Freshly under new and even stranger reasons for impeachment, President Trump is ready to face challengers from the Old Party once known as Grand: Namely, Former congressman from the bankrupt state of Illinois, Joe Walsh, and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld. In the first GOP primary debate at the headquarters of Business Insider, the two channeled the remaining dozen or so Democrat candidates by shooting spit wads at the current occupant of the White House.
Rebels, those two.
And the reason no one heard Weld and Walsh prattle on without talking about issues is twofold: First, Trump declined the debate, as any strategic incumbent would, and second, the event was not sanctioned by the Republican Party.
But luckily for Liberty Nation readers, we have a synopsis of the highs and lows for consideration.
A Chance at Bat
Joe Walsh (left) and Bill Weld (right)
Weld and Walsh weren’t on hand to talk issues – only to rail in public about their disgust of the president. The opening statements sounded more like an announcement of a Weld/Walsh ticket. Mr. Walsh admitted, “I can’t debate Bill Weld, I have respect for Bill Weld. We’ve got to bring the country together.”
Weld countered with his soundbite, “I’m not scared of anybody,” inferring the Bully-in-Chief could be taken down a peg or two.
For Weld, it was a tad toned down from his appearance the day prior of MSNBC’s Morning Joe as he whipped out his Magic Eight Ball to consult on the latest scandal in the Swamp, the phone call to Ukraine. He delighted the duo:
“Talk about pressuring a foreign country to interfere with and control a U.S. election, it couldn’t be clearer. And that’s not just undermining democratic institutions, that is treason. It’s treason pure and simple. And the penalty for treason under the U.S. Code is death. That’s the only penalty.”
And Team Trump responded as they are wont to do, with snarky humor: “In severe cases of TDS such as this, immediate consultation with a physician is recommended.”
A Swing …
Walsh had his team live Tweeting during the non-debate and, like Democrats, appeared to have been asleep for the last 32 months as he fear-mongered his followers about the collapsing economy – you know, the one that is booming, as anyone can attest: “The hour-by-hour where-the-heck-is-this-president-going…it has the business community on edge. It slows growth, it slows hiring, it slows the economy.”
When briefly pressed on issues both men wiggled around the questions of climate change and the Second Amendment. It was perhaps their most politician like attempt at communication. Walsh said an outright “no” to the Paris Climate Agreement while Weld dropped back and punted with “not immediately.”
“[Take] the guns away by all means, before something happens there,” barked Weld, but Walsh claimed to be a “big gun guy” and wanted focus on keeping guns out of the hands of the nuts.
In a span of 90 minutes or so, here, in a nutshell, is what Trump’s challengers expressed:
- “Donald Trump is unfit.”
- “It’s not about the issues; it’s about Trump.”
- “The Republican Party brand ‘sucks’ because of him.”
- “We have to remember the president is a sick man.”
- “He is a horrible human being.”
It’s doubtful the two could run for any office after that stellar issues-oriented performance.
…And a Miss
And then, randomly, the Democrat strategy of the mea culpa 12-step program for sticking one’s foot in one’s mouth brought us this comparison by Walsh to the man he spent over an hour calling every name in the book:
“I created Trump. I engaged in hateful rhetoric … Maybe a reformed outlaw like me who understands some of what I did to create Trump can help bring the country together and heal the divide.”
Let’s review that statement: “I created Trump.” Oh boy.
Here’s the reality of how this 2020 election season will shake out. Weld and Walsh will never be on the same stage with Trump. Trump will be the incumbent Republican for president against whomever the Democrats cull from the herd. The Republican National Committee (RNC) has no plans to host official primary debates and several states are foregoing caucuses and primaries and simply acquiescing to the red electorate.
After that, it’s simply too early to tell – except the Walsh and Weld part – they are most likely badly burnt toast in the Republican Party after given up guns for paper straws and spit wads.
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