Stirewaltisms: Aaaaaand They’re Off …

Did you really think 2024 would get off to a slow start?

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Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a Republican Jewish Coalition annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas on November 18, 2022. (Photo by Wade Vandervort/AFP/Getty Images.)

Between Mike Pompeo planting a minefield for his fellow members of the GOP 2024 second tier and Mike Pence getting in on the docu-drama, and frontrunners Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump both rolling out made-for-TV policy proposals on culture war issues, I think we can fairly say that the 2024 race really is in full swing.

With 53 weeks before voting is scheduled to begin, yet again the belief that somehow this would be the cycle with a slow start or how certain candidates would be exempt from the normal indignities and vicissitudes of the two-year slog in pursuit of power is revealed as a bunch of hokum.

Like bad plastic surgery, this will be ugly and expensive. It will feature multiple lead changes, boomlets, bustlets, failures to launch, out-of-nowhere surges, scandals, and a million manufactured controversies. I love to watch it, but then again, I also enjoy a liverwurst sandwich from time to time. Whether you like it or not, that’s what’s happening.

With that in mind, let’s get right to a roundup of the latest:   

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  1. DFG

    “inexplicably contrary to Florida law.’”

    That’s a strange turn of phrase. They’re saying “It’s illegal but we can’t explain why.”?

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    Rboard

    Wait a minute. Are you telling me it's against the law for a parent to enter the high school her daughter attends without prior permission?

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      Pat @ Tavi Hall

      Sounds kinda terrible, but my recent experience is parents, really everybody, checks in. In most cases my child came out to me not the reverse.

      In our suburban area, parents have been known to show preference for schools that have one controled entry point. If any "parent" can just wander in, then anyone can wander in.

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        Rboard

        I see. Sad, but understandable.

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          Pat @ Tavi Hall

          Agreed!

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    Stephanie

    There must be some reason for people who have absolutely no chance of becoming president to enter primary races? It has to be expensive and enervating.

    I’m thinking of people like Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo.

    The link in Chris’s article is a Guardian article with an amusing quote:

    “On Thursday, Ben Rhodes, a former foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama, wrote: ‘Pompeo and Haley poised for a real battle to see who can crack 1% in a Republican primary.’”

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      Ben Connelly

      They all think they have a shot.

      Still, I’m totally with you. Especially for some of these new governors. Why not at least serve a whole term as governor first? Youngkin, Shapiro, Moore - really? It’s like as soon as these guys get into office, someone whispers in their ear and says, “You know you pulled that race off really well. It could play nationwide. You could be the next president. Run now while you’ve got a chance.”

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      Pat @ Tavi Hall

      They think they have a chance. Did anyone, even himself, think Trump stood a chance? And, yet, he did.

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    Mike Shigley

    Chris: So why is enjoying a liverwurst sandwich comparable to being a political junkie? And, as a bonus, where can you find good liverwurst nowadays? I haven't found any strong enough in quite a few years.

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    1. Ufodaddy

      I feel like you sort of answered your own question there...

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    Chris L

    "Like bad plastic surgery, this will be ugly and expensive." Bravo.

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      Mark B

      The best line.

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    DougAz

    Senator Ruben Gallego will be excellent.

    I do predict that Sinema will not run.

    Senator Adam Schiff will be spectacular.

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      Jack

      Spectacular in a good way or a bad way?

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        DougAz

        Exceptionally great.

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          Jack

          I see. Thanks.

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  7. Jim S

    ‘ Indeed, the clash for the court is striking because of how nakedly political it is’

    I realize that is what folks believe they have to say, but I don’t think anyone seriously believes that the Judiciary is any less partisan than any other branch at his point. I think this holds true from the local Justice of the Peace to SCOTUS, and the nomination process for the Federal bench has been nakedly partisan for years.

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