The Next President of the United States

[MintTrav]

Apparently the Dems started planning way back, but the Republicans started much more recently, so we'll see next week whether it shows. It's reported that Trump was watching this week and has been asking for numerous late changes based on what he saw.

We are promised 'nightly surprises', which should be achievable, as most of the speakers aren't known. Donald hated the Democrats' recorded speeches (particularly Michelle Obama quoting out-of-date Covid death numbers), so there will be more live stuff and fewer tapes. There will be more 'ordinary people' with stories to tell, including the couple who waved guns at protestors and the student who faced off against a tribe member and sued the media for defamation. And there may be an appearance from Tara Reade.

The Republican Convention could be more interesting than the Democrat love-in in that there will be a scramble to lay down a marker for 2024. Of course, a lot of the Dems were doing the same, but they had to pretend they weren't. Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo and Mike Pence are obvious ones to watch, while Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul will probably be game for another shot, but some others to look out for include:

Senators
Josh Hawley - Missouri (youngest member of the Senate)
Tom Cotton - Arkansas
Rick Scott - Florida (former Gov of Florida)
Joni Ernst - Iowa
Tim Scott - South Carolina (GOP's only Black Senator)
Ben Sasse - Nebraska

Governors
Kristi Noem - South Dakota (former Representative)
Charlie Baker - Massachusetts
Pete Ricketts - Nebraska
Larry Hogan - Maryland
Ron DeSantis - Florida (former Representative)

Representatives
Dan Crenshaw - Texas
Will Hurd - Texas
Matt Gaetz - Florida
Liz Cheney - Wyoming (House GOP Chair)
Elise Stefanik - New York

They won't all get to speak. Apparently Ernst, Noem, Cotton, Tim Scott and Haley are slated, but the rest aren't known yet.

If Trump loses in November, this lot will immediately go to war with each other to determine the future direction of the party. They'll probably hold together til then (apart from Sasse, who has openly opposed Trump throughout).

[MintTrav]

When 5pm Isn't 5pm - Kanye West Insists Late Is On Time

When is 5pm not 5pm? Kayne West claimed this week that it's not 5 o'clock until it's 5.01.

Kanye was delayed on his way to file papers to run in Wisconsin's Presidential election, arriving less than a minute after the 5pm deadline, and his application was accepted, but later rejected on the basis of being received after the cut-off.

He appealed it to the Wisconsin State Elections Commission and his lawyer put forward the argument that it is 5pm for a full minute after 5pm. He said that the regulations only refer to minutes, not seconds - so it is still 5.00pm until 5.01pm is reached.

The Commission gave its decision yesterday and came to the conclusion that it is 5pm at 5pm, and after 5pm it is no longer 5pm, even if it is after by a part of a minute. Who'd have thought? It wasn't unanimous - the three Republicans and three Democrats on the Commission came to a 5-1 decision, the dissenting Republican saying that Mr West should receive favourable treatment as he is an African American.

Republicans are hoping that Kanye can peel off some of Biden's votes and have been assisting him. In 2016 the Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson received 107,000 votes in Wisconsin and Jill Stein of the Green Party got 31,000, with Trump beating Clinton by just 23,000. The Democrats have objected to both Kanye's and the Green Party's filings which, in a neat switch, the Republicans are calling suppression of Black voters.

[Marky147]

Couldn't make it up, lol.

Kanye should be sectioned, not running for anything.

[MintTrav]

Couldn't make it up, lol.

Kanye should be sectioned, not running for anything.

What's the point of doing it if he keeps completely dropping States by missing filing dates? The objective is to split the Black vote, who are overwhelmingly in Biden's corner, and they hope that a portion might switch to West. However, the poor management of the campaign has undermined its impact - you can't take votes if your guy's not on the ballot (apart from the few write-ins you can scrounge). Most States don't matter, but he keeps missing filing in ones that do. GOP operatives have been doing a lot of it for him, so it's surprising that they have screwed it up so many times.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/513247-here-are-the-states-where-kanye-west-is-on-the-ballot

[MintTrav]

What a great ad. It's good to see a Republican ad that addresses real issues. Also has great production, which a lot of them do, but this one takes a different tack.

Kim Klacik is not your typical Republican candidate. She runs a non-profit company she founded, which assists 'under-served women'. She made headlines last year when she highlighted Baltimore's problems, and her initiative was picked up by Trump, who tweeted that it's a rat-infested city.

She's running in a District where she has little chance of being elected, which seems like a waste of talent. I'm certain, though, that she has a bright future in the GOP one way or another.

[Marky147]

Yes, she does sound very savvy, and not just pinging ads out with Daily Sport taglines etc.

What is she likely to do, if she's caught somewhere she cannot progress? Move to another area of government?

[Marky147]

Couldn't make it up, lol.

Kanye should be sectioned, not running for anything.

What's the point of doing it if he keeps completely dropping States by missing filing dates? The objective is to split the Black vote, who are overwhelmingly in Biden's corner, and they hope that a portion might switch to West. However, the poor management of the campaign has undermined its impact - you can't take votes if your guy's not on the ballot (apart from the few write-ins you can scrounge). Most States don't matter, but he keeps missing filing in ones that do. GOP operatives have been doing a lot of it for him, so it's surprising that they have screwed it up so many times.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/513247-here-are-the-states-where-kanye-west-is-on-the-ballot

So they can't even organise their spoiler. Brilliant!

[Doobs]

Half the key speakers at the Republican convention share the same surname.

https://mobile.twitter.com/blakehounshell/status/1297316043950567429

[Doobs]

Kellyanne Conway has resigned.

This is her daughter's twitter feed. 

https://mobile.twitter.com/claudiamconwayy

So many conflicting thoughts on this one.  First one is that you shouldn't draw attention to this as she is only 15, but it is so fascinating.   Hope she finds a happy place, in fact I never really liked Kellyanne Conway, but I hope she does too.

[Marky147]

Hardly a good start, having KAC for a mother.

[MintTrav]

George has also withdrawn from the Lincoln Project and the daughter said she was taking a break from social media (though that didn't last long), so it looked like there had been a family powwow, but she says they didn't discuss their resignations with her.

The family situation has seemed amusing until now, with the three contrary political views, but there's more to it than that. The daughter has now made serious criminal allegations of abuse against each of them. Just been watching her, and she seems a bright kid, but seriously stressed at this point, whether her claims are true or not. She says she's going for emancipation (ie legal separation from her parents, which seems to be more of a thing in the States), which would seem to be best for her, considering the condition she's in now.

[MintTrav]

'Republicans Voters Against Trump' ad running on Fox during the Conference:

[MintTrav]

I'm really looking forward to the Republican Conference. I dipped into the Democrats' one, but it was so well controlled that not much really interesting was going to happen. The Republicans are always likely to give better entertainment by going off the rails and saying something cuckoo. Unfortunately, crazies seem to have been largely kept out, though there are quite a few names on the list that I don't know, though some of those will be 'ordinary people'.

We might have to rely on Donald himself for off-script screw-ups, and he is speaking every day, so he'll have some opportunities (the lists below are just prime-time, but there are day-time events too). Rudy is always capable of doing something strange. Even if he doesn't, he is a great speaker, so watching him is win-win. Wednesday has the most people I want to hear, and I also want to hear Jim Jordan tonight. Charlie Kirk from Turning Point will be provocative, though some people would have preferred Candace Owens. We may have already lost two from the list, with Franklin Graham and Kellyanne having off-screen issues.

We've been promised a surprise each night. What could it be? There was a rumour that Biden-accuser Tara Reade was one, but I've no idea whether it's true.

Click to see full-size image.

[MintTrav]

It’s Jerry Falwell having the extra-curricular issues, not Franklin Graham, which makes more sense now that I think about it.

Gotta stop mixing up my preachers.

[MintTrav]

Yes, she does sound very savvy, and not just pinging ads out with Daily Sport taglines etc.

What is she likely to do, if she's caught somewhere she cannot progress? Move to another area of government?

Maybe. They've added her onto tonight's speakers at the Convention, so that's a start.