What if the republicans ran a centrist candidate

[Crackpot]

(Aside from Chris Christy that is, too much scandal)

I still count myself as a middle of the road Centrist (Tho I have resigned myself to exclusively voting democrat till the far right is out of control of the party) but I wonder who would win if the right could at least realistically field as a centrist candidate?

Seeing as support for Biden is lukewarm at best what could happen if the Republicans put out a candidate put themself in a centrist role?

Outside of Christie and DeSantis (who is currently trying to out trump Trump and failing miserably) every other candidate is running as Trump, but, not Trump.

[Bicycle Bill]

Your point about a centrist candidate is valid.

My biggest concern, though, is that the GOP figures this out and chooses to run a relative unknown centrist-appearing candidate (I don't know who this might be, but there must be someone out there who would fit that description and would stand a chance against a guy who is being seen, more and more, as just a little bit out of it – I mean, nibbling on a girl's shoulder?  Seriously??).  Then, once this guy is elected and in office, he then reveals himself as a false-flag Trojan Horse and does a one-eighty to become as bad if not worse that Dumb'old Trump and Rhonda Santos combined.

-"BB"-

[BoSoxGal]

This is a pointless exercise in fever dreaming - today’s Republican Party wants nothing to do with Charlie Baker or Mitt Romney republicans. The party chair even changed her name to disavow her Romney family ties because the cult leader demanded it. It’s a nice notion crackpot but hopefully you realize how deeply broken the party is such that a centrist will not hold.

[Burning Petard]

Just what in the name of philosophical clarity, is a centrist republican? The thread about the Garfield cat led me to look at the Prexy Garfield assassination. Lots of good stuff in wikipedia. Such as it took weeks for the president to die, after every star medico available had stuck his unwashed finger into the bullet wound and Alexander G. Bell brought in the latest electronic technology. Garfield was given a special diet that included some kind of oatmeal that the president thought was horrible. He was informed that the American indian, Sitting Bull, a federal prisoner, was starving to death. The president declared, let him starve. No send him my oatmeal. But it all made me wonder if the core view of the Republican party has changed since that time. Has there ever even BEEN a core view? The conservative wing wanted more political power for freed slaves. The liberal wing was all against that. Has the label liberal or conservative EVER made sense in American politics?

snailgate

[Jarlaxle]

Your point about a centrist candidate is valid.

My biggest concern, though, is that the GOP figures this out and chooses to run a relative unknown centrist-appearing candidate (I don't know who this might be, but there must be someone out there who would fit that description and would stand a chance against a guy who is being seen, more and more, as just a little bit out of it – I mean, nibbling on a girl's shoulder?  Seriously??).  Then, once this guy is elected and in office, he then reveals himself as a false-flag Trojan Horse and does a one-eighty to become as bad if not worse that Dumb'old Trump and Rhonda Santos combined.

-"BB"-

There is no possible way I would be that lucky.

[Big RR]

You'd honestly like a candidate to reverse his or her positions and separate him or herself from the platform they ran on? To me, that could be very dangerous; unless you just don't give a damn what the electorate thinks and would give the elected person carte blanche to do whatever they choose. It's that type of thing that can spark violent reactions. But you would consider it "lucky"?

Sure, politicians back off on some of their positions everyday--but an elected centrist assuming Trump's/DeSantis' is far more that that.

[BoSoxGal]

I briefly harbored a fantasy that after Election Day in 2016 Trump would ‘pull a fast one’ and become his previous Democrat-leaning self and govern accordingly, and with some degree of respect for the institutions.

Instead he did surprise the people around him, but in different ways - by demonstrating again and again his allegiance to only himself and not to any party or the country as a whole. The whole country got an education on what malignant narcissism looks like up close.

Honestly any candidate who could run a successful presidential campaign putting on a total act - and a truly vile one at that, following the MAGA cult- and then flip to something dramatically different would likely be some level of psychopath beyond what we need in the Oval. I’m enjoying having a sane old man there at present - one who is getting some good things done - and just hope he prevails and stays healthy until 2028 and hopefully by then this MAGA fever is broken and we can get some version of sane younger person in there.

[Big RR]

BSG--when was he left leaning; I recall his books like "The America We deserve" were right wing (almost libertarian) tripe, but I never recall him leaning to the dems. Sure, he became a bigger jerk as time when on, but he started out as a jerk--you know, the self-made man who started out with all his Daddy's money. Did I miss something?

FWIW, I do recal he donated to dem campaigns in the 80s, but then NYC was pretty much democratic, and he needed support of the politicians--and many dems in the city were pretty much like republicans anyway.

[Sue U]

I briefly harbored a fantasy that after Election Day in 2016 Trump would ‘pull a fast one’ and become his previous Democrat-leaning self and govern accordingly, and with some degree of respect for the institutions.

Instead he did surprise the people around him, but in different ways - by demonstrating again and again his allegiance to only himself and not to any party or the country as a whole. The whole country got an education on what malignant narcissism looks like up close.

Nobody who knew anything about Donald Trump -- and there have been plenty of opportunities to learn about him since the 1980s -- was surprised by "his allegiance to only himself and not to any party or the country as a whole" after the 2016 election. Here's an exchange between Lord Jim (z"l; PBUH) and myself in 2010 when The Media were speculating about whether Trump might run in 2012:

Yeah, this is just another Trump scam. The guy is a relentless self-promoter and a weasel of the first order; why is he always referred to as "billionaire Donald Trump" rather than "failed casino operator Donald Trump" or "narrowly-avoided-personal-bankruptcy-through-legal-sleight-of-hand Donald Trump"?

On the other hand, if a billionaire who was actually qualified....3 term NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg....a serious, thoughtful, competent, and capable man....

Were to make the run, I'd give very serious consideration to supporting him.

I would also give serious consideration to Bloomberg. I wouldn't vote for him, but I would think the party that nominated him is probably not completely dominated by total idiots.

As Big RR notes, if you want to be a player in NY/NJ you 're going to contribute to Democratic politicians. Not necessarily because of your own political orientation or even in the expectation of governmental favors, but because it admits you into the world of "movers and shakers" who populate political fund-raising events. That's where you make the necessary connections and get yourself known by the people who know people and who have money to invest in your soon-to-be-insolvent business ventures. (Trump's entire business career has literally been acting out the plot of The Producers in real life.)

[Big RR]

Springtime for Trump?

[Jarlaxle]

You'd honestly like a candidate to reverse his or her positions and separate him or herself from the platform they ran on? To me, that could be very dangerous; unless you just don't give a damn what the electorate thinks and would give the elected person carte blanche to do whatever they choose. It's that type of thing that can spark violent reactions. But you would consider it "lucky"?

Sure, politicians back off on some of their positions everyday--but an elected centrist assuming Trump's/DeSantis' is far more that that.

At this point, yes I would.

[Sue U]

You'd honestly like a candidate to reverse his or her positions and separate him or herself from the platform they ran on? To me, that could be very dangerous; unless you just don't give a damn what the electorate thinks and would give the elected person carte blanche to do whatever they choose. It's that type of thing that can spark violent reactions. But you would consider it "lucky"?

Sure, politicians back off on some of their positions everyday--but an elected centrist assuming Trump's/DeSantis' is far more that that.

At this point, yes I would.

Maybe you should move to another country. Have you considered that democracy may not be right for you?

[Big RR]

I was thinking the same thing.

[BoSoxGal]

I hear it’s nice in Hungary this time of year. Also the American expat community in North Korea is growing.

[Jarlaxle]

I hear it’s nice in Hungary this time of year. Also the American expat community in North Korea is growing.

The ones who scream about leaving never actually do...funny that.

[Bicycle Bill]

The ones who scream about leaving never actually do...funny that.

And the ones who DO leave never stay away ... looking at you, Ted Cruz.

-"BB"-