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The republican party has no one to blame but itself for losing the senate . . .

The republican party has no one to blame but itself for losing the senate . . .

Exhibit A, of course, would be “Herschel Walker”.

Media outlets touted his matchup against Warnock as “historic” because it was the first time 2 black americans had contended for the same senate seat.

My take is different – it was historic because Walker may have been the “most poorly vetted” and “least qualified” candidate in my lifetime.

I'm not saying EVERYONE needs to be a college graduate to be elected to national office. But if someone is a dropout, that should raise some sort of question, no? Even John Fetterman, Pennsylvania's most deplorable politician, managed to graduate.

What else is deplorable about Walker?

How could the GOP totally miss – or willfully ignore – so many women that would come forth and tell stories of beatdowns administered by him, during 'roid rages'? The abortions paid for by this supposedly pro life candidate? His three out of wedlock children? This is supposedly the fundamentalist Christian candidate, right? Or is he a closet Mormon?

How many senators completely reject evolution? Walker did. “You didn't read the same bible I did. If man came from apes, why are there still apes?” Why, indeed Hershel. You raise an ironic point, but without a scintilla of self awareness, lol.

Herschel told at least one newspaper that his senate candidacy would help republicans achieve control of the House of Representatives, indicating a stunning lack of basic political awareness.

He theorized that “a vampire can kill a werewolf” during a campaign speech, without even being asked about it in any way.

He opposed environmental regulation because “our good air is just going to drift over to china” and they'll get the benefit.

I searched in vain for evidence that Walker believes the sun orbits around the earth. Haven't found it yet, though.

Herschel's campaign managed to dodge almost every hot button issue of the past several years – ruinous inflation; the national debt (which has now reached $300,000 per american family). Failing public schools. Homelessness. Substance abuse. Give him a checkmark for “secure our borders” and “support small businesses” though, even those there haven't been top issues recently for most voters.

The GOP is solely to blame for this mess. They failed in any way to “vet” Walker's past, or ascertain what scandals could render him unelectable. GOP string pullers became captive to the MAGA storyline that only candidates endorsed by Trump were electable.

I applaud Walker's various athletic feats, including his brief stint as an Olympic bobsledder, and impressive onscreen appearances as a kickboxer and “mixed martial artist”. The man has persistence, I will admit. I don't endorse his beatdowns of girlfriends, platoon of illegitimate kids, or related skullduggery.

Walker – here's my advice: You're too old to continue this Mixed Martial Arts nonsense. And you have mega financial obligations to your baby mommas and kids. Why not hook up with something like that George Forman grill thing, or some cable TV auto warranty deals? That's worked for so many people. And you're not going to get asked stuff about apes, air pollution, or vampires. I can pretty much guarantee it.

Good luck!

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helenS · 36-40, F

When I was in America (for my master's thesis), my professor and supervisor was a Republican, and he still is. A very conservative man, a bit stiff but with a dry sense of humor, extremely correct, and incredibly honest and fair. We communicate occasionally, and he is frustrated and maybe even horrified by the current state of his party.
There must be millions like him, conservatives who can no longer vote for a party which submits to Mr. Trump, so they don't vote at all, and stay at home.
There is a deep and regrettable crisis of conservatism in America, and it's their own fault.

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hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M

@trollslayer Looking in the mirror? When do you think the RINOS ever listened to MAGA/Libertarians? Turtle McConnell is so swampy you can smell him here in Canada. Much like the Progressive Conservatives here in Canada. It's a progressive party trying to fool the conservatives into advancing progressive causes.

trollslayer · 46-50, M

@hippyjoe1955 Gee, when they nominated all the MAGA candidates. Herschel Walker comes to mind. They listened to MAGA, and as a result ran a horrible candidate.

hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M

@trollslayer The republican party was very careful to keep MAGA at arms length. Yes some were nominated against the will of the party but they were not supported by the party and the party often worked against them.

LeopoldBloom · M

Let's be honest, it wasn't the "Republicans." Donald Trump is the one who pushed Walker as a crass attempt to beat Warnock with another Black man and a popular football player. Walker is a hero here in Georgia and his decisive primary win was based solely on name recognition. But with the exception of JD Vance in Ohio, every one of Trump's high-profile endorsements in close races lost - Dan Bolduc, Doug Mastriano, Kari Lake, Mehmet Oz, and now Walker. And despite Trump's call to throw out the Constitution on top of his disastrous candidate picks, the Republican bosses are still sucking up to him. Of course, the Dobbs decision didn't help either. Anyone could have told you that tossing out a popular, nearly half-century old right to abortion was a bad idea.

And I get that you don't like Fetterman because he's a liberal, but he's hardly "deplorable." His career as a mayor and Lt. Governor has been remarkable for his dedication and service. He also campaigned everywhere in the state, even in conservative areas, and even if his positions didn't appeal to some people, his personality and approach signaled that they could trust him. Contrast this with Oz, a shameless snake oil salesman with almost no connection to the state, who couldn't even get the name of the store right where he was shopping for "crudite," who had a history of torturing puppies to death in his own medical research, and worst of all, is a Turkish citizen and an active reservist in the Turkish military. Be honest and admit that if he was a Democrat, you'd be saying he can't be trusted with the kind of intelligence material a senator has access to.

As Mitch McConnell said, the Republicans had a "candidate problem," and until Trump's influence ends, you're going to have the same problem in 2024.

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SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@LeopoldBloom republicans don't HAVE to do what Trump tweets. It's a choice - and they chose AGAINST walker in the general election.

Fetterman is a guy who refuses to release his medical records and prognosis after a near death health event. Are you claiming the public doesn't have a right to know?

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

@SusanInFlorida No, HIPAA is claiming the public doesn't have a right to know.

LeopoldBloom · M

@SusanInFlorida Do you think Trump should release his own medical records instead of a statement by his personal physician that Trump is the healthiest president in history? What about Trump releasing his tax returns, as every presidential candidate for the past 50 years has done?

Did Herschel Walker release his medical records? The only reason you care about Fetterman is because he's a Democrat.

And no one is forcing Republicans to kowtow to Cheeto Benito, but they're apparently going to keep doing it until he either dies or is in prison. The real problem is that your leaders are spineless and terrified of their own base.

LegendofPeza · 56-60, M

After Trump himself , Herschel Walker was probably the least qualified and most unfit person ever to run for any public office. That Republicans so meekly fell in line behind his candidature for the 'greatest deliberative body in the world' makes a mockery of both that moniker and their own integrity. I think the stain of this campaign will be felt way beyond the state of Georgia and will reverberate right through til 2024. The Republicans just tied some more lead weights around their ankles.

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LegendofPeza · 56-60, M

@ElwoodBlues 👍

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@LegendofPeza you're forgetting such classic national candidates/ politicians like:

Strom Thurmond
George Wallace
Jesse Jackson
maxine waters
AOC . .

I can keep going, if needed . . .

LegendofPeza · 56-60, M

@SusanInFlorida They were all elected though.

ElwoodBlues · M

@helenS says

A two-party-system, as established in the US and many other countries, is a threat to a republican governmental system, in my opinion. One party comes out of elections as a winner, the other one as a loser. You guys will always have a clear winner, and that's not good. Countries with 10 smaller parties (such as Holland) are different, because no party will ever be the absolute winner, and they are all forced to compromise. And compromising is at the core of all good politics.

First off, I totally agree, good politics is based on compromise; without it we'll never achieve anything.

However, I think if you look below the surface, many multi-party systems actually have a lot in common with the US two party system. Just substitute the word 'coalition' for 'party' and you have a certain amount of long-term stability with control shifting between the coalition for more or less the status quo and the coalition for greater change.

And if you look beneath the surface of the two US parties, they function more or less like coalitions. As the center of gravity of the republican party shifted from the Midwest to California to the South, republican primary winners tended to emerge from each new center of gravity (until Trump). And on the democratic side, a born-again farmer like Carter is very different from Dukakis who was very different from Bill Clinton who's very different from Obama.

In other words, each party is really a coalition of different demographic, economic, and foreign & defense policy cliques, and different interests rise to the top of the party at different times. Much like a multi-party system.

room101 · 51-55, M

@ElwoodBlues I'm not entirely convinced that differing interests within a given party equates to, or even resembles, a multi-party system.

I grew up in the UK with its Parliamentary system. If the position of a given politician does not resonate with the electorate, then he or she does not get enough votes to become an MP. Consequently, one finds that the interests of that party are aligned across the vast majority of the MP's of the party. This is why each party publishes its formal manifesto at election time.

However, as [@ helenS] points out, coalitions regularly exist in multi-party systems. Obviously, the fact that no one party manages to secure enough MP's makes that a necessity. Sometimes, too much choice makes voting difficult.

When we look deeply enough at policy etc, how much variation can there realistically be? In my view, not very much. This means that voters will consider two factors. First, what that candidate will do (or has done) for his constituents. Second, what does the overall party actually stand for, what's in its manifesto?

I strongly believe that democracy is a fragile thing and a two party system exploits its fragility.

trollslayer · 46-50, M

Yet nearly 50% of people still voted for Walker. I've seen some lousy candidates in my life. They are crooked, slimy, dumb, or racist. But most of them are not the nominee for a major office like Senator or Governor, and usually they are at least good at being crooked or slimy. Walker would not even be good at being a bad politician. I could see him filling a chair as a house member of some uncontested R district (like Paul Gosar or MTG), but Senator? Surely in all of Georgia there is a better Republican candidate. Warnock seemed to be low hanging fruit here. Really sad what the GOP has become. I know you folks on the right talk about lousy D candidates - but yikes - at least those folks have some kind of accomplishment, some kind of cohesive platform, or some kind of relevant experience. Walker was just bad, bad, bad.

I will also throw Arizona's Kari Lake into this category. At least she can talk like she lives in this universe. But her whole platform seemed to be about 2020 election complaints. She offered ZERO else. Arizona has produced some fine conservatives over the years - where the hell were they this year?

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@trollslayer walker is the poster boy for "irrelevant name recognition/fame" and "trump endorsement". He's like Dr Oz in the pennsylvnia senate race, but with a much lower IQ.

room101 · 51-55, M

But it's not just Herschel Walker though. I mean, you're right about pretty much everything that you've said (apart from calling Fetterman a deplorable) but, look at the rest of the Republican field. MTG, Lauren Boebert, "Dr" Oz, Kari Lake, Sarah Palin, the other Sarah (whatshername, Hucker something or other😉).

What with disenfranchising the electorate with their constant claims of election rigging and fielding some of the dumbest most obviously asinine candidates, the Republican Party has totally screwed itself.

I admit that I do not agree with anything that the Republican Party supposedly stands for but, for any democracy to function, for it to even exist, more than one credible political party must be present. So, whilst I'm happy to watch them implode, you guys need to create an alternative. And, be quick about it!

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spjennifer · 61-69, T

@room101 Where the Republican Party made its biggest mistake was aligning itself with the Tea Party loonies back when John McCain took stoopid Sarah as his running mate, they made a compromise so as to not split the party vote but it was their biggest error in that now the loonies are running the asylum. As someone who voted Republican a couple of times since the days of Reagan, I find it reprehensible that we are now left with either voting for Joe Biden or a bunch of crazies, not that the Republicans of the past were the best and brightest but at least they seemed to work to better our Country, not destroy it in the name of a grifting con man like tRump! 😖

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@room101 fetterman is instantly rejectable because he had a potentially fatal medical event, yet refuses to release any medical records allowing voters to determine if he could even complete his term in office.

and there are all those violent felons he wants early release for. Can't we please start with the nonviolent ones first, if we're concerned about overcrowding?

room101 · 51-55, M

@SusanInFlorida Fetterman’s medical record? I’ve been living in Spain for the last three years and even I know what type of stroke Fetterman had. I also have direct personal experience of how such a stroke affects one mentally because my mother suffered the same type of stroke back in 2008. She wasn’t as young as Fetterman nor anywhere near as physically strong but, I know what aphasia does and how it can be successfully treated.

As to him being soft on violent crime, yeah, that was a regular talking point by Oz and the GOP in general. Thankfully, the good people of Pennsylvania didn’t buy it any more than I do. The GOP tactic of spinning total BS failed them in the midterms. I hope it continues to fail them and that the American people learn the difference between an ad campaign and objectively verifiable information.

I looked at how Fetterman has lived his life. How, as a young man, he joined Americorps (Goggle them if you don’t know who they are and what they do) and, as mayor of Braddock, he sought to revitalise the town through youth and art programs.

Compare him to pretty much any current member of the GOP and he stands head and shoulders above all of them. Not just because of his imposing stature. Meanwhile, Oz is a proven grifter who served in the Turkish army, retained his Turkish citizenship, routinely votes in Turkish elections (for Erdogan) and, doesn’t even live in the state he sought to represent. Btw, there will be a general election in Turkey in approx. six months time. Wonder where Oz will be spending his summer next year.

ElwoodBlues · M

One easy step the republicans could take was suggested by Romney in 2016 yet still not acted upon — require candidates to release a few years of their taxes as a precondition to winning the nomination. Republican leadership in 2016 knew Trump was unsuited for office; the taxes would have proved it.

[media=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P43wDpKQxaM]

trollslayer · 46-50, M

@ElwoodBlues Haley and Rand Paul are the ones that disappointed me most. The others are all ass kissers and political hacks. I had thought of Haley as being more toward the center and smarter than this. Paul I had known to be somewhat of a renegade unafraid to buck the popular view. But both of them seem to have swallowed trump's D harder than anyone else.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@ElwoodBlues i agree with the tax thing, and have supported this elsewhere. although i don't think this necessarily would have been a factor in Walker's situation. My extended request for candidate vetting involves not only tax returns but:

1. health records, with a special emphasis on cancer, heart disease, or other factors which could interfere with completing their term of office.

2. felony criminal convictions. Not traffic citations, like they tried to impeach Marco Rubio with.

3. Mansions owned.

4. Funds/Assets in foreign banks/brokerages. Although these aren't prima facie evidence of a tax avoidance scheme, i'd be fascinated how a candidate explains a numbered swiss bank account to the media.

5. Which elections over the past 20 years he actually voted in (trump fails this test) and which party (if any) he was a member of at various times. In case he's just opportunistically latching onto the opportunity of the day, as Walker may have been

6. Simple questions like "do you intend to raise taxes/which ones?"; "what narcotics should be legalized?" "The USA has over800 military bases. Would you close/merge any of them? How about in your own home state?"

whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M

I agree with you. But its not as if WalkerV Warnock was the only suspect match up in the game. Statistically there should have been a Red Wave and there wasnt. And the Party as a whole has to take a good look at itself over that..😷

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whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M

@SusanInFlorida Thats absolutely correct.. And the middle ground is now the far left to the Republican Party. The language itself needs to change..😷

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@whowasthatmaskedman it's hard to have a red wave when many of the candidates thing the number one issue is that 2020 was a "stolen election". no swing voters are going to rush to the polls over this. and that's how elections are actually won. democrat party members always vote democrat. republican members vote republican. and 35% of voters who aren't party members are the deciding factor on election day. who will they vote for? and will they even bother to vote?

whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M

@SusanInFlorida I completely agree. I believe America to have a mountain of problems right now.. And sadly the only ones anyone seems to be paying attention to are the ones that matter least. I have views on those issues. But in the end the virtual paralysis in the government is doing more harm than real progress in either parties "platform".. Although the right doesnt seem to be looking much past the 12 mile limit from what I can see.😷

ron122 · 41-45, M

All these Trump indorsed candidates are going to destroy the republican party. Trump needs to fade away.

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ron122 · 41-45, M

@LordShadowfire I liked most of Trump's policies but I've never liked him as a person. Now it looks like he's gone completely crazy. Republicans will never win as long as he's the face of the party.

spjennifer · 61-69, T

@ron122 The problem is that now, tRump isn't alone as the Republican Party is well stocked with loonies, just look at MTG, Blowbert, Cawthorn (Gone), Mutt Gaytz and others, until they dump these radicals the Republican Party won't get back in power...

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

@ron122 I'm willing to take that as a compromise across the aisle. We disagree on a lot of issues, but we both agree his insanity needs to be removed from civilized politics.

hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M

Well that and massive voter fraud.

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LegendofPeza · 56-60, M

@hippyjoe1955 lol , no ..... wrong again ....... the defense ministry already released a report saying there was nothing to substantiate claims of fraud from some of President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters protesting his Oct. 30 defeat.

Get your fucking facts straight mate before making stupid predictions.

hippyjoe1955 · 61-69, M

@LegendofPeza and you believe that nonsense because..... you are a clueless liberal but I repeat myself.

LegendofPeza · 56-60, M

@hippyjoe1955 You're the one who makes shit up , not me.

Was the report a figment of my imagination ?

dakotaviper · 56-60, M

He's on his way out.

What's ironic is that it's people like you that's keeping him relevant.

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

Exactly. The higher-ups in the GOP just saw a black man running as a Republican, and their racist asses thought that would be enough.

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SW-User

@LordShadowfire Kind of hard for them to escape this taint after January 6th, since they formed the front line of Storm Trumpers front and center at the insurrection::

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

@SW-User Yes. There is no escaping the taint.

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

@SusanInFlorida

I still remember when the black CEO of "Godfather Pizza" (a second rate pizza chain) "electrified" the republican party by contending for the presidential nomination. not because of his policy proposals, but on the premise that black americans will vote their racial identities without looking any deeper.

I mean, that kind of just proves you can be racist against your own people.

This message was deleted by its author.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@MarmeeMarch the scary thing is - in 2016 we actually had democrat party and republican party debates (before the primaries), and after watching these on TV, people still came up with "Biden" and "Trump". It's like we live in Bizarro World

LeopoldBloom · M

@SusanInFlorida Debates are worthless. The only effect they have is if someone says something really stupid, or comes up with a real zinger ("Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.") Or they bring some unknown to national attention. I doubt if many people had heard of Marianne Williamson until they saw her on that stage.

The reason we ended up with Biden and Trump is because they led in their respective polls. Trump especially was a creature of the polls. If he'd polled at 10% he would have dropped out.

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