The responsibility of Republican voters
Defending Donald Trump in the First Four Years of the Republican Presidential Campaign: A Conversation with Haley on the Goings-On of Donald Trump’s Legacy
It is incumbent on Republicans in Iowa and New Hampshire who will cast the first votes of the presidential election in two years to put a fit candidate in charge, one who will preserve, protect and defend.
No matter who the candidate they support, Monday’s weather conditions will test the enthusiasm of all caucus-goers. The campaigns have made the argument that caucusing is important to survive in the elements.
The forecast — brutal even by Iowa standards — could mean a depressed turnout, and has thrown a curveball into a race that has been remarkably steady for months. Donald Trump has led in the polls often, at times by 30 percentage points.
The battle for the Republican nomination will be fought by a group of candidates that are ready to put the Trump years behind them.
At a campaign event in the Des Moines suburb of Ankeny, Haley made the case that Trump was the right president at the right time, but she’s the right person now.
She agreed with much of his policies but said that chaos follows him. “You all know it.” Chaos follows him. And we can’t be a country in disarray and have a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos because we won’t survive it.”
Getting Through Trump Years: The Case for a Democratic Causal Republikan: Cory Kelly’s “Caucas”
Similar to Haley, the Florida Republican has followed the same approach in trying to win over the GOP. When the campaign started, Trump yelled at the former president but he was slow to criticize him. He’s since raised his criticism of Trump because of the legal troubles he’s facing.
One attendee that is ready to move beyond Trump years is small business owner Cory Kelly, who had voted Republican for 20 years but then turned against Trump and voted for Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020.
“We’ll have four years of policy that you don’t agree with,” Kelly said. We may not be able to get through another four years of Donald Trump.
Haley believes she has the best chance of defeating Biden in a general election. Steve Boal, a retired finance executive, was attracted by Haley’s ability to get things done.
“In general, I’ve seen her try to be civil,” he said. “That really grinds on me to see that, you know, people that just are really disrespectful of one another. You know, it’s like we just need to have some civil discourse.”
Source: Brutal cold adds another layer to Republicans’ final push in Iowa
Causal Republican Caus for the Ex-President of Iowa, David DeSantis, R.J.R. Kelly, Clive, Va: Donald Trump is not pro-life
“If he’s the nominee,” DeSantis said in Clive, Iowa, “the whole election is going to be about legal issues, criminal trials or maybe criminal convictions by then, Jan. 6, all of that. That plays into the Democrats’ hands.”
Donald Trump is not sufficiently “pro-life”, said DeSantis, who jabbed at him for his record on abortion. Trump has boasted about appointing the Supreme Court justices that reversed Roe v. Wade, but criticized the strict abortion limits put in place by some Republican state legislatures.
“Wherever I’ve been, every event he’s been to, every debate, every town hall, everything I’ve seen from him has only reinforced my desire to caucus for him and to vote for him in November,” she said.
“If I don’t have to vote for Trump, there’s enough reason not to vote for Trump,” he said. I’ll make a decision in November. But I try to vote my conscience.”
Republicans like Kelly are not the norm. Poll after poll shows the former president safely ahead in Iowa — even though he’s spent less time in the state himself than some of his competitors.
“They’re trying to get you to have that apathy,” the younger Trump said. “They’re trying to get you to sort of, ‘Donald Trump is winning by 7,462 points. You should stay home.’ “
The room was filled with people. Dawn and Lynn were seated at a table in the center. Both are big Trump fans. Both see the many legal troubles he is facing as politically motivated.
Gary Leffler is serving as a caucus captain for the former president, meaning he’ll speak on Trump’s behalf at a caucus site Monday. He expects a big Trump victory.
The people are more active than I have ever seen them, said Leffler. They were more dedicated and organized in ’16 and ’20.
Source: Brutal cold adds another layer to Republicans’ final push in Iowa
A New Day in Florida: What will we do if it’s going to be so cold on Monday, I’m hoping it’ll be -4
Haley said that it’s going to be so cold on Monday. I don’t know what -15 is. I was complaining it was cold in Iowa in October. But I’ll tell you what. We can do this. You deserve better. You deserve an America without chaos.”
“I understand it’s going to be -4,” Trump Jr. said. If I can get my butt back up here. Everyone can come back up there. We can leave. We can participate in the caucus process.”
I’m a Florida guy, and I’ve staked a lot of my money on the Iowa caucuses. Florida guys don’t usually come north in January. But if you’re willing to go out there, you’re willing to brave those elements for three, four hours … you do that and you springboard us. I’ll be your voice for the next eight years. The country will be turned around.
The Times of the Day: Donald Trump’s Campaign to Undermine the Power of the State and the Integrity of Government in the 21st Century
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The Republican Party has been hurt by Mr. Trumps cult of personality in which loyalty is the only real requirement. During the fight over the leadership of the House of Representatives in the fall, for example, Mr. Trump torpedoed the candidacy of Tom Emmer, a lawmaker who voted to certify the 2020 election results, to ensure the ascendancy of Mike Johnson, a loyalist who was an architect of the attempt to overturn that election. Mr. Emmer endorsed Mr. Trump. Republicans who put their integrity above their loyalty to Mr. Trump have set an example of integrity. Among the people who he once counted as allies were former AG Bill Barr and former Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona.
Mr. Trump has a clear path to the nomination; no polling to date suggests he is anything but the front-runner. Republicans are still allowed to vote in these states. At this critical moment, it is imperative to remind voters that they still have the opportunity to nominate a different standard-bearer for the Republican Party, and all Americans should hope that they do so. This is not a partisan concern. It is good for the country when both major parties have qualified presidential candidates to put forward their competing views on the role of government in American society. Voters will have a chance to choose in 2024.
Donald Trump, who has proved himself unwilling to do so, is manifestly unworthy. He is facing criminal trials for his conduct as a candidate in 2016, as president and as a former president. He is campaigning to undermine the democratic process in his third presidential bid. He has said that if elected, he will behave like a dictator on “Day 1” and that he will direct the Justice Department to investigate his political rivals and his critics in the media, declaring that the greatest dangers to the nation come “not from abroad, but from within.”
