neds its jester.
Isnt that right Inga?
Blogger Drago said...
Dave Begley: "BTW, I think the DOJ will indict Trump and a DC jury will convict him. Politically it would be stupid, but the Deep State and Dems have TDS and they want to see Trump locked up."
I agree and now Biden is after Elon Musk. This regime looks more Stasi every day.
Blogger Inga said...
“If I were a person of the Left I would be enjoying the fuck out of this thread.”
I am!
The resident dullard has never heard friendly arguments about political policy. Democrats all line up like sheep to be sheared and never question those in charge, even if they don't know who they are.
More of Inga's wisdom:
And yes, it really tickles me to see you righties all bumfucked at what Trump did to you and the Republican Party. We warned you idiots. Yup, breaking up the Trump cult is going to be painful… to you people.
As I once asked my lefty daughter, energy independence, 1.4% inflation, gas at $2.50, the stock market at 32,000, unemployment at 3% is "incompetence?" Of course, she like Inga said yes. Enjoy the coming depression and economic collapse brought about real incompetence. We will be very fortunate if we avoid a war (which we will lose) in the next two years.
@ Drago You really need to do some serious political analysis. Trump, given his track record in office , should have walked away with the 2020 election. Why didn't he? Because he has really poor leadership skills, questionable character and he is excellent at alienating anyone who takes a slightly different view from him. Even people who largely benefited from his policies were alienated enough to vote for a walking corpse. Only the fact that Hillary's character flaws were even greater made it possible for Trump to be elected
Trump successfully spoiled what should have been an easy national R victory by fostering weak candidates ( OZ is a carpet bagger for Christ's sake); who even the Dems knew had a very slim chance of winning a general election - so much so that they funded their campaigns. Trump, in the end, is all about Trump. During his presidency that was masked because he supported some really good people and ideas that helped every day people, but since then everything has been about him. As entertaining as that might be, it is also very alienating. I assume he will enter the primaries and I suspect that at some point he will self-immolate as he is beginning to do with his DeSantis bit. ( one can see with his own eyes that DeSantis is a capable politician regardless of what Trump says) I think you are badly mistaken claiming that midwesterners will be lost if Trump isn't nominated. Midwesterners are pretty savvy and they can see now that Trump is all about Trump.
McConnell may be frustrating, but he does know how to work the system ( remember Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett?) and who, pray tell do you think would be any better: Romney? Collins? Graham? Cotton (probably)?
Sally - Trump working overtime trying to get more people to dislike him. #losing.
Sally327 - nailed it.
We don't need another demented old fool.
minnesota farm guy said...
@ Drago You really need to do some serious political analysis.
Yeah. What you posted was super serious.
Desantis has zero chance to win Pennsylvania, Wisconsin or Michigan even without fraud.
Zero. Point. Zero.
He just won't attract the voters that turn those states. He will get 65 million voters just like Mitt Romney did.
Unless of course he disavows all support of the GOPe in DC and vows to investigate the corruption in Ukraine, promises to finish the wall, and promises to replace the corrupt republican leadership in DC.
But since he is getting all his money and support from them it seems unlikely he will do that.
With fraud there is not chance for any Republican in those states. God could not have run as a Republican in Pennsylvania and won in 2022. As long as the GOPe focuses on getting rid of Trump and ignores the real problem we know what they are trying to do.
You conveniently left out the obvious voting fraud that cost us in 2020.
You are either a democrat troll or you have a room temperature IQ.
Sally - the whole thing.
Now that midterms are over, and a success…
NewsCorp, which is Fox, the Wall Street Journal, and the no longer great New York Post (bring back Col!), is all in for Governor Ron DeSanctimonious, an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations, who didn’t have to close up his State, but did, unlike other Republican Governors, whose overall numbers for a Republican, were just average—middle of the pack—including COVID, and who has the advantage of SUNSHINE, where people from badly run States up North would go no matter who the Governor was, just like I did!
Ron came to me in desperate shape in 2017—he was politically dead, losing in a landslide to a very good Agriculture Commissioner, Adam Putnam, who was loaded up with cash and great poll numbers. Ron had low approval, bad polls, and no money, but he said that if I would Endorse him, he could win. I didn’t know Adam so I said, “Let’s give it a shot, Ron.” When I Endorsed him, it was as though, to use a bad term, a nuclear weapon went off. Years later, they were the exact words that Adam Putnam used in describing Ron’s Endorsement. He said, “I went from having it made, with no competition, to immediately getting absolutely clobbered after your Endorsement.” I then got Ron by the “Star” of the Democrat Party, Andrew Gillum (who was later revealed to be a “Crack Head”), by having two massive Rallies with tens of thousands of people at each one I also fixed his campaign, which had completely fallen apart. I was all in for Ron, and he beat Gillum, but after the Race, when votes were being stolen by the corrupt Election process in Broward County, and Ron was going down ten thousand votes a day, along with now-Senator Rick Scott, I sent in the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys, and the ballot theft immediately ended, just prior to them running out of the votes necessary to win. I stopped his Election from being stolen.
And now, Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games! The Fake News asks him if he’s going to run if President Trump runs, and he says, “I’m only focused on the Governor’s race, I’m not looking into the future.” Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that’s really not the right answer…
This is just like 2015 and 2016, a Media Assault (Collusion!), when Fox News fought me to the end until I won, and then they couldn’t have been nicer or more supportive. The Wall Street Journal loved Low Energy Jeb Bush, and a succession of other people as they rapidly disappeared from sight, finally falling in line with me after I easily knocked them out, one by one. We’re in exactly the same position now. They will keep coming after us, MAGA, but ultimately, we will win. Put America First and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
t.me/real_DonaldJTrump
November 10, 2022 - 6:46 PM ET
now we know where the talking points come from.
Blogger minnesota farm guy: "@ Drago You really need to do some serious political analysis."
I have.
minnesota farm guy: "I think you are badly mistaken claiming that midwesterners will be lost if Trump isn't nominated. Midwesterners are pretty savvy and they can see now that Trump is all about Trump."
Because I am looking at this analytically I never claimed "midwesterners will be lost". I said certain midwestern voter subgroups would be lost.
As a general rule my points are easier to understand if you dont substitute my articulated premises for other ones.
minnesota farm guy: "McConnell may be frustrating, but he does know how to work the system..."
Yes, it is "frustrating" when McConnell colludes with Schumer to harm a republican senate canddate and when he spends millions attacking nominated republican candidates.
McConnell IS Romney and Collins and he sure the heck is Murkowski. What he did there is unforgiveable. He pulled $9M from Blake Masters to give to Murkowski who spent it all attacking Tshibaka, the republican nominee in Alaska. I think that and a whole lot more, including the ChiCom shipping company cash to Mitch via his wife's parents connections, renders him unfit to be a republican leader.
And this seemingly desperate need on the part of many to rewrite history re: 2016 because they want Trump gone now is particularly distasteful and I prefer to not allow it to go unchallenged.
You want Trump gone? I get it. You think Trump hurts the party moving forward with particular groups? That is a defensible position and you are free to argue it as many are.
However, in this moment of clear political realignment which I am quite pleased about, dont think there wont be a political price there to be paid by abandoning the one warrior who ran into the fire for you with no backup and inspired millions to vote republican for the first time just to return to the stale Bushy/Rovian/Ryan/Wall Street crew policies that drove us into the ditch.
You'll argue DeSantis is clearly different for reasons a thru z, and I will argue that if that were true why is the Bushy/Rovian/Ryan/WallStreet crew so excited and sending hundreds of millions into DeSantis coffers?
It ain't because they've suddenly decided a pro-America First agenda, including disrupting the deep state, is suddenly to their liking now, is it?
I remember in 2016, Trump publicly warned Rubio that somebody was spreading rumors about him.
I've long suspect that it was Cruz, as the Spanish fight they had was kind of amazing. "First, I'm surprised you even speak Spanish."
Rubio made Cruz lose his shit in Spanish. That was really fun.
I loved that about him. The other thing I got a kick out of is when that comic reporter asked Rubio to name his spirit animal and he said, "No." Dude! You already named your super power! But the word "spirit" put him on guard and he slammed the door on the comedy.
I also remember that when Rubio dropped out of the presidential race, he kind of rat-fucked the Republican who was running for the Senate (and Rubio had endorsed) by announcing his candidacy for the Senate.
That's not a sin, but it's not exactly angelic behavior, either. People seeking power can and will play rough.
Now that Trump has had a taste of power, I kind of believe that he would spread rumors about his opponents to the media. That's common in D.C. I can't even keep track of all the dirty sneaks and liars who call up some reporter and make up shit about other people. And the media reports that shit like it's true.
I also know that our media reporters -- who love to brag that they are "the Fourth Estate," like they added their fucking business into the Constitution, our media rats love to play Pravda -- make shit up all the time. Especially about Republicans!
But the point that bears repeating, over and over, is that as long as Trump stays in the race, apparently there will only be kid gloves on DeSantis.
I will go ahead and beg Republicans not to impeach Joe Biden. Impeach the shit out of his attorney general, that's fine. But this is U.S.S. Sinking Ship and I predict the DeSantis win will be a wipeout of historic proportions.
Althouse Blog Commissar (self-appointed): "Sally327 - nailed it.
We don't need another demented old fool."
You use the royal "we" quite a bit.
@ Achilles
I am neither.
You need to get your news from somewhere other than the Conservative Treehouse or Ace of Spades. I voted for Trump twice and thought he did a great job while in office. I now think he is nothing but a distraction and an anchor. He has no political sense at all. If he did he would have backed probable winners in the states he did rather than just those who kissed his a**. Wake up! Unless the Republicans put up a winner (not Trump) we are in for another 6 years of Dem misrule.
Why, pray tell, does DeSantis have no chance in the states you mention? I'd like to see something more concrete than your conjecture.
And to answer Drago the reason the professional politicians are excited about DeSantis is because they are professional politicians and, like them or not ,they understand the political game. You can dump on McConnell all you want - I don't like him much myself - but the results of his efforts toward SCOTUS are truly impressive and will have a much greater lasting impact in this country than anything Trump did.
It took 6 years fo Trump to wear me out. I defended him stoutly when he was in office. I have no problem with questioning the 2020 election, though I think the truth of the matter is that he was so alienating for so many that he would have lost without the real and, imagined ,fraud.
That Trump won in 2016 was a credit to Hillary's lack of character and attraction to the voters. Who, other than Tump- who will never win, do you see as a valid Republican candidate for President?
minnesota farm guy: "And to answer Drago the reason the professional politicians are excited about DeSantis is because they are professional politicians and, like them or not ,they understand the political game. You can dump on McConnell all you want - I don't like him much myself - but the results of his efforts toward SCOTUS are truly impressive and will have a much greater lasting impact in this country than anything Trump did."
McConnell and his crew of professional politicians just openly and purposely sabotaged republican candidates across the nation and you are giving him a full pass. Well, no wonder he and Paul Ryan and Bushies and Romney and Murkowski are feeling so skyhigh today.
I'm afraid you are going to deserve what you're going to get: a weaponized bureaucracy designed to attack your values, subservience to a WEF agenda and the continued sell off the US.
Don't come back later and complain about any of that.
BTW, Biden is in France today and pledging billions of dollars to other nations for the climate agenda....and McConnell is all set to work with him to deliver it. Because of course he is.
Oh wait, that's right. DeSantis, the guy who is being funded by all the folks who love that sort of stuff will put a stop to it! Hooray!
Pull the other one.
I ask once again who, other than Trump, do you see as a valid Republican candidate for President. ( Leave Trump out he'll never win. I am interested in your thought process.)
Drago, I ask once again who, other than Trump, do you see as a valid Republican candidate for President. ( Leave Trump out he'll never win. I am interested in your thought process.)
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