Georgia Runoff Election Today
[guest post by Dana]
Today is the big day in Georgia as voters choose either Democrat Raphael Warnock or Republican Herschel Walker in the runoff election.
Reports estimate that more than a million Georgians are expected to vote today.
According to FiveThirtyEight, Warnock has a slight lead over Walker, yet it’s possible that Walker could still win:
However, five surveys from more established pollsters (Emerson College, InsiderAdvantage, SSRS, SurveyUSA and the University of Massachusetts Lowell) all consistently put Warnock a few points ahead of Walker. That said, it wouldn’t be shocking to see an unexpectedly strong performance from either of the candidates. Other factors agree with the polling that this race is tight, and Warnock’s polling lead is still smaller than the average polling error in U.S. Senate races since 1998.3 While Warnock may be better positioned than Walker, either candidate could still win.
Meanwhile, according to a recent report, Warnock has remained strong in several areas, including raising money. Consider:
His campaign and outside Democratic groups have spent more than double that of their Republican counterparts, according to the latest spending report from AdImpact. In just the final week, Warnock’s campaign has spent $7.6 million on advertising compared to the Walker campaign’s $3.65 million in ad buys.
Not quite the case for the Walker camp, which has been struggling to raise funds in the last week of the campaign:
“Simply put, we’re being outspent 3 to 1 by Warnock, and we’re being outspent nearly 2 to 1 by outside groups. We need help,” Walker campaign manager Scott Paradise wrote in the memo sent to donors Thursday…
The memo calculates that Warnock and the Democratic groups backing him have spent and committed a combined $92 million since the November election, compared with $45 million that Walker and his Republican allies have ponied up.
While urgent last-minute fundraising appeals are a staple of any campaign in the closing days, the sense of concern underlying Paradise’s plea is underpinned by data and concerns from fellow Republicans that suggest the election is trending in Warnock’s favor.
President Obama also showed up for Warnock at a campaign event a few days ago. The former president took the opportunity to mock Walker, which the crowd loved:
Barack Obama in GA: "Since the last time I was here, Mr. Walker has been talking about issues of great importance to the people of Georgia, like whether it's better to be a vampire or a werewolf. This is a debate that I must confess I once had myself … when I was 7." pic.twitter.com/Iy2QJU04uw
— The Recount (@therecount) December 2, 2022
And in a cringe moment, Walker attempted to push back on the whole werewolves v. vampires on Fox News:
“Well, what’s sad is they’re always trying to mislead people,” Walker told Fox host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday after Obama poked fun at his comments. “That’s the same as you listening to… Obama talking about I’m talking about vampires and werewolves… Why don’t they tell the whole story?”
Walker discussed his internal would-you-rather werewolf vs. vampire debate in the context of recalling a movie he said he had watched about a vampire. He concluded his story by talking about the importance of faith because in the movie, he said, a person who did not believe in God tried to kill a vampire with a cross and failed because they didn’t have faith. On Fox, Walker said, “The whole story is the story involved people having faith, having faith and continuing to go out and do your job, having faith to get things done. So they don’t tell you the whole story.”
I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: Herschel Walker is not a good candidate. In fact, he is a terrible candidate. He is often confused, and unable to speak in-depth about policy issues, and as seen above, he is simply not the best and brightest of possible candidates. I’ve also said before that I wouldn’t be surprised if he had suffered a traumatic brain injury during his football years or was diagnosed with CTE, contributing to his inability to clearly communicate and his lack of basic comprehension. And although never thoroughly vetted as a candidate, he is a famous football star and Heisman Trophy winner, and Donald Trump endorsed him. All of which counts for a lot to Georgians. The whole thing seems to be an unvarnished look at the underbelly of politics: A famous person is flattered when approached by a powerful group of deep-pocketed individuals who in turn flatter the politically inexperienced individual and make him an offer he can’t refuse. Said individual then goes on to ignore the advice of those closest to him, accepts their offer, and finds himself in the eye of the storm. It’s been obvious that Walker’s enablers, such as the far-right media, walk him through interviews by feeding him hints and even filling in the blanks for him. And along with his supporters, including fellow Republican lawmakers, these enablers easily ignore the word salad coming out of his mouth. The man clearly requires assistance. And that’s why I cringed when I saw Obama mock him. Talk about shooting a damaged fish in a barrel. But Walker gives his opponents a lot to work with and he willingly signed up for this gig. However, I still believe there is something ugly about the Republican Party putting him up as a candidate in the first place. But what was anyone to do about it?
“McConnell has suggested to allies that former Georgia senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler should take another look at running again, according to three sources familiar with the matter, after their narrow losses in January flipped the Senate to Democratic control.”
Ultimately those efforts went for naught. And by around this time last year, McConnell had given up – endorsing Walker’s bid. “Herschel is the only one who can unite the party, defeat Senator Warnock, and help us take back the Senate,” McConnell said at the time.
And then there is this:
In a brief interview with POLITICO on Saturday, Walker seemed to mistake which chamber of Congress he was running for and also appeared to think the outcome of his race would determine control of the Senate.
“They’re not [less motivated] because they know right now that the House will be even so they don’t want to understand what is happening right now,” he said of voters. “You get the House, you get the committees. You get all the committees even, they just stall things within there. So if we keep a check on Joe Biden, we just going to keep a check on him.”
Republicans have won the House, and Democrats will control the Senate no matter what happens in Georgia. A win by Warnock would pad their majority by one seat, to 51-49.
When we look at which candidate is the most informed about politics and policy, has a decent grasp of basic history, can articulate his position and clearly communicate it to the American public, it isn’t Walker. And yet, the right will vote for him not only because he is the Republican candidate but because they know that there will be plenty of handlers and aids directing his every move, and instructing him on what to say and how to advance the Republican agenda. And that seems to be all that matters in the end.
Note: It’s interesting to me – and telling, I think – that Republicans continue to attack President Biden over his mental fitness (or lack thereof) and senator-elect John Fetterman’s auditory processing issues, and yet don’t have any problem with similar manifestations by Herschel Walker.
–Dana
Pre-emptive strike: Nothing in this post should be construed as me being pro-Warnock.
Dana (1225fc) — 12/6/2022 @ 12:38 pmNote: It’s interesting to me that Republicans continue to attack President Biden over his mental fitness (or lack thereof) and senator-elect John Fetterman’s auditory processing issues, and yet don’t have any problem with similar manifestations by Herschel Walker.
when Biden runs against DeSantis, these manifestations will suddenly become irrelevant
JF (71f285) — 12/6/2022 @ 12:47 pmMore interesting is how Obama is sounding increasingly obtuse as 2022 comes to a close compared to his 2008 speechifying heyday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90WD_ats6eE
DCSCA (80a768) — 12/6/2022 @ 12:58 pmThe blame game begins:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/6/2022 @ 1:20 pmWalker is a man who has written about (or had ghostwritten) his struggles with multiple personality disorder. He has lived in Texas for years. He has mostly stayed quiet about political affairs during his long years from Georgia.
The only reason he ran for Senator from Georgia is that his good friend Donald Trump (that’s not sarcasm by the way) asked him to run. Mitch and the local Georgia GOP, which has spent the last few years trying to keep their integrity while appeasing Trump, supported that run. They all knew better but hoped for the best.
In other words — this is another Trump brokered loss in a state the GOP should win. This is one case where I feel sorry for the losing candidate, who never should have let himself in for this. Donald, playing cynic, thought Georgians couldn’t look past his college football greatness. Walker didn’t say no.
Appalled (5fd992) — 12/6/2022 @ 1:28 pmAnd it’s quite possible that Georgia voters won’t say no either.
Dana (1225fc) — 12/6/2022 @ 1:37 pmThe more we move away from ‘American Idol’ing’ our politicians, the more we can advance our preferred agendas.
*shrug*
We truly deserve what we get.
whembly (d116f3) — 12/6/2022 @ 1:45 pmAppalled (5fd992) — 12/6/2022 @ 1:28 pm
As if any more evidence were needed that Trump is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
I wouldn’t even vote for him to be dogcatcher.
norcal (862cdb) — 12/6/2022 @ 1:48 pm#6
Early voting (the Warnock vote, mostly) has been unprecdentedly large. The lousy weather today may keep the GOP day of election crowd low.
I don’t see a Walker victory.
Appalled (03f53c) — 12/6/2022 @ 2:19 pmThe media does not scrutinize Democratic and Republican candidates in the same way. Fetterman is essentially incapable of speaking properly, but the press will not really cover that. Given the difference in coverage, Republicans have to be far more careful about picking candidates. Democrats can essentially pick anyone and win, in part because of the press. We cannot do so.
Trump, meanwhile, has arguably cost the GOP the 4 Senate seats in GA and AZ, between 2018 and now. Certainly, he cost the party the GA seats in 2021 and the AZ seat in 2022 with his bizarre antics and awful endorsements. Even if the GOP wins a Senate majority in 2024, it will probably be only 52 or 53 seats, instead of 56 or 57. That limits the ability of the party to pass bills, given that there are some Republican Senators, including from red states, who will apparently oppose anything worth passing.
mikeybates (dd20f5) — 12/6/2022 @ 2:25 pmWe can always count on Obama for a dose of elitist smugness
steveg (e7c2fa) — 12/6/2022 @ 3:03 pm“We have these things called aircraft carriers”
steveg (e7c2fa) — 12/6/2022 @ 3:03 pmSince the last runoff, the law in Georgia was change so that the runoff takes place four weeks, and not nine weeks, after the November election.
Early voting days were also reduced, which is probably why both last Monday and last Friday (and maybe other days) broke the previous record for early voting turnout a day.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 12/6/2022 @ 4:39 pmJimmy Kimmel is generally fairer and more complete that Stephen Colbert when he plays video.
From Jimmy Kimmel you would at least that the vampire vs werewolf issue was part of a movie review.
He could be accused of demonstrating he is ready to be a Senator by showing he can filibuster.
Of course, I guessed he had some kind of a point. Rafael Warnock could have preached like that one say maybe.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 12/6/2022 @ 4:43 pmwhen Biden runs against DeSantis, these manifestations will suddenly become irrelevant
More likely Vice President DeSantis will deliver the eulogy at Squinty’s funeral; POTUS Trump will have a schedule conflict; travel to Seoul to formally end the Korean War.
DCSCA (fba27d) — 12/6/2022 @ 5:01 pmOne thing I’m sure of: It wasn’t Walker who got Walker in this spot. If he loses, and I would vote for him if I live there, if he loses it will be the fault of some clever-but-stupid wannabe kingmakers.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/6/2022 @ 5:11 pmAs if any more evidence were needed that Trump is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
That is not what Trump is full of.
A better quote regarding Trump:
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/6/2022 @ 5:15 pmI cannot believe even DCSCA spent time writing #15. That is time you will never get back. I am sad to have read it.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/6/2022 @ 5:17 pmLet’s introduce the contestants on this episode of Senatorial Jeopardy:
Herschel Walker, Senator from a state where football is important
John Fetterman, Senator from a state where being alive is important
and our current champion, with $700 over 3 days:
Patty Murray
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/6/2022 @ 5:21 pmWith 55% of the votes in, Warnock leads with 50.9% with Walker at 49.1%.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/6/2022 @ 5:32 pmCorrection-Should have read:
Now with 59% of the vote in, Walker leads 50.6% to Warnock’s 49.4%.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/6/2022 @ 5:42 pmI’m waiting see if I was correct, and that the “make no waves” Republicans at least will be distancing themselves from Trump faster than a Pony Express rider from a band of Paiutes after today, whether Herschel wins or loses.
And I wonder whether Herschel was talking about Salem’s Lot or Dracula Has Risen From The Grave.
nk (b9d6a2) — 12/6/2022 @ 5:43 pmSpeaking of Herschel and multiple personalities, I once had a girlfriend who had multiple personality disorder (now called dissociative identity disorder).
I felt like a polygamist.
If you think pleasing one woman is hard…
True story.
norcal (862cdb) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:24 pmIn considering my last paragraph, I made an edit that more clearly expresses my thoughts:
Dana (1225fc) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:24 pmLooks like the ignorant southern white trash vote is coming in for walker. Plus all the women he got pregnant and their older kids make sure that child support check doesn’t bounce!
asset (12a4b0) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:28 pmNow with 59% of the vote in, Walker leads 50.6% to Warnock’s 49.4%.
pretty soon democrats will know how many ballots they need
JF (97dbc6) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:30 pmI don’t care if Herschel just goes with the Republican flow.
Does anyone think that Warnock doesn’t do the same with his party?
norcal (862cdb) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:33 pmpretty soon democrats will know how many ballots they need
JF (97dbc6) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:30 pm
Did they get the count wrong with Stacey?
norcal (862cdb) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:39 pmIf Herschel wins, I hope he gives Trump the heave-ho.
norcal (862cdb) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:42 pmIf Walker wins, it will be because of Kemp voters, not Trump voters. The ones who don’t remember that it was General Hood of Texas who wasted the Confederate Army at Atlanta against Sherman.
nk (b9d6a2) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:43 pmHood was also a migrant to Texas, not a native son, BTW.
nk (b9d6a2) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:44 pmGood point, nk. Of course Trump will claim the credit, but Kemp will know better. The question is, will Herschel??
norcal (862cdb) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:47 pmDid they get the count wrong with Stacey?
norcal (862cdb) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:39 pm
umm yeah, she lost by 7.5% and 300,000 votes
even for democrats, there are limits
JF (97dbc6) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:47 pmheads Trump gets blamed, tails Trump gets blamed
JF (97dbc6) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:51 pmWalker has been public with his disassociative identity disorder for well over a decade.
steveg (16e12a) — 12/6/2022 @ 6:53 pmBiden still denies his problem and Fetterman said there was no problem for a while and then changed his story in a way that didn’t fully explain his onstage inabilities because even when Fetterman was reading, he sometimes had problems
Lawmakers agree to repeal military vaccine mandate in defense bill over Pentagon objections
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/3763875-lawmakers-agree-to-repeal-military-vaccine-mandate-in-defense-bill-over-pentagon-objections/
It’s a start…..now restore pay and positions.
Obudman (6c7d77) — 12/6/2022 @ 7:21 pmFox calls it for Warnock.
Biggest loser: Georgia.
DCSCA (e50d03) — 12/6/2022 @ 7:41 pmGood, and before you say whatabout JohnGiselle Fetterman, there already has kind of been a Lusophone Senator from Pennsylvania, a certain condiment heiress.
urbanleftbehind (881ecf) — 12/6/2022 @ 7:51 pmI’m used to the false drama on election night, courtesy of the Harold Washington Chicago mayoral elections of 1983 and 1987 (“repeat…these early returns are from the Northwest and Southwest sides of the city”).
urbanleftbehind (881ecf) — 12/6/2022 @ 7:53 pmAll a Twitter:
Musk learns of then fires Baker tonight for screening/removing disparaging info before it went to Taibbi.
DCSCA (e50d03) — 12/6/2022 @ 7:56 pmElon Musk fires Twitter lawyer James Baker over ‘suppression’ of documents on Hunter Biden story
https://nypost.com/2022/12/06/elon-musk-fires-twitter-lawyer-james-baker-over-hunter-biden/
DCSCA (e50d03) — 12/6/2022 @ 7:58 pmApparently this is the first midterm since 1934 where the President’s party successfully defended every Senate seat.
The Republicans did an *amazing* job of just f—–g up this election.
aphrael (4c4719) — 12/6/2022 @ 8:47 pmDisgraced and now indicted for money laundering congressman david rivera got florida senator marco rubio to peddle his influence to normalize relations with communist venezuela. Rubio admits helping now lobbyist and ex congressman david rivera says he was just helping out an old friend and constituent! (DU)
asset (befaca) — 12/6/2022 @ 8:51 pmHow populist of you.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 12/6/2022 @ 8:56 pm@42They can thank liars on supreme court (roe is settled law) Even democrats on the left who were upset with biden as well as independents/moderate democrats were forced to vote democrat over abortion ruling. To paraphrase james carville its abortion stupid! And will continue to be in 2024 where many states will have abortion rights on the ballot. Democrat politicians who don’t say as Malcolm X said “by any means necessary!” will get primaried by militant leftist democrats.
asset (befaca) — 12/6/2022 @ 9:05 pm@44 I know these people I grew up in the south. I myself am NON-ignorant southern white trash and part warhoop! (or indigenous people or native american if you prefer) I am a populist you got that right!
asset (befaca) — 12/6/2022 @ 9:11 pmPolice Called to Ted Cruz’s Texas Home for Teen With Self-Inflicted Wounds
‘Police and medical personnel were called to the Texas home of Sen. Ted Cruz Tuesday night after reports of a 14-year-old girl at the property suffering from self-inflicted stab wounds. The teen was taken to the hospital shortly after. It’s unclear who the girl was—though Cruz does have two daughters–and in a response to The Daily Beast, a representative for his office said: “This is a family matter, and thankfully their daughter is okay.
There “were no serious injuries,” the representative said. “The family requests that the media respect their daughter’s privacy at this time.” Cruz is in Washington and it remains unclear if he will return to Texas following the incident, according to KHOU-TV. Police were unavailable for comment when contacted by The Daily Beast.’ – dailybeast.com
DCSCA (a1ea5d) — 12/6/2022 @ 9:37 pmOof, poor family. It’s never easy when someone has a self-harming or suicidal kiddo. Standard procedure for a severe self-harming incident or a suicide attempt is usually a minimum 72 hr mental health hold, at least in CA.
Nic (896fdf) — 12/6/2022 @ 9:48 pmThe Republicans did an *amazing* job of just f—–g up this election.
They did at that. Maybe they should impeach Trump again. What do the GOP senators have to lose?
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/6/2022 @ 11:37 pmignorant southern white trash
That’s “whitex” to you.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/6/2022 @ 11:38 pm@43:
I treat DU and FR with the same utter disdain. Only pure wingnuts go there.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/6/2022 @ 11:39 pmI myself am NON-ignorant southern white trash
There is no such thing as a NON-ignorant
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/6/2022 @ 11:40 pmsouthern white trashsocialist.@52 I am not a socialist! I am a non-exploitive capitalism. Speaking of exploitation yahoo news is reporting police have been called to cancun turd cruz’s home seems bad sex with teenager gone wrong. Yahoo doesn’t say live boy or dead girl maybe underage black tranny?
asset (befaca) — 12/6/2022 @ 11:55 pm@53. Joking about Cruz’s daughter is over the line.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:03 am@47 seems you got a later report then I have. I was wondering musk fires chief council james baker for being an fbi mole as he was fbi council in 2016. Are facebook and youtube cheif lawyers fbi agents also? Other social media?
asset (befaca) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:03 am@54 report from yahoo didn’t say it was his daughter only said police called for teenager at cruz house.
asset (befaca) — 12/7/2022 @ 2:22 am“I myself am NON-ignorant southern white trash”
It’s curious that you keep feeling the need to share that….
AJ_Liberty (6a18fd) — 12/7/2022 @ 4:09 amNotice to all rats (aka GOP politicians)–
Leave sinking ship.
That is all.
Appalled (c1e807) — 12/7/2022 @ 6:16 amThis isn’t original, but GA, PA and AZ were winnable Senate seats for the GOP, but Trump hand-picked and endorsed brainless, bouffant and batsh-t for the respective states, and enough of his loyalists went with him.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 12/7/2022 @ 6:49 amMcConnell could’ve been Senate Majority Leader had Trump not thrown his overweight into the situation. So yes, the reason the GOP won’t be able to stop Biden’s nominations and appointments for the next two years is Trump, because he doesn’t pick the very best, he picks the most subservient to him, and it obviously backfired.
This is the second election in a row where Trump cost the GOP a Senate majority. Please GOP, nominate someone else.
This is an interesting nugget from Maggie Haberman:
That Walker’s personal history mattered to Georgians is a good thing. Maybe, just maybe we’re going to see a return to some kind of normalcy and sanity. A place where Trump would not be able to say metaphorically, and with any confidence, that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and wouldn’t lose any voters.
Dana (1225fc) — 12/7/2022 @ 6:55 amTop 6am stories on CNN and MSNBC: The GA election.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 12/7/2022 @ 7:05 amTop 6am story on FoxNews: Owner of private company fires in-house lawyer.
Final comments on Georgia. MAGA = more losing.
https://ewerickson.substack.com/p/can-we-move-forward-please
Appalled (783c2f) — 12/7/2022 @ 7:14 amA place where Trump would not be able to say metaphorically, and with any confidence, that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and wouldn’t lose any voters.
He will always have those voters. The resentful. The mean. The venal. The ones who also want to be able to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it.
Those are his chosen market. The ones he tailored his message for. The ones he told what they pined to hear. His core constituency.
But he better not open his car door unto their pickups in the parking lot at Bubba’s Bar & Grill.
nk (bb1548) — 12/7/2022 @ 7:27 amAnd the GOP will need to bite the bullet and live with the fact that if they ditch Trump, they ditch those voters.
nk (bb1548) — 12/7/2022 @ 7:28 amTop 6am stories on CNN and MSNBC: The GA election.
Top 6am story on FoxNews: Owner of private company fires in-house lawyer.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 12/7/2022 @ 7:05 am
I know, Montagu, it’s really scary how a private company can fire an in-house lawyer and a private company can broadcast news you don’t want out there
JF (5fd6c6) — 12/7/2022 @ 7:31 amJF, how do know what broadcast news I “don’t want out there”?
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 12/7/2022 @ 7:36 amThe media does not tell us news. They tell us stories. Like grandmas (used to?) do. Even they, themselves, call them stories for crying out loud!
nk (bb1548) — 12/7/2022 @ 7:41 amFrom the Erickson link:
Erickson’s article really is worth reading by the DCSCAs and JFs of the world. They need a new champion. They need to find someone that does not repel in the same way that Trump repels.
Appalled (c1e807) — 12/7/2022 @ 7:54 am@64
That ain’t it chief.
There are plenty of “Trump voters” who’s willing to vote for a different candidate.
Recent polls have shown a shift to DeSantis, fyi.
whembly (d116f3) — 12/7/2022 @ 7:55 amDana #60…
I have always felt that temperament matters. It’s part of effective long term leadership. And Lord knows we need a steady hand at the wheel, not gerontocrats nor people with impulse control.
I suspect that there are people here who will always support DJT.
It’s time for us all to move on, and not give DJT what he craves: attention.
Hey, my opinion only. But I am not stupid nor a progressive nor a RINO.
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 12/7/2022 @ 8:20 amNot all of the 74 million votes that Trump were from “Trump voters”. Most were from “who else?” voters. You know … binary choice. Conservatives, lifelong Republican, anti-Democrats.
I would estimate “Trump voters” to be maybe 16 million. The ones who gave him the 2016 primary; the ones who have been giving his endorsees their primaries either outright or as spoilers. Those are Trump’s core constituency.
nk (bb1548) — 12/7/2022 @ 8:45 amNot all of the 74 million votes that Trump got
I would like to see his chronic small donor list, but have no idea how to go about it. Anybody know the number of those repeat small donors?
nk (bb1548) — 12/7/2022 @ 8:51 amThey’re entertaining to see what true believers think.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/7/2022 @ 8:51 amSeems almost important.
https://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary?cycle=2022&id=GAS2
BuDuh (373165) — 12/7/2022 @ 8:59 amTrumpWorld disappointed……
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/7/2022 @ 9:29 am
That Walker’s personal history mattered to Georgians is a good thing. Maybe, just maybe we’re going to see a return to some kind of normalcy and sanity. A place where Trump would not be able to say metaphorically, and with any confidence, that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and wouldn’t lose any voters.
“Normalcy” like what when it comes to personal history? Like Bill Clinton or something?
mikeybates (339268) — 12/7/2022 @ 10:23 amBuDuh:
Since you picked out the Burt Jones race in your comment (Lt. Governor) and noted via link that Warnock significantly outraised Walker, a few things:
1. A candidate is responsible for his fundraising operation. If he is way behind in financing, it’s partly on him or her.
2. Money isn’t everything. Kemp soundly beat Abrams for governor. Yet:
https://www.wabe.org/record-fundraising-in-georgia-governors-race-nears-170m/
By the way, I appreciate your argument as it was data based and certainly a reasonable response.
Appalled (03f53c) — 12/7/2022 @ 10:27 am#76
The guy who came up with the term “normalcy” was Warren G. Harding. Google his diaries. Clinton was modest and chaste in comparison.
Appalled (c1e807) — 12/7/2022 @ 10:54 amAppalled (5fd992) — 12/6/2022 @ 1:28 pm
Trump had had a success with Tommy Tuberville in Alabama. It worked there because there was no viable Democratic candidate. Herschel Walker, like Tommy Tuberville, won his primary, but after that, he did not cruise to victory.
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/1100960726/herschel-walker-easily-wins-georgias-republican-senate-primary
Tommy Tuberville, by the way, is the only Republican Senator to endorse Donald Trump for president in 2024.
https://altoday.com/archives/48456-tommy-tuberville-only-u-s-senator-openly-backing-donald-trump-in-2024
It was Tommy Tuberville who Trump was trying to call during the storming of the Capitol (he dialed Mike Lee’s phone by mistake. Mike Lee put Tuberville on the phone. Trump wanted to make sure that the objections to the Electors would still be made. Tuberville had to tell him they were being evacuated and ended the call at that point.)
Herschel Walker, it seems, was backing away from him and getting closer to Republican Senators. In his concession he said he won’t blame anyone, because he worked hard and this loss should not cause people to give p their dreams.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 12/7/2022 @ 10:54 am72. nk (bb1548) — 12/7/2022 @ 8:51 am
That might not be a very good statistic.
Some of Trump’s repeat donors were tricked in the fall of 2020 into becoming repeat donors and not all knew how to get their money back.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/03/us/politics/trump-donations.html
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:01 amThat’s certainly true. In the Los Angeles mayor’s race Rick Caruso spent $104 million (mostly his own money) and still lost. Karen Bass spent $9.0M (not including $5.4M in independent expenditures).
The road of California politics is littered with wealthy candidates such as Meg Whitman (spending $144M in 2010 running for governor, the equivalent of nearly $200M today), Al Checchi’s gubernatorial primary, or Darrell Issa’s Senate primary run, both in 1998) spending huge amounts of money and losing.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:02 amI am a non-exploitive capitalism
Which means that you would have the government control all those capitalists to make sure that their excess profits go to fund the needs of the many.
Pardon me if I don’t see the difference.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:07 amThis is the second election in a row where Trump cost the GOP a Senate majority. Please GOP, nominate someone else.
I’ve move on to DIE TRUMP DIE.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:10 amMAGA
Actually MADA = Make America Democrat Again.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:12 amAnd the GOP will need to bite the bullet and live with the fact that if they ditch Trump, they ditch those voters.
Not necessarily. They can co-opt them. Trump kicked the table over and it is still kicked over. He showed that there was a large number of voters (a bloc large enough to control the GOP) that were not served by the Reagan Revolution as it turned out. Nor were they served by the Clinton-era New Democrats who had been their champions in the Gephart era.
Mostly those displaced by off-shoring and the effectively open borders. Tradesmen and manufacturing workers, and not just whites as some would have it.
There is no reason that the GOP cannot win them with different candidates. They went with Trump because he pretended to champion them. But a GOP that actually tried to serve their interests (primarily by reforming and regulating immigration and making US-based manufacturing possible again) could easily capture their votes.
The Democrats will try to do this as well, through unions and labor legislation, but they cannot address immigration in any way that helps, and a union-centric policy will not make off-shoring less attractive.
The GOP should not look at this as a problem, but as an opportunity. By melding the Trump constituency to the mainstream GOP, they can be a majority party for the foreseeable future.
Just not with Trump, master of lies.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:26 amHe will always have those voters. The resentful. The mean. The venal. The ones who also want to be able to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it.
Yes, and the GOP doesn’t need them. But those are not the typical Trump voter any more than Communists are the typical AOC voter. They are just the loud ones that have gone to Trump rallies as if it was their church. They’re the ones who think Trump will get the army to expel the illegals, fire half the government and put gays into deprogramming camps. The fools who actually want a civil war because, like Leftists and Communism, they think they’ll be at the top afterwards.
But really, how many of these are there? I haven’t seen a giant pickup flying Trump flags in months. And I live in the land of giant pickups. Even these people know that Trump is done.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:34 amBTW, nk, I read 64 before I read 63. So 85 is slightly misdirected.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:36 amI am a non-exploitive capitalist
No, comrade. You are a kulak who refuses to share the means of production with the workers by not hiring not even one employee.
You have yet a lot to learn about Socialism, comrade. In the meantime, the Kommissariat will take possession of your taxicab in the name of the people and keep three workers employed operating it in eight-hour shifts.
nk (bb1548) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:38 amThe media does not tell us news. They tell us stories.
One of the reasons I bridle at comments like “Trump said X and no one in the GOP has denounced him for it.”
Sure, every stupid thing that Trump says will be reported (subject to space limitations). But there is never the same effort put into getting GOP reactions. Just passive “I haven’t heard” statements. Often it turns out (as with the scrap the Constitution thing) that when asked, GOP politicians generally express displeasure. But they are not often asked.
Pretty sure that McConnell’s reaction to many of Trump’s comments would rival that “Downfall” meme video.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:44 amOuch!
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:50 amI would estimate “Trump voters” to be maybe 16 million. The ones who gave him the 2016 primary; the ones who have been giving his endorsees their primaries either outright or as spoilers. Those are Trump’s core constituency.
And if you mean the ones that are mean, racist, wannabe SA thugs, it’s far fewer than that. Many of the Trump core voters were there because only Trump spoke to them after they had been ignored:
The out-of-work tradesman in the Southwest who can’t speak Spanish and therefor can’t get work. The former auto worker in the Midwest. The former workers at New England Wire & Cable after Larry the Liquidator closed down the company and the surrounding town and shipped the machinery to China.
That’s probably the majority of the Trump primary voter. Co-opt them.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:53 am@75: If even come Freepers are seeing that Trump is toxic, the man is done.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:56 amThey are few and far between.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/7/2022 @ 11:59 amAppalled (c1e807) — 12/7/2022 @ 7:54 am
when nevertrump and the “please clap” wing is arrayed against DeSantis and he loses in the general election, I wonder who you’ll blame
JF (ef2b8d) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:04 pmThe guy who came up with the term “normalcy” was Warren G. Harding. Google his diaries. Clinton was modest and chaste in comparison.
Harding won in a landslide, 60-34%, winning every non-Confederacy state except Kentucky. Clinton won 43-37-19%. Harding had reason to boast more than Clinton did.
(Harding won largely because the GOP had supported the Suffrage movement, which Wilson had opposed, and this was the first election with women voting.)
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:05 pmKevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:05 pm
ZI never heard that explanation.
The explanation I read is that women were more conservative — but that remains to be proven.
Incidentally I read that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was named vice president because people might think he was close to Theodore Roosevelt.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:09 pmwhen nevertrump and the “please clap” wing is arrayed against DeSantis and he loses in the general election, I wonder who you’ll blame
You still don’t get it. #NeverTrump was about Trump, not about policy. Stop worshiping him and you’ll see what we see.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:10 pmI never heard that explanation.
Doesn’t fit the narrative. BTW, Cox, the 1920 Dem candidate, later was the losing lawyer in Brown vs Board of Education. May have been why he won the Solid South (although he lost Tennessee).
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:15 pmOuch Again!
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:18 pm#NeverTrump was about Trump, not about policy.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:10 pm
LMFAO
JF (ef2b8d) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:19 pmOOOOPS. It was John Davis, the 1924 Dem candidate who lost Brown. My bad for trying to do that from memory.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:19 pmLMFAO
As I said, you do not get it. Keep genuflecting to your false idol.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:21 pm#95
Harding the man seemed pretty humble about his ability to govern. His diaries/letters have a Hunter Biden feel (w/o the drug use).
#94
I am an independent — not a GOP member. I would like a right leaning party I could vote for without putting Democracy at risk. Which means I am never voting Trump and I might vote for someone else. But I won’t necessarily. If DiSantis adopted every Trump policy except election denial and explicit racism — I would think about it but not give an iron clad guarantee. (I hate protectionism and am more willing to have a fairly lenient emigration policy than the average GOP member).
You think Trump gets more votes than he loses, I gather. The evidence suggests that, after 2016, he hasn’t.
Appalled (c1e807) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:21 pm75. Someone on Free Republic
Wasn’t that the Republicans in Maricopa, County, Arizona. Only the printing wasn’t done well.
And don’t thy realize that every ballot must be attached to a registered voter? Not one by one, to maintain secrecy, but in batches of 200 to 500 or so, maximum? You can’t just dump ballots. I suppose you could switch paper ballots – but that’s one reason they are usually counted first at the precinct.
The Republican complaints are incoherent. There was a grand jury report about an election in Staten Island in 2021 and somehow they wanted to connect that to a need for voter ID.
This involved absentee ballots and ballot harvesting. The ballots were mailed to campaign headquarters and not the voter’s home address. It was in a primary. Which the candidate lost. Most phony ballots were caught before being counted..
https://nypost.com/2022/11/22/grand-jury-finds-numerous-instances-of-ballot-fraud-in-nyc-council-race-on-staten-island
Presumably because they couldn’t pin responsibility on any person — and maybe because they didn’t investigate enough
Just what does that have to do with voter ID?? (beyond signatures or anything that can appear on paper)
How do you present voter ID with an absentee ballot?
In the meantime they didn’t prosecute, even though they knew who were some of the peole involved:
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:25 pm(I hate protectionism and am more willing to have a fairly lenient emigration policy than the average GOP member).
Not all trade disputes are protectionism. And others not entirely. There are plenty of reasons to put a sin tax on imports from China other than protectionism.
Our immigration policy is completely bonkers. We have to limit it to prevent overwhelming infrastructure (e.g. Los Angeles housing and transportation), but within such limits, we should prioritize bringing in young families from Mexico and Central America.
Currently, not only do we have low quotas for countries to the immediate south, but we prioritize bringing in relatives of those already here, which normally excludes the people we actually want. There is never ever any room under the misbegotten country quotas for the young workers after all the aunts and uncles are accommodated.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:33 pmKevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:15 pm
Nom that was John W, Davis the 1924 nominee, chosen on the 103rd ballot in a deadlocked convention.
(At that time — and since 1844, which adopted the “rules of 1832” – in 1832 Andrew Jackson wanted to make sure that Martin Van Buren would be the vice-presidential nominee – a Democratic candidate had to get a 2/3 majority in order to get the nomination.
The two thirds rule was abolished with the Democratic convention of 1936.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:33 pmKevin M:I see you corrected that.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:35 pmThe Democrats are printing ballots on demand now
I can go to any polling place in my home county and vote in my local elections as if I was in my own precinct (an odd word as polling places are no longer oriented by precinct).
There I get a ballot with the correct districts and district candidates. Quite convenient. I voted by mail this time, so I guess somewhere they DID print up a ballot just for me, but I think that the actual voting places have computer-based voting which means that there is no printing at all.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:37 pmchosen on the 103rd ballot in a deadlocked convention.
In 1920, they needed 44 ballots, and the GOP needed 10 ballots to get to Harding, who had been 6th on the first ballot.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:41 pmBTW, the legal immigration system is completely broken. I know of a lady, who works for the US government, who has been trying for about 5 years now to get her husband admitted from Canada. She initially had an interview date in 2020 but that got cancelled and she’s now awaiting the next appointment, next year. Why does it take so long? Take a guess.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:47 pmnk (b9d6a2) — 12/6/2022 @ 5:43 pm
Walker said, according to this web site:
https://www.thewrap.com/herschel-walker-turns-horror-movie-fright-night-into-incoherent-metaphor-vampires-are-some-cool-people-video
It’s either a 1985 movie or a 2011 remake.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:49 pmExploit is a perfectly good word that has negative connotations only when combined with bad actors.
steveg (fafd7c) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:54 pmNo offense personally, but a non exploitive capitalist is probably less than mediocre at capitalism. If you are good at it, you have probably exploited some thing from Fiber Optics to Mustard lovers.
@64 How does gop ditch 60% of its voters? And in red states its higher hershel walker barely lost. Never trumpers and moderate republicans reside in blues states and are not the majority of republicans even there.
asset (a0e30f) — 12/7/2022 @ 1:03 pm@61 Going forward bigger story are fbi moles like james baker in facebook, youtube and other social media sites.
asset (a0e30f) — 12/7/2022 @ 1:07 pm@73 DU is establishment democrats for real lefties try jackpine radicals they make du look like conservative blog!
asset (a0e30f) — 12/7/2022 @ 1:10 pm110. Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 12:47 pm
Nobody cares, and institutions when left alone, tend to deteriorate with time. And politicians are afraid to intervene.
I think also there might be a problem with the vetting, but you say she hasn’t even been able to get an appointment.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 12/7/2022 @ 1:24 pm@82 In socialism the government owns the means of production not capitalists. The difference is capitalists get to make wealth ;but have to use some of the their wealth to help the poor. In the 1940s/1950s tax rate was as high as 90% yet you still had wealthy capitalists doing evil with their wealth. The social welfare state was invented by otto von bismarck a conservative to stop the poor in germany from starting constant revolutions in the 1800’s in which they would kill to many rich people like the paris commune in france. The idea being to keep the poor from being shock troops for the disaffected intelligentsia. Conservatives only want to spend money on military and police to protect them from the poor. Poorly paid conscripts (that is why we have all volunteers after blacks wouldn’t join in riot conrol in 1967 detroit) and police would join in the hunt for the rich and corrupt officials. NON-exploitive capitalism is a better way then having the rich being stopped at road blocks by the poor.
asset (a0e30f) — 12/7/2022 @ 1:33 pmNON-exploitive capitalism is a better way then having the rich being stopped at road blocks by the poor.
asset (a0e30f) — 12/7/2022 @ 1:33 pm
Who decides what is exploitive and what isn’t? A government bureaucrat?
Color me dubious.
norcal (862cdb) — 12/7/2022 @ 1:49 pm@86 come to az they are more then half the party. See kari lake win over establishment candidate same with blake masters sen. Also sos and ag races here.
asset (a0e30f) — 12/7/2022 @ 1:50 pm@108 Maricopa county run by republicans are doing the same thing to save money with much fewer polling places. @88 Non exploitive capitalism is a way to make peaceful change possible so violent revolution is not inevitable. (paraphrase of JFK) Nobody wants the government to own the means of production not even bernie or AOC. China is becoming more and more crony capitalism. Do away with the welfare state like most conservatives want ;but populists don’t want and see what happens. The poor will become the shock troops for the left intelligentsia.
asset (a0e30f) — 12/7/2022 @ 2:05 pm@97
So if Never Trump is about Trump and not policy, does that mean that the Never Trump people who didn’t vote for Trump will vote for DeSantis over Biden, or whomever the Democrats nominate? Because I thought that a lot of them said that they wouldn’t. Are they still conservatives, or not?
mikeybates (dd20f5) — 12/7/2022 @ 2:23 pmmikeybates (dd20f5) — 12/7/2022 @ 2:23 pm
As for this Never Trumper, I would vote for DeSantis, provided he stays consistent with his heretofore actions and words.
Is he ideal? No. But I’m not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
norcal (862cdb) — 12/7/2022 @ 2:35 pm@122
Good for you.
Also, Glenn Youngkin I can see a bit of a dark horse in the race too. (with Nikki Haley as his VP)
whembly (d116f3) — 12/7/2022 @ 2:58 pm@121: What norcal said.
If you’ve read what I’ve written on this blog, even earlier today, you will see that I understand the political forces that brought Trump to the fore. I agree with them to some extent. Certainly I would vote for someone who could meld the changes that Trump advocated (and manifestly failed to achieve) with some of the former Republican platform (e.g. reforming immigration into a workable system that favored workers, rather than stopping it altogether).
But Trump has proven to be the worst possible spokesman for many of these ideals. He makes any issue he touches toxic, and is unable to work the levers of government (and doesn’t seem to much care). As such he gets nothing done, and poisons the well for everyone else. His small tent attitude towards the rest of the GOP doesn’t help either.
————
Note: Despite my misgivings, I entertained the possibility of voting for Trump in 2020, until he showed up at the first debate and behaved like a barroom drunk. At that point I resolved to vote LP once again.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 3:07 pmMeanwhile, back at the ranch:
It appears that the Supreme Court is going to narrowly rule on the “Independent State Legislature” case, allowing state courts to rule on the legislature’s election laws and apportionment maps, but barring them from rewriting the laws or redrawing the maps themselves.
In the 2020 elections, some state courts had issued revisions of election laws, rather than requiring (or even allowing) legislatures to make needed changes. So, when state law limited absentee ballot use, a court could not order the state to send absentee ballots to everyone. It the law that was in place was itself constitutional (as those all were), the court would have no power to order a change.
tl;dr state courts cannot write election law, but may strike down unconstitutional ones.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 3:15 pmhttps://twitter.com/peltzmadeline/status/1600559089511038976
lol
Davethulhu (02f479) — 12/7/2022 @ 6:52 pmFor all everyone says about Hershel Walker, I’ll point out that California elected Kamala Harris as Attorney General, then to the Senate. How come no one knew what a dumbass she was?
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 10:44 pmbut you say she hasn’t even been able to get an appointment.
No, I’m saying the appointments are 2 and 3 years out. And then Covid. Because all the effort is in the illegal entry side of the agency, not the legal entry side.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 10:47 pma message they heard on the Charlie Kirk show
DOes he see this as a problem, or as a win for Charlie Kirk?
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 10:48 pmBecause I thought that a lot of them said that they wouldn’t.
Point out one.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/7/2022 @ 10:49 pm“So if Never Trump is about Trump and not policy, does that mean that the Never Trump people who didn’t vote for Trump will vote for DeSantis over Biden, or whomever the Democrats nominate? Because I thought that a lot of them said that they wouldn’t.”
This appears to be the new meme of the MAGA crowd: never-Trump are just closet Democrats that push comes to shove won’t help with a conservative agenda anyways. It’s just more deluded reasoning to keep the orange faith alive.
Most here will vote for darn near anyone if it closes the Trump chapter. Perfect is the enemy of good enough. Step 1 is to find someone who respects the law/Constitution, has some understanding of conservative policy, and has a chance to win. Biden is a weak opponent despite all of the growing kudo’s that he’s garnering over the midterms. The midterms were a referendum on election denialism and a bit about abortion over-reach, not an endorsement of Biden’s job performance or a desired leftward lurch. Biden is still a horrible candidate that the Dems would ditch in a heartbeat if a competent alternative emerges. He’s the walking dead and few political consultants savor seeing him up against a younger, quicker, more energetic opponent. It’s an optical loser.
DeSantis still needs to get outside of Florida and hone a national message that gets him to 270. It remains about actually winning and not just about owning the libs. It would also be nice to frame an agenda that has some cross appeal with hope of changing the toxic political landscape so some incremental progress is actually possible. It’s time for smart politics over brash personality theatrics. It was tried and it brought loss after loss. Let’s see whether some here are smart enough to head to the lifeboats….
AJ_Liberty (6a18fd) — 12/8/2022 @ 3:04 amMy #NeverTrump is entirely about Trump. He is not fit to be President. We would have been better off with a literal bucket of New York sewer muck in the Oval Office.
But “DeSantis because he’s not Trump”, though? That’s another false choice. Trump is not the measure of anything outside an EPA testing laboratory.
nk (bb1548) — 12/8/2022 @ 6:17 amThis appears to be the new meme of the MAGA crowd: never-Trump are just closet Democrats that push comes to shove won’t help with a conservative agenda anyways. It’s just more deluded reasoning to keep the orange faith alive.
It’s not a meme: the people at the Bulwark, and many at other Never Trump outlets, and people like Liz Cheney, are saying that DeSantis is unacceptable, too. I’m not surprised: of course DeSantis is unacceptable to Democrats. (Bill Kristol wrote a long piece about how moderate the Democrats are under Biden (lol) and therefore how Never Trump should become Democrats.) Most of those people have stopped being pro-life, too, adjusting their policy views to suit the new party. There is also another, less noble angle: when your new readers, donors, and voters (in the case of someone like McMullin) are mostly Democrats, you have a new set of professional incentives. The new readers, donors, and voters do not want to read about how you will vote for DeSantis, or are pro-life, or oppose lots of spending on useless programs, or whatever. So just don’t say those things. And so they don’t. That is why McMullin suddenly became pro-choice this year after attacking Trump in 2016 for not being really pro-life.
But “DeSantis because he’s not Trump”, though? That’s another false choice. Trump is not the measure of anything outside an EPA testing laboratory.
So DeSantis vs. Biden would be a difficult choice for you, it sounds like?
mikeybates (8f86ea) — 12/8/2022 @ 6:32 amSo DeSantis vs. Biden would be a difficult choice for you, it sounds like?
Let me put it this way. I voted for Bush 41 (against Clinton) in 1992 and then went home and washed my hands. We’ve got a year-and-a-half to see if DeSantis is the best we can do.
nk (bb1548) — 12/8/2022 @ 6:58 am“are saying that DeSantis is unacceptable, too”
That’s based on his current style points. I have reliable GOP friends that don’t like what comes across as DeSantis’ brash personality. I understand that, but it’s also early. What sells in FL…and he did have to win comfortably in FL…may not be as effective in winning swing states like Nevada and Iowa. I figure team DeSantis understands this and, after he announces, we may see a more measured disposition and agenda. I suspect that he will still hit illegal immigration hard, but he’ll dial back the full-court press on gay stuff (it’s not 1990 after all and he’s not running for school board).
Again, there are culture issues that resonate far more with others than with me….especially at the national level. Right now though I’m looking for competence, intelligence, and a return to normalcy. In this environment, DeSantis might be the best we will get. But he can also implode and not be able to handle the big stage. He’s still pretty new, as is Youngkin (who’s even greener). I’d like someone else on standby just in case. But job #1 is scuttling Trump. I get that he has 20% of the GOP locked up, but that 20% should not dictate the nominee. The GOP has to not drop this ball….
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 12/8/2022 @ 8:09 amWhen you “the gay stuff” you mean a law that kids in grade K-3 shouldn’t be taught sex ed, right? Is the principled conservative position that they should?
And again, this sounds pretty equivocal. It sounds like you would consider voting for Biden over DeSantis, because DeSantis is too brash? Is that right? I’m trying to understand how much policy actually matters to Never Trump people. It seems like it matters increasingly little. I mean Biden has not and will not advance any conservative policies.
mikeybates (8f86ea) — 12/8/2022 @ 8:32 amKevin M — in 2010, when Kamala Harris first ran for AG, and she was running against the multiple-term LA County DA (a conservative who wanted to reform three strikes laws but who was guaranteed to defend Prop 8 in court) (I think his name was Steve Cooley, but i’m not certain), I voted for the conservative; Harris’ performance as SF DA was terrible, and *in particular* her office was involved in a scandal where it wasn’t turning over to defense attorneys information about complaining witness police officers *who had been disciplined for lying to internal affairs* — as well as a scandal involving the department’s forensic lab.
I wasn’t in CA in 2014 so couldn’t vote against her for re-election.
When she ran for Senate, I voted for *the other Democrat in the general election race*.
I am really irritated that she’s in the position she’s in now.
aphrael (4c4719) — 12/8/2022 @ 8:56 amBecause she didn’t discuss whether it is better to be a vampire or werewolf?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/8/2022 @ 8:56 amIf you reduce the political spectrum to a left to right axis, why is it so hard to understand that if one candidate is further to the right than the other candidate is to the left, that folks in the middle will be likely to choose Left. It works the other way, too, as McGovern found out.
If you add to that a candidate who is not only further to the right, but his personality/behavior/trustworthiness is a 2, on a 1 to 10 scale, even people further to the right will abstain, voting for a third party or Donald Duck to make their displeasure clear.
I, for one, will likely vote for the GOP nominee so long as that is not Donald Trump. There are probably others I would not vote for (e.g. Kasich) but I’ve got no insurmountable problem with those likely to run.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/8/2022 @ 9:00 amBecause she didn’t discuss whether it is better to be a vampire or werewolf?
That didn’t come out until the last week or so. I very much doubt that affected your attitude towards Walker.
And the fact that Harris did, or did not, would not affect my attitude towards that stupid lying scheming bi*ch.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/8/2022 @ 9:03 amWhen she ran for Senate, I voted for *the other Democrat in the general election race*.
Loretta Sanchez. As did I. As much as getting Harris out of the AG’s office was a plus.
My hostility towards Harris comes from her tenure as AG. Not only did she title and summarize initiatives in the most favorable or unfavorable manner possible (depending) but she also “certified” that firearm “microstamping” was feasible (it isn’t) so that very shortly most firearms will be illegal to sell in California because they don’t have that (as yet impossible) feature. That the state courts ruled that the law did not require the certification to be factual is simply an indication that the state courts need serious correction.
That CA’s voters could countenance all of this was part of my decision to flee.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/8/2022 @ 9:12 amDeSantis does not have to be better on policy than Trump. Not BEING Trump is my minimum demand.
But to get anyone’s vote he has to win the nomination, which means he has to be better than the others who will run. By the time 2024 rolls around, Trump will be in the rear-view mirror and there will be 4 or 5 actual Republicans in the race. More if Trump bows out sooner.
Viable candidates are DeSantis, Pence, Cruz, Haley, Youngkin, Pompeo and maybe Tim Scott. Of these, I think that Cruz and Pence have the most negatives and Pompeo the least well known. If I had to guess, I think that DeSantis, Haley, Youngkin and Scott have the most staying power. If Trump endorses someone I can’t say if that would help or hurt.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/8/2022 @ 9:37 amDoug Ducey
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 12/8/2022 @ 9:41 amGiven the Walker-Warnock campaign though, here’s a few debate questions I would like to hear, to see what candidates do with something they are unprepared for:
1. Who is faster? Superman or the Flash?
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/8/2022 @ 9:55 am2. Will gun control leave us defenseless in a zombie apocalypse?
3. Is a cross effective against Muslim vampires?
4. Should schools teach K-3 students that there is no Santa Claus?
5. Which would you rather have? A flying car or a jetpack?
@144. Why not truly test ’em; Who was the best Bond?
Barry Nelson
DCSCA (70c077) — 12/8/2022 @ 10:06 amSean Connery
David Niven
George Lazenby
Roger Moore
Timothy Dalton
Pierce Brosnan
Daniel Craig
DeSantis does not have to be better on policy than Trump. Not BEING Trump is my minimum demand.
So it’s a personality metric; persona over policy.
Got it.
DCSCA (70c077) — 12/8/2022 @ 10:25 amSo it’s a personality metric; persona over policy.
Got it.
DCSCA (70c077) — 12/8/2022 @ 10:25 am
When the persona poisons every policy issue he touches, and when the persona foments a violent attack on the capitol, hoping to scare the VP into overturning the election, then yes, persona is the bigger concern.
norcal (862cdb) — 12/8/2022 @ 1:50 pm@147. Oh please. Remember when Trump told you jumping off a bridge was a sure cure for Covid?
Did you jump?
DCSCA (4ff92c) — 12/8/2022 @ 1:53 pmSean Connery
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/8/2022 @ 3:36 pmDaniel Craig
Timothy Dalton
the “who cares”
Oh please. Remember when Trump told you jumping off a bridge was a sure cure for Covid?
So, when I got caught smoking pot, and she told me that “It’s against the law” I asked: “If the President told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?” but she didn’t think it was very funny. She was probably right.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 12/8/2022 @ 3:38 pmDid Trump blame Melania for his endorsement of Walker yet?
nk (bb1548) — 12/8/2022 @ 6:41 pmDid Trump blame Melania for his endorsement of Walker yet?
nk (bb1548) — 12/8/2022 @ 6:41 pm
Melania could tell us, but she’d probably run afoul of her NDA.
norcal (862cdb) — 12/8/2022 @ 6:45 pm