Oops, He Did it Again
Was that a line from a Brittany Spears song? I hope not.
As expected Donald Trump threw his hat in the ring for the Republican Party nomination for President in 2024.
I, for one, wish he hadn’t. He is as divisive a figure as there has ever been on the political scene. The lovers of Trump are legion. They are proud and they do vote and that might be the scariest thing about this whole thing.
Apathy is still out there even though the mid-term elections saw a fairly substantial increase in voter turnout. Republican voters, had they actually turned out in record numbers, would have turned that red ripple into something more. Even with that apathy, five million more votes were cast for Republican candidates than Democrats.
I have no love for Donald Trump. However, I still maintain that this country, and that includes everyone, was better off (up until the pandemic) at the end of his tenure than they were at the beginning. Obama, absolutely not. Bush, not really. Maybe we were better off at the end of Clinton’s two terms, but a case can be made either way. That is really all you can ask from a President, that we, as a country are doing better. We were.
Can he do that again is the question? Can he win an election at 78, 79, 80? Will it divide the country even further? Will his attempting to run again give the Democrats that opening they need to retain the White House?
Let’s be totally honest here. The Republican’s didn’t get that Red Wave they expected because Donald Trump endorsed certain candidates. They didn’t overwhelm because their candidates didn’t overwhelm. To put it bluntly, their candidates sucked.
I have a simple theory about elections: Good candidates will generally win elections. Bad ones won’t. Obviously, there is one main caveat to that. A true blue state will vote true blue no matter how bad the candidate is. A true red state will do the same.
With that in mind, look at the toss up states and invariably, you will say WTF. Yes, if you are the party in control or the party looking to rest control, you need to put up good candidates. Neither party did that.
Back to The Donald. I think it is a bad move for him and a bad move for the Republican party. It is a great move for CNN, The NYTimes, Washington Post and Newsmax. Trump likes being the center of attention, good or bad. He will be front and center for the next 18 months or so. That is great news for the ratings starved networks who will go back to “Trump,All The Time”.
What the recent elections have shown is that, maybe, he is not as popular as he thinks he is and that Ron DeSantis is the real deal. You have to figure this will all play out during the primaries and DeSantis should be the nominee of the Republican party. I know, a lot can change between now and 2024 and I am just spitballing a little early here.
Will it fracture the Republican party? That I believe is all up to Donald Trump. It’s not like the party has a super majority and now no matter what Trump does, the Republicans should take the White House. This election will be close, probably more so. Pretty sure the primaries will be vicious and that may play against Trump as I have a feeling, Americans are tired of his vitriol. Barring any strange happenings, I would think that Ron DiSantis will be the Republican nominee. God only knows what Donald Trump will do at that point. That is at least a year away so sit tight.
On the Democratic side, it might be almost as interesting. First things first, Joe Biden should not run. He is a man of diminished capacity and along with his veering into the sewer of far left progressive politics, he is not a worthy candidate. Considering that the Democrats actually do have a bench now, I can’t see how Joe Biden would stand a chance against DiSantis, Trump, or any other unknown candidate. Yet, the Democrats do have viable candidates.
Gretchen Whitmer, to me, would be the most electable candidate right now. Not that I agree with any of her platforms, most moderate Democrats do. Plus, she survived the “Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Straight”’s aborted attempt at an assassination. Thats always good for a few votes.
Pete Buttigieg is the name freely thrown around and I can’t figure out why. A mediocre Mayor, a lousy Secretary of Transportation. Maybe he is a good debater but it is policy matters and appeal. He has neither. Put him out there and Trump will chew him up. DeSantis will just roast him.
Kamala Harris is another non-functioning member of the administration. It is understood that being Vice president is just a place holder but she is not even that. Her own party dislikes her so I am pretty sure, she will try and fail to be the nominee.
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are two of the same. Both have some really bright ideas and then they go down the rabbit hole of far left politics. The party doesn’t want them and neither should the country.
Wait, wasn’t I supposed to be talking about how strong the Democrats bench was? Well maybe it isn’t that strong after all.
The other two possibilities are Gavin Newsome and Amy Klobchar. Both have names and experience in politics but if you can find a better looking, truly disliked man than Newsome, let me know. Oh wait, Johnny Depp. Klubuchar may be that dark horse. I am not sure. She does not poll well and that may keep party leadership looking in another direction.
Then that leaves President Joe Biden. I think he has to realize that he is not very popular. He has a long list of failures that have done some serious damage to this country. In all fairness, he has also had a few successes as well. However, at the end of the day, while Joe Biden is easily manipulated by the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party, most Americans have had enough of that nonsense and he, for the good of the party, should pull an LBJ and let everyone know “ If I am nominated I will not run” and stumble off to Delaware.
It is way too early to tell but given what we know now, my theory on good candidates win may play out perfectly if it is DeSantis vs Any Democrat. We have a long way to go though.