The Race For 2024

[bilby]

He was younger as well, and would have been less susceptible to manipulation from the left wing of the party.

Yeah. 'cos we all know that as men age they get less conservative.

Oh, wait.

Shit.

 

[Politesse]

Winner winner chicken dinner. Attacking the other guy for being old and incoherent (when your guy is also both) is a desperation move, not a leading argument.

The biggest problem you yanks have is not the age of the candidates but rather their quality - mental, emotional and physical etc.

Qualifications, experience, education, ability to read...

 

[TSwizzle]

Oh good lord;

President Joe Biden made a bizarre claim in a speech that he'd taught political theory at an Ivy League university - despite only serving there as a visiting fellow and honorary professor. Biden, at 80, the nation's oldest-ever president, was speaking at Prince George Community College in Maryland Thursday for an economic address he meant to contrast what he calls 'Bidenomics' with the police of predecessor Donald Trump. At one point, however, the president turned his speech to a common theme, that Democracy is 'under attack' when he suddenly discussed his time at the University of Pennsylvania. 'We got to fight for it,' Biden said. ''I taught at the University of Pennsylvania for four years and I used to teach political theory. And folks, you always hear, every generation has to fight for Democracy.' However, while Biden served from 2017 to 2019 as the Benjamin Franklin Presidential Professor of the Practice, there is no record of him teaching classes.

Daily Mail

And this is after Brandon claimed he stood at the site of the twin towers the day after 9/11 and it was like "looking through the gates of hell". Which he didn't.

Just another gaffe, a fantasist, a liar or is the mind going? C'mon man!

No way he runs, no way.

 

[TomC]

And this is after Brandon claimed he stood at the site of the twin towers the day after 9/11 and it was like "looking through the gates of hell". Which he didn't.

I can imagine security at ground zero was still extremely tight the day after 9/11. How long do you suppose it was before Senators were allowed in?
Tom

 

[Elixir]

Why does a visiting fellow and honorary professor teaching a class, represent such an outrage to the Grievance Party?

Oh, right. TEACHING. Anathema to the ignorant raving grievers.

 

[Politesse]

Why does a visiting fellow and honorary professor teaching a class, represent such an outrage to the Grievance Party?

They're the Grievance Party. It don't take much.

 

[Harry Bosch]

What do you suggest as an alternative?
As for Newsom, I have no idea.
Except he's better than anyone on the Republican side of the equation.
Tom

I think Newsom could play well in the primaries. He is definitely planning to run in 2028, and his early moves for 2028 make him best prepared should an opening arise for 2024.

I must reiterate what I said in the other thread:

I think the idiotic "reparations taskforce" he started will be an albatross around his neck. It isn't even playing well in California, and it will play in the rest of the country even less.
A California panel has called for billions in reparations for descendants of slaves
Most California voters oppose cash reparations for slavery, poll finds

That said, I think he could be strong in the primaries for the same reason he will be hampered in the general. Esp. in states with many black Dems like South Carolina (now stupidly going first instead of Iowa and NH) and Georgia.

I don't think that the reparations taskforce will hurt him much. He has to address the issue. The vast majority of people (including dems) realize that we don't have enough money to pay every African American $10 million.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Why does a visiting fellow and honorary professor teaching a class, represent such an outrage to the Grievance Party?

Oh, right. TEACHING. Anathema to the ignorant raving grievers.

It's about relentlessly attacking him. Whether it's true or not doesn't matter.

 

[Shadowy Man]

Why does a visiting fellow and honorary professor teaching a class, represent such an outrage to the Grievance Party?

Oh, right. TEACHING. Anathema to the ignorant raving grievers.

It's about relentlessly attacking him. Whether it's true or not doesn't matter.

Throw enough mud and maybe some will stick.

 

[lpetrich]

RealClearPolitics - Election 2024 - 2024 Republican Presidential Nomination
DeSantis continues his DeCline: now at 12.7%, only a little bit more than Vivek Ramaswamy (7.2%), Nikki Haley (5.7%), and Mike Pence (4.5%). Further down is Chris Christie (2.8%), and Tim Scott (2.5%), with the other ones even less. Trump is far ahead at 43.9%.

Pro-Ron DeSantis super PAC ends door-knocking in Nevada and Super Tuesday states - "Never Back Down officials said they were reinvesting in the first three primary states and criticized what they see as a pro-Trump effort to tilt primary rules in his favor elsewhere."

 

[lpetrich]

This country will become a hellscape of bilionaires' fiefdoms - even moreso than it is today. And the suffering masses will be told to give thanks to their economic overlords for saving them from the horrors of democracy.

That's just fearmongering. I do not expect a hypothetical Trump 2nd term to be very different from his first. Except that he would be much more likely to be replaced by his vice president this time around, since he would be 8 years older than during his first term.

Complacent nonsense.

 Project 2025

Project 2025 is a plan to reshape the U.S. Federal government in the event of a Republican victory in 2024 United States presidential election.

The plan seeks to recruit thousands to come to Washington, D.C. and to restructure the federal government in the service of Trumpism, the personal ideology of Donald Trump. The plan would perform a rapid takeover of the entire U.S. federal government under a maximalist version of the unitary executive theory – a theory proposing the president of the United States has absolute power of the executive branch – upon inauguration. The development of the plan is led by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative U.S. think tank.

The plan includes widespread changes across the entire government. With regards to climate policy, Project 2025 specifically plans to undo the Inflation Reduction Act, shut down the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office, and increase the extraction and use of fossil fuels, among other measures.

If this seems like Presidential Caesarism, it is.

Project 2025 seeks to place the entire U.S. federal government under direct presidential control, eliminating the independence of the Department of Justice, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission and other agencies.

...
The concept of personal presidential power is central to the thinking of Donald Trump, the current front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, who falsely stated in 2019 that Article Two of the United States Constitution granted him the "right to do whatever as president"

and

Project 2025 establishes a personnel database shaped by the ideology of Donald Trump. Throughout his presidency, Trump has rooted out individuals who are disloyal regardless of their ideological conviction, such as former attorney general William Barr, calling them "snakes" and "traitors" in his post-presidency.

If Congress objects, they will issue executive orders. If the courts object, then they will likely ignore the courts unless they can get the Supreme Court to rubber-stamp everything that they do.

 

[lpetrich]

 Self-coup

A self-coup, also called an autocoup (from the Spanish: autogolpe), or coup from the top, is a form of coup d'état in which a nation's head, having come to power through legal means, tries to stay in power through illegal means. The leader may dissolve or render powerless the national legislature and unlawfully assume extraordinary powers not granted under normal circumstances. Other measures may include annulling the nation's constitution, suspending civil courts, and having the head of government assume dictatorial powers.[1][2]

Between 1946 and 2022, an estimated 148 self-coup attempts took place, 110 in autocracies and 38 in democracies.[3]

Successful self-coups: by Julius Caesar of Rome, Napoleon III of France, Adolf Hitler of Germany, ...

Attempted self-coups: by Donald Trump of the US, ...

 Constitutional coup - using constitutional mechanisms

Mentions the 2000 US Presidential election

During the United States presidential election debacle in Florida, then-governor Jeb Bush called on the state legislature to simply ignore the contested vote count and give Florida's electoral college votes to candidate George Bush, a fellow Republican and Jeb Bush's brother. This is theoretically constitutional, as the US constitution does not guarantee the right to vote in presidential elections. Rather, it authorizes each state to determine how its electors should be chosen, although it is ambiguous whether, having already selected electors by vote in accordance with state law, the legislature can then overrule that determination. However, the move was ultimately blocked by the US Supreme Court.[12]

The Supreme Court striking down a constitutional coup may seem like a contradiction in terms, as the coup no longer seems constitutional, per se. However, it is important to note that the "constitutional" element of constitutional coups refers more to the exploitation of ambiguity within democratic rule of law, not a truly legal process. This ambiguity, combined with enough political power, allows anti-democratic seizures of power to occur under the guise of constitutionality.

 Soft coup - "A soft coup, sometimes referred to as a silent coup, is an illegal overthrow of a government. Unlike a classical coup d'état, it is achieved without the use of force or violence.[1]"

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Why does a visiting fellow and honorary professor teaching a class, represent such an outrage to the Grievance Party?

Oh, right. TEACHING. Anathema to the ignorant raving grievers.

It's about relentlessly attacking him. Whether it's true or not doesn't matter.

Throw enough mud and maybe some will stick.

Even if none sticks it's there for a moment before it falls off. Keep flinging it and there's always mud there.

 

[lpetrich]

Cornel West seems to be running for the Greens, giving hope to Don the Con. According to The Daily Mail, he thinks that "the Democratic Party is 'beyond redemption'" , and "He labeled progressives, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as 'window dressing, at worst,' ".
Ah, but that begs the question: what are they at best, in relation to the Dems?

Third party presidential hopeful Cornel West says the Demcoratic Party is 'beyond redemption' and calls AOC and Bernie Sanders 'window dressing at worst' | Daily Mail Online

Cornel West On Rising: Bernie, AOC Are 'WINDOW DRESSING' At Best, Dems 'BEYOND REDEMPTION' - YouTube

He said that AOC and Bernie Sanders were at worst window dressing and at best people to appeal to every four years.

However, he did mention ranked-choice voting and proportional representation.

 

[ZiprHead]

Heard just today: Vivek Ramasmarmy.

Agreed.

I think Derec posted that as a tongue in cheek response to those who seem to think any sort of mockery towards a non-white is automatically racist. The play on Vivek's name is sorta immature and junior high-ish, but its not a comment directed towards his race. Think Ron de Sanctimonious versus Ron de Santis, as Trump called him.

I still have no idea what is in Ziprhead's post as all I see is nothing but blank space after Vivek Ramasmarmy.

There was nothing else.

 

[TSwizzle]

Oh boy, insufferable prick Gavin Newsom laying it a little bit too thick;

In an interview with CNN, Newsom acknowledged that voters "have every right to be concerned" about Biden's age (80) but insisted he was not concerned. "I want a seasoned pro that knows how to get things done," Newsom said. "I'm a little old-fashioned. I want a guy who produces results, and the results are in: It's been a master class."
"There's simply no administration in my lifetime that's been more effective producing more substantive results," said the 55-year-old Newsom, who has lived through the Nixon, Carter, Ford, Reagan, Clinton, both Bush, Obama and Trump presidencies. He pointed to several bipartisan wins for the Biden White House, including deals on infrastructure, gun control, raising the debt ceiling and the CHIPS and Science Act, which incentivized companies to build and manufacture semiconductors in the U.S. "I mean this, I couldn't imagine three years ago that this president could accomplish so much in such a short period of time. I mean that," Newsom emphasized.

Fox

Yeah, the results are in that Brandon's polling is in the toilet, two thirds of his own party think he's too old.

Newsom 2024 when Biden drops out, c'mon man!!

 

[ZiprHead]

Yeah, the results are in that Brandon's polling is in the toilet, two thirds of his own party think he's too old.

Pew: Phone polling in crisis again

The Pew Research Center reports that the response rate for its phone polls last year fell to just 6 percent.

www.politico.com

The percentage of Americans willing to participate in telephone polls has hit a new low, according to a new report, raising doubts about the continued viability of the phone surveys that have traditionally dominated politics and elections, both in the media and in campaigns.

The Pew Research Center reported Wednesday that the response rate for its phone polls last year fell to just 6 percent — meaning pollsters could only complete interviews with 6 percent of the households in their samples. It continues the long-term decline in response rates, which had leveled off earlier this decade.

In releasing the data, Pew is also announcing that it will move “the lion’s share” of its tracking of political and social trends — considered by many to be the gold-standard in public-opinion research — to its online platform, part of a broader trend away from phone polling and toward the internet.

Pew’s data suggest that decline is underway again, with response rates slipping to 7 percent in 2017 and 6 percent in 2018. What’s to blame for the recent slippage? Kennedy says it’s harder to get people to complete polls over cell phones because they are getting more calls they don’t want, which makes them less likely to talk to pollsters.

“It’s our sense that that exponential increase in robocalls, spoofing of incoming calls, pretending they’re a local number, has really changed the environment in using a cell phone,” said Kennedy.

Polling is becoming more and more useless every day.

 

[ZiprHead]

A former Trump fan explained why he stopped supporting him, and people are praising him for his 'self-awareness' and 'humility'

Danny Collins shared his thoughts on TikTok, where he said being a Trump supporter made him realize "how horrible of a person" he was.

www.insider.com

A former Trump fan has gone viral after explaining why he stopped supporting the former president in a TikTok.

Danny Collins said he used to agree with Trump's words, then realized they reflected the "worst" of himself.

Collins responded to another creator who was asking Trump's critics why they "hate him so much."

"It's simple for me," Collins said in his video, which has been viewed over a million times. "Because he made me realize how horrible of a person I really was."

Collins said he "drank the juice" and "joined the cult."

"I was on the Trump train, baby," he said.

"You know what I hate most about Donald Trump? Is that I actually believed the lie," Collins said. "I believed that he actually cared about me, the poor, common folk. I hate that he brought out the worst in me and everybody else that I was closely associated with."

Collins started to change his perspective thanks to a friend he made in prison, who was a Black Muslim man. He realized that everything he identified in Trump was reflected in something in himself.

"He didn't make me be a bad person — he just emboldened me to be the person I already was," he said. "Donald Trump appeals to the worst of America. In 2024, we need to bring out the best of America."

 

[bilby]

Polling is becoming more and more useless every day.

No, it's as useful as ever. It's becoming more and more difficult, so it's no longer happening at all (though the polling organisations are very grudging indeed about admitting it).

Asking a worthwhile and ideally unbiased (but if not, then at least biased in fairly predictable ways that can be compensated for) sample of the population, what their intentions are, is still a perfectly valid approach. Just one that nobody is currently able to do, because modern systems don't allow it to be done as easily as it was when everyone had (only) a landline, tended to trust anyone who called them via it, and tended to answer it when it rang despite not having any indication of who might be calling.

The mid twentieth century ain't coming back; And internet communication is too anonymous for pollsters - they can't even know whether the respondents are in the country they're trying to poll, much less start assigning weight to likely biases. Shit, it's difficult to tell real "probable voters" from Russian or Chinese bot-farms which are not even humans, and are explicitly designed to mess up the results.

Polling isn't useless; It's just no longer possible.

Maybe someone smarter than me will find a way to make it possible again, without spending prohibitive amounts of cash to do so. But I ain't holding my breath.

 

[blastula]

Sen. Tim Scott calls his girlfriend a 'lovely Christian girl' at Iowa campaign stop - USA Today

And she's Canadian.