scoobdog

That makes sense only in that it's the most plausible, but it's still difficult to see what the short term goal is. Certainly, there are both better and easier ways to distract voters away from state and local issues, none of which run the risk of torpedoing one of your core platform principles in the long run.

When you're a bloated hand puppet for a tiny fist, you have all the time in the world to do what other people tell you to do.

So, what did you do on your big day?

It’s late, but you still deserve it. HBD, cool chick.

She really deserves her own birthday thread….

I don't know what I'm looking at, but I like it a lot.

Is it terrible that it made the most sense to me out of anything?

Right. We're getting bad Republican candidates because wealthy powerbrokers are staying away and no one qualified is stepping up to supplant them.

I haven't really seen any evidence of a concerted effort to get him on the ballot prior to Trump. He does have a lot of name recognition in his home state and he certainly has been vocal about conservative causes before making him a fairly reliable mouthpiece for the cause. MTG, iirc, got into politics explicitly to be a Trump Acolyte. But, you're right, Trump isn't the mechanism that gets these campaigns off and running. Peter Thiel is one notable wealthy donor that's pushed some highly questionable candidates. Still, even he tends to back away when the candidate starts to show signs of being fairly stupid. The more likely answer is that we're getting these bad candidates not because of any wealthy donor pushing them through, but because they resonate with the most activate members of the extreme right. They tend to make it through the primary rounds because of a toxic cocktail of relatively small races (not a lot of interest from qualified candidates), relatively cheap campaigns, and a general disinterest by mainstream Republican voters. All this talk about the Red Wave obscures the fact that there is a good deal of Republicans that might agree with even the most odious or conservative political values (like abortion bans), but don't necessarily like the candidates pushing those values. Trump has created a power vacuum of sorts by portraying himself as a power broker without doing any of the work. He doesn't have a apparatus for locating and grooming potential candidates. He has no ability to negotiate with the establishment to coordinate campaigns for candidates he likes. His only power comes from his bully pulpit, and that pulpit is so prominent that no one else can overcome the advantage. The short answer is that we're getting bad candidates not because wealthy powerbrokers are pushing them, but because wealthy powerbrokers have mostly been MIA.

Fairly certain he got the idea to run because Trump liked him sucking up. Obvious as it is, it can't be overstated how much Trump's pandering to sycophants has directly contributed to unqualified candidates, either through him pushing them to run or through them openly courting him. Herschel was a frequent prop at Trump's rallies during his failed 2020 campaign. MTG and Hoebart openly courted Trump and used his prestige to get elected in their conservative districts as well.

I've never trusted ramps. They tend to be insecure even if they don't collapse like that.

Happy Birthday, dudes.

Only one person told Herschel he would make an excellent US Senator.

Unpopular take.... Maybe he's just visiting because he thinks he can negotiate directly with the DOJ. He's been known to do that.

Clay Helton is feeling it. Meanwhile....

Happy Birthday, Stillz. Come celebrate with your UEMB crew.

That's not entirely fair. He wasn't actually hated before meeting her, but she did have far more charisma and presence in general than he did. The problem with having a partner that charismatic is that when things happen, you become an instant villain. That's not to absolve him from any blame for the collapse of that relationship and his subsequent inability to protect her from the intense pressure. It's just that the very thing that made her so beloved to the people was what made her incompatible with the stiff constraints of royal life itself. A lot of the blame Charles gets for her tragic life is rightly directed at the institution itself. In the intervening year, Charles' activism has garnered him some begrudging respect and, out of her shadow, he's been able to hold his own.

Kay starts moving in today, so it could be rainy.

I only recall it being something royal watchers were pushing for in the wake of Diana’s death. Both Charles and Camilla kept extremely low around that time.

I’m not entertaining this bullshit. There is no evidence Zelensky actively supported the Azov Batallion in any way. It’s far more likely the Ukrainian military was forced to integrate them simply because having them as a second front in the fight against the Russians. You suggesting that Zelensky stood by as neo nazis murdered Russians is stupid.

I don;t think you're the problem with that last thread. I too voted for him and I'd do it again.

Fixed that for you.

Jesus Fucking Christ