Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2024 5:13:35 GMT
It is well-known that one William Floyd Weld, after resigning as Massachusetts governor, sought the GOP nomination for Senate in New York in the year 2000.
It would have been a fascinating contest if the election was between Hillary Clinton and Rockefeller Republican Bill Weld - I think he would have given her a run for her money.
You have to remember that back in 2000, the Republicans won Senate seats in Rhode Island and Vermont, so the idea of Weld winning NY isn't so far-fetched.
You can well imagine some backlash against Hillary because of her husband's scandals, can't you? The only Republicans who could have made it competitive IMO were Governor George Pataki or ex-Massachusetts governor Bill Weld.
Weld was (and is) exceedingly rich, and could well have self-funded much of the campaign. He would have also got a strong endorsement from Governor Pataki.
So, what happens if Bill Weld beats Hllary Clinton and wins the seat? Does Hillary Clinton still run for President in this timeline? She would have easily won the seat in 2006, but wouldn't have run in 2008 I don't think. Maybe Joe Biden does better against Barack Obama in 2008 and wins the primaries?
As for Weld, I suspect he would be a one-term Senator, and then seek the GOP nomination for President in 2008 - could he have beaten John McCain?
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Post by rcronald on Jun 24, 2024 5:17:45 GMT
It is well-known that one William Floyd Weld, after resigning as Massachusetts governor, sought the GOP nomination for Senate in New York in the year 2000. It would have been a fascinating contest if the election was between Hillary Clinton and Rockefeller Republican Bill Weld - I think he would have given her a run for her money. You have to remember that back in 2000, the Republicans won Senate seats in Rhode Island and Vermont, so the idea of Weld winning NY isn't so far-fetched. You can well imagine some backlash against Hillary because of her husband's scandals, can't you? The only Republicans who could have made it competitive IMO were Governor George Pataki or ex-Massachusetts governor Bill Weld. Weld was (and is) exceedingly rich, and could well have self-funded much of the campaign. He would have also got a strong endorsement from Governor Pataki. So, what happens if Bill Weld beats Hllary Clinton and wins the seat? Does Hillary Clinton still run for President in this timeline? She would have easily won the seat in 2006, but wouldn't have run in 2008 I don't think. Maybe Joe Biden does better against Barack Obama in 2008 and wins the primaries? As for Weld, I suspect he would be a one-term Senator, and then seek the GOP nomination for President in 2008 - could he have beaten John McCain? NYS is very nanny-state oriented, I don’t think Weld would have done very well there (especially as they didn’t know him well, unlike voters in Mass). |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2024 5:22:11 GMT
It is well-known that one William Floyd Weld, after resigning as Massachusetts governor, sought the GOP nomination for Senate in New York in the year 2000. It would have been a fascinating contest if the election was between Hillary Clinton and Rockefeller Republican Bill Weld - I think he would have given her a run for her money. You have to remember that back in 2000, the Republicans won Senate seats in Rhode Island and Vermont, so the idea of Weld winning NY isn't so far-fetched. You can well imagine some backlash against Hillary because of her husband's scandals, can't you? The only Republicans who could have made it competitive IMO were Governor George Pataki or ex-Massachusetts governor Bill Weld. Weld was (and is) exceedingly rich, and could well have self-funded much of the campaign. He would have also got a strong endorsement from Governor Pataki. So, what happens if Bill Weld beats Hllary Clinton and wins the seat? Does Hillary Clinton still run for President in this timeline? She would have easily won the seat in 2006, but wouldn't have run in 2008 I don't think. Maybe Joe Biden does better against Barack Obama in 2008 and wins the primaries? As for Weld, I suspect he would be a one-term Senator, and then seek the GOP nomination for President in 2008 - could he have beaten John McCain? NYS is very nanny-state oriented, I don’t think Weld would have done very well there (especially as they didn’t know him well, unlike voters in Mass). Weld should've run for the Massachusetts special Senate election following the death of Ted Kennedy in 2009. He'd have won easily. He may have held on in 2012. |
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Post by rcronald on Jun 24, 2024 5:22:34 GMT
NYS is very nanny-state oriented, I don’t think Weld would have done very well there (especially as they didn’t know him well, unlike voters in Mass). Bill Weld should have run for the Massachusetts special Senate election following the death of Ted Kennedy in 2009. He'd have won easily. He may have held on in 2012. I 100% agree. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2024 5:23:26 GMT
If he runs in New York in 2000, you're probably looking at a New Hampshire 2014 type result - something like 51% for Clinton and 47% for Weld. He was very much the Larry Hogan of his era.
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The Bishop
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Down With Factionalism!
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Post by The Bishop on Jun 24, 2024 10:37:15 GMT
So finally the appropriate avatar!
(who was your last one?)
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Jun 24, 2024 10:45:00 GMT
So finally the appropriate avatar! (who was your last one?) Wasn;t the previous one a younger Bill weld? |
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The Bishop
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Down With Factionalism!
Posts: 38,205
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Post by The Bishop on Jun 24, 2024 10:47:43 GMT
It may have been, yeah.
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Jun 24, 2024 11:01:00 GMT
I don't think I['d actually have recognised this picture of the older Weld were it not for the obvious context, but the old avatar was instantly recognisable to me as that is what Bill Weld looked like when he was actually a thing (ie before 'our' @weld was born). He was never really my type of Republican of course, but I would never have imagined then that his name would become such a source of revulsion..
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2024 12:14:55 GMT
So finally the appropriate avatar! (who was your last one?) Bill Weld as Governor of Massachusetts in the 1990s. |
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Post by stb12 on Jun 25, 2024 22:29:26 GMT
I actually didn’t know that about Weld, don’t remember seeing it mentioned when reading about that contest. I know that he tried to get the GOP nomination for Governor of New York in 2006
Rudy Giuliani was the big GOP name in the 2000 Senate race at first and for a while it looked like he’d probably beat Clinton, but his campaign imploded and ended due to private life scandals and his health
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Post by greenchristian on Jun 25, 2024 22:45:40 GMT
So, what happens if Bill Weld beats Hllary Clinton and wins the seat? Does Hillary Clinton still run for President in this timeline? She would have easily won the seat in 2006, but wouldn't have run in 2008 I don't think. Maybe Joe Biden does better against Barack Obama in 2008 and wins the primaries? Clinton probably stays in politics in some form. But Obama almost certainly still wins in 2008. And if Clinton isn't in the 2008 race then Obama wins it far more easily. Obama looked and sounded like a President in waiting right from the start f the primary process. Anyone other than Clinton would almost certainly need to have a comparable level of charisma to Obama to do better than she did. Especially if they didn't have the selling point of being potentially the first female President.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2024 2:06:50 GMT
So, what happens if Bill Weld beats Hllary Clinton and wins the seat? Does Hillary Clinton still run for President in this timeline? She would have easily won the seat in 2006, but wouldn't have run in 2008 I don't think. Maybe Joe Biden does better against Barack Obama in 2008 and wins the primaries? Clinton probably stays in politics in some form. But Obama almost certainly still wins in 2008. And if Clinton isn't in the 2008 race then Obama wins it far more easily. Obama looked and sounded like a President in waiting right from the start f the primary process. Anyone other than Clinton would almost certainly need to have a comparable level of charisma to Obama to do better than she did. Especially if they didn't have the selling point of being potentially the first female President.
I guess Biden is the Democrats' nominee in 2016 and wins the Presidency? The 2018 Senate elections are a bloodbath if that happens. |
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