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Gawker: Republican With Backing Enters Presidential Race to Challenge Trump

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A

Almighty

Member
Assuming the deadline and all that hasn't passed I hope this guy gains some traction in Utah. A split vote between him, Trump, and Johnson might just make this state go blue for the presidential election and that would make my year. It's unlikely, but a man can dream.
 
L

LiveFromKyoto

Member
benjipwns said:
This same group was pushing this two months ago:

And the candidate they "found" is a House staffer with 135 twitter followers, and holds one stated political position that Barack Obama created ISIS by pulling out of Iraq.

Totally a GOP Civil War.
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You are underestimating a narrative-hungry media who have a hate-on for Trump and need some drama to sell if he's consistently polling 7-8 points behind Hillary. If I were running a cable news operation I'd have Mr. CIA & his surrogates on daily to get some juice flowing. "Attacked from both sides, how will DONALD TRUMP react?"
 
P

Phased

Member
Viewt said:
This guy?

I'm kind of curious, though - how much of Trump's voter base will actually jump to this guy? Are there that many people who are voting for him just because there's no other conservative choice? All of the sane Republicans I know are either voting for Hillary or not voting at all.
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Trumps base is always going to support him, but just judging by his turnout in the early primaries I'd guess he really only "owns" around 30% of the vote. These would be people that won't switch no matter what.

I think there's a fairly large percentage that are just voting for him because he isn't Hillary and/or because they always vote Republican. There's a lot of potential to give people an alternative Conservative to vote for that won't make them feel so overly racist.

Make no mistake I think Trump's views are largely the views of most Republicans. The problem is he's too up front about it and it makes them uncomfortable saying it out loud.

This could also be setting up for 2020 damage control. Give them someone besides Trump to endorse so they can say "see I was against Trump all along!" In 2020.

I could also be projecting what I want to happen based on what a sane party would do. The GOP are clearly not sane so it's just as likely this is nothing
 
benjipwns

benjipwns

Banned
The most prominent name associated with the group is proclaimed Clinton supporter Christine Todd Whitman.

She was also a board member of the spectacular Hindenberg that was AmericansElect.
 
B

Black Republican

Member
Redd said:
Wow. If this is really happening the Republicans just moved up some in my respeck column. Do it GOP.
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22-birdman.w190.h190.2x.jpg
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iaint gon' say no mo!
 
C

cDNA

Member
It is not really late for this, many states deadlines are over and ballot will start to get print for early voters.
 
Q

Quixzlizx

Member
Democrats shouldn't be celebrating this, since it means more people will show up to the polls to vote Republican down-tickets.
 
S

Sgt. Kabukiman

Banned
Discotheque said:
I dunno about that. Have a feeling Repub party will be as strong as ever when the legislature is voted in
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Probably, but them failing to get the presidency once again will probably trigger a huge restructuration of the party. But maybe not. I'm a big optimist at heart and I thought that would happen back when McCain was defeated in 2008. My expectations of the republicans were probably way too high.
 
S

ShaggsMagoo

Member
There could be a way that this breaks really well for Democrats. Basically, Trump gets so pissed off that this guy is gaining prominent Republican backing that he decides to go full Sherman and burn the mother to the ground. At every rally he then attacks the guy and instructs his followers not to vote for any Republican down ticket races as payback to the party elites for trying to "usurp the will of the people in the party".
 
I

Izayoi

Banned
While I'd prefer those voters stay home (and consequently weaken the down ticket races), I'll take anything that reduces the chances of Trump getting anywhere near the White House.
 
I

Iksenpets

Banned
This guy seems like kind of a nobody, but it seems like their entire strategy is to run an insurgency in Mormon country, so maybe being a Mormon BYU grad with national security experience will be enough for that. Especially if he can poach the Romney endorsement from Johnson.
 
H

HariKari

Member
McMullin, the 40-year-old chief policy director of the House Republican conference, has never held political office. A graduate of Brigham Young University and the Wharton School of Business, McMullin’s brief bio also includes a Mormon mission and stints in the CIA and Goldman Sachs.
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Was this man assembled in a laboratory? Because that reads like a distilled GOP wet dream.
 
Duane Cunningham

Duane Cunningham

Member
...I mean, the Republican base picked Trump. The GOP telling them "we don't care who you voted for" is about the biggest "fuck you" a party can give their base.
 
Z

Zeke

Member
appears designed to split off votes in states like Idaho, Texas and Utah,
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Oh god yes please do it! I would die laughing if this ended up flipping Texas this cycle. As Texan I know there is 0% chance of this happening but a man can dream.
 
A

Adaren

Member
Viewt said:
This guy?

I'm kind of curious, though - how much of Trump's voter base will actually jump to this guy? Are there that many people who are voting for him just because there's no other conservative choice? All of the sane Republicans I know are either voting for Hillary or not voting at all.
Click to expand...

His face is smaller than Trump's hands.

Babyface Evan. Sad!
 
R

_Ryo_

Member
I understand the strategy of what they're doing but it's going to backfire.

Trump supporters aren't going to suddenly vote the established down-ticket because they're going to feel betrayed that these people are not supporting Trump and that they are inserting what Trump and what his supporters will likely perceive as just another RINO into the race so late in the game.

So all it will do is help Hillary as it splits up the GOP votes for both the general election and down ticket/senate/house.
 
D

Damaniel

Banned
_Ryo_ said:
I understand the strategy of what they're doing but it's going to backfire.

Trump supporters aren't going to suddenly vote the established down-ticket because they're going to feel betrayed that these people are not supporting Trump and that they are inserting what Trump and what his supporters will likely perceive as just another RINO into the race so late in the game.

So all it will do is help Hillary as it splits up the GOP votes for both the general election and down ticket/senate/house.
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I can't help but think that this might be at least one of the goals - indirectly helping Hillary (someone they perceive as horribly wrong for the country, but at least sane when compared to Trump) without coming out and saying 'vote for Hillary!' outright. It also gives the anti-Trump conservatives (of which there are many) a way to lodge a protest vote without supporting the more libertarian policies of Gary Johnson. I don't think it will affect Trump's numbers appreciably though.
 
A

Azure Dream

Member
Duane Cunningham said:
...I mean, the Republican base picked Trump. The GOP telling them "we don't care who you voted for" is about the biggest "fuck you" a party can give their base.
Click to expand...

They could say Trump manipulated a heavily divided field in ways that should not have been allowed. Or just say that he's disqualified himself due to a number of clueless, uninformed statements. Take your pick which ones, there's plenty. The Republican voters dropped Rick Perry like a rock when he couldn't remember the Department of Energy on-stage, Trump has lapses like this all the time.

The Republican Party is probably going to split anyway. Even if many of their voters and politicians sip the Diet Racism, some aren't ready to come out as Full Bigot, and that's where the party is rocketing toward. Some people in charge still believe it's a party of fiscal conservatism, small government, and "values". Now, we know in reality they'll waste whatever money they can on over-expanding the military, want a government so big it monitors your bits in the bathroom, and "values" mysteriously don't count in an airport bathroom. But still, they're not ready or willing to go Full Trump, not openly.
 
A

Apzu

Member
Why? Wouldn't it be easier to just vote Gary Johnson instead? I mean, he seems more republican than libertarian and his name will probably be in every state ballot. So why go through the trouble of creating an independent republican candidate? He won't even manage to get to the debates.
 
benjipwns

benjipwns

Banned
Apzu said:
Why? Wouldn't it be easier to just vote Gary Johnson instead? I mean, he seems more republican than libertarian and his name will probably be in every state ballot. So why go through the trouble of creating an independent republican candidate? He won't even manage to get to the debates.
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Gary Johnson doesn't support the war on Muslims or drugs.

He wants to gut our military more than Obama (who's gutted it completely to the bone) already has.
 
S

Sho_Nuff82

Member
benjipwns said:
This same group was pushing this two months ago:

And the candidate they "found" is a House staffer with 135 twitter followers, and holds one stated political position that Barack Obama created ISIS by pulling out of Iraq.

Totally a GOP Civil War.
Click to expand...

Gonna have to side with Benji and common sense over Gawker on this one.
 
L

Lord Frieza

Member
Netherscourge said:
Anything that dilutes Trump's voters is a good thing.
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Yeah, pretty much how I feel about it. I don't think this will get real traction, but even if it takes way a dribble of Trump's voters in any capacity, it's good. Anything and everything, big or small, to take away from the potential of Trump getting into office.

benjipwns said:
Gary Johnson doesn't support the war on Muslims or drugs.

He wants to gut our military more than Obama (who's gutted it completely to the bone) already has.
Click to expand...

Eh?
 
I

Iksenpets

Banned
Zeke said:
Oh god yes please do it! I would die laughing if this ended up flipping Texas this cycle. As Texan I know there is 0% chance of this happening but a man can dream.
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Hillary's apparently sending Tim Kaine to campaign in Austin. She's at least toying with the idea of making a go at it.

And really Texas is a demographic disaster from Trump. His whole strategy hinges on alienating college-educated whites and all minorities in order to gain with uneducated whites, but uneducated, working-class whites aren't a major force in Texas, and insofar as they do exist, they were all already voting Republican anyway. Meanwhile, the state Republican Party is very reliant on college-educated whites and a substantial number of conservative Latinos, both groups Trump is turning away. And then there's the fact that turnout is typically low among liberal Latinos, which Trump could remedy by turning them out to protest vote.

Even if she doesn't win it, I could easily see it being the state with the harshest percentage drop in Republican support from 2012 to 2016, outside of maybe Utah where Mormons just seem to loathe Trump.
 
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