This will do your heart good. It’s unfortunate that there are so few voices in the Republican party calling to the rest of the party to purge the poison that is Donald Trump from its collective bloodstream and to allow its body politic (and the rest of us) to recover. But we should be grateful for the few that there are. There are some Republicans who are willing to put country over party and former Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan is one of them. It is hopeful that his words can be heard and that some Republicans, even if they can’t find it in themselves to openly state that they will vote for Joe Biden, will do what’s right and do just that.
In 2017 during the first Women's March, Hawaii GOP State Rep Beth Fukumoto was the first Republican I saw denouncing Trump. I assumed more would follow, but they have been sparse and few. Glad to see Duncan, Kinziger and others calling to their party now.
— Steve Hawes (@stevehawes1) June 27, 2024
This is what’s actually left of the GOP, these few, both Dick and Liz Cheney, Adam Kinznger, a handful of others. Actual elected Republican leadership, Mitch McConnell and Mike Johnson, are utter cowards going along for the ride. They know the truth of what’s taken place in this country as well as Geoff Duncan and the others, they just don’t have the balls to say it. Here’s another GOPer for whom there may have once been hope jumping on Team MAGA.
I have been saying this for a year. They might as well dissolve and noncultist conservatives make a new party.
They will outlive the Trump Cult.— Vernon Sheldon-Witter (@sheldon_witter) June 27, 2024
The GOP is dead. Just like their predecessor party, the Whigs, who finally collapsed in the mid-1800’s due to their insistence upon the preservation and perpetuation of slavery, so this version of the Republican party has managed to self immolate due to its insistence upon MAGA and the mentally unstable MAGA candidate.
There are a few sane Republicans. Maybe they can rebuild. Somebody has to rebuild because when it becomes obvious at the polls in November that Trump is no more wanted now than he was in 2020, their choice will become a stark one: Continue to support this madness and let Trump be the standard bearer for 2028, or for God’s sake to finally cut anchor and find a new path forward?
A lot of Republicans are going to have their wake up call this fall, if not before that. I think in particular of Elise Stefanik. She was being touted as a possible Vice Presidential candidate. But the way things are shaping up right now, we hear of Doug Burgum and J.D. Vance as the front runners. That’s this week. Last week it was those two plus Marco Rubio.
Ron Filipkowski and Anthony Davis did their YouTube program “Uncovered” this afternoon. Davis concluded that Trump will probably pick Burgum because he’s another rich white guy, or if not Burgum, then Vance. Davis’ conclusion is that it’s impossible for Trump to pick a woman or a POC because he hates women and he’ll only identify with another white dude on the ticket.
It could well be. If Vance is stupid enough to soil himself in this manner, history will not be kind. And Burgum, if he’s the choice, will just be the ludicrous tag along member of the old guard Republicans. Just a rich white dude, from a sparsely populated mid-Western state, out of touch with the rest of the country and in point of fact, the perfect running mate for Donald Trump just on that basis alone.
So get ready for this show to start to rock and roll. We will know a lot more this time tomorrow night and we will know much much more by mid-July, a mere two and a half weeks in the future. I find myself wondering if Vance will get the VP spot just how far out there he will go in the *service* to Trump. I think this could be a real shitshow for all times, a Trump/Vance ticket. We will watch Vance sell his soul to Satan publicly. Burgum will just be dull but Vance will be toxic. Let’s see which way this falls.
Duncan announced he’s running for President in 2028. I’ve long thought it was Brian Kemp who was going to try and take over the GOP after 2024 and I still see that as a possibility. Kemp is on MAGA’s shit list but not so much as Duncan will be. However, Duncan displays a quality in that speech that Kemp doesn’t have. He’s more telegenic. I fear that like John Kasich he is actually a guy with terrifying views who sounds oh so reasonable and might fool voters but I’ll have to learn more about him. MAGA? We’ll have to see. IF Trump and the rest of the GOP get a thorough ass whipping this fall (far from a sure thing) MAGA will still be there but not nearly with the force it currently has. Especially with Trump in a jail cell somewhere.
The thing to watch moving forward is whether Duncan will do a Haley and walk some of this back. She would seem to be in the best position to claim the mantle in 2028 except she’s gone and bowed down and kissed Trump’s ring saying she’ll vote for him. If Duncan sticks to the bet he’s just laid down he’ll be able to claim he’s the leader needed to purge Trumpism and restore the GOP to what it was pre-Trump. In the meantime if I were him I’d hire a food taster. Brian Kemp has to be furious with him right now!
The challenge tonight, will be if Trump cannot keep his shit together in his pants, avoiding the foolish attempt of trying to say unique and informed statements …
His record of increased vile statements and name-calling, certainly would NOT produce a well-rehearsed stand-up to a blast of facts coming at him across the stage from Biden …
Trump’s statement of magnificent abilities to debate, based entirely on his supposed great experiences during his lifetime, makes me wonder how soon he will walk away from the debate saying something about his health and/or the fairness of this particular debate …
Trump has laid the rails to a prison sentence this year, especially if the stomping on Judge Cannon has made changes to trials for documents and Jan 06 insurrections …
I have to agree with Ursula, the GOP is gone so far into hell-on-earth stupidity, recovery is already doomed, unless the few smarter and stronger members we all seem to appreciate do the right things, booting out all the Trump-branded losers …