Tibbers said:
Loomer is a loon. I only say that because I know several people in my life who have said they'd rather not vote if trump is the nominee. I worry when folks who I admire and trust say that. It's also why I really hope Vivek is the guy but if you look at the threads with Vivek here, there are some who wouldn't vote for him because he's not a Christian. It's an odd party, the Republican Party. I always thought the progressives/dems were the stratified group, but it's quite the opposite. Worrisome when it comes to the presidency here.
The reality is that in a system like ours the GOP and the Dems are coalitions. In a Parliamentary system you would just have a lot more parties and then they team up to form a government and switch sides on the margins all the time. It's very hard for any single party to get a majority.
Thus you will end up with people in your party you don't like much but you just don't hate them as much as the other Party. That's why you are better off focusing on policy and record first over personality for good or ill. The more you look into politicians and much less their supporters it rarely ends up a happy tale.
The issue with Loomer isn't that she is a loon. The issue is Trump knows she is a loon yet he still hangs out with her. Thus he lets her represent him because he likes her fierce loyalty and attack dog style and doesn't care she is a loon. It's incredibly short sighted and is part of why he has never been able to get above around 44% popularity even at his peak (which is long gone and won't be returning).
I can also say that while there may be a couple of folks who wouldn't vote for Vivek over religion that's a really small number. I would bet there are just as many that won't vote for DeSantis because he is a devout Catholic just from a different angle. It's kind of like saying people didn't vote for Romney because he was Mormon. I mean, sure, there are some people that might have felt that way but the overwhelming majority disliked him because of his policy and actions not his religious preference.
I do think Vivek is running out of steam in this race but he can still do something with it if he is smart. He could run for Senate in Ohio. He could do a number of other things. He's a young guy with talent that needs seasoning and to use this as a learning experience. I hope he does. I just don't see a path for him to win the prize though and he is likely to decline further. I think it was a good short term idea to buddy up to Trump but long term it leaves him kind of lost, that's where he is now. I hope he doesn't decide to go down in flames and make more enemies. He's burning a lot of cash too but he has a lot to burn.
"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
Ronald Reagan
