Unlike the Democrats, the Republicans have some depth in candidates..

[ironglow]

  I like DeSantis, and many undeclared candidates, such as Ted Cruz and Kristi Noem, however I believe that Trump is our best choice to deal with Putin, Xi and the "little rocket man"..

[Lloyd Smale]

ya but that depth just might be what keeps us from having a republican president. i like DeSantis myself but him and trump are already fighting in public because truth be told there two peas from the same pod. if they both dont quit attacking each other some republicans and about all of the independents are going to start believing what there saying about each other and wont vote for either. Some say Trump/DeSantist ticket but i dont think either is willing to be vice president under the other. probably to many insults by both to have the one who comes in second back the winner, desantis and the others need to check there egos and lust for power at the door and REALLY get behind trump and toss the democrats out of the white house and after this counrty sees how much better off we are with a sane united party in control and get some breathing room so they can duke it out in 2028. right now our best hope is trump period. DEPTH MIGHT JUST BE DEATH.  id bet you see (or it might be hidden enough so you cant) more crap like in the midterms where rich on the left give support to republican candidates just to stir up crap in the republican party. you know bidens people are going to run him and hide him away from the public, any debates even with other democrats to protect there party. there lies a big difference today. the democrats stick together and we dont

[Bob Riebe]

  I like DeSantis, and many undeclared candidates, such as Ted Cruz and Kristi Noem, however I believe that Trump is our best choice to deal with Putin, Xi and the "little rocket man"..

I do not like DeSantis, if not Trump there are far better candidates.
I like Scott and Ramaswamy, although they would be most likely for 2028 after learning the ropes.

National sales tax becomes focal point for Trump-DeSantis war

By BENJAMIN GUGGENHEIM

05/15/2023 10:00 AM EDT

IT’S BACK: All is fair in love and war, and by fair we specifically mean the 23 percent national sales tax known as the Fair Tax.

If you recall, the proposal, which would get rid of federal income, payroll and estate taxes and replace them with a 23 percent tax on all things bought and sold, reared its head earlier this year after Speaker Kevin McCarthy promised GOP renegades a committee vote on the idea — much to the chagrin of mainstream fiscal conservatives who see the Fair Tax as a major political liability for Republicans.

Now former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are trading jabs over their past support for the tax.

The pro-Trump Super PAC MAGA Inc. in an ad newly released on Friday hit DeSantis for legislation he co-sponsored multiple times as a U.S. House member that would impose the national sales tax, as first reported by Semafor.

“Trump cut taxes, DeSantis tried to raise them,” the ad thunders.

But later that day DeSantis-aligned super PAC Never Back Down fired back with its own video compilation showing Trump signaling support for the Fair Tax himself, in addition to other proposals that Trump had said would simplify the tax code.

“If Trump wants to steal pages from the establishment playbook to attack Ron DeSantis from the left, he has his own words to deal with,” Never Back Down tweeted.

BUT FIRST: One tax proposal that DeSantis may look to tout going forward: a permanent tax exemption for diapers, in addition to other baby products like cribs and strollers, as included in Florida’s $1.3 billion tax package for fiscal year 2024.

That’s a far cry from the 23 percent — or depending on the way you calculate it, 30 percent — charge diapers would be slapped with under the Fair Tax. Maybe there’d be a diaper carve-out, you never know.

Tell us what’s going on in your neck of the woods.

Email: bfaler@politico.com, bguggenheim@politico.com and teckert@politico.com.

Or Twitter: @tobyeckert, @brian_faler, @ben_guggenheim, @POLITICOPro and @Morning_Tax.

BACK TO THE FAIR TAX: In any case, we’re sure that fiscal conservative groups won’t exactly be overjoyed that the biggest Republican heavyweights for the 2024 presidential nomination are going after each other on this.

The conservative Americans for Tax Reform and the Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote scathing commentaries on the tax earlier this year, and McCarthy and top GOP tax writers were very happy to put the proposal in the rear-view mirror.

That’s mostly because the tax would disproportionately impact lower-income folks and seniors surviving on social security, who generally have to spend most of the money that they have (though Fair Tax advocates like Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) point to a so-called monthly prebate check included in Fair Tax legislation that they say would compensate those households based on federal poverty levels).

“For as long as I can remember, House GOP members have been cosponsoring the Fair Tax not because they support it, but because the Fair Taxers are rabid and members just want them off their backs,” remarked George Callas, a former tax counsel for House Ways and Means Republicans.

[ironglow]

Yes, Ramaswamy is a very interesting candidate, but there may be a small margin who are phobic, concerning somebody with a fully Indian name.

  It doesn't bother me, but we also have some on the conservative side who are "low information voters".  Perhaps not near so many as on the
  opposing side, but a narrow margin, nonetheless.  ..And a small margin often makes a large difference.

[magooch]

It has been demonstrated that lowering taxes actually generates more income to the government than raising taxes.

Anyway, who runs for President on the Republican ticket makes no difference if the system doesn't get fixed.  The Dems actually do have it "fixed".  It's called we win, you lose and they have proved once and for all that they can put any idiot on the ballot and win--as long as they get to count the votes.

[Dee]

It has been demonstrated that lowering taxes actually generates more income to the government than raising taxes.

Anyway, who runs for President on the Republican ticket makes no difference if the system doesn't get fixed.  The Dems actually do have it "fixed".  It's called we win, you lose and they have proved once and for all that they can put any idiot on the ballot and win--as long as they get to count the votes.

That's about the size of it.

[moamonkey]

As long as they control the ‘ballots’!