Why is Bill Weld a better option for the Republican party in 2020 than Donald Trump?
I’m not even sure who Bill Weld is but yes, just about anybody is a better option for the GOP than Donald Trump.I was so excited going into the 2016 primaries. The GOP had an impressive slate of candidates that included moderate governors and senators from purple states who presumably knew a thing or two about winning tough elections. I was reasonably sure, I’d be happy with whoever won the GOP nomination.And then there were the joke candidates: Ben Carson, Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee, George Pataki, Carly Fiorina, and Donald Trump. These folks had no chance. Half had never even won an election before. What the hell were these people doing other than trying to grab some fame? Look, I like and respect some of these people. Some were serious politicians and/or pundits, but let’s be honest. We all knew none of these candidates would go far.We were all wrong. So very, very wrong.Now, I’ll look up Bill Weld…Oh geez! How could I forget? This was Johnson’s running mate on the Libertarian ticket. I voted for this guy! I like Bill Weld. Similar to Christie, Romney, and Pataki; Weld was a Republican governor of a solidly blue state. That deserves some respect. Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’d like Weld more than Trump. Unfortunately, I don’t think he has a snowball’s chance of winning the GOP nomination.Hey, I’m happy the GOP won the 2016 election and I think the past 2 years have been going about as good as I could have hoped. At the same time, every day I wake up hoping that Trump makes the big announcement:“I have succeeded in being the greatest President of all time, but I’m tired of winning. I will not seek the 2020 nomination. Let the legacy of my unprecedented achievements be an inspiration to all Presidents who follow.”Either that or somebody please delete his twitter account.
What do you think of the former Republican Governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld launching an exploratory committee to run against Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary in 2020?
Weld is the type of person and Republican we should have running for president. He did a good job running Massachusetts so has real political and executive experience. He operates from a pragmatic basis rather than the rigid ideological approach that is a lot of what’s wrong with the Republican party. He worked on and approved the education reform legislation which is a win / win for the people and business. Massachusetts has the best schools in the nation and one of the highest median incomes.He’s also the type of candidate we should have running on a Democratic ticket, not another professor or public servant that has zero experience with compromise and the engine of democracy, e.g. business. Real candidates can succeed even facing headwinds in the electorate.Weld easily won re-election to a second term as governor of Massachusetts in 1994 by the largest margin in Massachusetts history, garnering 71 percent of the vote. He ran against challenger Mark Roosevelt (D), great grandson to Theodore Roosevelt.I’m glad to see someone who is a “never Trumper” in the party step up and put his balls on the block. At least some of us disappointed in the party could have a protest vote to play.As for the snowball’s chance in hell people, what if Trump is actually impeached or has an adverse health event? You’re going to pick Pence?
Why isn't Howard Schultz running as Republican in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election?
I suspect that as a responsible businessman he’s simply tired of watching Republican administrations fall back on the notion that “Reagan proved that deficits don’t matter,” while racking up incredible amounts of US debt.I further suspect that if we simply determined the number of new jobs created by Trump above and beyond the average of jobs created under Obama, and then compared their relative deficits we’d be appalled at the cost in US debt and deficit each of those jobs is costing us. Schultz is not a fool, and I suspect he’s just tired of irresponsible government and the Republicans to perpetuate it.Coolidge was a Republican, as was Hoover, not to mention Eisenhower, and each of them was deathly afraid of deficits and debt, and Clinton left the nation relatively debt-free and ran budget surpluses. How can Bush 43 and Trump be considered “conservative” when their basic philosophy has been “spend it like a drunken sailor on shore leave, even when you don’t have it and pass the debt on to the next generation.”Only a fool believes that debt and deficits don’t matter, and Schultz is not a fool. In point of fact, he’d probably be a good Republican candidate, but it’s very unlikely that the current crop of Republicans in Congress or the White House would support him.
How can Gillum have a snowball's chance in Florida?
It’s gonna be tough.Especially when you look at the turnout for the primary: Republicans almost certainly won’t vote for Gillum and by my estimation there was about a 3.5% percentage point difference in voter turnout in favor of the Republicans. That’s plenty enough to win the governor’s seat in the general election. Even if some of Putnam’s people reject the Trump- thumping DeSantis, they’re more likely to stay home than cross over and vote for Gillum, and there weren’t nearly enough of them to make a difference (DeSantis out- pulled Putnam by about 30%, a pretty overwhelming majority).Hopefully Gillum’s people will do a better job of getting his message out - i heard very little from his campaign until a few days ago even though he was my pick from day 1 to win. In fact I think he owes at least some of his win to the lack of negative campaigning he did: a lot of people I talked to were sick and tired of Levine and Greene bashing each other.It’s gonna be an interesting ride in November, regardless. I’ll be pushing as hard as I can for AG to pull it off - especially now that DeSantis has the Republican nomination.
Are Republicans so blind to what the majority of Americans think that they believe Newt is good for them?
They are so OBSESSED with getting the black guy out, that any criminal or inmate would do, for them. They would run Charles Manson, if he still could guarantee enough followers. Cheering for NEWT........the slimiest sack of scum, to EVER OOZE over Capitol Hill........like he is the ANSWER for anything!!!!!!!!!!! I mean, REALLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! They were cheering for Cain before THAT. A Man who actually SAID, the country needs a Leader not a reader. Which he stole from the SIMPSONS Movie......and in fact, was a joke, because the moron president in that movie, made decisions WITHOUT reading anything , with disasterous results of course. This is what he wanted to emulate........a total moron! And they CHEERED this! They cheer Bachmann.......who believe she can "cure" Gay, thru Prayer! I mean, you might as well run Daffy Duck while you're at it, too! Why Not? They screamed for Clinton's impeachment, but are shining Newt's Halo.----then they bee-yatch about Ted Kennedy in the same breath. Bahhhhhhhhh.
What do you think about the The Polling Snowball Effect?
The Contagion effect: polls affect expectations of the outcome and this affects preferences or evaluations of the leader. They see the poll leader in a more positive light and vice-versa. How powerful the effect is depends on how many people see the poll. If more than two candidates are in a race, 5% of voters cast a 'strategic' vote. They vote for their second choice because their first choice is less likely to win (preventing a third candidate they don't like from winning). If they perceive a candidate as unlikely to win they may not vote. Many voters who are somewhat undecided may believe the opinion of the the majority may be based on superior understanding. Shoppers use Amazon ratings, and diners trust Zagat's scores. This can be a positive thing. Some just don’t like straying from the pack. Voters are more likely to be swayed if they are told it is a poll of people who read and learn about the the matter not just the general public. The Bandwagon effect vs The Underdog Effect - Wikipedia "A study by Albert Mehrabian, reported in The Journal of Applied Social Psychology (1998), tested the relative importance of the bandwagon (rally around the winner) effect versus the underdog (empathic support for those trailing) effect. Bogus poll results presented to voters prior to the 1996 Republican primary clearly showed the bandwagon effect to predominate on balance. Indeed, approximately 6% of the variance in the vote was explained in terms of the bogus polls, showing that poll results (whether accurate or inaccurate) can significantly influence election results in closely contested elections. In particular, assuming that one candidate "is an initial favorite by a slim margin, reports of polls showing that candidate as the leader in the race will increase his or her favorable margin" (Mehrabian, 1998, p. 2128). Thus, as poll results are repeatedly reported, the bandwagon effect will tend to snowball and become a powerful aid to leading candidates...During the 1992 U.S. presidential election, Vicki G. Morwitz and Carol Pluzinski conducted a study [some students] changed their minds after seeing the poll results...according to British studies, there is a consistent pattern of apparent bandwagon effects for the leading party." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwagon_e... http://www.kaaj.com/psych/abstract/polls...
Will Mcain be able to lower the deficit and reduce government spending?
Few remember any more that 1979 and 1980 were the nation’s worst economic years since the Great Depression. Reagan saved America from Jimmy Carter economics: he brought inflation down from 13.5 to 4.1 percent; unemployment, from 9.5 to 5.2 percent; the federal discount rate, from 14 to 6.5 percent. Under Reagan, the number of jobs increased by almost 20 million; median family income rose every year from 1982 to 1989. It was the greatest peacetime expansion in American history. Charitable giving more than doubled, to more than $100 billion in 1988. But the deficit grew huge, much in part due to the expensive defense spending. Government spending under Bush has been astronomical. I am a conservative republican but it seems like my party fails to reduce government spending. what are readers opinions?
Chamath Palihapitiya said Trump didn't have a "snowball's chance in hell" of winning the election. Why did Chamath think that and what does he think about Trump now and America’s future?
Democrats still have difficulty comprehending how cleverly Republicans have gerrymandered the election map in their favor. Theire intelligent computer modeling has resulted in misshapen, illogical congressional districts which ensure a white, male, Republican majority in congress and an electoral majority in a presidential election. They have done their job well, and caught the Dems napping. The Republicans are the minority party. Democrats have been weak in getting out their vote.