Well, tonight is a doubleheader: The Fox News Republican Candidates Debate — minus former President Donald J. Trump — and the Tucker Carlson interview with Trump, who seems to be the frontrunner for the nomination.
But before I get to the candidates, I’m throwing in a donate button!
Ok here’s my short guide to the candidates:
Former President Donald Trump – he leads all the other Republican candidates by a hefty margin in every poll but is under indictment on 91 counts in four jurisdictions. Just to remind you, there’s nothing in the Constitution that says a convicted felon serving time in prison cannot run for president. But it’s not easy. That’s why the Unabomber never ran. But it’s legal!
Fox has required that the candidates who participate in the debate must agree to support the ultimate nominee. That means that former VP Mike Pence would have to support a guy who nearly got him hanged by a mob.
Chris Christie’s entire campaign has been based on how Trump is a traitor to our country and has taken the pledge — but he’s from New Jersey — so there’s that.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is running second in the polls to Trump but seems to be fading. He’s put a lot of chips on being anti-woke, including going after Disney, which opposed his “Don’t-Say-Gay” policy in Florida’s schools. Disney World attracts 45 million visitors a year and has 75,000 employees. When I was Senator in Minnesota, I made it a practice not to attack the largest employer in my state.
I predict that DeSantis will not be going after Trump, but Vivek (pronounced “Vee-vek”) Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur worth a few hundred million dollars, is quick on his feet, which sometimes gets him in trouble. Recently, he said he’d let China take over Taiwan once we overtake China in microchip manufacturing. Also, he’s Hindu, a religion which believes in reincarnation. The only Hindu president we’ve had is Willian Henry Harrison who came back as Gerald Ford.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley also served as Trump’s UN ambassador. She’s been back and forth on Trump several times. She denies she’s going for Veep. She won’t get it. She’s for increasing aid to Ukraine. As am I. And as the GOP base in most definitely NOT!
Sen. Tim Scott, also of S.C., may bring that up — or not. I served with Tim in the Senate. Here’s an odd thing. Scott does not believe the government creates jobs. I mentioned the interstate highway system, the internet, and the space program to him. But he told me the private sector would have done those better… I had that conversation with him on the Senate floor!
Who am I forgetting? Oh. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a billionaire. Like Trump! Except he’s actually a billionaire. He made his money in tech, and I have made $19 off him. See to get on the debate stage, candidates need 40,000 donors, and he’s offered a $20 gift certificate to the first 50,000 folks who give his campaign a dollar! And there he will be!
Last, but not least, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson just came in under the wire. I was on CNN with him for a couple hours the Tuesday of the last midterms. He predicted a blowout by the Republicans, because of crime. Arkansas has four times the murder rate of New York. No one will bring that up in the debate.
So, watch these folks, and then give us money so we can beat whoever gets the nomination and all the Republicans down ticket. That’s what Midwest Values PAC is for!
Al
P.S. Hey, isn’t this better than getting a stupid phone call from the Democratic National Committee? And it’s just me writing these things. Hope you like them and can help us win this scary election! (That’s not a joke.)
