I am struggling to understand the appeal of Nikki Haley. She is part of the war machine who wants to continue to pay the most corrupt country in Eastern Europe, Ukraine, billions and billions of dollars we cannot afford. There is rich insight on Ukraine's history, USA's involvement in tanking possible solutions and the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian lives lost as a result of us poking the Bear. Not to mention the Biden family profiting at taxpayer expense. It has to stop. If we are so convinced Trump and Biden are bad, you should be focusing more attention on RFK, Jr. who best articulates the issues with that conflict AND understands the problems infecting government institutions, corporations and society at large. He could be the first successful independent candidate. He deserves more of TFP's attention.
Trump successfully waged peace, and it can be argued that this is why the Deep State hated him so much, and allowed what was obviously a completely thrown election. The DoJ, FBI, and nearly all courts in the nation stood down, and just watched as utter absurdities were proposed with straight faces.
Nikki Haley, as much as I may otherwise like her, will launch missiles at whoever the System tells her is an American enemy, blow back and the stupidity of that policy be damned.
I asked on my blog, and will ask here: given that the southern border is completely open to all comers--including trained terrorists of any nation that doesn't like us--what effing good did the "Global War on Terror" do? The Taliban controls more of Afghanistan than it did in 2001. The Iraqis tolerate us, but that is about it. Was that worth thousands of lives and trillions of dollars? Could Saddam Hussein not have been deterred by the simple fact that we could blow him up in ten minutes any time we liked?
For the life of me, I can't understand the self righteous idiocy of the Never Trumpers/Always at War folks. Conservatives used to be the ones who kept us out of wars. To allude to Smedley Butler--hardly a naive innocent--at some point the Racket seems to have taken over.
We need Trump. I am not 100% sure he is 100% honest, but I don't see anyone else who is even close. The hate and fear Permanent Washington feels for him seems very real, and that is the strongest endorsement he could get, as far as I am concerned.
What do you “ otherwise like” about Haley? She is superficial and a tool of the uniparty.
As far as Trump... not 100% sure if he is 100% honest??? He lies all the time. His only agenda is Trump. He fired so many people for what he sees as lack of “ loyalty” that the best will not work for him. He can only serve one term which means he is a lame duck from the get go.
Please take an in-depth look and listen to Ramaswamy. He has Maga policies without the Trump baggage. He has in depth deep sweeping plans for dismantling the deep state. He is not bought by anyone. The establishments of both parties are afraid of him. Give him a chance?
What lies has he told? Who did he fire who didn't stab him in the back first? I think he should have fired a lot more people. He should have fired Jeff Sessions nearly immediately, Bill Barr after he failed to do his job, and Chris Wray for any number of reasons. And Anthony Fauci goes without saying, although I understand why he stuck with him.
Talk is cheap. It's far from clear to me that Ramaswamy is not simply saying what polls well to get into office, after which he will get amnesia. He's young, and seems to have the backing of the precise people I want to lose control of the White House, not keep it.
The biggest mistake Trump made was not clearing the floor of Obama holdovers on his first day in office. This in itself represents what is/was wrong and also commendable about Trump. He was naive enough to think that there were servants of the public within the bureaucracy that only wanted what was best for the nation. Wrong, but somehow admirable that he chose to give everyone the opportunity to do what is right.
All that being said, I believe Ramaswamy is our best option going forward. The swamp is still deep. I’ll not vote for one who has been neck deep in the muck with the hope that they are somehow redeemed. The same attack plan that is necessary to rid our failed institutions of learning of the DEI plague is necessary in DC. Amputations must begin so that the gangrene can be stopped.
“I believe Ramaswamy is our best option going forward”.
Ramaswamy is a force to be reckoned with. He is the only republican candidate that has effectively ARTICULATED the extent of the undemocratic rot infesting Washington and the swamp creatures that have benefitted from it. His confrontations with corporate candidate like Haley and Christie as werll as the media flunkies that are imbedded with the deep state are classic. That being said, it’s obvious now that short of an assassin’s bullet, Trump will be the republican presidential nominee. For Vivek, that isn’t a bad thing because I believe his time will come.
Right now, Ramaswamy needs time to fully understand the depth of the rot and the immense power the deep state has accumulated to destroy anyone who threatens their power. Trump has been through more than 8 years of war with them. He has endured an unprecedented assault where practically every facet of the federal government has been weaponized against him, and he’s still standing. Ramaswamy needs to prove his bona fides to the Trump supporters he will need to exert the pressure necessary to make any resistant elected swamp creatures remember who their real boss is. He will need to prove that he has the wherewithal to assemble a team of America first cabinet members and subordinates willing to expose and facilitate their removal from power. He will need time to develop needed relationships with congressional leaders willing to serve their constituents instead of corporate benefactors. He will need time to fully expose the corrupt corporate media smear machine.
If Trump is elected, it’s clear that the deep state will never accept the result. They will continue to undermine the very democratic institutions they claim to revere in order to remove him. Trump will need help to Make America Great Again. He will need a congress that’s not completely bought and paid for, and he will need a Vice President who can continue the struggle when his term is up. That’s why I’m a Ramaswamy for VP advocate.
Trump was undermined by establishment Republicans. He foolishly trusted them. This makes me wonder if anything about Trump was real or this endeavor was no different than Trump University or Trump steaks just on a grander scale. In 382 days the next President will be inaugurated. How bright is the future when the choice is either William Marcy Tweed or P.T. Barnum?
You are not wrong. But even as a cynic going in, did you really think that people who call themselves Republicans could have been so craven and nakedly corrupt?
The one indisputable service Trump did is make the existence of the Deep State--or what I tend to call Permanent Washington--obvious for anyone with a shred of intelligence. And the obvious corrolary is that we don't live in a system of representative democracy, and probably haven't for quite some time.
All of this was revealed by the friction he created. When people don't make waves, we can't see the contours of the hidden system.
I don't disagree, but it's far from clear to me that Ramaswamy is sincere about everything he is saying. I'm glad he is saying the things he does, and I agree with him, but my gut sense is that if he got into office he would quickly forget a lot of the things he said. I may be wrong. I may be wrong about everything, but I do the best I can.
And the thing about the relentless circus the Left--with the help of the CIA, FBI and most of the large corporations rank and file Democrats think are on the other side--created was that no matter what he did it elicited screams. If he had done a thorough house-cleaning, that would have been just one more reason for the usual suspects to scream that our "democracy' was in danger. Look how far they got with NOTHING. Imagine how much more they could do with something.
LOL. Why do you people always post links you don't look at?
Do this for me: share ONE statement he made that you claim is a lie.
Here is a basis of comparison: Obama said that "if you like your plan you can keep it", despite the fact that the bill itself said the opposite in plain, if buried, language, and even though it was obviously untrue.
I like Ramaswamy too. Very blunt and seems to make every word have impact. But remember, Trump was vilified by the MSM, which amplified every comment that could be taken more than one way in the negative interpretation. There is a lot to dislike about Trump, but he is tough and kept the world at peace. I think Vivek could be that way too, but if he wins, he will be a Republican that will irritate the MSM every. single. day. and that means all the rest of us too.
The President of the United States of America is owed loyalty by members of the executive branch. Every. Single. One. Bureaucrats and appointees. That is how they are held accountable - the citizens elect their boss. Otherwise you have career bureaucrats who manipulate elections by suppressing pertinent information. As far as I am concerned he either did not fire enough or fired the wrong ones.
Yes they hate Trump. But they fear desantis more. Why do I say that? Because look at how they have conspired, and with trump doing the same thing , to take him out from the getgo.
If I honestly believed that, I would be a much stronger DeSantis supporter. DeSantis is a competent and seemingly honest administrator and Florida is lucky to have him. But he has the charisma of a Michael Dukakis, and given the fireworks the Left launches every cycle against even the insipid and tepid Republicans--think Mitt Romney, and McCain who was more or less a Democrat--we need someone who fights back.
Trump won in 2020. If the ballots have been cleaned up enough, he will win again in 2024.
OMG. You think desantis isn’t a fighter? Ask Disney. Ask the academics at Florida universities. Ask the sheriff of Broward county. Ask the persecutor of hills borough county.
I’m not wanting a priest or a friend or a gladhander for president. I want competence and focus and drive to follow through.
Charisma gets us greasy Gavin or clinton or any of the other incredibly smarmy pols that deliver nothing but misery for the average American.
But it’s been ever thus hasn’t it. People go for superficialities when voting. And that dear sir, is why we are where we are today.
Trump served four years as President of the United States. He did an outstanding job. He was simply attacked hourly for the whole period, not least by his own government.
DeSantis is competent. Competent people stand their ground when they are confronted with absurdities. DeSantis did that, and should be commended for that. But the office of President is another animal.
And to be clear, I would be HAPPY with DeSantis as President. But as you say, people go for superficialities. In your own case, you seem to forget the peace and prosperity that happened when Trump was President.
No I’m not forgetting anything. But you forget the chaos which will only be magnified. Hell it already is chaotic. And while I think that trump is getting a raw lawfare deal, I’m not voting for him just to send a message, I’ll only vote for him if he’s the last standing.
Who will work for him? Hmmm? He’s trashed everyone who has because they won’t go full on boot licker. So either it will be craven opportunists or incompetents who are also opportunists. Trump has no coattails so he won’t be able to do much that lasts because he will have no support. You think he’ll stand firm and let the government shut down if he doesn’t get what he wants? He didn’t do that last time.
Many of his personal picks were lousy and it will be the same again. Look at his RNC pick, Ronna Romney, why the heck would he choose her? Because she said nice things. Same with greasy Gavin, he gives more props to that tool than to desantis, again because greasy said nice things.
Trump is all ego all the time. Sometimes that helped America, sometimes it didn’t.
I don't care about charisma anymore. It’s unfortunate the media has blasted DeSantis’s fake/forced smile or other personality traits. My goodness that’s how he smiles! Sadly, I probably won't vote in the primary because there won’t be a candidate left that I’d vote for. Trump will win in 2024 just like he won in 2020…meaning again he will not make it to the White House. Democrats have proven they’re brilliant at doing what they need to do to win elections, and republicans, well, they’re not. I do not believe the polls that Trump would beat Biden. I think republicans are being set up for another let down with Trump in the general election. How anyone can vote for Biden at a time when we’re involved in two wars and our open border has ruined national security is beyond me.
Trump won in 2020. In my view so too did an unknown number of down ballot candidates for both national and State offices.
It baffles me that people fail to understand that when voter fraud determines an election, politics--the popularity of a person or his or her policies--simply isn't relevant. Doesn't matter. Biden, in a fit of unusually deep dementia, could say every epithet in the lexicon, from the N- work, to slurs about Hispanics, gays, Asians and Jews, and induce RAGE in the whole country, and STILL WIN, if his people get to count the votes. He doesn't even need the support of 10% of the country. The whole game is keeping him viable enough that they can engineer the appearance of plausibility, which in my view was not even achieved in 2020.
I agree with everything you said. But I think it is folly to continue to rely on the words voter fraud. Even though your argument is valid as far as who controls some states and not only counts the votes but investigates the fraud. The fact is that the election laws in effect in 2020 allowed for very easy manipulation by the by any means necessary party. Unless and until that is remedied it can and will happen again. Lastly that stunt by the FBI and 51 "former" intelligence officials was the coup de gras.
Most actually don't. But they hate republicans, especially Trump, so much, they would vote for a block of wood if it had a D next to it on the ballot.
That is, to me, the biggest issue with Trump. He will ensure many Dems go out and vote, that likely wouldn't bother otherwise. But I worry that if he is not the Rep candidate, that a bunch of Reps won't bother to go vote.
Permanent Washington is not "permanent". Take a look at the Plum Book, published every 4th December by the House of Representatives Oversight Committee since the 1950's. It lists the thousands of lower level appointees that the president has the power to replace. It is filled with Obama's people. Trump never did the work in his first term to replace them with administrators who would support him, but rather simply complained about the swamp and his inability to thwart it. Lesson seems to have been learned. I read that he has a couple of think tanks looking into flushing the swamp clean already, so the list of new appointees will be ready to go when he takes office. I cannot wait!
In his first term he was under continual attack, and I think he planned his frontal assault for his second term, which is why the Deep State had to make sure he didn't win, even if they had to resort to patently fraudulent means. It's astonishing to me that anyone even questions that, at a minimum, there were hundreds of serious problems that in a functioning system would have been investigated, but weren't.
But his real enemies are the upper echelons of the FBI, CIA, and the like. Mike Pompeo, according to RFK, Jr., reportedly told him privately that the upper echelons of the CIA do not believe in democracy. He said this as a former Director of the CIA, so if anyone is qualified to make that claim, he was.
The astonishing fact, as I see it, about Trump is that he seems to be squeaky clean. They were not able to find enough dirt on him either to flush him out of politics or to blackmail him, even after digging into every last detail of his life in the Mueller investigation. Even now, he is undergoing lawfare to prevent his lawful reelection.
But if by some miracle he can get back in office, he will set Michael Flynn loose on these people. And they know it. This is a very dangerous time for that very reason.
But we were in danger before, but it was less than obvious. It was suspected by many, but he really flushed all this out into the open, making it undeniable for anyone with intact reality testing, and in so doing made "conspiracy theory" something people very plausibly call "spoiler alerts". A whole lot of people who would have laughed all this off, and considered the people saying it kooks, in 2016, have come to realize there is a core of truth there that is undeniable.
Show me the candidate who realizes that half, minimum, the executive branch needs to fired and the other half demoted and I'll vote for them. Trump understood the concept but failed to deliver. Maybe with his knowledge of how an irrelevant cretin like Vidman torpedoed his presidency, he will drain the swamp this time. One voting rule I will not violate, never joe, never any Democrat. Even the minorities who have been sucked in for sixty years seem to be wising up. If you can't vote for yourself after 60 years, you need to stop voting and realize the Democrats never got rid of slavery. They just changed it into economic slavery.
What I remember from his first term was relentless, manufactured noise. It was amazing he got done as much as he did. Congress did not support him, even though we had a majority in the House and if memory serves the Senate as well. He was attacked and betrayed on all sides, and a normal human being would have given up in despair. But he is not a normal human being.
I don't think most people get how amazing the work he has done actually is. It's not enough. It wasn't enough. But the biggest problem was that he was trying to upset an apple cart that a whole lot of people of both parties were heavily invested in. That's a herculean task, and one prerequisite for doing it is an electorate that is sufficently awake and alert and concerned that they understand what he is doing and why. That is the one possible benefit to four years of Joe Biden trying to crash the American ship.
RFK jr is by far better than all other candidates.He is not corrupt, understands the swamp of the EPA and FDA. Bari interviewed him on her podcast and knows full well he is not a conspiracy theorist.It’s a mystery why The Free Press has since ignored his candidacy.
Yup, I love the FP but its treatment of DeSantis - who has won far more practical victories against the mind virus we rail against here than anyone else - has been puzzling to say the least.
RDS is an unfortunate story, a brilliant man with solid accomplishments, who has taken some bad advice to run against Trump in 2024 and is now paying the price. He was a hero of the pro-Trump, pro-America-First crowd, almost universally admired. Now he's seen as a traitor, a betrayer of the man who helped him beat the Democrat in 2018.
DeSantis obviously knows he's not winning the 2024 election unless something happens to Trump. And even then, he lacks the pizazz and star power that people expect from a Presidential candidate. He's just a solid policy wonk without a lot of charm and charisma. I would have thought he'd be better off serving out his governor term which is what he was elected for, after all.
Terry, through you I just need to ask Free Press readers and in a way, America. What more can any human accomplish in a lifetime than Ron Ivy League/Athlete/Army service/governor DeSantis has? But here's the big one. Why do we demand of our presidents that they be Johnny Carson? He was an ACT. Do you want a performer as priority #1 for president?
I couldn't agree more, Nat. We will seldom see a candidate with DeSantis' qualifications, and our opportunity for real conservative leadership is being squandered because he has an "awkward smile". His campaign was no worse than others, except for the opening marred by technical glitches. He was beaten down by the relentless criticism of the Trump campaign and its acolytes, and by the MSM, who knew that he'd beat Biden's butt in the general election.
I remember The National Lampoon bemoaning the state of America back in the 80’s, saying essentially, in 20 years we’ve gone from having a President who looks like a movie star to having a movie star who thinks he’s a President!
THAT would be a fabulous TFP interview, Bari - get PJ O’Rourke in an interview on America 60 years after the Johnson/Goldwater race!
Yes, well, the Lampoon was a group of snide comedian/writers, not statesmen and political philosophers.
Reagan had been an actor, true, but then he was governor of California for 8 years, and had served in WW2.
Trump was on TV, but he was an investor and developer his entire career, with many projects and companies to his name.
LBJ was a total failure as President -- destroyed the country with a disastrous, undeclared war in Vietnam and socialistic programs. We would have been better off with Nixon or Goldwater -- scary, conservative politicians yet Republicans have always been far more realistic about military engagement than the Democrats for some reason.
Well, if you are a Democrat, you can be in a coma and still win. I think a lot of people want to believe Desantis can do the job - be a Republican president who can get anything done with every institution, including the media, against you. He has done amazing things in Florida, but it seems challenging to see him being a fighter in a bigger arena. I am not saying he would not be one, it's just how he comes across.
A lot of us thought that. It seems DeSantis's strategy is to build up national recognition this year, then run seriously in 2028. It's actually a common approach, except that Trump is so vicious toward anyone who crosses him even slightly. Attacking RDS diminishes Trump, in my opinion. Conservatives need to stick together.
Clearly the public isn't ready for a calm, sane RDS type. He and Haley are polling far behind Trump. Not only that, some recent polls indicate Trump would beat Biden if election held today, but Biden would beat one of these others.
I think those characteristics are what we need in a President. We have been voting for splash and dazzle since the first television debates. All it has got us is further down the rabbit hole of hu-u-u-uge government and MIC and deeper in debt.
I won't disagree, but despite his being a ham, Trump actually had some solid accomplishments. It's just a shame he wasn't given 4 more years and a GOP Congress to lock in some important reforms such as his effort to move fed agencies out of D.C. (which enraged bureaucrats).
Oh I agree 100%. I actually think the unpredictability is a plus on the foreign relations front. And he would stand face to face, toe to toe with anyone. I like that. After the 2020 election I was of the opinion that he was a lightning rod and we needed someone less volatile. After what some are referring to as the lawfare, he is my lightning rod. Bring it on.
Tucker and Vivek had a conversation in which Vivek posits that Nicki is the darling of democrat money and power wielders who see Biden as a no-win. These power wielders, Larry Fink, Jamie Diamond for example, are less concerned about R vs D, but they gotta keep Trump from winning. So the media are receptive to her, polls show her improving. Spending on the military industrial complex is good for business.
The most interesting thing to me about Trump persistently polling so high with ‘average’ Americans is their intuitive understanding that the only way to break the game of corrupt money dominance and hierarchy (everyone you just named) is with outlier Trump. The bag of deplorables is not so ignorant after all.
2016 polls reflected same inaccuracy for different reasons. The division in the Republican party is of their own making as is the no-candidate situation in the Democratic party. We simply have no worthy candidates. There is a survival instinct in the average human that is innate (and has intelligence) which is overlooked by intellectuals (or more to the point terrifies them). That's why the masses are controlled by money and power (keep them down and submissive). Its easy to relegate them to ignorance, which is the root cause of all this angst and animosity and division. Trump rallies them, and that's where his power lies, hence the fear (Jan 6). The complexity of division is more than Dem/Rep, which a majority of people would not choose if they had an actual choice. Trump is an anomaly, for better or worse. The corrupt monster machine needs to be broken. He is one of their own and its internal destroyer, which I think is inevitable. The question really is: what will be rebuilt if/when the power base of the world is destroyed by the people they are systematically destroying everyday in endless nonsensical wars for money and power? More of the same (eons) or brave new world?
So I really dislike my peers being referred to "as the masses". It is so elitist. I agree with your statement about the state of both parties. As they exist, or at least up until 2016, they really were a Uniparty. And war is being waged in the Republican party to see thst it returns to that norm. It SHOULD be easy to control the populace with mis-, dis-, and mal-information. It was and worked in the 2020 election and events since then. But those same people to whom you attribute survival instincts (in lieu of native intelligence) knew something was foul and the manipulation has been laid bare. I like the internal destroyer argument; Chappelle called him as being one of "them" who slipped out and said here is what's going on before slipping back in. I absolutely believe the grift needs to be destroyed and as for what replaces it? Nobody really has an answer but it starts with accountability. In that regard for all the presidential angst it is really Congress that is of the utmost importance in that regard. And I assume more failure in that regard. Which means the judiciary will be called upon to perform its check and balance function.
I agree with you on most all. And, I am anything but elitist, a word that gets thrown around, usually at the beginning, to offset. Moving on. The masses are all of us controlled by corporate entities and governments that wield the power and money. Breaking the yoke is what everyone is trying to do in their own way. And... the true elitists merely smile down at the in-fighting that continues down below (the Finks and Diamonds et al of the world don't care about Rep or Dem). They count on the in-fighting... and we comply... wittingly or unwittingly... rationally or irrationally. At the end of the day, we are all the same. The game is set up and perpetuated by those (elitists) trying to set themselves apart. The rest of us cannot overthrow them because of the tiny dense particle of belief in our hearts that we can, and should, be elitist too.
We’ve had bipartisan cabinets before. A bipartisan executive office is not out of the question. Either Christie or Haley would jump to be on the top or bottom of such a ticket. McCain almost picked Joe Lieberman more qualified and a better person than many of the current candidates. Maybe then Sarah Palin have finished her term as Alaska’s Governor and disappeared.
I live in a very red section of a purple state and do not know a single person who backs Vivek. Not one. But I do know plenty who back Trump and/or Haley, as well as a few who support DeSantis. The Democrats here are all-in for Biden and would vote for him if he occupied a coffin. RFK jr does not move the needle, even with independents.
But Vivek has no chance with anyone in my neck of the woods. The general consensus here is that he’s angling for a cabinet position under Trump.
Not saying I agree or endorse any of the above. Just a snapshot of my own voting district.
I was coming here to say that I really have seen a media push for Haley the last month or so that seems VERY suspicious and makes me give the conspiratorial side-eye.
I thought the slavery" gaffe would end her campaign, but it seems as if it's chugging right along and even picking up some steamd. Very, very strange.
“I am struggling to understand the appeal of Nikki Haley”.
First, she’s not Donald Trump. Second, shes a card carrying member of the Bush Jr. perpetual war and security state club. Third, she a woman and for the vagina first branch of the Republican Party, that’s all that matters
Not this woman. Just as with Hillary, I recognize a war hawk when I see one. No matter the gender, race, ethnicity, sexual preferences, yada yada, I will NEVER vote for a war hawk.
I think the Uniparty sees her as controllable vs. Trump and Vivek, and especially RFK. I think DeSantis would be good but agree his campaign has been poor. He made better headlines simply doing the business of Florida than he has as a candidate.
America disagrees with DeSantis on his 6-week abortion law. 69% of Americans support first term abortion according to the latest Gallop poll. His national standing began to fall at that point even though he’s tried to downplay abortion since the Florida bill was passed. And it’s too bad because he would be a good President.
So 69% of America is willing to sell out 100% of the population over their pet issue. Grand. Just grand. But this also illustrates the problem with all those people who bemoan Trump's tactics. When faced with a polar opposite they bemoan that too.
The ballot hasn't been winnowed yet. There is still a Trump in the room; Ramaswamy hasn't said anything to off-set bigly enough the 90% sense he's spoken. DeSantis' 6 week abortion law marks him out not only as someone who looks like a dangerous loony extremist but as someone who behaves as a dangerous loony extremist. The voter can rank their choices because it isn't down to the wire yet; as long as Trump remains in contention anything DeSantis or any other candidate is just a hypothetical. If it were whittled down to DeSantis and Haley the voter would be thinking differently. So for that matter would DeSantis and Haley. Face it, DeSantis has outed himself as the pro-Gilead candidate; unless and until he can turn that round it would be madness to vote for him. He's shown himself to be dangerous to all women in a very real sense.
I really disagree with your DeSantis take. He is very popular in Florida. I will not fault him for doing what his constituency wants. Plus given how the Town Crier misinforms about my governor I doubt they have been straight about DeSantis. Has he even said what his position would be nationally? And I strongly, strongly disagree with your position that he is dangerous to women. Contrary to what the Town Crier would have you believe abortion is not health care. At least not necessarily. It is a medical procedure. As is a nose job. Or boob job. I also disagree with your classification of DeSantis as a dangerous looney extremist. If that is dangerous looney extremism we aren't going to Hell we are already there. Personally I see Haley and Christie as the dangerous candidates. She is not only Uniparty she is a card-carrying member of the MIC. Christie is Uniparty but more a Biden type with an R designation. And FWIW I am on the abortion fence. Unlike countless smug folks seeking to impose their will on others I don't know what the answer is. I begin to suspect there is no one right answer that rather it has to be a case by case decision. If women did not use it for routine birth control and run down for an abortion every time there is an oopsie, I would say keep government out of it all together.
I personally do not like Nikki Haley and I am hoping she is not the Republican candidate because I could not vote for her. She is not only a RINO but IMHO very weak. I'd sooner see Tulsi Gabbard over Haley. I'm an INDEPENDENT and I feel stuck‼️
Yes! Rfk jr-- we need MORE Independent outlets talking about him and talking LESS about TRUMP/BIDEN- what the hell else do we really need to know about these 2 ?????????????
Is anyone (except MSM) interested in hearing what their next Gaff is? Ugh
Is still evil. Which is why I say be done with it. Give Trump his mulligan. Unless Biden has softened us up for our enemies (who are legion) they will be cowed. Trump can concentrate on swamp draining, much of which could be done by executive order. Then we can move on to normalcy in 2028 with a clean house.
My fear is that Trump’s return will simply be a revenge tour. I don’t think he can move on. And after that horrible final debate where all he talked about was Hunter Biden when he could have totally demolished Biden on the issues, I don’t trust him to take care of business.
His focus is not on the swamp. It’s on himself. And yes, I concede he’s been treated miserably. But Trump getting people back for what has happened to him isn’t in the best interests of this country. It’s just in his own best interests and that makes me dread this coming election more than you can know.
Carol Swain for next president of Harvard. Aside from her scholarship ( which Harvard has already approved) her selection would accede to the growing demands that Gay be replaced with a black woman. Alternatively Condi Rice. Either would make the ultimate diversity and inclusion statement ( a black conservative who speaks her own mind and is not afraid of the progressive wokesters).
There are any number of first-class academics who possess the critical though completely irrelevant characteristic - lots of pigment in their skin. Glenn Loury is one of the country's foremost economists. Oh wait, can't be him, he's conservative and an apostate on affirmative action. Caroline Hoxby at Stanford is the doyenne of education economists; used to be at Harvard. Oh wait, can't be her, she believes in school choice, her husband is w-h-i-t-e, pardon my French, and worst of all, is a believing Christian, is in church every Sunday (shaken heads and tsk tsks).
If you read Bill Ackman's article yesterday, as I did, you would know that someone with business experience is the better replacement, not an academic.
Bill Ackman has business experience up the wazoo. He claims not to have seen the endemic 'woke' problem. His argument either instantly self-destucts or you can dismiss him out of hand as another fake.
I read his article and saw some of his points but do not agree that ascension of a business leader is the solution. The problem I see is that too many leaders just see the product as a dispensable widget and focus exclusively on the money. I see that as folly. I think that policy was the death knell for American manufacturing.
Ms. Swain has as much chance of becoming the President of Harvard as the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch or a three-legged purple unicorn. Same with Dr. Rice.
Yes Chris Christie should drop out. Stating that he is better than DeSantis or Ramaswamy is laughable. Christie and Haley are Republican NPCs. Pro War, not America First. Democrats want one of them to win the nomination because they'd be no different than the current administration. All the Republicans I know wish Trump would drop out and we'd take either Ron or Vivek in a heartbeat.
All the Republicans I know agree (in purplish WA state, they seem to think running someone "electable" is the way to go).
All the disinterested independents I know, those who never took an interest in politics until politics took an interest in them, are die-hard for Trump.
Grammer Nazi alert! "To be honest, we were waiting with baited breath". For your information, Oliver, it is BATED BREATH! "Bated" being the short form of ABATED!
And then, in the very next paragraph, we discover that "Tim has been pouring over the documents all night." What exactly has he been pouring? Perhaps a little whiskey? Oh wait, he's been PORING!
I know. I'm shallow too, and love TFP, but I also had to pause, wondering if there was a sudden outburst of fishy breath, and then also, towards the end, encountering "pouring over documents" conjured up visions of liquids being spilled to reveal what, water-marks? But I'm only an engineer, so I defer to the professionals 🤗
Sure, they aren't huge errors, but they bothered me and I'm glad I wasn't the only person to spot them. First, as maybe a pedantic point, this isn't a "grammar Nazi" problem. Mixing up homonyms isn't a problem of grammar, but of reading comprehension and literacy. But tendentious details aside, the Free Press is so excellent in so many significant ways that it hurts me to see it stumble over minor errors that any competent copy editor should have caught. (Are there any copy editors anymore?)
I believe that in the age of a truly democratic, independent press writing posts at warp speed, it is economically infeasible to have a staff of copywriters and such. Not making excuses, but I believe more of the same will fall through the cracks.
I haven't commented in awhile so I might be a bit rusty. Please excuse the bluntness and vulgarity.
No one gives a flying fuck what Chris Christie has to say about anything. What subset of Trump supporters was he supposedly going to convert? The ones who love corrupt Republican insiders? His candidacy is as laughable as pictures of him in a baseball uniform.
Was that debate supposed to be serious or a tongue in cheek joke? If it’s meant to be serious, Nellie needs to sit out the next debate in favor of someone who can marshall an actual argument. Sorry dude, that was weak.
And there was Bridgegate and Beachgate on his resume, which I’m sure is full of other indiscretions which we were certainly going to hear about should he become a threat to either party. The “debate” was pointless. The fact that Nellie was arguing for his staying in the race should have been a spoiler alert that this wasn’t at all serious. Christie has already dropped out of the race. He just hasn’t officially announced it. And forgive me if there was something amusing in there that I failed to grasp.
It breaks my heart to do this, as she is my favorite, but I am all about team Peter. I despise Donald Trump, but Chris Christie is far worse than he is, and Nellie, he is worse than Desantis and Vivek. Here is why. Christie is not running for president as much as he is to be the gig for talking head on cable networks or returning to his ABC job. The media LOVES Republicans who hate Trump. ( A great investigation would be to see how Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are getting paid and who is writing the checks) Christie carries the water for the Trump haters Jonathan Karl and George Stepthopolos. I want no part of you if George and Jonathan are your friends and the people whose adulation you seek. He is fighting for the political establishment and not against it. I love that Trump fights, but he's such a repellent individual and a terrible leader, but he stands for something. Christie is just looking for his next paycheck from the people whom most in the GOP despise. So get out and stay out and never come back again.
Re the Texas A&M deal with Qatar: this story just confirms Lenin's observation that the capitalists will sell their enemies the rope which with they'll be hung.
This is such an important national defense issue. Also examine doctorate candidates from PRC and other "enemy" countries who could never get a security clearance, but are part of the research team funded by DOD on high security items. Open borders, open research, Iranian spies in the top levels of the DOD and not removed... these policies are asinine.
Jerks like Admiral James Stavridis who fails to address the disasterous Iranian policy of unfreezing Iran's billions of dollars to fund that results in funding Houthi pirates. He also casually throws out this line "To stop this piracy will require going ashore and taking out Houthi infrastructure." It worked so well in Somalia that it needs to be repeated?! The willingness of these military and political "leaders" to sacrifice Americans in the military but will not change anything that will be inconvenient for their cocktail circuit is disgusting!
You go in, kill who needs killing, and get out. How shit-tips organise themselves has nought to do with us. If it weren't for a daft "morality" getting in the road; a couple of gratuitous massacres "pour encourager les autres" wouldn't go amiss either.
The shipping damage done by the pirates will be felt by Europe and the US, but the impact will be felt in Egypt who have a large revenue from the Suez and China (60% of their exports go thru the Suez). Why should the US protect China’s trade routes (recall they have the largest fleet in the world) ? An entanglement with Egypt’s politics demands a large and into the future view. Would also argue that it is ineffective to do a Normandy style invasion against small, highly mobile terrorist groups. What worked in WW II isn’t the solution now.
Well, as I despise Savodnik as an elitist prick who thinks he’s God’s gift to writing I could never pick him but Nellie disappoints big time as well. savodnik is always too superciliously serious and here Nellie isn’t serious enough.
You know both are not going to vote R under any circumstances and I doubt there are more than none at the FP who would anyway. That farce left me cold.
Just when I thought nothing more about l'affaire Harvard could surprise me, there's the Claiudine Gay op-ed.
It was, as you noted, tone-deaf, blaming everyone but herself and of course racism.
But here's the thing: she's not some kid in a dorm room. She must have high-priced PR people advising her. (One would hope, given the $900K salary.) And yet again they let her down.
Which is baffling, because common sense says that regardless of tone, these sorts of reflections only work after a period of a few months, where the writer seems to have had time to actually reflect on what happened and that an immediate response is never a good idea.
Victim claiming is the go to for the wokies. Being a victim is the ultimate form of power because it means you are the oppressed. Which also means you can do whatever you want to the oppressors. The audience...the people on her side, LOVED what she said. It validated everything they feel.
I gotta go with Peter on this one. Nellie’s arguments were weak, even referencing the Free Beacon who also got things drastically wrong about Vivek. I’ve watched him talk live many times now, and the man is sharp. He’s got strong answers for things. He isn’t afraid to take on questions from the public without script. The arguments put forth in TFB regarding “flip flopping” were not logical - saying climate change is real vs. the climate change agenda is a hoax is not a flip flop! Come on guys, do better than this... those of us in the comment section should not be pointing this out to TFP.
That said - Christie should drop out simply because no one likes the man. Why not call for someone who Americans would *actually* vote for?
I’d love to say a woman would get my vote - but I stand behind my perspective that I do not vote for gender; I vote for the best candidate. Haley is not the best candidate either.
Both of them should drop out. The sad part is the question: Is this really the best that America can muster?
Nellie Bowles does not like Ron DeSantis only because she feels he is anti LGBTQ+++ and that is what drives Ms.Bowles entire world view.
Her stated reason...." But his campaign has been a disaster, from his staffers making fascist-art campaign videos to the mechanical smile he seems to have been instructed to turn on for a set number of seconds. ...." is just a coverup.
Mechanical smile is a priority in deciding who to support. Some people worry about the deficit, others about open borders, war in the middle east, etc. and ignore the real issue of how a candidate smiles.
I am struggling to understand the appeal of Nikki Haley. She is part of the war machine who wants to continue to pay the most corrupt country in Eastern Europe, Ukraine, billions and billions of dollars we cannot afford. There is rich insight on Ukraine's history, USA's involvement in tanking possible solutions and the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian lives lost as a result of us poking the Bear. Not to mention the Biden family profiting at taxpayer expense. It has to stop. If we are so convinced Trump and Biden are bad, you should be focusing more attention on RFK, Jr. who best articulates the issues with that conflict AND understands the problems infecting government institutions, corporations and society at large. He could be the first successful independent candidate. He deserves more of TFP's attention.
Trump successfully waged peace, and it can be argued that this is why the Deep State hated him so much, and allowed what was obviously a completely thrown election. The DoJ, FBI, and nearly all courts in the nation stood down, and just watched as utter absurdities were proposed with straight faces.
Nikki Haley, as much as I may otherwise like her, will launch missiles at whoever the System tells her is an American enemy, blow back and the stupidity of that policy be damned.
I asked on my blog, and will ask here: given that the southern border is completely open to all comers--including trained terrorists of any nation that doesn't like us--what effing good did the "Global War on Terror" do? The Taliban controls more of Afghanistan than it did in 2001. The Iraqis tolerate us, but that is about it. Was that worth thousands of lives and trillions of dollars? Could Saddam Hussein not have been deterred by the simple fact that we could blow him up in ten minutes any time we liked?
For the life of me, I can't understand the self righteous idiocy of the Never Trumpers/Always at War folks. Conservatives used to be the ones who kept us out of wars. To allude to Smedley Butler--hardly a naive innocent--at some point the Racket seems to have taken over.
We need Trump. I am not 100% sure he is 100% honest, but I don't see anyone else who is even close. The hate and fear Permanent Washington feels for him seems very real, and that is the strongest endorsement he could get, as far as I am concerned.
What do you “ otherwise like” about Haley? She is superficial and a tool of the uniparty.
As far as Trump... not 100% sure if he is 100% honest??? He lies all the time. His only agenda is Trump. He fired so many people for what he sees as lack of “ loyalty” that the best will not work for him. He can only serve one term which means he is a lame duck from the get go.
Please take an in-depth look and listen to Ramaswamy. He has Maga policies without the Trump baggage. He has in depth deep sweeping plans for dismantling the deep state. He is not bought by anyone. The establishments of both parties are afraid of him. Give him a chance?
What lies has he told? Who did he fire who didn't stab him in the back first? I think he should have fired a lot more people. He should have fired Jeff Sessions nearly immediately, Bill Barr after he failed to do his job, and Chris Wray for any number of reasons. And Anthony Fauci goes without saying, although I understand why he stuck with him.
Talk is cheap. It's far from clear to me that Ramaswamy is not simply saying what polls well to get into office, after which he will get amnesia. He's young, and seems to have the backing of the precise people I want to lose control of the White House, not keep it.
The biggest mistake Trump made was not clearing the floor of Obama holdovers on his first day in office. This in itself represents what is/was wrong and also commendable about Trump. He was naive enough to think that there were servants of the public within the bureaucracy that only wanted what was best for the nation. Wrong, but somehow admirable that he chose to give everyone the opportunity to do what is right.
All that being said, I believe Ramaswamy is our best option going forward. The swamp is still deep. I’ll not vote for one who has been neck deep in the muck with the hope that they are somehow redeemed. The same attack plan that is necessary to rid our failed institutions of learning of the DEI plague is necessary in DC. Amputations must begin so that the gangrene can be stopped.
“I believe Ramaswamy is our best option going forward”.
Ramaswamy is a force to be reckoned with. He is the only republican candidate that has effectively ARTICULATED the extent of the undemocratic rot infesting Washington and the swamp creatures that have benefitted from it. His confrontations with corporate candidate like Haley and Christie as werll as the media flunkies that are imbedded with the deep state are classic. That being said, it’s obvious now that short of an assassin’s bullet, Trump will be the republican presidential nominee. For Vivek, that isn’t a bad thing because I believe his time will come.
Right now, Ramaswamy needs time to fully understand the depth of the rot and the immense power the deep state has accumulated to destroy anyone who threatens their power. Trump has been through more than 8 years of war with them. He has endured an unprecedented assault where practically every facet of the federal government has been weaponized against him, and he’s still standing. Ramaswamy needs to prove his bona fides to the Trump supporters he will need to exert the pressure necessary to make any resistant elected swamp creatures remember who their real boss is. He will need to prove that he has the wherewithal to assemble a team of America first cabinet members and subordinates willing to expose and facilitate their removal from power. He will need time to develop needed relationships with congressional leaders willing to serve their constituents instead of corporate benefactors. He will need time to fully expose the corrupt corporate media smear machine.
If Trump is elected, it’s clear that the deep state will never accept the result. They will continue to undermine the very democratic institutions they claim to revere in order to remove him. Trump will need help to Make America Great Again. He will need a congress that’s not completely bought and paid for, and he will need a Vice President who can continue the struggle when his term is up. That’s why I’m a Ramaswamy for VP advocate.
Trump was undermined by establishment Republicans. He foolishly trusted them. This makes me wonder if anything about Trump was real or this endeavor was no different than Trump University or Trump steaks just on a grander scale. In 382 days the next President will be inaugurated. How bright is the future when the choice is either William Marcy Tweed or P.T. Barnum?
You are not wrong. But even as a cynic going in, did you really think that people who call themselves Republicans could have been so craven and nakedly corrupt?
The one indisputable service Trump did is make the existence of the Deep State--or what I tend to call Permanent Washington--obvious for anyone with a shred of intelligence. And the obvious corrolary is that we don't live in a system of representative democracy, and probably haven't for quite some time.
All of this was revealed by the friction he created. When people don't make waves, we can't see the contours of the hidden system.
I don't disagree, but it's far from clear to me that Ramaswamy is sincere about everything he is saying. I'm glad he is saying the things he does, and I agree with him, but my gut sense is that if he got into office he would quickly forget a lot of the things he said. I may be wrong. I may be wrong about everything, but I do the best I can.
And the thing about the relentless circus the Left--with the help of the CIA, FBI and most of the large corporations rank and file Democrats think are on the other side--created was that no matter what he did it elicited screams. If he had done a thorough house-cleaning, that would have been just one more reason for the usual suspects to scream that our "democracy' was in danger. Look how far they got with NOTHING. Imagine how much more they could do with something.
I think Ramaswamy could take Biden down.
"What lies has he told?" LOL
"Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims as president. Nearly half came in his final year."
Glenn Kessler
January 23, 2021.
The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-fact-checker-tracked-trump-claims/2021/01/23/ad04b69a-5c1d-11eb-a976-bad6431e03e2_story.html
Wait - don't tell me: that's the lying fake-news media. ZZZZZZ
Your "source" for this data is WaPo?? Where "Democracy Dies in Fits of Laughter at Our Smug Self-Approval"?
Snark is no substitute for substance.
I think Obama told 45,257 lies, distributed evenly throughout his Presidency. Joe Biden is at 72,452. Prove me wrong.
LOL. Why do you people always post links you don't look at?
Do this for me: share ONE statement he made that you claim is a lie.
Here is a basis of comparison: Obama said that "if you like your plan you can keep it", despite the fact that the bill itself said the opposite in plain, if buried, language, and even though it was obviously untrue.
I like Ramaswamy too. Very blunt and seems to make every word have impact. But remember, Trump was vilified by the MSM, which amplified every comment that could be taken more than one way in the negative interpretation. There is a lot to dislike about Trump, but he is tough and kept the world at peace. I think Vivek could be that way too, but if he wins, he will be a Republican that will irritate the MSM every. single. day. and that means all the rest of us too.
I don't think Ramaswamy fears the MSM at all. He's like bring it on.
The President of the United States of America is owed loyalty by members of the executive branch. Every. Single. One. Bureaucrats and appointees. That is how they are held accountable - the citizens elect their boss. Otherwise you have career bureaucrats who manipulate elections by suppressing pertinent information. As far as I am concerned he either did not fire enough or fired the wrong ones.
Antifa was not a myth neither is the deep state.
Agreed.
You just said RFK is the person and here you say ‘go DeSantis’
Where did I ever say “ go DeSantis”?I dislike him
I am a fan of Ramaswamy on the Republican side and RFK jr, who is now an independent . They are not seasoned politicians beholden to PACs.
My bad. Stand corrected. It appeared to me you were chosing, okay, Ramaswamy over RFK. I now understand your pic for the R too. I apologize.
Yes
Yes they hate Trump. But they fear desantis more. Why do I say that? Because look at how they have conspired, and with trump doing the same thing , to take him out from the getgo.
If I honestly believed that, I would be a much stronger DeSantis supporter. DeSantis is a competent and seemingly honest administrator and Florida is lucky to have him. But he has the charisma of a Michael Dukakis, and given the fireworks the Left launches every cycle against even the insipid and tepid Republicans--think Mitt Romney, and McCain who was more or less a Democrat--we need someone who fights back.
Trump won in 2020. If the ballots have been cleaned up enough, he will win again in 2024.
OMG. You think desantis isn’t a fighter? Ask Disney. Ask the academics at Florida universities. Ask the sheriff of Broward county. Ask the persecutor of hills borough county.
I’m not wanting a priest or a friend or a gladhander for president. I want competence and focus and drive to follow through.
Charisma gets us greasy Gavin or clinton or any of the other incredibly smarmy pols that deliver nothing but misery for the average American.
But it’s been ever thus hasn’t it. People go for superficialities when voting. And that dear sir, is why we are where we are today.
Trump served four years as President of the United States. He did an outstanding job. He was simply attacked hourly for the whole period, not least by his own government.
DeSantis is competent. Competent people stand their ground when they are confronted with absurdities. DeSantis did that, and should be commended for that. But the office of President is another animal.
And to be clear, I would be HAPPY with DeSantis as President. But as you say, people go for superficialities. In your own case, you seem to forget the peace and prosperity that happened when Trump was President.
No I’m not forgetting anything. But you forget the chaos which will only be magnified. Hell it already is chaotic. And while I think that trump is getting a raw lawfare deal, I’m not voting for him just to send a message, I’ll only vote for him if he’s the last standing.
Who will work for him? Hmmm? He’s trashed everyone who has because they won’t go full on boot licker. So either it will be craven opportunists or incompetents who are also opportunists. Trump has no coattails so he won’t be able to do much that lasts because he will have no support. You think he’ll stand firm and let the government shut down if he doesn’t get what he wants? He didn’t do that last time.
Many of his personal picks were lousy and it will be the same again. Look at his RNC pick, Ronna Romney, why the heck would he choose her? Because she said nice things. Same with greasy Gavin, he gives more props to that tool than to desantis, again because greasy said nice things.
Trump is all ego all the time. Sometimes that helped America, sometimes it didn’t.
Trump didn't stop lockdowns and mandates, I will never forget that. We need to stop Big Pharma, JFK is the only one who will.
I don't care about charisma anymore. It’s unfortunate the media has blasted DeSantis’s fake/forced smile or other personality traits. My goodness that’s how he smiles! Sadly, I probably won't vote in the primary because there won’t be a candidate left that I’d vote for. Trump will win in 2024 just like he won in 2020…meaning again he will not make it to the White House. Democrats have proven they’re brilliant at doing what they need to do to win elections, and republicans, well, they’re not. I do not believe the polls that Trump would beat Biden. I think republicans are being set up for another let down with Trump in the general election. How anyone can vote for Biden at a time when we’re involved in two wars and our open border has ruined national security is beyond me.
Trump won in 2020. In my view so too did an unknown number of down ballot candidates for both national and State offices.
It baffles me that people fail to understand that when voter fraud determines an election, politics--the popularity of a person or his or her policies--simply isn't relevant. Doesn't matter. Biden, in a fit of unusually deep dementia, could say every epithet in the lexicon, from the N- work, to slurs about Hispanics, gays, Asians and Jews, and induce RAGE in the whole country, and STILL WIN, if his people get to count the votes. He doesn't even need the support of 10% of the country. The whole game is keeping him viable enough that they can engineer the appearance of plausibility, which in my view was not even achieved in 2020.
I agree with everything you said. But I think it is folly to continue to rely on the words voter fraud. Even though your argument is valid as far as who controls some states and not only counts the votes but investigates the fraud. The fact is that the election laws in effect in 2020 allowed for very easy manipulation by the by any means necessary party. Unless and until that is remedied it can and will happen again. Lastly that stunt by the FBI and 51 "former" intelligence officials was the coup de gras.
I can't believe that anyone thinks he is mentally or physically competant to run.
Most actually don't. But they hate republicans, especially Trump, so much, they would vote for a block of wood if it had a D next to it on the ballot.
That is, to me, the biggest issue with Trump. He will ensure many Dems go out and vote, that likely wouldn't bother otherwise. But I worry that if he is not the Rep candidate, that a bunch of Reps won't bother to go vote.
Permanent Washington is not "permanent". Take a look at the Plum Book, published every 4th December by the House of Representatives Oversight Committee since the 1950's. It lists the thousands of lower level appointees that the president has the power to replace. It is filled with Obama's people. Trump never did the work in his first term to replace them with administrators who would support him, but rather simply complained about the swamp and his inability to thwart it. Lesson seems to have been learned. I read that he has a couple of think tanks looking into flushing the swamp clean already, so the list of new appointees will be ready to go when he takes office. I cannot wait!
In his first term he was under continual attack, and I think he planned his frontal assault for his second term, which is why the Deep State had to make sure he didn't win, even if they had to resort to patently fraudulent means. It's astonishing to me that anyone even questions that, at a minimum, there were hundreds of serious problems that in a functioning system would have been investigated, but weren't.
But his real enemies are the upper echelons of the FBI, CIA, and the like. Mike Pompeo, according to RFK, Jr., reportedly told him privately that the upper echelons of the CIA do not believe in democracy. He said this as a former Director of the CIA, so if anyone is qualified to make that claim, he was.
The astonishing fact, as I see it, about Trump is that he seems to be squeaky clean. They were not able to find enough dirt on him either to flush him out of politics or to blackmail him, even after digging into every last detail of his life in the Mueller investigation. Even now, he is undergoing lawfare to prevent his lawful reelection.
But if by some miracle he can get back in office, he will set Michael Flynn loose on these people. And they know it. This is a very dangerous time for that very reason.
But we were in danger before, but it was less than obvious. It was suspected by many, but he really flushed all this out into the open, making it undeniable for anyone with intact reality testing, and in so doing made "conspiracy theory" something people very plausibly call "spoiler alerts". A whole lot of people who would have laughed all this off, and considered the people saying it kooks, in 2016, have come to realize there is a core of truth there that is undeniable.
Show me the candidate who realizes that half, minimum, the executive branch needs to fired and the other half demoted and I'll vote for them. Trump understood the concept but failed to deliver. Maybe with his knowledge of how an irrelevant cretin like Vidman torpedoed his presidency, he will drain the swamp this time. One voting rule I will not violate, never joe, never any Democrat. Even the minorities who have been sucked in for sixty years seem to be wising up. If you can't vote for yourself after 60 years, you need to stop voting and realize the Democrats never got rid of slavery. They just changed it into economic slavery.
What I remember from his first term was relentless, manufactured noise. It was amazing he got done as much as he did. Congress did not support him, even though we had a majority in the House and if memory serves the Senate as well. He was attacked and betrayed on all sides, and a normal human being would have given up in despair. But he is not a normal human being.
I don't think most people get how amazing the work he has done actually is. It's not enough. It wasn't enough. But the biggest problem was that he was trying to upset an apple cart that a whole lot of people of both parties were heavily invested in. That's a herculean task, and one prerequisite for doing it is an electorate that is sufficently awake and alert and concerned that they understand what he is doing and why. That is the one possible benefit to four years of Joe Biden trying to crash the American ship.
What many forget is John Kerry was illegally consulting with Iran counseling them against Trump. Treason?
How about Milley talking with the Chinese? How about Joe Biden taking bribes from the Ukraine? There are no rules any more.
This is an interesting story, if you haven't seen it: https://amgreatness.com/2024/01/02/over-230-active-service-members-and-veterans-sign-open-letter-calling-for-accountability-from-military-leaders-over-covid-misconduct/
Ramaswamy Kennedy independent ticket please.
To answer your question posed in the third paragraph of you post UF: None whatsoever. Nor one whit, shred, iota or scintilla.
RFK jr is by far better than all other candidates.He is not corrupt, understands the swamp of the EPA and FDA. Bari interviewed him on her podcast and knows full well he is not a conspiracy theorist.It’s a mystery why The Free Press has since ignored his candidacy.
They’ve also ignored DeSantis completely except for snarky jibes.
Yup, I love the FP but its treatment of DeSantis - who has won far more practical victories against the mind virus we rail against here than anyone else - has been puzzling to say the least.
RDS is an unfortunate story, a brilliant man with solid accomplishments, who has taken some bad advice to run against Trump in 2024 and is now paying the price. He was a hero of the pro-Trump, pro-America-First crowd, almost universally admired. Now he's seen as a traitor, a betrayer of the man who helped him beat the Democrat in 2018.
DeSantis obviously knows he's not winning the 2024 election unless something happens to Trump. And even then, he lacks the pizazz and star power that people expect from a Presidential candidate. He's just a solid policy wonk without a lot of charm and charisma. I would have thought he'd be better off serving out his governor term which is what he was elected for, after all.
Terry, through you I just need to ask Free Press readers and in a way, America. What more can any human accomplish in a lifetime than Ron Ivy League/Athlete/Army service/governor DeSantis has? But here's the big one. Why do we demand of our presidents that they be Johnny Carson? He was an ACT. Do you want a performer as priority #1 for president?
I couldn't agree more, Nat. We will seldom see a candidate with DeSantis' qualifications, and our opportunity for real conservative leadership is being squandered because he has an "awkward smile". His campaign was no worse than others, except for the opening marred by technical glitches. He was beaten down by the relentless criticism of the Trump campaign and its acolytes, and by the MSM, who knew that he'd beat Biden's butt in the general election.
Excellent comment, Nat. I couldn't say it better myself.
The original founders of our country only wanted landholders to be allowed to vote. They had a point.
Male land owners.
I remember The National Lampoon bemoaning the state of America back in the 80’s, saying essentially, in 20 years we’ve gone from having a President who looks like a movie star to having a movie star who thinks he’s a President!
THAT would be a fabulous TFP interview, Bari - get PJ O’Rourke in an interview on America 60 years after the Johnson/Goldwater race!
Yes, well, the Lampoon was a group of snide comedian/writers, not statesmen and political philosophers.
Reagan had been an actor, true, but then he was governor of California for 8 years, and had served in WW2.
Trump was on TV, but he was an investor and developer his entire career, with many projects and companies to his name.
LBJ was a total failure as President -- destroyed the country with a disastrous, undeclared war in Vietnam and socialistic programs. We would have been better off with Nixon or Goldwater -- scary, conservative politicians yet Republicans have always been far more realistic about military engagement than the Democrats for some reason.
Well, if you are a Democrat, you can be in a coma and still win. I think a lot of people want to believe Desantis can do the job - be a Republican president who can get anything done with every institution, including the media, against you. He has done amazing things in Florida, but it seems challenging to see him being a fighter in a bigger arena. I am not saying he would not be one, it's just how he comes across.
My instinct is his earnestness would not serve him well in DC. Also he has done well in Florida in part because he has a very supportive legislature.
I alway thought he should have supported Trump this time around and waited for 2028 to run.
A lot of us thought that. It seems DeSantis's strategy is to build up national recognition this year, then run seriously in 2028. It's actually a common approach, except that Trump is so vicious toward anyone who crosses him even slightly. Attacking RDS diminishes Trump, in my opinion. Conservatives need to stick together.
Conservatives sticking together. Lol.
Maybe the public is sick of pizzazz and wants a calm sane person that has all their mental faculties in the White House?
Clearly the public isn't ready for a calm, sane RDS type. He and Haley are polling far behind Trump. Not only that, some recent polls indicate Trump would beat Biden if election held today, but Biden would beat one of these others.
If you look at most polls they show Haley winning by more than Trump but I believe that is propaganda.
I think those characteristics are what we need in a President. We have been voting for splash and dazzle since the first television debates. All it has got us is further down the rabbit hole of hu-u-u-uge government and MIC and deeper in debt.
I won't disagree, but despite his being a ham, Trump actually had some solid accomplishments. It's just a shame he wasn't given 4 more years and a GOP Congress to lock in some important reforms such as his effort to move fed agencies out of D.C. (which enraged bureaucrats).
Oh I agree 100%. I actually think the unpredictability is a plus on the foreign relations front. And he would stand face to face, toe to toe with anyone. I like that. After the 2020 election I was of the opinion that he was a lightning rod and we needed someone less volatile. After what some are referring to as the lawfare, he is my lightning rod. Bring it on.
They don't like the fact he banned gay centric books from kindergarten.
I think it is really because he is height challenged. Seriously.
Now if he could only speak coherently.
And wasn't another Kennedy.
Sorry no sale.
Agreed
Tucker and Vivek had a conversation in which Vivek posits that Nicki is the darling of democrat money and power wielders who see Biden as a no-win. These power wielders, Larry Fink, Jamie Diamond for example, are less concerned about R vs D, but they gotta keep Trump from winning. So the media are receptive to her, polls show her improving. Spending on the military industrial complex is good for business.
The most interesting thing to me about Trump persistently polling so high with ‘average’ Americans is their intuitive understanding that the only way to break the game of corrupt money dominance and hierarchy (everyone you just named) is with outlier Trump. The bag of deplorables is not so ignorant after all.
They are not. But I think those polls are a Trojan Horse to lull Republican voters I to enough complacency to split their vote.
2016 polls reflected same inaccuracy for different reasons. The division in the Republican party is of their own making as is the no-candidate situation in the Democratic party. We simply have no worthy candidates. There is a survival instinct in the average human that is innate (and has intelligence) which is overlooked by intellectuals (or more to the point terrifies them). That's why the masses are controlled by money and power (keep them down and submissive). Its easy to relegate them to ignorance, which is the root cause of all this angst and animosity and division. Trump rallies them, and that's where his power lies, hence the fear (Jan 6). The complexity of division is more than Dem/Rep, which a majority of people would not choose if they had an actual choice. Trump is an anomaly, for better or worse. The corrupt monster machine needs to be broken. He is one of their own and its internal destroyer, which I think is inevitable. The question really is: what will be rebuilt if/when the power base of the world is destroyed by the people they are systematically destroying everyday in endless nonsensical wars for money and power? More of the same (eons) or brave new world?
So I really dislike my peers being referred to "as the masses". It is so elitist. I agree with your statement about the state of both parties. As they exist, or at least up until 2016, they really were a Uniparty. And war is being waged in the Republican party to see thst it returns to that norm. It SHOULD be easy to control the populace with mis-, dis-, and mal-information. It was and worked in the 2020 election and events since then. But those same people to whom you attribute survival instincts (in lieu of native intelligence) knew something was foul and the manipulation has been laid bare. I like the internal destroyer argument; Chappelle called him as being one of "them" who slipped out and said here is what's going on before slipping back in. I absolutely believe the grift needs to be destroyed and as for what replaces it? Nobody really has an answer but it starts with accountability. In that regard for all the presidential angst it is really Congress that is of the utmost importance in that regard. And I assume more failure in that regard. Which means the judiciary will be called upon to perform its check and balance function.
I agree with you on most all. And, I am anything but elitist, a word that gets thrown around, usually at the beginning, to offset. Moving on. The masses are all of us controlled by corporate entities and governments that wield the power and money. Breaking the yoke is what everyone is trying to do in their own way. And... the true elitists merely smile down at the in-fighting that continues down below (the Finks and Diamonds et al of the world don't care about Rep or Dem). They count on the in-fighting... and we comply... wittingly or unwittingly... rationally or irrationally. At the end of the day, we are all the same. The game is set up and perpetuated by those (elitists) trying to set themselves apart. The rest of us cannot overthrow them because of the tiny dense particle of belief in our hearts that we can, and should, be elitist too.
We’ve had bipartisan cabinets before. A bipartisan executive office is not out of the question. Either Christie or Haley would jump to be on the top or bottom of such a ticket. McCain almost picked Joe Lieberman more qualified and a better person than many of the current candidates. Maybe then Sarah Palin have finished her term as Alaska’s Governor and disappeared.
I live in a very red section of a purple state and do not know a single person who backs Vivek. Not one. But I do know plenty who back Trump and/or Haley, as well as a few who support DeSantis. The Democrats here are all-in for Biden and would vote for him if he occupied a coffin. RFK jr does not move the needle, even with independents.
But Vivek has no chance with anyone in my neck of the woods. The general consensus here is that he’s angling for a cabinet position under Trump.
Not saying I agree or endorse any of the above. Just a snapshot of my own voting district.
I was coming here to say that I really have seen a media push for Haley the last month or so that seems VERY suspicious and makes me give the conspiratorial side-eye.
I thought the slavery" gaffe would end her campaign, but it seems as if it's chugging right along and even picking up some steamd. Very, very strange.
That is my take as well.
Agreed
“I am struggling to understand the appeal of Nikki Haley”.
First, she’s not Donald Trump. Second, shes a card carrying member of the Bush Jr. perpetual war and security state club. Third, she a woman and for the vagina first branch of the Republican Party, that’s all that matters
She's female. For millions and millions of women, that's an irresistible Shiny Thing.
Not this woman. Just as with Hillary, I recognize a war hawk when I see one. No matter the gender, race, ethnicity, sexual preferences, yada yada, I will NEVER vote for a war hawk.
If Haley wins the GOP nomination, I will vote for her. But only if.
Perhaps part of the appeal of Haley is that many people disagree with you about Ukraine and Russia.
Apparently so!
Identify politics. They think playing the dems games will siphon votes.
I don’t believe most thinking people care about identity, but policies. Of course that leaves out democrats.
I think the Uniparty sees her as controllable vs. Trump and Vivek, and especially RFK. I think DeSantis would be good but agree his campaign has been poor. He made better headlines simply doing the business of Florida than he has as a candidate.
But headlines were intentionally destructive and they seemed to have worked.
America disagrees with DeSantis on his 6-week abortion law. 69% of Americans support first term abortion according to the latest Gallop poll. His national standing began to fall at that point even though he’s tried to downplay abortion since the Florida bill was passed. And it’s too bad because he would be a good President.
So 69% of America is willing to sell out 100% of the population over their pet issue. Grand. Just grand. But this also illustrates the problem with all those people who bemoan Trump's tactics. When faced with a polar opposite they bemoan that too.
The ballot hasn't been winnowed yet. There is still a Trump in the room; Ramaswamy hasn't said anything to off-set bigly enough the 90% sense he's spoken. DeSantis' 6 week abortion law marks him out not only as someone who looks like a dangerous loony extremist but as someone who behaves as a dangerous loony extremist. The voter can rank their choices because it isn't down to the wire yet; as long as Trump remains in contention anything DeSantis or any other candidate is just a hypothetical. If it were whittled down to DeSantis and Haley the voter would be thinking differently. So for that matter would DeSantis and Haley. Face it, DeSantis has outed himself as the pro-Gilead candidate; unless and until he can turn that round it would be madness to vote for him. He's shown himself to be dangerous to all women in a very real sense.
I really disagree with your DeSantis take. He is very popular in Florida. I will not fault him for doing what his constituency wants. Plus given how the Town Crier misinforms about my governor I doubt they have been straight about DeSantis. Has he even said what his position would be nationally? And I strongly, strongly disagree with your position that he is dangerous to women. Contrary to what the Town Crier would have you believe abortion is not health care. At least not necessarily. It is a medical procedure. As is a nose job. Or boob job. I also disagree with your classification of DeSantis as a dangerous looney extremist. If that is dangerous looney extremism we aren't going to Hell we are already there. Personally I see Haley and Christie as the dangerous candidates. She is not only Uniparty she is a card-carrying member of the MIC. Christie is Uniparty but more a Biden type with an R designation. And FWIW I am on the abortion fence. Unlike countless smug folks seeking to impose their will on others I don't know what the answer is. I begin to suspect there is no one right answer that rather it has to be a case by case decision. If women did not use it for routine birth control and run down for an abortion every time there is an oopsie, I would say keep government out of it all together.
It appears Lockheed Martin or Raytheon has taken over Nikki Haleys social media accounts
Came here to say pretty much exaxtly this.
Thanks!
I personally do not like Nikki Haley and I am hoping she is not the Republican candidate because I could not vote for her. She is not only a RINO but IMHO very weak. I'd sooner see Tulsi Gabbard over Haley. I'm an INDEPENDENT and I feel stuck‼️
Here's her appeal.
1. She is a female
2. She is not white
3. She is not Donald Trump but identifies with an (R)
That's it. I am from SC. She was my governor. She will not win the SC R primary, her home state.
Yes! Rfk jr-- we need MORE Independent outlets talking about him and talking LESS about TRUMP/BIDEN- what the hell else do we really need to know about these 2 ?????????????
Is anyone (except MSM) interested in hearing what their next Gaff is? Ugh
You lie.
The Neocons do have their fans. Even, nay especially, among the Democrats. The Blob isn’t a conspiracy theory. Dick Cheney in heels indeed.
Lesser-erer evil.
Is still evil. Which is why I say be done with it. Give Trump his mulligan. Unless Biden has softened us up for our enemies (who are legion) they will be cowed. Trump can concentrate on swamp draining, much of which could be done by executive order. Then we can move on to normalcy in 2028 with a clean house.
If he couldn't drain the swamp by XOs before, I don't see how he'd be successful this time around.
My fear is that Trump’s return will simply be a revenge tour. I don’t think he can move on. And after that horrible final debate where all he talked about was Hunter Biden when he could have totally demolished Biden on the issues, I don’t trust him to take care of business.
His focus is not on the swamp. It’s on himself. And yes, I concede he’s been treated miserably. But Trump getting people back for what has happened to him isn’t in the best interests of this country. It’s just in his own best interests and that makes me dread this coming election more than you can know.
Carol Swain for next president of Harvard. Aside from her scholarship ( which Harvard has already approved) her selection would accede to the growing demands that Gay be replaced with a black woman. Alternatively Condi Rice. Either would make the ultimate diversity and inclusion statement ( a black conservative who speaks her own mind and is not afraid of the progressive wokesters).
There are any number of first-class academics who possess the critical though completely irrelevant characteristic - lots of pigment in their skin. Glenn Loury is one of the country's foremost economists. Oh wait, can't be him, he's conservative and an apostate on affirmative action. Caroline Hoxby at Stanford is the doyenne of education economists; used to be at Harvard. Oh wait, can't be her, she believes in school choice, her husband is w-h-i-t-e, pardon my French, and worst of all, is a believing Christian, is in church every Sunday (shaken heads and tsk tsks).
If you read Bill Ackman's article yesterday, as I did, you would know that someone with business experience is the better replacement, not an academic.
Bill Ackman has business experience up the wazoo. He claims not to have seen the endemic 'woke' problem. His argument either instantly self-destucts or you can dismiss him out of hand as another fake.
I read his article and saw some of his points but do not agree that ascension of a business leader is the solution. The problem I see is that too many leaders just see the product as a dispensable widget and focus exclusively on the money. I see that as folly. I think that policy was the death knell for American manufacturing.
Ms. Swain has as much chance of becoming the President of Harvard as the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch or a three-legged purple unicorn. Same with Dr. Rice.
And that's my point
Yes Chris Christie should drop out. Stating that he is better than DeSantis or Ramaswamy is laughable. Christie and Haley are Republican NPCs. Pro War, not America First. Democrats want one of them to win the nomination because they'd be no different than the current administration. All the Republicans I know wish Trump would drop out and we'd take either Ron or Vivek in a heartbeat.
Chris Christie should never have been “in”. He wet his pants and shamed himself years ago. Short memories.
All the Republicans I know agree (in purplish WA state, they seem to think running someone "electable" is the way to go).
All the disinterested independents I know, those who never took an interest in politics until politics took an interest in them, are die-hard for Trump.
Grammer Nazi alert! "To be honest, we were waiting with baited breath". For your information, Oliver, it is BATED BREATH! "Bated" being the short form of ABATED!
And then, in the very next paragraph, we discover that "Tim has been pouring over the documents all night." What exactly has he been pouring? Perhaps a little whiskey? Oh wait, he's been PORING!
🤣🤣🤣🤣
There grammar was pour. Your right.
It’s “rite” dummy!
That one physically hurt, well done.
Oooooo! Squeal! I’ve found my people! Grammar-and-Spelling Nazis of the World, unite!
I know. I'm shallow too, and love TFP, but I also had to pause, wondering if there was a sudden outburst of fishy breath, and then also, towards the end, encountering "pouring over documents" conjured up visions of liquids being spilled to reveal what, water-marks? But I'm only an engineer, so I defer to the professionals 🤗
Spelling Nazi - it’s grammar. Sending with kindness not vitriol!!
Sure, they aren't huge errors, but they bothered me and I'm glad I wasn't the only person to spot them. First, as maybe a pedantic point, this isn't a "grammar Nazi" problem. Mixing up homonyms isn't a problem of grammar, but of reading comprehension and literacy. But tendentious details aside, the Free Press is so excellent in so many significant ways that it hurts me to see it stumble over minor errors that any competent copy editor should have caught. (Are there any copy editors anymore?)
I believe that in the age of a truly democratic, independent press writing posts at warp speed, it is economically infeasible to have a staff of copywriters and such. Not making excuses, but I believe more of the same will fall through the cracks.
They don’t need to pay, I’m sure many of us would do it to support TFP for free!
It is not so much "spelling" as it is misuse of a word.
Can't tell without the Cliff Notes.
I should have known another sharpie would have noted the error before I commented. Oh well, too much of a good thing is impossible.
He could have meant baited as in waiting to hook or trap you. Language, including grammar and spelling, do evolve. Alas.
I haven't commented in awhile so I might be a bit rusty. Please excuse the bluntness and vulgarity.
No one gives a flying fuck what Chris Christie has to say about anything. What subset of Trump supporters was he supposedly going to convert? The ones who love corrupt Republican insiders? His candidacy is as laughable as pictures of him in a baseball uniform.
Or sunbathing on the beach he closed in a government shutdown.
Perfect example of another career politician using his position for personal gain.
Was that debate supposed to be serious or a tongue in cheek joke? If it’s meant to be serious, Nellie needs to sit out the next debate in favor of someone who can marshall an actual argument. Sorry dude, that was weak.
I'm not sure how Nellie came to the conclusion that Christie is a great guy. He's actually one of the prime examples of Republican corruption.
It is because is basically a Democrat.
This
In the picture dictionary you find him next to untrustworthy.
I still can’t tell if that exchange was meant to be a joke, or meant to be serious.
And there was Bridgegate and Beachgate on his resume, which I’m sure is full of other indiscretions which we were certainly going to hear about should he become a threat to either party. The “debate” was pointless. The fact that Nellie was arguing for his staying in the race should have been a spoiler alert that this wasn’t at all serious. Christie has already dropped out of the race. He just hasn’t officially announced it. And forgive me if there was something amusing in there that I failed to grasp.
Yeah, saying X has to win in order to block Y or Z from beating T is exactly how Trump wound up winning the nomination in 2016.
SMH! You just don’t get
Nellie! Of course it was facetious!
It breaks my heart to do this, as she is my favorite, but I am all about team Peter. I despise Donald Trump, but Chris Christie is far worse than he is, and Nellie, he is worse than Desantis and Vivek. Here is why. Christie is not running for president as much as he is to be the gig for talking head on cable networks or returning to his ABC job. The media LOVES Republicans who hate Trump. ( A great investigation would be to see how Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are getting paid and who is writing the checks) Christie carries the water for the Trump haters Jonathan Karl and George Stepthopolos. I want no part of you if George and Jonathan are your friends and the people whose adulation you seek. He is fighting for the political establishment and not against it. I love that Trump fights, but he's such a repellent individual and a terrible leader, but he stands for something. Christie is just looking for his next paycheck from the people whom most in the GOP despise. So get out and stay out and never come back again.
Re the Texas A&M deal with Qatar: this story just confirms Lenin's observation that the capitalists will sell their enemies the rope which with they'll be hung.
This is such an important national defense issue. Also examine doctorate candidates from PRC and other "enemy" countries who could never get a security clearance, but are part of the research team funded by DOD on high security items. Open borders, open research, Iranian spies in the top levels of the DOD and not removed... these policies are asinine.
Jerks like Admiral James Stavridis who fails to address the disasterous Iranian policy of unfreezing Iran's billions of dollars to fund that results in funding Houthi pirates. He also casually throws out this line "To stop this piracy will require going ashore and taking out Houthi infrastructure." It worked so well in Somalia that it needs to be repeated?! The willingness of these military and political "leaders" to sacrifice Americans in the military but will not change anything that will be inconvenient for their cocktail circuit is disgusting!
You go in, kill who needs killing, and get out. How shit-tips organise themselves has nought to do with us. If it weren't for a daft "morality" getting in the road; a couple of gratuitous massacres "pour encourager les autres" wouldn't go amiss either.
The shipping damage done by the pirates will be felt by Europe and the US, but the impact will be felt in Egypt who have a large revenue from the Suez and China (60% of their exports go thru the Suez). Why should the US protect China’s trade routes (recall they have the largest fleet in the world) ? An entanglement with Egypt’s politics demands a large and into the future view. Would also argue that it is ineffective to do a Normandy style invasion against small, highly mobile terrorist groups. What worked in WW II isn’t the solution now.
Our universities are willing to sell their souls for the almighty dollar. Very Faustian.
One waits with "bated breath". I assume one fishes with "baited breath," but only if you forgot the granola bars.
Well played.
Well, as I despise Savodnik as an elitist prick who thinks he’s God’s gift to writing I could never pick him but Nellie disappoints big time as well. savodnik is always too superciliously serious and here Nellie isn’t serious enough.
You know both are not going to vote R under any circumstances and I doubt there are more than none at the FP who would anyway. That farce left me cold.
Woo. If it's harsh on TFP, it has to be in fun, or at least some fun. Otherwise, we become "them."
Just when I thought nothing more about l'affaire Harvard could surprise me, there's the Claiudine Gay op-ed.
It was, as you noted, tone-deaf, blaming everyone but herself and of course racism.
But here's the thing: she's not some kid in a dorm room. She must have high-priced PR people advising her. (One would hope, given the $900K salary.) And yet again they let her down.
Which is baffling, because common sense says that regardless of tone, these sorts of reflections only work after a period of a few months, where the writer seems to have had time to actually reflect on what happened and that an immediate response is never a good idea.
Victim claiming is the go to for the wokies. Being a victim is the ultimate form of power because it means you are the oppressed. Which also means you can do whatever you want to the oppressors. The audience...the people on her side, LOVED what she said. It validated everything they feel.
I gotta go with Peter on this one. Nellie’s arguments were weak, even referencing the Free Beacon who also got things drastically wrong about Vivek. I’ve watched him talk live many times now, and the man is sharp. He’s got strong answers for things. He isn’t afraid to take on questions from the public without script. The arguments put forth in TFB regarding “flip flopping” were not logical - saying climate change is real vs. the climate change agenda is a hoax is not a flip flop! Come on guys, do better than this... those of us in the comment section should not be pointing this out to TFP.
That said - Christie should drop out simply because no one likes the man. Why not call for someone who Americans would *actually* vote for?
I’d love to say a woman would get my vote - but I stand behind my perspective that I do not vote for gender; I vote for the best candidate. Haley is not the best candidate either.
Both of them should drop out. The sad part is the question: Is this really the best that America can muster?
Everyone should drop out and be replaced by at least one sane person.
i was counting on KD, but here Herr Fork did it.
The one sane person IS going to be the candidate. ;-)
Depends on whom you're referring to.
I enjoy Nellie’s writing for entertainment purposes. She’s very talented. However, Chris Christie is jovial? More like negative and abrasive.
I assumed when she said 'Jovial" she was being fatphobic and assuming all fat people are happy, like Santa Clause.
He’s a politician. He IS jovial.
I love Nellie but Peter was right. And is it ok if I pore over my books with bated breath? Pouring with baited breath sounds messy.
Well played.
Nellie Bowles does not like Ron DeSantis only because she feels he is anti LGBTQ+++ and that is what drives Ms.Bowles entire world view.
Her stated reason...." But his campaign has been a disaster, from his staffers making fascist-art campaign videos to the mechanical smile he seems to have been instructed to turn on for a set number of seconds. ...." is just a coverup.
Mechanical smile is a priority in deciding who to support. Some people worry about the deficit, others about open borders, war in the middle east, etc. and ignore the real issue of how a candidate smiles.
I like Nellie but her hatred of Desantis is just too strong for her to put out even a mildly objective position.
Team Peter or Team Nellie? Neither.
They were essentially arguing the same position. Pretty sure that’s not what debates are supposed to do.