The ship needs a new Captian

[JimP]

Dam, we need to get a "like" button on here - effing Box just broke the interwebz for the day.

Well said Box. You're not half as effed up as everyone keeps saying...

[Box]

Originally Posted by JimP

You're not half as effed up as everyone keeps saying...

Nonsense - I am WAY worse than people think - I've just gotten progressively better at hiding it. Its all about the messaging and the catch phrases...
...everything I know about being full of shit and hiding it form the masses, I learned from watching the residents of Permanent Washington.

[Trapper John]

Originally Posted by MR2

Boy. A lot of sage in this thread.

Reread and archive this one - I predict it will become predictive.

Agree, now, expand on your reference to Pol Pot please.

[GratefulCitizen]

If establishment Republicans had half a brain they’d accept the fact that new influence exists and start making deals…with conservatives.
That combination would give them far more power than infighting.

If Trump could put his ego in check for a moment he could facilitate such deals between conservative and establishment Republicans.
But, like Box said, they’d rather rule in hell than serve in heaven.


***
On a “fantasy football” type side note, the most hilarious deal would be to make Trump Speaker of the House in exchange for him dropping his presidential run.
Oh, the meltdowns that would follow…

[MR2]

Originally Posted by Trapper John

Agree, now, expand on your reference to Pol Pot please.

I was just thinking about what would Pol Pot do in today's "modern" society... He would declare an amnesty! Do it in a "green" manor (actually, it's more of a red, but you get the picture). And there's none of those pesky skulls lying around...

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by MR2

I was just thinking about what would Pol Pot do in today's "modern" society... He would declare an amnesty! Do it in a "green" manor (actually, it's more of a red, but you get the picture). And there's none of those pesky skulls lying around...

[GratefulCitizen]

The campaign season never ends.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/18/atto...port-says.html

Trump’s announcement of his candidacy and the announcement of this probe will probably be effective at polarizing everyone early.
It’s certain to ruin many Thanksgiving dinners.

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by GratefulCitizen

The campaign season never ends.

The beast is afraid. (justifiably or not is debatable)

The built-in longevity of a Special Counsel is a fire & forget guard so they can harass & obstruct from the start. With the Holder-weaponized FBI & DoJ they can surveil all they want, do records creation all they want, and conduct ex parte proceedings to their heart's content.

No one should discount how complicit the mainstream GOP is either. They've seemed to be quick to come out and echo how well-regarded this lawyer is. Whether you like him or not, the commonality is Trump must not happen.

[Penn]

Lately, and regarding the coming 2024 election cycle, my support for former President Trump has undergone a reevaluation, placing me at odds with his candidacy, finding his strategic leadership questionable on three defining issues. The first, is his hubris establishing his administration, confrontation, and selection of key cabinet and agency officials, the second, is his lack foresight in underestimating his naturally entrenched enemies, the ruling elite, and their willingness to undermine his administration. The third, and most glaring is his lack of personal preparation for the position of President of the United States of America.

There are arguments that reason, and historians have well documented, that no individual is prepared for this position, that circumstance dictates response, that delegation to capable ministers is an assumed responsible act one makes and then must monitor and control. That unknown events create and dictate the course an administration will be forced to follow.

Most recent example: Bush 911, vs Bush WMD’s, one an imperative, the other a policy choice. Both of which defined the entire 8 years of his Presidency.
In reviewing the defining characteristic of the initial Trump presidency, internal conflict is paramount.

Readily, his administration is in disarray, the jockey for power from Christy to Sessions, and the only trusted advisors being La Familia, exposes the raw competition and confrontation in selection of key cabinet and agency officials, as if we are engaged in an episode of the apprentice. Reinforced by the inclusion of what's her name?

Then add the animosity of the entire MSM, deep state, and political leadership of both parties, whose allegiance to country is questionable, grossly exposes Trumps lack foresight in underestimating his naturally entrenched enemies, and their willingness to undermine his administration.

Easily, the most accessible political preparation would have been a thorough reading of Nicolia Machiavelli, The Prince, but pride most certainly would have prevented him from admitting his personal shortcomings and the undertaking to prepare.

That lack of personal preparation and awareness led him by the nose to January 6th, which is the most glaring example, among many, that blatantly exposes his total lack of political strategic leadership.

Did he really think the radical left would not capitalize on that occasion; after being betrayed by the heads, (which he appointed) of the FBI, the CIA, and all other agency, did he believe, he could change the accounting/verification of the election, after four years of the most contentious political struggle since Andrew Jackson?

At this point, Trump does not have my vote.

[JimP]

I have to agree with Penn, Trump's time has come and gone. He committed the cardinal sin for an SF warrior: he failed to understand his operating environment. There are ways to do things, and then there are "ways" to do things. He was a bull in a China shop (literally and figuratively), and could NOT control his ego (nor his tweeting thumbs) to operate in the environment he found himself in.

He did some GREAT stuff for the Country, he exposed the swamp, he exposed the corruption and turning of the FBI, DOJ, etc. But he couldn't, or wouldn't "take the shot."

We need someone smoother: Desantis, Noem, Cruz.

The democrats are involved in total war to keep their power and control the country. Look at Feinstein, Kamala, Biden, Fetterman, Federica, Johnson, Schiff, and all the other absolute, drooling, mongoloids within their party. They don't care - it provides them with a "D" after their name to which the commie bastards in the country can bang the election button like a crack-addled monkey. They give zero fucks for the people of this country, they just want raw power.

We are so effed. If Trump gets the nomination, I'll hold my nose and vote for him as he would be infinitely better than anything the commie bastard left will nominate. But, damn.....come on.

[bblhead672]

I totally agree with Penn's and JimP's assessments of Trump in 2024 election cycle.

He appears to have not learned anything about how politics operate. He refuses to accept responsibility for his failures, including Covid and the poison he pushed peddled as "vaccines."

He doesn't understand that 2020 is never going to be overturned and it's no use continuing to talk about it. What he should be talking about is the reforms and safeguards needed to ensure that one registered voter gets one vote.

His "talk" far outperforms his "actions."

Thanks for what you did accomplish Mr. Trump. But you also own what you failed to do.

[glebo]

Originally Posted by Box

Nonsense - I am WAY worse than people think - I've just gotten progressively better at hiding it. Its all about the messaging and the catch phrases...
...everything I know about being full of shit and hiding it form the masses, I learned from watching the residents of Permanent Washington.

Haa, Don't worry about the rumors Mr Box (not that you care)

You're doing a good job...

[Box]

All interesting points so far.

I would say that my support for ANY political candidate is in a perpetual state of evaluation. Bush, Dole, Bush, Bush, McCain, Romney, Trump…
…doesn’t matter
I wouldn't trust any of them to pump my fucking septic tank but I'll still vote for those cocksuckers when the alternative is someone named clinton, biden, clinton, gore, kerry, or some dope smoking hippy libertarian that can't cobble a fucking platform that the rest of the dope smoking hippy libertarians can agree on.

I didn’t vote the first two years I was eligible; too young – didn’t care. The first time I voted was when Dukakis ran against Bush. I remember thinking “I hate the idea of voting for Bush as the next president” but there was no way on hells half acre I’d have ever voted for Dukakis. He was such an absolute dumpster fire that he couldn’t even carry the states of Chicago and Los Angeles (which should say something considering Dukakis beat out such democratic heavy weights as aLg0rE and Lesk0 Brand0n).

I didn’t vote for Bush’s reelection. I voted against Clinton. If “Senator Russell Kramer from Ohio” had tried to primary Bush in the 1992 election, I’d have voted for him.
In fact, I’d have even voted to have a “President William Haney / Vice President Ted Matthews” combination before I’d have cast a vote for fucking Clinton.

I could fall asleep watching Bob Dole race dirt bikes - so I got to vote against Clinton twice. Candidates like aLg0re and John Kerry represented some of the worst parts of the hypocrisy that is American polytiks; so again, I found myself voting against another candidate in the general election. Then came McCain and Romney. For fuck sake – need I say any more about THOSE two fucking “republican” candidates.

So my streak of voting against presidential candidates continued.

Then came Trump. Like many other Americans my initial impression was that this was nothing more than a publicity stunt. Albeit a publicity stunt that was WAAAY more intense than just The Battle of the Billionaires at Wrestlemania-23 but still – just a publicity stunt. I didn’t vote for Trump in the 2016 primary because it still seemed like a silly publicity stunt – and with a Dark Lord of the Sith running for the democrats – I certainly didn’t want a reality TV star locking horns with Darth Hideous.

Then things started to open up; I started to believe that Trump was actually sincere in his quest. I watched some old interviews and started to pay attention to what he was saying. Then I thought about the last few nutsacks that ran as republicans and realized, this character really is trying to earn my vote. When election day rolled around, the streak was broken, and I voted FOR a president instead of voting against whatever shitshow was waiting behind door number democrat.

I fully expected him to continue to be politically unpolished and even expected to find his strategic leadership questionable on foreign policy matters but that’s why the POTUS has a cabinet. I was even willing to excuse a lot of his crazy because I KNEW that the left leaning media, the permanent DC uni-party, and even the neo’cons that pretended to be ‘republicans of the people’ were going to come after him for upsetting the apple cart.

His hubris was tolerable until it was no longer tolerable. He talked about draining the swamp but seemed to build his administration out of swamp critters and retired military officers that had ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS in politics. Still – I was willing to play along because choices are limited when you start using words like 'decency, ethics, loyalty, honor, and selfless' in the same discussion as words like politics or the District of Corruptica.

At numerous points, he could have lopped the heads off of a few snakes – he should have fired half of the cabinet bureaucrats right out of the gate and let things fall were they may - but he didnt.
I saw it as a possible ‘Godfather moment’ in DC politics…

Michael Corleone knew that killing Captain McClusky was an extreme response. It went completely against the status quo. It would turn people against the family for ‘breaking the code’ against attacking the cops.
Michael knew better – he knew that whacking a dirty fucking cop would publicly expose the corruption to a degree that would prevent retribution. McCloskey had crossed the line and became an enemy to the people, so he got whacked.

Michael Corleone may have had to lay low for a while - but when he resurfaced, people knew that he simply was not fucking around any longer. It was clear that he meant business and he reinforced his level of commitment when he cleared the board of the other rival gangsters that conspired to do his family harm.

President Trump had that chance and even got off to a good start by getting rid of a corrupt cop when he shit canned James Comey. He should have immediately followed that up and scorched the earth inside the beltway to demonstrate his resolve at “clearing the swamp” but he didn’t. Sure, the media would have raised a stink and ran continuous stories about Trump causing chaos by “purging his opponents” but who cares. By the time the democrats had regained ‘impeachment power’ in the house, the pile of corrupt bodies would have been too big to ignore and Pelosi would have been rendered nearly powerless to do anything about it. He squandered his one best chance to drain the swamp and once the REAL villains in DC realized that he wasn’t fucking around, they circled the wagons, plugged all the holes in the dike, and went on the offensive.

The result? He spent the rest of his term on the defensive while even the turncoats in his own party did all they could to fuck him over to protect their own fiefdoms. Then when it came time to fight for the soul of America through an increasingly corrupt attempt at holding the nation hostage over one of the weakest “deadly viruses” of the last hundred years, he was simply task saturated trying to tread water with a cinder block tied around his neck.

Nope – at this point, it is unlikely that I will support him in the primaries when they roll around. In fact, I am horrified at the possibility that there might be NOBODY for me to support in the primaries. Besdies, who exactly is showing interest at this point?

Vivek Ramaswamy ???
Pfft - I've been burned before - he's just a younger, skinnier, less obnoxious version of Donald Trump at this point. His current platform isn't much more than just "vote for me, I'm not woke"

Corey Stapleton ?? Another career politician campaigning on the evils of polytiks. Another polytishin that says we need to reinvest in the future...
...for our children
holy fucking shit on a popsicle stick - is this guy seriously campaigning "for our children" - and grandchildren no less
His website says "we want to invest in the futures of our children and grandchildren"
Fuuuuuck you Corey Stapleton - and fuck any other politician that has the fucking stones to invoke compassion for "the children" as a way of getting my vote - no thanks.

Mike Pence? Pfft - if that buffoon is the best candidate going into the primaries, I wont even leave my house. Gas is expensive and I'm not walking all the way to the polling station just to hold my nose so I can withstand the stink of another shitty primary ballot choice.

The only candidate so far that has any chance of earning my vote is Nikki Haley - my support is hers to lose at this point...
...not that anyone cares who I support.

It is my belief that our nation's standing in this world will not last another four years if it continues to be governed by the current power structure. That said, based on current trends - I don't give a popcorn fart after a bad movie and a couple of under cooked Taco Bell chicken burritos covered in hot sauce who the "republican" is that runs "against" the next left leaning socialist. I'll just hold my nose and vote for another non-democrat uniparty republican - or maybe I'll just cast "write-in" vote for Dr Oz - just for shits and giggles.

Regardless of how “clean” or "dirty" the results may have been – Joe Biden ‘won’ the election.
Joe Biden.
The man who literally told a reporter not to assume that he wasn’t corrupt. The man who has been caught telling so many bullshit stories that they can’t realty be properly catalogued. The man who lost a primary to Michael Dukakis.
Surely this nation can do better.
Maybe not.
Probably not.
Well, definitely not; after all - garbage in = garbage out.

President Trump did more to advance the well being of our country than any of his detractors will ever admit for no better reason than their fury that Donald Trump offended them in one way or another but time moves on. What have you done for me lately and all that jazz...

The only republicans in the public eye that have ANY appetite to take on the swamp will written off as crazy by the left leaning media and will be crushed in the next general election simply because the uni-party republicans will not risk their power again like they did in 2016.

There are fucking alien spacecraft invading America – or at least that’s what they are telling us - we need a President Thomas Whitmore to save us but we’re stuck with the closest thing to a real world Francis Underwood that we could possibly get.


Rant mode deactivated

[Stobey]

Box:
"The only candidate so far that has any chance of earning my vote is Nikki Haley - my support is hers to lose at this point...
...not that anyone cares who I support."


Nikki Haley? Really, Box? You might want to reconsider any votes for this opportunistic b*tch.

Here is the number one reason why I wouldn't even p*** on her if her heart was on fire:

Trump, Hungary’s Orban to Stand Alone Against Signing Dangerous UN Migration Compact?
by William F. Jasper October 23, 2018

"... In December 2017, President Trump directed the U.S. State Department to leave the Global Compact negotiations, overruling his UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who wanted the U.S. to remain. He was blasted by the Democrats, globalists, the professional compassion lobby, and the Fake News pundts, for that, of course, much as he was for announcing his intention to withdraw the United States from the UN’s Paris climate accord, UNESCO, and other UN programs."

https://thenewamerican.com/trump-hun...ation-compact/

[Box]

True that may be - but in that entire article her name is only mentioned that one time - and the POTUS gets paid to overrule his subordinates when they aren't following his lead.
She's also one of the few that didn't absolutely jump at the chance to attack him when other republicans were tripping over themselves for the chance to talk like democrats in front of a camera.

Good choice?
Not at all.
My choice for '24?
Not yet - not even close.
Maybe not ever.
My choice if it comes down to her or Brandon (or some other random fascist Marxist democrat) ??
Absolutely.

I sincerely "want" to vote FOR someone to represent me - but reality keeps that pot on the back burner.
...plus, I'd vote 'for' her just to watch the fascist Marxist democrats meltdown over a pro-life republican becoming the first female elected POTUS

Even the BEST politicians give me the shits once they start to pontificate and she is no different but as I sit here looking at the state of our nation I have one single observation that can be openly debated by all who see fit...
...she's got bigger balls than most of the other vultures that are salivating at a chance to pocket some presidential campaign cash - and in modern-day aMeriKa - it's actually ok for "her" to have "balls"

That's the beauty of our system - we are free to hate them all if we want - at least until the democrats finish redefining "free speech" at which time we will have to hate in silence.

Act now - mileage may vary - batteries not included - no purchase necessary - no refunds, no returns.