Arent we about the only western democracy using a primary system? Of course, we’re also one of the few two-party nations and there may be a connection, though I’m not sure how to make it.
Even if we’re going to keep primaries in the interest of voter empowerment, there is vast room for improvement in the way we organize them.
Yeah, that’s a mess, I agree.
I know we digressed from the OP so I will hold more discussion on election processes for another thread.
Moderating:
Thank you for being mindful of the hijack. It’s nice to “catch” someone doing it the right way. Nicely done!
And you’re right, it’s a good topic for discussion – just not in this thread.
@pkbites, I’d encourage you to do the same. Thanks.
Instead of a primary the Repubs could go full Idiocracy and have a cage match on pay per view of Trump vs Tiny Trump.
I’d pay a quarter for that! 
Does anyone think that, if DeSantis has a poor showing against Trump in the polls, he might be willing to accept being the VP in a second Trump administration? He could factor in Trump’s age (and the possibility that Trump dies in office), then using his VP status to try to propel him into the big chair in 2028, possibly as an incumbent.
There’s some logic there but it runs up against the brick wall that is DeSantis’ ego - and the granite wall that is Trump’s. Would DeSantis be willing to be second fiddle to Trump? And would Trump want a VP who is likely to try to grab his own headlines? The two would clash heavily -there could be a potentially fatal ketchup fight in the White House dining room. And although that might be fun to watch on pay-per-view, it probably won’t happen as I can’t see either of those two twat muffins signing onto the single-ticket plan.
I think DeSantis would not take VP for TFG. He’d have a lot more to gain by just taking a seat if he does not get the nomination - TFG gets the nod and goes on to lose to Biden (again) or TFG wins and is thrown out of or dies in office - it’s all the same timeframe for DeSantis to show up for 2028. IMHO, while I find DeSantis unlikable and his positions are terrible, he is smarter than TFG and probably would not really want to be part of the Looney Toons ticket if he can wait a little longer, get top billing, and likely a better chance at getting the job on his own.
Indeed. Just look at Mike Pence. He’s too linked with Trump to appeal to sane people, and the MAGAs want to hang him. Politically, he’s done.
The impression I get from DeSantis is that he is a relatively competent politician but a very bad person (or willing to do the bidding of bad people through his policies). But he’s not a total incompetent clownshow like Trump. Which makes him both much better and much worse than Trump, depending on your perspective.
Trump’s incompetence, deliberate cruelty, and overall craziness are featurea, not bugs. I’m convinced that his strongest supporters want the kind of pure, distilled shittiness that no one but Trump - not his kids, not DeSantis, not anyone, can deliver. But there’s no way to know if I’m right, at least not yet. We’ll see.
DeSantis is just as vindictive as Trump but he knows how to use the government to harass and oppress individuals and businesses he doesn’t like. Trump wanted to do that but couldn’t figure out how. DeSantis will cause more damage than Trump did if he is elected.
Well said. Exactly. DeSantis scares the crap out of me.
Not to mention, DeSantis has a legal background. He was a JAG in the Navy. Trump has little legal concept of stuff.
Prior to the 2016 election a friend told me he didn’t fear Trump so much as he did someone like Trump, but smarter. That’s DeSantis.
So long as DeSantis continues to hate (or at least pretend to hate) the same people they hate, I think they will accept a transition. Trump’s “genius” was blundering into the realization that he could say the quiet part out loud without any negative effects. Now that that cat is out of the bag, any politician with sufficient lack of morals and shame can copy that.
The advantage that Trump has is the he did it first, and so the bigot constituency have linked their identity to him. It will be hard for DeSantis to attack Trump without that base feeling like they themselves are under attack.
Agree. But, DeSantis already has people in the press defending him, against TFG, of all people, and does not have to utter a word. It seems the bigots have quietly moved-on and are looking to the future. That future could be someone like DeSantis, who is younger, and more fluent in how government works (and bonus: he already pisses-off the libs). Their hearts may be with TFG, but their heads appear to be favoring DeSantis going forward.
As I’ve said before, these next few years will be a test of where Trump’s actual appeal lies, and whether his followers would be as enthusiastic about any equally bigoted figure, or if it’s Trump himself who commands the fervor. I’m actually not so sure.
Trumps biggest challenge is that he has started to become boring. At this point they have all heard his stump speech, I am great, 2020 was stolen, Witch hunt, anyone who doesn’t like me is bad. He needs to come up with some new material. He was good at taking the anti-immigrant lead but, that is old school. The new boogeymen are CRT and pronouns, and he’s behind DeSantis in terms of attacking them.