The Race For 2024

[lpetrich]

Some of what Nikki Haley had to endure:

She endured racism as an adult when in 2010 she was vying to become the first woman and person of color to become South Carolina’s governor. State Sen. Jake Knotts, a Republican like Haley but an ally of one of her opponents, slurred her as a “raghead.” (He applied the term to then-President Barack Obama as well.) The Lexington County Republican Party censured him and told him to resign. Instead, he gave a half-hearted apology “for an unintended slur” but proclaimed that Haley was “pretending to be someone she is not, much as Obama did.”

The author tells us what he had to go through.

We were taught by history teachers in our public schools from books written by Confederate apologists and descendants. We learned that enslaved people were happy and that enslavers treated them like family members, and that the Confederate flag was “a symbol of respect, integrity and duty” and “a way to honor ancestors who came to the service of their state.” Those were Haley’s words. But she has also said the opposite, reminding audiences the flag was also seen by some as “a deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past.”

Then

Her willingness to use race when it helps her rather than her constituents is clear from her record. ...

In February, when she announced her presidential run, she made clear that the 2016 Haley I considered politically talented and a potential breath of fresh air for a party that needed to rid itself of the open bigotry of Trump, was nowhere to be found. She invokes race in the very first words of the video, evoking the image of the train tracks that run through her home town and many other towns through South Carolina, to let us know she understands America’s race problem. But then she reprises her RNC rhetoric. “Some think our ideas are not just wrong but racist and evil,” she said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

It was another deflection from the racism she supported in the form of Trump, and from the very real racism that continues to hold back too many of the Black and brown people who grew up like where Haley and I did. It was a reminder to GOP voters that she is eager to give them a pass on the issue, ensuring them she won’t make them too uncomfortable in exchange for their vote.

 

[Toni]

The only real disadvantage to Biden is his age. It isn't that I think he's perfect but he's far exceeded my expectations. His deep experience has informed his decisions in his cabinet and his advisors and in all important positions within the White House. If Trump were safely out of the way, Biden might decide to retire. I still like Warren but I am not certain she'd be as effective. It's hard to know if Harris's purported 'problems' with her managerial style are actual problems or not. Whitmer has potential but I don't know that I see her as electable--mostly because she's not so widely known outside of MI. Obama wasn't a big name, either but he had a lot of charisma and is an excellent public speaker.

 

[lpetrich]

Sadly, Betfair shows the Ds as 80% to win the popular vote in November 2024, but only 44% to win the electoral vote. (This is due to the huge "waste" of D votes in NY and Calif rather than any deliberate gerrymandering.)

some state boundaries are indeed deliberate gerrymandering.

Gerrymandered when they were created, like the Dakota Territory being split in two: North Dakota and South Dakota.

 

[blastula]

Great news from Wisconsin. Democrat Protasiewicz won their open Supreme Court seat by 10 points, flipping control.

Liberals will win control of Wisconsin Supreme Court, CNN projects

Liberal Wins Wisconsin Court Race, in Victory for Abortion Rights Backers - NY Times

Wisconsin voters on Tuesday chose to upend the political direction of their state by electing a liberal candidate to the State Supreme Court, flipping majority control from conservatives, according to The Associated Press. The result means that in the next year, the court is likely to reverse the state’s abortion ban and end the use of gerrymandered legislative maps drawn by Republicans.

Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal Milwaukee County judge, defeated Daniel Kelly, a conservative former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who sought a return to the bench. With 90 percent of votes counted, Judge Protasiewicz led by 10 percentage points.

 

[Copernicus]

Great news from Wisconsin. Democrat Protasiewicz won their open Supreme Court seat by 10 points, flipping control.

Liberals will win control of Wisconsin Supreme Court, CNN projects

Liberal Wins Wisconsin Court Race, in Victory for Abortion Rights Backers - NY Times

Wisconsin voters on Tuesday chose to upend the political direction of their state by electing a liberal candidate to the State Supreme Court, flipping majority control from conservatives, according to The Associated Press. The result means that in the next year, the court is likely to reverse the state’s abortion ban and end the use of gerrymandered legislative maps drawn by Republicans.

Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal Milwaukee County judge, defeated Daniel Kelly, a conservative former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who sought a return to the bench. With 90 percent of votes counted, Judge Protasiewicz led by 10 percentage points.

This is really significant, because the majority of voters in Wisconsin was struggling to win elections in the face of massive gerrymandering by Republicans. The new Wisconsin Supreme Court should be helpful in restoring democracy, and that will have an impact on the 2024 federal elections, not just local elections.

 

[blastula]

Oh and her opponent went out the Republican way and bitched like a sore loser.

Justice Kelly, 59, evinced the bitterness of the campaign with a testy concession speech that acknowledged his defeat and portended doom for the state. He called his rival’s campaign “truly beneath contempt” and decried “the rancid slanders that were launched against me.”

“I wish that I’d be able to concede to a worthy opponent, but I do not have a worthy opponent,” Justice Kelly told supporters in Green Lake, Wis. He had not called Judge Protasiewicz by the time she delivered her victory remarks.

He concluded the final speech of his campaign by saying, “I wish Wisconsin the best of luck, because I think it’s going to need it.”

 

[Copernicus]

Oh and her opponent went out the Republican way and bitched like a sore loser.

Justice Kelly, 59, evinced the bitterness of the campaign with a testy concession speech that acknowledged his defeat and portended doom for the state. He called his rival’s campaign “truly beneath contempt” and decried “the rancid slanders that were launched against me.”

“I wish that I’d be able to concede to a worthy opponent, but I do not have a worthy opponent,” Justice Kelly told supporters in Green Lake, Wis. He had not called Judge Protasiewicz by the time she delivered her victory remarks.

He concluded the final speech of his campaign by saying, “I wish Wisconsin the best of luck, because I think it’s going to need it.”

You should be a little more sympathetic. A man losing control over all of those future pregnancies might have trouble handling the thought of all those endangered unborn fetuses that will now be on his conscience. The major issue in this race was abortion. Redistricting was a secondary concern, so he must feel that he opened the floodgates to the tide of wokeness that seems to be spreading over the country. And he lost to a woman. Wisconsin has the highest percentage of women in the country on its supreme court, and there is only one guy left after Kelly leaves. That's gotta hurt.

 

[ZiprHead]

Anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. challenging Biden for presidency in 2024

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon had been encouraging the nephew of John F. Kennedy to run for months, believing he could be a useful chaos agent in the 2024 race, sources told CBS News' Robert Costa.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[blastula]

Oh and her opponent went out the Republican way and bitched like a sore loser.

Justice Kelly, 59, evinced the bitterness of the campaign with a testy concession speech that acknowledged his defeat and portended doom for the state. He called his rival’s campaign “truly beneath contempt” and decried “the rancid slanders that were launched against me.”

“I wish that I’d be able to concede to a worthy opponent, but I do not have a worthy opponent,” Justice Kelly told supporters in Green Lake, Wis. He had not called Judge Protasiewicz by the time she delivered her victory remarks.

He concluded the final speech of his campaign by saying, “I wish Wisconsin the best of luck, because I think it’s going to need it.”

You should be a little more sympathetic. A man losing control over all of those future pregnancies might have trouble handling the thought of all those endangered unborn fetuses that will now be on his conscience. The major issue in this race was abortion. Redistricting was a secondary concern, so he must feel that he opened the floodgates to the tide of wokeness that seems to be spreading over the country. And he lost to a woman. Wisconsin has the highest percentage of women in the country on its supreme court, and there is only one guy left after Kelly leaves. That's gotta hurt.

This race again shows that abortion is a winning issue for Dems. If the presidential race could be turned into a referendum on abortion, Dems would win easily. The American People™ love love love abortion.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

2022 was partially a referendum on abortion... and the best the Dems could manage was gaining one Senate seat and losing the House*^.

* House loss was partially due to NY messing up in gerrymandering New York. Had they left things as they were, might not have lost the house.
^ It was a historically strong outcome for the Dems who typically got hammered in the mid-term while in office.

That said, with Abortion on the ballot, things barely changed in DC.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Ex-governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, is now a GOP candidate for president in 2024. Still a right winged SOB but without as much toxic baggage as Trump or DeSantis.

 

[Copernicus]

Ex-governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, is now a GOP candidate for president in 2024. Still a right winged SOB but without as much toxic baggage as Trump or DeSantis.

And, being only 72, he would be a relative youngster in presidential politics. The man needs to get a little more experience under his belt before going up against his seniors. DeSantis is the baby in the race, but he thinks like someone in his seventies--let's get back to the 1950s.

 

[Elixir]

DeSantis is the baby in the race

I have not listened to much DeSantis, and am ready sick to death of the sound of his voice. Hard to imagine four years of it.

 

[Derec]

The only real disadvantage to Biden is his age. It isn't that I think he's perfect but he's far exceeded my expectations.

His age is I think the reason he is so susceptible to influence of Alexandria "Wormtongue" Cortez and others on the far Left. Like when he extended the eviction moratorium (even though the COVID shutdowns were long past and even though even he admitted he did not have the legal authority to do so) just because Cori Bush pretended to sleep on the Capitol steps.

I still like Warren but I am not certain she'd be as effective.

She came in third in her own state in the primaries. I do not think she is very popular.

Obama wasn't a big name, either but he had a lot of charisma and is an excellent public speaker.

I wonder who will be the next Democratic "star". I do not think any of the currently well-known potential candidates have it.

 

[Toni]

The only real disadvantage to Biden is his age. It isn't that I think he's perfect but he's far exceeded my expectations.

His age is I think the reason he is so susceptible to influence of Alexandria "Wormtongue" Cortez and others on the far Left. Like when he extended the eviction moratorium (even though the COVID shutdowns were long past and even though even he admitted he did not have the legal authority to do so) just because Cori Bush pretended to sleep on the Capitol steps.

I still like Warren but I am not certain she'd be as effective.

She came in third in her own state in the primaries. I do not think she is very popular.

Obama wasn't a big name, either but he had a lot of charisma and is an excellent public speaker.

I wonder who will be the next Democratic "star". I do not think any of the currently well-known potential candidates have it.

I think you are perhaps projecting if you believe that Biden is heavily influenced by AOC.

I do think that he presents a more middle of the road face and has skillfully employed more progressive leaning cabinet members and appointees and staff. He's smart. He knows what he's doing. And as frustrating as it is for many progressives not to move faster, it's a steadier, more assured way of accomplishing the goals of dragging the US out of the clutches of the demented right. Slow and steady change is the safest, most durable change. Wars are not fun and only make the same people even richer.

 

[Derec]

I think you are perhaps projecting if you believe that Biden is heavily influenced by AOC.

Not just her, but the fauxgressive wing of the Democratic Party in general. Biden's B³ non-infratructure plan was just somewhat slimmed down Bernie $6T plan. Add BIF and B³, and you are almost at the number Bernie proposed, so there wasn't even that much slimming down.

I do think that he presents a more middle of the road face and has skillfully employed more progressive leaning cabinet members and appointees and staff.

He does present a moderate face, but is being manipulated into moving further Left than he was for the most of his career. Hence my Wormtongue metaphor.

He's smart. He knows what he's doing. And as frustrating as it is for many progressives not to move faster, it's a steadier, more assured way of accomplishing the goals of dragging the US out of the clutches of the demented right. Slow and steady change is the safest, most durable change. Wars are not fun and only make the same people even richer.

Wanting to spend trillions while inflation was at record highs (and was only brought down through significant interest rate increases) was neither smart nor "steady". Extending pandemic largess way too long wasn't smart either. Giving away money to the stratum of society already more well of than average (i.e. college graduates) was also not the best policy, esp. when he wants to do it by executive fiat rather than through proper legislative process.

 

[Toni]

I think you are perhaps projecting if you believe that Biden is heavily influenced by AOC.

Not just her, but the fauxgressive wing of the Democratic Party in general. Biden's B³ non-infratructure plan was just somewhat slimmed down Bernie $6T plan. Add BIF and B³, and you are almost at the number Bernie proposed, so there wasn't even that much slimming down.

I do think that he presents a more middle of the road face and has skillfully employed more progressive leaning cabinet members and appointees and staff.

He does present a moderate face, but is being manipulated into moving further Left than he was for the most of his career. Hence my Wormtongue metaphor.

He's smart. He knows what he's doing. And as frustrating as it is for many progressives not to move faster, it's a steadier, more assured way of accomplishing the goals of dragging the US out of the clutches of the demented right. Slow and steady change is the safest, most durable change. Wars are not fun and only make the same people even richer.

Wanting to spend trillions while inflation was at record highs (and was only brought down through significant interest rate increases) was neither smart nor "steady". Extending pandemic largess way too long wasn't smart either. Giving away money to the stratum of society already more well of than average (i.e. college graduates) was also not the best policy, esp. when he wants to do it by executive fiat rather than through proper legislative process.

I think you are incredibly...naive if you think that Biden is being manipulated. No: He formed a coalition with the more progressive part of the Democratic party in order to be elected and to be able to actually accomplish something. Frankly, it is because he is a white man that he is able to enact more progressive legislation and measures than Obama, under whom Biden served. Think of that: Biden was the very first white person to serve under a black president. That speaks volumes louder than you seem to be able to hear. Obama was a pragmatist and was forced to stay near the middle of the road by circumstances. There are heavy burdens on being the first. Biden, however, has been around forever! He's worked with people of both sides of the aisle which is what one must do if one is to be an effective leader. He's a very skilled politician--meaning that he works with people from the more progressive and the less progressive parts of his party and works as well with the GOP, as much as anyone can possibly work with them at this point.

 

[ZiprHead]

 

[Elixir]

it is because he is a white man that he is able to enact more progressive legislation and measures than Obama, under whom Biden served

A sad fact.

Biden was the very first white person to serve under a black president.

Such a source of ire for the racist right. They'll never get over it.
Just today I saw that some local cowboy posted "We the people are ALL IN FOR TRUMP!" on FB - a post that looked for all the world like a movie banner for a post-apocalyptic horror show. They'd rather live in a world of Mad Max than one where a black man can be the boss of a purebred whitey.

 

[Terrell]

Negative ads have already shown up here. Just saw one a few minutes ago on CNN. Was by Trump against DeSantis.