[annatar1914]

You mean like the Kennedy's?

Someone like Romney would be a fine president. He won't be president but he could tamp down the right wingers who would have to choose between fighting a republican president or the democrats. Romney believes in democracy which is a novel concept these days.

@Drlee ,

Yes, Romney is pretty much cut from the same cloth as the Kennedys.

Whether I agree with Romney or not, if you've noticed I have predicted great things in the Western world of his religion, and I would by no means discount Romney's eventual rise to the Presidency.

I think that after a while, Romney will appear to make sense to a lot of people in America before too much longer.

[Doug64]

Whether I agree with Romney or not, if you've noticed I have predicted great things in the Western world of his religion, and I would by no means discount Romney's eventual rise to the Presidency.

I think that after a while, Romney will appear to make sense to a lot of people in America before too much longer.

As much as I wish I could say otherwise, I think Romney's chances of becoming president are essentially zero. If the McCain and Huckabee campaigns hadn't conspired to lock him out of the primaries he might have had a decent shot on 2008 when the economy went south, and he did have a decent shot in 2012 undercut by his failure to aggressively defend his statements and positions. He would have made a fine president but failed as a campaigner, and now the Republican party is morphing into something that pushes his variety of Republican to the fringes, and as a result his performance as senator has alienated many of the base needed to win the candidacy. Too bad.

[annatar1914]

As much as I wish I could say otherwise, I think Romney's chances of becoming president are essentially zero. If the McCain and Huckabee campaigns hadn't conspired to lock him out of the primaries he might have had a decent shot on 2008 when the economy went south, and he did have a decent shot in 2012 undercut by his failure to aggressively defend his statements and positions. He would have made a fine president but failed as a campaigner, and now the Republican party is morphing into something that pushes his variety of Republican to the fringes, and as a result his performance as senator has alienated many of the base needed to win the candidacy. Too bad.

@Doug64 , not that I agree with him in almost anything, but a lot can change in a few years. And will.

[Doug64]

A bit of history and a worrying trend for Democrats. We can expect their racist assaults on Black Republicans to grow even worse:

History in the making: More Black Republicans running for Congress than ever before

A record number of Black Republicans are running for Congress this year, and the party says the trend accelerated with Donald Trump’s expansion of the conservative base in his 2016 campaign for the White House.

If elected, however, the Black Republicans won’t be invited to join the Democratic-dominated Congressional Black Caucus, members told The Washington Times.

The National Republican Congressional Committee counted 81 Blacks running as Republicans in 72 congressional districts this year, up from 27 in the 2020 election cycle.

NRCC spokesman Mike McAdams called the numbers “a record in the modern era” for his party.

Three Black Republicans, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina are serving in Congress. This contrasts with 55 Black Democrats from congressional districts and the two delegates from the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Mr. Donalds, a first-term lawmaker, said more Black people are running on the Republican ticket because they see more Black Republicans in office, shattering a longtime stigma in Black communities.

“They see me. They see Burgess. They saw [Rep. Allen West of Florida]. They saw [Rep. Mia Love of Utah]. They see [Virginia Lt. Gov.] Winsome Sears. They see [North Carolina Lt. Gov.] Mark Robinson,” he said. “And what they say is, ‘You know what? Maybe I should step up, too.’”

Mr. Donalds said he and other Black officials break the narrative that Black people are duty-bound to vote for Democrats.

“They’re seeing the awful things that Democratic policies have brought to their communities, and they’re just not taking it anymore. They’re looking for a new way,” he said. “And so they’re turning to Republicans because we have the answers.”

The first five Black members of Congress, all Republicans, were sworn into the 42nd Congress in 1871. Their ranks swelled to seven by 1873. That remained steady until the beginning of the 45th Congress in 1877, when the number of Black Republicans dropped to three.

That number continued to dwindle after the end of Reconstruction in the South. From 1901 to 1929, no Black Republicans were serving in Congress. After Rep. Oscar Stanton DePriest of Illinois left office in 1935, Congress had no Black Republicans until Rep. Gary Franks of Connecticut took the oath of office in 1991.

The numbers of Black Democrats in Congress grew steadily every decade since 1935, starting with Rep. Arthur Mitchell of Illinois.

Black Democrats currently serving in Congress told The Washington Times that more Black Republicans would add diversity to Capitol Hill, but they cautioned that the newcomers’ political views could marginalize them.

Rep. Danny K. Davis of Illinois said he does not expect the Congressional Black Caucus to welcome any Black Republican.

“Now, if they were to vote from time to time for issues that would be amenable and in the best interest of Blacks, there would be some welcoming,” he said. “But I don’t think they would. I’m saying, I think they would pretty much stick with the status quo.”

He added, “I think there’s an effort to recruit Blacks, but I don’t think it’s going to change anything because there won’t be enough Blacks ideologically who agree with much of the Republican philosophy.”

House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, South Carolina Democrat, said “diversity is great” on Capitol Hill.

Wesley Hunt, a Black Republican recruited by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, won the Republican primary for Texas’ 38th Congressional District last week. The Cook Political Report rates the seat as solid Republican.

John James of Michigan, who graduated from West Point with Mr. Hunt and roomed with him at the military academy, is another Black Republican running for the lower chamber.

Mr. James ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2018 and 2020 against Democratic incumbents Debbie Stabenow and Gary C. Peters, respectively. Mr. Peters narrowly defeated Mr. James by 1 percentage point.

This time, Mr. McCarthy recruited him to run in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District, which covers the Lower Peninsula north of Detroit, an area known as “The Thumb” of the state. Cook rates the district as leaning Republican.

Mr. McCarthy said the number of Black Republican candidates should have increased a long time ago.

“I think it’s fabulous,” he said in an interview. “We’ve got some amazing people who are running.”

In 2020, Mr. Trump picked up 8% of the Black vote, a roughly 2 percentage point increase from 2016, according to AP VoteCast. Mr. Trump, who campaigned in 2016 on bringing more Black voters into the party, is endorsing several Black Republican candidates this cycle, including Georgians Herschel Walker for the Senate and Vernon Jones for the House.

Gary Maloney, a Republican consultant whose Oxford doctoral thesis analyzed Black voting, said most Republicans want to vote for a Black candidate who agrees with their political views.

“More than ever before, Republican voters have African American neighbors, friends, churchgoers and schoolmates. So much integration has been achieved, especially in the suburbs, compared to decades past,” he said. “Culturally, I think, Trump’s strongman leadership style won new Black support in 2020. Whether that translates to long-term voting or Trump-like Black candidates is uncertain.”

Mr. Maloney said the Republican Party “still has a lot of work ahead to find support and leaders among Black women” and would benefit from a candidacy from somebody like Fox News Channel host Harris Faulkner.

“The GOP continues to lag among African American women,” he said.

[Scamp]

Are any Dems running for House or Senate going to want an endorsement from Biden this election coming up?

[Drlee]

Black women are the most educated ethnic/gender group in America. I think that explains why the Republican party has no traction with them.

[Rancid]

@Doug64, do you predict a MAGA Republican to be elected president, or a non-MAGA?

[Doug64]

@Rancid, define “MAGA.”

[Rancid]

@Rancid, define “MAGA.”

A Trumpist. Someone that is obsessed with culture wars and does not actually adhere to Republican values/positions. Someone that would overthrow the government if they could (like they tried on Jan 6). Someone that believes the election was stolen. In other words, a MAGA-moron. Someone that thinks it's ok to illegally pressure states to overturn elections. An enemy of democracy.

[Unthinking Majority]

Black women are the most educated ethnic/gender group in America. I think that explains why the Republican party has no traction with them.

Is that actually true? I would have guessed Asian or Jewish men, or maybe females.

[BlutoSays]

Are any Dems running for House or Senate going to want an endorsement from Biden this election coming up?

[Rancid]

[Drlee]

Is that actually true? I would have guessed Asian or Jewish men, or maybe females.

Sort of. I was trolling our little friend a little but not deceiving him. This is interesting:

https://www.thoughtco.com/black-women-most-educated-group-us-4048763

[Doug64]

A Trumpist. Someone that is obsessed with culture wars and does not actually adhere to Republican values/positions. Someone that would overthrow the government if they could (like they tried on Jan 6). Someone that believes the election was stolen. In other words, a MAGA-moron. Someone that thinks it's ok to illegally pressure states to overturn elections. An enemy of democracy.

If Trump chooses to run again, he possibly wins the primaries and if so probably wins the general election. Other than him, I can't think of a single serious Republican candidate that fits that description.

[Doug64]

Another reason the Democrats are looking at a shellacking in November:



Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball finally updated their take on the Senate:

Republicans not running: 29
Safe Republican: 15
Likely Republican: 3
Leans Republican: 2
Toss-Up: 4
Leans Democrat: 1
Likely Democrat: 2
Safe Democrat: 8
Democrats not running: 36

So on a straight up election year, with the parties splitting the toss-ups, the Republicans win back control of the Senate with 51 seats (three of the four toss-ups are Democratic seats). An election that trends Republican? Maybe 52 seats. A Republican blowout? Maybe 54 seats--still well short of filibuster-proof territory, but a comfortable buffer nonetheless. And then it would be the Republicans' turn to face pressure to at least modify the filibuster.

So most of the states have finished redistricting (though there are some lawsuits, including one targeting New York that IMHO actually has a chance). So here's where Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball has the House:

Safe Republican: 145
Likely Republican: 15
Leans Republican: 9
Toss-Up: 22
Leans Democrat: 10
Likely Democrat: 29
Safe Democrat: 146

Republicans (2020 177): 180
Democrats (2020 197): 196

That leaves 59 House seats that the Crystal Ball isn't predicting yet, but so far the edge goes to the Democrats--they've had some real success gerrymandering this census, maybe Republicans pick up a three seats (so far). But gerrymandering carries a risk, what if the election trends Republican? Then it could look something like this:

Republicans: 189 (+12)
Democrats: 187

And what if it's a Republican blowout? It could look like this:

Republicans: 198 (+21)
Democrats: 178

It'll be interesting to see how the last 59 seats play out.

And the Crystal Ball took a look at how abortion might impact the election if the Supreme Court overturns Roe. The key points:

— If the Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade later this year, it could hypothetically energize Democratic voters in the 2022 midterms. But it’s unclear whether abortion will become a big enough motivator for Democrats to overcome the historical pattern of unfavorable midterms for the party controlling the White House, particularly if concern about the coronavirus pandemic and inflation remains high.

— Our analysis suggests that 7 states are the likeliest to experience political tensions over abortion, because they have majorities or pluralities of voters who favor abortion rights but have GOP-led legislatures who may feel driven to restrict abortion access if the Supreme Court overturns Roe.

— Each of these 7 states has a highly competitive gubernatorial or Senate race on tap for this fall, and several of them have 2 such races.

[Scamp]

Black women are the most educated ethnic/gender group in America. I think that explains why the Republican party has no traction with them.

And they provide the most entertainment at Walmart.

[Scamp]

Biden is the laughing stock of all people who are not retards. It's funny, but pitiful, and it cost's all Americans at the gas pump.

[BlutoSays]

Oh, it's costing us a lot more than just high prices. This dumb F is like Jimmy Carter on steroids. I think Jimmy is relieved at this point.

[Godstud]

Bwahahaha


You're just so stupid, @BlutoSays.

I'll bet you're going to tell me that Biden affects the oil prices in the rest of the world, too, huh?

[BlutoSays]

A Trumpist. Someone that is obsessed with culture wars and does not actually adhere to Republican values/positions. Someone that would overthrow the government if they could (like they tried on Jan 6). Someone that believes the election was stolen. In other words, a MAGA-moron. Someone that thinks it's ok to illegally pressure states to overturn elections. An enemy of democracy.

Trump what? MAGA what?