Farfromgeneva wrote: ↑Sun Nov 13, 2022 6:46 am
jhu72 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 12, 2022 9:15 pm
Fetterman was one of the most impressive spokesmen for the democrats during the 2020 ballot count - IMO. He is being judged based on his stroke.
I agree but thought he’d get took for that debate. When even Heilmann is like “damn he looked like trash, even if it was stroke driven”. Says a lot about the people who supposed Oz that a guy who’s struggling post major medical event screwing with his head and is kind of a tough mix philosophically for even modestly left of Democratic center, ie 76th percentile in a Gaussian distribution, won.
The real multiple personalities are coming from Cruz, Hawley, Rubio, McCarthy and others when they realize what a repudiation of Trumpism this was.
Anyone who claimed a red wave is dumber than dumb can be .
The GOP's "repudiation of Trump" remains up in the air for me. The GOP's problem will be with primary voters in the first instance, many of whom have been conditioned into the cult of the "greatest president ever." If he's not an anchor, he'll be barnacles on the hull. See below; I hope they all run in 2023 for the nomination:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... ates-2024/
Below are our latest rankings of the top 10 candidates most likely to be the GOP presidential nominee in 2024. As usual, this takes into account both their likelihood of running and their prospects if they do.
Honorable mention: Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.), Sen. Tom Cotton (Ark.), Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, Donald Trump Jr.
10. Sen. Rick Scott: On the one hand, the 2022 election is looking like a major setback for the Florida senator, whose stint as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee may soon end without his having secured what had been a very winnable majority. On the other hand, we just learned it reportedly dissuaded Scott from a planned challenge to GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). That suggests a presidential run might be more on the table than before. And Scott seems rather impatient with where he is. (Previous ranking: 8)
9. Mike Pompeo: The former secretary of state kinda, sorta suggested late Thursday that the party should move on from Trumpism — or at least from Trump’s constant social media score-settling, which has been pervasive since Election Day. “Conservatives are elected when we deliver,” he tweeted. “Not when we just rail on social media. That’s how we can win.” (Previous ranking: 9)
8. Nikki Haley: After the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Haley was one of the biggest voices making a pragmatic case that the party needed to move on from Trump. (Like others, she quickly backed off.) But even as Trumpism suffered another big setback on Tuesday and some in the party argue it’s a losing cause, the former United Nations ambassador has been remarkably quiet. She seems to have decided it’s best not to leap too soon. But if others adopt the same posture, it’s far less likely the party makes a clean break and rallies behind another candidate. (Previous ranking: 7)
7. Sen. Ted Cruz: Few were as wrong about the 2022 election as the Texas senator. In a Fox News interview published a day before Election Day, he offered, “I think this is going to be, not just a red wave, but a red tsunami.” Days earlier, he had ridiculed President Biden for predicting Democrats would gain a Senate seat and could hold the House — and both possibilities remain in play. Also worth noting: He dinged Trump for not spending more to help Republicans win. (Previous ranking: 6)
6. Kari Lake: This one is tough. Had the GOP gained as it expected on Election Day, the Arizona gubernatorial candidate would have rocketed up this list. Perhaps more than anyone not named Trump — and more than DeSantis, we’d argue — she gives the own-the-libs-first crowd exactly what it wants. She continued to bear-hug Trumpism and election denialism late into the 2022 campaign, even as many in the party opted for a more moderate tack. But that also might have cost her: Right now, it’s not clear that she’s actually going to win her race. If she doesn’t, she’s off this list for obvious reasons. If she does, though, don’t underestimate how well her style could play in 2024 — or her prospects as a Trump running mate if he gets to choose one. (Previous ranking: n/a)
5. Sen. Tim Scott: While all the focus has been on DeSantis’s performance Tuesday, the South Carolina senator quietly racked up an even more decisive win — defeating his opponent by 26 points — albeit in a redder state and in a race Democrats never seriously targeted. And while celebrating, Scott nodded to what might come next. He spoke of going to the polls in 2012 with his grandfather, who voted for both Scott and Barack Obama. “I wish he had lived long enough to see perhaps another man of color elected president of the United States,” Scott said. “But this time let it be a Republican.” If Republicans want a steady hand who could be broadly acceptable to many portions of the electorate, Scott can make a pretty compelling case that’s him. (Previous ranking: 4)
4. Gov. Glenn Youngkin: The Virginia governor gets a slight bump up on this list, since his 2021 win in a blue state looks even better now. It’s true that he benefited from more favorable dynamics than were present Tuesday. But the huge 2022 victories for governors like New Hampshire’s Chris Sununu and Ohio’s Mike DeWine only reinforced the electoral benefit of having someone able to craft their brand independent of — without necessarily breaking with — Trumpism. Meanwhile, Youngkin’s lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, on Thursday called Trump a “liability” and said she wouldn’t back him in 2024 — something which apparently prompted Trump to send Youngkin a warning signal. (Earle-Sears was elected separately from Youngkin, but this certainly doubles as a nice trial balloon without having it come from Youngkin’s lips.) (Previous ranking: 5)
3. Mike Pence: The former vice president continues to walk the finest of lines on Trump. In an op-ed adapted from his new book this week, Pence ran through what he says happened before and after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. He wrote that, five days afterward, he got “terse” with Trump. But he also assured that a president who has shown basically no remorse about that day had expressed some to him. “With genuine sadness in his voice, the president mused: ‘What if we hadn’t had the rally? What if they hadn’t gone to the Capitol?’ ” Pence wrote. “Then he said, ‘It’s too terrible to end like this.’ ” To the extent the GOP truly moves on from Trumpism — again, a major “if” — Pence’s stock rises significantly. But he’ll need lots of Trump backers to forgive him for the sin of not overturning American democracy. (Previous ranking: 3)
2. Donald Trump: The former president remains the leader in the polls, though post-election polling could tell a different tale. But he’s also the first president since the Great Depression to lose the House, the Senate and the presidency in a single term. Indeed, he’s looking more and more like the man who last did that: Herbert Hoover. Democrats kept running against Hoover even after he left the presidency, and turned that into the best midterm of the century for the president’s party. At the very least, Trump is more damaged goods than he’s been at any point in the past six years, because his self-appointed reputation as a winner is in tatters and he can’t keep his foot off the gas. (Previous ranking: 2)
1. Gov. Ron DeSantis: Conversely, the Florida governor’s stock has never been higher, as he emerged from Election Day as perhaps the biggest winner on the GOP side. Among the stats: He defeated Rep. Charlie Crist (D) by nearly 20 points, won the Latino vote handily, and became the first GOP governor candidate to carry Miami-Dade County since Jeb Bush two decades ago. DeSantis had already been closing in on Trump; a YouGov poll last month showed DeSantis within nine points of Trump in a one-on-one matchup. And the biggest shoe to drop in the 2024 GOP race is now whatever DeSantis decides to do next. (Previous ranking: 1)
