2025-29 -A Blank Canvas (user search)
       |           

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
March 29, 2024, 01:26:29 AM
News: Election Simulator 2.0 Released. Senate/Gubernatorial maps, proportional electoral votes, and more - Read more

  Talk Elections
  Presidential Elections - Analysis and Discussion
  Election What-ifs? (Moderator: Dereich)
  2025-29 -A Blank Canvas (search mode)
Pages: 1 [2]
Author Topic: 2025-29 -A Blank Canvas  (Read 16048 times)
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #25 on: September 30, 2022, 11:13:22 AM »

@2016, I think it might be the 2024 exits that Matthew Dowd was referring to, but I can see where a trend here, maybe Harris has the same exits, and perhaps she won't commit one way or another, until she detects a vulnerability in Kim's armor, if anything Harris is an opportunist. She also may not be paying attention to the California picture, as she did mention her book and might wait a few months to decide! But she's likely punting, because she's gun-shy about the possibility of another shellacking, the political environment might not be too healthy for her, and she's probably looking at a 2028 rematch or just wait until 2032, when DeSantis will be term-limited and at the end of his presidency. Harris , perhaps could be looking at a political comeback like another Ex-Vice President from California did in 1968, namely a one Richard Nixon . So many possibilities on where to go here. Open to ideas too.

MONDAY MARCH 10 2025: DESANTIS WINS HIGH MARKS FOR HIS TOWN-HALL MEETING.  OVERNIGHT POLLING SUGGESTS HE IS GETTING MORE SUPPORT ON HIS BORDER SECURITY AGENDA. ANOTHER DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER HAS THROWN HIS SUPPORT TO THE PRESIDENT'S BORDER SECURITY INITIATIVE. AS FOR THE HARRIS 60 MINUTES INTERVIEW,  SHE CAME ACROSS AS DEFENSIVE AND HER POSTURING ON THE BORDER ISSUE WILL LIKELY RAISE QUESTIONS ON HER POLITICAL VIABILITY: Many observer's agree that President  DeSantis hit all the right notes at the town-hall meeting last night! Basically he hit it out of the ball-park, so said ABC'S This Week Co-host, Chris Christie , even MSNBC'S Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough had high praise for the President, "He DeSantis looks like he has a plan and sending his Vice President to the border, shows us he is serious, we can no longer deny that it isn't a mess down there". Senate Minority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is seeing the cost of his posturing, when Senator  Michael Bennet (D-CO) , who stated that he visited the southern border over the weekend and came back with his verdict, "I have seen enough! I will support all and any measures that President DeSantis deems are necessary to be put in place to fix this problem". When asked for a response, Schumer snapped "No comment". As for the 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris , It was widely panned and considered to be a PR disaster for Harris .  She came across as defensive on her record as Vice President and snarky, when it came to her plans for next year's Governor's contest in California. Then you had that infamous cackle, people remember why they don't like her" remarked CNN'S Chris Wallace.


Even worse for CBS, it happened to come the weekend BEFORE the March Madness Selection Show. In other words, CBS chose to counter-program the President instead of holding back on airing her interview as the lead-out to the Selection Show which has become a must-see event for sports fans and beyond (pretty sure everyone knows what the meaning of such terms as "bracketology" and "office pool" are by now and what they mean to March), especially given that, based on the recent contract extension from the pre-Trump era, CBS will be airing the Final Four from the Alamodome in San Antonio in 2025. Adding further insult to injury, it also comes during UCLA and USC's first year in the Big Ten, as part of a seismic wave of conference changes that came as a result of both this and Texas and Oklahoma set to join the SEC the following year. So much "California Dreamin'"...

To put it plainly, CBS fumbled - or rather, turned over - bigly and the water coolers at Variety, Mediaite, TVNewsCheck, etc. are running on overdrive on the whole specter of "What the hell were you thinking?", the same famous question that Jay Leno said to Hugh Grant when the latter appeared on the Tonight Show after his arrest for lewd conduct with a sex worker in Hollywood in 1995 - a question that would ultimately put Leno ahead of David Letterman in the late night ratings books (not counting major news events like Diana, Lewinsky, 9/11 and Iraq for which Ted Koppel would be nipping at their heels) for good. Except the question is not being asked by Jay Leno, the question is being directed at CBS executives high atop 1515 Broadway in Times Square (Black Rock has since been sold and its vacant space given to other tenants), and CBS should be lucky they aren't dealing with forgeries like what happened in 2004.
Logged
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #26 on: September 30, 2022, 03:21:15 PM »

CAMPAIGN NEWS 2026
THE SABER-RATTLING HAS STARTED AMONG DEMOCRATS...
PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS PUSH FOR PRIMARY CHALLENGERS TO SENATORS HICKENLOOPER AND LUJAN

Progressive Democrats in the Senate led by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and California Senator Alex Padilla are pushing for Primary Challengers to Senators John Hickenlooper & Ben Ray Luján after their recent Defections to support President DeSantis Border Initiative.
In Colorado they apparently encouraging Congresswoman Diana DeGette to challenge Hickenlooper while in New Mexico their early preferred Candidate is Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse-Oliver. It's however unclear if Toulouse-Oliver would even consider the Race given that there is an Open Governor Race next year in the State.

MACE PREPS FOR SENATE RUN IN SOUTH CAROLINA AMID INCREASING RETIREMENT RUMORS ABOUT SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM
Congresswoman Nancy Mace is said to preparing a potential Senate Run as Retirement Speculation is ramping up on Senator Lindsey Graham's Political Future. If Graham does retire the Republican Senate Primary could get very crowded though. Almost the entire South Carolina Republican Congressional Delegation would be looking at the Race.

91-YEAR OLD IOWA SENATOR CHUCK GRASSLEY INDICATED THAT HE MIGHT RESIGN AT THE END OF THE YEAR
In a recent Interview with the Quad-City Times 91-year old Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley said that he might resign early and not serve out his Senate Term which ends in January 2029. Grassley overwhemingly beat Michael Franken during the 2022 Midterm Election.
A Grassley Retirement could put Republican House Conference Chairwoman Ashley Hinson in a dilemma. Hinson was considered a shoe-in for a possible Senate Appointment until she joined the Republican House Conference.

NEW POLL OUT LATER THIS WEEK BY A MAJOR NEWS ORGANIZATION WILL REVEAL YAWNING VERDICT FOR DEMOCRATS
Rumors hinting that a Major National Poll will be coming out later this week to reveal YAWNING Details for Democrats when it comes to the Border Issue, Balanced Budget, the National Depth, etc.

You meant to say FORMER Congresswoman DeGette, right? In the original TL, DeGette indeed retired and Candi CdeBaca is one of a number of emerging freshman progressives in the mold of AOC, hence her being the "AOC of the Rockies". Hickenlooper is quite entrenched amongst Democrats, though, and it will be hard to sell suburban Denver voters on a DeGette primary challenge even though DeGette herself represented many of these suburbs over the years, since they are largely Hickenlooper's primary base, having elevated him over Cory Gardner in 2020.

I also think it will be Nancy Mace and one of the upstate Republicans, possibly Jeff Duncan whose seat used to be held by Lindsey Graham should Graham retire. Duncan's 3rd District is the most conservative district in the state - consisting of Greenville's heavily Republican western suburbs as well as the Anderson and Greenwood areas and Clemson University (one of the more conservative FBS universities which along with the adjoining city of Clemson itself flipped from Biden to DeSantis, Biden having only won there in the low 50s in 2020), along with exurban Columbia's Newberry County.

A Mace vs. Duncan showdown would pit Haley ally Mace against Freedom Caucus member Duncan, and they certainly won't be the only candidates running on the GOP side. Expect the Democrats to focus more on the Graham seat just like they focused more on the David Perdue seat in Georgia with Jon Ossoff, versus the one Raphael Warnock defeated Kelly Loeffler in - which Herschel Walker has since won back for the GOP in the OGTL.
Logged
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #27 on: October 01, 2022, 02:02:50 AM »

Also, some early thoughts on Texas.

Governor: If Greg Abbott retires, and also given that Dan Patrick has said IRL that his bid for a third term as Lieutenant Governor this year will be his last, Attorney General Ken Paxton, State Comptroller Glenn Hegar and former Land Commissioner George P. Bush are possibilities for the Republican nomination. On the Democratic side, either current Rep. Joaquin Castro or former Rep. Vicente Gonzalez has to top the speculation water cooler for the Democrats (with the former having a more urban and liberal base and the latter's base likely to come from the areas of the state (suburbs, blue-collar, Hispanic) that will decide whether or not Democrats break their 32-year drought in Texas. There are some who suggest Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins as a possibility, but he's already being speculated for another position downballot. There is even the possibility that former State House Speaker Joe Straus will make a run under the Forward banner (the Serve America Movement, which Straus became a prominent member of in his post-legislative career, was folded into Andrew Yang's Forward movement IRL).

Lieutenant Governor: As mentioned above, Dan Patrick has sworn he will not run for a fourth term and the competition is expected to be fierce. While he has been mentioned for a gubernatorial run, a run by state Comptroller Glenn Hegar here is certainly not out of the cards, and neither is one by now-current Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham. State Sens. Paul Bettencourt, Brian Birdwell and Charles Perry are also possibilities. While Bettencourt has a built-in base of conservative support in Houston and Perry has strong support in West Texas, Birdwell's story - namely his survival story from the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon on 9/11 which left the then-Army Lt. Col. badly burned and injured - is perhaps the most compelling of the three. For the Democrats, four-term Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins is considered the dream candidate, and three-time statewide contender (twice for this position) Mike Collier, a CPA and former Republican who is now the Chairman of the Texas Democratic Party in this TL, isn't running for office again.

Attorney General: With Ken Paxton potentially trying his hand at the Governor's Mansion, the battle to become Texas's top lawyer is just beginning. Several state legislators are taking a stab at the seat, with former Texas Supreme Court justice Eva Guzman taking another stab at the seat and Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis among the possibilities. For the Democrats, much of the speculation has centered on U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL player-turned-civil rights attorney who has largely cut a moderate-to-liberal voting record in Congress and survived a very close reelection in 2024, after his previously made-safe seat in east Dallas got morphed back into the sort of north Dallas-based swing seat he represented in his first two terms.

More to come...
Logged
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #28 on: October 04, 2022, 03:23:57 PM »

I shall mention two things with regards to North America:
  • AMLO will not be the President of Mexico in 2025, as they effectively have a situation similar to Virginia where the President only serves one term - in the case of Mexico, a six-year term. His successor appears to be Claudia Sheinbaum.
  • Also shall note that Canada will have its federal election on October 20, 2025. Pierre Poilievre will be looking to end the Liberals' stranglehold on the Parliament there.
Logged
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #29 on: October 06, 2022, 09:41:01 PM »

@President Stanton,
Looks like our friend @SaintStan86 had some Crystal Ball in his hand: Senator Ben Sasse is resigning to take Education Post. In this time he will be Secretary of Education in our Administration. In the OTL he will become the President of Florida University.
And just like that, his chances of becoming Education Secretary shot up significantly. Another "Florida Man" in the DeSantis camp! Who Can Trump That?

DeSantis's "Lean Mean Fighting Machine", in this TL meanwhile, is getting its first merry-go-round because Lil' Kim wanted to play fire with Japan...No word yet on where Dennis Rodman stands...assuming he's not busted doing coke on South Beach.

Oh wait, that was Andrew Gillum. Never mind...
Logged
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #30 on: October 14, 2022, 10:18:10 PM »

Meanwhile, will be interesting to see what kind of international response in regards to South Korea has emerged, particularly from the purview of peace. I can imagine all kinds of social media filters in the mold of #PrayForKorea and #PeaceForKorea, hope of a unified Korea, etc. emerging as both the radicals in North Korea as well as the U.S. and China are coming together to fight a radical jihadist sect. Will also be interesting to see how DeSantis broaches this matter in regards to the Muslim vote, particularly given the radical shift of the Muslim vote after 9/11, having gone from 60 percent for George W. Bush in 2000 to overwhelmingly in favor of John Kerry in 2004.

As for Harris, wow...The Democrats will have to ditch their woke wing if they have any chance of making gains in 2026 and 2028. If Congress did in fact authorize military strikes in response to Yokota and a credible terror cell is lurking in North Korea, then Harris deserves to be expelled to the fringes of the political sphere. Americans don't want endless wars, but even Reagan and Trump had short-term military excursions in the name of national security. The ultra-Code Pink mentality, a la Jeannette Rankin, certainly doesn't bode well in this matter, and it wouldn't surprise me if Harris merely came of age politically because of the rabid opposition to the War in Iraq and War on Terror on the left that vaulted Obama into the White House nearly two decades ago. (Many on the right eventually came to oppose it as well, but I don't think becoming radical peaceniks that oppose any kind of foreign intervention or treaties was the M.O. they sought all along.)

Lastly, what does Donald Trump think of this move, and what does Tucker Carlson have to say as well given their opposition to endless wars? Certainly the GOP has to walk a fine line between advocating for a strong national defense and not backpedaling into the sort of neoconservative "war at all costs" mentality that repulsed many Americans in the long run.
Logged
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #31 on: October 20, 2022, 10:47:32 PM »

Excellent work, 2016 and Stanton! Also glad to see Lance Gooden back in Congress after finishing second in the battle for the Senate on the GOP side...

Shall mention that across the pond, Prime Minister Liz Truss is going to be no more. Looks like Boris Johnson is back, and apparently turned things around in time for the 2025 election where his Tories defeat Keir Starmer and Ed Davey, for whom the latter effectively aligns with Johnson to form a coalition government given the LibDems have a niche amongst upper-middle-class suburban voters in the UK; they would do well in a lot of inner suburban upper-crust areas in the U.S. if we were to convert congressional districts to constituencies and import the UK parties to America, leaving Labour with a coalition of socialists, young lefties, Trump Democrats and poorer, non-working class minorities. (The Hispanics and Asians would still be swing votes.)

Also pretty much know, given what I know about Texas politics, that there have to be term limits on state legislators, too. Or is that completely separate? Certainly it would be hypocritical of the Lege to impose term limits on the statewide office row and not do the same for themselves...

GO ASTROS!
Logged
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #32 on: October 24, 2022, 06:13:26 AM »

Excellent work, 2016 and Stanton! Also glad to see Lance Gooden back in Congress after finishing second in the battle for the Senate on the GOP side...

Shall mention that across the pond, Prime Minister Liz Truss is going to be no more. Looks like Boris Johnson is back, and apparently turned things around in time for the 2025 election where his Tories defeat Keir Starmer and Ed Davey, for whom the latter effectively aligns with Johnson to form a coalition government given the LibDems have a niche amongst upper-middle-class suburban voters in the UK; they would do well in a lot of inner suburban upper-crust areas in the U.S. if we were to convert congressional districts to constituencies and import the UK parties to America, leaving Labour with a coalition of socialists, young lefties, Trump Democrats and poorer, non-working class minorities. (The Hispanics and Asians would still be swing votes.)

Also pretty much know, given what I know about Texas politics, that there have to be term limits on state legislators, too. Or is that completely separate? Certainly it would be hypocritical of the Lege to impose term limits on the statewide office row and not do the same for themselves...

GO ASTROS!

I told you all of you that Liz Truss wouldn't be Prime Minister by this point. Can't see it being Johnson either, if only because that would mean the Conservatives getting crushed at the next election.

I'd go with Rishi Sunak or Priti Patel instead.


You may be right. I may have been crazy. But it looks like Boris won't be leading Britain either...It's either going to be Rishi Sunak or Penny Mordaunt.
Logged
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #33 on: October 30, 2022, 07:20:35 PM »

I'm sure Stanton and many Michiganders in Atlasia miss Carl Levin.

But if any Democrat's view is worth hearing regarding the tragedy of the Ocean Princess on 4/22, it should be that of Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX 29).

Also will be interesting to hear the impact on the oil and gas industry, as well as the Texas power grid. Those have to be the top priorities now in Austin, at least as far as the Houston area is concerned. Will also be curious to know the impact on everything from the impact on the local Houston economy, what the average gas price in America is now, what surrounding areas have suffered the brunt of the damage beyond Deer Park, Baytown, La Porte, Pasadena, Galena Park and Jacinto City, what happened to the San Jacinto Monument and the Lynchburg Ferry (Battleship Texas is going to be somewhere else IRL and most certainly in this TL), and even how this affects the 2025 season for the Astros (as well as the Rockets, should their team be playoff-caliber again).

#HoustonStrong
Logged
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #34 on: October 31, 2022, 12:05:04 AM »
« Edited: October 31, 2022, 12:15:45 AM by SaintStan86 »

Also shall note that in the OG Blank Canvas TL, the very same refinery had an explosion the year before. Evidence of that is posted here for reference:

July 18, 2024
DOZENS KILLED, HUNDREDS INJURED IN EXPLOSION AT FORT MOORE; TERRORISM RULED OUT AS CAUSE OF EXPLOSION
An explosion Thursday afternoon on the grounds of Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning) in Georgia left 39 dead and over 400 injured, many of them active service members with the U.S. Army as well as contractors hired by the Department of Defense to work on base. According to eyewitness accounts, the explosion reportedly happened around 1 p.m. Eastern time when an electrical short in a climate-controlled room within the Logistics Readiness Center enveloped into a massive fireball that flashed over and set off subsequent explosions, destroying warehouses on the property and causing significant damage to much of the military vehicle fleet on base. Some of the fatalities were so critically burned that dental records will be necessary to identify some of the victims, while at least 60 others were critically injured to the point where they had to be transported to hospitals well outside the surrounding Columbus, Georgia area; hospitals in Atlanta, Birmingham, Macon and Huntsville have been on standby, with Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta reportedly diverting its own local trauma cases to other nearby hospitals to accommodate the most seriously injured victims from the Fort Moore blast.

President Biden spoke to the nation in a rare Oval Office address, calling the explosion "a senseless and horrible tragedy affecting one of our nation's most elite and storied Army institutions - Fort Banning (sic) - Fort Moore I shall say" and "vowing a complete and thorough investigation after the deceased are buried into why this happened, and what can be done to ensure a tragedy of this magnitude never happens again". Attorney General Merrick Garland also ruled out the possibility that terrorism played a role in the explosion, "Based on records we have obtained so far, there is no evidence to suggest that any sort of terrorism against our military occurred at Fort Moore this afternoon", while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pointed out that "Given how relatively new these facilities are, a lot of work is going to be put into finding out why such relatively new facilities on the grounds of Fort Moore could not withstand the impact of this explosion".

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp ordered flags lowered to half-staff across the state, with President Biden expanding the order to a federal mandate shortly after his primetime address. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also issued his thoughts and condolences to the victims of the explosion, while several other Republicans began to probe the origins of the tragedy. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, whose Alabama district borders Fort Moore, has also held off on assigning blame for the tragedy but has already indicated that "our committee is going to get to the bottom of why this happened and will be working closely with authorities at the Pentagon and locally to pinpoint the cause of this explosion". Particularly in Georgia and nearby Alabama, the explosion has also prompted long lines for blood donations at blood banks throughout the Southeast, while numerous charity benefits benefiting the victims and families of both the injured and killed service members have also begun to pop up.

July 19, 2024
21 DEAD, OVER 200 INJURED IN EXPLOSION AT REFINERY IN HOUSTON
Not even a full 24 hours after the disaster at Fort Moore in Georgia, an explosion at a chemical plant on the Houston Ship Channel awakened thousands of residents just before the sun was up at 6 a.m. The explosion occurred at the Pemex refinery in Deer Park, an industrial suburb of Houston where neighbors were awakened to the sound of a loud bang, burning petroleum and sirens of first responders racing to the scene. By afternoon, 21 were confirmed dead and more than 200 were injured including several with third-degree burns, along with reports of damage as far west as Sugar Land, Galveston and The Woodlands and dozens more injured from shattered glass and debris as windows were blown out of many downtown Houston skyscrapers. Houston freeways were also shut down as reports of damage along Interstate 10 from Baytown to the Memorial area of west Houston, along with a frantic push by authorities to clear the freeways for ambulances and fire trucks, disrupted the morning commute in the nation's fourth-largest city.

Following news of a second straight disaster in as many days, President Biden addressed the nation once again at 8 P.M. Central time, declaring "Our hearts go out to the victims of the horrible tragedy in Houston, victims of a disaster that did not have to happen", perhaps alluding to the oil and gas industry that has been singled out by the Biden administration from day one over the nature of its industry. Republicans blasted the speech, with Ron DeSantis calling the President's concerns "hollow" and calling on Kamala Harris to decide whether or not to align with "far-left radicals" who back her party's "Green New Deal" or with working-class voters "who wonder if the Democratic Party even wants them anymore". Senate Majority Leader John Cornyn, the senior Senator from Texas, arrived at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on Friday evening and immediately vowed "a thorough investigation into what happened at the Pemex refinery", and also called out Democrats for "attempting to politicize this tragedy for their own benefit". His Senate colleague, Sen. Ted Cruz, was already in the area when the explosion happened and took to Fox News late that evening: "The Biden administration will use any sort of tragedy involving the oil and gas industry to force the Great Reset on Americans who don't want it, period."

Gov. Greg Abbott canceled his entire weekend schedule to focus on recovery and healing efforts with regards to the tragedy, and also lambasted his Democratic counterparts for "attempting to politicize yet another tragedy in our great state solely for the purpose of radically transforming this state". "Of course, we must give thoughts and prayers, and that is what the victims and their families want. Let us grieve now and let's discuss the why behind this later, because justice is not going to come in the form of vengeance with impulse", said Abbott. As of Friday evening, crude oil prices reportedly shot up more than nine percent, with gas prices expected to rise in the coming days, bringing back memories of 2022's historically high gas price crunch that doomed President Biden's agenda in that year's midterm elections.

Also, note that the refinery says Pemex instead of Shell. Shell sold its stake in this refinery earlier this year. In other words, expect Mexico to get involved in this matter as well, if not for the fact that Mexican nationals have to be amongst the dead since a large portion of the workers and contractors killed here are certain to be Hispanic. It also wouldn't shock me if this is viewed as a dark day in the Hispanic community in much the same vein as the Mexico City earthquake, the murder of Selena, etc. to the point where it is going to dominate on Univision and Telemundo for weeks if not months. (The eastern parts of the Houston area around the Ship Channel are dominated by Hispanics and blue-collar Anglos.)

Also, expect some sort of response from Houston and Harris County regarding this tragedy as well (though I am really not going to elaborate until at least after next week because there's a very good chance that Harris County is going to have a new county judge - we already know that in the OG TL Mike Knox is the Mayor of Houston and Alexandra del Moral Mealer is Harris County Judge, and Mealer has a shot IRL to defeat Lina Hidalgo next week) and also responses and commentaries from such dignitaries as Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, Dave Ward, Dr. Peter Hotez and various Astros players (several of whom are Hispanic including Jose Altuve among others) - not to mention a very famous musician and actress with a certain "Beyhive".

News article on Shell's sale of its stake in the Deer Park refinery from the horse's mouth right here.

Plus one on security matters affecting the sale here from Reuters.
Logged
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #35 on: November 05, 2022, 12:52:52 AM »

I wonder what beef Cynthia Lummis has about the bill. I know she endorsed Rand Paul in 2016, but don't tell me she's no different than Liz "Mommy Warbucks" Cheney. Could she be the GOP version of Russ Feingold vis-a-vis the so-called "USA PATRIOT Act"? She definitely has to explain this, especially when dealing with the likes of Sean Hannity or Laura Ingraham. (Tucker Carlson has to have some reservations at least...)
Logged
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #36 on: December 01, 2022, 07:00:03 PM »
« Edited: December 01, 2022, 07:08:19 PM by SaintStan86 »

Yes, and prayers be with the McEachins in these darkest of times.

I'm guessing the early money on State Sen. Jennifer McClellan, but there are some who say the late Congressman's widow, Richmond Commonwealth Attorney Colette McEachin, is the lone true successor to her husband. There's even some who say another State Sen., Joe Morrissey, is the one, but he is an oddball on the level of the infamous Edwin "Crook" Edwards, and for reasons beyond the impropriety allegations with the Millennial woman he eventually married.

As for Leon Benjamin, he might have pockets of strength around the western Hampton Roads area and in both Southside Virginia and Richmond's West End, but other than that he's a heavy underdog who will get slaughtered everywhere else in the district, even with the Glenn Youngkin endorsement. But if the Blexit crowd wanted to have a golden opportunity to surprise people, this would be an early test of that.

On an unrelated note, this is going to be a heavily retconned TL now given that Trump is in, Biden is in, and several of the Rs who won in the beginning of the OG TL are not in their positions. I was right on Katie Hobbs and John Fetterman for the Democrats and Anthony D'Esposito for the GOP, but Christine Drazan and Doug Mastriano aren't there (though the latter's eye-popping loss was definitely of his own doing, even taking away the childish denialism about 2020 - name one Republican who thinks avoiding the mainstream media for interviews is a "winning" strategy!).
Logged
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #37 on: March 23, 2023, 02:43:29 PM »

THURSDAY MAY 8 2025
Veteran Democratic strategist Indicates electoral problems for his party brand:
Veteran Democratic strategist, James Carville , indicated on CNN'S SITUATION ROOM, stated that his party will confront "negative headwinds...especially in advance of the upcoming election cycles, not only this year, but next and likely next!" He also suggested that, "Very few Democrats are not enthusiastic about facing the President,Ron DeSantis is the best political operator since Bill Clinton and has his finger on the pulse of the country...I just don't see any Democrat willing to consider challenging DeSantis , especially not in light of the events of 4/22". Carville was asked about if Kamala Harris's prospects, "...Harris's reluctance to seek the Governorship has nothing to do with California or how well Republicans are doing in current  polling, it has more to do with her (Harris's ) own long-term goals and the 4/22 commission and the questions raised, would offer short-term obstacles...Harris is waiting  to see the lay of the land come 2028".

U.S. AIR FORCE TAKES DELIVERY OF NEW PRESIDENTIAL AIRCRAFT


The President will be the first passenger on the new Air Force One, during his upcoming travels to Mexico, Canada and Europe.

NEXT UP: DESANTIS VISIT TO MEXICO

Nice work, so far! Gives great insight into what could have been, but it does give a good understanding of what to expect in a DeSantis administration + a reinvigorated GOP majority that unites rural and suburban, tradcon and AF, blue and white collar behind a principled, pro-American and ACTUAL "Big Tent" GOP worth embracing.

As for Air Force One, it wouldn't shock me if the new and improved AF1 has some cooling technology affixed to the fuselage, given that one rationale against the navy blue apparently had to do with the underbelly potentially making the planes warmer, which would have required Boeing to spend more money to protect components within the plane. Though it wouldn't shock me if Boeing had to spend even more money on AF1 anyway, given the national security issues that would need to be addressed on the plane (e.g. protection from lethal solvents and chemical agents) as well. Especially considering that America is essentially - both IRL and in this TL - in a "Cold War 2.0" with China.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/08/trump-air-force-one-problem-00038264
Logged
SaintStan86
Jr. Member
***
Posts: 286
United States


Political Matrix
E: 4.13, S: -1.22

P
« Reply #38 on: April 24, 2023, 10:18:16 PM »
« Edited: April 24, 2023, 10:26:05 PM by SaintStan86 »

FYI If I were to describe the Michigan Democratic gubernatorial primary, I wouldn't be shocked if the local and national conservative media began referring to it as "the Karen Primary". Expect some Democrats to bemoan the lack of a "working man" in that primary, especially given that Gary Peters is running for reelection on the Senate side in that state and played strongly on whatever Dan Conner bonafides he may have stressed in the OG Black Canvas TL at Pine Knob.

Also will be curious to know how more recent political cause celebres of note - including the "Tennessee Three" and Dylan Mulvaney (who virtually no one outside of TikTok and Zoomer circles - myself included - knew about until (s)he was on Drew Barrymore's talk show last month) - will play into this timeline going forward.

Lastly, I wouldn't be shocked if Democrats started bringing up whatever environmental issues arose from Houston (especially given Houston being a hotbed for personal injury trial lawyers) to dent Republicans on matters relating to the environment and air/water quality. Also wouldn't be shocked if the drama surrounding Geoff Duncan marked the first major intraparty brouhaha in the DeSantis administration.
Logged
Pages: 1 [2]  
Jump to:  


Login with username, password and session length

Terms of Service - DMCA Agent and Policy - Privacy Policy and Cookies

Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines

Page created in 0.069 seconds with 13 queries.