Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Senator Tim Scott Announces White House Bid
Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) announced his bid for the White House yesterday. The only black man in the US Senate, Mr. Scott is well-regarded in GOP circles, and most of his Democratic colleagues appear to like him. He is running a cheerful, upbeat campaign that contrasts mightily with the gloom and doom most Republicans use for their world view these days. One does not expect Mr. Scott to win any primaries against Mr. Trump, but he may do well enough to earn a spot on the Trump ticket. For now, his entry into the race makes a Trump nomination all the more likely.
Many years ago, Arkansas Republican Governor Mike Huckabee said, "I am a conservative, but I am not mad at anybody." He sold himself as the happy warrior of the right, and while his campaign did not take off as he wanted, he had found the secret of selling America on conservative ideas. Do not be grumpy about it. In 1980, Ronald Reagan ran on the same things that Barry Goldwater did 16 years earlier, but Mr. Reagan ran with a smile on his face. It was morning in America not a case of American carnage. Mr. Scott seems to understand this
.The Guardian reported, "He was raised by a single, working mother, and his grandfather dropped out of school in the third grade to pick cotton on a South Carolina farm. That grandfather lived long enough to see his grandson win a seat in the US House of Representatives, where Scott served one term before being appointed to the Senate in 2013." If that is not the American dream, it is hard to say what is.
"When I talk to my friends on the other side of the aisle, particularly the ones who disagree with me vehemently, the one thing I can tell them is that the proof of my life disproves your lies," Mr. Scott said at the town hall. "America is a beautiful country. We are the land of opportunity and not the land of oppression."
The anecdotal evidence of his one life does not refute that statistical proof that racism in America is still there and is still a problem. However, the message will play well in parts of white suburbia where no one is a racist in their own minds (often racist behavior is unconscious). A happy black man who says his life is proof that America works is going to succeed in getting his message out and adopted by voters.
His addition to the race is welcome. "Are you proud to be an American?" he asked his audience. And they are. "America is the greatest nation on God\'s green Earth," and that is because of the people, not the politicians. Frankly, this journal would prefer all politicians to avoid the American carnage nonsense. If the future is grim, one must tell the truth, but hope sells. Let the voters think one has a solution to the problem, someone who can lead the nation out of the darkenss into the light, and it will bring supporters by the tens of thousands.
However, his addition to the race makes Mr. Trump more likely to be the nominee. Mr. Trump leads in all the polls, in some cases with a majority. To stop him, one or two other candidates in the race must catch fire while the others get out quickly. Mr. Scott, Ambassador Nikki Haley, soon-to-announce Governor Ron DeSantis, Vice President Mike Pence, Governor Asa Hutchison of Arkansas, and Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire make a field to big to beat Mr. Trump.
"Unless your name is Donald Trump, you\'re running for vice-president," former GOP Chairman Michael Steele said. "Until shown otherwise, that they\'re willing to take this man down and willing to really press the point that he is wholly incompetent and too politically damaged to be the nominee of the party again, everybody\'s running for something other than the current presidential race."
This journal thinks Mr. Scott is the front-runner to be VP.
© Copyright 2023 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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