Will Trump Ride off into the sunset, or play the broken here

[gcode]

Victor Davis Hansen

This is my favorite part

In this moment of wishing the wounded Shane would ride off into the Tetons and leave the more civilized alone, we should remember Trump's four historical accomplishments that will only grow in light of Biden's subsequent disastrous four years.

One is partisan. Trump utterly destroyed the 30-year Clinton grifting and quid pro quo machine in general, and Hillary Clinton's endless and often toxic political career in particular. It was characterized by the despicable Uranium One sale, the foreign shake-down contributions to the Clinton Foundation, her destruction of subpoenaed emails and devices, and her blatant violation of State Department rules of personal communications.

Clinton's failing campaign and eventual collapse in 2016 was so shocking that it all but crushed her very psyche — to the point that she had funded a foreign ex-spy to systematically and illegally destroy her political opponent. She ended up denying the very legitimacy of the election she lost. Then she topped that off by urging Joe Biden not to accept the 2020 verdict should he lose the popular vote. Hillary Clinton is physically, psychologically, and spiritually spent — and never recovered from her ill-fated collisions with Donald Trump.

   X eleventy billion

[Jim at Gentex]

Victor Davis Hansen

This is my favorite part

   X eleventy billion

Yup.
I have always been a fan of VDH.
Smart and sensible.

I saw him on the Laura Ingraham show last night after Trump made his announcement.
He said that if Trump stays on message, and if he maintains the tone he used in last night's speech, he will be a formidable candidate for 2024.

I didn't hear the whole speech, but they played a few excerpts.
I also thought his tone was much different than what we heard when he was President.
I guess we will have to wait and see how the primaries play out to see whether he changes anyone's mind.

[JParis]

There is going to be a WIDE swarth of Republicans that simply will not vote for Trumpp agin, assuming he survives til the primary process...

That said, he has a bloc of voters that will not leave his side, regardless.

Will his bloc of support staying together be enough to overcome the rest of the split vote of the primaries...thus will he survive by attrition alone? That is a real possibility.

Then add, will the Democrats do as they did in many primaries in 2022, switch parties and vote for Trump, only to have him win and be easily defeatable in 2024 as he surely will be...

 

[YoDoug]

I think the #neverTrumpers are getting emotionally swayed in their perception of Trumps popularity. The swamp, the RINO's, etc. are all bashing him, but he still packs thousands and tens of thousand of voters into his rallies. I agree he has a difficult likeability with a lot of previous voters, but Biden's America is horrible. Let's say a total RINO that I despise, like Pence somehow wins the nomination, I would still vote for him because I don't think we can survive another 4 years of Biden.

Which brings the question I have, is Biden going to run again? The party wants to dump him, but I don't see him going easily. Especially if Trump is in the race. If a RINO like Pence gets the nod, Biden can be assured nothing more than toothless inquiries into his corruption will be had. If Trump was to win he will be looking for payback and he will place DOJ/FBI personnel to do it. Biden will see this as no choice but to run again.

As far as Trump being easily beatable, unless the voter rolls, ballot harvesting, drop boxes, etc. are reigned in, there will never be another R president or R control of the senate. And if the D's continue to expand their ballot harvesting/Fraud operations the House will follow.

[JParis]

#neverTrumpers

Don't paint with in with that crown, I voted for him twice....

While I too believe there are shenanigins going on, they always have been....ballot harvesting happens on both sides, though one side seems to have a PhD in it...

This economy sucks and every single metric said the Dems should get their asses handed to them....yet they did not.

in race after race, people, Republicans simply chose not to vote for the circus....it's time for the circus to pack its tents and move along, it has run its course.

JM2C YMMV

[YoDoug]

Don't paint with in with that crown, I voted for him twice....

While I too believe there are shenanigins going on, they always have been....ballot harvesting happens on both sides, though one side seems to have a PhD in it...

This economy sucks and every single metric said the Dems should get their asses handed to them....yet they did not.

in race after race, people, Republicans simply chose not to vote for the circus....it's time for the circus to pack its tents and move along, it has run its course.

JM2C YMMV

So then why did the dems only beat the polls in places with ballot harvesting, drop boxes, delayed counting, etc. They didn't beat the polls in FL or many other states. The polls were right on. The same pollsters got it nearly perfect in some states but in other states the dems beat their polls by a huge percentage, and it follows suite with places that are wide open for voter fraud to be possible. 

[neurosis]

So then why did the dems only beat the polls

why is it that every time I bring up "the polls" everyone tells me that the polls are worthless?  Until they aren't.   

[YoDoug]

why is it that every time I bring up "the polls" everyone tells me that the polls are worthless?  Until they aren't.   

Right now, the R establishment and their followers are so determined to get rid of Trump that the polls, unsecure voting, etc. don't matter. If they successfully rid the party of Trump and other MAGA candidates, then lose the next election cycle they will be screaming fraud, unsecure elections, etc. They are foolishly giving the dems a pass at what will become eternal demnation for the country just to oust Trump. But as Tom always says, they are the party of stupid.

[mkd]

If anything has been learnt in the last couple years, it that support and votes mean exactly squat.
It's the counting.....
.
.
Pennsylvania Democrats installed two cadavers this cycle and one in the last cycle. Where do you go from here?

[Brian]

why is it that every time I bring up "the polls" everyone tells me that the polls are worthless?  Until they aren't.   

I usually try my best to avoid commenting on anything having to do with politics, but in a moment of weakness I just can't help myself....

Am I the only one here who observes that "the polls" or "voter fraud" are only considered problematic when ones favored candidate doesn't win office? It seems that several years back I heard lots of gum flapping about the "electoral college", too-but again, only from folks whose candidate lost. It must be coincidental, because everyone knows that correlation doesn't equal causation! Silly me....

Now that I'm middle aged I find myself too liberal for my conservative friends, and too conservative for my liberal friends-and wondering where all of the normal folks went?

[pmartin]

Now that I'm middle aged I find myself too liberal for my conservative friends, and too conservative for my liberal friends-and wondering where all of the normal folks went?

Just remember that on this forum it is like a big tent...Just be prepared to have to stand outside that big tent in the rain.




Hint, it's not really rain.

[BrianP.]

Or will an unapologetic Trump instead now escalate his slurs, bray at the moon, play out his current angry Ajax role to the bitter end, and thus himself end up a tragic hero — appreciated for past service but deemed too toxic for present company?

I'm going with yes.

[neurosis]

Now that I'm middle aged I find myself too liberal for my conservative friends, and too conservative for my liberal friends-and wondering where all of the normal folks went?

I've figured out in the last decade that you're just not allowed to be "normal" anymore.    You have to pick which team of crazy you're willing to support and stick with them or risk being called a racist or a communist.

[YoDoug]

If anything has been learnt in the last couple years, it that support and votes mean exactly squat.
It's the counting.....
.
.
Pennsylvania Democrats installed two cadavers this cycle and one in the last cycle. Where do you go from here?

That's my point. I would love to see DeSantis on the ballot, but it doesn't matter. Milwaukee, Philly, Detroit, Vegas,  PHX, and any other swing state will lax mail-in-vote laws will harvest enough votes to keep any R from winning those states. There will be no way to prove if those ballots are legitimate or not. I said it right after the 2020 election and I will say it again, this is the most important issue of our lifetime. Unfortunately far too many people don't want to believe it is possible to steal an election this way or they want so badly for it to be Trumps fault the R's lost. I am confident 2024 will see the exact same results as 2020/20222.

[Surface]

An interesting analogy; Comparing Trump to a gunslinger who was once valuable but has worn out his welcome.


In the movie Hang em High, I always thought Clint Eastwood's charactor made more sense as the reincarnation of the hanged Marshal rather than his return because the none of the townsfolk recognized his face. It was only later in the film did the perpetrators of the hanging put two-and-two together and realized the new Marshal was there for revenge.

It would be a beautiful conclusion if Ron Desnatis could play that role.