#republican debate

[memingursa]

#politics #ron desantis tw #republican debate

[genderqueerpositivity]

We have presidential candidates calling for federal abortion bans and gender affirming care bans on the national stage now. After Roe, both of these are fully achievable goals for the Republican party. If not during this election cycle, perhaps the next one; Roe was the law of the land for 50 years--they know how to be patient.

I was thinking about the 2008 election the other day, and how much brighter back then things felt about the future of LGBTQ rights.

Were things absolutely great then? Hell no. But I still believed that "love wins". I could still picture a better future for the LGBTQ community in this country; at a minimum I could imagine a future where queer people are just simply left alone.

These days? I catch myself daydreaming about a future where the institution of American Christianity has been dismantled in much the same way as we call for the abolition of prisons and police. And I find myself wondering if perhaps the United States shouldn't be united anymore, and what our everyday lives would look like in that future.

And I wish we could just skip forward to a time where the threat of fascism has passed. Because I really don't want to see the death and suffering that it brings.

#republican debate #christian fascism #christofascism #politics #abortion rights #trans rights #news #gop debate

[moderat50]

Making Women Sex Objects

It seems Maga approves of treating women as sex objects, toys. Men are allowed to grab them by the pu....y. Trump called this "locker room talk". Matthew 5:28 calls it adultery. Yet, there was very little objections by the Maga community and several christian leader supporters.

#democrats #republicans #election #donald trump #catholic #christianity #conservative #exvangelical #maga #gop #2024 election #iowa #iowa news #republican debate #nikki haley #ron desantis #evangelical

[odinsblog]

creepy af 😬

#politics #republicans #ron desantis #gop debate #republican debate #fake smile #fake people #👽 or 🤖

[luckydiorxoxo]

During the debate, Ron DeSantis vowed to fire Dr. Fauci, who is already retired.

#desantis #fauci #gop debate #republican debate

[irlkirito]

I think the mental health crisis could not in fact be solved by faith and patriotism

#republican debate #debate #republican #politics

[samar-arijjj]

#republican debate

[rev-ups]

Vivek ramaswamy just listed like half of the government when listing departments to get rid of 💀

#republican debate #republican #debate

[daisywiththorns]

I think Nikki Haley should wear a black suit/red tie/flag pin combo to the next debate just to fuck with her opponents.

#they looked l like they were dressed by their gop mothers #american politics #nikki haley #gop #republican debate #dwt

[dramaticpandabear]

Wait, Vivek is trying to become the republican candidate for the US election?

But I thought the Nerevarine killed him in order to destroy the tribunal?

Azura would not like this.

#please tell me im not the only one who thought of this lmao #vivek ramaswamy #vivec #elder scrolls lore #elder scrolls shit post #elections 2024 #elder scrolls online #tesblr #skyrim #morrowind #nerevarine #us politics #republican debate

[machotwink]

i canNot believe i am watching with my hUMAN EYES AND EARS THe republic primary debate

#rofl #wilbur #republican debate #this drinking game (and delusion) is killing me #abortion on demand is such a banger tho

[odinsblog]

• This is the 1st question of the debate: Was Joe Biden the legitimate winner of the 2020 election? (take a second sip if a candidate deflects the question)

• Someone says the word "woke" [only do this a maximum of 7 times].

• A candidate uses the words "two-tiered justice system."

• Someone uses Ron DeSantis's last name to create a punchline (i.e. "Ron DeSanctimonious" or "Ron DiSaster.")

• A candidate mentions a "three-letter enemy," including FBI, CIA, NSA, IRS, CRT (Critical Race Theory), ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance), DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion), CDC, EPA, DHS, ATF, CNN, NIH, DOE, or DOJ. [only once per three-letter word, and only counts if they say the acronym, not the whole thing]

• A candidate complains about boys wanting to become girls, or vise versa

• A candidate claims that there are 87,000 new armed IRS agents patrolling the country

• A candidate (likely to be Ron DeSantis) says he or she will eliminate these three agencies of government [it must be these three]: Commerce, Education, and Energy.

• Nikki Haley alludes to the idea that Joe Biden will die in his second term, and therefore, Republicans are really running against Kamala Harris. [only do this once]

• A candidate is asked whether they would sign a national abortion ban, and refuses to actually answer the question.

• A candidate is insulted for his/her poll numbers by someone talking about how far away they are from the center of the stage.

• A candidate says "Biden crime family."

• One candidate attacks another candidate (not counting DeSantis/Christie) because that candidate attacked Donald Trump [only do this once]

• A candidate openly supports the impeachment of Joe Biden [only do this once]

• Vivek Ramaswamy is directly or indirectly insulted for being a Hindu [only do this once]

• Ron DeSantis uses any of the 4 "MUST DOS" from the leaked SuperPAC memo

• The first candidate attacked by Ron DeSantis is Vivek Ramaswamy or Chris Christie

• A candidate says "Right here in Wisconsin"

• A candidate uses the words, "Hillary Clinton [or, "the Clintons"], "George Soros," "deep state," "cabal," or "groomers" in a sentence. BONUS: Chug half of your remaining drink if they manage to use two or more of those phrases in one sentence.

• A candidate gives a shout-out to Elon Musk. [only do this once]

#politics #lol #republicans #gop debate #republican debate #drinking game

[luckydiorxoxo]

Tim Scott gets cheers for saying we need to "break the backs" of the teachers unions to restore education in America.

#gop debate #republican #tim scott #republican debate

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Rising GOP support for the U.S. taking unilateral military action in Mexico against drug cartels is increasingly rattling people on both sides of the border who worry talk of an attack is getting normalized.

Wednesday’s Republican presidential primary debate featured high-stakes policy disagreements on a range of issues from abortion to the environment — but found near-unanimous consensus on the idea of using American military force to fight drug smuggling and migration.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made the strongest pledge on the stage with his response to Fox News moderator Martha MacCallum’s question asked whether he would support sending U.S. special forces into Mexico to “take out fentanyl labs, to take out drug cartel operations.”

“Yes. And I will do it on day one,” said DeSantis.

The Governor’s eagerness reflects a growing normalization of the idea, which Republicans have embraced from the campaign trail to the halls of Congress.

Even more moderate GOP candidates such as former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott have suggested support for some version of unilateral military action across the Rio Grande.

Former President Trump’s hawkish approach to the bilateral relationship has led the way in mainstreaming the idea. As President, he sought Pentagon advice on launching missiles into Mexico, according to “A Sacred Oath,” a memoir by former Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

Esper talked Trump down, but the proposal still casts a shadow on U.S.-Mexico relations.

“I believe any action that is unilateral by the United States vis-à-vis Mexico, especially by U.S. uniformed forces, be they police or military, would be completely counterproductive to United States-Mexico relations,” said John Negroponte, who served as permanent representative to the U.N. under President George W. Bush and as ambassador to Mexico under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

“Mexico is our largest trading partner. We share a 2,200-mile border and we have inter-relationships that are extensive and across an entire spectrum of issues such as migration, trade, people-to-people relations and environmental concerns. I believe such action would be extremely ill-advised,” Negroponte said.

Over the past century, bilateral relations have eased from the brink of war to deep collaboration on that catalog of issues, though many in Mexico remain distrustful of U.S. influence.

The last major U.S. military intervention in Mexico ended in 1917, as the latter country’s revolution entered its final phase. Known then as the “Punitive Expedition,” the mission led by Gen. John Pershing saw 10,000 U.S. combatants deployed to northern Mexico over the better part of a year.

Better commercial and cross-border relations came with decades of political stability in Mexico, culminating in the signature of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1992.

While cooperation has only intensified since then, open and direct collaboration between U.S. and Mexican security forces remains elusive; the Pentagon’s long-term goal of better integration with the Mexican military hit a speed bump amid Trump-related tensions.

But a century of progress could be erased overnight, a Mexican official told The Hill.

“Any military intervention in Mexico would be a monumental setback for the U.S. and would derail the bilateral relationship. It can destroy the North American trading bloc and worsen the security situation, triggering a wave of migration in the region.”

Now, bilateral tensions are being stimulated on both sides of the border, with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pursuing an internal image of defiance against the United States.

“It’s been made worse obviously in the process by President López Obrador’s denial of Mexico’s role in fentanyl trafficking — the fact that he says that fentanyl isn’t produced in Mexico — which is absurd because its own armed forces parade seizures of labs and of fentanyl being produced in Mexico,” said Arturo Sarukhán, who served as Mexican ambassador to the United States from 2007-13.

“In many ways, López Obrador unwittingly has fanned the flames of anger, vis-à-vis Mexican positions on law enforcement collaboration, so it’s the perfect storm.”

Despite the political pressures that driven in part by a frantic search for solutions to the opioid epidemic, a few cooler heads remain.

On the debate stage Wednesday, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) opposed the unilateral use of U.S. military or police force in Mexico, harkening back to his experience as head of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

“We cannot be successful against the cartel unless we bring in Mexico as a partner. We have to use economic pressure to accomplish that,” said Hutchinson, though he added that López Obrador “has not been helpful.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence lauded Hutchinson’s appeal for economic pressure, but said he would “engage Mexico the exact same way” as the Trump administration to ensure security cooperation.

Hutchinson, who also served as the top border security official when the Department of Homeland Security was created in 2003, was more channeling the approach of the pre-Trump GOP.

“What Hutchinson said last night is a clear reminder of the way the GOP would go about addressing issues of transnational collaboration in the fight against transnational organized crime with countries like Mexico,” said Sarukhán.

But the post-Trump GOP, according to its opponents, is a ticking time bomb.

“I think what you’re seeing is the unraveling of a political party in real time,” said Texas Rep. Joaquín Castro, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Western Hemisphere Subcommittee.

The idea of unilateral military action is a placeholder for a lack of policy proposals in other fields, said Castro, but he warned the idea is already snowballing.

“What happens is, somebody popular in their party starts talking about it, and then the other candidates start parroting it. And after time, their base takes it on as a core idea and gets behind it.”

“And then the base starts demanding that every Republican in the country, whether they’re running for President or school board, agrees with this idea. And that’s the evolution of this whole thing. And that’s what’s gonna happen here. If something doesn’t change, that’s what’s gonna happen here.”

Pressed for further comment on DeSantis’s hard-line position, his campaign said “he will do what is necessary to stop the deadly flow of Fentanyl and other narcotics from the Mexican drug cartels.”

“Ron DeSantis rightly didn’t back down to the Experts(TM) during COVID and he likewise won’t let them keep him from securing our southern border,” said press secretary Bryan Griffin.

Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), a global crisis negotiator who served as U.S. permanent representative to the U.N. under Clinton, warned that military action in Mexico would both backfire and fail to solve the underlying issues.

“It shows the nativist shift of the Republican Party from internationalism to irresponsible diplomacy. It would be a disaster if there were any military action against Mexico — a foreign policy disaster for the United States,” he said.

“Plus, it makes no sense to resolve the problem,” Richardson added.

#us politics #news #republicans #conservatives #the hill #2024 presidential race #republican debate #2024 elections #foreign policy #us military #us mexico border #mexico #unilateral military action #drug cartels #war on drugs #fentanyl #Gov. Ron DeSantis #Nikki Haley #Sen. Tim Scott #Mark Esper #John Negroponte #North American Free Trade Agreement #President Andrés Manuel López Obrador #Arturo Sarukhán #Asa Hutchinson #drug enforcement administration #Mike Pence #gop platform #Rep. Joaquín Castro #Bill Richardson

[tomorrowusa]

Vivek Ramaswamy is just another rich power-crazed tech weenie like Elon Musk.

Such people are alien to the concept of democracy and have little knowledge of anything outside their fields.

Ramaswamy, however, is qualified to be a leading member of a party of losers.

Anybody who votes for the Party of Losers is an even bigger loser.

#vivek ramaswamy #republicans #gop presidential nomination #republican debate #party of losers #election 2024