2024 GOP Presidential Race (4 Viewers)

[SteveSBrickNJ]

Many of Trump's endorsed candidates did not do well on Nov. 8th.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis DID do well.
He won convincingly.
Yet in this OP's opinion, Donald Trump is an egomaniac who is seemingly incapable of putting "Party over Self"
Trump has ZERO chance of being elected our next president.
In my opinion, if Trump would just shut up and go away (fat chance of that)...but "if" Trump did that, Gov. Ron DeSantis would have a CHANCE to be a formidable candidate for President in 2024.
Here is an interesting article on this topic...

Donald Trump warns Ron DeSantis against 2024 presidential bid as Republican rising star wins big

Donald Trump has warned Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis against running for president in 2024, saying doing so would harm the Republican Party.

www.scotsman.com

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*
What do any of you think re. Trump vs DeSantis?

 

[SteveSBrickNJ]

There was a 5 second video posted not too long ago aimed at me...that video of Marsh Brady looped repeatedly.
I mentioned memes and emojis but that's not a meme. My mistake.
I will not change my position and additionally I DO appreciate that others would like to put this topic behind us. So to that end, I will not post about Marsha Brady videos or people labeling my views as "nonsensical". I'm gonna let it go and watch some US Open Tennis.
Happy Labor Day everyone!
Steve

 

[SFIDC3]

I don't think not wanting to vote for either Trump or Biden is nonsensical at all. It's a choice people can make. Being antagonistic isn't going to convince him to change his approach.

You've missed the point entirely Dave, but I still love you....happy labor day everyone!!!!!

 

[RebSaint]

Both sides!

 

[Optimus Prime]

Interesting point about the mugshot ownership

Doubt any action is taken on it though
=============================


A new poll shows Donald Trump and Joe Biden neck-and-neck among voters nationally.

The new poll, by the Wall Street Journal, also found that 59 per cent of Republican voters say the former president would be their first choice if the GOP primary was today.

“Wow! Ron DeSanctimonious has seen a Polling CRASH like no other. People have gotten to know him. Also, really bad Social Security votes, and would decimate Medicare. That doesn’t play well in America!” Mr Trump boasted on Truth Social.
This comes as Mr Trump could be in hot water over his use of his mug shot to sell merchandise for his political campaign.

Legal experts have warned that the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office owns the copyright for the image and so could sue Mr Trump for using it on t-shirts and other merchandise…….

Trump dead even with Biden in new poll as mug shot merch under new scrutiny – live

Follow latest updates amid Donald Trump’s criminal cases and 2024 presidential election campaign

www.the-independent.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

 

[MT15]

She needs to fire her Twitter person, lol

 

[superchuck500]

This is the guy they want to have civil war over

 

[Booker]

This is the guy they want to have civil war over

This right here. It’s mind boggling.

 

[Optimus Prime]

For what it’s worth

I didn’t know he wasn’t married

And don’t think it matters if he isn’t
==============
In June, as Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) began to get a little momentum in the presidential primary, a person working on behalf of one of Scott’s Republican opponents messaged me, asking to chat.

“Have you seen the video,” he asked over the phone, conspiratorially, “where he says he has a girlfriend?”

The video in question was from a May event organized by the news website Axios, where the interviewer asked the South Carolina senator about the possibility of becoming the first bachelor president since the 19th century.

“I probably have more time, more energy and more latitude to do the job,” he replies. And then the senator adds — quickly, as an aside: “My girlfriend wants to see me when I come home.”

The Republican operative who called me wasn’t sure said girlfriend existed. He suggested I look into it. He followed up on our conversation with an email that included a dossier of Scott’s known personal relationships. “No fingerprints,” he said.

Scott’s romantic endeavors aren’t a scandal so much as they are a mystery. At 57, he’s never been married and rarely talks about girlfriends past or present.

Late last year, as Scott was ramping up his run for president, I asked Jennifer DeCasper, his close friend and campaign manager, about the status of his dating life. “It’s nonexistent,” she said.

Now, Scott was suggesting otherwise. And the timing of that revelation seemed a bit convenient.
“He has staked so much on his personal story, character and faith,” said the operative, who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity because, well, that’s how people kick dirt around in this business.

“He’s running as America’s pastor, so to speak, as he courts evangelicals in Iowa, and I think a lot of folks may wonder about his lack of a family.”…….

……And although there have been unmarried candidates for president over the years — including the other Republican senator from South Carolina, Lindsey O. Graham, in 2015 — you would have to go all the way back to Grover Cleveland, in 1884, to find a bachelor who won. (Cleveland married two years later.) Before that, there was James Buchanan, who stayed single after winning in 1856. And yeah, it was a thing.

“An Old Bachelor is at most but a half man,” wrote the New York Evening Post in an editorial about Buchanan. “How can such a person make more than a half-President?”

Fast-forward to two-thousand-whatever. Despite an evolving understanding of gender — or, more likely, because of it — Republicans have made defining “masculinity” a part of their political playbook. This includes promoting some pretty old-school ideas about marriage.

“Men are meant to be husbands, to form the virtues of a husband in their souls,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote in his book “Manhood.”

Before Trump, when Tim Miller was working in opposition research on the Republican side, finding a sex scandal used to be an effective way to topple an opponent. It may say something about our current political moment that Scott’s opponents might see an opportunity to damage him with a sexless scandal.

“What might be salient with Republican voters is not that he isn’t a perfect family man,” Miller told me, “but that he might not have the macho womanizing strength of the MAGA god-king.”

Scott’s current mission is to impress a particular subset of Republicans: the ones who will be participating in the Iowa caucuses early next year.

What do they think of the idea of an unmarried, childless commander in chief?

“I think 10 or 20 years ago, people had a kind of romance with the first family,” said Bob Vander Plaats, the head of the Family Leader, a social conservative organization in Iowa. “But I think our country is at the point where being married isn’t the top qualifier. It probably doesn’t make the Top 50.”……….

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2023/09/12/tim-scott-girlfriend-republican-presidential-candidate/

 

[DaveXA]

For what it’s worth

I didn’t know he wasn’t married

And don’t think it matters if he isn’t
==============
In June, as Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) began to get a little momentum in the presidential primary, a person working on behalf of one of Scott’s Republican opponents messaged me, asking to chat.

“Have you seen the video,” he asked over the phone, conspiratorially, “where he says he has a girlfriend?”

The video in question was from a May event organized by the news website Axios, where the interviewer asked the South Carolina senator about the possibility of becoming the first bachelor president since the 19th century.

“I probably have more time, more energy and more latitude to do the job,” he replies. And then the senator adds — quickly, as an aside: “My girlfriend wants to see me when I come home.”

The Republican operative who called me wasn’t sure said girlfriend existed. He suggested I look into it. He followed up on our conversation with an email that included a dossier of Scott’s known personal relationships. “No fingerprints,” he said.

Scott’s romantic endeavors aren’t a scandal so much as they are a mystery. At 57, he’s never been married and rarely talks about girlfriends past or present.

Late last year, as Scott was ramping up his run for president, I asked Jennifer DeCasper, his close friend and campaign manager, about the status of his dating life. “It’s nonexistent,” she said.

Now, Scott was suggesting otherwise. And the timing of that revelation seemed a bit convenient.
“He has staked so much on his personal story, character and faith,” said the operative, who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity because, well, that’s how people kick dirt around in this business.

“He’s running as America’s pastor, so to speak, as he courts evangelicals in Iowa, and I think a lot of folks may wonder about his lack of a family.”…….

……And although there have been unmarried candidates for president over the years — including the other Republican senator from South Carolina, Lindsey O. Graham, in 2015 — you would have to go all the way back to Grover Cleveland, in 1884, to find a bachelor who won. (Cleveland married two years later.) Before that, there was James Buchanan, who stayed single after winning in 1856. And yeah, it was a thing.

“An Old Bachelor is at most but a half man,” wrote the New York Evening Post in an editorial about Buchanan. “How can such a person make more than a half-President?”

Fast-forward to two-thousand-whatever. Despite an evolving understanding of gender — or, more likely, because of it — Republicans have made defining “masculinity” a part of their political playbook. This includes promoting some pretty old-school ideas about marriage.

“Men are meant to be husbands, to form the virtues of a husband in their souls,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote in his book “Manhood.”

Before Trump, when Tim Miller was working in opposition research on the Republican side, finding a sex scandal used to be an effective way to topple an opponent. It may say something about our current political moment that Scott’s opponents might see an opportunity to damage him with a sexless scandal.

“What might be salient with Republican voters is not that he isn’t a perfect family man,” Miller told me, “but that he might not have the macho womanizing strength of the MAGA god-king.”

Scott’s current mission is to impress a particular subset of Republicans: the ones who will be participating in the Iowa caucuses early next year.

What do they think of the idea of an unmarried, childless commander in chief?

“I think 10 or 20 years ago, people had a kind of romance with the first family,” said Bob Vander Plaats, the head of the Family Leader, a social conservative organization in Iowa. “But I think our country is at the point where being married isn’t the top qualifier. It probably doesn’t make the Top 50.”……….

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2023/09/12/tim-scott-girlfriend-republican-presidential-candidate/

I have a theory, but I ain't saying out loud on here. I'd rather let him say it, but I'd be surprised if he ever does.

 

[Taurus]

I have a theory, but I ain't saying out loud on here. I'd rather let him say it, but I'd be surprised if he ever does.

'Cause his mouth is too full?

 

[cuddlemonkey]

I have a theory, but I ain't saying out loud on here. I'd rather let him say it, but I'd be surprised if he ever does.

That he's a member of the same club as Lindsey Graham and Kay Ivey?

 

[DaveXA]

That he's a member of the same club as Lindsey Graham and Kay Ivey?

Oh, I think he's a member of a club alright.

 

[Optimus Prime]

 

[Optimus Prime]

Former President Donald Trump continues to lead a crowded 2024 GOP presidential field as he prepares to bring his campaign back to South Carolina on Sept. 25 in Summerville.

A new Monmouth University-Washington Post poll released Thursday bolstered his lead in the Palmetto State, with 46% of potential GOP primary voters hedging their bets on the indictment-laden candidate.

Trump's lead was equivalent to the support held by the rest of the field. The two homegrown candidates, former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott, made for just over a quarter of support.

Haley, who had been lagging behind in polls since February, has started to see polls tick in her favor. She was in second place after Trump with 18% of the votes in the SC primary poll. Meanwhile, Scott was at 10% and DeSantis, who has substantial support in the Upstate in South Carolina, was at 9%..........

MSN

 

[Optimus Prime]

 

[Taurus]

Keep pouring it on. Keep forcing him to confront the consequences of his actions and he'll snap like a Prince Rupert's drop.

 

[Optimus Prime]

scary possibility

I don't even want to think about the reaction if this were to actually happen
=======================

In an ordinary time, under ordinary political conditions, the specter of another Trump presidency would be strictly the stuff of nightmares. The former president is facing 40 criminal charges for his mishandling of classified documents, and will have to interrupt his campaign next summer to defend himself in court. Those charges are apart from the 34 felony counts of falsifying business records he faces in New York. And then there’s the rape defamation lawsuit, which will begin in January, and which he will almost certainly lose.

The American people, however, can be awfully forgiving. In current polling, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are tied nationally; no Republican nominee has emerged to challenge Trump. But, as we have been learning pretty much continuously since 2000, the will of the majority of the American people no longer matters all that much in who is running their country.

The abstruse and elaborate mechanisms of the US constitution relating to elections, which used to be matters for historical curiosity, have become more and more relevant every year. In 2024, there is very much a way for Donald Trump to lose the popular vote, lose the electoral college, lose all his legal cases and still end up president of the United States in an entirely legal manner. It’s called a contingent election.

A contingent election is the process put in place to deal with the eventuality in which no presidential candidate reaches the threshold of 270 votes in the electoral college. In the early days of the American republic, when the duopoly of the two-party system was neither desired nor expected, this process was essential.

There have been two contingent elections in US history. The first was in 1825. The year before, Andrew Jackson, the man from the $20 bill, had won the plurality of votes and the plurality of electoral college votes as well, but after extensive, elaborate negotiations, John Quincy Adams took the presidency mostly by offering Henry Clay, who had come third in the election, secretary of state. Jackson, though shocked, conceded gracefully. He knew his time would come. His supporters used the butt area of Adams’s “corrupt bargain” with Clay to ensure Jackson’s victory in 1828.........

The American people are already disinclined to believe in the legitimacy of any election that doesn’t conform to their own desired outcome any more, left or right. In 2016, at the inauguration of Donald Trump, the crowds chanted “not my president”. As of August, the percentage of Republicans who think that 2020 was stolen is near 70%.

So the possibility of the electoral college releasing a confusing result, or being unable to certify a satisfying result by two months after the election, is quite real. The electoral college, even at its best, is an arcane system, unworthy of a 21st-century country. There have been, up to 2020, 165 faithless electors in American history – electors who didn’t vote for the candidate they had pledged to vote for.

In 1836, Virginia faithless electors forced a contingent election for vice-president. If the 270 marker has not been reached by 6 January, the contingent election takes place automatically. And the contingent election isn’t decided by the popular votes or the number of electoral college votes. Each state delegation in the House of Representatives is given a single vote for president. Each state delegation in the Senate is given a single vote for vice-president.

The basic unfairness of this process is obvious: California with its 52 representatives, and Texas with its 38 representatives, would have the same say in determining the presidency as Wyoming and Vermont, which have one apiece. State delegations in the House would favor Republicans as a matter of course. In the struggle for congressional delegates, Republicans would have 19 safe House delegations and the Democrats would have 14, as it stands, with more states leaning Republican than Democrat..........

Here’s the scary way Trump could win without the electoral or popular vote | Stephen Marche

In a ‘contingent election’, he could lose the popular vote, electoral college and all his legal cases and still end up the legal US president

www.theguardian.com