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Amos's avatar

I was on the fence but I definitely WILL be voting for him now. I'll change my party affiliation (from none) and go caucus with the Republicans if that's what they decide to do.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

I sort of feel the same way, but I think we have to resist the urge to shove our middle finger at the D.C. swamp elites by re-electing Trump. The reason is that we'd be stuck with Trump's unpredictability and pettiness for four years where a lot of major stuff could go down. We can reform Washington without turning it into a soap opera of narcissism.

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Cesare di Monte Calvi's avatar

What is the alternative? Every single politician is a sold-out pile of steaming dreck. Biden is a career criminal in diapers. Blinken uses Joe's 'presidential authority' to fork out money to Ukraine, so who knows who's in control of other issues? Democrats are new, kind Nazis pushing for chic Gulag for all. Republicans (establishment, that is) are a cowardly bunch of morons.

I do not think Trump is the best solution, but there isn't any given that the Cabal in power took us hereтАФthe whole establishment is against him, and he has only people on his side. I'd rather side with the people.

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Paul R's avatar

Hey y'all. RFK Jr.

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William Wray's avatar

ThatтАЩs what IтАЩm doing. But I see how heтАЩs treated when heтАЩs interviewed by media and Congress. I donтАЩt care if heтАЩs got some wacky doodle shit going on. What are they afraid of with him? He is the only one I can see who acknowledges the weapons of war economy that runs this country.

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Disa sacks's avatar

RFK jr is a great candidate. Vivek would be my next choice. Neither is a corrupt member of the swamp. Either is far superior to Trump or Biden, neither is fit for office albeit for different but equally serious reasons,

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Kurtz's avatar

RFK anti 2A. Deal killer.

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Joy in HK fiFP's avatar

Dr. Cornel West

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Daily Growler's avatar

I haven't heard West disavow any of the policies, especially Dem party policies, that have gotten us into this mess. He's not my "brother" unless he disengages from the ruling elite.

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Disa sacks's avatar

West is a woke DEI phony

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Joy in HK fiFP's avatar

You havenтАЩt heard his disagreements with the Democrats. Is that supposed to mean he didnтАЩt say anything about them?

ThereтАЩs plenty. HereтАЩs a couple from an article in Time: тАЬ тАЬIt just reveals the moral bankruptcy of both parties when it comes to foreign policy,тАЭ he tells me. тАЬWe see that so clearly now.тАЭ

Asked if they ran someone else besides Biden, he saidтАЬ тАШIf Martin Luther King Jr. came back from the dead and ran for the Democratic Party ticket, I would not run. But that will never happen in a corporate-dominated Democratic Party.тАЩтАЭ Not perfect but not the same.

ThereтАЩs also Claudia de la Cruz who has made her positions very clear. And we could even vote for Jill Stein again.

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Cesare di Monte Calvi's avatar

When I asked rhetorically about an alternative, I meant someone who could realistically win.

Dr. Cornel West is brilliant but would have zero chance of winning anything in this vile system. RFK Jr. started as a Democrat, a huge no-no in my eyes given what they've been doing, and as an independent, he has as many chances as Dr. West.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

ItтАЩs all relative. I think DeSantis or Haley would be a significant improvement over the last two presidents.

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DMC's avatar

DeSantis maybe - Haley is Bush III

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David's avatar

I'd accept some narcissism to stop forever wars.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

Sorry David, but people were saying that for thousands of years, often right before they were massacred. For the foreseeable future, there will be wars, and it only takes one side to start a war. The only questions are, will we be ready? And will we prevail? This doesnтАЩt mean we canтАЩt avoid тАЬunnecessary тАЬ wars (those are the ones where lots of people die, just not Americans). But wars there will be.

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The Upright Man.'s avatar

We had four years of him, and he was no more narcissistic than Obama, less so I would wager. We have seen what his economy looks like, and it is miles away from anyone who believes in a command economy, which is pretty much everyone else at this point.

But, nothing you have said shows that being a narcissist is more likely to start a war than not being a narcissist, or that we have ever had one in office. But we have had a Trump, and, lo and behold, he didn't start any wars. So, I will take him, the known quantity, verses any of the unknown quantities.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

Well when you bring up the narcissism of Obama, it almost makes Trump look like Mother Theresa. I feel like IтАЩve been checkmated.

But I have to say that narcissists have a bad track record. I would put Mao, Stalin, Hitler in that category. Not to say Trump is anything like those guys - heтАЩs not. HeтАЩs more like Trudeau, Mobutu, the Perons.

You Trump supporters act like youтАЩre on a desert island and heтАЩs the only game in town. Sorry, but heтАЩs a clown, a parody of himself. Yes he has been totally shafted by the Leftist media and our state security apparatus. I get that. But if you really want our country to address tough issues and move forward, this guy is a hand grenade with a dangling pin.

As for avoiding wars, thatтАЩs more a matter of luck than anything else. Clinton, for example, was lucky and benefited from the Reagan/Bush era. Wars will be with us for the foreseeable future. Some are avoidable , others are not. Prepare, and get used to it. I donтАЩt want a reality TV host driving geopolitics. And I wouldnтАЩt vote for Biden in 100 years. My point is, we have to do better.

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The Upright Man.'s avatar

As far as being on a desert island, right now Trump is the presumptive nominee. Why, well, he answered a lot of peoples questions, and spoke to them. Now, I am not a huge Trump supporter, but I am a supporter of liberty, and he has been the most liberty friendly president of this century. So, yeah. I am going to go with the known as opposed to the unknown.

Like you say, war is. I agree with you on that. Narcissist or not, he didn't start any new ones, no matter how hard the MIC tried to push him that way. As far as TV hosts go, Regan was an actor, and quite possibly the best president of the post-WWII era. But an old lesson from when I played pool lingers; if you aren't shooting, you aren't winning. Right now, DeSantis has shown he isn't ready for prime time, Haley got caught in a rather pathetic gotcha, and, well, who else is there? Ramaswami is Trump Jr, Christie is running on hate, so basically a bunch of also rans. While you are probably right that we could do better, no one else stepped up and spoke to people like Trump did in '16, no one else stood up and took a shot at actually listening to John Q. Public. And that counts for more than anything, personal dislike notwithstanding.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

Very well-said. I think both Haley and DeSantis are ready for prime time, but both are too timid to take on Trump in more than a cursory fashion. I think the Dems were running Gavin Newsom up the flagpole as a possible alternative to Biden, but he showed he's an empty suit in his debate against DeSantis, and the debacle he has made of California (which continues) is become more obvious even to distant observers. So we may end up with the election nobody wants and the candidates most Americans don't want. The question in my mind is whether the U.S. security apparatus is going to interfere in the election again this time.

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Heidi Kulcheski's avatar

He is nothing like Trudeau. how did you come up with him as a comparison?

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Sea Sentry's avatar

Vain, reflexively liberal/big government solutions to problems.

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DMC's avatar

The way to prevent wars is to clearly communicate to aggressors that the risks clearly outweigh the rewards. this must be done confidently by a party that is committed to their word.

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Rfhirsch's avatar

This is exactly what President Trump did. He took actions against the worst offenders against human rights, Russia, Iran and China. They knew he was serious.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

Great comment.

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devoalan's avatar

Trump nailed it four years, and now heтАЩs unpredictable? Wtf.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

TrumpтАЩs instincts were pretty good, but he was mostly successful because he was surrounded by competent people who love this country and executed sound policies, sometimes in spite of him. His tantrums cost him many of his own appointees as he would throw anyone under the bus regardless of their loyalty to him, VP Pence being an excellent example.

This time around it will be harder to attract such talent, and he seems inclined to appoint sycophants. His abandonment of TPP left a void that China has happily and quickly filled. He bungled COVID and ran up trillions in debt. He did some good things too. McConnell is the one responsible for steering constitutional judges into the Supreme Court. He has had years to refine his policies and tell us what to expect and even who some of his appointees would be. Instead, we get the same old stump speeches.

But If you like what you think his policies are, you have to ask yourself if there is no one else who believes what he does but can attract the best people and execute sound policies without the drama. I think DeSantis and Haley both fit the bill, though DeSantis is a better match in terms of policy instincts.

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Michael Hlavacek's avatar

DeSantis would be better at executing Trump-style policies than Trump himself but he lacks charisma and showmanship which, unfortunately, have become a requirement for high office.

Haley? No. She's the third term of George W. Bush with a touch of Liz Cheney thrown in. Possibly a choice for Secretary of State in a DeSantis Administration.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

The whole "showmanship" point is a good one. We used to have many very uncharismatic presidents. In just the last century, Truman, Eisenhower, Ford, Coolidge, Harding and even Bush I come to mind. JFK and television changed all that, and I had several women tell me they voted for Clinton despite his policies because they thought he was "cute". Really? it's so shallow and reduces the pool of qualified candidates by a lot. I agree that DeSantis is probably the optimal pick for those currently running.

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Sherry 1's avatar

As if Major crap hasnтАЩt ALREADY gone down! The Dems and their dark money backers are completely corrupt and couldnтАЩt govern their way out of a paper bag. They have BAD policies that are destroying the country. This open border is crushing hard working tax paying citizens. Illegals are taking our money, destroying our schools, health care system and who knows how the current crime wave will end up...worse??? Is that even possible? At least Trump GOVERNED for the PEOPLE. Solid policies create a solid economy and everything that produces. The weaponization of the countries law agencies - all of them - is a disgusting thing to observe. Never thought I would call America a banana republic but if the Dems keep power (which is ALL they care about) it will become one.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

I don't disagree with anything you said. But this is a wonderful country of some 330 million people many of whom are extremely bright and talented, and a smaller subset of these who are willing to throw their hats into the public ring and take all the abuse that comes with that decision. Are you saying it's Trump or nobody? I just don't buy that. The never Trumpers say "if we don't stop him we'll lose the country", while the Trump supporters say "if we don't elect him we'll lose the country". Sorry, I'm just not gonna smoke that pipe. We can do better.

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Marguerite's avatar

At some point you will probably need to choose the lesser of two evils. Wishing that werenтАЩt the case will not change that.

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Carol Jones's avatar

Why are people always looking for perfect? are any of us perfect? How about the second best-- narcissism generally doesn't kill/create wars and can put a sentence together, knows where they are and doesn't need amphetamine shot in the morning nor a downer at night to live (re: Tucker Carlson/Alex Jones revelation )

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Barry Fay's avatar

Oh really? How? By writing blog posts? Don┬┤t think so...Voting for their Nemesis would go a long way to upsetting the apple cart.

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Kurl Malone's avatar

I'm not voting for Trump, but this argument that Trump тАЭwill mess everything up" is absurd at this point.

My instinct here is to list Bidens greatest hits, but to what end? You either look at the world around us and understand, or you don't...

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Sea Sentry's avatar

Sigh. Is Biden vs Trump our only choice? Can we please move past this artificial binary dance of death?

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Kurl Malone's avatar

Again, not voting for trump, but I understand that for the vast majority of voters it's as mind numbingly simple as you suggest. Get yourself prepared for it to be as stupid as your sigh warrants _ trump v biden...

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Sea Sentry's avatar

Yeah, you're probably correct. I'll have plenty of popcorn on hand to watch the show, and boy will it be a show.

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DMC's avatar

You make a good point, we are risk of 4 years of verbal buffoonery but how else do we change? Its obvious that they fear him because of the change he represents not because of any loss of democracy. (The fact that they are willing to kill democracy to save us from him is the tell.) I do not see anyone on the horizon. RFK is the only other alternative and is just as loose a cannon with doubtful administrative competence.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

Yeah, it is interesting how visceral the liberal establishment is about their hatred of Trump. For the younger readers here, the media has vilified every republican president from Nixon on, no exceptions.

Still, the hatred of Trump by the swamp is unprecedented. HeтАЩs not one of them, and maybe theyтАЩre afraid heтАЩll blow up the whole donation-contracts-appointments-influence game that many live off of. ItтАЩs the best argument for his candidacy, and I think deep down itтАЩs the reason why his supporters back him.

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DMC's avatar

yes - Nixon from my childhood but I remember. They have done this consistently, but now they are saying "this time we mean it." But there is something to that as the mask has been taken off. And both parties see the danger he represents. Not to democarcy but to them.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

True. And who knows, maybe he'll surprise me. The country really does need a reset - people are sick of the whole elitist-grifting culture of Washington and academia.

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DMC's avatar

that is the hope. (but between the last two comments I hit the gym, so my mind is clearer.) Th issue is through most of our lives we have been able to ignore these people and create success, as we define it, without them. Now they have interposed themselves in our lives an we have to do something about this.

Soe of this is our fault. We ignored and laughed at them and they took over the institutions and indoctrinated a generation of morons. We essentially did not noice until they hit us on the head with a 2" * 4"

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Sea Sentry's avatar

Absolutely true and well-said.

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DMC's avatar

Thanks. So now getting a pedicure while watching Marquette beat Creighton. Gotta make a guy comment when mentioning pedicure. But it reminds me despite these knuckleheads life is still pretty good. (Having depression era parents gave some perspective). Any kind of civil disruption would be terrible.

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Sea Sentry's avatar

Talk about multi-tasking! My parents were Depression survivors also - just barely. My mom would keep things in the fridge for years - just couldn't bear to throw anything out. It was like a biohazard chamber.

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Bill Jarett's avatar

RFKjr. needs to win the D label primaries.

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DMC's avatar

Da way to good at this stuff to let it happen

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Disa sacks's avatar

Vivek is a Maga candidate . He is smart and not beholden to PACs and donors. He is smart and researches topics in depth. He takes unscripted questions from anyone and everyone. He reaches the youth. He is putting in the hard work of meeting every voter in Iowa and New Hampshire. He could serve 2 terms. He is articulate and charismatic and fearless. How anyone who likes Trump doesnтАЩt see Vivek Ramaswamy as a better, cleaner( uncorrupt) choice.... If he does well in Iowa itтАЩs a new race

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Sea Sentry's avatar

I think that lameculo will be TrumpтАЩs Vice President pick.

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CC's avatar

The Trump years were rather good compared to now - BidenтАЩs spending and subsequent inflation is fierce and hard to live with

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Sea Sentry's avatar

True 'dat. I wonder who's really making Biden's decisions for him, or at least guiding his thinking towards certain conclusions. One of the problems with Biden - and there are many - is that you don't really know who's running the country, and you certainly didn't elect them.

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CC's avatar

And it seems like his puppeteers are eager for him to run so that they can keep their jobsтАж

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Michelle Dostie's avatar

We wonтАЩt have to put up with a Russia conspiracy crippling the WH and taxpayers for 3 years, nor an impeachment over a conversation that mentioned Biden.

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Rick Olivier's avatar

LOLLLLLL!!! Sure we can

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CC's avatar

Me too - and IтАЩm guessing many others are boarding the Trump train as well

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Bill Cribben's avatar

Everytime they act him he gets stronger

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Kobie's avatar

Same, and I wasn't planning on voting.

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