Why this conservative plans to run against Trump in the Republican primary

Can a pro-choice, pro-amnesty "Libertarian for life" who backed Barack Obama in 2008, thinks the phrase "all lives matter" is "nothing but a dog whistle," and maintained throughout 2016 that Hillary Clinton is preferable to Donald Trump, truly be competitive in the 2020 Republican Party presidential primary? That's what Bill Weld is set to begin finding out in New Hampshire tomorrow morning, when he takes what his friends are forecasting as a substantial move toward declaring his candidacy for president.

Weld, the 2016 Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee and current* honorary chair of a nonprofit whose purpose is to "stop the political duopoly" (*Update: Our America Initiative announced this afternoon that Weld has resigned that post effective today), took the pre-primary step January 17 of switching his Massachusetts voter registration back to a Trump-led GOP that he has repeatedly compared to the xenophobic Know-Nothing Party of the 1850s. He has scheduled a second New Hampshire visit for February 26, he has recruited former New Hampshire Republican Party Chair Jennifer Horn to help, and his allies are writing thinkpieces about how "Democrats' hopes to take back the White House may lie in the hands of a Republican candidate." (Update 2: WMUR is reporting that Weld will announce Friday the formation of an exploratory committee.)

Like potential independent candidate Howard Schultz and Democrats, Weld's reception among Republicans has been on the chilly side, with even his own Trump-averse protégés, such as Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, making cautious statements like, "I'm a big fan of Bill Weld the person, but the decision he makes to run for office is very much his own."

https://reason.com/blog/2019/02/14/bill-weld-preparing-to-become-the-firsta

He's one of the worst libertarians on the planet, but he would be an improvement.

I don't think Republicans will nominate him, unless Trump is in handcuffs, and even then it's doubtful.

With about 192 Dems running, Schultz probably running as an independent and now this highly unusual primary challenge to a sitting POTUS, it's probably going to be a hell of a ride starting in about a year.

Johnson is done, and I can't think of anyone in the Libertarian party that is going to get any traction.

Austin Petersen won't and last I heard about McAfee he was running to Central America to hide from the FBI, IRS or some other alphabet agency.

Political free spirit Bill Weld, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts who ran for vice president on the Libertarian ticket in 2016, is embarking on his most quixotic mission yet: challenging Donald Trump in the Republican primary.

“I cannot sit quietly on the sidelines any longer,” he declared at the “Politics & Eggs” breakfast in New Hampshire on Friday morning, announcing his intention to form an exploratory committee to run for president.

Weld laid out a fairly traditional Republican platform—cut spending, implement flat taxes, etc.—but made it clear that his primary goal is getting in Trump’s head.

“Our president is simply too unstable to carry out the duties of the highest executive office,” he said, calling out Republicans as victims of “Stockholm syndrome.”

Weld was unsparing: “The truth is that we have wasted an enormous amount of time by humoring this president, indulging him in his narcissism and his compulsive, irrational behaviors.”

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/02/bill-weld-2020-republican-primary-challenge

He's not the only conservative to deem Trump unfit for the presidency, but this info has to hurt:

Former top FBI lawyer James Baker, in closed-door testimony to Congress, detailed alleged discussions among senior officials at the Justice Department about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Cheeto-Faced Ferret-Wearing Shit Gibbon from office, claiming he was told Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said two Trump Cabinet officials were “ready to support” such an effort.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/former-top-fbi-lawyer-2-trump-cabinet-officials-were-ready-to-support-25th-amendment-effort

Two people hand-picked by Trump were ready to oust him. I can't imagine what that report did to Trump's ego.

http://www.newsfixboard.com/t26335-bill-weld-is-prepping-to-be-the-firstand-most-improbableprimary-challenger-to-donald-trump

I wouldn't use the term conservative to describe Weld.

Sorry, didn't realize you'd gotten to this one first. I don't know much about Weld but his platform does sound pretty typical, old-school conservative - back before conservative meant crazy - what with the small-government stuff.

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:Sorry, didn't realize  you'd gotten to this one first. I don't  know much about Weld  but his platform does sound pretty typical, old-school conservative - back before conservative  meant crazy - what with the small-government stuff.

He was on the vice presidential ticket a few years ago.

He's a pro choice and pro pot legalization and was governor of Mass.

He supported Obama over McCain too.

Maddog wrote:

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:Sorry, didn't realize  you'd gotten to this one first. I don't  know much about Weld  but his platform does sound pretty typical, old-school conservative - back before conservative  meant crazy - what with the small-government stuff.

He was on the vice presidential ticket a few years ago.

He's a pro choice and pro pot legalization and was governor of Mass.

He supported Obama over McCain too.

Pro choice? That just means the state can't tell you what to do with your own body. Ditto with pot legalization. There are sound conservative arguments for legal abortions and pot.

And plenty of conservatives supported Obama over McCain in the context of what W. had done to the GOP.

The Republican Party has been tilting toward Christian authoritarianism since Reagan, and it's nearly there. That isn't a party of small government and limited interference - it's theocratic nationalism.

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:

Maddog wrote:

He was on the vice presidential ticket a few years ago.

He's a pro choice and pro pot legalization and was governor of Mass.

He supported Obama over McCain too.

Pro choice? That just means the state can't tell you what to do with your own body. Ditto with pot legalization. There are sound conservative arguments for legal abortions and pot.

And plenty of conservatives supported Obama over McCain in the context of what W. had done to the GOP.

The Republican Party has been tilting toward Christian authoritarianism since Reagan, and it's nearly there. That isn't a party of small government and limited interference - it's theocratic nationalism.

I don't know of any conservatives that supported Obama over McCain. Hillary over Trump, yeah.

I'm not sure what you call Weld, but in 2019 terms, conservative doesn't sound right.

Traditional 'Liberal'

https://www.britannica.com/topic/liberalism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism

'Classical Liberalism' :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_liberalism

'Neo-Classical Liberalism' :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoclassical_liberalism

'Neoliberalism' :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoclassical_liberalism

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

Traditional 'Liberal'

https://www.britannica.com/topic/liberalism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism

'Classical Liberalism' :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_liberalism

'Neo-Classical Liberalism' :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoclassical_liberalism

'Neoliberalism' :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoclassical_liberalism

Yes, I'm more of a Classical Liberal.

Weld is a bit more difficult to pin down.

Especially with the way conservative is used.

Paleo conservative?
Libertarian Conservative?
Neo-Con?

Does conservative mean right wing?

I think in the US, it's often just used to describe anyone that's not a democratic supporter.