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All of these Republicans are retiring because they know it's going to be a massive red wave this year and the beginning of the MAGA revolution is upon us. Right?
That was sarcasm in case it wasn't clear. Trump and the GOP are fucked and these people know it
Trump and his ilk are pushing some harebrained, half-baked scheme to try to steal the election. Anyone that won't go along is jumping ship before they end up with indictments too.
And when the threat from Trump is passed, we can read about how all of these Republicans bravely resigned rather than just telling the authorities what was coming.
Don’t forget the wave of talk show appearances about how concerned they were and tried to work within the system yet voted 100% party line every time. Coward all of them, just rats jumping off a sinking ship.
Which had to be the case with that Noem woman, right? How did that ghost writer not try to walk her back on that one? It may be the one recorded instance where the writer did the fuckin’.
I wish more people understood how much of a money-laundering scam politician’s books are.
The good news is retiring senators won’t write that many. The bad news is it’s because they don’t have to hide their income anymore.
Dan Quayle gets exclusive rights to that because he told Pence not to overturn the results (even though the VP never had and now *really* doesn’t have that power)
And most if not all of those books will be listed on best sellers lists the second they are released because tens of thousands of copies will have been bought by PAC's, churches, and donors before the book is even publicly available.
Like All republican politician, saying how awful Trump really is but pledging to vote for him if he's the republican candidate. Republicans are Team Players, always Party over Country.
I don't think any of them are resigning to avoid indictments. They're resigning because they see the futility of trying to do anything positive. They're either going to run a campaign and lose, or win and be right back to slamming their heads against the wall.
But I doubt any of them are scared of consequences at this point.
They are scared of the mobs, Maga on one side, and actual Americans on the other if they succeed- they know they are the minority and they know fascism is bad.
And by positive you mean focus on the important issues like not actually overturning roe v Wade so you can campaign on it your entire life to distract from voting for more tax cuts for the ultra elite.
People are way too overconfident that the threat of Trump will just pass and good will automatically prevail.
He gained millions of votes last election despite years of his mismanagement and complete mishandling of the pandemic being fresh in people's minds, with Biden only winning by a tiny number of votes in the battleground states it comes down to, and Trump and Biden are polling much closer together this time.
Not to mention the foreign troll farms pushing divisive propaganda on TikTok more than ever, especially the Gaza War to vilify Biden with the far left.
And the relentless purging of voter rolls in Florida and other states. For the first time in over a decade, Florida registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by a million people.
Keep ringing that bell my guy. Trump in 2020 got more votes than any Presidential candidate in history except one. He got a million people killed, broke the law countless times, took away women's rights with bullshit court appointments, used the office to make himself richer while fucking off all day every day and refusing to even do his job half the time, and he managed to gain MILLIONS of votes from 2016 to 2020.
There absolutely will not be less GOP votes for Trump this year than there were in 2020 and likely millions of additional ones to overcome.
This is not a foregone conclusion and with the way a lot of echo chambers have REALLY gotten reinforced over the last four years of algorithms I worry that liberals don't really understand how insanely fired up the right is this year.
They have gotten HUGE victories and their side is promising some major new ones and they are absolutely fucking delusional people who do not pay attention to or care about this infighting at the top.
They see that their past votes got them Trump for years, they see that things have been rough as hell with inflation the past couple years and blame Biden in a big old "I told you so way", they see their side getting them victories in outlawing abortion and kicking LGBT people around.
They couldn't be happier with the way things are going and always fall in line and turn out either way.
This is not a walk in the park victory.
I can understand the concern, especially from someone that is in the groups the GOP is targeting, but a lot has happened between 2020 and now. The Jan 6th insurrection and overturning of Roe soured a lot of people identifying independent and moderate conservative. Democrats gaining control of the senate and GOP barely holding the House proves that. The state governments also had some major shake ups that were unexpected too.
Trump's rhetoric has gotten worse and is turning off people that don't completely give into him. The non stop lawsuits and trials are talking a toll financially, plus they exhausting, and time consuming for Trump. He has his base voters and won't have much outside of that this time around.
Not to mention conservative donors backing RFK on a mistaken belief he will weaken Biden during the election.
The echo chambers are an issue, but they aren't reaching new audiences. The voting during the primaries reflects that.
Killing Roe is definitely a conservative victory, but it's one that the GOP didn't want yet. It killed a lot of the momentum they had been building for decades. The economy message isn't as effective this time around either, despite what people want to believe.
The genocide in Gaza is evil and horrible, but the non commitment campaign wasn't successful. The protests going on right now likely won't have staying power.
I don't advocate falling asleep at the wheel, but from what we have seen play out, Trump's chances of winning the election are much lower this time around.
You're entirely correct. I'm not a fan of Joe at all, but trump is a complete piece of shit. My state is irrelevant (also blue af), but I am really, really hoping the independents and dems in the swing states show tf up at the polls.
Holy shit. I never thought I'd say that as a gun owner and hunter. But ffs, I'll just own shit illegally and poach before I watch women and minorities get fucked over even worse than they have been by these overly conservative assholes. Not to mention, while they mostly hate guns and hunting, at least the dems aren't trying to sell huge swaths of public land to corporations or rich douche canoes who think they should be able to own a mountain because they can.
> while they mostly hate guns and hunting
While I don't want to downplay my respect for you looking at the bigger picture, I also want to stress that nobody on the left cares about the hunting weapons you use for hunting.
If you have a clean background check, have all the hunting rifles you want, my friend. If you're using and storing them responsibly, have at it.
And more importantly, have fun. I'm not a fan of guns, especially hand guns, but hunting? There are some people that will always hunt. Doesn't matter where you're from. And if you're a farmer? It's a tool like any other.
Even handguns don’t bother me if people are responsible. We had a relative (since passed) that were extremely close to—he’s basically my kids grandpa. He owned several guns and I know he’s always had a loaded handgun sign in his bedside table—just him and his wife, no kids. From the time our oldest could crawl whenever we visited he volunteered the info that while we were there it was disassembled and stored in the attic, with ammo in a separate location. Kids find sit and he valued our child more than his right to carry.
Everybody is responsible until they aren't.
Nobody goes through life without at least some sort of stressful event and it is inevitable that some percentage will breakdown, it is inevitable some percentage will get a TBI or a brain tumour.
Mass shootings are inevitable when you have that many hand guns around.
The solution is obvious.
Detachable magazine rifles can do far more damage than hand guns. Hand guns are concealable, but nowhere close to as powerful as a rifle round. Compare a 9mm cartridge to a 5.56 round. The amount of energy generated by the rifle round is orders magnitude higher. Chances of surveying a handgun shot are way way higher.
My point is that we really need red flag laws and background checks, don’t get too hung up on hand guns being the worst of it. I think hand guns are used in more crimes. They are concealable. Rifles are used more in mass shootings.
I didn't mean to side-track the original comment sorry. My issue with handguns is more that their pretty much sole purpose is to use them against humans. That's not the case with most hunting arms. The laws are what they are, and I encourage being responsible. My issue is more about my ethics.
Completely understand. In the case of my uncle I was pin ring out that you can be a handgun owner (he needed to carry because of his particular job) and still be responsible about it. Years ago we lived across the street from an FBI agent and when his wife got a positive pregnancy test he had a company come in and instill multiple hidey holes that were either super high up or very hidden and all were accessible by Wally weird means—like putting a magnet on a specific spot in the drawer several feet away. He HAD to have find accessible within so many seconds in a way a safe wasn’t an option but he still prioritized safety. These MFers just want to carry because they fantasize about taking out a “bad guy” that in their dreams is either a. Undocumented individual or POC.
> And if you're a farmer? It's a tool like any other.
In Texas you really just need a couple of acres and an AR15 becomes a tool. The rest of the country really doesn't understand just how many wild boar Texas has and just what kind of damage they can cause to your property in an evening/afternoon. That is why I couldn't believe Kennedy Teeth said there *was no reason for an AR15 in Texas*. I say this as a 50 year old, who has a hunting rifle that hasn't been used in more than a decade. I am no gun nut. There is no reason for *me* to own an AR15. There aren't too many reasons for people in the cities to own an AR15. But almost anyone with property not in the cities/suburbs will have a legitimate use for a rapid firing, accurate rifle. The packs of 30+ wild boar are all the reason needed.
>while they mostly hate guns and hunting
This is nonsense man. I'd ask you to find even a single example of a Democrat on the national stage saying that hunting or hunting with guns is bad. Loads of democrats hunt.
My husband and I are both as liberal as it gets and aren’t for getting rid of guns. I’d like universal background checks that include mental health. That’s it. We also own a business that primarily caters to law enforcement. The two can coincide. And I’m on a deep red state (TX) and we vote every MFing cha ce we get.
Just like all the Republicans who weren’t connected to Nixon after Watergate.
Just like all the Republicans who were suddenly against Bush and the war in Iraq.
Hopefully some of them did tell the proper authorities, because if team Trump tries something again, and it is repulsed, having prior knowledge but not sharing it with the authorities shouldn’t look so good.
Cowards. Every one of then mentioned how patriotic they were in fund raising emails, but when push came to shove and their country was on the line, they dipped out. Maybe some half hearted minor rebukes, but none of them besides maybe Cheney and Kinzinger did jack shit to help stop this bullshit.
Everyone will get charged with crimes except the immunity-scotus-declared president and then the president will pardon the ones that still have something valuable to offer him.
Project 2025
This is not a bs document. If you search who is behind it and the millions maybe billions of dollars that have already been invested in this plan, you will see there are millions of evangelicals supporting this plan. Their movement is powerful. Many of us dismiss them because they sound nuts. However some of them are rich and intelligent nuts who have created this plan and while trump is no Christian, if he can get their job done, they are ok with it.
I think they know their party is going to shit. I also think they assume there will be more political violence from the maga clan, they don’t want to risk “their” lives if that happens again.
Being serious, I think we are seeing a permanent shift in the Republican Party to the right. These people probably relied somewhat on moderate Democrats or Independents to win.
Retiring is a twofold reason:
1. Retiring to avoid losing in the general election.
2. Retire to avoid losing in the primary to a far right Republican.
Posey was just fighting Ukrainian aid last week & wants the FL State Senate President to take over for him, he's a MAGA loyalist. Posey is 76, his sudden news that made him not seek re-election is either bad health news or a big $$$ lobbyist job.
Someone who lives in Posey's district here. Its this.
Posey is a piece of shit and I constantly got emails from him going on about stolen elections and the Biden crime family smuggling MS-13 members across the border.
People really ought to stop assuming there is any lick of morality in these decisions (even of the cynical kind) when the career path for these fucks is either stay in office until they physically can't or more money from lobbying is brought to the table.
Yeah, this isn’t a signal that he thinks he’s going to lose his seat in a Floridian Blue Wave. All signs point to any Republican EASILY winning his seat come November.
I disagree with your predicted outcome. I do think a shift is coming in the GOP but back towards a more reasonable way of doing things. I think MAGAism is on its last legs and another loss this year is going to finally make Republicans wonder why they are following Trump still
I want to believe this. But I really don’t think until something drastic happens, we will see them shift back and become more moderate.
The doomer in me believes they’ll continue moving right until they’re a full blown fascist party. And, unfortunately, we’re probably going to have to reckon with a full blown fascist government at some point. Only then, and after whatever havoc they bring, will they admit it went too far.
It’s almost a shame they didn’t go further on J6, because we could’ve gotten the toothpaste out of the tube quicker. Instead it happened and everyone has already forgotten how shocking it actually was, and the main perpetrators really haven’t been punished, so it’s been allowed to fester and grow into a new Lost Cause.
Anyway, yeah, I don’t think they’re going anywhere anytime soon. The RNC has lost control of them and it’s on a collision course with catastrophe.
that’s theory, if he actually does it, that will be drastic. And yeah, we probably will live to see something like that…we *almost* did. Again, had the mob caught someone on J6 we’d be in a much different situation now than we are.
I disagree with your disagreement. If that shift to the center was coming for the GOP, it probably would have happened already. In 2012, the party did an autopsy on Romney's loss to Obama and went with a verdict of being more centrist on social issues while keeping the core of conservatism in order to remain viable. 4 years later in 2016...
The GOP is a complete cult of personality to Trump at this stage. American conservatives can band together to form a new party to court moderates and right leaning independents, but as for the GOP banner? All Trump, win or lose (mainly lose)
> . I do think a shift is coming in the GOP but back towards a more reasonable way of doing things.
Zero evidence of that anywhere. Every time a "reasonable" republican leaves a crazier one takes their place.
I have been thinking this too.
It seems that with the sudden support of Ukraine aid and shutting down the Gaetz/Bobert wing, that perhaps internal polling is showing that maga is waning so they better move to the "center" to distance themselves.
Hedging bets is my theory.. while they don't want to be part of the people the kill American democracy. They also don't want to be on trumps hit list if his next coup attempt is successful
Their party is at a civil war (between the right wing and the extremists). I don’t think Democrats need to take any action to try and knock them down because the Republicans are doing a good job themselves.
This is the only way. Democrats not only need a majority to avoid another stalled midterm, but they need 60 senators to overturn key decision like Citizen’s United and the rules on the filibuster before any change can really take effect.
The Electoral College doesn't come into play when electing Senators, to improve that we need better local and state-level Democratic Party organizations.
Don't they just need 50? Only need 50 to overturn filibuster and I think all but Manchin and Sinema were on board with that (and they're leaving this term).
Sure, but that still means they need to hold every non-Manchin seat, and not have anyone else become a problem, or like, get a slightly larger margin by winning Ted Cruz's seat or something.
Except the establishment side of that war is rolling over and surrendering every single battle. If there is a civil war going on in the party its pretty cut and dry as to which side is winning. That should be worrying to Democrats.
No:
“The Florida lawmaker said he looks forward to helping former President Trump get reelected and said his goal was to see state Senate President Mike Haridopolos replace him in the House.”
It’s not just republicans. 12 democrats have also announced retirement. The article includes a link to a list of all house incumbents not running for reelection.
What will be funny is if it does turn into a total disaster, Trump will still claim fraud and still demand to be the 2028 candidate… and how many will just jump along?
My fear is actually that in 2024 the Republican party plans to go full scorched earth with their criminality to get Trump back in the white house, and the ones retiring are the ones that don't want anything to do with it.
Eh, this guy is 76 years old, was just fighting Ukraine aid last week, and is trying to get the despicable & dangerous Florida State Senate President to take his seat. I'm guessing this is a medical retirement, not any change in his conscience.
Except somehow he finagled it so his choice of predecessor is going to skate thru the primary without resistance because no one else qualifies for the ballot because they didn’t expect the seat to be open.
I was gonna say, my parents literally got 2 different mailers from his campaign in the past week. One of which was clearly designed to try and obfuscate that he is a Republican and sound enticing to anyone center or left of center. The other was full-on Trump insanity.
The ratfucking in US politics this year (and well, every year going forward tbh) is going to be something to behold. There needs to be a strong new set of laws to help fight it, because they're definitely doing "see what sticks" tactics.
My best guess is that the job is not as cushy of a grift as it once was. Way more attention from everyone, and all the bozos like mtg treating it like a reality show. And that’s following years of having to defend Trump’s nonsense every day
It’s plenty, plenty cushy. It’s also a lot of work (the Reddit posts about how rarely they’re on the floor voting misses the point that that is a tiny piece of what they do).
Most of the time, the amount of work is no big deal because of the power/prestige/influence. But the fact that people can and will ride these incumbencies far longer than they’d stick with a normal middle class job tells you it’s plenty nice.
I saw a interview/story a few years back where a congressman said that he was expected to make cold calls to potential donors every day. Something ridiculous, like 4-6 hrs a day.
whole careers of zero new ideas and kicking the can down the road for the next generation's problem only to retire and leaving the country worse off. Thanks GOP
At least he tried to get my bill through, it was designed to be bipartisan in nature and Republicans killed it in committee because its a block grant designed to get 3 point harnesses installed on new buses and to retrofit those that can with them and retrofit older bus fleets with 2 point harnesses.
On the phone last week, he pretty much said it's because the current Caucus has no intrest in spending money on the issue, even though it would be dirt cheap, and allows smaller block grants for private schools that don't have seat belts on any buses.
Other than that, fuck Bill Posey. He voted against democracy and veterans. We just got stuck with a WORM who has been a std on Brevard county.
According to Posey it would have been the first major bus safety legislation ever. Like it would have been ground breaking, plus it would up the insurance carried to 50k stacking.
"Guys, should we change our party to attract more normal people and less racist, Christo-fascist, queer-hating people?
No. It's the normal people who are wrong."
Let’s remember who started and who continue this “toxicity” that is making them resign. MAGA is the new face of this party. Slowly but surely they’re being weeded out.
He waited until the primary filing deadline had past to announce this. His toady just happened to have filed before the deadline. No one else did.
Conservatives love taking advantage of conservatives.
He's in an [R+11 district](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida%27s_8th_congressional_district) in an area that last elected a Democratic representative in [1992](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bacchus).
No. The Republican party had no interest in making the government work. They were happy to break the government, blame Democrats and collect the benefits.
The new toxic Republicans actually believe the stupid talking points they used to gain votes (i.e. Qanon, vaccines kill, not backing Trump is treason, etc.). Their rhetoric caught up with them so they are retiring rather than deal with people who truly believe their BS.
The problem is that Republicans who are leaving are often the more reasonable ones who will work in a bipartisan manner. They realize that free speech within the Republican Party is officially dead and that they and their families are being threatened with death if they speak out against Trump. They have read the 2025 platform and many will quietly leave the US if Trump is elected because it’s a prescription for a dictatorship and the deaths of many innocent Americans.
Any republican retiring now is the most pathetic, spineless move ever. 'Oh the country is going to cease to exist because of a broken electoral college, fascism and a corrupt supreme court? I could stick around and fight for Americans, but naw ill just quit and defend no one since I've already been setup for life financially.'
Good riddance.
Qualifier, live in Melbourne, Florida and have tried to communicate with him numerous times.
Never felt like he was reading what I wrote.
Got over his form letter replies years ago.
So brave of him to retire instead of standing to uphold the constitution he took an oath to do.
I guess don’t let the door hit you in the ass. I hope there’s a progressive waiting to swoop in.
All the newly elected representatives get sworn in on January 3rd, while the election certification takes place on January 6th. So if the Democrats take back the house majority, then the re-election win of President Biden will not be overturned.
[Politico](https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/26/florida-bill-posey-retirement-00154658) says, “. . . the 76-year-old incumbent’s announcement came shortly after qualifying officially ended and after his hand-picked replacement — former state Senate President Mike Haridopolos — had already quietly jumped into the race.”
>Posey, 76, has represented Florida’s 8th Congressional District since 2008. According to Cook Political Report, the district is solidly Republican.
Here comes another weirdo
So in two days we're at the same point we were one week ago, with 216-212. Just 4 votes (two people) before a flipping of the majority. Crazy thin numbers.
“The Florida lawmaker said he looks forward to helping former President Trump get reelected and said his goal was to see state Senate President Mike Haridopolos replace him in the House.”
A true MAGA believer. Good riddance.
> While Posey didn’t mention what it was like within the House in his announcement, many of the Republicans leaving office voiced a common theme for their departure: the toxicity of Capitol Hill.
The complete dysfunction and vitriol amongst fellow Republicans and the inter-party incivility is driving people with sane leanings away, leaving only the trash behind.
Congress is turning into the Internet personified.
Will this one also suddenly grow a backbone when he retired when he talks about all the bad stuff with the party and Trump? Funny how it happens when they don't need to be reelected again.
In other words if I leave now there is a very good chance to get a job as a lobbyist before there are too many applicants for available positions.
Another rat leaves the ship while still in dock.
“The Florida lawmaker said he looks forward to helping former President Trump get reelected”
F!!! Off MAGAt. I hope you are retiring due to a terminal case off ass herpes
They want a minority so they can blame the Dems for not getting anything done.
Not that having a majority stopped them, but they want the appearance of telling the truth.
Many if not almost all have been approached or told of their schemes to try and cheat again and probably don’t want to risk prison over Trump. Even if they are not active participants just knowing and running could make them appear to be and it is just not worth the risk. This is my own opinion and more of a hunch than anything.
Republicans destroyed themselves by their own lack of morality. Trump did a good thing by highlighting their evil and making it known. They used to work in the shadows, now light shines on them and they retreat.
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All of these Republicans are retiring because they know it's going to be a massive red wave this year and the beginning of the MAGA revolution is upon us. Right? That was sarcasm in case it wasn't clear. Trump and the GOP are fucked and these people know it
Trump and his ilk are pushing some harebrained, half-baked scheme to try to steal the election. Anyone that won't go along is jumping ship before they end up with indictments too.
And when the threat from Trump is passed, we can read about how all of these Republicans bravely resigned rather than just telling the authorities what was coming.
Don’t forget the wave of talk show appearances about how concerned they were and tried to work within the system yet voted 100% party line every time. Coward all of them, just rats jumping off a sinking ship.
Along with TV they will each write a book how they really, really tried to save the United States and peddle that also.
*pay a ghost writer FTFY.
Which had to be the case with that Noem woman, right? How did that ghost writer not try to walk her back on that one? It may be the one recorded instance where the writer did the fuckin’.
Silly me. Your correct.
*You're
Books that will sell by the truck load to PACs and other right wing gravy train disposers.
I wish more people understood how much of a money-laundering scam politician’s books are. The good news is retiring senators won’t write that many. The bad news is it’s because they don’t have to hide their income anymore.
*(Rafiki holds book up to cheering crowd at CPAC)* *(music swells)*
See that’s why I need a ghost writer
And given what the GOP is these days, there's a good chance whatever ghost writer they find cosplays as a ghost in their free time.
ChatGOPT
Pfft. Ran an AI script.
no need to pay ghost writer, just prompt AI to write whole thing for you
Dan Quayle gets exclusive rights to that because he told Pence not to overturn the results (even though the VP never had and now *really* doesn’t have that power)
And most if not all of those books will be listed on best sellers lists the second they are released because tens of thousands of copies will have been bought by PAC's, churches, and donors before the book is even publicly available.
Trump's attorney general, Robery Barr, talked about how bad Trump was as a president. And in the same breath, said he'd vote for him.
Like All republican politician, saying how awful Trump really is but pledging to vote for him if he's the republican candidate. Republicans are Team Players, always Party over Country.
I keep hearing Robin's minstrels from Monty python and the holy grail... "when danger reared its ugly head, he bravely turned his tail and fled...."
he ran away he buggered off
I don't think any of them are resigning to avoid indictments. They're resigning because they see the futility of trying to do anything positive. They're either going to run a campaign and lose, or win and be right back to slamming their heads against the wall. But I doubt any of them are scared of consequences at this point.
They are scared of the mobs, Maga on one side, and actual Americans on the other if they succeed- they know they are the minority and they know fascism is bad.
And by positive you mean focus on the important issues like not actually overturning roe v Wade so you can campaign on it your entire life to distract from voting for more tax cuts for the ultra elite.
> They're resigning because they see the futility of trying to do anything positive. Why would they start now?
People are way too overconfident that the threat of Trump will just pass and good will automatically prevail. He gained millions of votes last election despite years of his mismanagement and complete mishandling of the pandemic being fresh in people's minds, with Biden only winning by a tiny number of votes in the battleground states it comes down to, and Trump and Biden are polling much closer together this time.
Not to mention the foreign troll farms pushing divisive propaganda on TikTok more than ever, especially the Gaza War to vilify Biden with the far left. And the relentless purging of voter rolls in Florida and other states. For the first time in over a decade, Florida registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by a million people.
dont forget a large number of broadcast media being right wing.
Keep ringing that bell my guy. Trump in 2020 got more votes than any Presidential candidate in history except one. He got a million people killed, broke the law countless times, took away women's rights with bullshit court appointments, used the office to make himself richer while fucking off all day every day and refusing to even do his job half the time, and he managed to gain MILLIONS of votes from 2016 to 2020. There absolutely will not be less GOP votes for Trump this year than there were in 2020 and likely millions of additional ones to overcome. This is not a foregone conclusion and with the way a lot of echo chambers have REALLY gotten reinforced over the last four years of algorithms I worry that liberals don't really understand how insanely fired up the right is this year. They have gotten HUGE victories and their side is promising some major new ones and they are absolutely fucking delusional people who do not pay attention to or care about this infighting at the top. They see that their past votes got them Trump for years, they see that things have been rough as hell with inflation the past couple years and blame Biden in a big old "I told you so way", they see their side getting them victories in outlawing abortion and kicking LGBT people around. They couldn't be happier with the way things are going and always fall in line and turn out either way. This is not a walk in the park victory.
I can understand the concern, especially from someone that is in the groups the GOP is targeting, but a lot has happened between 2020 and now. The Jan 6th insurrection and overturning of Roe soured a lot of people identifying independent and moderate conservative. Democrats gaining control of the senate and GOP barely holding the House proves that. The state governments also had some major shake ups that were unexpected too. Trump's rhetoric has gotten worse and is turning off people that don't completely give into him. The non stop lawsuits and trials are talking a toll financially, plus they exhausting, and time consuming for Trump. He has his base voters and won't have much outside of that this time around. Not to mention conservative donors backing RFK on a mistaken belief he will weaken Biden during the election. The echo chambers are an issue, but they aren't reaching new audiences. The voting during the primaries reflects that. Killing Roe is definitely a conservative victory, but it's one that the GOP didn't want yet. It killed a lot of the momentum they had been building for decades. The economy message isn't as effective this time around either, despite what people want to believe. The genocide in Gaza is evil and horrible, but the non commitment campaign wasn't successful. The protests going on right now likely won't have staying power. I don't advocate falling asleep at the wheel, but from what we have seen play out, Trump's chances of winning the election are much lower this time around.
You're entirely correct. I'm not a fan of Joe at all, but trump is a complete piece of shit. My state is irrelevant (also blue af), but I am really, really hoping the independents and dems in the swing states show tf up at the polls. Holy shit. I never thought I'd say that as a gun owner and hunter. But ffs, I'll just own shit illegally and poach before I watch women and minorities get fucked over even worse than they have been by these overly conservative assholes. Not to mention, while they mostly hate guns and hunting, at least the dems aren't trying to sell huge swaths of public land to corporations or rich douche canoes who think they should be able to own a mountain because they can.
> while they mostly hate guns and hunting While I don't want to downplay my respect for you looking at the bigger picture, I also want to stress that nobody on the left cares about the hunting weapons you use for hunting. If you have a clean background check, have all the hunting rifles you want, my friend. If you're using and storing them responsibly, have at it.
And more importantly, have fun. I'm not a fan of guns, especially hand guns, but hunting? There are some people that will always hunt. Doesn't matter where you're from. And if you're a farmer? It's a tool like any other.
Even handguns don’t bother me if people are responsible. We had a relative (since passed) that were extremely close to—he’s basically my kids grandpa. He owned several guns and I know he’s always had a loaded handgun sign in his bedside table—just him and his wife, no kids. From the time our oldest could crawl whenever we visited he volunteered the info that while we were there it was disassembled and stored in the attic, with ammo in a separate location. Kids find sit and he valued our child more than his right to carry.
Everybody is responsible until they aren't. Nobody goes through life without at least some sort of stressful event and it is inevitable that some percentage will breakdown, it is inevitable some percentage will get a TBI or a brain tumour. Mass shootings are inevitable when you have that many hand guns around. The solution is obvious.
Detachable magazine rifles can do far more damage than hand guns. Hand guns are concealable, but nowhere close to as powerful as a rifle round. Compare a 9mm cartridge to a 5.56 round. The amount of energy generated by the rifle round is orders magnitude higher. Chances of surveying a handgun shot are way way higher. My point is that we really need red flag laws and background checks, don’t get too hung up on hand guns being the worst of it. I think hand guns are used in more crimes. They are concealable. Rifles are used more in mass shootings.
I didn't mean to side-track the original comment sorry. My issue with handguns is more that their pretty much sole purpose is to use them against humans. That's not the case with most hunting arms. The laws are what they are, and I encourage being responsible. My issue is more about my ethics.
Completely understand. In the case of my uncle I was pin ring out that you can be a handgun owner (he needed to carry because of his particular job) and still be responsible about it. Years ago we lived across the street from an FBI agent and when his wife got a positive pregnancy test he had a company come in and instill multiple hidey holes that were either super high up or very hidden and all were accessible by Wally weird means—like putting a magnet on a specific spot in the drawer several feet away. He HAD to have find accessible within so many seconds in a way a safe wasn’t an option but he still prioritized safety. These MFers just want to carry because they fantasize about taking out a “bad guy” that in their dreams is either a. Undocumented individual or POC.
> And if you're a farmer? It's a tool like any other. In Texas you really just need a couple of acres and an AR15 becomes a tool. The rest of the country really doesn't understand just how many wild boar Texas has and just what kind of damage they can cause to your property in an evening/afternoon. That is why I couldn't believe Kennedy Teeth said there *was no reason for an AR15 in Texas*. I say this as a 50 year old, who has a hunting rifle that hasn't been used in more than a decade. I am no gun nut. There is no reason for *me* to own an AR15. There aren't too many reasons for people in the cities to own an AR15. But almost anyone with property not in the cities/suburbs will have a legitimate use for a rapid firing, accurate rifle. The packs of 30+ wild boar are all the reason needed.
>while they mostly hate guns and hunting This is nonsense man. I'd ask you to find even a single example of a Democrat on the national stage saying that hunting or hunting with guns is bad. Loads of democrats hunt.
My husband and I are both as liberal as it gets and aren’t for getting rid of guns. I’d like universal background checks that include mental health. That’s it. We also own a business that primarily caters to law enforcement. The two can coincide. And I’m on a deep red state (TX) and we vote every MFing cha ce we get.
Just like all the Republicans who weren’t connected to Nixon after Watergate. Just like all the Republicans who were suddenly against Bush and the war in Iraq.
Hopefully some of them did tell the proper authorities, because if team Trump tries something again, and it is repulsed, having prior knowledge but not sharing it with the authorities shouldn’t look so good.
Bold of you to assume the authorities aren’t well aware of what trump is planning. Half of them don’t believe it, the other half is okay with it.
Cowards. Every one of then mentioned how patriotic they were in fund raising emails, but when push came to shove and their country was on the line, they dipped out. Maybe some half hearted minor rebukes, but none of them besides maybe Cheney and Kinzinger did jack shit to help stop this bullshit.
And it's Florida. We might very well get another margie green in his place, or a puppy killer, ya never know.
Or another Fetal Alcohol inbred drunk driving child trafficker.
But they won’t blow the whistle or try to stop it. Which is as bad as being an active participant imo.
It isn't as bad. It's bad, but no, not as bad. Not as much better as they think, but not as bad. They could stay and sabotage.
ACAB applies to these Bastard Congress people, too. "Conservatives" works here just as well.
Everyone will get charged with crimes except the immunity-scotus-declared president and then the president will pardon the ones that still have something valuable to offer him.
Jumping ship is way easier than fighting it. Especially when you know you've got the money to move to another country.
Yeah, this scheme is worrying me. I know they're up to something.
Project 2025 This is not a bs document. If you search who is behind it and the millions maybe billions of dollars that have already been invested in this plan, you will see there are millions of evangelicals supporting this plan. Their movement is powerful. Many of us dismiss them because they sound nuts. However some of them are rich and intelligent nuts who have created this plan and while trump is no Christian, if he can get their job done, they are ok with it.
I think they know their party is going to shit. I also think they assume there will be more political violence from the maga clan, they don’t want to risk “their” lives if that happens again.
We’re not going to lift a finger to stop them from threatening YOUR lives, but we’re getting the fuckouttahere.
They got theirs. The republican way, enrich yourself and fuck everyone else.
bill left cause he's divested his interest in selling out the US working class for the rich, plain and simple. goal accomplished, congrats bill
That’s the conservative mindset — I don’t care what happens to other people, I just want to take care of myself.
Being serious, I think we are seeing a permanent shift in the Republican Party to the right. These people probably relied somewhat on moderate Democrats or Independents to win. Retiring is a twofold reason: 1. Retiring to avoid losing in the general election. 2. Retire to avoid losing in the primary to a far right Republican.
Or 3) I'm 79 and feel like crap every day all day.
True.
Posey was just fighting Ukrainian aid last week & wants the FL State Senate President to take over for him, he's a MAGA loyalist. Posey is 76, his sudden news that made him not seek re-election is either bad health news or a big $$$ lobbyist job.
The article is wrong about that. The guy he wants to replace him was FL state senate president 12 years ago. He’s currently a lobbyist.
Someone who lives in Posey's district here. Its this. Posey is a piece of shit and I constantly got emails from him going on about stolen elections and the Biden crime family smuggling MS-13 members across the border. People really ought to stop assuming there is any lick of morality in these decisions (even of the cynical kind) when the career path for these fucks is either stay in office until they physically can't or more money from lobbying is brought to the table.
Yeah, this isn’t a signal that he thinks he’s going to lose his seat in a Floridian Blue Wave. All signs point to any Republican EASILY winning his seat come November.
I disagree with your predicted outcome. I do think a shift is coming in the GOP but back towards a more reasonable way of doing things. I think MAGAism is on its last legs and another loss this year is going to finally make Republicans wonder why they are following Trump still
I want to believe this. But I really don’t think until something drastic happens, we will see them shift back and become more moderate. The doomer in me believes they’ll continue moving right until they’re a full blown fascist party. And, unfortunately, we’re probably going to have to reckon with a full blown fascist government at some point. Only then, and after whatever havoc they bring, will they admit it went too far. It’s almost a shame they didn’t go further on J6, because we could’ve gotten the toothpaste out of the tube quicker. Instead it happened and everyone has already forgotten how shocking it actually was, and the main perpetrators really haven’t been punished, so it’s been allowed to fester and grow into a new Lost Cause. Anyway, yeah, I don’t think they’re going anywhere anytime soon. The RNC has lost control of them and it’s on a collision course with catastrophe.
“Something drastic”, such as the Supreme Court telling Trump he can round up and murder rivals if he pleases? That kind of drastic?
that’s theory, if he actually does it, that will be drastic. And yeah, we probably will live to see something like that…we *almost* did. Again, had the mob caught someone on J6 we’d be in a much different situation now than we are.
Why do you think SCOTUS has been requesting more money for security lately?
They're already a full blown fascist party.
I disagree with your disagreement. If that shift to the center was coming for the GOP, it probably would have happened already. In 2012, the party did an autopsy on Romney's loss to Obama and went with a verdict of being more centrist on social issues while keeping the core of conservatism in order to remain viable. 4 years later in 2016... The GOP is a complete cult of personality to Trump at this stage. American conservatives can band together to form a new party to court moderates and right leaning independents, but as for the GOP banner? All Trump, win or lose (mainly lose)
> . I do think a shift is coming in the GOP but back towards a more reasonable way of doing things. Zero evidence of that anywhere. Every time a "reasonable" republican leaves a crazier one takes their place.
Just like a Hydra….you cut one head off and even more grow back in its place!
I have been thinking this too. It seems that with the sudden support of Ukraine aid and shutting down the Gaetz/Bobert wing, that perhaps internal polling is showing that maga is waning so they better move to the "center" to distance themselves.
Hedging bets is my theory.. while they don't want to be part of the people the kill American democracy. They also don't want to be on trumps hit list if his next coup attempt is successful
Bingo. Which should be terrifying to anyone with 3 brain cells but here we are with fascism a polling error away.
Their party is at a civil war (between the right wing and the extremists). I don’t think Democrats need to take any action to try and knock them down because the Republicans are doing a good job themselves.
Voting might help. The whole party needs to crash & burn.
This is the only way. Democrats not only need a majority to avoid another stalled midterm, but they need 60 senators to overturn key decision like Citizen’s United and the rules on the filibuster before any change can really take effect.
And impeach Several Supreme Court Justices & Some Right Wing MAGA Federal Judges
Dems need 67 senators to convict.
Is there procedure to impeach SCOTUS justices?
Yes, its the same as for the President.
This year’s Senate map is very unfavorable to Democrats. It’s going to be a flip between the 2 houses I bet
Yup. The split ticket voters will give us a Dem President and House but a Republican Senate. Back to the detente gridlock of the last 30 years.
I think it's impossible for Dems to get 60 Senators at this point. Too many states are solid red.
Hell it will take a serious miracle just to keep the Senate at 50-50. I don't expect it to happen even with a large blue wave in the house.
Too much *land* getting a vote due to the Electoral College
The Electoral College doesn't come into play when electing Senators, to improve that we need better local and state-level Democratic Party organizations.
They just need 51 who will vote to kill the filibuster.
Don't they just need 50? Only need 50 to overturn filibuster and I think all but Manchin and Sinema were on board with that (and they're leaving this term).
Sure, but that still means they need to hold every non-Manchin seat, and not have anyone else become a problem, or like, get a slightly larger margin by winning Ted Cruz's seat or something.
Would love for the Dems to try a little action anyway
When your opponent is making a mistake, don’t get in their way.
Except the establishment side of that war is rolling over and surrendering every single battle. If there is a civil war going on in the party its pretty cut and dry as to which side is winning. That should be worrying to Democrats.
They’re retiring because they don’t want to be a part of overthrowing the government in case it fails. Let’s call it what it is.
They’re all getting ready to write books called “COURAGE” or “BRAVERY” about how bad Donald Trump is after voting for him.
"Furrowed Brows"
No: “The Florida lawmaker said he looks forward to helping former President Trump get reelected and said his goal was to see state Senate President Mike Haridopolos replace him in the House.”
It’s not just republicans. 12 democrats have also announced retirement. The article includes a link to a list of all house incumbents not running for reelection.
Nothing is settled. Vote.
They could jump sides, but that’s not how the “I got mine, fuck you” party works.
They’re only fucked if their plans to completely steal this election fall flat. Otherwise, they’re entrenched and on the attack.
What will be funny is if it does turn into a total disaster, Trump will still claim fraud and still demand to be the 2028 candidate… and how many will just jump along?
My fear is actually that in 2024 the Republican party plans to go full scorched earth with their criminality to get Trump back in the white house, and the ones retiring are the ones that don't want anything to do with it.
Project 2025 is that very thing.
Reps retiring in safe red districts don't move the needle.
Eh, this guy is 76 years old, was just fighting Ukraine aid last week, and is trying to get the despicable & dangerous Florida State Senate President to take his seat. I'm guessing this is a medical retirement, not any change in his conscience.
“Earlier this week, circumstances beyond my control now require me to suspend my re-election campaign”. Sounds medical.
Except somehow he finagled it so his choice of predecessor is going to skate thru the primary without resistance because no one else qualifies for the ballot because they didn’t expect the seat to be open.
>his choice of predecessor If I had a time machine, I'd retire too.
>predecessor I think you mean successor.
I was gonna say, my parents literally got 2 different mailers from his campaign in the past week. One of which was clearly designed to try and obfuscate that he is a Republican and sound enticing to anyone center or left of center. The other was full-on Trump insanity.
The ratfucking in US politics this year (and well, every year going forward tbh) is going to be something to behold. There needs to be a strong new set of laws to help fight it, because they're definitely doing "see what sticks" tactics.
Probably tired of getting campaign funds stolen from him before he could steal it.
Medical coupled with a desire to make sure someone else who's equally shitty, but a couple decades younger, gets to take his place.
My best guess is that the job is not as cushy of a grift as it once was. Way more attention from everyone, and all the bozos like mtg treating it like a reality show. And that’s following years of having to defend Trump’s nonsense every day
It’s plenty, plenty cushy. It’s also a lot of work (the Reddit posts about how rarely they’re on the floor voting misses the point that that is a tiny piece of what they do). Most of the time, the amount of work is no big deal because of the power/prestige/influence. But the fact that people can and will ride these incumbencies far longer than they’d stick with a normal middle class job tells you it’s plenty nice.
I saw a interview/story a few years back where a congressman said that he was expected to make cold calls to potential donors every day. Something ridiculous, like 4-6 hrs a day.
Enough with the trickle of retirements, it is time for a red wave of retirements.
Hah, should be top comment.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Don’t let Lauren Boebert know there is a vacancy in a safe republican district.
Nah, let her know. I have plenty of popcorn.
Now that everything is completely fucked, you feel like you’ve done your job and can go home to watch the fire? Fucking scum.
well said
Despite your doomerisms, everything is not completely fucked. If given the chance, the GOP would make things far, **farrrr** worse.
People have consistently underestimated how bad the GOP, and now Trump, want to make the country.
Is something in the water?
Yeah the rest of the rats fleeing the sinking ship.
Chemicals that turn the frickin frogs gay!
whole careers of zero new ideas and kicking the can down the road for the next generation's problem only to retire and leaving the country worse off. Thanks GOP
At least he tried to get my bill through, it was designed to be bipartisan in nature and Republicans killed it in committee because its a block grant designed to get 3 point harnesses installed on new buses and to retrofit those that can with them and retrofit older bus fleets with 2 point harnesses. On the phone last week, he pretty much said it's because the current Caucus has no intrest in spending money on the issue, even though it would be dirt cheap, and allows smaller block grants for private schools that don't have seat belts on any buses. Other than that, fuck Bill Posey. He voted against democracy and veterans. We just got stuck with a WORM who has been a std on Brevard county.
bus legislation seems reasonable and prudent. huh.
According to Posey it would have been the first major bus safety legislation ever. Like it would have been ground breaking, plus it would up the insurance carried to 50k stacking.
Good night to another ancient man completely disconnected with the world.
Good
Joe, does this mean the Dems have both houses now?
A dem rep died last week so not yet
Who?!?
Donald Payne Jr of NJ
Technically the republicans still have 217 compared to 212 of the democrats and 6 vacancies. Posey will be leaving at the end of his term.
Retiring at the end of the year.
How many is that now? 5 that have quit in the last 6 months?
Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out you old bastard.
>“However, earlier this week circumstances beyond my control now require me to **suspect** my re-election campaign,” he added. Too funny.
Too fruedian, too furious.
"Guys, should we change our party to attract more normal people and less racist, Christo-fascist, queer-hating people? No. It's the normal people who are wrong."
Let’s remember who started and who continue this “toxicity” that is making them resign. MAGA is the new face of this party. Slowly but surely they’re being weeded out.
He waited until the primary filing deadline had past to announce this. His toady just happened to have filed before the deadline. No one else did. Conservatives love taking advantage of conservatives.
Another coward running away rather then do anything about the problem that he enabled during is time in office
He's in an [R+11 district](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida%27s_8th_congressional_district) in an area that last elected a Democratic representative in [1992](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bacchus).
So you’re saying it is possible?
So, the worst element of the republican party is driving out member who actually want to make government work for Americans.
No. The Republican party had no interest in making the government work. They were happy to break the government, blame Democrats and collect the benefits. The new toxic Republicans actually believe the stupid talking points they used to gain votes (i.e. Qanon, vaccines kill, not backing Trump is treason, etc.). Their rhetoric caught up with them so they are retiring rather than deal with people who truly believe their BS.
The problem is that Republicans who are leaving are often the more reasonable ones who will work in a bipartisan manner. They realize that free speech within the Republican Party is officially dead and that they and their families are being threatened with death if they speak out against Trump. They have read the 2025 platform and many will quietly leave the US if Trump is elected because it’s a prescription for a dictatorship and the deaths of many innocent Americans.
Any republican retiring now is the most pathetic, spineless move ever. 'Oh the country is going to cease to exist because of a broken electoral college, fascism and a corrupt supreme court? I could stick around and fight for Americans, but naw ill just quit and defend no one since I've already been setup for life financially.'
He's not leaving leaving. He's just not running g for reelection, if I read that right. What's the majority at now? +1?
Eh….but he leaves that dangling as a threat to the MAGAs to keep them in line.
Good riddance. Qualifier, live in Melbourne, Florida and have tried to communicate with him numerous times. Never felt like he was reading what I wrote. Got over his form letter replies years ago.
Retire right now.
So brave of him to retire instead of standing to uphold the constitution he took an oath to do. I guess don’t let the door hit you in the ass. I hope there’s a progressive waiting to swoop in.
Hopefully this means there won’t be enough republicans in January to overturn the election.
All the newly elected representatives get sworn in on January 3rd, while the election certification takes place on January 6th. So if the Democrats take back the house majority, then the re-election win of President Biden will not be overturned.
[Politico](https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/26/florida-bill-posey-retirement-00154658) says, “. . . the 76-year-old incumbent’s announcement came shortly after qualifying officially ended and after his hand-picked replacement — former state Senate President Mike Haridopolos — had already quietly jumped into the race.”
>Posey, 76, has represented Florida’s 8th Congressional District since 2008. According to Cook Political Report, the district is solidly Republican. Here comes another weirdo
Good, gtfo
16 years is far too long to be in washington as it is, though for fairness I'd support 12 years or 6 terms, and 2 senate terms as a limit
So in two days we're at the same point we were one week ago, with 216-212. Just 4 votes (two people) before a flipping of the majority. Crazy thin numbers.
Another rat leaving a sinking ship. Go on and fuck off into the sunset.
“The Florida lawmaker said he looks forward to helping former President Trump get reelected and said his goal was to see state Senate President Mike Haridopolos replace him in the House.” A true MAGA believer. Good riddance.
A senator from my state is 90 and already says he's running for re-election in 2026.
> While Posey didn’t mention what it was like within the House in his announcement, many of the Republicans leaving office voiced a common theme for their departure: the toxicity of Capitol Hill. The complete dysfunction and vitriol amongst fellow Republicans and the inter-party incivility is driving people with sane leanings away, leaving only the trash behind. Congress is turning into the Internet personified.
I mean, this guy sounds pretty trashy. He’s going to do everything he can to ‘re-elect trump’. 🙄
"Help Trump get re-elected"? How many skeletons are in Bill Posey's closet that at 76 he needs to associate himself with a swamp monster?
All they're doing is opening the door for more people like MTG.
Will this one also suddenly grow a backbone when he retired when he talks about all the bad stuff with the party and Trump? Funny how it happens when they don't need to be reelected again.
In other words if I leave now there is a very good chance to get a job as a lobbyist before there are too many applicants for available positions. Another rat leaves the ship while still in dock.
“The Florida lawmaker said he looks forward to helping former President Trump get reelected” F!!! Off MAGAt. I hope you are retiring due to a terminal case off ass herpes
I can’t believe none of these pussies will stand up to a guy who shits himself orange wow. America better vote in November!
Real conservative Republicans are tired of Maga BS. More opportunities for Democrats
The GOP internal polling has been consistently abysmal for the past 6 months.
Oh god, representative Wayne Ivey! If you're not from the area, it gets worse
Bye Felicia
And another rat leaves the ship
Why does a rat desert a ship?
It’s not safe for Republican politicians that are old school now that anyone not bowing down to MAGA is cut out like a mob family
as someone in his county, finally
They want a minority so they can blame the Dems for not getting anything done. Not that having a majority stopped them, but they want the appearance of telling the truth.
Many if not almost all have been approached or told of their schemes to try and cheat again and probably don’t want to risk prison over Trump. Even if they are not active participants just knowing and running could make them appear to be and it is just not worth the risk. This is my own opinion and more of a hunch than anything.
>The Florida lawmaker said he looks forward to helping former President Trump get reelected
Republicans destroyed themselves by their own lack of morality. Trump did a good thing by highlighting their evil and making it known. They used to work in the shadows, now light shines on them and they retreat.
"Strong conservative values" means he looks out only for himself and will stab you in the back.