The 2024 Presidential Election- The LONG General Election

[commando]

i started being concerned when the far right started gaining influence in the republican party....and now that the far right comprises so much of the party i just can't support it anymore.   the crazy train basically threw me off  and i am thankful to not be there anymore.   while i may not agree with a lot of what the dems are doing..... they are much closer to center overall than the current state of the republicans.   and i think the center is where america functions best. 

[knapplc]

4 minutes ago, Guy Chamberlin said:

So what most encouraged you guys to be ex-Republicans, and willing to consider Democratic candidates? 

 

Mostly Newt Gingrich and his shenanigans in the 90s. Clinton was a toad but that impeachment was clearly a witch hunt. The way they targeted the Clintons - and do to this day - was slimy, and I didn't want to be associated with that. 

 

One of my coworkers at the time loved conservative talk radio. Laura Schlessinger, and there was another one I'm not remembering. Had that garbage on all day. That turned me off conservatism more than anything. It was non-stop hate of all things liberal. I had never really thought about it before - my parents were Republican, so I was, too. But hearing that hate all day, every day, non-stop was really off-putting. 

 

16 minutes ago, Guy Chamberlin said:

Why are we conceding that this isn't likely to happen anymore?

 

I'm not sure whose comment this is a reaction to, but I'll take a stab. If they're willing to stick with the Republican party through the last ten years, I very much doubt they're going to have a come-to-Jesus moment. If they can still support a party that is ride or die on the 2nd Amendment after Sandy Hook, ugh. If they can support a party that is ride or die with trump after 1/6, ugh. If they can support a party after Citizens United, "stop the steal" and the eroding of voting rights across the country, ugh. If the trump era didn't bounce people from that party, I have a hard time imagining what will. 

 

This is a party that once described itself as the moral majority. They're largely Christian. They claim to have values, but clearly don't. If a person is part of that party, or supporting that party, today, having lived through the last ten years, they are clinging on with some seriously deep claws. 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Yeah, I can think of a dozen defining moments that should have given Republicans and Christians pause, but didn't. 

 

Actually, a sizable wing of high profile Republicans tried to distance themselves from Donald Trump in the January 6 aftermath, citing unassailable evidence and respect for the rule of law. And then they were frightened back into appeasement and bald-faced lying. Seemingly by voter backlash. 

 

I keep thinking there's a place in the Venn diagram where rural Americans can identify first as good neighbors, pragmatists, and bulls#!t detectors — admirable qualities all — and then be shown how those qualities don't quite align with the party and policies they've been endorsing. In no way are you required to love Nancy Pelosi. You just have to call bulls#!t where you find it. 

 

You're better than this, rural America. 

 

 

[BigRedBuster]

1 hour ago, Guy Chamberlin said:

So what most encouraged you guys to be ex-Republicans, and willing to consider Democratic candidates? 

 

Why are we conceding that this isn't likely to happen anymore?

 

I don't have an answer or much of a theory. Just looking for connections. 

 

 

 

 

For me, it was the Iraq war. Before that, I was one hell of a gung ho Republican supporting all of our military operations that Republicans told us we should support.  Then, I realized they lied to us.  Then, I started questioning everything.  Then I realized the right wing media was nothing more than an mouth piece for the party.....furthering the lies.  I realized their entire BS about the MSM was nothing but that...BS because they took some bias in the MSM towards liberals and put it on steroids the other direction.  So, I stopped listening to them.  Then....the whole world opened up as far as what I believe and who I vote for.

 

I'm not sure what you're asking with the bolded.

[Guy Chamberlin]

1 minute ago, BigRedBuster said:

For me, it was the Iraq war. Before that, I was one hell of a gung ho Republican supporting all of our military operations that Republicans told us we should support.  Then, I realized they lied to us.  Then, I started questioning everything.  Then I realized the right wing media was nothing more than an mouth piece for the party.....furthering the lies.  I realized their entire BS about the MSM was nothing but that...BS because they took some bias in the MSM towards liberals and put it on steroids the other direction.  So, I stopped listening to them.  Then....the whole world opened up as far as what I believe and who I vote for.

 

That's genuinely inspiring. 

 

It seems the things that drove you to an open mind are even more pronounced and biased today, but having less effect on the gung-ho Republicans. 

[NM11046]

Love this convo - thanks guys.

 

I do wonder how much at this point isn't even a Republican aligning to the party as much as it is that they'd be too embarrassed to admit now that it's not the party for them after all they've stuck by them on.  It takes courage to leave during the times we're in.

 

I mean you see some of the former GOP elected officials and employees like Nicole Wallace, Christine Whitman, Evan McMillan and more and they made a big statement coming out and leaving the party but then there's Bill Kristol, the Cheney's and others that disagree with everything the party is doing, but make a big point about staying in ... 

 

I mean for me and those of you above that shared your stories, it's not a hard decision to make if you are paying attention, and god forbid the Dems take a turn and start doing crazy stuff I don't think I'd have a problem stepping away from the party.  My loyalty isnt to the party, it's to the issues and how they go about resolving them.

[Born N Bled Red]

Whats remarkable to me is how much of the stories here sound like the stories of people who have chosen to leave the Mormon Church or Church of Scientology (not trying to put these two religions on the same level in case we have any Mormon posters.) 

 

 

[Ulty]

39 minutes ago, Born N Bled Red said:

Whats remarkable to me is how much of the stories here sound like the stories of people who have chosen to leave the Mormon Church or Church of Scientology (not trying to put these two religions on the same level in case we have any Mormon posters.) 

 

 

[NM11046]

6 hours ago, Born N Bled Red said:

Whats remarkable to me is how much of the stories here sound like the stories of people who have chosen to leave the Mormon Church or Church of Scientology (not trying to put these two religions on the same level in case we have any Mormon posters.) 

 

 

Or catholicism ...

[TGHusker]

 

 

This writer argues that the Dems need to nominate Michelle Obama  -  Biden is a failed president aka Jimmy Carter,  Harris is a non-starter.  Hilary being the other possible emergency candidate.  

 

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/592505-michelle-obama-democrats-2024-break-glass-in-case-of-emergency-candidate

[TGHusker]

On 1/13/2022 at 12:35 PM, knapplc said:

I'm not sure whose comment this is a reaction to, but I'll take a stab. If they're willing to stick with the Republican party through the last ten years, I very much doubt they're going to have a come-to-Jesus moment. If they can still support a party that is ride or die on the 2nd Amendment after Sandy Hook, ugh. If they can support a party that is ride or die with trump after 1/6, ugh. If they can support a party after Citizens United, "stop the steal" and the eroding of voting rights across the country, ugh. If the trump era didn't bounce people from that party, I have a hard time imagining what will. 

 

This is a party that once described itself as the moral majority. They're largely Christian. They claim to have values, but clearly don't. If a person is part of that party, or supporting that party, today, having lived through the last ten years, they are clinging on with some seriously deep claws. 

Well put.  Ok, you all know how I was/am a big Reagan fan.  But when I saw the GOP changing over the last 2.5 decades it was a sign that the party was no longer the party of Reagan (yes he had his flaws and not a perfect president - same as all presidents) For me I was a big Iraq war supporter to begin wt but some of the cracks came in my view point when I tried to reconcile the terrorist attacks wt why we needed to go into Iraq after it became a disaster and why weren't we finishing the job in Afgan.   During that time I was a  big Glenn Beck and Rush fan - but over time I realize all of their negativity was starting to poison my spirit. Once I withdrew from talk radio I started thinking more clearly about issues without the GOP bias. That prepared me for Trump.  Seeing him get nominated (that the GOP would actually nominate someone like him just was very eye opening) and then his actual governing just became a 'come to Jesus' moment for me.   This last election I voted for more Dems and independents than I did GOPers.  It felt good to be honest with you.  I feel that I'm returning to the politics of my youth - politics of compassion & common sense when Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern (my first vote as an 18 year old was for McGovern's Senate re-election in SD) and Robert Kennedy were people I admired.  Humphrey unfortunately was soiled by LBJ but he would have been a good to great president - instead of Nixon.   Back then Dems could be 'liberal' and also full of common sense and likeable.  Today's politics make most politicians not so likeable these days.   

[teachercd]

15 hours ago, TGHusker said:

 

 

This writer argues that the Dems need to nominate Michelle Obama  -  Biden is a failed president aka Jimmy Carter,  Harris is a non-starter.  Hilary being the other possible emergency candidate.  

 

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/592505-michelle-obama-democrats-2024-break-glass-in-case-of-emergency-candidate

I am still shocked that she is/has not run for office.  I think she would win with ease and assuming she doesn't try to destroy what we can eat like she did with what students can eat for lunch, she would be a shoe in.

 

Even hardcoore D's don't like Biden and realize that he is just a placeholder.

[BigRedBuster]

 

[admo]

Who's running in '24 for the Dem Party? 

 

I think the transition from Biden to veep was the obvious plan. Having Harris obviously backfired.  I think it could have possibly worked, because there were better VP candidates to select from.  The 4th year of the Biden administration was to pump up the veep as the incumbent party nominee.

 

So who's running in '24 now?  Biden or ???

[funhusker]

13 minutes ago, admo said:

Who's running in '24 for the Dem Party? 

 

I think the transition from Biden to veep was the obvious plan. Having Harris obviously backfired.  I think it could have possibly worked, because there were better VP candidates to select from.  The 4th year of the Biden administration was to pump up the veep as the incumbent party nominee.

 

So who's running in '24 now?  Biden or ???

Hopefully not Biden. Especially if Trump wins the nomination.

 

it’s funny though.  Biden was supposed to be the “safe” dem that would be an alternative to Trump that some republican voters would be okay with.  Apparently he was.

 

Not that he is a raging liberal, but he doesn’t seem strong.  Go figure…

 

Do the Dems have a young “safe” candidate or are all their youngest possibilities too “woke” (did I use that correctly?).

 

I really feel if Trump were to run against a young “Biden political type” he would get absolutely crushed.  Does that person exist?