Republicans in three states cancel presidential nominating contests for 2020

This is not unusual when an incumbent is running.

Lyv said:

People try tell me Trump is not the Republican party. This is one more example of how he is. He has challengers now, so the GOP is going to hand him the nomination. That gives us a glimpse of what will happen if Trump loses the general and refuses to leave the White House.

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That is perhaps the biggest lie of this whole mountain of lies... though perhaps it's more accurate to say that he is exactly what the party wants, and has wanted for decades. The rapid erosion of political and social norms under this regime, the utter destruction of international relations, none of it would have been possible without the recklessness of the WH occupant and the complicity (and occasional suggestion) of the party itself. Anyone who still thinks the GOP has not entirely become the TeaOP is deluding themselves. Anyone who thinks they can stick around and "change the party from within" by agreeing for now to disagree later is deluding themselves. This is who the the party is and what it wants. They've shown it to us, blatantly and undeniably. And they will not stop now that they've had a taste of absolute power. They will burn the country to the ground before they relinquish power - and, given how the military seems A-OK with such actions as propping up a failing private property of the president and seeing its funds raided for an unneeded border wall, that may well not be a metaphor...

Brightdreamer said:

That is perhaps the biggest lie of this whole mountain of lies... though perhaps it's more accurate to say that he is exactly what the party wants, and has wanted for decades. The rapid erosion of political and social norms under this regime, the utter destruction of international relations, none of it would have been possible without the recklessness of the WH occupant and the complicity (and occasional suggestion) of the party itself. Anyone who still thinks the GOP has not entirely become the TeaOP is deluding themselves. Anyone who thinks they can stick around and "change the party from within" by agreeing for now to disagree later is deluding themselves. This is who the the party is and what it wants. They've shown it to us, blatantly and undeniably. And they will not stop now that they've had a taste of absolute power. They will burn the country to the ground before they relinquish power - and, given how the military seems A-OK with such actions as propping up a failing private property of the president and seeing its funds raided for an unneeded border wall, that may well not be a metaphor...

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Tim Alberta's "American Carnage" is a fascinating blow-by-blow of how that came to be. (Just in case anyone missed it.)

I try to stick to the Goldwater Rule as much as possible, but I doubt people would be shocked if I said that Trump's been declining lately. Preventative measures knowing he's not fit for campaigning?

Lyv said:

South Carolina's violating their own rules to cancel theirs. They don't have to cancel primaries and wouldn't if they didn't want him. It's his party. They are him, he is them.

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CNN: Republicans move to nix primaries in show of support for Trump

It is not unprecedented for state Republicans or Democrats to decide not to hold a presidential primary when an incumbent is running essentially uncontested. In South Carolina, a key early primary state, Republicans decided to nix their presidential primaries in 1984 and 2004, when Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush were up for their second terms; while state Democrats skipped their contests in 1996 and 2012, with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama running for reelection, respectively.
"Whether or not to hold a presidential primary is a decision made by our state executive committee every four years," South Carolina GOP Chairman Drew McKissick said. "There is strong precedent on the part of both parties to not hold a primary when they control the White House."

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It's expensive to hold a primary, it eats up money that could be better spent.

There is so much to get outraged about, we don't need this. This kind of thing lures people into publicizing outrage only to be burned when the GOP brings up whataboutism.

Kjbartolotta said:

I try to stick to the Goldwater Rule as much as possible, but I doubt people would be shocked if I said that Trump's been declining lately. Preventative measures knowing he's not fit for campaigning?

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For the record, if you are not in the APA, technically you are not bound by the Goldwater Rule.

Here's an excellent 11 minute discussion summarizing the issues around Trump's mental impairment. Both the psychiatrist and the former GOP party chair are on the same side, no nonsensical gaslighting denials.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riaUFH4_tFw

WBGH News: Many people know that the field of psychiatry has typically declared it unethical for practitioners to diagnose public figures from afar, but a schism within the profession has emerged during the Trump presidency. Some experts have argued that given President Trump’s pattern of various troubling behaviors, it is important for the public to have such expert opinion available. Jim Braude was joined by Dr. Leonard Glass, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a psychiatrist at McLean Hospital, and a contributor to the book, ‘The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: :37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess A President’; and Fergus Cullen, former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party from 2007 to 2008.

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Lyv said:

Ok, that sounds like a good guideline for you and anyone else who agrees to follow. If you think it shouldn't be a thread, adding to it may not be the best move, but I am happy to hear from you. But I manage my stress and do what works for me.

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I'm certainly not demanding you or anyone do anything. We are on the same side.

i think making the republicans own both explicit and consequential support of trump is fine, but i also think it's perfectly reasonable to note how commonplace canceled primaries are.

MaeZe said:

For the record, if you are not in the APA, technically you are not bound by the Goldwater Rule.

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Well that's good, because I'm kind of lying when I say I try to stick with the Goldwater Rule.

Be gentle please.

AW Admin said:

Be gentle please.

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Yes. Because two of my favourite kids. (Not that mothers have favourites, but if they did...)

MaeZe said:

CNN: Republicans move to nix primaries in show of support for Trump
It's expensive to hold a primary, it eats up money that could be better spent.

There is so much to get outraged about, we don't need this. This kind of thing lures people into publicizing outrage only to be burned when the GOP brings up whataboutism.

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That's the point though, right? The GOP fully owned Reagan and Bush, as the Dems owned Clinton and Obama. Now the GOP fully owns Trump. That tells us something...it's official...the GOP are now authoritarian white supremicists ... and proud of it.

Diana Hignutt said:

That's the point though, right? The GOP fully owned Reagan and Bush, as the Dems owned Clinton and Obama. Now the GOP fully owns Trump. That tells us something...it's official...the GOP are now authoritarian white supremicists ... and proud of it.

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I think that happened a while back.

But along this line, I've seen a couple discussions that the issue isn't about competition for the primary, the issue is to quash criticism of Trump that will be publicized if someone runs against him.

Good thing not all states are canceling their GOP primaries.

Lyv said:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/republicans-in-three-states-cancel-primaries-and-caucuses/



So four states will apparently just crown Trump.

People try tell me Trump is not the Republican party. This is one more example of how he is. He has challengers now, so the GOP is going to hand him the nomination. That gives us a glimpse of what will happen if Trump loses the general and refuses to leave the White House.

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That Trump does not represent the GOP is a blatant lie.

He has over an 80% approval rating among Republicans. With very few exceptions, Republican senators and representatives make excuses for, or even defend, even his most outrageous statements.

There's also the fact that the GOP has been "radicalizing" evangelical Christians for decades with their rhetoric about culture wars etc (anyone else remember when they invited Buchanan to speak at the 1992 GOP convention). They made peace with him and all he stood for before the ink was dry (figuratively speaking) on the 2016 ballots.

Trump is the heart of what has become the GOP.

Given his high approval ratings among the party base--comparable to other sitting presidents' ratings within their own parties--I doubt any primary challengers will unseat Trump. It doesn't show that he is in trouble with his own base.

Actually, I'm concerned that there's another force at foot: if any of these decide, when unsuccessful in the primaries, to launch a third-party candidacy, it could very well hurt whoever the Democratic candidate is by giving any disgruntled former Trump voting independents and the small fraction of Republicans who still dislike him a third option.

he never had a chance in hell of winning the nomination anyways, but it's kinda sad because Bill Weld would make a fairly decent POTUS

Roxxsmom said:

Trump is the heart of what has become the GOP.

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Trump is a tapeworm that crawled up the ass of the GOP and ate it from the inside out. There's naught left of the elephant now but a bag of skin wrapped around squirming unpleasantness.

(I know someone will tell me the party was ever thus and, true, it has been thus all my lifetime. But I suppose in the time of Lincoln, it may've been better?)