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Former Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld is launching a presidential exploratory committee to challenge President Trump in the Republican primaries, saying the country is āin grave perilā and he ācannot sit quietly on the sidelines any longer.ā
Weld becomes the first Republican to officially announce he is exploring a run against Trump, and sets up a potential match-up in the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire presidential primary and in other states.
In prepared remarks at the āPolitics & Eggsā breakfast in Bedford, N. H., Weld delivered a blistering critique of Trump, saying āwe have a president whose priorities are skewed toward promotion of himself rather than toward the good of the country.ā
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True
I always agree with a candidate who calls T out on the mat for who he is, but I am ever watchful of their personality-type, and whether they can withstand Tās mouth and blowtorch methodology.
Bill Weld may represent the Jeb! type candidate, and will not fare well, should it be T he would contend with. Weld can give an intellectual response but do not know if he can capture the imagination of those beyond the coastal elitesā¦
Part of Tās offensive is to take down every personality type, unless they are beyond reproach, and can wield power - see Nancy Pelosi.
Not sure who our go-to candidate is now. All TBD
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Kamala Harris seems to be doing quite well from where Iām sitting. I do have some concerns about her record as a federal prosecutor but thatās a different kind of job than President. She would be formidable in the debates against Trump.
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I agreeā¦she is formidable, speaks with conviction and could override the petty antics of any R blowhard.
Still earlyā¦and we are literally getting swamped with contendersā¦just saying that some of them, it must feel like a righteous cause, and some egotistical journey that they want to pursue. Not too many will go too far.
Obama had enough vision, charisma, leadership strengths, little baggage in terms of his career, and showed his smarts but didnāt trounce others. Perhaps Kamala has a lot of the sameā¦she is being very careful with her messaging, so she can carry little baggage (minus the pot comments me thinks.)
The races have begunā¦!
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No one cared about those pot stories or the music gaff. It was a real nothing burger.
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Contextually, I felt that she may have done some undue harmā¦but I flinched and did not listen, saying to myselfā¦āok, here it comes - the right will come after her,ā even if the pot laws are sweeping the country.
I am happy with nothing burger then.:
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Bernie Sanders, inching closer to a second bid for the White House, has recorded a campaign video in which he says he is running for president in 2020, according to two people familiar with the spot.
Another hint that Sanders is getting closer to a launch: As POLITICO reported this week, the Sanders team has been interviewing people for top staff positions. Chuck Rocha, a political consultant who advised Sandersā 2016 campaign, is expected to join him again if a second bid materializes.
It is unclear when, or even whether, the Sanders video will be released. Itās possible that Sanders could launch a 2020 campaign with an exploratory committee and then formally declare his candidacy later, a route other presidential candidates, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have taken.
So as a Democrat or Independent? Making me nervousā¦ please donāt go Independentā:pray:
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Heās running
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More Beto chatterā¦sources say Beto has decided against running for the Senate in 2020.
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CNN too.
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Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee announced Friday that he is running for President, launching a bid in which he intends to make combating climate change the central rationale for his campaign.
Inslee announced the bid in a video made publicon Friday. He is slated to hold a news conference in Seattle at a solar panel installer to expand upon his presidential announcement. He will be surrounded by friends, family and business owners who the campaign says have benefited from his climate policies in the state.
"Iām Jay Inslee and Iām running for president because I am the only candidate who will make defeating climate change our nationās number one priority," the governor says in a more-than-a-minute-long video that highlights his decades-long focus on climate change and compares tackling the issue to President John F. Kennedyās focus on going to the moon.
āWeāre the first generation to feel the sting of climate change. And weāre the last that can do something about it,ā Inslee adds. āWe can do this. Join our movement. This is our moment.ā
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The President is having trouble finding someone to run his 2020 super PAC.
President Donald Trump wants to raise $1 billion for his reelection. But his top advisers worry that the super PAC at the center of that effort is hurting, lacking a high-wattage leader who can cajole millionaire and billionaire donors to fork over huge sums.
Trump political aides, members of the presidentās family and top Republicans have been considering potential candidates to spearhead America First Actionās 2020 fundraising efforts. They want someone with deep ties to the president and the clubby world of major GOP donors.
But the nationwide search has so far come up empty. Super PAC organizers at one point came up with a roster of around two dozen names that included Robert Kraft, who was never seriously considered but was quashed anyway after the New England Patriots owner ā a fixture at the presidentās Mar-a-Lago resort ā was charged with soliciting prostitution. Another person floated for the post was GOP benefactor Kelly Craft, but she was ruled out after being nominated for United Nations ambassador.
Then thereās Nick Ayers. A former White House official who is close to many top Republican givers, he had been widely expected to take a senior advisory role with the super PAC after departing the administration late last year. But the 36-year-old Ayers, whoās spent the past few months with his family and quail hunting in Georgia, has yet to sign on.
Many of those seen as good fits for the post are tied up in administration jobs. Woody Johnson, a former New York Jets owner and Jeb Bush 2016 finance chair, is serving as ambassador to the United Kingdom. Senior White House advisers Kellyanne Conway and Johnny DeStefano have been mentioned, though thereās widespread doubt either will end up at the group.
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The Republicans, in control of the House, the Senate, and the White House, had two years to do something about this after all the alarms went off in 2016. The attacks on our elections are the real national emergency; the real threat to our democracy.
Time and money are running short for states to replace aging or inadequate voting machines before the 2020 presidential primaries, according to a report released Tuesday.
State and local election officials in 31 states say they want to replace their voting equipment before the elections, but the vast majority said they donāt have enough money to do so, according to The Brennan Center for Justice at NYUās School of Law.
āWe basically have this year and then itās too late,ā said Lawrence Norden, deputy director of the centerās Democracy Program and author of the report.
It can take months to decide on replacement machines, secure the funding, develop security protocols, train workers and test the equipment.
States received $380 million in election security grants from Congress last year, but experts have said thatās merely a down payment on what is needed.
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Sherrod Brown is not running for President in 2020.
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I hope I am doing this right as I have never made a post before on here. From where I am watching everything unfold (Canada) I have the impression that Joe Biden is going to announce his name as a candidate for President. I have seen many supporting articles and just as many positions of non-support for this eventuality. Many say he is too old, the party needs to portray a new face. In my mind, Biden has a wealth of experience that he can bring to the race and I really feel that Trump is a little scared of Biden (go back to Bidenās comments about ātaking Trump out back to the woodshedā a while back).
If Biden and co. can wrestle the 2nd. term away from Trump then that would be the term needed to put the USA back on an even keel. Many priorities exist for the ācaretakerā president: restoration of US standing in the world community, termination of this awful policy of child incarceration and ensuring that families are reunited, working on Obamacare to make sure it doesnāt implode, addressing the failures of the US in dealing with climate change, dealing with the vulnerabilities of the electoral system following the Mueller probeā¦ and I could go on and on. These types of things are necessary after the mess that Trump has placed the country in.
Looking forward to the 2020 term in this manner, the Democrats are in a position to take hold of the presidency again in 2024. If Biden takes on a good VP and that person becomes familiar to Americans, that person could take the reigns and run for President in 2024. I have some preferences for who I would like to see but I would think that this person would have to be a female. My bets are on Kamala Harris or Amy Klobuchar, two of the brightest lights of the Democratic Party (in my opinion).
Starting with the 2024 term Democratic President could then fully concentrate on the Green New Deal, Infrastructure and remaining healthcare concerns.
I look forward to seeing your comments as I feel that the contributors of this group are among the most intelligent around.
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Thanks for your comments about Biden and gearing up for 2020. I am not ready (quite) for the jockeying ahead. I just want a far better person (than T) to win.
As weāve faced what feels like a hugely entangled election process with meddling, social media influencing, and dirty politicsā¦it feels like we need an inspired choice to get the nation (or everyone who CAN vote) to vote.
Bottom line - all tbd.
Appreciate your informed interests 
I see Inslee valuable only as a one-trick pony keeping climate change, at least an occasional subject in the primary and presidential debates. Heās right of course, but not ārightā enough to get the nomination. My own (ex-) Governor-now-Oval-Office candidate, John Hickenlooper, sided with the fossil fuel industry far too often for my taste. Speaking of taste, he went so far as to drink fracking fluid to demonstrate its safety.
I fear that you youngsters and your children are well and truly fucked by the Kochs, et. al.
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Weāre not fucked just because of the Kochās, were fucked because the boomers wonāt vote for pro environmental candidates like Inslee.
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