And Then There Were Two…
[guest post by Dana]
The morning after:
Donald Trump on Truth Social:
President Biden’s statement:
“It takes a lot of courage to run for President – that’s especially true in today’s Republican Party, where so few dare to speak the truth about Donald Trump. Nikki Haley was willing to speak the truth about Trump: about the chaos that always follows him, about his inability to see right from wrong, about his cowering before Vladimir Putin.
“Donald Trump made it clear he doesn’t want Nikki Haley’s supporters. I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign. I know there is a lot we won’t agree on. But on the fundamental issues of preserving American democracy, on standing up for the rule of law, on treating each other with decency and dignity and respect, on preserving NATO and standing up to America’s adversaries, I hope and believe we can find common ground.
“We all know this is no ordinary election. And the stakes for America couldn’t be higher. I know that Democrats and Republicans and Independents disagree on many issues and hold strong convictions. That’s a good thing. That’s what America stands for. But I also know this: what unites Democrats and Republicans and Independents is a love for America.”
Choose wisely.
—Dana
Hello.
Dana (8e902f) — 3/6/2024 @ 8:28 amMy preference: Haley/Sinema, No Labels.
In any event, voting for someone I despise is worse than not voting. If all the two incumbent parties can do is give me a choice between a con man and a dead man, they have failed and that point should be made.
Voting for someone because the other one is worse is acquiescing to malpractice.
Kevin M (8676e4) — 3/6/2024 @ 8:32 am1) Biden didn’t write that
lloyd (6a427a) — 3/6/2024 @ 8:50 am2) Biden doesn’t believe any of it
3) Biden doesn’t remember any of it
Now is the time for No Labels (or someone similar) to put up or American politics is not working,
Maybe Lisa Murkowski, although I prefer her for vice president, with at least two different presidential candidates (initially competing for third place) in different states.
The goal should be for Lisa Murkowski to come in at least second in Electoral votes, with one of her running mates coming in third for president in Electoral votes.
To get to that point the either Biden or Trump must poll third in various states – edged out – so that the choice in many states is between either Biden or Trump (depending on the state) and the ticket she is on. People will vote third party to help determine which of her running mates is option 3.
Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 3/6/2024 @ 8:58 am#2
Who is the dead man? Who is the con man?
Appalled (5b1aa6) — 3/6/2024 @ 9:02 amHaley has said, as recently as yesterday, that she would not run an independent or No Labels campaign:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/6/2024 @ 9:04 amOf course Haley could always change her mind…….
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/6/2024 @ 9:05 am“If I were to do No Labels, that would require a Democrat. I can’t do what I wanted to express with the Democrat.”
Sinema is not a Democrat.
Kevin M (8676e4) — 3/6/2024 @ 9:05 amWho is the dead man? Who is the con man?
C’mon. I mean, there are only two dots to connect here.
Kevin M (8676e4) — 3/6/2024 @ 9:06 amHaley still has said she will not run an independent campaign. And outside of political junkies and the people of Arizona, no one knows who Sinema is.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/6/2024 @ 9:11 amBut he, or whoever composed it, hopes that some other people will – or perhaps it’s not even as seriously intended as that.
The only message may be the meta message – that Haley supporters (and voters!) are wanted and welcome.
Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 3/6/2024 @ 9:28 amInteresting:
Musk responds:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/6/2024 @ 9:28 am#10
Trump acts like he may have Alzheimer’s. Biden pretends to be moderate grandpa, and is 90% of what the Squad wants.
I am being a smart aleck but I do have a point…
Appalled (250703) — 3/6/2024 @ 10:07 amTrump acts like he may have Alzheimer’s.
People think, when he denies having said something the day before, that he is lying. Not at all. He just doesn’t have much short-term memory left. To be sure, he still remembers slights from 1985, but what he had for breakfast is a mystery.
Kevin M (8676e4) — 3/6/2024 @ 11:12 amSinema may be a self proclaimed independent, not a democrat, but she voted 94% of the time in line with the Biden position
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-congress-votes/kyrsten-sinema/
steveg (5a18b0) — 3/6/2024 @ 11:38 amNikki can say that she’s still a Republican but running under the No Labels ticket, because she doesn’t recognize this Republican Party that has sore winners like Trump and racist candidates like Ms. Lake.
Paul Montagu (d40e94) — 3/6/2024 @ 11:47 amA “Real Republican” or a “Reagan Republican”
We should know in a few days.
Kevin M (8676e4) — 3/6/2024 @ 11:53 amThen call Trump’s GOP the “RINO Party”
Baiting Trump is always fun.
Kevin M (8676e4) — 3/6/2024 @ 11:54 amName one tangible thing better under Biden than it was under Trump and I’ll vote for Biden.
David Longfellow (d208a1) — 3/6/2024 @ 12:09 pmFeelings aren’t tangible.
She’s made it pretty clear that she wouldn’t want a Democrat as a running mate.
Rip Murdock (cfd5ce) — 3/6/2024 @ 12:21 pmI hope Nikki sticks to her guns and does NOT endorse Trump.
norcal (4ab285) — 3/6/2024 @ 1:19 pmIts now stalin vs hitler right?
asset (52c055) — 3/6/2024 @ 1:26 pmasset (52c055) — 3/6/2024 @ 1:26 pm
Not like that. There was no other war like that.
But you do have the situation where you don’t like either and it seems one must win.
Although I can’t say that what they do or don’t do might make a big difference in who lives and who does – and you can only mostly guess.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/6/2024 @ 2:16 pmIf ether Trump or Biden has Alzheimer’s, it’s very slow progressing. Biden mostly comes up with wrong names for places He says Mexico instead of Egypt. Ukraine instead of whatchamicallit (Hamas? Gaza?)
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/6/2024 @ 2:19 pmThe other big political exit after Super Tuesday.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/6/2024 @ 4:01 pmName one tangible thing better under Biden than it was under Trump and I’ll vote for Biden.
Feelings aren’t tangible.
David Longfellow (d208a1) — 3/6/2024 @ 12:09 pm
Feelings, and how we manage them, are what separates civilization from chaos. One of these two guys undermines faith in elections, hints at civil war, and brings out the worst in people.
Eventually, sowing division and an us-versus-them mentality will become tangible in a very horrific way.
norcal (4ab285) — 3/6/2024 @ 4:32 pm@25 I think it’s the combination of age, stutter, and generally being a poor public speaker that gets Biden most of the time, ’cause all else in a conversation is within context.
People are just used to Trump sounding nuts, so when he mixes up names (repeatedly) or freezes and just moves on is ignored.
SamG (4e6c22) — 3/6/2024 @ 4:34 pmThat’s true. The way Biden has undermined the rule of law, encouraged invasion and racial/class division as well as treating Trump as his supporters as evil.
Glad you recognize that.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 3/6/2024 @ 5:02 pmFor example:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/6/2024 @ 5:10 pmIts now stalin vs hitler right?
No, more like Quisling vs Henry Wallace.
Kevin M (8676e4) — 3/6/2024 @ 5:27 pm@30 I was thinking of the clip here: https://x.com/BidenHQ/status/1764026162253029809?s=20
SamG (4e6c22) — 3/6/2024 @ 5:30 pmUh-huh… let’s check the tape for any clues:
Start at 23min: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hUH7WSzBacY (24min of you are super impatient)
Oh.
BuDuh (ea8eec) — 3/6/2024 @ 5:35 pmIt’s an even odds bet than one of them dies before November.
Kevin M (8676e4) — 3/6/2024 @ 5:58 pmIf Trump dies before November, Nikki Haley can take over the party nomination and promise Trump supporters she will leave no stone unturned finding the cause of death. I think that is her only chance to win
steveg (5a18b0) — 3/6/2024 @ 6:11 pmBiden didn’t undermine our democracy by engaging in soft coup to stay in power. That should be enough.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 3/6/2024 @ 6:28 pmLOL! Just like OJ.
Rip Murdock (cfd5ce) — 3/6/2024 @ 6:30 pmShe could have her surgeon general encourage us all to drop a few pounds
steveg (5a18b0) — 3/6/2024 @ 6:38 pmThis guy came close to the Presidency
https://twitter.com/i/status/1765464678468034766
steveg (5a18b0) — 3/6/2024 @ 6:39 pmMeanwhile, Adam Schiff can’t even get through his own victory speech because of all the antisemites in his party.
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2024/03/06/adam-schiffs-victory-speech-shows-what-democrats-are-up-against-n3784206
qdpsteve again (d3036c) — 3/6/2024 @ 7:03 pm@40 You don’t have to be an antisemite to loathe lying schiff.
asset (7c8cf8) — 3/6/2024 @ 7:53 pmI can only hope this old story is not appropriate next January: “This is summed up very nicely in a mid-seventh-century story about a certain abbot, to whom God appeared in a dream. ‘Is it true that all rulers are appointed by heavenly command?’ he asked. The answer was positive. ‘Then why, O Lord, did you send the wicked tyrant Phocas to rule over the Roman people?’ ‘Because’, came the stern reply, ‘I could find no one worse.’
source, p. 68
Jim Miller (c66f9a) — 3/7/2024 @ 6:07 amBiden mostly comes up with wrong names for places He says Mexico instead of Egypt. Ukraine instead of whatchamicallit (Hamas? Gaza?)
I saw signs of dementia 4 years ago with Joe. I have no medical background but I lived through it with may parents. I saw a lot of it when I visited them in assisted living. I also do volunteer work with the elderly. I feel it is safe to say that Biden’s brain is cooked and although he still has a pulse he is pretty much a Weekend at Bernie’s President. I think Trump may be about where Joe was 4 years ago. 300+ million people and these are our two options?
It might be just wishful thinking but I can imagine scenarios playing out that one or both won’t end up the nominee.
Mattsky (f9fc5d) — 3/7/2024 @ 7:24 amI will never forgive those #NeverTrumper, nominally GOP voters for making the case that Joe Biden was a decent, normal politician.
Anyone who paid attention to his tenure would know that he represented the worst in politicians, whom by every definition was an a**hole.
It’s okay to make the case that you’d preferred Biden over Trump.
But there was zero reason to rehabilitate the awful human being that Joe Biden is.
whembly (5f7596) — 3/7/2024 @ 7:57 amThe House should pass a rule that Presidents are drug-tested before the SotU.
Kevin M (8676e4) — 3/7/2024 @ 8:36 am43, back when these prosecutions were starting, i did and still do sometimes wish for a Pete Rose / Bart Giamatti scenario.
urbanleftbehind (97c7d4) — 3/7/2024 @ 10:47 amBiden’s drug levels will be carefully monitored and tested in the run up to the State of the Union. One of these day it will stop working and the video will be fantastic.
What bothers me most is the lying, but lets not drag Adam Schiff into it
steveg (62645a) — 3/7/2024 @ 10:50 amYou’re right, it is wishful thinking.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/7/2024 @ 11:49 amFor illegal drugs, or drugs of any kind?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/7/2024 @ 11:51 amCurious what kind of drugs will they give biden. Speed meth?
asset (eb630b) — 3/7/2024 @ 2:19 pmAdderall cocktail
steveg (62645a) — 3/7/2024 @ 2:52 pmAnother guess would be memantine and donepezil in combination followed by a rest/recovery protocol
steveg (62645a) — 3/7/2024 @ 3:00 pmVitamin B1 or Prevagen (non-prescription)
https://prevagen.com/pages/about-prevagen-memory-supplements
https://prevagen.com/pages/prevagen-reviews
It would not be something to fool people if he takes it all the time.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/7/2024 @ 4:03 pm#44 — “Never forgive”? Really?
Appalled (340779) — 3/7/2024 @ 4:10 pmIf Trump wins, the media will watch him like a Hawk, demanding every I dotted and every T crossed. If there’s even a hint of impropriety by anyone in his administration, it’ll be Watergate multiplied by Lewinsky multiplied by a billion. Daniel Dale and Glenn Kessler will be on call 24/7/365/4 fact checking every single thing Trump says or types,
If Biden wins, he doesn’t hold a single press conference but no one outside Peter Doocey ever mentions it. The medias holiday continues another 4 years.
SaveFarris (82ed1e) — 3/7/2024 @ 5:07 pmThe Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Demosthenes (3b30b4) — 3/8/2024 @ 4:42 amNo Democrat wanted to risk destroying their career — and possibly getting Trump elected — by challenging Biden.
A majority of Republican voters have swallowed Trump’s lies whole, and a majority of those won’t support anyone else while he is an option.
So the matchup that most Americans don’t want…is the matchup we get.
As for my own feelings, I’m torn between “The universe has a wicked sense of humor,” “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether,” and “This is why we can’t have nice things.”
Demosthenes (3b30b4) — 3/8/2024 @ 4:51 am“Name one tangible thing better under Biden than it was under Trump and I’ll vote for Biden.”
Sweden and Finland joined NATO.
Jim Miller (74cde6) — 3/8/2024 @ 7:34 amAs for my own feelings, I’m torn between “The universe has a wicked sense of humor,” “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether,” and “This is why we can’t have nice things.”
All of these are excellent ways of explaining 2024.
JVW (1ad43e) — 3/8/2024 @ 8:32 amI get it.
I was hoping Biden would be a more moderate guy. Obviously that’s just not compatible with reality in politics right now, but Bill Clinton while imperfect in many ways, was competent and moderate, and the economy thrived.
Biden’s administration seems like it’s run by a committee of younger, more strident partisans who aren’t that concerned with Biden’s reputation or his legacy. He’s just a tool.
But the bottom line is that illegal immigration (obnoxiously reframed as asylum) has driven wages for working Americans down. Inflation policies are intentional – the relieve the debt by devaluing money. that hurts Americans who save money, and Americans who struggle to feed their families and buy a home. Debt forgiveness policies for college graduates are simply rewarding political friends. There is no reason why a plumber’s pickup truck is his to buy, and an English degree graduate’s diploma is furnished. This is doubly offensive to me: I had many friends killed in a friendly fire incident and two of them were planning to use the GI Bill. Why are people getting a lavish college experience, financed through irresponsible debt, paid for by the taxes of those friends’ children?
I could go on and length. The yielding on the war on drugs, both at the border, and with marijuana attitudes, is horrible. The social fabric, the nuclear family, it’s barely tolerated.
This is why I’m irritated that nevertrumpers largely rejected the only path to giving Americans a choice. They forfeited the argument Trump is the level of threat to democracy they claimed he was (and frankly I still buy that he’s that sort of threat). Meanwhile this bad faith has undermined the case against Trump. It’s taken for granted that Russia collusion was a hoax, for example.
So any pressure on the democrats to approach the center is really not there. I am hopeful Biden is replaced, but if you’re in the committee running the white house, and Biden is such a useful tool for that project, do you want Gavin Newsom coming in there and leading things his way? Nope, even if he’s more liberal you don’t.
And most argument against Biden or Trump will be answered with a whatabout. Trump was very poor on illegal immigration and the border. But he was certainly better than Biden. It’s just a fact and anyone saying otherwise is dishonest. The recent bill would have moved the conversation way to the left. Removal of illegals, including asylum seekers, is the right thing to do. An allowance of zero a day is the right thing to do.
The whatabout goes both ways of course. With Hunter you also have Jared and Don Jr. With dementia, with debate cowardice, with a dishonest character.
And the solution for the GOP is the bridge the gap from social conservative to competent leadership, with a competent social conservative. Just reality. I hope smart Republicans think carefully about how we have screwed ourselves in primaries for the past 12 years.
Dustin (c1324d) — 3/8/2024 @ 10:09 amIf you think the name of that path was “DeSantis,” once again, you turned onto a dead-end road.
Demosthenes (f60404) — 3/8/2024 @ 9:22 pmThis is why I’m irritated that nevertrumpers largely rejected the only path to giving Americans a choice
I was nodding my head up to this point. None of the candidates that NeverTrump eventually preferred had any impact on DeSantis. Haley and Christie and the rest were in low single digits at the time that DeSantis’s campaign was cratering. As I’ve pointed out, Haley was at 4% when DeSantis was at 30% and she was still at 4% when his polls numbers had dropped to the mid teens.
NeverTrump DID support DeSantis until he tried to be more like Trump. You can see that dynamic in his poll numbers. At one point 85-90% of GOP primary voters were for either Trump or DeSantis. Either NeverTrump was in there, or NeverTrump didn’t matter.
Kevin M (8676e4) — 3/8/2024 @ 10:26 pmIt’s okay, Kevin. You tried. I appreciated your data-driven criticism. But Dustin won’t respond to it, any more than he did to my multiple requests that he explain how DeSantis could have unified the party after defeating an embittered Trump. He’s got his narrative, and he likes it.
Demosthenes (9b7424) — 3/9/2024 @ 6:00 am