The 2024 Election, Part XII. The March To Moscow

 

Napoleon leaving a burning Moscow, which also burned his provisions, and resulted in France's ultimate defeat.

January 16, 2024

In a surprise to no one, Trump won the Iowa Caucuses.  The Republican, and perhaps the nation's, march to disaster commences.  The GOP is set, absent some of the predictions set out below, to either elect a vengeful septuagenarian juvenile who will take them into defeat yet again, or who will become an unprecedented in character President who will hold that office with a minority of Americans having actually voted for him.

Either way, it's the death of the GOP.  Backing a repeat loser isn't a path to long term success. The overall question is when a replacement for the GOP emerges, and whether the Democrats reform themselves in the meantime.  If there's any silver lining to a Trump victory, and that's a big if, both of those things would be it.

A repeat from yesterday:

June 15, 2024 

Martin Luther King Day

Wyoming Equality Day

Iowa Caucus Day

On This Week, a Democratic member of Congress noted that Republican politicians who had opposed Trump were now rushing to endorse him, least they meet the ire of the MAGA crowed. 

Probably two of the recent Wyoming endorsements fit that category.

Tonight at 7:00 p.m. the Iowa Caucus's will open in frigid weather, apparently not taking note that this is at least technically a day off for a lot of people (it isn't for most people).  Gathering at 7:00 p.m. in order to choose a candidate for your party will be weighed, by many, against the agony of going out in the cold.

That's the only hope for those running against Trump.

It cannot help but be noted that the Iowa Caucus, while it probably made sense at one time, emphasizes the antiquated and downright stupid way the US picks its President.  States position themselves to be first to pick, which none of them have the right to be. At least caucuses are party elections, not funded (I think) by the state.  Most states have primaries which are party elections on the state's dime, which isn't just, and is arguably, in my view, unconstitutional.

To add to things, this year, Trump's ability to even hold office is presently in front of the United States Supreme Court.

Given all of this, I'm going to close this issue out with a few predictions, giving percentages.

I think Trump will take Iowa, and I'd give that a 100% chance.  Biden will of course take Iowa.

I'm giving Haley a 60% chance of taking New Hampshire.  New Hampshire doesn't like to look like Iowa's lapdog and it is a East Coast state with a history of acting independently.

Irrespective of that, if I'm wrong on the matters noted below, there's a 75% chance that Trump is the GOP nominee and a 100% chance Biden is the Democratic nominee.

Now, here's where some will think we're off the rails.

I think there's a 60% chance the United States Supreme Court will find Trump an insurrectionist unqualified to hold office.

When they do that, if they do, there will be a massive outbreak of right wing violence across the country.

If they do that, Haley will be the nominee.

I feel there's a 55% chance that Trump, who is an old man, who looks unhealthy, and who in my view is showing signs of dementia, will die before the election.  He's showing signs of decline every day.

If he dies, and I think he will, Haley will be the nominee.

I feel there's a 40% chance that Biden will pass away of natural causes before the election.

If he dies, and I don't think he will, I have no idea who the nominee will be.

In a Biden v. Trump rematch, Trump will win.  I don't want him to, but he will.

In a Biden v. Haley match, Haley will win.  The Democrats seem incapable of accepting that they're going with an unelectable candidate.

Assuming that Biden and Trump are the nominees, at some point after Super Tuesday, there's a 55% chance that somebody announces a major third party run.  I'm not sure who it will be, but Christie, Manchin and Cheney are all figures in that.  My guess is that it will be Manchin for President, with Christie as VP.

Everyone always states that no third parties ever win, even the GOP itself was a third party that in fact won, displacing the dying Whigs.  A third party here would displace the dying GOP.  I'd give a third party as 60% chance of winning.

Given the furor he stirs up, there are a lot of things I fear this election many feature that I'm not going to post, as I don't want them to look like something I'm endorsing by mentioning them.  Indeed, I'm afraid that they'll happen and desperately hope they do not.

This will close this edition.  The next one will come out on the morning after, so to speak, of the Iowa Caucus.

People should pray for the nation.

DeSantis came in second, defying hope for rising Haley.  Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out, and is likely to disappear from politics forever, unless Trump wins, in which case he'll resurface as some sort of early Trump cabinet choice.

The current tally:

Republican:  

Donald Trump:   20 delegates

Ron DeSantis:  8 delegates

Nikki Haley:  7 delegates

Vivek Ramaswamy:   3 delegates

Democrats:

Oddly, they aren't releasing their results until super Tuesday, March 5, but it's obvious who the winner is.

Cont:

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has dropped out of the GOP race.

January 19, 2024

Donald Trump, the son, grandson and twice the "husband" of immigrants if you discount that Christianity (he claims to be a Presbyterian) recognizes marriage once, for the period of a person's natural life, mocked Nicki Haley, the daughter of an immigrant, by calling her "Nimbra".

Not that it will matter.  Trump loyalist are so enamored with the one time Democrat that at this point there is literally nothing whatsoever he can do to dissuade their loyalty, including the fact that in a second Trump administration it will largely be others with an agenda who govern.  This base is now the majority of the GOP, the party having largely ceased to exist on an historical basis.

January 20, 2024

Former Presidential GOP candidate Tim Scott, whose campaign didn't go anywhere, has endorsed Donald Trump.

This may be cynical, but frankly I think Scott is angling for the VP ticket, and I'd guess he has a good chance of getting it.  He would, in fact, be a good choice for Trump.

cont:

Donald Trump pretty clearly confused Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi in a New Hampshire campaign rally, claiming that Haley was in charge of all the "troops", meaning that she could have called on National Guardsmen to protect the capitol.

Haley wasn't in office at the time.

Haley in turn called on his mental fitness.

More people should be. Trump doesn't act like somebody who okay mentally.  He's old, and in the footage of the rally, he does not look well.

January 21, 2024

Asa Huntinchinson endorsed Nikki Haley.

Trump, in a weird sort of way, endorsed Viktor Orbán:

There's a great man in Europe. Viktor Orbán… He’s a very strong man. It’s nice to have a strongman running your country

Orbán is the poster child for the far right's endorsement of Illiberal Democracy.

Trump also rejected the rule of law in the executive in the same rally, stating:

And you will have the rogue cop,  the bad apple, and perhaps you'll have that also with President But there's nothing you can do about that. You're going to have to give the President immunity. I hope The Supreme Court will has the courage to do that.

These statements from a man who will only be a "dictator for a day". 

Trump, on the same day he confused Haley for Pelosi, made reference to having run against President Obama, which he never did.

Cont:

And now it's down to two. DeSantis dropped out and then endorsed Trump.  His dropping out, however, probably does Haley a favor.

January 22, 2024

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum has now endorsed Trump, having dropped out of the race some time ago.

It's clear where all this is headed.  Republican politicians are going to go to Trump on bended knee, irrespective of what that means.

January 23, 2024

The Democrats, being the party that doesn't lose elections, but throws them away, are doing that right now by putting Vice President Harris on a "Reproductive Freedom", i.e. Infanticide, Tour.

Everything about this strategy is wrong.

First of all, the Democrats do not need to campaign as the party of infanticide, everyone knows they have blood on their hands and wish to continue odd making them wet.  Those supporting infanticide have nowhere else to go, and are going to vote Democratic no matter what.

Secondly, the numerous center right voters who would normally vote Republican but who are rational about Donald Trump and what he stands for have been working their way around to vote for Biden/Harris, but being reminded of this, particularly if they are devout or at least adherent  Catholics/Orthodox/Muslims will drive them away as it'll make the election about abortion and they can't go there.  This section of the electorate is big enough to determine the election.

Finally, Kamala Harris is one of the most dis-likeable candidates imaginable.  Joe Biden won the election in spite of her lat time, not because of her.  Nobody needs to be reminded that if in the high likelihood Joe Biden dies or becomes disabled in his second term, she becomes the far left successor President.

So, it was at this point, the Democrats lost the 2024 election.  The question is, who will win it?

Doug Burgum, who ran a disappointing race against Trump for the GOP nomination, will not run for another term as the Governor of North Dakota.

While it's mere speculation, a lot of Republicans are lining up to kiss Trump's ring (or other things) in hopes of becoming his VP.  Of those doing that, Burgum is actually a good choice.

On other matters, Elise Stefanik, attempting to explain away Trump's obvious mental lapse the other day, managed to issue one of the most confusing attempts at the same ever.  Stefanik has prostituted her talents to Trump and obviously will plumb any depths in her effort to sell herself into a position in his anticipated administration.

Oh Rich, but for Wales.

One of the things that Trump has been promising is to drill, which his audience likes to hear.  Funny thing is:

January 23, 2024

U.S. oil production has been holding at or near record highs since October, topping the previous peak from 2020, even though the number of active domestic oil drilling rigs is down by nearly 30% from four years ago.

New technology is the reason why there is higher production with fewer rigs.

And also:

The U.S. set a new annual oil production record on December 15, based on data from the Energy Information Administration. Although the official monthly numbers from the EIA won’t be released for a couple of months, we can calculate that a new record has been set based on the following analysis.

Prices at the pump have been declining.

Huh.

The irony of this is that Biden can't advance this matter for two reasons.  One is that while he hasn't restricted domestic production, as some in the GOP like to imagine, he also hasn't promoted production either.   This is happening on its own and is technology driven.  It shows how the economy, absent radical moves in it, is impacted much less by a President's policies than by outside economic forces.

January 24, 2024

Trump took the New Hampshire primary, Biden, who wasn't actually running in it, took the Democratic one.

Trump used the opportunity to threaten Haley.

Just a little note to Nikki, she is not going to win, but if she did she would be under investigation by those people in 15 minutes. I could tell you five reasons why already, not big reasons, little stuff that she doesn’t want to talk about, but she will be under investigation in minutes and so would Ron have been, but he decided to get out.

January 25, 2024

Biden received the endorsement of the United Auto Workers. 

Trump has declared that donors to the Haley campaign will be barred from Camp MAGA.  In the same tweet he called Haley a "bird brain"

Trump doesn't appear to be well, in my amateur diagnosis.  A nation that can vote for somebody saying these things isn't well, either.

January 26, 2024

I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn’t want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is … really appalling.

But the reality is that, that we have a crisis at the border, the American people are suffering as a result of what’s happening at the border. And someone running for president not to try and get the problem solved. as opposed to saying, ‘hey, save that problem. Don’t solve it. Let me take credit for solving it later.’

Mitt Romney 

January 27, 2022

John Barrasso's second wife, Bobbi, died of brain cancer this past week.  She was a very nice person and had been a judicial law clerk after graduating from law school.  I knew her somewhat from law school and her service as a clerk.

The Governor noted her passing:

Governor Gordon Statement on the Passing of Bobbi Barrasso

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon has issued the following statement on the passing of Bobbi Barrasso, wife of Wyoming Senator John Barrasso. Bobbi passed away in Casper after a two-year battle with Glioblastoma brain cancer.

Bobbi was a treasure, a Wyoming native who always put her family and the people of the state first. Jennie and I send our prayers and deepest condolences to John and their family. 

Bobbi was a longtime friend, a stalwart supporter of Wyoming and a resolute warrior against cancer. She always put service ahead of self. As a compassionate soul, she advocated tirelessly for Wyoming children, education, mental health and suicide prevention. She made a difference, and has left an indelible legacy. The Lord doesn’t make many as good as Bobbi. Wyoming was blessed to have known her. She will be missed.

The Governor will issue a flag notification once services have been announced.

A former coal executive who claims to be "Trumpier than Trump" has announced for Joe Machin's seat in West Virginia.

January 31, 2024

In Illinois, a hearing officer in an administrative process on Trump's eligibility to be on the ballot found Trump had engaged in an insurrection, but recommended the election board demur to the courts. The board in turn found that it lacked the power to remove Trump.

cont:

Elected Park County Precinct Committee members who were booted from their positions by the county Party for failure to attend meetings, including former Senator Alan Simpson, have been reinstated, although it may be temporary.  Other's booted include former Wyoming House speaker and party chairman Colin Simpson, Powell Mayor John Wetzel, Park County Commissioner Scott Steward and Northwest College Trustee Dusty Spomer.  At least Alan Simpson claims that they were booted for failing to meet the party's current ideological expectations.

A petition has been filed with the state party to keep them booted.

February 1, 2024

In the play stupid games category, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that ten Republican state senators who refused to attend the state Senate for six weeks in an attempt to stall Democratic-backed bills cannot run for reelection.

February 4, 2024

Joe Biden won the Democratic South Carolina primary.  Oddly, the Republican one is on a different day.

February 5, 2024

Listening to the weekend shows this weekend brings on a sense of despair.

Trump now leads Biden by 5 points in the polls.  Granted, November is nine. . . only nine, months away.

J.D. Vance came on television and outright advocated for Trump to ignore the rulings of the Supreme Court if they're against him.  Increasingly, the hope that Trump will not be the next President has been placed on the U.S. Supreme Court enforcing the 14th Amendment. While Vance didn't say that Republican Secretaries of State should ignore such a ruling, it's impossible now not to regard that as highly likely, meaning that we're headed for a grave constitutional crisis in which it is potentially the case that the Supreme Court declares him ineligible, states place him on the ballot anyhow, and he wins the electoral vote, but cannot be seated.

In that instance, the next four years will be rough, and frankly, there will be violence regarding this.

A decent candidate, in these circumstances, would suspend his race. Trump is not decent.

Kristi Noem has been banned from the Pine Ridge Resevation.

Mexican Border Crisis

On the weekend shows, a preview of the extensive bipartisan Senate border bill was featured.  Mike Johnson is pretty clearly going to oppose it as he has orders from his puppet master. A Republican Senator threatened to push Johnson into a vote over his speakership, which apparently there had been a backdoor deal with Democratic Senators to try to prevent when he was nominated.  This was based on the assertion that he'd broken his promises in that closed door meeting.

Governor Kristi Noem was banned from the Pine Ridge Reservation for declaring she wants to send razor wire and National Guardsmen to the Texas border.

February 6, 2024

Intersting article on what local GOP figures are going to do re Trump, if their prior positions on Trump or Cheney are known.

Some Cheney 'Never Trumpers' Now Support Trump; Others Won't Budge

Quite a few are falling in line with Trump, not surprisingly. Some are not, however, notably Cale Case and Alan Simpson.

Last Prior Edition:

The 2024 Election, Part XI. The Winter of Discontent Edition.

Related Threads:

Witnessing a decline in mental status. Donald Trump on the campaign trail.

Watching the Democrats choosing to lose the 2024 election.

You don't have to accept a "two party" system.

Choosing to lose.

Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist, 54th Edition. The swift and the not so swift edition.

• Twitter has banned searches for Taylor Swift.

This tells us something about the danger of AI, as what they were searching for is AI generated faux nudes of the singer.

It also tells us something about entertainers we already knew.  Yes, their art counts, but part of their popularity, quite often, is that they're a form of art themselves. Which leads us to the next thing.

Everything about this is wrong on an existential level.  AI, frankly, is wrong.  

And once again, presented with the time, talent, and money to be sufficiently idle to do great things, we turn to the basest. 

• There's a creepy fascination going on with Tyler Swift

I don't know anything about Tyler Swift, other than that she's tall, and from the photos I've seen of her, on stage she wears, like many female singers, tight clothing.  She appears to be very tall, and is sort of a classic beauty.

I suppose that's the root of it.

Apparently, right wing media and MAGA people are just freaking out about Tyler Swift.  This has been headline fodder for some time, but I only got around to looking it up now, as I don't follow entertainment at all and don't care that much.

Swift is dating some football player.  I don't follow football either, so that doesn't interest me.  Beautiful female entertainers dating sports figures, or marrying them, isn't news, and it isn't even interesting.  Consider Kate Upton and Marilyn Monroe.  Indeed, under the evolutionary biological precept of hypergyny, most rich women in entertainment would naturally gravitate in this direction, as much as we like to pretend that our DNA does not push us in one direction or another (lesser female entertainers, such as Rachel Ray and Kathy Ireland, tend to marry lawyers).  Billy Joel may have sung about the opposite in Uptown Girl, but that truly is a fantasy.  There's really very little direction from them to otherwise take, whether they are cognizant of it or not.

And so now we have this total weirdness:

Right wing conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec: 

People who don’t understand why I have been commenting on Taylor Swift and Barbie are completely missing the point and NGMI These are mascots for the establishment. High level ops used as info warfare tools of statecraft for the regime.

Newsmax host Greg Kelly:

They’re elevating her to an idol.

Idolatry. This is a little bit of what idolatry, I think, looks like. And you’re not supposed to do that. In fact, if you look it up in the Bible, it’s a sin!

Far right activist Laura Loomer:

The Democrats’ Taylor Swift election interference psyop is happening in the open … It’s not a coincidence that current and former Biden admin officials are propping up Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. They are going to use Taylor Swift as the poster child for their pro-abortion GOTV Campaign.

Donald Trump fanboy and poster child for political train derailment, Vivek Ramaswamy:

I wonder who’s going to win the Super Bowl next month. And I wonder if there’s a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall …

And if all of that isn't weird enough for you, a host on the right wing  OAN claims the Swift football dating is a deep state psy op, because sports brainwash kids when they should be focused on religion. 

This is insane.

Liz Cheney warned us that idiocy had crept into the nation's politics.  What more evidence of this is required than this?

• Celebrity endorsements.

Some of this stems from a fear that Swift might endorse President Biden.  I read something that claimed she had in 2020.

I don't know if she did or not, and I don't particularly care.

There are a host of celebrities who have endorsed Trump.  Nobody seems to get up in arms about that, or even notice it.  So why the concern.

Probably because Swift is seen as the voice of her generation, and that sure ain't the generation that MAGA is made up of.  I.e, she's young and an independent female.  

Look at it this way, would you rather have her endorsement, or Lauren Boebert's?

I frankly don't get celebrity endorsements anyhow.  I don't know why we care what any actor or singer thinks about anything.  Freaking out about it is just silly.

• Jay Leno is seeking to be the guardian and conservator for his wife, Mavis, who is 77, and has dementia.

This is a tragedy.

It's also a tragedy in the nation's eye. Most of the time really notable figures endure something like this, it's out of the public eyesight.  We didn't watch Ronald Reagan decline on the news.  Of course, we're unlikely to see Ms. Leno endure this either.

But this serves as a warning.  Old age, we often hear, isn't for wimps.  And one of the things about it is that those who remain mentally fit have to take care of those who do not.  Most families find this out.

But what about when they're running for office?

• The National Park Service reports a 63-year-old man died on a trail in Zion National Park.  Heart attack.

This headline tells us something, too. 63, we're often told, isn't old. But then we're not too surprised when a 63-year-old dies hiking, are we?

• A concluding thought.  We're getting scary stupid.

Freaking out about Tyler Swift, letting two octogenarians run to carry the nuclear football, engaging in endless weird conspiracy theories. . . we've really let the dogs of insanity out big time.

Frankly, a lot of the time the "elite", by which we mean the educated elite, the cultural elite, etc., kept a lid on this.  It wasn't as if the opinions of "the people" didn't matter, but they were tempered.

That's not happening in the country now at all.  Swift is part of a left wing conspiracy, efforts to prevent gender mutilation are due to right wing meanness.  This is out of hand.

Last Prior Edition:

The Lost Cause and the Arlington Confederate Monument. Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist, 53d Edition.

Conservatives need to stop saying stupid stuff.

Candace Owens claimed, and I quote:

I would be terrified if I got onto a plane and I saw a woman flying the plane.

Madison March, Air Force Officer and fighter pilot, and Miss Colorado.*

Oh, horsecrap, she would not be.

And that's just a stupid thing to say on multiple levels. 

For one thing, if you "got onto a plane" and saw anybody flying it, apparently you are engaging in some fancy movie gymnastics a la Sisu, as when you get on planes, you might see the pilots in the cockpit, but they're sitting there waiting for people to board the planes. 

And unless you last got on an airplane in about 1979 or so, you've seen women flying them.

What Owens is attempting to say is that United Airlines' CEO was quoted regarding a desire to hire female pilots on an employment diversity basis, and her point is that this means they aren't hiring some qualified male employees in order to fulfill the quota.

Well, okay, but that requires a little more attention to presentation and detail to say that. First of all, in order to be a commercial airline pilot, you have to have a lot of hours.  American rules are so strict that compared to the rest of the world, introductory commercial pilots are much more experienced than those of other nations.  

Secondly, while I do have a problem with women in combat (I have an old post on it I've never finished), women have been flying aircraft since Raymonde de LaRoche took it up in 1910.

The former actress and engineer did die in an airplane wreck in 1919, but if you look at the history of early aviators and find those who lived very long, they're the exception to the rule.  At any rate, by World War Two flying female aviators were so common that the US was using them to ferry every type of aircraft we used to the combat recipients, and even the Germans, who famously sought to avoid using women in anything but the home making and baby creation department, used some female aviators (and oddly enough, as anti-aircraft gun crew members).

Which brings me to this.  I'm familiar with efforts to readjust the scale on occupations through gender based selection personally.  I can't say for certain, but a couple of appointments that I put in for over the last thirty years went to women because that probably weighted in their favor for this reason. But, having said that, they weren't bad choices at all, and are really good in their jobs. Same thing at work. They were qualified to start with. Too bad for me, I guess, but that doesn't mean the choices were bad ones at all.

Which gets to this.

I am a conservative, and a real one. But saying stupid stuff, to include anti-scientific stuff, makes all conservatives look dumb, and frankly weighs the scale towards dumb.

Most people hearing Adams say this will just think, "well that's dumb", but somebody somewhere, as Adams is a populist hero, will in fact think; "doggone it. . that's right. . wimmin ain't outto be flying them big machine, why they'll panic and crash everything. . hand me another Bud, will ya".

Now, mind you, the left does this too, but with Donald Trump being the flag bearer for the political right, right now, and Trump regularly saying stuff that is dumb, the political right really has attention drawn to itself on these sorts of statements.  Indeed, as real conservatives have fled the party, or gone into seclusion, those who are willing to say real stupid stuff, such as the US is going to "liberate" Canada, or that the January 6 rioters were tourists, have become numerous. As the tolerance for their statements grow, they become more numerous in and of themselves.

There is a real place for conservatism in this country.  That's being completely lost.  Unfortunately, as it looks more and more like Donald Trump will return to office, people willing to tolerate him and things said in his support are increasing, when it is already well established he cannot be controlled, and that his followers cannot be either.

Saying stupid stuff doesn't help that.

Footnotes:

*Hey, just so we can show we're no slackers, in 2023 Sgt. Rebecca Bridger, a bandsman, of the Wyoming Army National Guard was our state's Miss Wyoming.

Okay, she's not combat arms and doesn't fly planes, but still.

The Cheney Maxim and MTG.

Trump is the one that gave shock and awe to the whole world when he walked across the DMZ line, hand extended, shaking hands with Kim Jong Un, ending Little Rocket Man’s reign

Marjorie Taylor Greene 

Kim Jong Un is still the Communist monarch of the Stalinist theme park, North Korea.

He's a bigger problem now, then he was then.

He still has nuclear weapons.

Trump's shacking hands with him probably did nothing more than cause Kim Jong Un to run back to the latrine and wash his hand thoroughly.

What on earth is wrong with Greene's district that they return this person to Congress?

You don't have to accept a "two party" system.

Our government wasn't set up to have a "two party" system.  Indeed, the founders warned against "factions". They hoped people would vote for candidates they supported, not parties that shoved big piles of crap out on the electorate.

Be that as it may, Duverger's Law holds that countries using first-past-the-post voting systems will always have two party politics. While he declared that in 1997, it's obvious and hardly a shocking revelation, although recent some have declared that it's become a uniquely American thing.

Well, observations of the Canadian system show it's operating north of the border too.

The thing about it is that recently not only has that advanced the absolutely moronic concept that "there are two kinds of people", but it's really caused politics to evolve to the extreme.  The GOP has gone completely populist and believes that large sections of the citizenry are class enemies. The Democrats have done the same.  There's more of a hope that the Democrats will come back to a wider centrist party than there is that the GOP will do the same, but right now the choices are two really extreme ones, at least on a national level, and frankly increasingly on a local level.

We don't have to do this.

Part of the reason we do is that when third parties emerge, folks like Robert Reich run around yelling you can't vote for them, as that's a vote for the other big party.  Bullshit.  A vote for a third party is a vote for a third party.  And as we've recently discussed, occasionally a party dies, as the GOP has done, and it's always replaced when that happens with a new, third, party.

"You have to vote for the Whigs!  If you don't, that's a vote for the Democrats".

There are third parties, and I suspect there's a good chance of a new, conservative, party appearing within the next couple of months.

I hope one does.

Because, right now, it's hard to see how a person of good conscience could vote for either of the likely "main party" Presidential candidates.

Prior Related Threads:

Democracy in peril. . . maybe the fix is to amend the Constitution. . .

Witnessing a decline in mental status. Donald Trump on the campaign trail.

These aren't gaffs: 

Lex Anteinternet: The 2024 Election, Part XII. The March To Moscow:   January 20, 2024 

Donald Trump pretty clearly confused Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi in a New Hampshire campaign rally, claiming that Haley was in charge of all the "troops", meaning that she could have called on National Guardsmen to protect the capitol.

Haley wasn't in office at the time.

Haley in turn called on his mental fitness.

More people should be. Trump doesn't act like somebody who okay mentally.  He's old, and in the footage of the rally, he does not look well.

January 21, 2024

Trump, on the same day he confused Haley for Pelosi, made reference to having run against President Obama, which he never did.

These are major mental lapses, and now they're coming in quick succession.

The Obama one, we'd note, has occured before.  Trump has, openly, mentioned having run against Barack Obama.  His first race was against Hillary Clinton, which is the only reason that he was elected, and with a minority of the vote.

Trump lies constantly, but these aren't lies. This is misfiring in his brain, and it's happening frequently.  And these aren't the only instances.

Republican voters who are going for Trump, the nearly 50% of the GOP that isn't really traditionally Republican but something else, are going to simply turn a blind eye towards this.  Democrats won't, but that doesn't really matter, except perhaps to the extent they emphasize it, which they in fact should.

Right now, assuming that Trump doesn't experience a complete mental collapse before November, which I'd give a 40% chance, and assuming that Trump's health holds out until November, which I'd give a 40% chance, he's going to be elected the next President because of the Democrats wholly inept performance in this election, including their absolute refusal to address many of  the legitimate concerns that they've allowed to fester into right wing conspiracies, such as 1) how many immigrants can we really take in; 2) why does everyone have to have a "good job" in a cubicle, 3) why are we ignoring real biology and pretending it's a lifestyle choice.  The election at this point is basically over.

That would in turn mean we're about to elect a man into office who is clearly sliding into dementia.  Republicans in his inner circle better figure out right now how far they'll let him lose his mind before they declare him unfit for office.

And we better hope his VP choice is made to be somebody rational and not a syncophant.

Can you say "slavery"?

Why does this absurd version of the Civil War still exist in the South? The war was about slavery. At the time, the Southern states fully admitted it.

It had nothing whatsoever to do with "economic freedom".

Crocodile Tears.

Make no mistake about it, the same political party’s politicians that state they absolutely stand behind the Second Amendment cannot also rationally say they don’t support the 14th.

But they are.

The mantra is that if the Colorado Supreme Court finds that insurrectionist Donald Trump is disqualified from being on the ballot in 2024, because he’s an insurrectionist, that’s depriving the voters of a choice.

Which is, of course, exactly what the Second Amendment does in the case of gun control.  I’m not for it, but many voters are, only to have their votes deprived of them by the Courts.

And yes, such things do take votes away from voters, and choices away from them too. The Constitution sets age limits o who can run.  It sets nationality requirements.  And it prohibits insurrectionist from running.  By the same token, it prohibits a lot of firearms restrictions, and keeps the government from requiring you to be a member of a specific religion.

We are not an Athenian Democracy in which everything is decided by the vote. We are a Constitutional democracy.

Besides, a lot of Trumpite politicians are now fond of the dimwitted promise that We are not a democracy, but a Republic, which is stupid, but which weights the Constitution heavily.  That’s the entire basis, to the extent there is one, that the GOP worships the electoral college system, which is inherently anti democratic.

They swore an oath to defend it.  Apparently, few of them meant it.

Or. . . could it be that just like the death of an abusive father, or a boss who was an asshole, those praising Trump now will, in the case of public figures, be mighty glad to see him gone. . . ?  That way, they can maintain they always loved him, while, at the same time, go back to the back rooms, pour a tall shot of bourbon, and toast his demise, while rejoicing that they fooled the voters all along.

The 1976 Wyoming legislature

Reinstated the death penalty and brought in no-fault divorce.

What a bunch of boofadors.

Oh yeah. . . that's also the year we turned out Gale McGee for Malcolm Wallop around here.

Well, that was two years before Coors introduced Coors Light, and you could still drink and drive legally in the state at that time.  We must have been doing too much of it.

The 2024 Wyoming Legislative Session. The Super Early Riser Edition (Part 1)

March 14, 2024

Having passed a bill to prohibit "cross over voting", which will in fact simply lock in as Republicans most of the Democrats who crossed over, to no effect, in 2022, the legislature is now pondering tying residence requirements for holding office to the same date.

Indeed, they should, in my view.

One recent, and fairly in effectual, member of the House of Representatives, Jeanette Ward, had arrived so recently from Illinois that she didn't qualify for office until after the primary, something that oddly didn't seem to come up in her primary election.  She's been in the state a little over two years now.   She was interviewed about this proposal and stated she had no strong feels one way or another, which is a bit difficult to believe, but perhaps.

A better solution would be to make a residency requirement stretch out to five years for the house, and perhaps seven for the senate and higher office.  Perhaps ten or fifteen years for the Governor's office.

April 13, 2024

Karlee Provenza will not be sanctioned for her recent comments, in the form of a t-shirt, which will upset some but which makes the leadership of the House in Wyoming continue to be admirably fair-minded and prudent, and which in the current atmosphere contrasts nicely with Tennessee.

An interesting aspect of this is that her political polar opposite, Anthony Bouchard, came to her defense.  He also, oddly, called for new state GOP leadership, calling the leadership "undocumented Democrats".

March 21, 2023

On May 19,  the Cowboy State Daily ran an op ed by Wyoming "Freedom" Caucus head John Bear and another by Speaker of the House Albert Sommers.  We already noted Bear's article on this with, with this: 

The blaring of the propoganda bugle.

Wyoming Rep. John Bear writes, "It was the Speaker’s decision to create an Appropriations Committee consisting only of socially liberal legislators from big cities, and now it appears that the President of the Senate sees some benefit in a Senate Appropriations committee loyal to the Uniparty’s cause as well.

John Bear, head of the Freedom Caucus, in the Cowboy State Daily.

There is no Uniparty.

A person would be hard-pressed to find a single "socially liberal legislator", let alone one from a "big city", in the State Legislature. 

I note this as this is the current drumbeat of the Freedom Caucus, and it's a fantasy.  A better case could be made that the Freedom Caucus is not made up of Republicans, as it doesn't reflect traditional Wyoming Republican values.  Of course, Bear isn't a Wyomingite, being a transplant.

The problem with false propaganda, however, is that people will believe it, including those spouting it.

We read Sommers, but didn't comment on it.  It's title raises a good question:

Albert Sommers: Why Does Freedom Caucus Tell Its Members How To Vote?

In it, Sommers states, reflecting the way that the Wyoming GOP has traditionally been:

I believe Wyoming Republicans remain “a Party for free men/women, not blind followers, and not conformists,” and yet the media, hardline conservative pundits, state party leaders, and the Freedom Caucus want to push all Republicans into the round hole of conformism when we are truly the square peg of diversity.

By doing so, he really does define the current state of affairs between the traditional Wyoming GOP and the populist branch. The Wyoming GOP is traditionally conservative, but Wyomingite, the populists are something else, and do very much march in lockstep.  Indeed, failure to adhere to uniformity yields to insults such as being accused of being part of an imaginary fictitious "Uniparty" to ending up getting listed on the WyoRino website which list traditional Republicans as RINO's.

Populist do appear to be driving the bus nationally in the GOP, which frankly just doesn't behave the way it used to in any fashion.  It's interesting that this fight is developing in Wyoming, which still is heavily Trump country, when Trump's supporters brought the Führerprinzip into the party. It might be telling that "think for yourself" is appearing here now.

June 28, 2023

A committee rejected a bill proposing to make EMS services essential.  This would have provided for some level of state funding.

August 25, 2023

A committee heard testimony from Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray on a bill that would require 30 days residence in order to vote in a Wyoming election.  It was formerly one year, some time go, but that was struck down by a Supreme Court opinion and never re addressed.

In spite of Gray's having been voted into office, he's not universally popular with long time Republicans or long time residents, and one multi generation Wyoming rancher and former legislature apparently also testified and called Gray a "snake oil salesman".

August 31, 2023

The 30 day's residence bill was tabled by the Corporation's Committee.

The Committee unanimously passed a bill that banning private funding for the administration of elections in Wyoming.  My prediction is that the Law of Unintended Consequences will end applying to this bill as political parties are private organizations and primaries are the use of public funds for their internal choices, and somehow this will blow up on the parties, which will be fine.

The committee passed in a 9-5 vote a resolution asking Congress to propose a constitutional amendment that would restrict corporations and organizations from making campaign contributions, an act that will go nowhere as Congress won't do it.

"Freedom Caucus" legislator John Bear, originally of Missouri, wrote a longish letter to the Casper Star Tribune complaining about Senate President Ogden Driscoll using the term "Uniparty", which FC members use to slam anyone who is not a member of the populist right.

October 7, 2024.

Senator Bob Ide has an op ed in the paper today, promising to introduce legislation to somehow require the Federal government to turn over the Federal domain to Wyoming.  He terms the Federal Government's possession of its public land in Wyoming illegal and contrary to a promise it made at the time of Wyoming's statehood, both of which are absolutely false.

This would be a disaster for the state's sportsmen and the state in general, and would soon result in the land likely going to the wealthy, and wealthy out of staters.  It would frankly make it not worth living here and destroy the character of the state.

Ide cites the popular transfer of the Marton ranch to the Federal Government and the recent southwestern Wyoming BLM plan as part of the reason this needs to occur, both of which are reason why it should never occur.

Poster from several years ago.

Ide is a far right member of the legislature and was in Washington, D.C. at the time of the insurrection, although there is no reason to believe he participated in it.

October 15, 2023

Oh brother:

A legislative committee will draft a measure to prohibit state and local authorities from aiding or cooperating with federal land management agencies “when they pursue policies which harm Wyoming’s core interests.”

The move is in response to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s draft plan for managing 3.6 million acres of federal land in southwest Wyoming.

The Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee also voted unanimously to draft a bill creating a new full-time position in the governor’s office to act as a watchdog “protecting the state’s interest against federal overreach.” Lawmakers on the panel suggested recruiting current and former BLM employees for the position with a signing bonus. They also discussed offering “bonuses and or opportunities for promotion” for state employees who go “above and beyond in protecting the state’s interests” against perceived federal overreach.

Casper Star Tribune 

November 2, 2024

A $68M inflation adjustment funding bill for education will be introduced.

At least this makes sense for a budget session.

November 4, 2024

Election related bills will appear in the upcoming budget session.

A bill to require a person to be a resident for 30 days prior to voting in an election will move on to the budget session.

A bill to expand the definition "of organization" for campaign donation reporting also will.

A bill to add a misdemeanor offense for intimidating an election official has been added to the one that already exists at the felony level.

November 10, 2023

After a special purpose bill failed, judges were added to the statute that makes it a felony to intimidate jurors, witnesses and peace officers while they are fulfilling their duty.

This seems to fall considerably short of the originally proposed bill which was specific to judges.

November 14, 2023

A bill to create a Rural Lawyer Incentive Pilot Program which grant entering lawyers in rural communities $16,000 each year over five years, so little as to be of no practical effect whatsoever, is advancing to the legislature.

The bill states:

HOUSE BILL NO.

Wyoming rural attorney recruitment program.

Sponsored by: Joint Judiciary Interim Committee

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to attorneys-at-law; establishing the rural attorney recruitment pilot program; specifying eligibility requirements for counties and attorneys to participate in the program; specifying administration, oversight and payment obligations for the program; requiring reports; providing a sunset date for the program; authorizing rulemaking; providing an appropriation; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming: 

Section 1. W.S. 33-5-201 through 33-5-203 are createdto read:

2024 STATE OF WYOMING 24LSO-0061

Working Draft

Bill Number

ARTICLE 2 – RURAL ATTORNEY RECRUITMENT PROGRAM

33-5-201. Rural attorney recruitment program established; findings; program requirements; county qualifications; annual reports.

(a) In light of the shortage of attorneys practicing in rural Wyoming counties, the legislature finds that the establishment of a rural attorney recruitment program constitutes a valid public purpose, of primary benefit to the citizens of the state of Wyoming.

(b) The supreme court may establish a rural attorney recruitment program to assist rural Wyoming counties in recruiting attorneys to practice in those counties.

STAFF COMMENT 

In light of the Committee's discussion at its last meeting, the Committee may wish to consider whether the Supreme Court or the State Bar should establish and operate the rural-attorney program. 

(c) Each county eligible under this subsection may apply to the supreme court to participate in the program. A county is eligible to participate in the program if the county:

(i) Has a population of not greater than twenty8 five thousand (25,000); 

(ii) Has an average of not greater than one and one-half (1.5) licensed attorneys in the county for every one thousand (1,000) residents of the county;

16 STAFF COMMENT

The State Bar proposed the following alternative qualification/standard to paragraph (ii) above:

(ii) Has an average of not greater than one and one-half (1.5) qualified attorneys in the county for everyone thousand (1,000) residents. As used in this paragraph, "qualified attorney" means an attorney who provides legal services to private citizens on a fee basis for an average of not less than twenty (20) hours per week. "Qualified attorney" shall not include an attorney who is a full-time judge, prosecutor, public defender, judicial clerk, in29 house counsel, trust officer and any licensed attorney who is in retired status or who is not engaged in the practice of law;

(iii) Agrees to provide the county share of the incentive payment required under this article;

(iv) Is determined to be eligible to participate  in the program by the supreme court.

(d) Before determining a county's eligibility, the supreme court shall conduct an assessment to evaluate the  county's need for an attorney and the county's ability to sustain and support an attorney. The supreme court shall maintain a list of counties that have been assessed and are  eligible to participate in the program under this article.  The supreme court may revise any county assessment or  conduct a new assessment as the court deems necessary to reflect any change in a county's eligibility.

(e) In selecting eligible counties to participate in the program, the supreme court shall consider: 

(i) The county's demographics;

(ii) The age and number of attorneys in the county;

STAFF COMMENT

Rather than require the consideration of age as a factor the Committee may wish to consider alternate language for paragraph (ii) above:

(ii) The number of attorneys in the county and the number of attorneys projected to be practicing in the county over the next five (5) years;

(iii) Any recommendations from the district judges and circuit judges of the county;

(iv) The county's economic development programs;

(v) The county's geographical location relative to other counties participating in the program:

(vi) An evaluation of any attorney seeking to practice in the county as a program participant, including  the attorney's previous or existing ties to the county;

(vii) Any prior participation of the county in the program;

(viii) Any other factor that the supreme court deems necessary. 

(f) A participating eligible county may enter into agreements with any municipality, school district or nonprofit entity within the county to assist the county in meeting the county's obligations for participating in the program.

(g) Not later than October 1, 2024 and each October 1  thereafter that the program is in effect, the supreme court shall submit an annual report to the joint judiciary interim committee on the activities of the program. Each  report shall include information on the number of attorneys and counties participating in the program, the amount of incentive payments made to attorneys under the program, the general status of the program and any recommendations for  continuing, modifying or ending the program. 

33-5-202. Rural attorney recruitment program; attorney requirements; incentive payments; termination of program.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, any attorney licensed to practice law in Wyoming may apply to the supreme court to participate in the rural attorney recruitment program established under this article. No attorney shall participate in the program if the attorney has previously participated in the program or has  previously participated in any other state or federal scholarship, loan repayment or tuition reimbursement  program that obligated the attorney to provide legal services in an underserved area.

(b) Not more than five (5) attorneys shall participate in the program established under this article at any one (1) time.

(c) Subject to available funding and as consideration for providing legal services in an eligible county, each attorney approved by the supreme court to participate in  the program shall be entitled to receive an incentive payment in five (5) equal annual installments. Each annual incentive payment shall be paid on or after July 1 of each year. Each annual incentive payment shall be in an amount equal to ninety percent (90%) of the University of Wyoming college of law resident tuition for thirty (30) credit hours and annual fees as of July 1, 2024.

STAFF COMMENT

The College of Law's resident tuition for 30 credit hours for the 2023-2024 academic year and annual fees is $17,946. Ninety percent of that amount is $16,151. The Committee may wish to simply specify the amount of each annual payment in subsection (c) above.

(d) Subject to available funding, the supreme court shall make each incentive payment to the participating attorney. The Wyoming state bar and each participating county shall remit its share of the incentive payment to the supreme court in a manner and by a date specified by the supreme court. The responsibility for incentive payments under this section shall be as follows: 

(i) Fifty percent (50%) of the incentive payments shall be from funds appropriated to the supreme court;  (ii) Thirty-five percent (35%) of the incentive payments shall be provided by each county paying for attorneys participating in the program in the county;(iii) Fifteen percent (15%) of the incentive payments shall be provided by the Wyoming state bar.

(e) Subject to available funding for the program, each attorney participating in the program shall enter into an agreement with the participating county, the Wyoming state  bar and the supreme court that obligates the attorney to  practice law full-time in the participating county for not less than five (5) years. No agreement shall be effective until it is filed with and approved by the supreme court.

STAFF COMMENT

The Committee may wish to consider:

Whether attorneys participating in the program must live in the county in which they practice.

Whether language is needed to clarify what it means for an attorney in the program to practice law in the applicable county. Whether a local contribution or match should be required, or whether alternatives to the local matchshould be included in the bill draft. (This was a suggestion raised by the State Bar at the Committee's meeting in September.)

Whether a failure to repay an incentive payment when required to do so should expressly subject the attorney to license suspension (this was an item raised at the September meeting).

(f) Any attorney who receives an incentive payment under this article and subsequently breaches the agreement entered into under subsection (e) of this section shall  repay all funds received under this article pursuant to terms and conditions established by the supreme court. Failure to repay funds as required by this subsection shall be grounds for attorney discipline.

(g) The supreme court may promulgate any rules necessary to implement this article. 

(h) The program established under this article shall cease on June 30, 2029.

STAFF COMMENT

In light of the Committee's discussion in September, the Committee may wish to consider whether clarifying language is necessary to make clear that attorneys can begin the program before June 30, 2029 and complete their requirements after June 30, 2029.

33-5-203. Sunset.

W.S. 33-5-201 and 33-5-202 are repealed effective July 17 2029.

Section 2. There is appropriated one hundred ninety20 seven thousand three hundred seventy-five dollars

($197,375.00) from the general fund to the supreme court  for the period beginning with the effective date of this act and ending June 30, 2029 to be expended only for  purposes of providing incentive payments for the rural attorney recruitment program established under this act. This appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose. Notwithstanding W.S. 9-2-1008, 9-2-1012(e) and 9-4-207, this appropriation shall not revert until June 30, 2029.

Section 3. This act is effective July 1, 2024.

There is a real shortage, but as noted, the amount of money proposed here will do little to address the problem.  Most likely, what it would do is allow new law school grads to fool themselves into opening local practices that would soon be closed, something that has been going on for quite some time.

The problem that this bill addresses is caused by a variety of things, a significant one being the adoption of the Uniform Bar Exam which has caused Colorado firms in particular, but also Montana and even Texas firms to license lawyers in Wyoming while they practice from their actual localities. This has made practicing law in Wyoming less viable, and in return reduced and consolidated local practice.  This could easily be fixed by requiring residency requirements to practice in Wyoming or restoring a Wyoming specific bar exam.

November 17, 2023

In an act of flaming hypocrisy, the Converse County GOP voted 20-12 to censure state Rep. Forrest Chadwick R-Evansville, for a record that doesn't follow the state's GOP platform and which claims  he violated“the oath that he made to God.” Seeing as the state's GOP is presently heavily supportive of sedition, that's rather rich.

It's not surprising that Chadwick has run into trouble, however. The Businessman turned politician is a Natrona County resident and it could have been predicted from day one that Converse County would not really appreciate a Casperite being in the legislature for some of them, something that occured due to recent redistricting.

Wall, eh?

Apparently Vivek Ramaswamy suggested in the GOP debate, which I didn't watch, that we need a border wall with Canada.

Seriously?

Canada may feel it needs a border wall with the US.  Indeed, Canadians must feel that they have an upstairs apartment above a large family of meth addicts who are in a knock-out brawl while they set the place on fire right now.

Anyhow, the Great Wall didn't keep the Mongols out.  A wall the length of the American border with Canada, which would serve only those with a fevered imagination about an imaginary problem, wouldn't keep anyone out, or in, either.

It's a long border.  

No wonder the GOP is an elephant's graveyard right now.

The 2024 Election, Part VII. Drama

September 23, 1923.

Probably not the right place to put it, but it seems to fit into an election atmosphere everywhere that's a bit over the top.

Casper's mayor has resigned after having been accused of physically assaulting his wife in Texas. In resigning, he stated.

It is readily apparent to me that the City Council has abandoned me, band members who I have worked with for a number of years, have ended their relationship with me and it is apparent to me that every effort is being made to destroy me to the public.

Well, after photographs were run of his wife with a major scar suture on her head, no matter what happened, it'd be in the press.  Perhaps the surprising thing this year is that it turned out to matter, given that so little otherwise seems to in regard to public conduct.

We will note that he's disputing her allegations, stating that she was intoxicated and fell.

He'd been in the press with comments a fair amount, including this recently:

Challenging airport funding and looking at subsidization of transportation in a different light.

I didn't note it there, but he's a pilot himself and did a crash landing not all that long ago.

Now about the ongoing races:

President.

Democrats:

Joe Biden; the incumbent.  

Marianne Williamson.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  

Republicans.

Donald Trump. 

Nikki Haley

Vivek Ramaswamy.  

Perry Johnson,

Larry Elder 

Asa Hutchinson. 

Tim Scott.

Ron DeSantis

Chris Christie

Mike Pence.

Doug Burgum

Will Hurd 

Steve Laffey 

Ryan Binkley 

Green Party

Cornel West.  

American Solidarity Party

Peter Sonski  

U.S. Senate

Republicans

John Barrasso, maybe?

The long serving Senator has not announced if he's running or not.  Right now, because it's pretty obvious that Mitch McConnell is headed on to the next realm, he stands to potentially be Senate Majority Leader.

Reid Rasner.

Rasner has announced and is running essentially as a far right populist.  If Barrasso stays in, his campaign will be forgotten within days of the primary election.

September 25, 2023

Former President Trump's comments are getting increasingly extreme, even unhinged.

He's now openly threatening the Press.  The scary part here is that his supporters will fall right in line with this.

September 27, 2023

A New York court has determined, in a partial ruling in a case, that Donald Trump committed fraud in the process of building his real estate empire, apparently by misrepresenting his assets.  The ruling does not determine damages.

Joe Biden joined UAW picketers yesterday.

September 29, 2023

Some members of the Converse County GOP wish to censure Rep. Forrest Chadwick, whose districts straddles Natrona and Converse Counties.  Included in their proposed censure is "failed to vote in a manner that has any semblance to the oath that he made to God to ‘support, obey and defend the Constitution’ or any semblance to the Wyoming Republican Party Platform.”

I'm not certain at all that the oath legislators take is a divine one.  They take an oath, but I don't think it's in that context.

Ironically, moreover, many of the populist far right, including in Wyoming, have been supporting sedition, at least in their statements, which is clearly violative of their oaths if they're in office, as it amounts to subverting the U.S. Constitution.  Lying, in the Catholic view, with Catholicism being an Apostolic and therefore an original branch of Christianity (and given Apostolic succession, the original branch) is regarded as a grave sin in some circumstances, which does invoke a person's relationship with the Divine, but not for the same reason.  Here too, however, the far right position is rather ironic, given what is just noted above.

WyoRino, which recently failed to make an appearance at a Natrona County debate, is mentioned by name.

The effort appears to be tied to his vote against the Life is a Human Right Act as he thought it was unconstitutional and his vote for the budget in the last session.  A person could be upset about either of these (although It's hard to grasp being upset about a necessary budget), but that doesn't amount to a violation of his oath of office.

October 3, 2023

I know nothing about Butler, and she may be supremely qualified, but its hard not to assume there's a fair amount of box checking going on in the selection, something that Democratic politicians are particularly likely to do. Butler is black, fulfilling a Newsom promise, and she's gay, making her the first black openly gay U.S. Senator. Should that matter?  No, but its statistically improbable while also fulfilling promises to one major Democratic demographic and also satisfying, maybe, the desires of another.

John Kelly, a former adviser to Donald Trump, slammed his former boss in a CNN interview, stating:

What can I add that has not already been said? A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’ A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family – for all Gold Star families – on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.

A person who is not truthful regarding his position on the protection of unborn life, on women, on minorities, on evangelical Christians, on Jews, on working men and women. A person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about. A person who cavalierly suggests that a selfless warrior who has served his country for 40 years in peacetime and war should lose his life for treason – in expectation that someone will take action. A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.

There is nothing more that can be said. God help us.

October 4, 2023

The Trump campaign, in what should be regarded as an expression of concern, is calling on the GOP debates to end, so all resources can be focused on defeating Joe Biden.

A plea to end attention to other candidates, even though they have not touched him so far, demonstrates that something is causing concern in the Trump camp.

October 6, 2023

Cornell West, who may get as many as 5 or 6 votes next November, has ditched the Green Party in favor of running an independent campaign in hopes of actually getting on the ballot in various states.

This is his third switch this season.

West is a figure who fascinates American leftist and is otherwise wholly unknown to the American public.

October 8, 2023

Steve Laffey, a long shot candidate for the Oval Office on the GOP ticket has dropped out of the race and dropped out, as well, from the Republican Party. He called the GOP "dead".

October 9, 2023

Robert F. Kennedy is now running as an independent.

cont:

Will Hurd has backed out and endorsed Nikki Haley.

October 11, 2023

Far right populist Kari Lake has announced a bid for an Arizona Senate seat.  She will run against independent incumbent Kyrsten Sinema, the Senates most photogenic member, and Arizona Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego. This assuming, of course, that Sinema runs.

October 12, 2023

Cenk Uygur, a media personality, has announced his candidacy for the Democratic ticket for the Oval Office.

As he was born in Turkey, he's not eligible to be President.

Trump, in a recent interview, stated, regarding Benjamin Netanyahu, the following:

He was not prepared. He was not prepared and Israel was not prepared. And under Trump, they wouldn't have had to be prepared.

Why doesn't it occur to Trump supporters how deeply weird statements like that are? 

October 17, 2023

Wyoming Senator John Barrasso has endorsed Kari Lake for Senator from Arizona.

This is politics, of course, but it really shows how far people are willing to go for no other reasons other than politics.  Lake is an extremist.  The calculation probably is that she might win, and you'd want her to owe you some favors.

October 25, 2023

The absurd flap on which Democratic primary will occur first means that Biden might not appear on the New Hampshire primary ballot.

October 27, 2023

Larry Elder has dropped out of the Republican race.

cont:

Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips announced that he is running for President on the Democratic ticket and that he will seek to appear on the New Hampshire ballot.

October 28, 2023

Mike Pence has dropped out.

From here on out, with Pence breaking the dam, candidates will start dropping out of the GOP race. Pretty soon, it will be Christie against Trump.  

While it expresses a minority view, my guess is that as Trump looks more and more childish and faces more and more criminal problems, Christie will gain.

For the second time, it should be noted, Pence has done something for the good of the nation.

October 30, 2023

Arguments commenced today in a Colorado suit on whether Trump's role in the January 2020 insurrection bars him from seeking office.

The Minnesota Supreme Court hears arguments on the same topic later this week.

If Trump loses either of these cases, this issue will be on its way to the Supreme Court, but perhaps not be heard until quite near the 2024 election.

Last prior edition:

The 2024 Election, Part VI. The 14th Amendment Edition.

Related threads:

Random snippets. Another thing that Biden will oddly not get any credit for.