Friends, today was a big, big day in terms of political news. For one thing, Florida Senator Rick Scott decided to wage an uphill campaign to unseat Mitch McConnell as the Minority Leader in that august body. I'm hoping Scott will have success, but, whether he does or doesn't, hopefully McConnell will learn a lesson about how he can't take for granted the support of his fellow Republicans.
Meanwhile, House Republicans have chosen Kevin McCarthy as their candidate for Speaker. That's hardly a surprise, but the even better news for McCarthy is that, according to Newsmax, Republicans have clinched a majority in the House, meaning that his aspirations just got a lot more achievable. McCarthy won't have an easy time of it with such a razor-thin edge over the Dems, and with a number of his caucus members promising to test his patience with their RINO or MAGA tendencies, respectively. Still, displacing Nancy Pelosi and the Dem leadership in the House is a very big deal. It means Republicans are in a position to block many aspects of the Biden agenda -- if they can stand together long enough to do so...
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/gop-house-majority/2022/11/15/id/1096454/
In even bigger news, Donald J. Trump -- heard of him? -- has announced his candidacy for the presidency, filing to run in 2024, as was almost universally anticipated. Trump still leads in almost every poll of Republican preferences, but those leads seem to be shrinking, as Governor Ron DeSantis's star rises in the wake of his massive win over Charlie Crist last Tuesday. The media is positively salivating at this golden opportunity to humiliate and defeat Trump...once more, but they and we would be foolish to underestimate him. So, Trump is running. Will DeSantis? Will other Republicans? Stay tuned!
https://www.newsmax.com/headline/donald-trump-2024-presidential/2022/11/14/id/1096352/
Dr.Waddy from Jack: The way things look now Trump -Desantis could be a good ticket. DeSantis must not alienate Maga nation. His demonstrated policies should endear him to Trump loyalists but perhaps not enough abandon President Trump. So very much is in play now. Manchin and Sinema could upset Schumer's little play house by defecting if Walker were to score. Probability? Not.
ReplyDeleteDr.Waddy from Jack: I dunno; Pelosi never let her razor thin margin stop her from presuming to.force her way on us. We should do the same and show no misgivings about it. We'll have this advantage for two years; lets block, lets investigate, lets subpoena, lets have our Speaker constantly in the public eye. We get no political quarter from these people; lets offer none.
ReplyDeleteTrue, Jack, Pelosi squeezed a lot out of her tiny majority, but she had the Senate and Sleepy Joe to work with... We've got no such advantages. Seems to me that all we can do is obfuscate and posture for the next two years, but we will need to deliver budgets, and those can be political traps. I suspect the Bidenistas would love to lure us into a government shutdown, and our caucus "moderates" would love to balk and hand Biden a victory in such a shutdown.
ReplyDeleteTrump-DeSantis '24? I doubt it. The longer DeSantis toys with running himself, the more Trump will atack him, and the further they will drift apart. Trump CAN and has mended fences with former enemies, but he didn't name Jeb Bush as his running mate -- and for good reason. No, I think either DeSantis needs to hop on the Trump Train ASAP, or he never will.
Dr.Waddy from Jack: It would be wise of DeSantis to endorse President Trump at an opportune moment. He would gain IOUs , assuage Trump nation, avoid schism ,place himself well for 2028 and be a distinct asset to the ticket, on or off of it. If he shows himself a team player, his time may well come, to our benefit
ReplyDeleteJack, I always made the same assumption, but it doesn't look like DeSantis is falling in line with our analysis. The longer he plays coy, the greater the rift between him and Trump. I suspect, looking at the polls, he believes he can beat Trump, and the time is now to turn the page. Pretty much every establishment figure he talks to will tell him the same thing.
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