Republican debate

[pinstripers]

I didn't see a winner, sadly.

[WuDrWu]

I love Vivek's idea of 8 year limit for bureaucrats. I do not understand why these kind of term limits don't get more traction.

Also, decentralizing the feds, ie moving a bunch of people out of DC, permanently.

Those 2 seem easy. Less popular (but inarguably correct) is the elimination of unions in government, ie the Teacher's Union. Should not be allowed to exist. Teachers are free to unionize, but NOT if they are paid by the taxpayers.

[pinstripers]

DeSantis and Scott both too vanilla. Neither is great at debate.

[Shockm]

I disagree. The problem is that 8 people is much too many for a decent debate into issues. They spend too much time waiting for their turns to respond. They only get an opportunity to respond if their name is mentioned si they can respond. The reason Vivek had so many opportunities is because 6 times, his name was mentioned by another debater.

Part of the reason, I like DeSantis though is because I have a number of good friends who live in Florida who are big DeSantis supporters. Floridian Conservatives think he is doing a great job, and he’s killing (governing the state of Florida) it in their state. They absolutely love how DeSantis is dominating his opponents.

[pinstripers]

I disagree. The problem is that 8 people is much too many for a decent debate into issues. They spend too much time waiting for their turns to respond. They only get an opportunity to respond if their name is mentioned si they can respond. The reason Vivek had so many opportunities is because 6 times, his name was mentioned by another debater.

Part of the reason, I like DeSantis though is because I have a number of good friends who live in Florida who are big DeSantis supporters. Floridian Conservatives think he is doing a great job, and he’s killing (governing the state of Florida) it in their state. They absolutely love how DeSantis is dominating his opponents.

I think he'd be an excellent POTUS. Needs more charisma to be electable, IMO.

[1972Shocker]

The whole format was a joke. I thought Fox and its moderators did a lousy job.

Burgum was only there because he offered donors a $20 gift card if they make a $1 donation to his campaign so he could meet the donor requirements.

The way they treated Larry Elder was an abomination. I think the RNC is about as swampy as they come. A great uni-party companion for the DNC

The RNC is a total joke. They totally screwed the pooch when they reinstalled Ronna Romney McDaniel as chairperson instead of giving Harmeet Dhillon a shot. As soon as they did that I was done with them.

I have great confidence in the ability of the RNC to screw up another election. That is the one thing, under the leadership of RRM, that they are really good at.

.

[WuDrWu]

Desantis won a purple state by about 30k votes in 2018 getting a little less than 4.1 million votes. In 2022 he won by more than 1.5 million votes (admittedly one of the few states trending red) and won all but 5 counties, including traditionally blue stalwart Miami/Dade, because he captured 58% of the Latino vote.

If the GOP can't understand his appeal, then they will continue to lose when they should win.

Barring a DeSantis disaster or pure luck on Biden's behalf, if (and I don't think it will happen) DeSantis were to be the GOP nominee, the election is a foregone conclusion and Biden is a one term President. DeSantis takes all the GOP states that aren't in play, solidifies FL, TX and NC and turns GA around, meaning he needs any 2 (except the AZ/NV combo) out of Virginia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada & Arizona. A well run campaign likely would put Minnesota in play as it's shown a very slight trend towards being solidly purple. If the GOP can crack the 'blue wall' in the north, it's over for the DEMs.

This scenario would bring into play some tie possibilities (NE and ME both have a wonky stray vote out there).

In the event of a tie, it's likely the new Congress (who would vote) would lean to the 26 GOP votes needed to elect DeSantis (it's very close, but the GOP has 26 now).

But what I don't know is how they would pick a VP (the Senate votes, not the House, and it's 1 person 1 vote vs each state voting for President). A DeSantis win (or even close loss) likely means flipping the Senate. But if the Senate were 50/50 then I don't know what happens if it's a tie. Is it the new Senate or the old Senate that would pick (I know it's the new House so I assume it's the new Senate). Regardless, if it's a 50-50 tie, there's no way Kamala Harris would break that tie, is there? You can't have a scenario where someone votes for themselves I don't think. I'm guessing they would just have to keep at it until they break the tie...or a Senator dies(that's not a deal breaker for me) and a flip vote replaces them.

[1972Shocker]

I just find it very hard to believe that Joe Biden will be the candidate for the Dems in 2024. He is simply to old and diminished, corrupt and incompetent. And it won't be Kakala Harris either.

If MIchelle Obama decides she wants to be the candidate she will be. She probably wins. If she decides she doesn't want her luxurious and cushy life style interrupted, and I think there is a good chance that will be the case, then were probably looking at Gavin Newsome.

But it may not make much difference. The Democrats are starting their moves to make sure they win regardless of who is on their ticket as they are now starting to push the Covid is returning narrative. And no doubt the globalist oligarchs like Soros, Zuckerberg and Gates will be at work behind the scenes as well getting the outcome they want. Wouldn't surprise me to see Biden declare a climate emergency sometime in the next year. Nothing is off the table for the Dems. The ends justify the means, without any limitations.

An argument could be made that the United States as founded is already over. Did you ever expect we would have so many political prisoners in this country including those rounded up after the Fedsurrection and now with the serial indictments of Trump. Might be at least one more as Governor Hobbs in Arizona wants Trump charged in her state.

At this point it may not matter if the Republicans take control or not. Too many of them are not much better than the Dems. The country may well be too far gone to salvage.

As you can tell I am not optimistic. Fortunate for me I am long in the tooth. Feel bad for the post-Baby Boomer generations though. I hope I am way off-base and things work out for the best.

[Shockm]

I think he'd be an excellent POTUS. Needs more charisma to be electable, IMO.

That is the narrative that Trump started, and some in the media have continued.

[pinstripers]

That is the narrative that Trump started, and some in the media have continued.

I dunno about that, but he needs more personality

[Ta Town Shocker]

Vivek seems to be trending in the right direction. He's an extremely polished speaker and doesn't hold his tongue. His campaign is being ran similarly to Trump's in 2016, using every opportunity to put his face on camera. Many of his statements make sense but I'm concerned about his ability to navigate foreign policy.

After hearing his statement about starting multi-billion dollar companies, I decided to do a little research. He made most of his money trading biotech stocks and starting his own biotech company. The company lost 115M last quarter. There are many of these small biotech companies out there that have no plan to make a profit and are little more than a legal scam in my opinion.

[Shockm]

I dunno about that, but he needs more personality

DT said that a number of times in the media, and his followers have taken his cue.

DT also ran a number of advertisements (this year) that RD is after their Social Security which is a lie. RD has only mentioned reforming SS by 2034 because SS will run out of funds by 2034 and if not reformed, retirees will lose it. Trump has demagogued any SS reforms, and said nothing needs to be done( it won’t affect him and he doesn’t need it). This is pure fear mongering.

For the history behind this issue, RD, 6 years ago (2017) said he was in favor of reforming SS so that people in their 30’s wouldn’t receive it until age 70. However people in their 40’s and above would not have any changes.

[Shockm]

Vivek seems to be trending in the right direction. He's an extremely polished speaker and doesn't hold his tongue. His campaign is being ran similarly to Trump's in 2016, using every opportunity to put his face on camera. Many of his statements make sense but I'm concerned about his ability to navigate foreign policy.

After hearing his statement about starting multi-billion dollar companies, I decided to do a little research. He made most of his money trading biotech stocks and starting his own biotech company. The company lost 115M last quarter. There are many of these small biotech companies out there that have no plan to make a profit and are little more than a legal scam in my opinion.

I think that Vivek is running to be Trump’s VP. He is certainly “kissing up” to DT with his statements (Example: DT was the best President of the 21st Century, etc) and DT was quick to compliment VR after the debate, thanking him. That led me to believe that VR ‘s main goal isn’t the Presidency in 2024.

Vivek is a smart young 38 year old billionaire who knows he has time to politically rise.

[pinstripers]

DT said that a number of times in the media, and his followers have taken his cue.

DT also ran a number of advertisements (this year) that RD is after their Social Security which is a lie. RD has only mentioned reforming SS by 2034 because SS will run out of funds by 2034 and if not reformed, retirees will lose it. Trump has demagogued any SS reforms, and said nothing needs to be done( it won’t affect him and he doesn’t need it). This is pure fear mongering.

For the history behind this issue, RD, 6 years ago (2017) said he was in favor of reforming SS so that people in their 30’s wouldn’t receive it until age 70. However people in their 40’s and above would not have any changes.

I keep saying what I think and you keep telling me what Trump thinks.

[Shockm]

I keep saying what I think and you keep telling me what Trump thinks.

It’s like you can read Trump’s mind?

This is a story from May (the same month that DeSantis entered the Pres. Race) that Trump’s been spreading ever since. There are numerous stories since then (all Trumps idea) spreading the same narrative. You can agree with Trump if you choose, but he started spreading his narrative months before so it’s his narrative and not new. He knows how to use the media and plant ideas in people’s minds.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaig...ty-transplant/