# The Bill Weld Race for the Presidency, 2020 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 15, 2019, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598 "2019-04-15T22:17:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/1 "2019-04-15T22:17:47Z")
Yep, he’s in. The first primary challenger to Dotard, the First of All Individuals, he has a slightly worse chance than Julian Castro… but, wtf, let’s talk Bill Weld. > I will donate, but only to make sure he receives the 65k individual donations needed to perform in the early debates. (Assuming Julian Castro’s pleadings mean the same barrier is up on the GOP side.) I have zero expectation that he will get the Presidency, but I’m positive he’ll make it to the debates. Will be interesting to see if he’s on the ballot in all States. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/2 "2019-04-15T22:36:14Z")
Why would the GOP even schedule primary debates? ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/3 "2019-04-15T23:33:26Z")
I thought he already had a thread 😃 [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=873758](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=873758) ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/4 "2019-04-15T23:34:27Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I will donate, but only to make sure he receives the 65k individual donations needed to perform in the early debates. (Assuming Julian Castro’s pleadings mean the same barrier is up on the GOP side.) It’s not. That’s a new DNC rule for this cycle. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2019, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/5 "2019-04-16T00:42:05Z")
Whew! Saved me $5, y’all did! Filk, the man who will soon coin the phrase “Building America, one Weld at a time” and call his supporters “Welders” is anything but pointless. This is a chance for some serious high comedy, deserving of its own thread. #Welder ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2019, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/6 "2019-04-16T16:15:12Z")
Our boy has a new campaign vid up! For some reason, it was uploaded to Vimeo. I do not know what this means. But it’s there: [Weld 2020 on Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/330371574) OMG, this is great! 1 minute of how he saved Taxachusetts from the Evil Democrats (complete with shot of Billy with Ronnie Reagan), then another minute of how awesome he’s been since, then… “BECAUSE AMERICA DESERVES BETTER”… the Trump attacks begin, using the oldies but goodies: Acting like an asshole here, acting like Putin’s bitch there, acting like a moron here. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2019, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/7 "2019-04-16T17:25:47Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > It’s not. That’s a new DNC rule for this cycle. I had the same thought as **JohnT** , donating a token amount just so he got enough donations to be included in the debates. It sucks that the GOP plays by different rules, but I guess I ought to know that by now, huh? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/8 "2019-04-16T17:40:21Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > It sucks that the GOP plays by different rules, but I guess I ought to know that by now, huh? I mean, the rule is in place so you don’t have 30 people debating at once. GOP had similar rules for 2016. Why would they have that this year, or even hold debates at all? Whens the last time either party held primary debates featuring an incumbent president? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2019, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/9 "2019-04-16T17:49:56Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I had the same thought as **JohnT** , donating a token amount just so he got enough donations to be included in the debates. It sucks that the GOP plays by different rules, but I guess I ought to know that by now, huh? This is just silly. There is no reason why the GOP would play by the same rules that the Dems just made up for this election. Why should a party with a sitting president have the same procedure as a party with 20 candidates vying for the job? Did you notice the lack of Democratic primary debates in 2012? ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/10 "2019-04-16T18:10:34Z")
It must take a lot of . . . something. . . to declare. He’s the only person running against Trump in the primaries at this moment. Quirky note: Weld and Trump are roughly the same age. According to the [wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_presidential_primaries,_2020), there are something like 24 people who have already declined and 3 people who are possibles. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2019, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/11 "2019-04-16T18:12:10Z")
Bill Weld is a honey badger. And he’s going to have a lot of fun with this. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/12 "2019-04-24T19:31:17Z")
My boy staying topical with a timely reference to a near 30yo movie while _still_ managing to get the analogy wrong: "Republicans in Washington have become the silence of the lambs when it comes to Trump,” Weld said. “Hopefully we can show at least a few people that we’re not all a bunch of lambs.” #Weld2020 #Fitn #nhpolitics #iapolitics > > > NYT Magazine @NYTmag However, a lone voice in a sea of insanity - though Weld is “horrified” by the Mueller Report, he doesn’t think [it warrants impeachment](https://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/trump-challenger-bill-weld-horrified-mueller-report-impeachment/story?id=62519973&cid=social_twitter_abcnp). It’s a good thing that Weld is clear-headed enough to think a President can be “horrific”, but not impeachable. That puts him at… what… Susan Collins, Chuck Grassley levels of decency? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/13 "2019-04-25T00:34:00Z")
Assume for a moment that Weld remains the only Republican in the race opposing Trump. That means any Republican who has had second thoughts about Trump but doesn’t want to leave the party votes for Weld, _at least_ as a protest vote. How many votes do you think Weld gets against Trump head to head? Fifty percent? Five percent? This is why anyone who thinks a Democratic win in 2020 is a given is politically naive. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/14 "2019-04-25T01:48:41Z")
I love Bill Weld. To me, he’s what a real conservative looks like. Principled. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/15 "2019-04-25T01:53:57Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Assume for a moment that Weld remains the only Republican in the race opposing Trump. That means any Republican who has had second thoughts about Trump but doesn’t want to leave the party votes for Weld, _at least_ as a protest vote. > > How many votes do you think Weld gets against Trump head to head? Fifty percent? Five percent? > > This is why anyone who thinks a Democratic win in 2020 is a given is politically naive. ? Weld is currently running for the R nomination. If\* he loses, I would assume his voters would go to Trump in the general election. Hard to say how this impacts the Dems chances, but I don’t think it matters one way or another? \*let me have this ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/16 "2019-04-25T02:53:24Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > ? > > Weld is currently running for the R nomination. If\* he loses, I would assume his voters would go to Trump in the general election. Hard to say how this impacts the Dems chances, but I don’t think it matters one way or another? > > \*let me have this Someone on the “right” attacking Trump might get some traction. Not enough to win, but to give other conservatives some political cover to stop kissing Trump’s ass. I could see some loss of support for reelection as a result. Let’s hope. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/17 "2019-04-25T03:26:15Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > ? > > Weld is currently running for the R nomination. If\* he loses, I would assume his voters would go to Trump in the general election. Hard to say how this impacts the Dems chances, but I don’t think it matters one way or another? > > \*let me have this What I’m asking is how many Republicans do you think will even cast a meaningless token vote against Donald Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/18 "2019-04-25T04:24:58Z")
I’m guessing in the 5-15% range. Maybe a bit more if the Democratic race gets resolved early, so that Dems in late voting open primary States can vote for him to troll Trump. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/19 "2019-04-25T04:35:38Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598/20 "2019-05-09T22:46:20Z")
Politico had a write-up about my boy: [https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/05/05/bill-weld-2020-trump-226796](https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/05/05/bill-weld-2020-trump-226796) > [@](#): > > “That’s what we want in the office?” asks Weld. “Somebody so mercurial that everyone knows he can blow a gasket? That’s not really what we want in the Oval Office. And I suppose that’s an argument I would make, even to a Republican.” > > Even to a Republican.Weld tends to talk about his nominal party as if it were a once-proud civilization descended into barbarism. It’s a reminder of Weld’s estrangement from the Trump-era GOP, even as he runs in its primaries. In the 1990s, Weld was Massachusetts’ socially liberal, budget-hawk Republican governor, but in the 22 years since he last held office he has strayed from the center of the GOP. He endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 and ran as the Libertarian candidate for vice president in 2016. Now, Weld’s trying to foment a revolt against Trump in live-free-or-die New Hampshire, where an open primary system offers him a chance to lure persuadable independents to the polls. > > It won’t be easy. Weld is the longest of long shots, his campaign a quixotic windmill-tilt, and not just because of Trump’s enduring popularity among Republican voters. “Bill Weld is the base of the Republican Party 50 years ago, not the current base of the Republican Party,” says Elaine Kamarck, a Brookings Institution senior fellow and author of the bookPrimary Politics. I would have zero problem with Weld running in the R primary, getting his message across to the 2-3,000,000 R’s still willing to listen, then switching to Libertarian in the general. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-weld-race-for-the-presidency-2020/832598.md?page=2)