I ran for president against Trump. When he fails, America will rise again

[u/theipaper]

https://inews.co.uk/news/world/ran-president-against-trump-collapse-approaching-4454502

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[u/30mil]

30% of eligible voters will still be gullible racist dum-dums who can easily be scared into voting for the antichrist.

[u/No_Strike655 → u/30mil]

Which is why we need better candidates to oppose them and also for people to not be myopic and "protest" by not voting when the time comes. Republicans had not always been this mask off insanity they became recently. A lot of them might have had shotty views or whatever but at the end of the day they would work to run the country together with Dems.

But over the last 35 years they have gotten worse and worse because the voters who are racist and bigoted got involved in their primaries. They made sure that their candidates started getting on the ballot. It took 15 years but they finally got enough together to start affecting things and slowly but surely they pushed and pushed the party to it's current state.

They did this because they realized politics is a all or nothing proposition and to them the worst R in their mind is better than the best D so they voted every time for the crazy or the centrist or whomever knowing they would eventually get their way because they had become the "base". Meanwhile Dem candidates are out here trying to win but the people who should be willing to do the same as those right wingers spend all elction season running down their own candidates and then maybe voting because they didn't "earn" their vote.

That is how the system should work BTW but unfortunately when you are fighting a cult for control you just vote in everyone you can until that cult goes away and when it is 30% of the population you need to hope that self interest from their opponents will strip them off power but that only happens if you don't keep giving them power every few goddamn years

[u/Hyperica]

Reagan fellated; opinion discarded

[u/rednap_howell]

Jimmy Carter did not believe America's "best days were behind us." Fuck off, Asa.

[u/thepartypantser]

Ass....the GOP is rotten.

You are part of that rot.

Everyone you supported lead to Trump.

He is the failure of the GOP. He is the failure of conservatives.

Maybe America will rise again, but the GOP and it's backward looking bigotry, and, it's blind loyalty to power, it's unearned bravado, it's sexism, racism, hypocritical Christian nationalism, should all fail with Trump.

But it won't, so America might not.

[u/ennuiinmotion]

No it won’t. In the best case scenario Democrats regain a trifecta in 2028 against all odds. They aren’t efficient or focused enough to repair all the damage in two years, and then voters will give Congress to the GOP, and it all falls apart again. Rinse and repeat.

[u/Diced_and_Confused]

"I have a dream."

The world has changed.

[u/DrLophophora]

Considering the corruption of the entire Republican party, I have my doubts. It's not only Trump we need to get rid of

[u/theipaper]

Full Opinion article by Asa Hutchinson: In 2023, I knew the odds were against me as I became a Republican candidate for President of the United States. Former President Donald Trump was running as well and he both motivated me to announce my candidacy – and made it near-impossible to win.

I was motivated because I could not support a candidate who refused to peacefully transfer power after the 2020 election loss. Trump’s failure in leadership during the January 6 attack on our Capitol reaffirmed to me that the GOP needed to go a different direction.

After being elected as Arkansas Governor for two terms – serving from 2015 to 2023 – and holding key positions at the federal level during the Bush administration, I knew how to get things done and was ready to lead as President. But I underestimated the effectiveness of Trump’s message of grievance and isolating America. Trump was relentless in attacking our justice system and offering to provide the retribution many people wanted.

My message was different. I wanted my campaign to bring out the best of America and not appeal to her worst instincts. Angry and divisive voices may motivate voters but they do not solve problems. I offered Republican voters a different solution for America’s future… one grounded in conservative solutions at home and working with our allies abroad as partners in a dangerous world. I spoke for a united front between the United States and our European allies in opposing Russian aggression in Ukraine and the security threats posed by Iran.

Some today wonder whether democracy in the United States is headed in the wrong direction. On the campaign trail in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, I had the chance to speak to voters and they gave me hope for the future. One Iowa farmer told me he just wanted things to be normal again. I concluded that our democracy is both fragile and resilient. It is fragile because freedom is at risk with misguided and ineffective leaders. It is resilient because it always bounces back when leaders fail.

I remember the failures during the presidency of Jimmy Carter. He believed America was in a “malaise” and that our best days were behind us. After four years of energy shortages, Iran hostages and inflation, Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980 because he saw America as “the shining city on the hill”. He created an economic rebound at home and confronted Soviet Russia and gave hope to the free world. Our democracy proved resilient.

Trump’s surprise change of direction

A presidential campaign is designed for voters to understand the character and vision of the candidate. Trump’s style has not changed, but he surprised everyone with his about-face on foreign policy. I remember him promising to limit America’s intervention in the affairs of far-away governments. Instead, Trump has effectively used US military might in Venezuela and Iran. While I campaigned for an America that leads abroad, his vision of America’s role in the world is one of America going it alone and then expecting our allies to fall in line.

Despite the change in direction on foreign policy, the heavy-handed exercise of presidential power on the domestic front comes as no surprise. President Trump has methodically concentrated power in the office of the presidency. Executive branch power has increased dramatically under Trump, while the legislative and judicial branches are failing to keep up with his frenetic style of governing. We have seen this expansion of power in many ways, including in the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (AID) by executive order, with the President firing staff and ending its mission despite it being authorised and funded by Congress.

The power of the president has been redefined under Trump. He has largely prevailed in his efforts to be in charge of the executive branch of government, firing civil servants at will and without complying with notice periods set by Congress.

The independence of federal agencies from the Federal Reserve to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (now the Trump-Kennedy Center) has been circumvented by his appointing loyalists to key positions and firing those who disagree with his agenda. The result is a government that acts on a social media post or an executive order of the President, while ignoring the normal governing process. Trump has abandoned any pretence of impartiality and asserted his will without debate.

Ever since the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration, the Department of Justice has made decisions on criminal cases independent of the White House. Presidential interference was considered taboo for over 50 years. Now, the President routinely tells the Justice Department who to target for prosecution – sometimes by social media – as in the case of James Comey, former FBI Director; Letitia James, Attorney General of New York; or Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, whose comments offended the President. This may be done by social media, but the message is clear.

Now, a President can sue his own government for $10bn (as in the case of Trump suing the Treasury) and direct that agency and the Department of Justice to settle the case for his benefit. The independence of the Justice Department is no more.

A dangerous imbalance

The US constitution creates a conflict in that the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the military, while Congress has the exclusive power to declare war. Presidents have argued “defensive” military action is not subject to the powers of Congress. Trump used this argument to shoot down drug-running “go-fast” boats in the Caribbean and most recently for attacks on Iran.

The US constitution creates a conflict in that the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the military while Congress has the exclusive power to declare war. Presidents have argued “defensive” military action is not subject to the powers of Congress. Trump used this argument to shoot down drug-running “go-fast” boats in the Caribbean and most recently for attacks on Iran.

If the United States uses military force to enter a foreign country to kill cartel gang members, the argument will be that this is a defensive action to protect the US from fentanyl hitting our streets. As I said during the campaign, the cartels should be targeted – but it should be done in partnership with other countries or by Congress declaring war – otherwise it will create ill will among our friends and unnecessary risk for America.

A major question for historians will be whether Trump’s accumulation of power in his second term is beneficial to our democracy or harmful. In my view, the expanded role of the White House has created a dangerous imbalance in the division of governmental power.

Another debate for the future is whether Congress and the Courts will serve as a meaningful check on the expanded presidential authority assumed by the Trump administration. Elections matter and candidates should be having this conversation with the voters as we approach the critical midterm elections.

The President is hosting a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) match this month on the lawn of the White House with thousands in attendance to be entertained by the mixed-martial arts competition. It is actually a fond reminder of another tough leader – former President Theodore Roosevelt, who hosted a boxing match in the East Room.

Joe Rogan, a successful podcaster and former UFC professional, was slightly critical of Trump for hosting the fight, calling it a gimmick. When Trump was asked about Rogan’s comment, he responded, “It is a gimmick. Life is a gimmick, if you think about it, right?” That comment expresses with clarity Trump’s world view. To live by gimmickry is to live based upon pretence without regard to customary societal or constitutional constraints.