Posted on 08/24/2023 6:16:03 AM PDT by Reno89519
Only two questions mattered going into Wednesday night’s GOP primary debate.
Number one: Would any one viable candidate stand out among the crowd?
Number two: If the answer to the first was “Yes,” would our champion distinguish themselves by acting as the absent Donald Trump’s proxy or by setting up a favorable contrast with the frontrunner?
Trump’s decision to sit out the first forum of the 2024 primary season has been cast as a cautious, cowardly decision.
It was undoubtedly the latter, but despite the illusion of political safety, the choice also came with considerable risks.
If another candidate was able to command the stage, it would be a strong sign that the race is not predestined to end with Trump atop the ticket as so many pundits have suggested.
By not showing up, Trump risked ceding centerstage to a younger, less fearful rival.
Of course, not everyone on stage represented a genuine threat.
...
DeSantis answered the first with a resounding yes.
And even if he didn’t go for the kill on Wednesday, DeSantis demonstrated a willingness – and ability – to take Trump on.
He’s playing for the top prize, not a place in Trump’s Cabinet, or more likely his court at Mar-a-Lago.
With his performance, DeSantis cemented himself as the man best suited to unseat Trump as the undisputed champion of Republican politics.
While so many of his colleagues onstage replied to questions with a decided lack of purpose, DeSantis spoke both fluently and passionately.
...
Judging from Wednesday night, DeSantis alone appears to have the stuff to beat Trump.
It may remain an uphill battle, but by beginning the climb, he may have the man at the top of the mountain second-guessing his decision to sit Wednesday out.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Desantis did OK. Christie looked like a massive A-hole. Pence surprised me with his performance.
But I thought the standout, by a country mile, was Ramaswamy. He is young, unproven, no political experience but virtually every response was a homerun.
Everybody else was just kinda there.
“Flipped”. You’re not smart. Flipping is used to drum up the idea that Trump is guilty and everyone is banding together to prevent the good guys (the FBI and the Government) from learning the truth. This is MOB talk because they tended to “never snitch”. This is pure media propaganda and because of your love for Desanctimonius you eat it up without thinking. One of the many reasons most of this thread is people mocking you and your lover.
I would not use the word coward. But Trump did cede the platform. He stayed home and watched the debate by all reports. The resulting debate last night was not about Trump, not about rehashing the 2020 election, it was raucous, and I do think that DeSantis is the only one that really has a shot at 2024. Wow, Christie and Haley had their moments smacking down Ramaswamy, it was DeSantis that was steady throughout, very disciplined.
Your guy’s behavior during the past 6 months has convinced me that he is as deep state as McCain and Romney. Both of them voluntarily hit the mat for Obama and that is exactly why our country is in the shape that it is in today.
Ron is being advised by the wrong people.
As someone who worked in the TV ratings business for thirty years. The ratings on cable show the number of people who watched the debate for 5 minutes. They do not show people who watched the whole debate. And then that number is rounded to the nearest .1% of the TV/cable watching public at that time. So you are talking about a very small group that may have turned it off after watching for 5 minutes. There is more to this math. But the idea that the X numbers may be smaller than the cable numbers is just wrong. People will be going back to watch Trump over the next days. That debate is likely to fall away.
But the important point here is that FOX and the Post are both owned by the same company. And that company hates Trump and Tucker. So neither the Post nor Fox can be trusted with this story at all. Fox would like to own the republican candidate. They don’t like Trump fans who have taken their bat and ball and gone home. They no longer care what Fox says. And this is the real point about Trump. He is the outsider. And those people on that stage aren’t. They are the group Fox is trying to sell you. Trump voters are no longer listening.
Fox and the republican party are going to have to ask themselves, are their donors more important than there voters. Because the republican donors and voters have two wildly different ideals. Fox and the party seems to be siding with money over America. Fox and the party will lose. But will America survive?
https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1694513603251241143
183 million views ………. America rests its case
That was probably his goal. It just doesn't come off as Presidential and in a young package confidence that he can do the job wanes.
I rate the debate for GOP Presidential nominee as:
DeSantis
Pence
Scott
Haley
The rest showed up, threw some punches, but won't matter very long from now.
Vivek might catch a boost from the debate, but I can't see it lasting. But even then, if it came down to it in the primary, I would vote for him before Trump.
I am not “offended” in the slightest, just perplexed that you could ask me that question when my opinions on the subject are pretty clearly stated in my posting.
Good analogy. Although I'd say that DeSantis himself is akin to a stuffed toy at a small county fair. Somebody who needs to hire people to tell him how to behave in public.
Just another pol with no thoughts of his own. Nothing, really, except a will to power. And a tepid will at that.
Trump supporters are hyping Vivek too it appears. To them, it is all about who emerged as the best VP candidate, like it is a debate for second banana. I do see passion in Vivek's supporters so I agree with you there. I just don't see it translating to POTUS, it's a stretch too far for me currently.
Debate was a wasted 20 seconds of my life.
The jet black hair color (a new feature) and whiney voice is not appealing. Meatball looked like he had been dressed and concocted in central casting and made for TV.
His handlers should allow him to embrace a little bit of the inner fetterman to make him not come off as a GOPe plant so much.
In other threads, even ones about Meatball, he is hardly mentioned. Conversation veers off to those that were noticed.
Sounds like typical FOX propaganda.
The flip side, does trump have a path to get DeSantis supporters? Because with out a doubt both men will need the others supporters in the general.
The GOP will never win another election again without MAGA. Get this through your heads Never Trump Idiots.
“DeSantis won.” Your opinion, which does not mean anything to anyone, except other DeSantis supporters. But I admire your assertion, as there doesn’t seem to be any ambiguity. I reserve judgement as to “who won”, but I will keep a tabulation of the votes on FR.
“And you realize that the 175 were people that somehow opened the tweet. It has NOTHING to do with watching the video. Only 43K commented, so likely closer to the count. But good luck with that. Besides, the debate was on Rumble, where I watched it, and on Fox. It was live, not pre-recorded and edited. The conversation was interesting, but quiet, boring. The debate, live and exciting.”
“Like you, I watched it end-to-end, but did not comment.”
*the above is Reno89519 own comments*
Seems as though you defeat your own argument.
Make your points about why you think Desantis would be a better choice than Trump but use some critical thinking rather than emotion driven attempt to change or make an imagined narrative.
No. Trump has been given their regard for his front-runner status. They gave kudos to three others.
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