Exactly. Everyone that has tried to be Trump-without-Trump has failed. Maybe someone will succeed, but it doesn't strike me as all that likely. The next nationally successful republican will need to be their own thing.
Exactly. Everyone that has tried to be Trump-without-Trump has failed. Maybe someone will succeed, but it doesn't strike me as all that likely. The next nationally successful republican will need to be their own thing.
And that’s why it’ll be fun and ugly! The GE is another story but they’re going to tear each other part trying to replace Trump. That is clear. Trump has no morals and that’s what gives him direction while the top GOP contenders do have some morals but they’d rather win which gives them no direction. It’s a whole a dichotomy of how to be a horrible person, be believable and still win. Being a billionaire asshole secures all of that.
I shudder to think what that could be. From Nixon to Reagan to G.W. Bush to Trump, they've gotten worse and worse (and yes, I skipped a couple, but the trend is clear).
I don't know if I find it encouraging or not, but I could see the pathway for candidates worse than GWB, McCain, and Romney contemporaneously. It's hard for me to envision the pathway to a candidate that is a tier worse than Trump. I know it's possible, but there are limits.
I expect the shittiness of republicans in the 2028+ era to start off in the Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis, Marsha Blackburn area. Truly horrible people but fundamentally unable to pull off Trumpism that his unique failings enable him to do with the unique failings of our society. Then a few cycles down the line someone legitimately worse will appear again.
Maybe something like the reprieve we had between Reagan and GWB.
Imagine a president who personally orders his henchmen to beat up and kill rivals, including members of the Supreme Court, and pardons himself. There are worse candidates than what we've seen from Trump so far, but we don't know how bad things will get during the remainder of his term.
Exactly. Everyone that has tried to be Trump-without-Trump has failed. Maybe someone will succeed, but it doesn't strike me as all that likely. The next nationally successful republican will need to be their own thing.
And that’s why it’ll be fun and ugly! The GE is another story but they’re going to tear each other part trying to replace Trump. That is clear. Trump has no morals and that’s what gives him direction while the top GOP contenders do have some morals but they’d rather win which gives them no direction. It’s a whole a dichotomy of how to be a horrible person, be believable and still win. Being a billionaire asshole secures all of that.
I shudder to think what that could be. From Nixon to Reagan to G.W. Bush to Trump, they've gotten worse and worse (and yes, I skipped a couple, but the trend is clear).
I don't know if I find it encouraging or not, but I could see the pathway for candidates worse than GWB, McCain, and Romney contemporaneously. It's hard for me to envision the pathway to a candidate that is a tier worse than Trump. I know it's possible, but there are limits.
I expect the shittiness of republicans in the 2028+ era to start off in the Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis, Marsha Blackburn area. Truly horrible people but fundamentally unable to pull off Trumpism that his unique failings enable him to do with the unique failings of our society. Then a few cycles down the line someone legitimately worse will appear again.
Maybe something like the reprieve we had between Reagan and GWB.
Imagine a president who personally orders his henchmen to beat up and kill rivals, including members of the Supreme Court, and pardons himself. There are worse candidates than what we've seen from Trump so far, but we don't know how bad things will get during the remainder of his term.