Republican debates of 2023-24

[Kraken]

They're going at it again tomorrow night. The field is down to five, so maybe it will be more interesting. IDK; I won't be watching.

[Holman]

It's on NBC (rather than Fox), which at least raises the *possibility* of something less than a tongue-bath.

[malchior]

So I managed to have this on in the background for some period of time. It was bad. Predictably so. Basically Chris Christie and Haley sounding almost normal. They're still terrible but I gauge them at approximately Fall 2015 levels of GOP crazy. Naturally they are polling in the single digits to low teens.

I haven't honestly heard much from Tim Scott until this election cycle and it confirmed that he is someone I wouldn't want near decision making power on military force. He called for bombing Iran for the many attacks on our military since 10/7. How about no. We can respond later when it won't set the whole world on fire; it is totally amateur thinking. Otherwise beyond the usual crazy GOP talking points there isn't much there. At least I didn't see anything that made me think this is a guy who stands out.

And then you have DeSantis who I can't even describe how painful it is to hear him awkwardly pivot every question back to and I'll garrison the border with troops talking point.

And lastly Vivek Ramaswamy. What can I say. As Haley said he is just scum. I think he'd manage to be worse than Trump. He told the pre-game show his plan was to be "unhinged". That's a move I guess.

[Kurth]

Worked for Trump.

[Carpet_pissr]

And lastly Vivek Ramaswamy. What can I say. As Haley said he is just scum. I think he'd manage to be worse than Trump.

Based on what I have seen/read/heard, I think you're right, unless all the terrible things he says out loud is just for bluster and bully points that the MAGA crowd love so. He's obviously reaching out to the same deplorables, and doing it LOUDLY. Calm DOWN, bro.

Like Tim Scott, I suspect this person has a LOT of trouble sleeping at night. The internal conflicts must be something.

[Smoove_B]

I suspect this person has a LOT of trouble sleeping at night

He sleeps like a baby, raking in campaign money from people that surprisingly also support Elon, Joe Rogan and Putin. I'm half convinced he is just saying crazy, specific things because someone is paying him to.

[Carpet_pissr]

I suspect this person has a LOT of trouble sleeping at night

I'm half convinced he is just saying crazy, specific things because someone is paying him to.

Sadly, I would not doubt that at all. I very much suspected that of the white jumpsuit lady, can't remember her name. VERY sus, that one.
#can'tbebotheredtoGooglethat

OTOH, isn't Loudy McLoudster extremely wealthy? Like, tech bro, Silicon Valley wealthy? I doubt it's just for the money for guys like him, it's all about the ego, and the 'all eyes on me' syndrome that so many of his ilk share.

[Holman]

I suspect this person has a LOT of trouble sleeping at night

I'm half convinced he is just saying crazy, specific things because someone is paying him to.

Sadly, I would not doubt that at all. I very much suspected that of the white jumpsuit lady, can't remember her name. VERY sus, that one.
#can'tbebotheredtoGooglethat

OTOH, isn't Loudy McLoudster extremely wealthy? Like, tech bro, Silicon Valley wealthy? I doubt it's just for the money for guys like him, it's all about the ego, and the 'all eyes on me' syndrome that so many of his ilk share.

His aim is almost certainly just to elevate his profile for whatever finance scam he'll launch in 2025.

[Kraken]

A professor and debate coach scores the Republicans.

Christie A-
Haley B
DeSantis C-
Scott D
Ramaswamy F

Check the link to see why.

[waitingtoconnect]

Is it too soon to mock the Canada wall idea?

[Kraken]

Since these threads only garner a handful of posts, I figured I'd generalize the most recent one.

They're going at it again tomorrow (Wed) night. Down to four -- Christy, Haley, DeSantis, and Ramalamadingdong. What's left of the old Republican establishment is crystalizing around Haley, so folks are looking for her to break out of the pack.

[Octavious]

Christie being one of the more sane ones tells you everything you need to know about their party right now. He's an absolute pile of garbage and still a RINO to them. I look forward to Haley setting the retirement age to like 75.

[El Guapo]

Does Haley honestly think that she has a chance at beating Trump? Or is she just running for VP and/or in case Trump has a heart attack?

[Scraper]

Does Haley honestly think that she has a chance at beating Trump? Or is she just running for VP and/or in case Trump has a heart attack?

They're all running (except ramadamadingong) on the chance that Trump somehow drops out/gets disqualified by anyone of his various criminal indictments. Ramadingdong is probably running for the VP slot/ growing his MAGA street cred.

[Octavious]

Does Haley honestly think that she has a chance at beating Trump? Or is she just running for VP and/or in case Trump has a heart attack?

If he somehow gets convicted of an actual felony before the election there's a very small chance it hurts him. So I mean I get why they are running. In truth he will just get more popular because this country is freaking broken. And none of the cases will get resolved before the election because if Trump knows how to do one thing it's stall court cases.

[Carpet_pissr]

I assume some are in it for visibility for '28, and maybe even a practice run. Can't imagine anyone wanting to be Trump's VP after what happened with Pence, my God.

"Sooooo, just to let you know, there's a high possibility that at some or multiple points, Trump will throw you under the bus, and possibly direct his violent horde to attack you and/or your family. You OK with that?"
YEP!!

[Octavious]

Desantis probably ruined any chance he has of running for president ever. That's about the only positive thing I can find right now.

[LordMortis]

Can't imagine anyone wanting to be Trump's VP after what happened with Pence, my God.

Geatz? MtG? A host of Federalist unknown lawyers and political thinktank schlubs? A long long long line sycophants who think they can feed at the trough because it'll be different for them. They're smarter.

[Kraken]

I assume some are in it for visibility for '28, and maybe even a practice run. Can't imagine anyone wanting to be Trump's VP after what happened with Pence, my God.

"Sooooo, just to let you know, there's a high possibility that at some or multiple points, Trump will throw you under the bus, and possibly direct his violent horde to attack you and/or your family. You OK with that?"
YEP!!

I don't think Haley would have a prayer of being trump's #2 anyway. She's too independent. Probably positioning herself for '28 or as a fallback if trump croaks before the election.

Kinda wish the Dems had a Plan B in case Biden doesn't last until November. I guess they'd be stuck with Harris by default. Pretty much any Republican would beat Harris.

I wonder, though, what would happen if trump were out of the picture. Biden is the trump slayer, as dicey as things might look right now. Could Biden beat Harris or another not-crazy Republican, or is he strictly the antidote to trump?

[Holman]

The next Dem ticket (after Biden) will probably include two popular Governors. Whitmer? Newsom? Shapiro?

It's too early to predict the headliner and veep.

[LordMortis]

Please no Whitmer. I already hate voting for her for governor. Don't make me do it for president.

[gbasden]

The next Dem ticket (after Biden) will probably include two popular Governors. Whitmer? Newsom? Shapiro?

It's too early to predict the headliner and veep.

Bold of you to assume there will definitely be another election.

[Kraken]

The next Dem ticket (after Biden) will probably include two popular Governors. Whitmer? Newsom? Shapiro?

It's too early to predict the headliner and veep.

Bold of you to assume there will definitely be another election.

There will always be elections. Whether they're competitive or just pretend is what's at stake.

[gbasden]

The next Dem ticket (after Biden) will probably include two popular Governors. Whitmer? Newsom? Shapiro?

It's too early to predict the headliner and veep.

Bold of you to assume there will definitely be another election.

There will always be elections. Whether they're competitive or just pretend is what's at stake.

King Trump has no need of elections!

[malchior]

I caught up on the highlights and it pains me that the most serious person there was Chris Christie.

[Smoove_B]

I caught up on the highlights and it pains me that the most serious person there was Chris Christie.

He wasn't pulling any punches last night. I'll be curious to see what the reaction is to his stance, if any. I am not sure any of it mattered but he was at least saying things that needed to be said (in the clips I saw).

[Unagi]

I caught up on the highlights and it pains me that the most serious person there was Chris Christie.

He's doing all the heavy lifting for Haley. She is the Trump alternative to those that want to quietly pass on Trump, and CC is making all the arguments that put them into Haley's lap. They aren't comfortable supporting CC because he alienates too many of their peers - but he speaks the truth and therefore they like Haley, who is also not interested in giving Trump any big praise. If CC wasn't out there playing the role of lightning-rod, the Haleys of the world would be the most anti-Trump voice there was, and she wouldn't be such the 'GOP moderate'

(I'm ignoring DeSantis, because -yawn- he's such a massive loser)

[Unagi]

I caught up on the highlights and it pains me that the most serious person there was Chris Christie.

He wasn't pulling any punches last night. I'll be curious to see what the reaction is to his stance, if any. I am not sure any of it mattered but he was at least saying things that needed to be said (in the clips I saw).

Yeah, it's weird being 'thankful' for Chris Christie, but I'm glad there is at least one microphone out there saying "Hello, this man is a criminal!"

[LordMortis]

How much reporting of the debate has there been, though? Here is the only place I've seen it mentioned. The first two were at least mentioned with ubiquity. The last thing I've heard about the debates outside of here, was Tim Scott dropping out of the race. Since then, 100% of focus is on TFG that I've been forced to see/hear/read.

[El Guapo]

How much reporting of the debate has there been, though? Here is the only place I've seen it mentioned. The first two were at least mentioned with ubiquity. The last thing I've heard about the debates outside of here, was Tim Scott dropping out of the race. Since then, 100% of focus is on TFG that I've been forced to see/hear/read.

Bear in mind that the debate was on NewsNation, which is a new channel that I've never heard of and which has something like 60,000 viewers (apparently styling itself as a " common sense" MAGA news station). I read a column arguing that the RNC put it on NewsNation specifically because they're acknowledging that Trump's going to be the nominee and so don't want a lot of eyeballs on the debate.

[gilraen]

How much reporting of the debate has there been, though? Here is the only place I've seen it mentioned. The first two were at least mentioned with ubiquity. The last thing I've heard about the debates outside of here, was Tim Scott dropping out of the race. Since then, 100% of focus is on TFG that I've been forced to see/hear/read.

Bear in mind that the debate was on NewsNation, which is a new channel that I've never heard of and which has something like 60,000 viewers (apparently styling itself as a " common sense" MAGA news station).

NewsNation is former WGN America cable channel. They decided that they were going to (mostly)all news format about 4 years ago. Needless to say, no one needed another basic cable news channel.

[Kraken]

I heard there's another (last?) debate tonight. I will read about it tomorrow.

[Scraper]

I didn't watch it or the Trump infomercial on Fuax last night. But I hear Haley wiped the floor with Desantis (not that it matters at this point). Also, Trump said that he is "Proud of overturning Roe v. Wade" which should give even the most inept democrat campaign a lot of ammunition.

[hepcat]

Well, that was a fun series of absolutely pointless debates that never once, not even for a millisecond, mattered.

[Isgrimnur]

ABC News cancels Republican debate after Haley refuses to debate without Trump

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accused Haley of not wanting to answer “tough questions” on topics such as her alleged dealings with aircraft manufacturer Boeing while she was governor of South Carolina.

“The reality is that she is not running for the nomination, she’s running to be Trump’s VP,” DeSantis posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday. “I won’t snub New Hampshire voters like both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, and plan to honor my commitments. I look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week.”

[Kraken]

He would lose.

[Pyperkub]

He would lose.

Trump?

Doubtful. 67% of the Iowa caucus participants believe the 2020 ejection was stolen. And 90% of those voters voted Trump in the caucuses.

With numbers like that, he can't lose.

[Kraken]

He would lose.

Trump?

Doubtful. 67% of the Iowa caucus participants believe the 2020 ejection was stolen. And 90% of those voters voted Trump in the caucuses.

With numbers like that, he can't lose.

No, I meant if DeSantis debates two empty lecterns, he will lose.

[Alefroth]

He's no Eastwood.

[Carpet_pissr]

He would lose.

HA!