Hanaguma

I am no fan of The Ann, but.... she was one of the first people back in 2016 to predict that Trump would win the GOP nomination. It was on Bill Maher and was greeted with laughter. Who's laughing now.

...except that it didn't. The inauguration took place as scheduled, Congress ratified the vote in a timely manner. The courts rightly threw out his challenges. How was the transfer of power delayed? Refusing to acknowledge defeat is standard in politics on both sides.

Like the article said, there is a lot of confusion among people. Only about 1 in 4 favor completely unrestricted abortion, and that number would probably fall if you drilled down a bit. Given another year plus things hopefully will become more settled. States can have referenda, vote, whatever they want.

...and it all failed, didn't it? That should tell you something. The Constitution is strong and has faced bigger challenges than Trump. The system of checks and balances proved tough.

I agree completely. The timing to cancel Roe was terrible, and too many eager legislators at the state level made it even worse. But that won't be the case in 2024. The messaging has to be much better, and also the pro life side has to pin down the pro abortion people on exactly what they are in favor of. Because a majority of Americans DO in fact favor some restrictions.

Her position is moderate because very few Americans either favor 100% restrictions or 100% availability. A restriction at the 20 week mark, as was done in her state, is quite common. Most Americans actually didn't understand either Roe v Wade, or the ramifications of it being struck down. Lots of fearmongering made low information voters assume that it meant the complete outlawing of abortion, which was not true. So as I said, once the details get hammered out at the state level, it will be a lot clearer.

By 2024 most states will have figured out their positions on it, so there won't be the fear factor that there was last year. Her position is relatively moderate, and if she can "out" democrats as being radical pr0-abortionists then I don't think it will matter so much.

I don't think there will be quite as many candidates this time around. Perhaps 7 or 8 at most. I could see Christie, Sununu (for sure), Pompeo, perhaps Noem. DeSantis I have mixed feelings about. Personally I think he needs a bit more seasoning before taking his shot, but his poll numbers must be making it awful tempting...

I've done worse myself. No problem! But I do think she brings some good things to the table. Executive experience from being governor, international from being at the UN, solid family background. No hint of personal scandal (that would be refreshing).

Because it is not true. See above.

This is not true. Haley was governor until 2017. As governor, she signed a law limiting abortion after 19 weeks. Which as I am sure you know is a very mainstream position on the issue. Not radical in the slightest. The measure you are talking about was passed YEARS after she left the governorship.

You are really living in a surreal fantasy. If Trump were to win in 2024, the world would not end. Neither would "American democracy", whatever you mean by that. Trump is term limited. His own party would react rather negatively if he were to try and keep power. You actually believe that the country would sit back and acquiese to Emperor Donald the First? Sorry but the system is far stronger than that. Unless you mean something else by "fatal blow to American democracy". Care to elaborate?

There is also the more cynical/practical reason. If you get in the race and appear that you will lose, you can throw your support behind another candidate- perhaps in return for a prime position down the road. It is often done that way on both sides.

What do you mean by "clown car"? The candidates we are discussing are all more than qualified for the job, with executive experience either in the public or private sectors. It's not as if we were proposing to have, for example, a person with not even a full term in the Senate as nominee or VP nominee...

How many would be sufficient in your opinion for me to have a valid opinion? This is a ridiculous argument really.

What's wrong with Mike? He has a tremendous CV, speaks libertarian, and has experience on the world stage.

The GOP tried that strategy with Mitt Romney. He checks a lot of the same boxes. Didn't work out so well. He was about as morally unimpeachable as they come and still got demonized in the press. This is a guy who shut down his entire firm to look for the missing teenage daughter of one of the partners in another state. And thankfully found her within days. Yet instead he was portrayed as an out of touch fuddy duddy.

What's wrong with that? Being asked by any president to take on an important role is an honour. Trump certainly picked from a very diverse group of people for cabinet and other positions.

Pantomime or "Mrs. Doubtfire" or Jack Lemmon in "Some Like It Hot" is not what is at issue. "Drag" implies hypersexualized and overdone stereotypic female behavior and mannerisms. It is a performance. Not a gender identity.

Curious, who would be on your short list of acceptable candidates for the GOP? If/when Joe gets underbussed, I could tolerate Corey Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Wes Moore...

I like Nikki- she has a compelling story, but still Mike Pompeo has the best CV for the job so far: Military veteran, Harvard law, successful businessman, Member of Congress, CIA Director, Secretary of State. What's not to love about the guy?

Have to agree with you. One less drug smuggler might just be one fewer victim of the fentanyl trade.

The whole drag queen thing was a non-issue until it was suddenly pushed into the spotlight by some people who for some reason wanted kids exposed to it as a form of "gender affirming education". Then we suddenly got drag queen reading hour, school visits, burlesque-type shows "for all ages" and the like.

Are you THAT scared of her?

Those books have not been banned. You are free to buy them if you wish, the publishers are free to publish them. You will not be arrested for either. Sen. Graham did not propose to ban abortions. He chose to keep them legal until 15 weeks- a very common standard in many countries. It also included the usual exceptions for rape, incest, etc. So hardly a "ban". Columbus was a great man and fully deserves to be recognized. Your talking points lack accuracy and context.