tvc184

It clearly appears that everyone knew this was nonsense to begin with. Listening to some of the oral arguments in front of the Supreme Court, even the very liberal justices had a hard time accepting anything from Colorado. I think it was Kagan or Sotomayor who asked something like, if this is allowed, could other states then remove Biden from the ballot?

… and I still think that Trump is going to pick someone who is not being discussed.

The “love of country” won’t sway any votes. Her best feature is it for a middle-age woman, she is extremely attractive. She might be very likable to masculine type guys but most of them will be voting for Trump anyway so…… I am not against her in the least. Noem would probably be seen as very likable, maybe more than most people. She might be very popular in her home state of South Dakota, and that might even translate somewhat into North Dakota but both of those went Republican in 2020.

That is what I was referring to with Gabbard. It should not be a person that anyone thinks can truly be the next president if needed but the person who can win the election. It doesn’t always work that way as the candidates or their handlers don’t always seem to be the politically most intelligent. I think it’s because most of them do not live inside the real world. Like Ramaswamy, Lake would be a Trump clone except a female. I am not against that, but what was she bring to the table other than her sex? Nothing except a long shot at winning AZ.

Seriously, which president would pick a running mate in order to have someone play devil’s advocate? It was not the vp but look at the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama presidential primary. That was a very lively primary to say the least with accusations going both ways. So who does he pick for Secretary of State (The most powerful position outside the president)? Hillary Clinton. Does she even do what she claimed that she would do or did she follow the directions of the president? Which presidential candidate would ever pick a vp running mate thinking, this person is going public and criticizing things that I do or will not follow the party as I dictate? I will make it easy ….. none.

A puppet for what? The veep has virtually no constitutional authority. We could say that every cabinet member is a puppet because the cabinet member has actual authority to do the bidding of the president in their particular field.

Mostly presidents choose who might swing a few votes. The Veep isn’t likely to lose votes but could potentially swing a close state. Presidential nominees aren’t exactly known for choosing a front runner or what the talking heads feel is a “likely” pick. It’s like Nixon choosing Gerald Ford (although in the middle of a presidency and not a primary), Ford choosing Dan Quayle, Mondale choosing Geraldine Ferraro, etc. Certainly there are outliers such as Ronald Reagan, choosing George Bush. So the biggest question will be, will Trump choose one of the claimed front runners such as Ramaswamy, Gabbard, Noem or Scott or will he go outside like with Pence? The odds seem to be in favor of a person who isn’t typically mentioned in the usual conversations. From a purely voting standpoint, it seems like Tulsi Gabbard would be the most likely choice or the choice most likely to swing any votes from the undecided or claimed swing voters In her favor for things that some people feel are important are: 1. Female and Pacific Islander. 2. Current member of the National Guard and with deployments overseas during the Iraq War and later in Kuwait. As a combat medic she earned a Combat Medic Badge which I believe is given by the Army for medics who have actually treated wounded soldiers while engaged with an enemy. 3. Like Ronald Reagan, she was a former Democrat, who realized the folly of that party. 4. She is very young and can get away from the old person stereotype that currently seems to be running politics. I don’t know that any of the other candidates can bring as much to the table that might entice a swing voter. I have seen people for example, push for Ramaswamy, saying that he is a rich businessman and outspoken, much like Trump. I like the guy however is he going to swing a middle of the road independent? If one of those people likes a person such as Trump, why not just vote for Trump? But I think Trump is going to pull a rabbit out of the hat …….

I haven’t lost anything. You make up nonsensical arguments that don’t exist. There are no rules on the chairman positions for the minority party. It is a tradition to throw the losers a bone. That tradition however can shut down an agenda because the committee chair controls the committee just like the Speaker controls the House. I have never said nor implied that the Speaker has no power. He has control over committee chairs and what comes up for a vote. Controlling what can be voted on is huge. It is the very reason that the democrats in the US Congress cannot pass a law right now without the consent of the Republicans because the Democrats don’t have the Speaker, who can shut down any bill on a whim. In effect, the Speaker has veto power just like the president or governor because the Speaker can usually stop a bill from being voted on. If it cannot be voted on, it cannot pass into law. And I don’t use the term rino.

What is it that this radical right wants done that Phelan is trying to stop?

I saw them a couple of times before I realized that that was the signs that people were talking about. 🤣

The Speaker cannot pass laws. The Speaker can control chair and co-chair positions and I believe deny any bill to come up for a vote. The Speaker cannot submit bills any different than any other member. The Speaker cannot give money to his district or declare an emergency. So what has Phelan done (since he was the rookie in 2021) that any other Republican would have done? Appoint committee chairman? Oh wait, when the Republicans had complete control, Phelan has appointed a total of 30 Democrats to committee chairman positions. Those committee chairmen can control what bills are allowed to be voted on in committee, thereby allowing them to come to the floor of the actual House of Representatives. The committee chairman are therefore in a fairly powerful position and Phelan gave a substantial percentage to Democrats. So, what has this Hall of Fame, multi-state champion head coach done that the theoretical rookie head coach will not do? Appoint more Democrats instead of from his own party? I am almost positive the claimed rookie head coach would not do worse. Your analogy is worse than weak, it is silly. If he wins election to the House again, so be it. If the Republicans again elect him as Speaker, then they get what they deserve. Hall of Fame? Multi-state champion? You’ve got to be kidding…. Again, I will ask, name what accomplishments that Phelan has done that another Republican would not have done in order to get conservative issues past? Oh yeah, his district isn’t Orange County only. It is most of Beaumont, all of Port Arthur, part of Nederland, most of Groves and Port Neches, Taylor’s Landing, Kirbyville, Jasper and so on.

I know it’s not his money but it makes you wonder why someone is spending about $10 million for a job that pays about $22,000 a year.

Emails, messages, flyers, television, radio…. and all daily. A former president endorsing one candidate and a former Texas governor endorsing the other (although there is a third). Locally the presidential elections don’t get this kind of coverage. I agree with TxHoops that the final money totals will be staggering.

How much are you charging Trump for rent?

An incumbent probably starts out with about a 90% chance of winning. For that reason Phelan is extremely likely to win, but apparently he is feeling heat. I’ve never seen such a local political race where I get texts and nicely printed flyers every day. The odds of him losing are likely in the single digits.

1. Haley will almost certainly drop out of the race after Super Tuesday. Her statement that she’s in it for the long-haul has to be made and everyone in her position says the same thing. What else are they going to say, if you don’t vote for me this week I’m quitting? Such an admission by anyone might as well have throw in the towel at that moment. 2. No one has to justify their vote, why they vote or if they don’t vote at all. However… the next president will be a Democrat or a Republican. The Constitution guarantees it by about 99.9%. In that respect, a no vote, or a vote for someone in a third-party other than Democrat or Republican, is ridiculous vote. You could skip voting, write yourself in, you could put it in Mickey Mouse‘s name or vote for one of the dozen or more “third” parties. On a sidenote, I always find it interesting that they call a third party any one of many. “Yeah, I am going for that third party!”. Why not call it an alternate or protest party which is what it is. But, no matter you’re justification to vote for whoever or skip voting altogether, nothing will change the fact that either a Republican or a democrat will be the next president. Voting for a president when one is guaranteed to be in office, is not like not shopping at Walmart or not buying a food that you don’t like. There are most things in our life that we can simply choose to avoid. Having a president is not an option unless you move out of the country. 3. Anyone that thinks conservatives or Republicans are not going to vote for Trump at a 40% rate is in La La Land. TDS would be running strong. In 2016 he got 63 million votes and after all of his antics, increase to 74 million in 2020. I don’t know if he will increase that or if he will lose a percentage, but if he does, I don’t expect it to be much. I think Biden has shown that the 2020 election was a big mistake in the minds of many people.

CB said it but it didn’t say eliminating taxes. It said doing away with property taxes so a small percentage of people are directly affected. Like other discussions points, it could take the form of anything except income taxes. I am assuming that property owners would probably love it and others, who are paying less direct taxes, would probably hate it.

With Port Arthur being sideways….

I never mentioned voting. I only wanted to point out that these were nothing but discussion topics. These are not proposals they are not bills that have been presented, and they are not amendments to the constitution. We could have discussed any of these issues without an election because they are only that, a discussion. I voted today and did complete a vote on all 13 issues. I do find it rather ludicrous that the Texas GOP has to ask whether they should enact laws such as relieving property tax, securing the border, etc.

But….. I’m sure that there are opinions from some legislatures on which way such a proposal should go. I follow the legislature fairly closely and they have their own website. It is detailed and has very good information as to each step in the process of every bill filed. You can read word for word what was submitted, amended and/or passed. Some bills for example, go through several amendments, and then die in committee. For example, a representative or senator as a talking point might say, in the next session, if I am elected, I will file a bill that says blah blah blah. So there is definitely a possibility that what you heard may have been uttered by someone at some point. That is far from a bill being filed or if so, even getting out of committee, much less being voted into law. I think maybe between 4000 bills are filed each legislative session. They have 140 days to weed through the bills, debate them, amend them to try and get some of them passed into actual law.

It is neither right nor wrong because these are not laws. They are not suggested laws. They are not constitutional amendments. They are talking points, like, what do you want us to discuss in the next legislative session? The next legislature takes office in January 2025.

They were out when Big Girl tried to buy them online and like me, wants to see if someone wants to sell them at less than eBay prices.

I will vote for Covey but I really don’t think that Phelan, as an incumbent and with name recognition, is in any trouble. I would venture that in a normal year an incumbent being challenged in a primary would win by about 85%-15%. With this race and Phelan getting so much attention and much of it negative, it might go to Phelan 60/40 or maybe a little less than 40 for Covey. I would love to be wrong but…..

I couldn’t get to them in time. They are too high on ebay right now. $400 is okay but $4,999 is a stretch. Maybe the next batch…

They are not important because they are meaningless. They are discussion points… as if the Republican legislators don’t know what is popular. 2 and 6 are almost certainly unconstitutional. 8 is likely unconstitutional in parts. 13 is probably unconstitutional