ScottFromWyoming wrote:

On this I will agree.

 Steely_D wrote:
I think he could do a good job, but the Biden nexus makes him a non-starter (IMO).

 rgio wrote:

No one mention Buttigieg. Please. As soon as you do, they’ll do what they did before: â€drinks the blood of children” or “not born in the USA” - abject lying to the gullible bumpkins who still think their lives are threatened by the guys hoping to pick the vegetables that they won’t.

 Steely_D wrote:
I think he's aiming to run, but "California", as big a job as it is, is too much baggage right now for the dems to carry.  AOC ain't gonna fly either.  My guess is it'll be one of the moderate governors...Pritzker is the one I think that can thread the needle of primaries.  I like Shapiro a lot, but have doubts he can win a national race.

 black321 wrote:

Guess: he might not be thinking as much of the Presidency as people expect. So, he is burning capital right now in order to lift the party. It’s what a lot of were expecting Obama to do, and he’s been weirdly silent despite his proven eloquence.

I think Newsom is highly intelligent and a compelling politician.
What i dont get is why he feels compelled to get into these schoolyard scuffles with chubby. 
Take the high road. 

 kurtster wrote:

And Newsom, leading California, is kicking trump ass. The state - yeah yeah yeah with its flaws that don’t offset its wins - has much more of a future than oxymoronic clean coal and an Smaug-like leader and obvious off putting international provincialism. If trump thinks the USA is gonna be great “again” it isn’t gonna happen without the extras that Californians provide.
“California has the largest economy among all the states in the United States. The state’s economy is so large that it is often compared to that of entire countries. In 2022, California’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $2.89 trillion, more than many countries’ GDP. The state’s economy is driven by diverse industries such as technology, entertainment, agriculture, and tourism.

California’s economy is considered to be a major contributor to the overall growth of the US economy. The state’s economic output accounts for approximately 14% of the US GDP. The state’s economy is also responsible for creating many jobs, with the unemployment rate in California being lower than the national average.”

Europeans Quietly Press U.S. Lawmakers for Clues on the Midterms

While the main focus of the Munich Security Conference was on the alliance, top leaders wanted to know all about November

Democrats’ vague answers to straightforward questions on stage about global hot spots fueled whispers that the party’s boldfaced names needed to better think through their stances. Ocasio-Cortez, who came to Munich to prove her foreign-policy chops, offered an indirect response to whether the U.S. should actively defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion. Whitmer, asked what victory in Ukraine could look like, sought twice to have a fellow panelist present their views instead.

The party’s main message, delivered by Newsom on Friday, was that Trump’s time in power will end in three years. Democrats were in the wings, ready and willing to keep the current rift from becoming a permanent rupture.

But some Democrats questioned whether simply being the foil to Trump was enough.

“There’s just a deep dearth of ideas across the board in the Democratic Party,” said Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D., Mich.), who last September put forward her own national-security strategy. “We can win midterm elections when the public is mad at Donald Trump. Winning a general election means we have to have our own ideas.”

 kurtster wrote:

This is all well and good but she's got a better shot to wind up being Speaker of the House for about 40 years.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote:

Yeah, go ahead and have her debate Rubio face to face on foreign policy or anything for that matter.  The two could very well be running against each other in 2028.

At least she would be better than Newsom.  Not saying much though as anything is better than Newsom.

 black321 wrote:

“…is presented in the press as way too divisive.”

 ScottFromWyoming wrote:
I’ve heard AOC make compelling emotional appeals, but compared to someone like James or Buttigieg, she lacks the ability to present measured, rational, convincing arguments. 
And comes off way too divisive.

 black321 wrote:

I disagree; she will have her team get her a cogent Taiwan position and practice it. It's a "third rail" that she *should* have practiced on but the list of politicians who have fumbled that question is very very long. 

James has lots of potential...hope he wins the senate.
AOC, eh, still clearly not ready for prime time, and she may never be. 

Run-up to 2028?

 Steely_D wrote:
Add in Democrats winning elections in Ruby Red Texas and Louisiana and it sounds like "Something's Happening Here"

 black321 wrote:

Little glimmers of the old USA poking through. Like the grand jury decision today. Keep on keeping on, patriots!

Congrats

US House votes down tariff rule in rebuke to Trump

Lawmakers reject proposal by Republican leadership that would have blocked votes to challenge president’s trade policy
The House of Representatives has rejected a rule pushed by Republican leaders to prevent votes challenging Donald Trump’s tariffs, in a significant rebuke of the president and his allies in Congress. The measure proposed by Mike Johnson, the House speaker, was defeated on Tuesday with 217 lawmakers voting against it, including all Democrats and three Republican dissidents, while 214 lawmakers approved.

In a speech on the House floor on Tuesday, Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries accused Republican lawmakers of acting “like nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s extreme agenda”.

Pew polling published this week showed the vast majority of Americans against the Trump administration’s tariff regime. According to Pew, 60 per cent of US adults disapproved of the increase in tariffs, including more than a quarter of Republicans.