2024 GOP Presidential Race (3 Viewers)

[SteveSBrickNJ]

Many of Trump's endorsed candidates did not do well on Nov. 8th.
*
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

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

 

[MT15]

Why would anyone support this toddler?

 

[efil4]

Ron DeSantis has unveiled the latest act of retaliation against Disney for speaking out against his “don’t say gay” law: he’s threatening to build a new state prison next to the company’s central Florida theme parks.

The Republican governor dropped the suggestion at a hastily convened Monday lunchtime press conference, at which he laid out steps the state legislature would take to try to regain control over Florida’s largest private employer……

Ron DeSantis threatens prison near Disney theme park in latest retaliation

After being humiliated by its outgoing board, the Florida governor has hit upon another idea to punish the company

www.theguardian.com

Animal Kingdom v2?

 

[Optimus Prime]

Could he pass this test himself?
========================
Former president Donald Trump said that if he returns to the White House in 2025, he will mandate that federal employes take a civil service test and workers who do not pass would be fired.

The former president made the remarks in a video released on Friday.

“I will require every federal employee to pass a new civil service test, demonstrating an understanding our constutitional limited government,” he said.

Mr Trump said that the test would include command of due proceess rights, equal protection, free speech, religious liberty and Fourth Amendment to the Constitution’s protection against unreasonable search and seizure, which led him to mention the FBI searching his Mar-a-Lago estate in August for classified documents…..

Trump says he will make federal workers take political test and fire those who fail

Comes as the former president faces federal investigation

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Optimus Prime]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to “make America Florida.”

As the Republican gears up for a likely presidential run, we created this guide to current legislative proposals in the Sunshine State that offer a lens into his vision for the country.

The bills cover topics such as permitting gunowners to carry a concealed weapon without a license and eliminating funding for diversity and equity initiatives in state universities.

The speed with which the state legislature has already passed several DeSantis-backed proposals shows how he has consolidated power in Florida’s Capitol.

1. Education​

Eliminate diversity programs (HB 999/SB 266)

What it would do: Build on DeSantis’s push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and critical race theory (CRT) from public education.

The bill would prohibit state universities from spending money on campus diversity programs and instruct them to remove any majors focused on CRT or “radical feminist theory,” among other gender-related subjects. It would also weaken tenure protections for state university professors and encourage universities to promote instruction on Western civilization.

Context to know: The Florida governor is on a quest to eliminate what he calls “woke” left-leaning ideologies from the Sunshine State. And he has repeatedly focused on CRT and DEI initiatives as two signature components. CRT is an academic framework based on the premise that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions. DEI includes initiatives to promote diversity in education and the workplace.

Critics say DeSantis’s “anti-woke” platform is having a chilling effect, compelling teachers and schools to eliminate any instruction or initiative related to race or diversity. DeSantis and his supporters argue DEI and CRT are being used to impose an “ideological agenda.”

Status: Introduced

Expand universal vouchers (HB 1/SB 202)

What it will do: Dramatically expand the state’s school voucher program by opening it up to all K-12 students regardless of family income. Recipients will be given a taxpayer-funded “scholarship” to pay for the private school of their choice.

Context to know: Few other states offer a universal voucher program. Proponents say it will allow parents to enroll their child in the school they believe is the best fit.

Democratic opponents questioned the program’s cost. A Florida Policy Institute analysis found it will come with a yearly price tag of $4 billion — far more than the state legislature’s estimate.

Status: Signed into law; goes into effect July 1

Expand ‘don’t say gay’ (HB 1223/SB 1320)

What it would do: Prohibit classroom instruction related to gender identity or sexual orientation in prekindergarten through eighth grade. Currently, the state outlaws any such lessons in kindergarten through third grade.

The proposal would also ban the use of personal pronouns in public schools that do not correspond to a teacher, administrator or student’s sex at birth.

Context to know: DeSantis backed a similar bill covering earlier grades in 2022 that critics dubbed the “don’t say gay” law, arguing it discriminates against LGBTQ students and families. In the year since, the law has been used to justify decisions like banning books that focus on the LGBTQ community and removing “safe space” labels from classrooms.

Even if the new bill doesn’t pass, the law is likely to expand soon to all grade levels. The DeSantis-stacked Board of Education is expected to vote in April on a rule that would bar lessons related to gender identity and sexual orientation through the 12th grade.

Status: Introduced

2. Culture wars​

Ban kids at drag shows (HB 1423/SB 1438)

What it would do: Allow the state to revoke the liquor license of any establishment that permits a child to attend an “adult live performance.”

The bill is worded vaguely and does not specifically mention drag performances. It defines an adult live performance as any show including nudity, sexual content, or lewd exposure to “prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.”

Context to know: Over the past year, the DeSantis administration has targeted several establishments featuring drag performances. In perhaps the most notorious incident, the governor filed a complaint against Miami drag bar R House after a viral video surfaced showing a scantily clad dancer holding hands and walking with a young girl.

Critics say the bill is unnecessary because exposing children to sexually explicit activity is already a crime in the Sunshine State. They contend the bill is a crackdown on drag shows. Some do feature sexual content, while others are family-oriented. Conservatives in more than a dozen states have filed bills placing restrictions on drag show performances.

Status: Passed Senate vote; pending in House

Prohibit ESG (HB 3/SB 302)

What it would do: Prohibit state and local governments from making a range of investments based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations. The proposal would also bar banks from making financial decisions that take into account a customer’s political or religious beliefs, as well as factors like whether they own a firearm.

ESG is a range of indicators designed to evaluate a company’s sustainability by looking at performance on topics such as carbon emissions, human rights and staff diversity.

Context to know: DeSantis has characterized ESG as a “radical ideological agenda” and framed measures to curtail its use as part of his “anti-woke” campaign. Republicans in several other states have sought to blacklist banks that factor climate risks and social concerns into investment decisions. But not all have succeeded.

In recent months, conservatives in strongholds like North Dakota and Mississippi have defeated proposals similar to the one DeSantis is backing, arguing that the government should avoid interfering with private business decisions.

Status: Passed House vote; pending in Senate

3. Media and transparency​

Bolster ‘media accountability’ (HB 991/SB 1220)

What it would do: Make it easier to sue news organizations for defamation and win.

The current Supreme Court standard established nearly 60 years ago requires public figures attempting to sue for defamation to prove the journalist knew their statements were false or acted recklessly in making them. Private citizens face a lower threshold. Under the proposal, who is considered a “public figure” is narrowed, meaning fewer people would fall under the higher standard set by the court.

The proposal would also expose journalists who use anonymous sources — long considered essential in certain cases to protect an individual whose job or life might be at risk — to new legal liability.

Context to know: Publishers and free speech advocates, including some from conservative media, warn that the bill would dramatically change how journalists do their jobs. Opponents say a provision that presumes reporting cited to anonymous sources is false could make it harder for journalists to investigate corruption and sensitive topics.

DeSantis’s open antipathy toward “corporate media” is a key part of his brand. A DeSantis spokesman characterized the proposal as part of a push to enforce “media accountability.” The bill’s author told The Washington Post free speech concerns are overblown.

Status: Introduced................

MSN

www.msn.com

 

[Taurus]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to “make America Florida.”

As the Republican gears up for a likely presidential run, we created this guide to current legislative proposals in the Sunshine State that offer a lens into his vision for the country.

The bills cover topics such as permitting gunowners to carry a concealed weapon without a license and eliminating funding for diversity and equity initiatives in state universities.

The speed with which the state legislature has already passed several DeSantis-backed proposals shows how he has consolidated power in Florida’s Capitol.

1. Education​

Eliminate diversity programs (HB 999/SB 266)

What it would do: Build on DeSantis’s push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and critical race theory (CRT) from public education.

The bill would prohibit state universities from spending money on campus diversity programs and instruct them to remove any majors focused on CRT or “radical feminist theory,” among other gender-related subjects. It would also weaken tenure protections for state university professors and encourage universities to promote instruction on Western civilization.

Context to know: The Florida governor is on a quest to eliminate what he calls “woke” left-leaning ideologies from the Sunshine State. And he has repeatedly focused on CRT and DEI initiatives as two signature components. CRT is an academic framework based on the premise that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions. DEI includes initiatives to promote diversity in education and the workplace.

Critics say DeSantis’s “anti-woke” platform is having a chilling effect, compelling teachers and schools to eliminate any instruction or initiative related to race or diversity. DeSantis and his supporters argue DEI and CRT are being used to impose an “ideological agenda.”

Status: Introduced

Expand universal vouchers (HB 1/SB 202)

What it will do: Dramatically expand the state’s school voucher program by opening it up to all K-12 students regardless of family income. Recipients will be given a taxpayer-funded “scholarship” to pay for the private school of their choice.

Context to know: Few other states offer a universal voucher program. Proponents say it will allow parents to enroll their child in the school they believe is the best fit.

Democratic opponents questioned the program’s cost. A Florida Policy Institute analysis found it will come with a yearly price tag of $4 billion — far more than the state legislature’s estimate.

Status: Signed into law; goes into effect July 1

Expand ‘don’t say gay’ (HB 1223/SB 1320)

What it would do: Prohibit classroom instruction related to gender identity or sexual orientation in prekindergarten through eighth grade. Currently, the state outlaws any such lessons in kindergarten through third grade.

The proposal would also ban the use of personal pronouns in public schools that do not correspond to a teacher, administrator or student’s sex at birth.

Context to know: DeSantis backed a similar bill covering earlier grades in 2022 that critics dubbed the “don’t say gay” law, arguing it discriminates against LGBTQ students and families. In the year since, the law has been used to justify decisions like banning books that focus on the LGBTQ community and removing “safe space” labels from classrooms.

Even if the new bill doesn’t pass, the law is likely to expand soon to all grade levels. The DeSantis-stacked Board of Education is expected to vote in April on a rule that would bar lessons related to gender identity and sexual orientation through the 12th grade.

Status: Introduced

2. Culture wars​

Ban kids at drag shows (HB 1423/SB 1438)

What it would do: Allow the state to revoke the liquor license of any establishment that permits a child to attend an “adult live performance.”

The bill is worded vaguely and does not specifically mention drag performances. It defines an adult live performance as any show including nudity, sexual content, or lewd exposure to “prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.”

Context to know: Over the past year, the DeSantis administration has targeted several establishments featuring drag performances. In perhaps the most notorious incident, the governor filed a complaint against Miami drag bar R House after a viral video surfaced showing a scantily clad dancer holding hands and walking with a young girl.

Critics say the bill is unnecessary because exposing children to sexually explicit activity is already a crime in the Sunshine State. They contend the bill is a crackdown on drag shows. Some do feature sexual content, while others are family-oriented. Conservatives in more than a dozen states have filed bills placing restrictions on drag show performances.

Status: Passed Senate vote; pending in House

Prohibit ESG (HB 3/SB 302)

What it would do: Prohibit state and local governments from making a range of investments based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations. The proposal would also bar banks from making financial decisions that take into account a customer’s political or religious beliefs, as well as factors like whether they own a firearm.

ESG is a range of indicators designed to evaluate a company’s sustainability by looking at performance on topics such as carbon emissions, human rights and staff diversity.

Context to know: DeSantis has characterized ESG as a “radical ideological agenda” and framed measures to curtail its use as part of his “anti-woke” campaign. Republicans in several other states have sought to blacklist banks that factor climate risks and social concerns into investment decisions. But not all have succeeded.

In recent months, conservatives in strongholds like North Dakota and Mississippi have defeated proposals similar to the one DeSantis is backing, arguing that the government should avoid interfering with private business decisions.

Status: Passed House vote; pending in Senate

3. Media and transparency​

Bolster ‘media accountability’ (HB 991/SB 1220)

What it would do: Make it easier to sue news organizations for defamation and win.

The current Supreme Court standard established nearly 60 years ago requires public figures attempting to sue for defamation to prove the journalist knew their statements were false or acted recklessly in making them. Private citizens face a lower threshold. Under the proposal, who is considered a “public figure” is narrowed, meaning fewer people would fall under the higher standard set by the court.

The proposal would also expose journalists who use anonymous sources — long considered essential in certain cases to protect an individual whose job or life might be at risk — to new legal liability.

Context to know: Publishers and free speech advocates, including some from conservative media, warn that the bill would dramatically change how journalists do their jobs. Opponents say a provision that presumes reporting cited to anonymous sources is false could make it harder for journalists to investigate corruption and sensitive topics.

DeSantis’s open antipathy toward “corporate media” is a key part of his brand. A DeSantis spokesman characterized the proposal as part of a push to enforce “media accountability.” The bill’s author told The Washington Post free speech concerns are overblown.

Status: Introduced................

MSN

www.msn.com

I'm more and more certain that a big part of the attraction voters have for authoritarians like this is that they get shirt done. After all, most of this garbage won't affect them. Mr and Mrs Straight, White Christian just want lower taxes and to feel comfortable with their low-key bigotry. They couldn't care less if DeSantis rounded up all the gays, foreigners and transvestites and shot 'em right in the head.

 

[MT15]

I don’t think DeSantis is actually getting things done though. He is good at making gestures, I’ll give him that. Several of his laws are currently blocked and / or being challenged in court because they appear to be unconstitutional. He was completely ineffective in his “fight” with Disney, and he’s showing a complete lack of judgement about when to move on.

 

[Taurus]

I don’t think DeSantis is actually getting things done though. He is good at making gestures, I’ll give him that. Several of his laws are currently blocked and / or being challenged in court because they appear to be unconstitutional. He was completely ineffective in his “fight” with Disney, and he’s showing a complete lack of judgement about when to move on.

The fear is already having its intended effect.

 

[Optimus Prime]

In a blow to Ron DeSantis, a prominent ally of the rightwing governor was on Tuesday one of two Florida Republicans in Congress to back Donald Trump for president, the latest in a string of defections.

The news came amid reportsthat DeSantis’s team has pressured US representatives from his state not to endorse Trump.

Brian Mast told CNN he planned to endorse the former president and would chair a veterans committee in support of his re-election bid.

Peter Schorsch, publisher of FloridaPolitics.com, said: “Brian Mast has been DeSantis’s ally on environment and water issues in South Florida. Mast is at DeSantis’s hip during press conferences. They’re both veterans, too. Wow.”

Schorsch also said Mast’s decision was “right up there with Byron Donalds picking Trump over DeSantis”.

Donalds introduced DeSantis for his election night speech in November, after his landslide win over the Democrat Charlie Crist. Last week, though, Donalds told NBC he plumped for Trump because he was a candidate “ready for prime time”.

On Tuesday, Mast and John Rutherford were the sixth and seventh congressional Florida Republicans to endorse Trump. Rutherford announced his decision in a tweet………

Ron DeSantis ally backs Trump for president in latest Florida defection

News comes amid reports that governor’s team has pressured representatives from his state not to endorse Trump

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

omg - how broke is this guy?

Donald Trump released a second iteration of his NFT trading cards, leading to mockery online.

The former president announced on Tuesday 18 April that he was selling another series of the NFT trading cards he released this past December.

“I am pleased to inform you that, due to the great success of my previously launched DIGITAL TRADING CARDS, we are doing it again, SERIES 2, AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW,” Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social……

Trump boasts about making $4.6m from NFT cards that actually plummeted in value

The second series of Trump’s digital trading cards feature him in the likeness of George Washington

www.independent.co.uk

 

[efil4]

Donald Trump released a second iteration of his NFT trading cards, leading to mockery online.

The former president announced on Tuesday 18 April that he was selling another series of the NFT trading cards he released this past December.

“I am pleased to inform you that, due to the great success of my previously launched DIGITAL TRADING CARDS, we are doing it again, SERIES 2, AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW,” Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social……

Trump boasts about making $4.6m from NFT cards that actually plummeted in value

The second series of Trump’s digital trading cards feature him in the likeness of George Washington

www.independent.co.uk

Whomp whooomp. Floor price went from .42899 ETH down to .12, settling at .18 ( so $887 to $246 settling at $369 )

Donald Trump's trading cards collapse in value

Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that due to his initial success selling NFTs he would release a second wave of trading cards.

www.newsweek.com

 

[superchuck500]

Donald Trump released a second iteration of his NFT trading cards, leading to mockery online.

The former president announced on Tuesday 18 April that he was selling another series of the NFT trading cards he released this past December.

“I am pleased to inform you that, due to the great success of my previously launched DIGITAL TRADING CARDS, we are doing it again, SERIES 2, AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW,” Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social……

Trump boasts about making $4.6m from NFT cards that actually plummeted in value

The second series of Trump’s digital trading cards feature him in the likeness of George Washington

www.independent.co.uk

Not a cult

 

[MT15]

They should have at least had the shred of integrity to make him “fat elvis”.

 

[Optimus Prime]

After several months of feuding with the Walt Disney Company’s lawyers, Florida governor Ron DeSantis doesn’t seem to recognize when he’s being outgunned. He’s proved that he’s willing to use everything within his arsenal to punish a corporation that opposes the “Don’t Say Gay” law—including theme park rider safety laws.

On April 17, the Orlando Sentinel reported that the governor announced that he would be putting forward a proposal that strips Disney of “special privileges” that allow the corporation to inspect the safety of its own theme park rides and self-report injuries sustained on those rides, rather than being inspected by Florida’s agricultural agency (like state fairs currently are). According to one Sentinel reporter, parks such as Universal, Legoland, and Sea World would still retain exemptions from safety regulations. Kotaku reached out to the governor’s office to ask why Disney was singled out, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

This move is objectively a good thing for consumers. Floridian regulators have been trying to reform rider safety laws for years, since the current rules allow theme parks to handle injury reports themselves. This led to incidents such as Universal Orlando labeling a broken neck sustained on one of its racing rides as “numbness” and a child’s broken bones as “foot pain.” If government regulators start inspecting Disney rides, the megacorp will be subject to more independent oversight. Sorry if you visit any other major theme park in Florida, though—the odds of recourse for rider injury are going to be lower.

Senator Geraldine Thompson praised the initiative for raising the safety standards for Disney’s rides. “We want people to know that amusement rides in Florida are safe,” she said. Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson felt that the proposal didn’t go far enough. “Where a person is injured should not determine how the state responds. Everyone should have to play by the same rules,” he said.

Despite the good things about the proposal, it sets Florida back by decades. DeSantis isn’t doing this out of a sense of responsibility towards his constituents, he’s doing this in order to hurt queer people. He wants to send a loud message to corporations in Florida: If you oppose his homophobic laws, then he’ll single your business out for big government regulation. Leave it to a Republican governor to turn a good proposal into something that stinks................

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Has Now Pissed Everyone Off With His Disney Feud

Did you know that the biggest Florida theme parks are exempt from safety regulations? I sure didn’t

kotaku.com

 

[superchuck500]

After several months of feuding with the Walt Disney Company’s lawyers, Florida governor Ron DeSantis doesn’t seem to recognize when he’s being outgunned. He’s proved that he’s willing to use everything within his arsenal to punish a corporation that opposes the “Don’t Say Gay” law—including theme park rider safety laws.

On April 17, the Orlando Sentinel reported that the governor announced that he would be putting forward a proposal that strips Disney of “special privileges” that allow the corporation to inspect the safety of its own theme park rides and self-report injuries sustained on those rides, rather than being inspected by Florida’s agricultural agency (like state fairs currently are). According to one Sentinel reporter, parks such as Universal, Legoland, and Sea World would still retain exemptions from safety regulations. Kotaku reached out to the governor’s office to ask why Disney was singled out, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

This move is objectively a good thing for consumers. Floridian regulators have been trying to reform rider safety laws for years, since the current rules allow theme parks to handle injury reports themselves. This led to incidents such as Universal Orlando labeling a broken neck sustained on one of its racing rides as “numbness” and a child’s broken bones as “foot pain.” If government regulators start inspecting Disney rides, the megacorp will be subject to more independent oversight. Sorry if you visit any other major theme park in Florida, though—the odds of recourse for rider injury are going to be lower.

Senator Geraldine Thompson praised the initiative for raising the safety standards for Disney’s rides. “We want people to know that amusement rides in Florida are safe,” she said. Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson felt that the proposal didn’t go far enough. “Where a person is injured should not determine how the state responds. Everyone should have to play by the same rules,” he said.

Despite the good things about the proposal, it sets Florida back by decades. DeSantis isn’t doing this out of a sense of responsibility towards his constituents, he’s doing this in order to hurt queer people. He wants to send a loud message to corporations in Florida: If you oppose his homophobic laws, then he’ll single your business out for big government regulation. Leave it to a Republican governor to turn a good proposal into something that stinks................

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Has Now Pissed Everyone Off With His Disney Feud

Did you know that the biggest Florida theme parks are exempt from safety regulations? I sure didn’t

kotaku.com

Meanwhile, in the delusional land of "Republicans still have a lot to offer to independents" Republican governor of New Hampshire Chris Sununu spoke at a GOP donor meeting yesterday and said "we all can agree that Republicans like business, like individual liberty, and like local-rule . . . "

Except no, the modern Republican Party does not like those things at all. It's 100% about the culture war and any business, individual, or local government that isn't on-board with the GOP's culture war is villainized and subject to punitive action.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/18/sununu-new-hampshire-republicans-trump/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=wp_main

 

[Booker]

DeSantis seems to be flailing a little at the moment...

DeSantis megadonors revolt in private chat, saying if they wanted a MAGA candidate they 'would donate to Donald Trump', report says

Rolling Stone obtained screenshots of the group chat between the GOP megadonors, in which they raged about Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential prospects.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Tim Scott about to throw his hat in the ring
=============================
When Sen. Tim Scott gets going with a microphone, it’s clear that politics wasn’t his first love. His cadence and intonations and wordplay — with a little call-and-response tossed in for good measure — bear the markings of the southern Black pastor he once aspired to become. And while Scott (R-S.C.) wears his Christian faith on his sleeve, his political preaching is steeped in the hyperpartisan civil religion of modern Republican rhetoric.

Scott’s sermons typically begin with a little self-effacing humor and inspiration from his biography. He points to his troubles as a student, noting he graduated “thank ya Lawdy” instead of cum laude or that “when you fail Spanish and English, don’t nobody call you bilingual. No. They call you bi-ignorant.” With his parishioners loosened up and ready for the word, Scott often transitions to the importance of family and faith by emphasizing their journey “from cotton to Congress in one lifetime.”

Only then is a repast of red meat served. His attacks on the left are ladled with the same Black pastoral alliterations. “Woke supremacy is as bad as white supremacy,” Scott once offered on Fox News, leaning into the most overused word in American politics. When critical race theory dominated the news cycle, the senator’s comments carried hints of a preacher’s dialect: “We need ABCs, not CRT, in our schools.”

A pulpit still clearly calls to him — but now it’s the bully one. On April 12, Scott took a step toward the White House by announcing his exploratory committee for the 2024 presidential election. An apocalyptic civic spirit pulses through his announcement video, which was recorded at the site where the Civil War began, and declares that President Biden, and other progressives, are “indoctrinating our children to believe we live in an evil country.”

Marrying church vernacular with political jargon is child’s play, though, compared with Scott’s strategy for victory: combining the compassionate conservatism of a bygone era with Donald Trump’s sharp-elbowed MAGA Republicanism. The idea is to survive Republican primaries and win the nomination without closing off avenues of appeal to the broader electorate. He’ll need a miracle.

The case for Scott begins where the thing necessarily starts: He is the Senate’s only Black Republican. For a party routinely accused of veiled and even overt racism, Scott is a genial counterargument. His presence makes the Republican brand more palatable to those who want an American conservatism without the racial resentment. Inside the party, he is the rare Republican who arrived with the tea party wave of 2010 but has not been defined by radicalism during the swift transition to Trumpism.

A Venn diagram of the party’s competing factions could have Scott in the overlap. And he scratches the itch for pragmatic bipartisanship among independent voters. When questions of race policy have arisen, Scott has sometimes found agreement with Democrats on issues such as funding for historically Black colleges and universities, anti-lynching legislation and criminal justice reform...................

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/19/tim-scott-republican-presidential-message/

 

[superchuck500]

 

[Booker]