Submitted by nebirah t3_ywqy7m in massachusetts
I don't know if he's interested, but what if? Imagine a GOP debate with Charlie and Donald...
Comments
threenamer t1_iwkw5cg wrote
I don’t believe they actually want sanity. Total chaos is the goal because it gives them cover to fuck up every possible thing about our society.
coconutpete52 t1_iwkz7vu wrote
Op is talking about a potential debate in the republicans primaries. AOC and Newsom are democrats.
WinsingtonIII t1_iwkz8ag wrote
I really don’t see how he’d win the Republican primary. Maybe he could win a couple New England states (though I’m not sure that’s guaranteed), but he is not nearly conservative enough for the national GOP. Even among the non-Trump wing of the party, they are mostly looking for someone very conservative like DeSantis.
Can you imagine Baker backing a “don’t say gay” school bill or pulling a stunt shipping migrants to California? No. And those are the sort of “own the libs” political stunts GOP primary voters love on the national level.
Proof-Variation7005 t1_iwkzk4q wrote
He’d never give up the months that could be spent following blink 182 on their reunion tour for campaigning.
That and I think he’s got next to no national name recognition.
nebirah OP t1_iwl0uz2 wrote
I wonder the last time a New England governor/senator came close to President. We've had lots of people who tried and didn't come close. JFK obviously but who since him?
BiffNasty1234 t1_iwl1ejh wrote
He needs trump to lose and desantis to get pushed. Right now that party ain’t ready for someone who has a brain
outb0undflight t1_iwl1scp wrote
Not sure he has enough of a national profile for a serious run, even if he wanted to. But he could do a Mitt Romney in '08 where even if he only takes home a few electors he's getting his name out there.
That being said...Baker is still too liberal for the national GOP.
WinsingtonIII t1_iwl1u0q wrote
Romney in 2012 and Kerry in 2004 come to mind, and there was Dukakis in 1988 (but that wasn’t a close race). Actually a pretty decent recent showing for a state the size of MA to have 3 major party presidential candidates make the general election in the last 35 years. But none of them won.
Cheap_Coffee t1_iwl3es1 wrote
He used the word "like". It was a simile.
Cheap_Coffee t1_iwl3hto wrote
>I really don’t see how he’d win the Republican primary.
This.
rareeagle t1_iwl4qms wrote
Trump would call him “Big Wet Charlie” during a debate, the crowd would go wild, and Baker’s campaign would be instantly over.
SouthShoreSerenade t1_iwl4sk0 wrote
He'd be the only sane man on a stage with DeSatan and Trump...so he wouldn't stand a snowball's chance. Those voters want insanity and villainy. I don't like Baker but he's not those things, he wouldn't feed those dogs.
Quincyperson t1_iwl4xeh wrote
When Kasich ran in 2016, during the debates he would give moderate answers in a calm tone. He was essentially ignored by the rest of the circus clowns who were pissing on each other’s shoes to see who could push the fringe furthest right. Maybe the GOP will learn their lesson, but I doubt it
BlaineTog t1_iwl5t43 wrote
In that context, "like," just means, "for example." Comparing two politicians isn't figurative language, so it isn't a simile. The impression is that /u/BF1shY was considering Baker in a Democratic primary rather than a GQP one, though even if they meant, "we," to mean the GQP, it still wouldn't be a simile.
BlaineTog t1_iwl704q wrote
In that context, he gets creamed at the polls, and it isn't close. Much as I dislike Baker, I would need to have a lot more faith in the GQP electorate than I do to believe he has any kind of chance of finding a foothold.
Maybe the GQP will be ready for sanity after another round of Trump and his MAGAts losing badly, but in that scenario they would probably just be out of serious contention for a few election cycles. Trump gave his party permission to be bigots and many of them won't jump ship just because he's lost all viability. This results in an effective split in the GQP between the power-mongers who only care about the will to power and the bigots who only care about being told it's ok to hate minorities, and those factions will have a hard time supporting the same candidates in that scenario.
Baker only has a shot right in the primary now if he skews hard Right and Trump drops out of '24. Neither of those things seem likely.
Sayoria t1_iwl7qiu wrote
A lot of this also stems from the media. My old job I worked at in 2016, we had CNN on the TV all the time. Onne thing I noticed was that CNN would not keep him off the TV. I even said to myself he was going to win because they gave him waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much airtime.
People like Trump shouldn't be brought to the front like he is. He should have been ignored.
Dagonus t1_iwl8qkn wrote
IIRC, the Mass GOP didn't even mention Baker at their last state convention so, I'm not even sure he could win a Mass GOP primary at this point.
Cheap_Coffee t1_iwl98ui wrote
WinsingtonIII t1_iwl9mzk wrote
Yep. There are rumors that part of the reason Baker didn't run was because he saw internal polling showing him losing in the Republican primary to Diehl. He is actually much more favorably viewed by Democrats and people who voted for Biden than he is by Republicans and people who voted for Trump, so it's believable: https://news.northeastern.edu/2021/12/13/charlie-baker-democrat-support/
That said, he's probably also just burnt out after COVID, being a governor during the pandemic must have been brutal.
DRZ36 t1_iwl9qp8 wrote
Remember when Romney was a sane governor of MA and passed healthcare reform? Then he needed to win a primary and all of a sudden his healthcare system was socialist and he was willing to play into blatant racism to win.
I don’t doubt Baker wouldn’t suffer the same fate. If he’s smart, he’ll ride off into the sunset and consult for Bain or something and make $10M a year
Bobbydadude01 t1_iwla33m wrote
He wouldn't make it pass the primaries.
Own-Suit5786 t1_iwldhf5 wrote
It could work but the R is very about not rocking the boat. It’s Trump v DeSantis which sucks but that’s the land we live in
Unique-Public-8594 t1_iwldnkq wrote
Oh hi, Charlie!
boomajohn20 t1_iwlfayl wrote
Don’t forget Liz Warren in 2020
Suspicious-Relief-31 t1_iwlfjea wrote
Also for months he had protesters camped out across the street from his home. In fact one person entered his home, through MSP PROTECTION! To leave an envelope on his kitchen table, Absolutely not KOOL !
WinsingtonIII t1_iwlgl7t wrote
True, but I was only counting candidates who made the general election. Honestly, since OP said New England generally, Sanders has made a bigger impact in primaries than Warren did.
DumbshitOnTheRight t1_iwlifny wrote
Baker's not far enough into the insane right to stand a chance.
jp_jellyroll t1_iwlnv4y wrote
As the saying goes, "If you're intelligent, talented, and hard-working... why would you ever get into politics?"
Electronic_Company64 t1_iwloak0 wrote
Don’t bother imagining that. He’s too sane and intelligent for those clowns.
ggtffhhhjhg t1_iwlogm7 wrote
The Republican primaries are going to be based upon who can be the most awful person.
Electronic_Company64 t1_iwloqpl wrote
Dukakis had a big lead over Senior Bush that summer, but then, the tank and then the question about Kitty and rape. He was just too cold ( or analytical) for most people. Would have been a good president though.
Bobbydadude01 t1_iwlq94r wrote
Yeah baker doesn't do alot of hate rhetoric so he wouldn't do well.
He still a republican and supports republican policy but he isn't a sociopath.
Sloth_are_great t1_iwmiyot wrote
He’ll lose. He’s far left of the current GOP. Probably wouldn’t even win the MA primary.
binocular_gems t1_iwmyum9 wrote
He wouldn't win a single Republican primary state and would be utterly irrelevant nationally.
Charlie Baker didn't run for governor in Massachusetts, where he's enjoyed a 74% approval rating, because he was going to get primaried by Diehl and would have to spend a fortune winning a GOP primary that his own state party endorses his opponent for. He'd probably end up losing that primary even though Baker has consistently been the most popular state-wide elected official in America.
If Baker doesn't get a post as an ambassador or something, Baker is going to cash in as an advisor and board member. He's done with electoral politics. He's unelectable in Republican politics.
Direct-Pressure-7452 t1_iwnjw38 wrote
Baker would be considered a democrat in most red states
PweetLB t1_iwnlb27 wrote
Trump is over. Dump Trump. He’s crass vile and “Hitler-esque”
Due-Dog6719 t1_iwnzl33 wrote
He doesn’t have the charisma to run for national office. He’s too dull and safe and doesn’t really seem to stand for anything. He’d be drowned out by the loons.
Itchy-Marionberry-62 t1_iwo32y9 wrote
George H W Bush was from Massachusetts. Chuckles Baker will not run for anything else. He is worn out. I would gladly vote for DeSantis.
spectatorsport101 t1_iwodd2n wrote
This post reeks of establishment brain drivel. The republican party has no major split within it: they support the same policies, they support the same candidates, they vote the same way.
The only distinction between say a Kevin McCarthy and Trump is aesthetic, rhetoric, and political style. They all support privatizing things that keep at least a 1/3 of seniors out of poverty. That is an extreme and dangerous position. That is more reprehensible than some governor pulling a media stunt or something of that sort.
I am sick of the liberal, mainstream-media tendency towards desperation for a “never-trump” republican. The vast majority of the party’s voters, elected representatives, and officials enthusiastically supported trump.
spectatorsport101 t1_iwodly8 wrote
Theres nothing exciting about a republican debating a republican.
You want a test case for that? Who did the Democrats nominate for governor of Florida? A former republican. Howd that fuckn go?
Oh right, Desantis gained support compared to the past contest.
spectatorsport101 t1_iwodpn8 wrote
fuck this system that has the rich ruling the poor
spectatorsport101 t1_iwoeowd wrote
The modern GOP never was sane. This is a party that has accused every sitting Democratic President in recent memory of being a communist.
This is the party that has proposed the demolition of social security. This is the party that has cultivated cultural conflict, racial conflict, and sexism as a political foundation upon which their party and their base stands. This is the party that prosecuted an illegal war of aggression. This is the party that demanded war with Iran.
This is the party that questioned Obama’s citizenship.
This is the party that created a torture state and denied it was torture.
This party isnt sane. They denied the objective scientific consensus backing the validity of anthropogenic climate change. They denied what is now plain to see for anyone living in the south-west, in a low-lying coastal region, or in a state like Colorado whose rivers are drying up.
That is insanity. That insanity has led us to the climate “mitigation” future that now even the Republicans hasten to deny
spectatorsport101 t1_iwoevui wrote
but it wasnt and isnt the fringe. Any opinion poll today finds that the majority of the party believes that a certified US presidential election was false, that January 6th was a false flag attack by “antifa”
DaveDurant t1_iwkv9h4 wrote
It's not clear (to me anyway) that the GOP is ready for sanity. I don't think I'd vote for him but at least he's not a raving lunatic, or someone who supports such people.