# Vivek Ramaswamy **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 30, 2023, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352 "2023-08-30T15:30:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/61 "2023-08-31T02:53:52Z")
Touché. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/62 "2023-08-31T03:47:01Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > It would be nice for a president to be not elderly, and he comes across confidently, I do like his stance on Taiwan. I think you should raise your bar a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/63 "2023-08-31T10:12:56Z")
Viviek seems to be tying to make himself and Hinduism palatable to conservative evangelicals annd Christian nationalists, [according to this Slate article.](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/08/vivek-ramaswamy-religion-hindu-christian-nationalism.html) He’s also a big fan of Modi, which is disquieting IMHO, and apparently has a link to Hindu nationalism. “He’s offering to represent a religious demographic that often sees Hindus as heathen polytheists, or as souls that need saving.” I guess it’s similar to how conservative Hispanic communities and others will support the GOP even though it’s not in their interests in many ways outside of social beliefs. That’s just my analysis, and I’m not a politicial scientist or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/64 "2023-08-31T15:57:32Z")
The link to Modi is troubling but completely expected. He’s Indian Trump. Most of the states that have larger Indian populations are blue so I don’t know how much effect it will have. Modi is a very divisive person with Indians in the US. > **[A bulldozer among the floats at Indian parade divides New Jersey town](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bulldozer-among-floats-indian-parade-divides-new-jersey-town-2022-09-22/)** > > Every August crowds clutching saffron, white and green flags line a parade route through Edison, New Jersey, to watch local business owners, politicians and the occasional Bollywood celebrity march past to commemorate India's Independence Day. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/65 "2023-08-31T16:01:14Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Yeah, he has “Reed Richards” vibes. Nah, his reaction to being contradicted is pure Victor von Doom. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/66 "2023-08-31T19:18:39Z")
note that as young man he challenged Al Sharpton about being a politician ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/67 "2023-08-31T19:28:45Z")
What even more bizarre is Nikki is her middle name and Haley is her married name. It’s not like when Darwish Sabir Ismail Gani changed his name to Tom Haverford. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/68 "2023-08-31T22:11:45Z")
Did anyone post up his 10 tenets yet? > **10 tenets** > > 1. God is real. > 2. There are two genders. > 3. Human flourishing requires fossil fuels. > 4. Reverse racism is racism. > 5. An open border is no border. > 6. Parents determine the education of their children. > 7. The nuclear family is the greatest form of governance known to mankind. > 8. Capitalism lifts people up from poverty. > 9. There are three branches of the U.S. government, not four. > 10. The U.S. Constitution is the strongest guarantor of freedoms in history. All are simply red meat to the Republican base. We could probably go through them and have a fun game of “Stupid, wrong or meaningless”. I don’t know what he’s getting at regarding the four branches of government. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/69 "2023-08-31T22:18:30Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > 1. Parents determine the education of their children. A frog is dissected. Spring comes. People marry and die. Pinkerton does not return. —Woody Allen ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/70 "2023-09-01T01:32:13Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I don’t know what he’s getting at regarding the four branches of government. Likely a reference to the [Fourth Estate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Estate) concept. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/71 "2023-09-01T14:37:49Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Likely a reference to the [Fourth Estate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Estate) concept. Nope. I was wondering about that one myself, so googling found this: > He’s referring to “the administrative state” as a fourth branch of government. It’s part of his “Fire Everyone” plan. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/72 "2023-09-01T17:05:28Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > > [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > > > Likely a reference to the [Fourth Estate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Estate) concept. > > Nope. I was wondering about that one myself, so googling found this: > > [united states - What does Vivek Ramaswamy mean by "fourth branch of government"? - Politics Stack Exchange](https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/80966/what-does-vivek-ramaswamy-mean-by-fourth-branch-of-government) > > He’s referring to “the administrative state” as a fourth branch of government. It’s part of his “Fire Everyone” plan. It’s pretty much the Poject 2025 playbook. Fire all civil servants and replace with Trump drones. > **[Conservative groups draw up plan to dismantle the US government and replace...](https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-conservatives-trump-heritage-857eb794e505f1c6710eb03fd5b58981?fbclid=IwAR0WSqvRb2EymmMa6g4G19BaiV0hHtArJSfF55a-FCTvIrVSrtJl-1Is35Q_aem_AYhxzvtSUPV48EB6Xi4htGgwC90BZmuZSIGQtJSZUMzxAV6hJIJnSaIeyFdDCPq4ndU&mibextid=Zxz2cZ#lm0ugt8zcrz1518qfqw)** > > With more than a year to go before the 2024 election, a constellation of conservative organizations is preparing for a possible second White House term for Donald Trump. ---
**Author:** ![FeRDNYC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferdnyc/32/14000_2.png) [@FeRDNYC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeRDNYC)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/73 "2023-09-01T17:39:43Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It’s pretty much the Poject 2025 playbook. Fire all civil servants and replace with Trump drones. So they’re willing to replace them, now? That’s actually a subtle pivot from the Mitt Romney / Ronald Reagan, “fire all civil servants and replace them with motivational posters involving kittens and bootstraps” micro-government days. (Not that either of those two ever remotely displayed any genuine willingness to back up that bullshit rhetoric with actions, either. Or even gave any indication that they’d given any serious thought to the implications of executing such a plan.) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/74 "2023-09-01T17:40:00Z")
I realize trying to inject logic into this stuff is fruitless, but the administrative state is the executive branch, not some separate entity. Do they seriously not understand this? ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/75 "2023-09-01T17:45:23Z")
I assume Vivek’s strategy is to make himself pretty appealing to right leaning democrat voters who are terrified of all things that could possibly be described as “woke”. He just needs to come out with a Make Disney Movies Great Again campaign and he’ll have them lining up to vote. ---
**Author:** ![FeRDNYC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferdnyc/32/14000_2.png) [@FeRDNYC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeRDNYC)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/76 "2023-09-01T17:58:39Z")
> “It’s important to keep calling things with fairly straightforward neoliberal politics ‘woke’ in order to ensure the word has absolutely no meaning.” (From [Conservatives React To The ‘Woke’ Barbie Movie](https://www.theonion.com/conservatives-react-to-the-woke-barbie-movie-1850671439/slides/12) @ The Onion) ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/77 "2023-09-01T18:53:11Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It’s pretty much the Poject 2025 playbook. Fire all civil servants and replace with Trump drones. No, that one actually makes some degree of sense if you accept the premise that the senior public service is secretly anti-Trump. They’re firing the top 50,000 or so civil servants, and replacing them with Trump cronies and yes men. What Vivek is planning is just firing _everybody_, and not replacing them. He’s said he’ll fire 50% immediately, and 75% over the course of the first year. So yeah, it’s _even crazier than Trump’s plan_. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/78 "2023-09-01T20:55:39Z")
That’s basically the approach Elon Musk took towards Twitter. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/79 "2023-09-01T21:09:07Z")
It’s not like Republicans have a problem with Raphael Cruz calling himself “Ted”, either. (for the record, I don’t have an issue with it, either, but if your position is “A name is a name and cannot be changed”, then accepting Cruz is hypocritical) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/80 "2023-09-01T21:16:09Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > It’s pretty much the Poject 2025 playbook. Fire all civil servants and replace with Trump drones. > > No, that one actually makes some degree of sense if you accept the premise that the senior public service is secretly anti-Trump. They’re firing the top 50,000 or so civil servants, and replacing them with Trump cronies and yes men. > > What Vivek is planning is just firing _everybody_, and not replacing them. He’s said he’ll fire 50% immediately, and 75% over the course of the first year. > > So yeah, it’s _even crazier than Trump’s plan_. The Project 2025 playbook is to eliminate many positions as civil service. It’s not Trump’s plan it’s from the Heritage Foundation. Trump is too smart to need actual plans. If you remember, it was a complete surprise to Trump and his anti-transition team that they had to hire staff. He thought he was walking into a fully staffed White House. Shrinking the workforce to a smaller size is part of it. Mostly it’s to make most of the government workers beholden to the administration. What he is saying really isn’t any different. Saying specific percentages on September 1st is meaningless. Will it be 50% or will it turn into 25%? Doesn’t really matter. He will cut the workforce and make most of them crony jobs. Or try to. If your plan is to completely cripple the government for good that’s a good place to start. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352.md?page=5)