Althouse: "I'd rather have someone who's a phony in his public presentation than someone who's a phony all the way down."

March 4, 2016

"I'd rather have someone who's a phony in his public presentation than someone who's a phony all the way down."

I said, just now, in a discussion with Meade about the 4 GOP candidates. We'd been talking about the way Kasich stoops over and affects a cute expression, which I guessed was put on to compensate for what he is concerned might come off as a blustering, bullying style, the very style that Trump affects, in what is, in Trump, compensating for a fear of seeming too weak or small.

"Those two are compensating in different directions," I said.

That caused Meade to say that unlike Trump and Kasich, Rubio and Cruz really are the men they appear to be. There's not a different man inside, putting up a phony surface.

Wow. Rubio and Cruz? They really are like that, outside and inside, phony from surface to core? That's much more disturbing than the two who are — if they are — really something more recognizably human on the inside and who have created a public persona that hides but also suggests the feelings that skewed the direction of the compensation.

165 comments:

Johnny Monday said...: i went to bed angry and woke up angry and have come to a decision. The anti trump crowd has won me over. I think they are right, its better to stand on principal than cast a vote for something you abhor. So I am reversing my position, and i will no longer support any nominee except Donald J Trump. I will vote in the primary, then re register as an independent. What i saw last night was a completely corrupt party apparatus and even more corrupt news network attacking their front runner in an obviously pre planned and coordinated way, from the audience to the moderators to the candidates. Its incestuous and wrong on a very basic level, and I don't want any part of a cabal of sleazy political operatives and parasites posing as journalists, every single one of them committed to open borders and working on behalf of their corporate masters. There isnt one iota of difference between what Clinton wants and what Fox, Cruz and Rubio want, to do the bidding of the donor class, no matter what lip service they give. Do as you like, but I'm out. ‪#‎neverGOPe‬; 3/4/16, 9:58 AM
Birkel said...: So just drop "Cruz is a phony" into a post without anything more?

Well played, Althouse.; 3/4/16, 9:59 AM
Anonymous said...: Now who is being phony?; 3/4/16, 10:01 AM
Michael K said...: http://cdn.pjmedia.com/instapundit/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Screen-Shot-2016-03-04-at-9.19.24-AM.png

Webb said this morning that he would not vote for Hillary but "has not made his mind up about Trump."

Is a fusion ticket coming ?

I could see it.; 3/4/16, 10:01 AM
mccullough said...: Cruz is like that. Not sure Rubio is. He seems to adopt a public persona but is probably pretty normal like Obama and W. His public persona is not as sophisticated but it's still there.

Cruz and Bill Clinton have the same soulless no real person inside problem. They are the same as they were when they were 10 years old. They've never had any real friends and have always been on the move like a shark.; 3/4/16, 10:01 AM
rhhardin said...: I base my own personality on turtles.; 3/4/16, 10:02 AM
mccullough said...: Cruz isn't a phony and neither is Bill Clinton. They don't have a real personality underneath their public persona.; 3/4/16, 10:03 AM
bleh said...: I really have no idea what you're trying to say here.; 3/4/16, 10:04 AM
traditionalguy said...: Kasich is real and handles his weaknesses well. He will be my friend.

Trump is working so hard to be our leader, that he uses all personality of every type that is needed for the job. And he ihas been exposed as being very,very good at it. Why that's not Presidential to be that good at so many things...we want a calm Patriarch. Or he will fix things and then we can fire him for being that good.

Cruz is a perfect Spanish Bull fighter, an artist at Matador smooth moves, until at the climax he spears the poor Bull with Lies.

Rubio is a rental Mighty Mouse act who will do anything the richest guys.; 3/4/16, 10:10 AM
Johnny Monday said...: Ann, hot air and instapundit have become impossible to take, I'm sort of an internet orphan...i'd like to hang out here now if its ok with you....i dont eat much.; 3/4/16, 10:14 AM
Static Ping said...: rhhardin said... I base my own personality on turtles.

Snapping or teenage mutant ninja?; 3/4/16, 10:14 AM
AllenS said...: Out of the four candidates, only one isn't a politician... and that's a good thing.; 3/4/16, 10:16 AM
traditionalguy said...: Drudge just posted that Jim Webb (the Scots Irish educated liberal paradigm, Jim Webb) has said he will not vote for Hillary Clinton, but he will vote for Trump.

That is big news at so many levels. The election is over.; 3/4/16, 10:16 AM
Henry said...: Bernie Sanders doesn't appear to be a phony. He's often wrong, but he's not a phony.

I often find myself conflicted in politics. I prefer non-phonies. The more a candidate aligns themselves to a perfect fit to the issues, the phonier they get.; 3/4/16, 10:18 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "So just drop "Cruz is a phony" into a post without anything more?"

He has a very theatrical, self-righteous presentation. I would have called it a surface persona, but Meade took the position that's really the way he is, which caused me to say "wow." It struck me as really weird that a person could be like that on the inside. I would have found it more normal to see him as having adopted his style as the public persona (which I still think is more likely).; 3/4/16, 10:21 AM
chickelit said...: traditionalguy said...Drudge just posted that Jim Webb (the Scots Irish educated liberal paradigm, Jim Webb) has said he will not vote for Hillary Clinton, but he will vote for Trump.

Webb is the only Dem I would have voted for. He was kicked to the curb by the misandrous Hillary machine, but he's still in the fight.; 3/4/16, 10:22 AM
Ann Althouse said...: In my analysis, they are all phonies, of course, because it's what's necessary to play the game they are in -- the "arena," as Kasich calls it.

I am simply wondering what they really are inside. Are they empty and robotic? Are they fearful or overaggressive? What?; 3/4/16, 10:22 AM
Ann Althouse said...: The Kasich "arena" quote, from the transcript, when asked if he'd support whoever the nominee is:

"And, yeah, look, when you’re in the arena, and we’re in the arena. And the people out here watching — we’re in the arena, we’re traveling, we’re working, we spend time away from our family, when you’re in the arena, you enter a special circle. And you want to respect the people that you’re in the arena with. So if he ends up as the nominee — sometimes, he makes it a little bit hard — but, you know, I will support whoever is the Republican nominee for president."; 3/4/16, 10:24 AM
chickelit said...: He [Cruz] has a very theatrical, self-righteous presentation.

He comes across as zealous pastor at times in public.; 3/4/16, 10:24 AM
MikeR said...: "There isnt one iota of difference between what Clinton wants and what Fox, Cruz and Rubio want" Absolutely delusional. Hard to find an issue on which they agree, and the government is totally deadlocked for that reason, but who cares?; 3/4/16, 10:25 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Ann, hot air and instapundit have become impossible to take, I'm sort of an internet orphan...i'd like to hang out here now if its ok with you....i dont eat much."

Thanks!

What exactly do you find hard to take at those places?; 3/4/16, 10:26 AM
samanthasmom said...: Mitt Romney is the stuffed shirt he appears to be.; 3/4/16, 10:27 AM
Tom said...: Think about how normal people sound and come across when they're in front of a big crowd. Usually, the come across as anything but normal and relatable. It is odd to be relatable and to seem normal in front of huge crowds. And it takes a rare talent to pull it off. Bill Clinton can do it. But imagine how different from everyone he actually needs to be to appear that relatable?

Now, I've met Kasich a couple times. The first time was at one of his initial exploratory discussions about running for governor in Ohio. The second time was at the Columbus airport late last year (he flies coach and buys lunch for his travel companions at Red Rocket). I also know people who work with him. From all accounts, he's an asshole who pushes people to get things done. He has big goals and he'll push hard to get them accomplished. Now, that doesn't come across too often in public because that would be a bad public persona to have.

Some might find this an act. I think a better description is situational leadership. He knows when it's appropriate to be a hard charger and he knows when it's time to soften a tone. Who he is is a person who can adjust as appropriate. What he projects is what's needed in a given situation. Kasich is okay at this. Reagan and Clinton were masters at it. And Obama is unique in that he serves as a blank slate for what people need to project. But every effective leader can do this. It says something that Rubio and Cruz cannot.; 3/4/16, 10:27 AM
Ann Althouse said...: @Johnny Monday

Meade said: "Put your stuff over there and grab a hoe."

(And I did check the spelling of the spoken word.); 3/4/16, 10:28 AM
Jane the Actuary said...: Somewhere along the way I saw someone (just a commenter, I think, not a pundit or blogger) apply the label "autistic" to Cruz. Just putting this out there.; 3/4/16, 10:28 AM
Levi Starks said...: There there now...
Hillary isn't phony at all.
At least in the sense that she has no core, she's all shell.; 3/4/16, 10:29 AM
Unknown said...: I like Cruz because he is sincere in his beliefs and sticks to his principles. The whole reason the Republican establishment is in trouble is because they don't seem to have any principles anymore. The Democrats fight for what they believe in. If the Republican leadership believes any of the things they run on, you wouldn't know it because even in electoral victories, they still give the Democrats what they want.; 3/4/16, 10:29 AM
William said...: I saw the Greta Sustern interview with Melania in the Trump penthouse. I think that there is no better way to compensate for a lack of self worth than by living in a gilded penthouse with aerie views of Central Park and Renoir on the wall. Also marrying a supermodel would help to compensate for whatever anxieties I feel about my sexuality. You can say that Trump is overcompensating, but it must be admitted that he's overcompensating in a deft and skillful way.; 3/4/16, 10:33 AM
Unknown said...: Cruz simply won't be able to get anything done. He just won't. Put him on the Court and let him be Mr. Perfect Right Answer (and he's probably right on 80% of things, which is the problem) in his written opinions. He'll certainly push Roberts further to the Left, but whatever.

Rubio? Look. He took a big risk and he's gonna lose it all. That's what happens. Oh well. He made the decision to run for President in 2016 oh about one second after winning his senate seat (Romney was never going to win in '2012, the Media & Big Economy needed, wanted 8 years of Obama, so there it is) in 2010. Dude doesn't have money and now not a job after he loses. That's why he's so desperate. He's staring at a minimum 4 years of going from paid speech to paid speech at the various neo-con think tanks and dinners. He ain't getting hired by Goldman that's for sure.

Kasich. Mean man. Like cruelly mean. Talk to people who worked with him or for him. Nasty, mean. And not in a productive way either. All this 'reasonable' guy nonsense is just his pose. People whose main selling point is their 'likability' tend to be the most authoritarian because there's nothing else there, so it has to be protected at all costs. His work at Lehman Brothers leading up to the crash is going to crush him in the General. He made some interesting decisions there that have yet to be explored, that make Trump U look like patty-cakes. Regardless, Kasich is the biggest 'hot head' on that stage and even were he to get elected, we'd be engaged in about three major landwars during his 4 years in office. Total disaster.

Trump. He will build a wall. And yes because he knows from personal experience how the "system" (big business & government) is corrupted/rigged, he'll start to unravel, unthread, reveal this in ways no other candidate would.

Quick question, why and how if we allow gazillions of Chinese products into America every year does China only allow 14 US films into their country every year? Isn't entertainment one of our biggest service-exports?

How did we ever agree to that provision in our trade deals? Putting aside IP theft and currency manipulation that violates every single one of our trade treaties but never gets enforced, has anyone on this thread tried to actually export a product into China? Nope, I thought not. Almost impossible even after paying illegal under trade deals but still happening massive taxes/tariffs. Why does the US allow this? Exactly. And Exactly Trump.

In the mid 90's, Clinton very wisely hired the LA lawyer Mickey Kantor to thunder-thrash Japan on their unfair trade. And we got more free/less unfair trade w/ Japan. Still not incredibly fair but better. Why has no one done this w/ China? HRC won't believe me.

You know why Hollywood isn't as diverse as it could be? It ain't because movie goers in Oklahoma are racist, it's because China is crazy racist and they don't want to see people of color much in their films. And since every film is in competition to be 1 of the 14 China allows in, they all have to cater to that.

My God (to quote Nixon), we've let the CCP control almost everything.

Only Trump.

(I lived in Asia for 8 years and went to grad school in economics there. I remember a friend who was a partner at Goldman Sachs once explain to me how a) China was stealing from them b) they had to let it happen because China was simply too big a client to do anything about it).

My God!

#MAGA; 3/4/16, 10:37 AM
David Begley said...: Disagree. I saw and questioned Kasch two times.

Just a happy warrior and fun guy. Stop the fighting. Work together. Average guy. He's real. That's my take.

Aside. First time I saw him animal rights activists appeared. He handled it perfectly. Good cheer.; 3/4/16, 10:38 AM
Michael K said...: "it must be admitted that he's overcompensating in a deft and skillful way."

He's overcompensating for no alcohol and no drugs. Mormons do much the same.; 3/4/16, 10:39 AM
Tom said...: Another point about Kasich. I've met a lot of politicians. A few governors and senators. I've spent a lot of time with the current chair of the house oversight committee. And I only met Mitt Romney for a brief second in a airport, so I'm not counting him in his equation. Of all the politicians I've met and even including the ones I liked, Kasich is the only one I'd hire. The only one. Even Jim Jordan, who I really really like, isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.; 3/4/16, 10:39 AM
M Jordan said...: Cruz is often derided as Preacher-y. I think that's wrong. His speaking style is Debate Contest-y. Preachers, even Baptists, don't do the pause like Cruz does. They don't do the slowly sweeping hand gesture. They don't do the half-cocked head. This is a debate contestant style and it is very offputting just as Toastmasters speaking style seems too staged.

But there is something winning about Cruz. He can take a punch from Trump with a sly grin. He seems fearless. And he is very, very smart.; 3/4/16, 10:40 AM
Birkel said...: Be serious, Althouse. You don't like Cruz because he believes in limited government, federalism and separation of powers. And he believes those things hard, and with the faith that - empirically speaking - they work best.

And those beliefs cut too lose to your beliefs that big federal government is necessary to achieve the bundle of rights you most prefer.; 3/4/16, 10:41 AM
Unknown said...: (this China crazy rigged trade is why so many people in Hollywood are secretly supporting Trump. They know first hand how unfair and unfree and rigged our trade is w/ the PRC & it really, really sucks so much potential money out of our Entertainment Industries, from music to movies to film.); 3/4/16, 10:42 AM
M Jordan said...: Kasich bugs me because he plays the "Adult in the room/ I'm positive" card. What a load of crap. If Trump trained his fire on him for two minutes we'd see that veneer peel off like formica on a 1965 RV countertop.; 3/4/16, 10:42 AM
Michael K said...: " it's because China is crazy racist and they don't want to see people of color much in their films. And since every film is in competition to be 1 of the 14 China allows in, they all have to cater to that."

Bingo. The other side of this is that wealthy Chinese and even many middle class Chinese (if there is such a thing in China) are sending their kids here and to Canada. Canada was more in the 70s. They are bailing out and China may be on the edge of the precipice.

By the time Trump is inaugurated, whether or not Webb is VP, China will be a hollow shell and ready to be pushed over.

Russia is good for another 20 years but then demographics will get them.; 3/4/16, 10:43 AM
mccullough said...: Levi,

Hillary is a miserable person on the inside but there is a person in there. Her problem is she can't adopt a public persona that hides that miserable person. This is why she is such a bad candidate. Bill Clinton is an amoeba. He can't stand to be by himself because there is really nothing inside. He needs outside stimulation.

Hillary is a loner. She probably likes being around her daughter and a few close friends but probably prefers to be by herself and wallow in her misery. She will probably be the first president to commit suicide; 3/4/16, 10:43 AM
Unknown said...: Begely, um yeah and I typically discount dudes' demeanor when I'm on a first-date with them as well.

Go talk with anyone who's worked with him (key word work, not superficially talked a few times). Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Centrist, Conservative, in Congress, at Lehman's & in Ohio.

They will to a man, woman, transexual, all say "Hot head who makes the craziest impulsive decisions that are more often than not, wrong. Very unpleasant, actually a bit scary temperamental. More impulsive than I've ever seen anyone in my life."

(is the basic paraphrase); 3/4/16, 10:45 AM
Michael K said...: This column is probably a better explanation of Trump than anything else around although Peggy Noonan did a good job, too.

Life thus has been good for the protected:

But the unprotected watched and saw. They realized the protected were not looking out for them, and they inferred that they were not looking out for the country, either.

The unprotected came to think they owed the establishment—another word for the protected—nothing, no particular loyalty, no old allegiance.

Mr. Trump came from that.

And it's a global phenomenon, as the growing populist movements in Europe reflect a counter-revolution by the unprotected against the protected elites.

Ben Domenech captured this insight in a thoughtful column, which argues that:

The post-Cold War left-right politics of the nation have been breaking down in slow motion for two decades. They are now being replaced by a different type of inside-outside politics.

The Trump phenomenon is neither a disease nor a symptom – he is instead the beta-test of a cure that the American people are trying out. It won’t work. But this is where our politics are going: working and middle class Americans are reasserting themselves against a political and cultural establishment that has become completely discredited over time and due to their own actions. ...

In other words, Trump is the unprotected class' beta test for a cure for the revolt of the elites. And its about damned time. Which leads me to hope Domenech is right about his next point:

Read the rest.; 3/4/16, 10:46 AM
shiloh said...: So we're at the psychoanalyzing stage. But is there any there there?

Cruz and Rubio are wannabes. Kasich is, dare I say, comfortable in his own skin. And The Donald, of course, is an egocentric billionaire. The key word being billionaire.; 3/4/16, 10:48 AM
David Begley said...: Ragsdale

You could be right. Above was my impression from two Iowa rallies.; 3/4/16, 10:49 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I think our expectations are out of whack. They are all imperfect. Perfection isn't on the menu. This isn't a Hollywood production with a happy ending.; 3/4/16, 10:51 AM
Smilin' Jack said...: They really are like that, outside and inside, phony from surface to core?

WTF could that weird assemblage of words possibly mean?; 3/4/16, 10:53 AM
Unknown said...: And to Kasich. Brock has a room full of foam-party, cocaine dealing in the family & amongst business associates on Rubio to leak to every exurban Church in Missouri for the general, wait til you see what he has on Kasich at Lehman's and hanging out, best buds w/, Gary Condit in the 90's.

Trump's shenannigans are all big news and have been publicly litigated in NYC papers since the 80's that's why he's Teflon.

Trump's drama is already baked in.

To think that Trump Water is really going to scandalize voters. Or that Trump licenses his name on any knick-knack that will pay him a check? Did these smarties never watch The Apprentice?

My God!

#MAGA; 3/4/16, 10:53 AM
traditionalguy said...: Welcome Johnny Monday. You picked the right place. Comments are received well here. Those other two spots have a no holds barred personal ridicule response.; 3/4/16, 10:55 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: Althouse,

He has a very theatrical, self-righteous presentation. I would have called it a surface persona, but Meade took the position that's really the way he is, which caused me to say "wow." It struck me as really weird that a person could be like that on the inside. I would have found it more normal to see him as having adopted his style as the public persona (which I still think is more likely).

This is all psycho-babble. Cruz has a written record, arguing about a dozen appeals before the United States Supreme Court. If you want to evaluate his authenticity, don't go all superficial, go to the public transcripts of his arguments. Jeez.; 3/4/16, 10:57 AM
HT said...: Would that this were true:

"But this is where our politics are going: working and middle class Americans are reasserting themselves against a political and cultural establishment that has become completely discredited over time and due to their own actions. ..."

How exactly? By howling at debates, by getting riled up? And that's it? Where's the WORK, the necessary work that must be done to put forth your goals? Just turning in to a wrestling match audience is not enough. It's very, how you say - hollow. PUT IN THE WORK. It's not just about flame throwing, but actually sustaining a conversation and work.

Some of the things people said yesterday in the comments were excellent, how globalization, endless war haven't worked for people, and they are tired of the choices. But come on - do something different than set up carnival at presidential election time.; 3/4/16, 10:58 AM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: David Begley said...
I saw and questioned Kasch two times.

Just a happy warrior and fun guy.

Wasn't Begley humping Rubio just last week? Rubio's stock has fallen a lot since then.; 3/4/16, 11:05 AM
Unknown said...: Peggy is a little bit right but she's also a writer for a company that needs China's approval.

So the most current cw is that the Trump voters are this horde of former steel factory workers in the wastelands of America who have been treated somewhat unfairly by our economy, globalization, and the media.

Um, ok but not in the main.

The unfair/unfree trade deals & system we in America agreed to a) to stoke our ego of being the Parent of the World. Sure this screws us, but it's like a tax we have to pay for being A Number 1 b) because all of our people negotiating the deals have eye to their own personal non govt future jobs dealing with or in China c) the bosses of b- like all the Bush appointments in Trade & Commerce and 75% of Obama's are not that bright. Don Evans, MY GOD!

Dubya is the real villein here. Obama got presented w/ a shit sandwich w/ China trade when he came in. Moron Bush the 2nd has been played and wined and dined by the PRC and their flacks ever since he visited his Dad in Shanghai in the 70s and was "WOWZERED by the Pudong."

The faux-gentry Dubya honestly believes that everyone in America should start-up a tech company and buy a ranch in some lovely rural part of their state and just let China make all the messy products.

Failed businessmen like the Bush's never really understand the merit of production or manufacturing or intellectual property. All their success is based on 'relationships' so they honestly believe, if everyone was as disciplined or as nice or charming as they are, then why everyone can be a financial success! (see Texas Rangers & Prescott's biz dealings).

But over past few years, it's started to harm-on-the-downside even the most hipster-esque 'creative' in Los Feliz. Hence that dinner party in WEHO w/ Bret Ellis Easton. As well as Ibankers in New York.

The % of highly educated, good income, new millennial-job holding 'winners' who vote for Trump in the general will blow away the Silvers of the world.

The Wall is just an important heuristic, an opening gambit. If Trump can't take on Mexico to build the wall, then there's no way he can take on the China.

#MAGA; 3/4/16, 11:08 AM
pm317 said...: Love this post. the prospect that both Cubans may actually be phony inside and out is what scares me.; 3/4/16, 11:13 AM
Howard said...: Cruz is the biggest phony who uses jesus as a human shield to hide the fact that he has no soul. If you cannot tell Cruz is a psychopath, then you are a potential Darwin Award winner.

Trump is the least phony: what you see is what you get. A bombastic braggart who will say anything to either get attention or applause.; 3/4/16, 11:13 AM
Howard said...: ARM: "humping Rubio" homo-entendre?; 3/4/16, 11:15 AM
DanTheMan said...: I for one have decided: I'm voting against Trump.

As a Florida primary voter, my choices are:
1) Vote cynically for Rubio, whom I can't stand, to try and deny The Donald.
2) Vote for Cruz, who won't win.

I'm voting for Cruz.
If it's Trump in the general against HRH HRC, I'm voting Trump.
Hell, if it's Bozo vs. Hillary, I'm voting the Clown ticket.
Dan; 3/4/16, 11:16 AM
Michael K said...: "Dubya is the real villein here."

I'm not a spelling Nazi so I won't go here"
vil·lein
ˈvilən,-ˌān/Submit
noun
(in medieval England) a feudal tenant entirely subject to a lord or manor to whom he paid dues and services in return for land.

Actually Bush I might be considered the villain who ignored Tiananmen Square and sent Scowcroft to party with the Chinese big wigs shortly after the last tank had crushed the last demonstrator.

Another candidate is the Saudi regime which hires lots of retired State department types when they retire so they can tell US presidents what to do.

China may be looking into that abyss that looks back into you.; 3/4/16, 11:21 AM
Lawrence Person said...: Cruz isn't a phony, he has the speaking style of a man who did debate as a passion in high school, argued for the Supreme Court numerous times, and has been running for office since 2011 (when I started following him during his successful Senate run) and consciously models his stump style after Reagan. He's a very polished speaker (arguably too polished for the Age of Trump).

I don't think you spend your time becoming an expert on 9th and 10th Amendment issues (as Cruz is) if you're a "phony."; 3/4/16, 11:27 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: @DanTheMan

That's kinda where I am. The difference between Cruz and Rubio is not much. Cruz is probably more conservative, and tougher on illegal immigration. Rubio probably has a better shot in the General.

But, they are splitting the vote, enabling Trump to prevail (in the primary).

When/if Trump wins the primary, despite some of his well-noted flaws, I'm all in for Trump against Hillary.

To demonstrate that I am not merely a GOP flunky or lackey -- if James Webb had won the Dem nomination, I would have voted for him over the Donald in the General.

At heart, I am James Webb Democrat. But, because Webb is such an anomaly within the current Democrat Party, I find myself almost always voting Republican. Hey, that's life.

One caveat: Webb was SecNavy under Reagan when I was in the Navy. Back then, Webb, I recall was a rabid Republican. So, even his political vibe has ebbed and flowed over his career.; 3/4/16, 11:32 AM
Paddy O said...: "They really are like that, outside and inside, phony from surface to core?"

I don't think you can be phony from surface to core. If you seem phony from surface to core, that's just who you genuinely are. They are just really like that. It's the opposite of phony, though if other people tried to be like that, those people would be phony.; 3/4/16, 11:33 AM
Unknown said...: Michael K,

Re-read the definition of my correct spelling, as well as my comments re Bush's Ranch and etc.

My word choice was intentional and many thanks.

David; 3/4/16, 11:34 AM
Skeptical Voter said...: Ann you seem to have dropped off the logic train here in looking at Rubio and Cruz. You say they "really are like that from surface to core" and them call them phonies.

By your "logic" a high quality Tiffany diamond is actually cubic Zirconia.

You may not like Cruz or Rubio---but if a person is consistent from surface to core, whatever else he is, he's not a phony. Now I happen to think that Rubio should be running for Jr. Class President in High School--maybe moving on up to running for Prom King next year. But he's authenticly that.; 3/4/16, 11:35 AM
Matt said...: If this is the best the GOP has to offer then this country is in serious trouble. Not kidding. Out if the millions of people that make this country great the GOP offers us phony clowns.; 3/4/16, 11:36 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: Out if the millions of people that make this country great the GOP offers us phony clowns.

Out of the millions of people that make this country great the Dems offer us a felonious, Goldman-Sachs multi-millionaire and a 74-year old Socialist?

Send in the clowns, there ought to be clowns. (apologies to Barbra Streisand).; 3/4/16, 11:59 AM
Writ Small said...: I'm of the view that Cruz puts on a bit of an act. Jay Nordlinger knows him privately and vouches for him quite strongly. From years of reading and listening to Nordlinger, it's clear he is highly sensitive to phonies and lightweights.

As for Rubio, I missed the debate last night, and so I am disappointed to hear he didn't do well. I will say that his "small hands" comment, while tacky in the extreme, was kind of the perfect Trump-like pegging of Trump. Althouse has long resisted the "narcissist" label, but she is running with the notion of compensation, which is simply a variation on the theme that Rubio's jab insinuates into the mind.

Trump has also said that "If I say do it, they’re going to do it. That’s what leadership is all about" with respect to forcing the military to commit illegal acts. That disqualifying misreading of leadership reveals the authoritarian impulse many observers see in Trump. Ross Douthat and others who warned of proto-fascism are looking increasingly prescient.

I read Althouse's teasingly false implication that Meade meant to suggest that the Cuban brothers were through-and-through phonies as evidence that he is slowly changing her mind on Trump.; 3/4/16, 12:00 PM
BrianE said...: "Kasich. Mean man. Like cruelly mean. Talk to people who worked with him or for him. Nasty, mean. And not in a productive way either. All this 'reasonable' guy nonsense is just his pose. People whose main selling point is their 'likability' tend to be the most authoritarian because there's nothing else there, so it has to be protected at all costs. His work at Lehman Brothers leading up to the crash is going to crush him in the General. He made some interesting decisions there that have yet to be explored, that make Trump U look like patty-cakes. Regardless, Kasich is the biggest 'hot head' on that stage and even were he to get elected, we'd be engaged in about three major landwars during his 4 years in office. Total disaster."- David Ragsdale

So, you're suggesting that I don't vote for John Kasich because he's mean? He has a temper? And it's not productive? Seriously?

I'll remember that when I'm assembling a list for the next Toastmasters meeting. I want a President that can get our fiscal house in order. Remember when the Democrats ridiculed the idea that SS would be insolvent by 2040 and stiffed any attempt to modify it? Well that date is now 2030. We can now see the cliff. I think Kasich is best suited for tackling that.

You're insinuations about his time as Lehman Brothers is just spin. Now you can argue that Lehman was using a loophole to hire politicians as lobbyists without registering, but you would indict a great many politicians after leaving public office. I'm sure the democrats will try and use that against him, but then maybe they should also condemn Bill Clinton, Tim Geithner, Larry Summers or David Bonior, for example, for taking similar jobs.

I'm no fan of Wall Street, but I think you'll find no there there.; 3/4/16, 12:02 PM
holdfast said...: All of Kasich's federal experience seems to have been in the 1990s, which is, in political term, forever ago - literally a different era of Federal and Global politics. It's just not even relevant any more after 8 years of W and 8 years of O.

If he was such a fantastic governor of Ohio, why is it still a rustbelt shithole? Oh, because that's what it is. And Kassich didn't have the guts of a Walker when it comes to snivel servant labor. I still want Walker for head of the Labor Department.

Is Cruz a little weird? Yeah he is - because he's a weird combination of really smart and a true believer in conservative principles. You know what his speaking style is? Appellate Advocacy! Really, it reminds me of everything we were taught to do in Appellate Advocacy class. Anyway, I think that as Pres he'd be smart enough to compromise, wisely, to get things done. As a Senator, he would have gained nothing by compromise - he'd just have been some junior senator going along with the flow, buried by the rigid seniority system of the Senate - or he'd be a Marco, forever tainted by association with Chuckie Schumer. As a bomb-thrower he stood out and sent the signals to the grass-roots conservatives he needed to win the primary (unfortunately for him, an even more bomb-throwy guy called Donald jumped in to steel a bunch of his mojo).; 3/4/16, 12:02 PM
Michael K said...: "Blogger David Ragsdale said...
Michael K,

Re-read the definition of my correct spelling, as well as my comments re Bush's Ranch and etc."

OK. Point taken.; 3/4/16, 12:03 PM
Unknown said...: Ann,
Normal people don't run for federal elective office.

Normal citizens have different lives and expectations then the political class. This is one reason why the two classes are estranged and alienated from each other. The gap between them can not be bridged because their life experiences are two different.

The elite are so sheltered from the realities of the non-elite that they may as well speak in separate languages.

The Russians were correct when they observed that the USA is ripe for dismemberment. Let the Middle states between the Sierra Nevada mountain range and the Appalachians depart from political and economic association with the bi-coastal states on the Pacific and on the Atlantic coast north of the DC +MD/ DL boundary. Dismantle the Blue state colonies in IL, LA, GA and FL. There will be peace as long as the Blues seek not to co-mingle with or tax the red states.

In time the Blue states will crash and burn like they did in Detroit, St. Louis, Newark, NOLA, Camden, Philadelphia, Trenton, Oakland, SF, Chicago and LA.

When tha happens there will be peace and prosperity in the land.; 3/4/16, 12:03 PM
Michael K said...: "Kassich didn't have the guts of a Walker when it comes to snivel servant labor."

He didn't think it through and Walker did. Kasich got beaten by the AFL CIO on a ballot initiative, sort of like Arnold, here is Cali.; 3/4/16, 12:04 PM
HT said...: Ann is calling R&C phonies, but who poked at Trump? Them! Not Kasich! I know no one cares about my opinion since I'm a D, but it seems that perhaps some damage was done, and it wasn't done by Kasich. If I were an R, I would have voted for Kasich, but he was no hero in taking down Trump.; 3/4/16, 12:05 PM
Michael K said...: "In time the Blue states will crash and burn like they did in Detroit, St. Louis, Newark, NOLA, Camden, Philadelphia, Trenton, Oakland, SF, Chicago and LA."

Not as long as they can get illegal aliens to pick up the trash and rake the traps in the country clubs. Of course,there must be some place for them to sleep as none can afford blue cities, at least those in California and New York.

Maybe the blue cities can set up cargo containers, like they do in The Bay Area, for the proles to sleep.; 3/4/16, 12:07 PM
robother said...: Marquito's phony all the way down probably best explains his being such a tool of his handlers/donors that he can't say no, even when its costing him his whole future in politics (e.g., Gang of Eight, making dick jokes in a Presidential debate).; 3/4/16, 12:07 PM
Anonymous said...: If you're not trying to harm someone or dictate how you should behave pTb just doesn't care or think it's anyone else's business, and especially not governments. Amazing how his behavior is very libertarian. If someone throws down candy in front of you there's no reason not to pick it up. government largess. loans to students enabling a business opportunity. Someday people will go write his early history and the hostile takeover he did of his father's business, driving his brother to suicide by drink because pTb said he'd rescue the company and deny his brother the easy life of liquidating the company and that wealth. To say nothing of what intestinal fortitude it takes to convince your father he needed to disinherit his brother to save the company and all of its jobs. Sacrificing his own blood for the least of us, those who worked at that company. Amusing to watch all these reporters label him a pathological liar or suffering from mythomania , someone who just can’t tell the truth. ever. Oh my. Ms. C. and her barking? Mr. Obama? But it leaves the listener feeling better. Everyone has an opinion. There are seldom facts, because they cost real money. Who’s the best example of a truth teller? A lot of people believe Jesus lied. Depends on Where you stand. Your pTb looks to be one of the better objectivists. Doing as little harm and as much good as he can in his life. No businessman survives if his lies aren’t bought into by both sides of a deal. Arguably there are no deals that aren’t based on lies by this metric. Marriage vows. Etc. You name it. The Global Warming Scam. Ditto the Ozone Hole. Welfare for DuPont.; 3/4/16, 12:12 PM
TA said...: I dumped Instapundit, too. It was all incessant hunt for grievances, snark, and cheap shots. It got boring.; 3/4/16, 12:17 PM
Dan Hossley said...: Based on the last paragraph of her post, it sounds like Ann needs a "safe place" to shelter.; 3/4/16, 12:19 PM
HT said...: Add Washington to this list.

"Not as long as they can get illegal aliens to pick up the trash and rake the traps in the country clubs. Of course,there must be some place for them to sleep as none can afford blue cities, at least those in California and New York."; 3/4/16, 12:26 PM
BrianE said...: David Ragsdale

Since you so vociferously pointed out possible character flaws in some of the candidates, why not Trump.

"When Donald Trump’s father, Fred Sr., died in 1999, the roughly $20 million inheritance was divided up among his children and their descendants, “other than my son Fred C. Trump Jr.,” according to the Times.

Donald Trump had helped draft the will. At the time, Freddy Trump’s children sued, claiming Donald Trump and his siblings had used “undue influence” over their grandfather, who had dementia."
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/264579-report-trump-helped-draft-will-that-excluded-his-brothers; 3/4/16, 12:33 PM
Unknown said...: Brian E.

Kasich. Re Lehman's. Talk to people on the street, b/c Brock has. There are quite a few decisions/moves that Kasich made, was part of team to make (by the way he was given the sinecure job to be a 'face' but decided that based on no trading/markets/finance background or experience to eschew the pr part of his job & actually get into the guts of the business, much to the dismay of others at Lehman's. Certainly no one is stating that Kasich was responsible even a small bit for the Crash. That would be ridiculous. But he was responsible for a lot of very questionable and hard to defend decisions that will come out in the General. Again, talk to people on the street.)

To mean. I think you know what I mean. There are;

- Just mean people, in their dna
- If they produce or if this meanness gets value, then well ok.

Kasich's type of mean rolls like this, his chasing of 'I'm a good and great guy" rolls him time and time again into a meanness that scuppers his wins.

Not even Obama or Trump work like that.

Kasich is actually probably the stupidest man running for President.

He has no 'benchmark' other than his status.

Which means, he's easily rolled. And will be especially by Kristol et al into endless new landwars that he doesn't want but needs to initiate to keep his likeability.

And that's the heart of his meanness.

And it's very different than the normal ego plays of Gingrich, Trump, Rubio etc.

Imagine Cruz without the actual smarts, correctness or ability to not-react at times.

And that's Kasich.

Which ok, I could sort of roll with EXCEPT that

While we have been busy engaging in no-win landwars, we've been losing an ongoing Trade War.

We are already in the middle and losing badly of a massive Trade War.

Kasich doesn't have the chops to recognize this, much less propose or enact a strategy to begin to win it.

Or better yet, imagine how much more dangerous and awful Dubya would have been if he was still stupid and mean but just not so OBVIOUSLY stupid as he was.

And that's Kasich- worse than Dubya.

My God!

#MAGA; 3/4/16, 12:35 PM
mtrobertslaw said...: Ann's argument cleverly rests on a covert re-definition of the word "phony".

The accepted definition of a "phony" is a person who attempts to deceive or mislead by saying that he believes something, or that he will take some action, when, at the same time, he really does not believe a word of what he just said, or that "on the inside" he has no intention of taking that action.

Ann turns this definition on its head. Redefined, a "phony" is somebody who actually believes "on the inside" exactly what he says.

In the old days, this was know as sophistry.; 3/4/16, 12:35 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Be serious, Althouse. You don't like Cruz because he believes in limited government, federalism and separation of powers. And he believes those things hard, and with the faith that - empirically speaking - they work best."

Nope. I like all those things. Check out my legal scholarship. I took grief within the academy for that. Fix your ignorance.

I do reject the social conservatism.; 3/4/16, 12:38 PM
Unknown said...: Brian E.

My Aunts & Mom fought over some of my grandmother's jewelry when she died.

I forget who won in the end, but one of them did.

As Althouse herself would probably attest to, probate is hardly an area of life that anyone should use as a metric to
judge any other part of a person's life.

Have you read Bleak House?

I'm fully read up on and aware of all of Trump's flaws, fails and 'scandals'.

He's still the guy that we need at this time, in this period of our Trade War with China.

He won't be 'the guy' we need to conclude it, that will have to be some relatively moderate Democrat from the Midwest.

But to actually wake the country up to the fact that yes, we are and have been in a Trade War for almost two decades with China and we refuse to acknowledge it.

Trump.

Kasich, My God!

#MAGA; 3/4/16, 12:40 PM
HT said...: I watched Fox last night and am watching it today (online). It's no wonder that Trump is so popular - listen to all those people, they are so out there in how full of themselves they are. Bill O'Reilly. This man who is on Fox News radio right now. Rush. (No, Rush is not Fox, I know, but they all have taken their cues from him). It's all braggadocio all the time. So Trump is no mystery! Also many commercials for class action lawsuits. Gotta LOL.; 3/4/16, 12:42 PM
Unknown said...: Or more simply,

Trump will serve one term, he either won't run for re-election or won't get re-elected.

Which is good.

His administration will
1) Build a wall
2) Reveal massive corruption and grift within the Federal government
3) Wake America up to the ongoing trade war w/ China that we are losing badly

He will be unable to affect fixes for 2 + 3 but his successor will. His successor however wouldn't be able to 'fix' unless Trump came in first for the big reveal.

Think of Trump as like #1 in 12-step recovery.

Painful, messy, in many ways more dramatic/awful/hurtful than they underlying addiction/problem but entirely nesc to roll through a sustainable recovery.

John Kasich, MY GOD!

#MAGA; 3/4/16, 12:46 PM
HT said...: Again, Trump brings up a lot of good points - including the trade deficit. But

"His administration will
1) Build a wall"

I do not believe that will happen in a million years. Something else will happen and he'll call that a wall, but it will not be a physical wall.; 3/4/16, 12:50 PM
Soulpatchtony said...: Good Points David Ragsdale -

I'm a long time lurker first time poster.

Assuming Hillary skates on any criminal charges, and the scandals are buried, I still think Trump is the only R candidate who could beat her one on one (no third party) precisely because he doesn't seem to care about abortion, or gay marriage, or any other social hot button. He takes those off the table so all we are left with is - does he want to make life better or worse for most Americans.

Now, I have a serious question for Cruz fans and perhaps former fans who have through this through: What new states would Cruz win in a general election to get him to the needed electoral votes? With Trump I could see winning Mass and NY along with Florida and Ohio. I just don't see how Cruz could flip any purple states at all (again, assuming Hillary's legal issues are buried).

It might be OK to stand on principal and lose with dignity - but what would be the point. With Trump at least you get the bonus of burning to the ground not just the GOP but the Democrats as well.; 3/4/16, 12:53 PM
BrianE said...: "Kasich is actually probably the stupidest man running for President."-- David Ragsdale

And you know this how?

As to knowing mean bosses. I was a mean boss. I did not suffer fools lightly. In retrospect I was too hard on my employees, but at the same time they were very loyal to me, so I must have been doing a few things right. I think they did recognize the success we all shared.; 3/4/16, 12:57 PM
HT said...: Getting down to real reasons....excellent caller "Charlie" on Fox News radio just now, basically saying House gerrymandering is the nonstop lie machine - smacking them in the face, echo chamber. Dissociated from reality. Excellent point.; 3/4/16, 1:07 PM
Sebastian said...: Slightly OT: "But the unprotected watched and saw. They realized the protected were not looking out for them." They were: the recent history of American government is all about the "protected" buying the votes of the "unprotected"--hence Medicare and Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies, student loans and disability insurance, Fannie and Freddie mortgage subsidies, EITC and the military-industrial-welfare complex, etc. etc. Read Nick Eberstadt or Bill Voegeli or Richard Burkhauser or UW's own Rebecca Blank for that matter. Thanks to historically unprecedented layers of protection, Americans in the bottom quintiles have enjoyed about 40% growth in income since the 1970s, and of course comparatively enjoy higher incomes than most people in most places.

Still, the sentiment of being "unprotected" and the "elite" not caring is real. Bainbridge cites Lasch; after Lasch came Putnam and Murray--yes, America is "coming apart" in some ways. But as one commenter upthread said, many Trumpkins also rail against the "unfairness" of the economy, technology, and globalization. Again, the discontent is real enough. But the conclusions many people draw don't follow: neither populism in general nor Trump in particular will solve any of the problems. Some of the problems don't have "solutions." I am conservative enough to think that "conservatism" doesn't supply all the answers. But populism is a cruel con.

I oppose illegal immigration as a threat to the identity of a democratic republic, but even that is in some ways a sideshow: kicking out the illegals won't change many American lives for the better. Still, I wish Trump were serious at least about that, rather than a phony, to coin a phrase, and a charlatan.; 3/4/16, 1:08 PM
Qwinn said...: We haven't had a nominee as conservative as Cruz for 30 years.

The last time we did, he won 49 states.

People who claim a real conservative couldn't win a national election against someone like Hillary are simply talking out of their ass. Every available data point says they're wrong.

Never mind that Cruz consistently polls better than Trump against Hillary in national polling. And yet we're still being fed the "you must give up your principles for electability" bullshit. I mean it was always bullshit in a strategic sense, but now it's just outright blatant lying.; 3/4/16, 1:12 PM
deepelemblues said...: "That's much more disturbing than the two who are — if they are — really something more recognizably human on the inside and who have created a public persona that hides but also suggests the feelings that skewed the direction of the compensation."

Someone diagram this sentence. Please. I'm pretty sure that if you can, you're also capable of solving the world's most difficult and esoteric mathematical equations and should be Ruler of the Universe.

The professor gets a creepy feeling running up her back so that must mean Rubio and especially Cruz are phonies. The mask is more real and comforting than the face beneath. Rubio only has a mask sometimes and Cruz never does. This is weird and off-putting, for some reason. Especially Cruz. Can't he dissemble just a little, to warm the lawyer cockles of the professor's heart? He's a lawyer, isn't he? What gives? Cruel neutrality demands the cruelty of two-faced politicians. Otherwise we're just left with plain old neutrality, and nobody can be cruel towards that. Except Zapp Brannigan of course.; 3/4/16, 1:25 PM
Soulpatchtony said...: You are talking about national polling. I am talking about state to state. I see Cruz easily winning the already red states with large majorities - but what about the swing states? What would happen in Ohio or Florida?

I am not a Trump supporter or detractor btw. He fascinates me, and at first I was sure as sure can be that he was just a Democrat troll. Now, I am sure he is not a troll, but he isn't a Republican either. Someone said, I forgot who, that Trump is running third party as a Republican.

As an anecdote, my Mom (a Cuban btw) has voted Republican all her life except in 2008, when she voted Obama (and caused a minor rift with me). She is itching to vote Republican this year and CAN'T STAND Cruz because of his style (not substance). Yet she votes. She is scared of Trump - not sure what to make of him - and thinks Rubio is a child.; 3/4/16, 1:29 PM
Johnny Monday said...: Ann Althouse said...
"Ann, hot air and instapundit have become impossible to take, I'm sort of an internet orphan...i'd like to hang out here now if its ok with you....i dont eat much."

Thanks!

What exactly do you find hard to take at those places?

- I like sites that are seeking a truth...those two now to me seem more like they are building a case. I dont need to be sold.; 3/4/16, 1:37 PM
David said...: We haven't had a nominee as conservative as Cruz for 30 years.

The last time we did, he won 49 states.

as an incumbent against Walter Mondale, a weak candidate who kicked off his campaign with a promise to raise taxes.
30 years ago is a long time. demographics are different. context is different. beliefs are different.

Your example is unpersuasive.; 3/4/16, 1:39 PM
Unknown said...: Brian E-

Because I know people who've work with him of different ideologies & parties and they all say the same thing about him.

I myself have never met him, so maybe you know they are all wrong, whatever.

And I think I very clearly and perhaps with too many words, defined how I use 'mean' re Kasich.

And so the example of you being 'mean' was segmented from my various defs of 'mean.'

And while I'm being Cruz-esque, Qwlan, the problem w/ Cruz & Reagan comparisons is this;

Reagan was rhetorically conservative and in some ways, personally conservative (in other ways, not so much) but he
wasn't as rock-ribbed as Cruz or anywhere near as intelligent.

See govt discretionary spending in his 8 years which really didn't bother him that much. My understanding is that he also significantly increased Affirmative Action by Federal govt when compared to Carter (which was pretty much 180 opposite of what he campaigned on)

He had a few things he wanted to do, cut taxes, win the Cold War and just a little bit defend social conservatism (altho not at all a priority of his);

He was flexible about the ways & means to do this and wasn't particularly interested in the 'mechanisms' of how these things would be done.

Very broad strokes dude. Actually in many ways, closest to Kennedy. Hardly the second coming of Coolidge or even (my God!), Hoover.

It's unfair, but for some reason our modern culture/media LOVE a leftist Egghead/Mr. Know It All (brilliant!) but when this Egghead/Mr. Know It All pops on the Right, he's seen as creepy and too, too much.

Again unfair, but that's where Cruz is at and he's not ever gonna get out of this box.

Rhetorically, he's already processed your objections and formulated his response before you've even spoken (he's that bright), so he gives off the perception that he doesn't listen.

This is a common frustration of and towards very intelligent people.

No one feels part of or present in their internal thought processes.

Anyway, so yeah, Cruz ain't no Reagan.; 3/4/16, 1:40 PM
BrianE said...: I think we should run our presidential elections like The Dating Game. The candidates sit behind the partition and answer our questions.

At the next debate, close your eyes and just listen to the answers. We might have a different front-runner.

Such is the problem Ted Cruz must overcome.; 3/4/16, 1:43 PM
Unknown said...: i.e. my responses to this thread have been very Cruz-esque in that I've gone after each and every point or objection to one of my point.

I've tried to get 'all the wins'. This is a debater's trick because modern debate is scored on ability to address each and every point brought up, deal with it, then reassert your own argument within it.

Which is actually in business, in relationships, and life a massively HORRIBLY way to go about winning people over.

Like the worst! People stop listening.

Cruz wouldn't be able to convince a single voter who pulled the lever for Obama in '08 or '12 to vote GOP.

Not a single one, MY GOD!

#MAGA; 3/4/16, 1:45 PM
Michael K said...: "Trump will serve one term, he either won't run for re-election or won't get re-elected."

I agree. He will have accomplished enough to satisfy his ego. He will be 73 and ready to go back home to Mar a Lago. His VP is going to be very, very important. For a while I wondered if it might be Rubio but that doesn't seem in the cards.

Webb ? A possibility in my opinion.

Condi Rice ? Probably too much an insider. Carly ?

Cruz is too unlikeable. I would support him for the Supreme Court. Would the Senate confirm him ?; 3/4/16, 1:45 PM
Qwinn said...: David:

At least I have an example. What example do you have that a conservative can't win? It hasn't been tested in 30 years. The only thing that's been established is that unless your name is Bush (and that one's been entirely burnt out), the squish moderate we are regularly told is the most electable, isn't. The moderates keep getting shot after shot and continually fail. How about we actually try a real conservative. If you're right and he loses, fine, then we can give the moderates another shot. Until that happens, the "you stupid conservatives have to accept our choice yet again or we'll lose" aren't just unpersuasive, they're insulting our intelligence.; 3/4/16, 1:49 PM
Sammy Finkelman said...: Rubio is a little bit too much like the teacher's pet, but he is not something he really isn't. He's not going to adopt just any old position on an issue.; 3/4/16, 1:50 PM
Sammy Finkelman said...: Birkel said...

So just drop "Cruz is a phony" into a post without anything more?

He is. His whole posture of "fighting" is phony. And what he proposes he knows what is wrong with it. Now Donald Trump is a phony also. And Kasich won't say what he thinks.; 3/4/16, 1:52 PM
Birkel said...: Bull shit, Althouse. Your preferred policy outcomes require a centralized bureaucracy.

You are clever. But you want what you want. Pretend elsewhere.; 3/4/16, 1:53 PM
Sammy Finkelman said...: Jim Webb is a phony, too, and I really don't like him.; 3/4/16, 1:54 PM
Sammy Finkelman said...: Henry said...3/4/16, 10:18 AM

Bernie Sanders doesn't appear to be a phony. He's often wrong, but he's not a phony.

But he also makes only limited us of his brain. He's very loyal to ideas he absorbed long ago.; 3/4/16, 1:56 PM
BrianE said...: I think we're just going to disagree about Kasich's relative intelligence.

In my neck of the woods, one of the richest guys in town was the scrap metal dealer who never finished school, and spent his youth riding the rails as a hobo. There are different kinds of smart.

I agree, Cruz will not pull many Hillary voters. I think he's going to need someone like Kasich. It's my understanding Kasich is not campaigning in Florida. It will be interesting to see how he does in Pennsylvania. Despite his protests about not staying in the race for VP, he would be very valuable on any ticket if he could deliver Ohio and Pa.

I don't think he's being disingenuous about that, I think he's running for a brokered convention.; 3/4/16, 2:00 PM
Sammy Finkelman said...: David Ragsdale said on 3/4/16, at 10:37 AM CST

Quick question, why and how if we allow gazillions of Chinese products into America every year does China only allow 14 US films into their country every year?

Well, you know, there's this business of censorship.

And, unlike the case with Saudi Arabia, what is censored is itself top secret.

They can tightly supervise Chinese filmmakers and let them know, on a need-t-know basis, just what they can't say and what they'd like to see. They can't do that with American filmmakers.; 3/4/16, 2:02 PM
Bilwick said...: I'd settle for a candidate as phony as Eddie Haskell if he were genuinely pro-freedom.; 3/4/16, 2:02 PM
Qwinn said...: And I have to agree with other posters that Ann's claim that being consistent, being the same on the inside and outside makes someone a "phony", is incredibly Orwellian. Weakness is Strength! Freedom is Slavery! Sincerity is Phony!

Now I do think Rubio is a phony. Running against Charlie Crist by railing against amnesty, and then pushing amnesty as hard as he did once elected, is as phony as it gets. That is why conservatives don't trust him anymore.

Cruz has no similar stain on his record. Hell, if he were phony, there would have been no more advantageous way for him to be so than to claim to support ethanol subsidies in Iowa, like *everyone* else did. He ran vocally against them, consistent with his stated principles. And, beyond amazingly, he won.

I have never seen a politician take as many risks to stay true to his principle as Cruz. He has proven he is NOT a phony more so than any other politician I've known, from either party. No wonder that attempts to paint him as a "phony" rely on redefining the word to mean it's exact polar opposite.; 3/4/16, 2:02 PM
Sammy Finkelman said...: David Ragsdale said...

Or more simply,

Trump will serve one term, he either won't run for re-election or won't get re-elected.

You could see a re-match with Hillary. Of course someone else might get the Republican nomination, or someone could stop Hillary or she'd be too tired.; 3/4/16, 2:04 PM
Sammy Finkelman said...: mccullough said...

Bill Clinton is an amoeba. He can't stand to be by himself because there is really nothing inside. He needs outside stimulation. There is something, but it is not admirable.; 3/4/16, 2:05 PM
Sammy Finkelman said...: Soulpatchtony said...3/4/16, 1:29 PM

I am not a Trump supporter or detractor btw. He fascinates me, and at first I was sure as sure can be that he was just a Democrat troll. Now, I am sure he is not a troll, but he isn't a Republican either. Someone said, I forgot who, that Trump is running third party as a Republican.

That's basically correct as to where he fits on the political spectrum. He may not be a troll, but somebody he is talking to, and taking adviice from may be a Clinton double agent. That still would leave Bill Clinton with a lot of uncertainty.

and thinks Rubio is a child.

He's too fast. You get the idea that what he says is based on not enough information - he's repeating things he just heard or found out. There's not all that much depth to him. Of course, time itself and a long campaign is a cure for that. He needs to stop jumping to conclusions.; 3/4/16, 2:10 PM
Sammy Finkelman said...: But Rubio has learned quite a lot. He's much more informed than the average voter. He's just more certain about things than he ought to be, and has less background knowledge than he ought to have.; 3/4/16, 2:13 PM
Qwinn said...: I do think Trump is a troll, a double agent. And I think the people voting for him are mostly Democrats. The turnout numbers bear this out. So does the fact that Trump has won every open primary/caucus but one (Nevada) while Cruz has won every closed primary/caucus except one. Tomorrow (Saturday) there are going to be 4 closed caucuses. I predict Cruz will outperform expectations, and the chattering classes will pretend it didn't happen.; 3/4/16, 2:19 PM
Qwinn said...: Wait, sorry.... Trump must have lost two open ones, seeing as Texas was open. Still. The trend that Trump gets his best numbers in open primaries and loses in closed ones is a strong tell as to where his votes are really coming from.; 3/4/16, 2:24 PM
Etienne said...: Both Kasich and Clinton have been around Washington forever.

One thing though, Kasich has never been a negative personality like Clinton. In that regard he would be a good choice against the democrats.

Kasich just kind of plods along. I think a B-12 shot couldn't hurt. As far as I can tell, he'd be the best President. Maybe a plodder is best.; 3/4/16, 2:24 PM
Anonymous said...: "You are clever. But you want what you want. Pretend elsewhere."

Birkel, you dumbass, this is Althouse's blog, not yours. Why don't you go spew over at Insatpundit or some other righty blog?; 3/4/16, 2:25 PM
Paddy O said...: "against Walter Mondale, a weak candidate who kicked off his campaign with a promise to raise taxes."

The current R winner will run gainst Hillary Clinton, a very damaged and unpopular candidate, or Bernie, who promises to raise taxes.

Mondale was a strong candidate compared to these two.; 3/4/16, 2:27 PM
JackWayne said...: Birkel, reread Althouse's answer again. She says she believes in limited government, federalism, and separation of powers. All the things that Hamilton and Madison believed in. And they wrote and supported a Constitution that does NOT provide any of that. So yes, Althouse is in favor of big government. To see her naming Cruz as a phony is to laugh.; 3/4/16, 2:31 PM
Unknown said...: Sammy, what a fairly dodgy response.

Um it ceases to be 'censorship' and becomes an actual 'tariff' when
it's a quota, ie numerically based.

Censorship isn't based on volume but on substance/quality/redlines within a product.

When it becomes a volume issue (ie 14 US films a year) and again, that's a tariff-esque restriction.

Now certainly, in imposing that numerically based tariff, censorship plays a part. To get into that holy "14" a US film needs to crunch the analytics & play the PRC politics game.

But just having a volume-limit (and so small! My God, 14!) is itself the tariff- this is not really a difficult concept, not sure why you seem to be having a hard time with it.

& Oh, by the way, do you remember around 2004, when the Bushies were amping the China trade & every single US trade-delegation to China was paraded around the streets of Shanghai to see what a wonderful job the PRC was doing on cracking down on illegal DVD copying....

And then the stupid Bushies used those staged tours as EVIDENCE! That we needed to give even more to China re Trade Deals because they were DOING SOMETHING about IP theft.

Well not only was it not true (China did nothing to stop illegal copying of US films sold as dvd's on streets) but does anyone have a clue (especially in our Trade agencies) how much web-pirating of US films/tvs/music occurs in China?

Ha! And as long as the movie in question doesn't out and out address domestic Chinese issues (which zero Hollywood films or tv do) they don't care if 1 billion illegal downloads a day happen.

We really do have to wake up to this trade war, it's happening and it's robbing everyone in America, left, right, center.; 3/4/16, 2:42 PM
Unknown said...: Ann thinks Cruz has a very theatrical, self-righteous presentation. Like a lawyer in court.; 3/4/16, 2:44 PM
Don’t Buy It said...: "Rubio and Cruz? They really are like that, outside and inside, phony from surface to core?"

I personally dislike both of them, but even so I can see what Ann's doing here: sanding down the rough edges of her conscience before she goes all in for someone she knows is an asshole. While I find that sad, I hope that's what she's doing, because otherwise she's among the worse judges of character I've ever encountered.; 3/4/16, 2:46 PM
eric said...: Blogger Johnny Monday said...
i went to bed angry and woke up angry and have come to a decision. The anti trump crowd has won me over. I think they are right, its better to stand on principal than cast a vote for something you abhor. So I am reversing my position, and i will no longer support any nominee except Donald J Trump.

This is the short sighted idiocy of the #neverTrump crowd.

It gives them perfect legitimacy to say, "Ok look, sure, we voted in the GOP primary and our guy, Trump, lost. But so what? You weren't going to support Trump, so we don't have to support your guy."

So stupid.; 3/4/16, 2:54 PM
shiloh said...: "We haven't had a nominee as conservative as Cruz for 30 years.

The last time we did, he won 49 states."

>

"as an incumbent against Walter Mondale, a weak candidate who kicked off his campaign with a promise to raise taxes.
30 years ago is a long time. demographics are different. context is different. beliefs are different."

Plus I knew Reagan, Dutch was a friend of mine. Cruz is no Ronald Reagan! ok, ok, he literally wasn't my friend, but he was my CinC for (8) years and I've seen 'Bedtime for Bonzo'.

Reagan was a 2-time gov of CA. Former pres of SAG. Indeed, he was a former liberal which was part of his appeal ie Dems thought he was a "well-rounded" executive and open-minded.

Had run (4) years earlier against an "incumbent" pres and almost won.

Straight out of central casting literally and figuratively. Didn't vote for Reagan, but I never disliked him. He was the lovable grandfather type = the exact opposite of Cruz!

Plus a former host of 'Death Vally Days' ~ what's not to like.

>

Indeed, comparing him to today's current crop of conservative yahoo's Reagan is looking better all the time.

>

And no, Dutch isn't gonna rise from the dead in the near future ...; 3/4/16, 2:55 PM
shiloh said...: Had run (8) years earlier against an incumbent pres ...

carry on; 3/4/16, 3:01 PM
I Callahan said...: It struck me as really weird that a person could be like that on the inside.

Not at all, Professor. I'm that way. I've been told I'm way too emotional and melodramatic about this stuff. But I look around and see a country that's slipping away, and people who are letting it slip away, or pushing it down the slope, and I'm angry at them, personally. I can't help but react to that. I want to go and shake them and ask them if they're nuts.

Rush Limbaugh always talks about how angry liberals are as opposed to conservatives on the whole, who he regards as happy people. Maybe he's right - I think I'm an exception, though. And I see this same feeling in Ted Cruz. He reacts instead of sitting back.

And NONE of that makes him phony. Maybe you just don't have enough perspective.; 3/4/16, 3:03 PM
Qwinn said...: Has anyone argued that Cruz "is" Reagan? Nice strawman.

The argument is that Cruz would be the first genuine conservative to get the nomination since Reagan. That really can't be argued with, therefore a strawman is required.; 3/4/16, 3:04 PM
eric said...: Blogger Qwinn said...
Has anyone argued that Cruz "is" Reagan? Nice strawman.

The argument is that Cruz would be the first genuine conservative to get the nomination since Reagan. That really can't be argued with, therefore a strawman is required.

Cruz may even be more conservative than Reagan. Problem is, he doesn't have Reagan's charm.; 3/4/16, 3:12 PM
I Callahan said...: Cruz is the biggest phony who uses jesus as a human shield to hide the fact that he has no soul. If you cannot tell Cruz is a psychopath, then you are a potential Darwin Award winner.

Trump is the least phony: what you see is what you get. A bombastic braggart who will say anything to either get attention or applause.

This is one of the most ridiculously idiotic comments I've ever read on Althouse. Your first paragraph is nothing but hyperbole, and I can imagine that after you typed it you needed a handi wipe for the spittle on your screen. Your second paragraph is completely contradictory - you can't "say anything to either get attention or applause" and NOT be a phony. Yet you said he was the least phony.

As a wise sage once said - up your game. You have a LOT of work to do on it.; 3/4/16, 3:14 PM
shiloh said...: "We haven't had a nominee as conservative as Cruz for 30 years.

The last time we did, he won 49 states."

You inferred he would be as successful as Reagan. But if you were only stating that reps haven't nominated a con in (30) years, one could argue Reagan wasn't a strict conservative using today's definition ie he raised taxes several times, gave amnesty to unlawful immigrants, traded arms for hostage. Hey, he was CinC, Ollie North and being out of the loop notwithstanding, etc.

Indeed, the last true strict con was Goldwater and he was slightly less successful than Reagan.

>

But yea, nominate Cruz and let's see if he leads Reps to the promised land!; 3/4/16, 3:16 PM
I Callahan said...: So, you're suggesting that I don't vote for John Kasich because he's mean? He has a temper? And it's not productive? Seriously?

Well, that's the complaint about Cruz. He's not happy and fluffy like other candidates.

I want a President that can get our fiscal house in order. Remember when the Democrats ridiculed the idea that SS would be insolvent by 2040 and stiffed any attempt to modify it? Well that date is now 2030. We can now see the cliff. I think Kasich is best suited for tackling that.

If you believe this, you need to be voting Cruz. Because he's the ONLY one who's talked about this issue consistently. Kasich may talk a great game, but this is the guy who vetoed his own state legislature and forced his state into creating Obamacare exchanges, and said God wanted him to do it. I think you're all wet about Kasich.; 3/4/16, 3:22 PM
shiloh said...: Change inferred to implied ...

carry on; 3/4/16, 3:22 PM
Qwinn said...: Fred Thompson had tons of charm, and he was a genuine conservative.

Despite being called the winner of virtually every debate, he was rejected for not having "fire in the belly", and so we got McCain, who only had "fire in the belly" against conservatives.

And now the argument is, Cruz lacks sufficient charm, therefore vote for Trump, a vulgar leftist double agent whose "charm" seems to work on everyone except genuine conservatives.

The Republican Party may be the only place conservatives can call home, but we're still locked in the basement refusing to put on the lotion, and the hosing never ends.; 3/4/16, 3:25 PM
FullMoon said...: Meanwhile:

"A team of gunmen unleashed a massacre at a retirement home run by Catholic nuns in Yemen Friday, killing 16 people including four nuns, Yemeni security officials and witnesses said.

The gunmen then moved from room to room, handcuffing the victims before shooting each of them in the head. A nun who survived said that she hid inside a fridge in a storeroom after hearing a Yemeni guard shouting "run, run."

Missionaries of Charity, an organization established by Mother Teresa, runs the home in the chaotic southern port city of Aden, which descended into lawlessness after a Saudi-led coalition recaptured the city from Shiite Houthi rebels last summer"; 3/4/16, 3:29 PM
Qwinn said...: Cruz doesn't need to be as successful as Reagan. 49 states is a bit more than necessary.

What I'm arguing against is the notion that being a genuine conservative loses more votes on the left than it gains on the right. If that were true, 49 states could never have happened.; 3/4/16, 3:31 PM
Fen said...: Shiloh: Indeed, the last true strict con was Goldwater and he was slightly less successful than Reagan.

Dumbass. Goldwater is the reason there was a Reagan presidency to begin with.

Shorter Dumbass: "Swords are much more useful than Iron"....; 3/4/16, 3:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Hmmm, what's going on with Trump skipping CPac? Are we coming closer to seeing a third party run for Trump?; 3/4/16, 4:02 PM
shiloh said...: "What I'm arguing against is the notion that being a genuine conservative loses more votes on the left than it gains on the right. If that were true, 49 states could never have happened."

Presidential elections are decided more on character than on policy, which is why either Cruz or Trump may have a chance against Hillary. Plus one could argue neither Cruz or Trump has a detailed plan re: any policy. Also, once elected if there's not a 60 Senate seat majority on either side policy is a moot concept.

Reagan and Obama were very likable. Trump/Cruz/Hillary ain't. Stay tuned as in a couple weeks Cruz might be a moot concept/topic as well.

Whereas Hillary is unlikable, Trump/Cruz go out of their way to piss people off. Nuance is not part of their vocabulary.

Polls, and who doesn't love exit polls, say that in both the 2008 / 2012 election conservatives were 34% / 35% of the electorate, respectively.

>

And speaking of Ollie, he would have probably won the senate seat in VA if not for Nancy Reagan "campaigning" against him. One wonders how many Reps will campaign against Trump if he is the nominee. What a mess for Republicans.; 3/4/16, 4:11 PM
Qwinn said...: At CPAC, Trump would have to face real conservatives, and make even more statements that will contradict his past and his imminent leftist beliefs. He figures he doesn't need them anymore. Conservatives have been given all the lip service they're ever going to get. It's all "growing in office" from here.; 3/4/16, 4:16 PM
traditionalguy said...: CPAC is big waste of time for a candidate with a chance in elections coming up. They have voters at Rallies to connect with this weekend. The CPAC groupies have already trashed Trump because Trump's leadership has made the ideology they peddle like snake oil into an irrelevancy.; 3/4/16, 4:17 PM
Birkel said...: Amanda promised ignorance and keeps delivering with every comment.; 3/4/16, 4:18 PM
Birkel said...: "You cannot reason somebody out of a position they didn't reason themselves into."

This quote is for you, traditionalguy.

Tell me what The Crack Emcee, Shouting Thomas and Cedarford think.; 3/4/16, 4:20 PM
Anonymous said...: @Johnny Monday:

I decided last night to change my "decline to state" status to "Republican," for the sole purpose of voting for Trump in the Republican primary. The GOP's attitude toward a substantial portion of its members -- the portion that isn't voting the way it wants -- is appalling.; 3/4/16, 4:24 PM
Anonymous said...: Birkel can't take any criticism, just like The Donald, probably has teeny tiny hands too.; 3/4/16, 4:27 PM
Nichevo said...: Jim Nicholson said...

Don't worry Jim, Ann will vote for the woman, this is all play.

Birkel, I'm surprised at you. If there's anywhere on earth for Ann to lie, true, or BS, this is the place. She knows it and will not go outside it, but within it, she has free speech and everyone else does too, if she likes it.

As her world gets smaller, she holds tighter to what is within reach. She likes the pretty lies. She perseverates with them, like a child, tongue-out, overtracing her doodles. She hasn't got long. Why disturb her play?

In Japan, they have the kindness to lie to the terminal patient. Why not be kind to Althouse? She may not perceive it, as she hasn't got a kind bone in her body, but it's for your sake more than hers.; 3/4/16, 4:30 PM
Qwinn said...: "The GOP's attitude toward a substantial portion of its members -- the portion that isn't voting the way it wants -- is appalling."

Funny, actual conservatives have been complaining about the way the GOPe has been treating them for a couple of decades. I don't recall anyone leaping to our aid then. That aid only comes when the "attitude" is aimed at a quisling like Trump?

Democrats are deciding the Republican primaries. The Long March Through The Institutions is finally complete.; 3/4/16, 4:32 PM
Achilles said...: Amanda said...
"Hmmm, what's going on with Trump skipping CPac? Are we coming closer to seeing a third party run for Trump?"

CPAC is a gathering of rich country clubbers who travel to DC or live there and have cocktails. They were planning on acting like children and staging a walkout to embarrass Trump. Trump decided he didn't need to play their little games.; 3/4/16, 4:51 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: Agree that Webb is a phony. His Righteously Angry Principled Stand schtick is laughably transparent and self-serving. How do these heroic young men become such douchey old men? Politics? My Dad was a WWII combat Marine pilot and I could see that brave and self-effacing young man in him till the day he died. People like McCain and Webb look like strangers to their own pasts.; 3/4/16, 4:52 PM
Achilles said...: Qwinn said...
"At CPAC, Trump would have to face real conservatives, and make even more statements that will contradict his past and his imminent leftist beliefs. He figures he doesn't need them anymore. Conservatives have been given all the lip service they're ever going to get. It's all "growing in office" from here."

He wouldn't have had to face them. They were planning on walking out. The country clubbers don't get it. The idea that they are real conservatives is also a little laughable. Right now real conservative is someone who is ok with amnesty and they are cheering the guy who passed obamacare in Massachusetts.; 3/4/16, 4:54 PM
Saint Croix said...: Phony?!

Here is Marco, under incredible pressure.

And the truth comes out!; 3/4/16, 4:55 PM
Achilles said...: Qwinn said...
"Cruz doesn't need to be as successful as Reagan. 49 states is a bit more than necessary.

What I'm arguing against is the notion that being a genuine conservative loses more votes on the left than it gains on the right. If that were true, 49 states could never have happened."

Cruz is my favorite candidate. But someone rightly described him as "Wearing a think coat of people repellent." I really wish he wasn't so un-personable and creepy preachy.; 3/4/16, 4:57 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/4/16, 5:01 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/4/16, 5:06 PM
Birkel said...: I was promised ignorance.
Amanda delivers the kind I did not want.; 3/4/16, 5:29 PM
Birkel said...: Achilles:

Your impressions are your own. I am not disagreeing.

But I will note that many people were told by the MSM that Cruz is personally unlikable and believed the lying liars, again. John McCain called him a "whacko bird" and my inclination was to like Cruz solely on that endorsement.; 3/4/16, 5:33 PM
Fritz said...: Channeling Holden Caulfield?; 3/4/16, 6:05 PM
Saint Croix said...: Donnie runs away from CPAC.

But the funny thing is how he falls apart under stress.

His campaign announced that Donnie will be busy at a major rally in "Witchita," a demon-city in the state known as "Kanasas."; 3/4/16, 6:21 PM
Sayyid said...: I don't think Cruz is "like that" (theatrical, whatever else Althouse is saying). I think he is simply cursed with the worst natural speaking voice of any major politician perhaps since Winston Churchill. It's his actual voice, and it's ridiculously annoying. There's not much he can do about it. If he talks naturally his voice is nasal and whatever he says sounds like a snide remark. If he does the whisper-voice or the growling-excited-voice, then he sounds like he's hamming it up. There's always just enough background nasal shrillness in it to make it sound insincere. No good option.; 3/4/16, 7:50 PM
Michael K said...: "They were planning on walking out."

I wouldn't be surprised.

Cruz cancelled and have you heard this stuff about that ?; 3/4/16, 7:51 PM
Sayyid said...: "I do reject the social conservatism."

So to be consistent then, Cruz won you over when in the last debate he explicitly said that his social conservatism would take a back seat to his Federalism in the last debate? I'm specifically pointing to his response to the gay marriage question. He said it should be a state issue -- in other words, that he wasn't going to reimpose a federal ban.; 3/4/16, 7:54 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "- I like sites that are seeking a truth...those two now to me seem more like they are building a case. I dont need to be sold."

Thanks for answering my question.

I don't like building a case. I like exploring things and understanding ideas and the ways different people think. I like keeping the conversation open, fresh, and interesting.; 3/4/16, 8:13 PM
Ron said...: Ann nailed it. Rubio and Cruz are empty suits.; 3/4/16, 8:28 PM
Saint Croix said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/5/16, 2:06 AM
Saint Croix said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/5/16, 2:06 AM
Saint Croix said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/5/16, 2:49 AM
cubanbob said...: Blogger Ron said...
Ann nailed it. Rubio and Cruz are empty suits.

3/4/16, 8:28 PM

And Hillary and Bernie are sacks of shit. Between a sack of shit and an empty suit, I'll take the suit. At least it doesn't stink.; 3/5/16, 4:51 AM
cubanbob said...: I forgot about Donnie; he is an expensive bespoke English woollen suit with a beautiful Italian silk tie with an expensive cotton hand tailored shirt and completely stuffed with Queen's shit which still makes him better than the plain old sacks of shit but smellier than the cheap empty suits.; 3/5/16, 4:58 AM
Saint Croix said...: Rubio and Cruz are empty suits.

They are both pro-life. I have no doubt about it. They are better pro-lifers than Reagan or Bush. Pro-lifers after Carhart are different from pro-lifers before Carhart. Once you realize that there are people who will kill babies in the middle of birth, it focuses your attention.

Bizarre to think they are empty suits! What does Donald Trump think about abortion? I have no idea. Maybe he means it, maybe he doesn't.

That's just one issue. But to say Rubio and Cruz are empty inside, they have no feelings or values? It's retarded.

Rubio is guarded. And Cruz does not have strong feelings (except when Rubio said "you don't know Spanish," boy he got pissed then!) Cruz is a thinker way more than a feeler. Rubio is a thinker and a feeler. That's why he's a far better politician than Cruz.

You want to talk about empty, tell me what Donald Trump thinks about anything. And then ask me again on Tuesday, or in April, or next year. The man is a weather vane.; 3/5/16, 6:56 AM