2018 Presidential Election

We have reached over 500 pages, so have been asked to start a new thread to carry on direct from the 2010 Presidential Election post.
 

mspence

Banned
Heads up for the new thread! It's been a wild ride for the past eight years.

I believe the Conventions happen soon. Traditionally, the party in power has its convention first.

Republican:

Peter Gault

Democrat:

Sam Seaborn

Independent:

Hayden Strauss
 
theeconomist.com, Sunday July 1st

As Conventions Approach, Democrats and Republicans Face Identity Crisis

It hasn’t been a primary season for the feint of heart. The Republican race was supposed to be a straight forward two horse race between Vice-President Liz Clark and former White House Chief of Staff Henry Shallick - a battle that was going to be defined by whether Clark’s more socially liberal positions would scupper her bid before Shallick’s lack of charisma doomed his chances.

The most exciting question on everyone’s mind at the start of the race was whether President Walken would be able to choose between the woman he elevated to the Vice-Presidency and the man who who had been his closest political ally for thirty years.

Of course nothing of the kind happened - before Clark’s platform could cause her any problems she collapsed under the weight of the campaign seemingly leaving the floor clear to a Shallick coronation. Enter Peter Gault. The little known Kansas Governor filled the void in the heart of every primary voter who didn’t like Shallick, or was bored of the same old Washington politicians or wanted to lodge a protest against something, anything. Gault became all things to all people and additionally showed a campaigning prowess, and a folksy charisma that nobody seen coming.

As Gault gained momentum the race really turned in Indiana where a contested result came to be seen as an establishment stitch up - an angle played expertly by Gault and his team, though even they couldn’t have anticipated the explosion of support in Pennsylvania that turned a 30 point deficit into a stunning victory, depriving Shallick of his path to the required number of delegates and all but guaranteeing a contested convention.

Gault has his challenges, he’s as socially conservative as you’d expect the Republican Governor of Kansas to be - but the quotes and positions that have scuppered many candidates in the past seem to barely scratch the armour of Gault and if anything have helped build and almost cult like loyalty in his growing army of online supporters.

If Gault secures the nomination it will represent an existential crisis for the Republican establishment. Shallick was their candidate, Gault is a small government, almost libertarian conservative, he wants to audit the Federal Reserve and has been spoken out against all sorts of subsidies. He has railed against corporate welfare and has led some conservatives to question what exactly he thinks the role of the Federal Government is - GOP strategist James Eaton joked that “the reason he won’t clarify which parts of the Federal Government he wants to eliminate is that it would take to long”, though he is pretty clear that a tougher stance on immigration is one thing they should be doing. On top of that he would, without doubt, be the most anti-free trade Republican nominee in living memory. Should Gault win the GOP will need to decide whether it truly wants to govern on his platform or one of their own.

The kind of chaos facing the Republicans should be making things pretty easy on their opponents but The Democrats are facing an identity crisis of their own. Eight years out of the White House have seen the party split repeatedly over just how far to the left they want to go. The infamous “Youth in Revolt” movement have faded into history but a number of their leading members are now leading party figures like Washington Senator Andrew Howard and DNC Chairman Stefan Collins both came to prominence as part of the group.

California Senator Sam Seaborn came through the primaries by running to the left of New York’s Andrew Thorn - a position somewhat at odds with his previous positions. He spoke against free trade, he seemed to advocate significant increase in welfare spending and as the race got tougher a man who could comfortably be positioned as part of the 1% during his time as a lawyer repeatedly attacked the rich.

Having secured the nomination on what seemed like a swing to the left, Seaborn then stunned the political world by tapping billionaire Frank Hollis as his VP - he months that have ensued suggest an emerging clash between Hollis and Seaborn’s staff over exactly what his role will be both on the trail and should they make it to Washington. Hollis could face a fairly hostile convention crowd who were more surprised than most about the pick.

What is likely to emerge over the next few weeks is a fascinating race. If Shallick finds a deal at the convention - most likely by elevating California Congressman Will Durham to the Vice-President spot on the ticket we may yet see a traditional left vs right contest, but if Gault prevails the GOP will have a very short time to unite behind a fairly unconventional nominee - there has been little buzz over who Gault would look to in the VP slot until the past week but a lot of talk is building behind Ohio’s Ruth Norton-Stewart who was second on President Walken’s shortlist and is very popular amongst GOP loyalists.

The Democrats have their own hurdles to navigate - Hollis needs to calm nerves over the next few weeks and most notably at the convention and Seaborn needs to start to be clear what his platform will be, is he a Bartlet rehash or something new and more progressive. We shall hopefully know more as one of the most critical points in the election cycle nears.
 

mspence

Banned
Labor Unions Divided Over Seaborn, Gault On Trade, Foreign Governments Wary

AP-As both candidates prepared for their respective conventions, the question for many labor groups is who, in their view, would be better for the American worker, and for many it could be a tough call as both Gault and Seaborn have come out strongly against free trade, a stance that has attracted strong support from rank and file members and which could be a major factor for a voting bloc that has traditionally supported the Democrats.

At a Gault rally in Pennsylvania, local steel workers have already shown whom their choice is. "I voted for Jed Bartlett twice, and Matt Santos," one man who now identifies as a Gault supporter, said. "But Walken, he didn't seem to do a whole lot on trade in my book, and Seaborn, he talks good but Gault might be able to help the folks here as a Washington outsider."

Abroad, many foreign governments have expressed concern over the possibility of tariffs under a Gault administration, while hoping for a more moderate approach from Senator Seaborn. Many, including those among America's largest trading allies, fear any talk of scaling back free trade could lead to a trade war that could harm international relations.
 
Correction, party in power always hold there convention last, this has been the case since the 1920s. Examples in 1960, Republicans held there's to nominate Nixon, Kennedy was in Hyannisport after having been nominated 2 weeks previously in Los Angeles, Goldwater was nominated over 5 weeks before LBJ's own coronation in Atlantic City, so by that rule of thumb, Seaborn and Hollis will have been nominated in Cleveland, Republicans will gather in Tampa a week later, as they are the party in power.
 
The old thread is not going to disappear right? In case I want to refer back to something.
The old Thread stays as for information only and is linked on this new thread.
You can still refer to it for reference.
As for the Conventions Heatmaster is correct,the Democratic Convention starts in 2 weeks time followed by the GOP a week later.
Haydn Straus is running for the Green nomination and that convention takes place from Monday August 6th in Boston.
 
I think Sam Seaborn has to control the Hollis's, they are really going off the reservation way too much for his comfort. Hollis for all his wealth, needs to understand the nature of his role on the ticket, which is to make as little noise as possible.
 
Here's a novel idea, should it be the case that Gault does in fact win the nomination, if he wants to heal divisions within the party & if he is going to chose a woman as his V.P. then why not select Senator Laura Shallick. It guarantees unity and Shallick or his supporter's can't sulk.
 
Here's a novel idea, should it be the case that Gault does in fact win the nomination, if he wants to heal divisions within the party & if he is going to chose a woman as his V.P. then why not select Senator Laura Shallick. It guarantees unity and Shallick or his supporter's can't sulk.
Do you really think that there is anyway that Laura Shallick, after seeing her husband defeated and humiliated by Gault, will accept to become his running mate?
 
Here's a novel idea, should it be the case that Gault does in fact win the nomination, if he wants to heal divisions within the party & if he is going to chose a woman as his V.P. then why not select Senator Laura Shallick. It guarantees unity and Shallick or his supporter's can't sulk.

An offer like that would be seen as highly insulting to the Shallick Family. Also she would never accept, and even if she did, it would be seen as a political stunt. 1984 (Geraldine Ferraro) and 2008 (the former Mayor of the crystal meth capital of Alaska), showed that simply having a woman on the ticket will not help you with women voters. Laura Shallick doesnt have the qualifications to be VPOTUS or, more importantly, become POTUS if tragedy should strike.
 

mspence

Banned
I wonder if Seaborn is having second thoughts about Hollis. But if he dumps Hollis, could Hollis play kingmaker at the Democratic Convention?

Hayden Strauss campaigning in Middletown, Connecticut:

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Monday July 3rd 2018

Buckner "Straus is a political thief"

With the main focus on the political aimed at the impending Republican convention, the battle for the Green Party nomination had slipped below the radar, but in the last 24 hours it has exploded into life.

The Green nomination will be decided by a simple vote of all fifty states delegations plus DC, meaning twenty six votes are required to be the nominee at the convention starting on August 6th in Boston. Only two candidates have been granted "Formal recognition" status Haydn Straus and Susan Buckner. Buckner the daughter of the 1998 Independent candidate Jim Buckner has been a Green party activist since her teens, spending over two years in Africa fighting for women's and LGBT rights and had been expected to be the Green nominee before Straus joined the Green party just months ago.

At a speech to Green party activists in Burlington, Vermont last night Buckner launched a bitter attack on her rival for the nomination "Senator Straus is a political thief. He ran for the Democratic nomination and was clearly going to lose, he knew he couldn't get ballot access as an Independent, now he is trying to take over our party" she also turned her fire on the Democrats and the Republicans "Senator Seaborn is so concerned for working people he picks a billionaire businessman as his running mate, whilst the Republicans believe a man who believes gay people should go to hell is the now the likely nominee, of course because he says he has changed, we have to believe him".

Susan Buckner giving her speech to Green Party activists in Burlington, yesterday.

(photo by Angelina Jolie)
 
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An offer like that would be seen as highly insulting to the Shallick Family. Also she would never accept, and even if she did, it would be seen as a political stunt. 1984 (Geraldine Ferraro) and 2008 (the former Mayor of the crystal meth capital of Alaska), showed that simply having a woman on the ticket will not help you with women voters. Laura Shallick doesnt have the qualifications to be VPOTUS or, more importantly, become POTUS if tragedy should strike.
There is a difference between Ferraro and Palin, though. Ferraro was an extremely competent legislator who just happened to marry the wrong person and be caught in a fight against the most popular Republican since Roosevelt. She could well have been an excellent VP. Palin was just an idiot so I will give you that one.
 
There is a difference between Ferraro and Palin, though. Ferraro was an extremely competent legislator who just happened to marry the wrong person and be caught in a fight against the most popular Republican since Roosevelt. She could well have been an excellent VP. Palin was just an idiot so I will give you that one.
One of the reasons I had serious concerns over Walken having Clark as his running-mate in 2010 was because Palin was so bad in the real world just two years before and was worried that she had blighted female VP picks forever.
 
Yeah Gault is seen as pretty good at pulling stunts, look at the LGBT play a few weeks back! if that wasn't a stunt I don't know what was! It was a move made out of desperation designed for show how inclusive he was. As for insults or intemperate behavior, didn't he hang up on Walken, over trying to iron out differences. So offering Laura Shallick the V.P. spot to show "magnanimous" he was, would not be out of the realm of possibility. I doubt 8 years in the Senate would be described as being without experience. Look at Seaborn as an example.
 
MSNBC
(July 5th, 2018)

"Hoynes to publish first alternative history novel"

Former Vice-President and former Governor of Texas John Hoynes announced today that he would be publishing another book, entitled "1600 Pennsylvania." In a shift from his other books, however, he announced that this novel would take a look at an alternative history in which he won the Democratic nomination in 1998 (Bartlet decides not to run) and defeated Vice-President David Eisenhower in the general election. Hoynes mentioned the fate of several characters during his announcement speech:

1. New Hampshire Governor Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: Appointed Secretary of the Treasury under President Hoynes but resigns in 2005 following an MS attack
2. Washington Senator William Wiley: Appointed Secretary of state under Hoynes in order to get his endorsement during the primaries
3. "Hoynes for President" Deputy Campaign Manager Josh Lyman: Appointed Chairman of the DNC
4. Ohio Governor Mike Reed: Elected President of the United States in 2006 after the end of the Hoynes administration
 
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