Anyone not named Trump. Sadly that is what "republican" means to some folks and why I shed the R several years back.
I’m a big fan of DeSantis, but failing that would be open to pretty much anyone on the Republican side other than Trump, Ramaswamy, or Hutchinson.
Very good points. One small note though. I believe (last night at least) that Ramaswamy said Trump was the greatest president of the 21st Century. Bush was the only Republican president this century and we know how the GOP base feels about that entire family. By phrasing it that way, I think Ramaswamy is able to give Trump this huge compliment while leaving himself some wiggle room if he wants to minimize it down the road.
I didn’t watch, but I’m guessing the following is true … https://x.com/maxblumenthal/status/1694569619866927316?s=61
Predictably Desantis was awful, and you guys who still support think he could take Newsom in a debate? Lulz.
That’s what is just extremely puzzling. Does the gop ACTUALLY want to win back the White House? Because, if they do, I saw a legit winner on that stage last night (Haley). And I saw 4 others that I would feel vastly more confident in voting for over trump, or biden (Pence, Burgum, Christie, Hutchison). But, Haley was the only one that seemed to understand the difference between having a principled ideal, and a rational/realistically functional policy.
The only woman he treated like crap were Rosy, Hilary and Ferraro. Hilary and Bill were once friends f his when he was a Dem. That hit piece by the New York Times about the bad behavior was completely rebuked and debunked by those same said woman that the NT Times tried to soil Trumps name against. It was all a lie. retraction on page 16 or something like that. Dating beautiful woman when he was a Dem is not a crime, and he treated those woman with respect.
I think it'd be tough to argue that Trump wasn't one of the winners last night. He didn't have to show, answer questions, or risk being attacked by Christie, Pence, or Asa. Rather, he got to sit back and watch most of his "opponents" praise him or at least pledge to pardon him. Hard to imagine why he would ever show up to a primary debate if that's going to be how it goes. I think David Alexrod said as much last night, too.
He’s too much of a wet noodle. Policy-wise I don’t have a huge issue with him, but he’s this year’s version of the cookie cutter generic unthreatening Republican (who is also no threat to actually win an election).
I liked Haley. She was intellectually aggressive in the right areas. Obviously I don't agree with some of her positions, but she's more sane and moderate than almost all the others. She had a strong night. The problem, imho, is she isn't right enough to get the nomination. Christie was good and I've always actually liked him. Not sure how much of a chance he has though. Was funny to hear him get booed constantly for wanting to uphold the Constitution by the so-called conservative constitutionalists in the audience. Vivek was off-putting and had a lot of missteps, among the many thinking he can pardon Trump of state charges. Also attacking pretty much everyone was a negative. It would have worked moreso if he were accurate. Desantis was awful. The guy just can't debate and has no personality. He never actually answered a question I believe. The rest have no chance and were pretty forgettable. Pence just has zero charisma. Trump was smart to not be there, but is his strategy going to be to skip all the debates?