1. Polls about to close in 3 states.
2. "Projection: Sanders wins home state of Vt.; Clinton, Ga. and Va." CNN. GOP: Trump ahead (in the exit poll) with 40% in Georgia, and a small margin in Virginia.
3. They've called Oklahoma for Cruz now, in addition to Texas. This is terrible news for Rubio, who has won nothing. Terrible news for the Establishment.
4. Impressive that Trump is doing a press conference, accepting challenging questions and engaging intensely. The norm is to come out, bask in the victory, and give a stump speech. This is nervy and it makes him look presidential.
5. Written the next morning: I see Marco Rubio finally won one. Minnesota. Isn't that the last (or second-to-last) state a Republican would pick up in a 50-state landslide?
March 1, 2016
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«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 389 of 389Rubio at least gets Minnesota. I was starting to feel sorry for him.
R&B,
Trump couldn't deliver on that Presidential sounding speech because he isn't Presidential material. He doesn't have the intelligence or the temperament to be POTUS.
As a Rubio supporter in the primaries, I think it's getting close to that point in time to make the pivot to Trump.
Had Rubio won these early primaries, I would have hectored Trump primary supporters to make the pivot towards Rubio. Alas, 'twas not to be.
Trump/Haley in 2016!
Amanda has also learned nothing about pretty speechifying and impending failure. Stupid cannot be cured, indeed.
Well R&B
Do you remember the old SNL skit about a dating agency for normal people? I think the name was "lowered expectations" :))
That's my moto for this election. I don't think Trump is a Bible thumping socon. He won't do anything serious against abortion or gays.
I'm just hoping he might do a little good for the working people. They need help! They've been screwed by the Hillary Goldman Sachs wing of the Dems and the big business wing of the Pubs.
does Amanda have any idea of who built the Gulag? Of course not.
Reagan may have sinned everyday but the autocorrect on my tablet needs an exorcist.
Amanda: "He doesn't have the intelligence or the temperament to be POTUS"
An additional corpse-man or two added to Trump's staff and, presto! Problem solved.
"Rhythm and Balls" thinks speechifying is what makes a good president. Have the last 8 years taught you nothing?
Have the last 8 months of Trump's "speechifying" not taught you that speechmaking comes in many forms?
You seriously can't be this dense.
"Michael K: I realize how pissed and despondent you are about now being the Party of Trump."
So much for your brilliant understanding. I am NOT a Trump supporter. I have no idea what he will do, but I think it is pretty well set that he will win. I see Democrats voting for him once Bernie is gone. A lot of Republicans are angry at how we have been lied to by the professional politicians.
I think he might be a sort of Mussolini figure and hope some GOP real stalwarts will join him to give advice. I was hoping Coburn would join Sessions but he has endorsed Rubio, who I think is a weasel.
I tease you because you assume this voice of authority as if you know more than anyone else.
dustbunny: "does Amanda have any idea of who built the Gulag?"
I don't believe she does have any idea that the Gulag was built by Sanders' heroes.
That Bernie Sanders can win OK tells you just how thoroughly destroyed the Democratic Party is in that state, doesn't it? It's now basically a rabble.
Bill, Republic of Texas:
If the Leviathan State is not reduced in size and scope, the middle class will not be helped. A president who attempts that climb will face much more resistance than Governor Walker did in Wisconsin.
Here's hoping Trump recognizes the problem and addresses it. I know a President Cruz would.
R&B's: "Have the last 8 months of Trump's "speechifying" not taught you that speechmaking comes in many forms?"
Whoa.
We were talking about "speechifying", not "speechmaking". Quit moving those goalposts!
Dude1394 said...
Donald Trump is shifting into president mode. Anyone looking at this announcement is could only think he is a moderate.
His podium looks like a presidents platform, very little over-the-top stuff.
I imagine that trump saying that "planned parenthood has done good work" must gall the pants off of the movement conservatives. But it is just true, the abortion side just has to be made non-government funded.
And taking questions, much like a president.
Amazing..
You are just as big a fucking idiot as Trump!
First, "the abortion side" of Planned Parenthood is already barred from government funding. Certainly, federal government funding, per the Hyde Amendment. Okay? Got that so far?
But the problem with Planned Parenthood is that their budget has always been a shape-shifting mystery; they claim to provide essential women's health services but they don't (contrary to popular belief) provide mammograms. The money that they receive from federal and other public funding sources just goes gets blended in order to allow them to serve as the nation's largest abortion provider.
Trump doesn't understand, because he's such a latecomer to the abortion debate, and all he knows is to repeat crap he's listened to on television. People experienced in the abortion debate and experienced in Republican campaigns know it; Trump clearly doesn't get it.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2015/10/02/are-american-taxpayers-paying-for-abortion/#76d406477096
Birkel,
Yes indeed poor Trump cannot be cured of his stupid, nor can his supporters. Presidential speeches will be on a third grade reading level. The State of the Union will be entertaining. The rest of the world will be laughing their asses off.
"Rhythm and Balls" thinks I might support Trump, which is cute because I expect "Rhythm and Balls" to be right by accident at least some of the time.
Chuck: "First, "the abortion side" of Planned Parenthood is already barred from government funding. Certainly, federal government funding, per the Hyde Amendment. Okay? Got that so far?"
Dollars be fungible.
Birkel
The leviathon has won. No one but a small percent of Pubs want to limit the size and scope of the government. Now is the time to fight and scrap for our fair share. The connected have known this for years and they've gotten theirs.
So tell us how positively Trump makes you feel and why.
It will be good to have a POTUS that hasn’t sold his ass to the highest bidder even before the swearing-in ceremony.
It’ll be good to have a POTUS who will never apologize for being an American.
It’ll be good to have a POTUS who is familiar with and approving of capitalism.
Who believes in America and is enthusiastically and proudly American.
Who defends the Second Amendment instead of trying to abolish it.
Who will populate his administration with people who are not incompetent left-wing ideologues.
We will not have to worry about floods of Moslem refugees chock full of terrorists infiltrating our country.
Who will secure the border and stop employers from the hiring of illegal aliens.
New wrinkle: President Trump is going to create a safe haven for the Middle Eastern refugees now trying to get away from the murderous chaos that Hillary and Obama created there. In doing so he will save Europe’s bacon and become the darling of the rightwing movements currently gaining traction in Germany and Great Britain.
I could go on but these few are more than enough.
Amanda: "Presidential speeches will be on a third grade reading level."
Finally! A President who can communicate effectively with the bulk of dem voters!
This presents a golden opportunity to "build bridges".
Metaphorical bridges. Not actual bridges. Which were "shovel ready" jobs. Until they weren't.
You know, like bright red lines in Syria...that suddenly disappeared...but then reappeared! And it was all the American peoples fault! And the media! and Republicans! But not obambi and Hillary! They were just innocent bystanders.
Amanda,
You mean as opposed to the respect world leaders show Obama? I believe you must be the worst name-changing troll ever. I worry for you. Life is hard with that helmet, yes?
Dustbunny,
Do you think Trump will be champion for free speech and civil liberties?
Why so angry, Chuck? It looks like Rubio finally got his first state victory -- in the land of Al Franken and Jesse Ventura. Progress!
Bill, there's a lot of overlap between Bernie and Trump voters. They're both motivated by the same stomp down on the necks of the working class and they both agree that a huge shake-up is in order. You mention Trump's willingness to distance himself from socon-ism (I think I'm correctly interpreting what you mean), which may be a good thing for Republicans, or not. It's hard for me to say as I'm not much of one and I don't think that faith-based governance is the worst problem we face, or if it even is much of a problem to face. I do want more reasoning to prevail in the American system. I don't have a preference for how someone avoids the money-trap game whether by their integrity and record or their own financial independence as Trump has. Hell, every other day I'm not even sure if I agree with the idea of better programs to address poverty/poor opportunity or more capitalism as Bush promoted in his "ownership" society. But we all agree that the system has been set-up to run robotic fools and tools and the most important thing is a strong, independent voice to challenge it. As I've said, the Trump candidacy and perhaps even nomination would be far from the worst thing for Republicans. There's a lot of discontent and if nothing else it would/should wake them up to what they've done wrong and what they should pay better attention to. But I've got my own preference in the overall race and am waking up to the problems in the general. Bernie's not an invincible candidate, either. His proposals are far from perfect. But as much as we need to shake this race up we need to remain cautious of what gets burned down along with it. Sure, some stuff needs to go up in smoke. But there are reckless and careful ways to manage a forest fire.
Amanda: "Do you think Trump will be champion for free speech and civil liberties?"
'
Let's get Melissa Click's take on that, shall we?
Bill, Republic of Texas:
If you are right and Leviathan has won, the fighting will start. Throughout history is has always been so.
I hope you are wrong.
Conventional wisdom: Trump is better off if Rubio and Cruz both stay in the race and split the "not for Trump (yet)" vote.
Possible actual wisdom: Trump would be better off if either Cruz or Rubio got out. He could go head to head with the remainder and finish them off. That would assure he reaches the Convention with a clear majority, especially by taking a few winner take all states. If Cruz and Rubio stay in, Trump is less likely to have an unassailable majority, thus giving the big wigs room to maneuver.
Damn, R&B, stop making sense.
R & B -
I guess I need to remind you once again:
You make good points and start on a good note ... Then you lose it with the "cocksucker" and "bomb-thrower" and insults and teenage girl type stuff.
Learn to make your points, state them in declarative terms and then let it lie. Your silence is stronger at higher increasingly frantic rhetoric.
Just trying to help you as you are my favorite and most thoughtful left-leaning contributor to this site ... Until you - too often - lose your cool.
I tease you because you assume this voice of authority as if you know more than anyone else.
Hey man, I'm just calling 'em as I see 'em - which is no more or less than any of us are doing. You say you "see" Dems going for Trump over Hillary. No doubt some will. How many is anyone's guess. There is certainly no reason to think crossover votes will overwhelm his own negatives, which become pretty overwhelming in themselves. The simple fact that you unconcernedly use a word like "Mussolini" in describing him is concerning enough to me. None of that means you don't have a great point to make about sticking it to the pols who have lied to you, though. I see it as a tough spot. Yes, he's doing great work taking them down and creating the support for reform. I just need to be honest and ask where it goes from there. As of tonight, he has come a very long way in getting the nomination, which you think makes his election a foregone conclusion. I think that should rightly give us pause. Every revolution needs to reflect and self-assess once it gets halfway through to achieving its goals. Or else it goes French, or Russian, or worse. The revolutionaries themselves need to be no less introspective than us know-it-all prognosticators.
R&B's: "But there are reckless and careful ways to manage a forest fire"
Actual forest fires follow the laws of thermodynamics and other scientific "rules". Political "forest fires", driven by human emotion, are far less easily understood and/or contained.
Amanda is going to "ignore" somebody. Notify the papers !
Thanks Todd. I'm doing my best. Tonight is a shakedown for the system - in ways both good and possibly bad. Sorry for losing my cool.
Amanda just agreed to ignore me, Drago.
I win.
Pay up.
Amanda: "Birkel, perhaps your mommy shouldn't used a helmet on you growing up. You're back on ignore."
First Rule of Ignoring Someone: Ignore them.
Second Rule of Ignoring Someone: ..........well, we never really needed a second rule.
Your check is on the way Birkel. And worth every penny to you I'm quite certain.
Trump wants to weaken libel laws. He loves free speech and freedom of the press, now doesn't he? I think political blogs may need to watch what they say about the Trump Administration during his reign as Prez. Good times ahead folks!
But seriously, he hasn't got a chance in hell to win. Hillary will win in a landslide. It will be epic. Serves ya right.
R&B's: "Thanks Todd. I'm doing my best. Tonight is a shakedown for the system - in ways both good and possibly bad. Sorry for losing my cool."
R&B's, you have had some epic "losing your cool" episodes. Tonight is most certainly not one of those times. And, quite frankly, it's much more interesting having you here engaging so, you know, keep it up.
Amanda: "Trump wants to weaken libel laws."
"Gun Registry" says what?
Fines for Bakeries say what?
Speech Codes say what?
R&B,
Are you channeling Chris Christie?
Agree with the newly found respect for "Rhythm and Balls".
Except thinking I support Trump, of course...
It's going to be wild ride the next 8 months. Buckle in!
Amanda: "Hillary will win in a landslide. It will be epic. Serves ya right."
She said. Nervously. In a quiet voice. To herself. While thinking of what had happened before. And wondering if that's the way Bill wanted it. Deep down. In his "pedophile island" place.
Where's Huma! I need Huma!....
"among registered voters."
There's the trouble. Polls of likely voters are more accurate.
Lindsey Graham suggested backing Cruz?
Somebody crossed the streams.
The way I see it, the candidates are headed to the convention, and hope to win there.
I can't see Cruz delegates willingly going to Rubio if he drops out, or vice-versa, so I think that Kasich will be gone after Trump wins Ohio on the 15th, and Carson is sticking around for the nice hotels he's been living in the past few months.
That means the Convention politics will choose the next Republican candidate, and Trump will go third party.
Amanda said...R&B,
Are you channeling Chris Christie?
Obviously Trump has the biggest tent of all. You're all welcome to join. Even you Amanda.
Drago said...
Rubio is being controlled by the republican establishment, with the promise of winning the Presidency if you just do what your told.
The failed strategy of a choreographed Marco to dance, sing, and play trumpet for them to defeat Trump is a direct reason why Trump exists.
I'm thinking there are several commenters here whose mommies should've used a helmet on them growing up. Actually that might be apropos for about half of all conservatives, the Trumpeteers, come to think of it.
Isn't R&B the anarchist kid who had an avatar like an eye?
If so he was always interesting once he got off his trolling thing.
No thanks Chicklet, I'd rather join a nunnery.
coupe: "I can't see Cruz delegates willingly going to Rubio if he drops out, or vice-versa, so I think that Kasich will be gone after Trump wins Ohio on the 15th, and Carson is sticking around for the nice hotels he's been living in the past few months"
Oh, I suspect the youngest physician to ever head a major division at Johns Hopkins and a guy who is currently the director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, a position he has held since 1984, and a professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery, and pediatric medicine might have some halfway decent "digs" of his own.
No, I suspect that the adrenalin rush from running for President and the "center of the Universe" aspect of it is a hard habit to break.
Amanda said...No thanks Chicklet, I'd rather join a nunnery.
OK, but just don't forces with the man hater.
Amanda: "I'm thinking...."
tsk tsk
Asserting facts most certainly not in evidence.
You would think Amanda would be able to project her ignorance more effectively, but she will not follow Drago's first rule.
But running the country as president requires so much more. Does it not?
I'm beginning to think it really doesn't. The Capital District seems so entrenched that Presidents can go along with the game with the way it's played (Obama's crony capitalism comes to mind.) or rage against the dying of the light and be largely ineffectual in much of anything.
Coupe,
The Sander's voters will NOT vote for Trump, are you on crack?
Well, it's an interesting election Drago, so I'd like to give more credit to my subject material. But thanks.
Amanda - if you're not from a few hundred miles of N Jersey please don't get me started on Chris Christie.
Or this guy.
Republican establishment: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Republican base to the establishment: Fuck you. Die.
It's that simple.
Looks like the RNC should move its headquarters to Minneapolis.
EMD:
Leviathan, like SkyNet, has become self-aware.
Kyle Reese: Listen, and understand! That Terminator is out there! It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.
R& B,
Stick to your principles, don't be influenced by those who would make you abandon them. I kind of doubt you would be able to embrace a President Trump. But hey what do I know?
Is Amanda Inga's loud mouthed younger sister?
Birkel: "You would think Amanda would be able to project her ignorance more effectively, but she will not follow Drago's first rule"
I fear Amanda is taking far too seriously her occupation of the "Garage Mahal Professor of Ignorance Projection and Downright Not "Smartiness" Chair".
On the plus side though, free pigs-in-a-blanket and unlimited access to the "Elizabeth Warren Powerful and Wise Native Woman Of Color" water fountain, near the "Hall of Inanities".
And, yes, the Hall is close to the Cliffs of Insanity!
If Trump is the nominee, a lot of Dems will vote for him because they believe that deep down he is really a Dem. Meanwhile, a lot of Republicans will vote for him because they are stupid and because they cannot admit to themselves that they have been fooled, even though every day he makes it abundantly clear that he is really a Dem.
And, no, it does not "gall" conservatives to hear Trump speak like a Dem, as he has increasingly these last few weeks. We've known all along that he is a fraud.
Amanda: "But hey what do I know?"
....must...stop....fingers...from...typing...obvious....answer........
Browndog:
You win a prize, sir.
I envision at the Republican convention, after the first vote with no one getting 50% or more of the vote, Rubio and the others will throw all their delegates behind Cruz, making him over the 50% needed to win. Thus Trump will be shut out (and fairly, by the rules.)
Rubio, Kasish, and Carson will be promised cabinet post or VP or other such goodies.
This will leave no way for Trump to say he was cheated
Hope for change in 2016.
Amanda said...
Coupe,
The Sander's voters will NOT vote for Trump, are you on crack?
Amanda said...
R& B,
Stick to your principles, don't be influenced by those who would make you abandon them. I kind of doubt you would be able to embrace a President Trump. But hey what do I know?
Hahahahahahah
MarK: "And, no, it does not "gall" conservatives to hear Trump speak like a Dem, as he has increasingly these last few weeks. We've known all along that he is a fraud."
You know, Mark has a point.
How do we know that immediately upon election Trump would not align with key dems in a concerted effort to pass "comprehensive amnesty". Trump might even align with a handful of dems and call them, I don't know, help me out here, a "gang of #" or something like that.
Trump might also be thinking about allowing every dem program to be fully funded by simply passing complete and abject surrender continuing resolution bills.
Yep. Mark has convinced me! That Trump is a dem!
Browndog: "Is Amanda Inga's loud mouthed younger sister?"
Well, it is true that Inga possessed a magically expanding "immediate family" that always included at least one key member who was, in a wonderfully convenient way, intimately involved in whatever the issue of the day happened to be which allowed Inga to speak from an "insiders" POV and give all those conservatives "what for"!
Unexpectedly!
It must be mass hysteria, or something in the water, maybe Flint was the canary in the coal mine, an international plot to destroy America from within.... Or maybe roughly one half of all conservatives are really that stupid.
In "progressive" Arlington, Virginia, the percentage of people voting in the Republican primary is double that of 2008. Trust me, Arlington is not twice as Republican as it was eight years ago. Several Democratic voters have admitted however to crossing over to try to manipulate the Republican results, with no intention of voting Republican in November.
Mark,
Shhh, they shouldn't be let in on the secret plot yet.
Amanda: "R& B, Stick to your principles, don't be influenced by those who would make you abandon them."
It is impossible to not notice the irony in that Amanda would have R&B abandon his principles in order to support, happily, Hillary!
It is precisely that R&B will not even rhetorically abandon his principles that results in R&B taking one look at Hillary! and saying, "blech".
Mark: "Several Democratic voters have admitted however to crossing over to try to manipulate the Republican results, with no intention of voting Republican in November."
Gee, that's never happened before!
And just think, this is happening in groups as large as "severals"!
With data points like that, how can we fail to draw the correct inferences?!
Althouse fucked up badly in 2008, while insisting she was oh-so-objective and never (never ever ever) seduced by the siren song of the celebrity candidate. Perhaps she is the tragic bellwether this time also -- following along in support of this year's celebrity, Trump, as her many pro-Trump blog posts make abundantly clear.
R&B's (to Amanda): "if you're not from a few hundred miles of N Jersey please don't get me started on Chris Christie."
Within a few hundred miles of Chris Christie is close enough! (rimshot)
Amanda: "Mark, Shhh, they shouldn't be let in on the secret plot yet"
First Rule of Secret Plots: Don't mention secret plot on blogsite.
Second Rule of Secret Plots: .....well........(running gag alert)
It's a two-candidate race.
Trump is the clear front-runner in delegates after 14 states have decided (Alaska's results are still outstanding as I write this). But Cruz, in second place, has as many delegates as the third, fourth, and fifth-place candidates combined.
Anyone who can't see this is handing the race to Trump. It's exactly that simple.
Amanda did say she'd vote for Kasich over Hillary in the General. So maybe Sanders has some cross-over voters.
The focus now is on Trump and the GOP infighting, but soon the focus shifts back to Hillary, her felonious private server, her paid speeches to Goldman-Sachs, her lecherous husband, and the major enthusiasm gap.
Cruz is now out of states where he will get votes. His best chance was the south and he didn't get it done. Cruz is not going to play well in the Midwest.
shorter cruz victory speech: "god...god...religious freedom...pray...god...god...religious freedom...prayerful...god...god bless." by the time he gets to the convention he'll be handling venomous snakes.
Trump wasn't even on the first tier of candidates I wanted to win. I don't understand his appeal, but he won. There's no democratic way to deny him the nomination. OK, give it to the 15th, but I wish the other candidates would accept reality and give up. The people have spoken........Hillary has a substantial record of failures and ethical lapses. So does Trump, but his mistakes didn't lead to piles of corpses and masses of refugees. So far as ethical lapses go, Trump's are somewhat less hypocritical and look like far more fun.......It will be difficult for me to love Trump, but it's almost impossible not to despise Hillary. She's just too prejudiced against straight white men with steady jobs.
Honesty is definitely one of my principles. If nothing else, if I'm going to admire or vote for anyone, it would be for their honesty moreso than for anything else.
But what if the lies are told by Top Men in pursuit of a Larger Truth or for The Greater Good?
Keep your doctor. Blah, blah, blah. Gruber.
Rubio has won Minnesota. The corner is turned. He gets to spend more money.
"shorter cruz victory speech: "god...god...religious freedom...pray...god...god...religious freedom...prayerful...god...god bless." by the time he gets to the convention he'll be handling venomous snakes."
Dangerous man with all that religion talk, eh? Thank G-- the best people in our history were all atheists.
Browndog: "Is Amanda Inga's loud mouthed younger sister?"
Drago: "Well, it is true that Inga possessed a magically expanding "immediate family" that always included at least one key member who was, in a wonderfully convenient way, intimately involved in whatever the issue of the day happened to be which allowed Inga to speak from an "insiders" POV and give all those conservatives "what for"!
Unexpectedly"
Inga. Now that's a blast from the past.
I kept seeing "Drumpf" on social media and finally decided to look it up. What a let down. I thought it would be something clever.
From David Wasserman at fivethirtyeight.com:Here are my back-of-the-envelope delegate projections: Based on current vote counts and each state and district’s allocation rules, Trump is on track to end up with about 262 delegates, Cruz is on track to win about 215, and Rubio is on track to win about 93. That’s an even more awful result for Rubio than I thought, and it’s a lot worse for Rubio than The New York Times’s Upshot model is currently projecting. After tonight, Rubio could be more than 100 delegates behind Cruz and more than 200 delegates behind Trump."
Two. Man. Race.
Marco ain't one of the two, neither is Kasich.
Cruz will have more total delegates after tonight than Rubio, Kasich, and Carson put together.
" . . . if I'm going to admire or vote for anyone, it would be for their honesty moreso than for anything else."
Are you trying to be ironic, R&B?
You'll vote for Hillary.
Rubio is following orders now. And his orders are to tear down trump/Cruz with a pile of money and hurt their chances to win the general. Why? Because his financiers don't care if he wins or hillary wins. They want amnesty and cronyism and know both would deliver that.
Trump broke the Democrat coalition long ago. He is going to win a surprising number of minority votes and a lot of people who feel betrayed by both parties.
I am a small business owner. I despise bureaucracy. I think Trump had to deal with a lot more crap than I did. I bet he hates them more than me. I can't wait to watch them put back in their place.
Rubio won one state.but he is not out yet. The problem for Cruz is that the states he would have won tonight were his firewall. Rubio actually has a chance to win some of the winner take all states. Moreso than Cruz. Cruz needed to really win tonight, but he didn't.
You'll vote for Hillary.
What a jerk you are. Anyone else you'd like to tell me to vote for?
Is this how you vote? On someone else's orders? Do you get a doggie treat when you do?
Do you get hypnotized by swinging objects in front of your face? Are you getting very sleepy right now?
Cruz should drop out. He lost on his home court. Trump is from New York City and just beat Cruz in SEC country. Cruz can win Kansas and Nebraska but that's about it. Cruz is playing for 2020 now but he's done about as well as he can this year.
Realclearpolitics delegate count..
Trump 274
Cruz 149
Rbio 82
It's time for Christie to go home.
Althouse has not addressed something huge in this campaign. And that is Trump's condemnation of the Neocon foreign policy that Althouse played defense for. The American people are kicking the Neocons to the curb. It was exciting when Trump went off on Jeb Bush over his brother's filthy lies. We are tired of the trillions wasted and all the thousands of lives lost or maimed. What a massive cost and nothing good to show for it!!! When will Althouse do a post where she explains her feelings about this? I guess never! But she needs to. Maybe Meade -- the draft dodger -- will go do videos of people sneezing on war statues and acting like he's Mr. America and they are traitors. LOL What a scumbag Meade is. That's what offends Meade and Althouse more than military volunteers having their lives wrecked by the scum in power and all the Neocon lies. Althouse and Meade will never examine themselves on this issue. They simply don't care. It's not their kids getting killed and maimed! Lord knows Althouse advised her kids to stay clear of the wars she supported. She wanted other people to die for her causes. And she will never, not ever ever ever, say she made a mistake on that. Because Althouse is one of these law profs who is full of herself and cannot ever admit she was wrong. But she was HUGELY WRONG.
With 65% reported, Cruz leads Trump in Alaska, 35.4% to 33.7% with Rubio sinking into the low teens.
That would mean that of the first fifteen states to decide, Trump will have won 10, Cruz 4, and Rubio 1. Cruz will definitely come out of tonight with more delegates than Rubio, Kasich, and Carson put together.
Two. Man. Race. Time for Rubio, Kasich & Carson to wake up and smell the coffee.
Remember Trump pretending that he'd be competitive in Texas? He lost there by sixteen points. And yes, it will be a record turnout by a huge margin over the previous record in 2012. But even though Trump may have driven turnout up some, it was Ted Cruz who obviously turned out his voters in the Lone Star State.
Even Lindsay Graham admitted tonight that it may be time for the GOP to rally behind Ted Cruz. You know how much that cost him to say. But it's math & calendar, baby -- and Cruz is the only one who can still stop Trump.
If it comes down to it, I'm holding my nose and voting for Trump. If I understand them correctly R & B are almost at the point if they have to they too will hold their nose and vote for Trump. That we are are almost in agreement is scary-this country is so screwed that people so otherwise so far apart are going to band together and vote for the huckster just to make sure the criminal and traitor isn't elected is awe inspiring and not in a nice way. God used to love fools, drunks, children and the United States of America. I'm not so sure right now about God's love for America right now. If Robert Cook comes out of the communist closet and states if it comes down to it he will vote for Trump then folks build a bomb shelter and stock up on survival rations and ammo because the end is really near. I have been voting since 1976 and this has got to be the most depressing national election in my lifetime. Seriously who could have imagined two years ago Trump running for president in terms other than a joke yet here we are on the cusp of him becoming the Republican nominee and most likely the next president. Strange times indeed.
One very big concern I have in regard to Donald Trump is that the only thing he seems to focus on is How To Accumulate Money, Power, and Celebrity.
That is, to put it bluntly, very dangerous in a presidential candidate.
Atheists do not understand why Christians want to know if Trump goes to church, or reads the Bible. You might think, "his spiritual values are irrelevant." Okay. But aside from his spiritual values, going to church and (especially) Bible study is a very serious moral training. Jesus challenges you and provokes you and gets you thinking about things other than money and power and celebrity.
Trump has not done that.
This is not to say that bad people cannot go to church, or even thrive in church. Of course they can. I've met hate, anger, and fear in a Bible study, and had to deal with that. But Bible study, and the moral training that goes with that, is a very important counter to the urge to dominate, win, demolish, hurt, and vanquish. It's helped me tremendously. And I do not mean to suggest that Donald Trump is an evil man. I'm just pointing out that I see no evidence of any sort of serious moral training. Which is what Christianity and Judaism often provides. (I believe Islam in some centuries and some cultures, can also provide this sort of moral training, although many of the rules of Islam are quite evil and wrong).
Of course you can get moral training in other, secular areas. For instance, the study of law or philosophy is very helpful for moral questions and training. Donald Trump has not been to law school. I think you will find that the people who object to Trump the strongest are trained lawyers. That is because Trump gives every sign of being a lawless man, oblivious to rules and dislikes rules. Lawyers can get this way too! I often think of myself as a scofflaw. But I've been to law school, and read many legal cases, and have a great respect for law and lawyers.
As I have seen evil in Bible study, I have seen evil in lawyers. (Many people do!) Despite their legal training, the Supreme Court defined human beings as non-people, and then started writing opinions about decapitating and dismembering babies in the middle of birth. Ordinary people saw this evil a lot quicker than Supreme Court Justices did. In fact, ordinary people (who know what is going on) are a lot angrier about this than attorneys, who also want to be cautious and methodical.
So I don't say that being an attorney is a prerequisite for the White House (or the Supreme Court, for that matter). But it really does help. And it helps because the study of law is the study of conflict and conflict resolution. Going to law school can be a very serious moral training. You see all the shit that can go wrong. And you develop critical skills, and the ability to see problems.
Donald Trump has a fine brain. He has a sharp critical mind. He spots weakness very easily and well. And yet the weakness he sees is personal. He sees character weakness. I'm not sure he has a fine brain at all when it comes to analysis of ideas. And does he see character weakness in himself? In listening to him, I hear almost no self-effacement. He never jokes about himself, or makes fun of himself. His constant focus seems to be on putting other people down, and climbing higher and higher. You can (of course!) succeed when you focus on achieving power and wealth. But if that is all you focus on, it is dangerous.
Note, for instance, that Trump is trying to expand the power of what a President can do. He can argue he has a mandate to
1) kill the relatives of terrorists
2) outlaw Islam
3) round up hispanics and deport them
4) torture
5) allow citizens to be sued for criticizing the government
6) start a trade war
He may do none of these things. But (he might think) he has the freedom, the authority, to do any or all of them.
Typo error in my 2am post. I meant to say R&B and ARM. Now if Amanda comes to the point later in the cycle of thinking about voting for Trump then judgment day really is upon us.
@ Saint Croix at 2.am. Excellent comment. However if it comes down to it come November we still have the dilemma of Hillary or Trump. Apparently whatever moral training Hillary received at Yale has long been forgotten. As I told told one of the Republican Congress persons at a charity event I attended on Sunday after the congress person asked me to support one of the Cubans in our primary I said to the Congressperson Trump might win the general election and it's up to you and your Republican colleagues both in the House and the Senate to keep him from going astray and that is why I'm supporting you.
thanks Bob
Can I add too that the voting for Trump is, in my opinion, not about illegal immigration at all.
That is not the issue, and I do not believe that is what is going on.
The issue is fear of Islamic terrorism, and Iran getting nukes. That is why we see this sudden lurch into fascism. Fear of a nuclear attack. So if liberals are wondering, what the hell is going on?
It's the Iran deal, and a nuclear Iran. People are afraid, and they are voting for an authoritarian to protect them.
I think Marco Rubio is a far more credible President to face down this threat. Think about it, please. Confront your actual fear, a nuclear Iran, and think about that. Mexico is not a threat to us. Be serious, please.
Saint Croix I'm not disagreeing with you in principle but don't discount the illegal immigration issue. Trump appeals to American Nationalism which includes illegals competing with working class whites (and blacks), the changing of America's demographics ( a less white America doesn't automatically translate into a blacker America hence Trumps potential appeal to blacks) without the consensus of the majority, his open disdain and derision of PC and the very real threat of Islamic terrorism coupled with getting into wars that we are not willing to use all of our strengths to win if we have a real national interest in fighting them. Trump wouldn't be where he is today if he wasn't resonating with a large part of the electorate. As a Cuban I'm so happy that not one but two Cubans are running for president and both are credible candidates and yes Marco Rubio for all of his faults can be an excellent president and if he were to become the nominee I would gladly vote for him in a heartbeat and the same for Cruz. But if it comes down to Hillary or Trump, I'll hold my nose and vote for Trump and pray that Congress keeps him in line-somehow i suspect a Republican Congress has less inhibitions on slapping a Republican president than a Democrat president. Hillary is simply unthinkable if nothing more than her treasonous conduct.
Also somebody needs to get Marco and Ted together and work it out. Somebody needs to drop out of this race. And that person will be nominated for Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court. That is an obvious solution to our dilemma.
I think Cruz is the far better fir for the Supreme Court than Rubio. And I think Rubio is a far better fit for this political race than Cruz.
But if you are trying to think of ways to get one of these two to drop out, you need to sweeten the deal. I know this is a little creative, but why not? This election is about the open Supreme Court seat, right? Make it official!
Must say: some interesting comments here from both sides of the aisle.
Here's my prediction: Trump will win the nomination, run as a Republican and win the presidency. He'll get massive crossover votes from Democrats and possibly win California and New York. Someone else will be be put up as the "real" Republican candidate (similar to the "Bull Moose" party in 1908)and will lose badly to Trump as will Hillary.
Once all the dust has settled, Trump will rebrand his wing of the Republican Party and the two ossified traditional establishment parties will exist as rump parties and will wither and die. Then we'll have one main party - led by Trump - and numerous social interest finge political movements such as the gay party, the black party, the socialist party, the industrial party .... Etc etc etc.
Turnout for yesterday's Texas GOP primary was in excess of 2.73M. Compare that to 2012, when it was 1.45M. That’s a mind-blowing increase, and Ted Cruz got most of it.
Cruz has now beaten Trump in five states (counting MN, where Trump finished third), and has won four outright (IA, TX, OK & AK). No other GOP candidate has won another primary, and Rubio has only won one caucus (MN). Cruz has more delegates than Rubio, Kasich & Carson combined.
Ohio is Kasich's only fig leaf for remaining in the race. But some polls have him trailing Trump. Cruz has the money and infrastructure to campaign nationwide. Kasich doesn't; the most impact he can possibly have on the nomination would be to deny OH's votes to Trump, if he can. But he has no path to the nomination, period.
Rubio could become the hero who saved the GOP from Trump, and quite possibly Ted Cruz' VP choice, if he'd step aside and throw his support to Cruz. Rubio knows what a full plate full of crow tastes like (Gang of Eight apologies galore), and he won't be nearly as uncomfortable standing next to Cruz as that ridiculous Chris Christie scab was last night standing next to Trump. At one point during his *cough* press conference (as if Trump ever actually gives responsive answers), Trump was talking about how politicians are all hot air, and he turned to Christie and said, "Oh, except for Gov. Christie, of course." Christie practically wagged his tail and licked Trump's hand.
Rubio's only remaining fig leaf for staying in the race is the hope that he can somehow win FL on March 15 despite trailing there by 20 points. But how can "I'm going to start winning someday soon" still be an acceptable fantasy to maintain at this point in the race? Perhaps when he reconsiders, mañana por la mañana, or when he sees the next snap polling in FL, he'll reassess his plans. If Rubio is genuine in saying he'll do anything to ensure Trump doesn't steal the party of Lincoln, he'll pick up the phone and call Ted Cruz.
The choice for anyone who plans to vote in any GOP primary from today forward is Trump or Cruz. That's it -- stark and clear. If you don't vote for Cruz, Trump will win. It's now exactly that binary choice.
This leaves me thrilled, because Cruz crushes Trump nationwide in head-to-head polling. And Cruz can win a mandate, transformational election -- unlike Trump, he's beating Hillary head-to-head in the polls -- by reassembling the Reagan Coalition for the general election. With Ryan as Speaker and the GOP likely holding or improving its margin in the House, and with some newly appreciative "friends" in the narrowly-controlled GOP Senate, Pres. Cruz will indeed be able to do "big things" like securing the border, abolishing the IRS, replacing Obamacare, ripping up the Iran agreement, and rebuilding America's military and standing in the world.
Or you can watch the con-man mock us all as he laughs and farts and insults his way to a catastrophic loss to Hillary in November.
Beldar, what do you think of the idea that Cruz resigns from the White House race and makes a deal with Rubio that he will be the Supreme Court nominee? The open seat is obviously one of the important considerations in this election. Why not run for it? Kind of creative, I know. But by having both Cruz and Rubio run together for powerful seats, would that not be a fantastic solution to our problem?
And, seriously, is Ted Cruz not a far better fit as a Supreme Court Justice than a President? He's very, very ideological, which is fine on the bench, when you can be "my way or the highway." But lack of flexibility in the White House is very self-damaging, as Obama discovered.
Also, Super Tuesday was Cruz's high water mark. Those are the most conservative states. And this is the best he could do?
Now he has to compete in blue and purple states.
I think both Cruz and Rubio will feel like they have a shot going forward. And both have reason to feel the other does not have a credible shot. They can either join forces, or fail separately. But the idea that one of them "won" today is ridiculous, with all due respect.
Beldar -
I have one major issue with your (characteristically loquacious) analysis.
Cruz will get no crossover votes from Democrats: he's too ideologically rigid in his conservatism. That opens the door for a massive pander-fest from Hillary to all the identity groups she can buy with promises of free shit.
Trump - on the other hand - would get massive crossover from centrist and southern Democrats - particularly white - who can't vote for a incompetent criminal like Hillary and who are offended by her identity politics of appealing to fringe groups.
Cruz faces the same problem faced by every traditional Republican candidate since Regan: their demographic base is limited to conservatives, who are rarer and rarer every year as more and more of the population is dependent on the ability of federal government to borrow and print money.
Trump is a new kind of animal with an appeal that crosses party lines (as do his negatives by the way).
In short - your thinking in this matter is constrained by the conventional wisdom ... Which no longer applies.
... And, Trump ... As a New Yorker and a reality celebrity stands a real chance at winning New York and California.
Cruz ... No way.
I understand the buffoon, farting, insulting angle you use with Trump and I'm not denying any of that. Your point, however, seems to be that Cruz could beat Hillary but Trump would get crushed by Hillary. I don't see it.
If the objective is to keep Hillary out of office then Trump's the choice.
(Before you quote me a bunch of head to head polls ... Save your time; they're meaningless as you no doubt know.)
@ Saint Croix: Thanks for the thoughtful questions!
Cruz isn't running for the Supreme Court. He and the Texans who elected him to the Senate and voted for him yesterday would consider that kind of deal to be a profound betrayal. It will never happen, never be seriously considered. And Rubio's hardly in a position to assure Cruz that he wouldn't be Borked by the Senate; the Dems would surely pull out all the stops. There's no deal to be made there.
Obama, despite his lack of flexibility, has managed to preside over a doubling of the national debt, Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, and the 2009 stimulus.
But I don't accept your premise that Cruz is inflexible. He's inflexible on core issues, but not everything is a core issue. I have no reason to believe that he'd be any less effective in working with Congress than Ronald Reagan was, although at this same point in the 1980 election cycle, people were insisting that Ronald Reagan was unelectable and too ideological.
A very substantial number of Cruz voters will never go to Rubio if Cruz were to drop out; they might tolerate Rubio as a compromise Veep behind Cruz, but they will stay home or even migrate to Trump rather than vote for Rubio, whom they consider a traitor due to his sponsorship of the Gang of Eight immigration bill. By contrast, Rubio voters -- like everyone else in the GOP -- have no one to go to but Cruz; if they were big enough suckers to fall for Trump's con-job, he'd already have them.
If last night turns out to have been Cruz' high-water mark, then Trump will be the nominee. I don't think it is. I think Cruz will continue to pick up states even if Rubio doesn't drop out, but obviously not with the same efficacy as he would if Rubio did drop out.
As between Trump, Cruz, and Rubio, Rubio was the clear loser tonight. I suppose you could rank him ahead of Kasich and Carson, who had asterisk-level performances. But Rubio has no realistic path to the nomination anymore, unless you can explain to me how he flips a 20+ point deficit in his winner-take-all home state of FL plus goes on to win in some other states. Rubio no longer has a reasonable shot at winning, but he certainly could do a great deal to help Trump, simply by staying in instead of dropping out. Sooner would be better.
@ Todd Robertson: Cruz' campaign is premised on the notion that the GOP voters who turned out for Dubya in 2004 are still there, but too many of them stayed home in 2008 and 2012 because McCain and Romney were squishy conservatives at best. He's also dead serious about re-assembling the Reagan coalition, in just the way that Reagan did -- by presenting a stark contrast and governing in accordance with his campaign promises.
I don't "know," or even agree, that the national head-to-head polls are meaningless. All polls are flawed, and I generally start by doubling or even tripling their claimed margins of error. But they are the best information available on this issue.
Did you watch the OJ trial? The Donald Show, coming to you live from a courtroom in California in July, will feature another outrageous liar, but unless he's willing to claim he's subject to criminal jeopardy, Trump won't be able to refuse to take the stand or to assert the Fifth. If I'm representing the plaintiffs in that case, my settlement position becomes more exorbitant with every passing day of the Republican primary.
@Beldar:
A couple of final thoughts:
Dubya lost the popular vote in 2000 and eked out a slim victory as an incumbent in year with 5% unemployment against an effete dullard. Not much to build on there. McCain was way past his prime, but Romney wasn't and still couldn't win, even against someone with all the negatives of Obama.
The Reagan coalition doesn't exist anymore and cannot be re-assembled. It was based upon the idea that the country was "center-right"; Democrats in the south were essentially conservatives. The demographics have changed dramatically since Reagan assembled his coalition. The country has moved to the left (your home state of Texas being a notable exception).
Permit me to amend my statement about polls (in the interest of brevity I got a little sloppy). Polls THIS FAR OUT are essentially meaningless. Until we know who the actual candidates are, theoretical "head to head" are notoriously unreliable. A year ago Jeb Bush was the polling runaway favorite for the GOP nomination.
I'm a Professor of Finance, so your lawyerly reference at the end of your last post is lost on me: I don't get it.
What concerns me about the Cruz campaign - if it's as you are describing it - is it's reliance on the conventional wisdom. Perhaps Cokie Roberts, Pat Buchanan and Eleanor Clift are top advisors? If Cruz can somehow just "out conservative" the conservatives there'll be a sudden shift in the electorate? Suddenly all the folks - and institutions - who over the last decade have come to rely on deficit spending, quantitative easing and government favors will suddenly see the light say "by God he's right, DO need to cut the deficit".
The fundamental issue here - in part explaining the appeal of Trump - is that the governmental business model of the country is broken. It simply doesn't work anymore at a national level. We have no budget. We are war constantly but never seem to win. Congress produces laws that no one reads that are impossible to understand and implement. Our borders are open but we only seem to attract people who need government assistance. Driving I-65 from Indy to Chicago is 185 miles of potholes and never ending construction. Blah, blah, blah. People get the sense that it just doesn't work anymore. A paradigm shift is needed in the way we are governed and represented. That's why turnout is so low; it has nothing to do with Romney being too "squishy". Cruz "turning it up to 11" isn't going to change this.
People like Dubya, Obama, Hillary, Rubio ... And Cruz are the folks that got us here and represent the broken business model we find ourselves in. That's why you have Trump.
This is the first important election day that I haven't been unable to get to sleep wondering about it or woken up with the results on my mind. I just don't care except in some kind of abstract sense.
But boy do millennials hate Clinton.
... One final clarification:
I am in no way endorsing Trump, saying he's the right man man for the job, or even saying that I respect or admire him. Like any person I'm sure he's a mix of good and bad. What I am saying is that in the present political and social climate he is INEVITABLE.
I really don't give a damn about Trump, Cruz, Hillary, Rick Santormum, Martin O'Malley or any of them. Most of what impacts my life takes place in my community, my school board, my place of employment, etc.
If it weren't for the ability - and propensity - of the above folks to pile up trillions of dollars of debt on the behalf of my children I really wouldn't give a shit about any of it.
Every election cycle I get barraged with ads telling me so and so is a "real fiscal conservative" yet the outcome is always the same: more debt, more inflation, more regulation, more war ... People see this again and again so why should Cruz be any different?
I'm the mayor of Realville. Someone from outside the traditional political landscape is coming. It's INEVITABLE.
I agree with those saying that Cruz needs to be the one to stop Trump, even though I voted Rubio. After the results, it's clear that Cruz has the stronger hand.
I think there are two problems though: that the establishment hates Cruz almost as much as they fear Trump, and that Rubio needs a path of where his career can go if he drops out (I don't think VP makes sense, I doubt it will happen.) And he's done in the Senate, right?
I just hope for the sake of the country that the party leaders are also seeing it this way, and are working out the details this morning.
I predict Rush Limbaugh will be crowing today that he was right about Trump courting crossover voters.
Not really surprising results--Clinton managed to wrap up Sanders who could never get the black vote (and that vote is disproportionately large in Dem contests) or the Dem moderates, and Trump racked up more delegates. I don't see anything stopping either of them from getting their respective nominations. Cruz and Rubio won't be making any "deal" and it'd probably be futile anyway--Trump is likely to get an outright majority of delegates by the time this is over.
As this shapes up, the remaining questions are:
1) What will people who are disgusted by both Trump and Clinton going to do? They're more up for grabs this cycle than in previous ones.
2) How will Trump affect the downballot races? Candidates will have to decide whether embracing or avoiding him is in their best interest, and possibly both choices are career suicide.
3) Will Trump pivot when going for the general election voters, and if so will it work? He's already been vague enough and shifty enough to be on every side of each issue, so in a sense this shouldn't be difficult. And Hillary has done her share of shifting too. This may come down to personalities, and who can be hated more.
4) Will Hillary be more effective at taking on Trump than his hapless primary opponents? Clintons do know how to attack, but Trump is a unique target.
5) Is this the end of Chris Christie? After that "hot mike" incident ("go home, you're done") it doesn't look like he'll get anything for his suicide mission.
6) Will a strong third party candidate emerge?
7) Finally, any other game changing events--the economy, terrorism--and how will they play?
CStanley said...
I agree with those saying that Cruz needs to be the one to stop Trump, even though I voted Rubio.
-------------
You don't need to stop Trump.
You need to override the will of the American people.
Good luck with that, as the establishment elite are slowly coming to realize... They're shitting bricks (not of gold) at the New York Times editorial staff room. Hell even the token "conservative" Ross Douthat is crying, poor guy. Remember: these are the people who believe that the majority of Americans still support President Obama's promises of making the world a better place. at American taxpayer expense...
Imagine how much a Trump presidential victory will blow away everything they want to promote about 21st century America.
A Change Is Gonna Come...
I have to agree that, even though I won't say #NeverTrump, because I will support him in the general against Hillary, I now support Mr Tri-Corner Hat Conservative, Ted Cruz. I can't believe I am typing this.
"Also somebody needs to get Marco and Ted together and work it out. Somebody needs to drop out of this race. And that person will be nominated for Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court. That is an obvious solution to our dilemma."
I just don't see that happening--Cruz isn't really a team player, but more importantly I don't think either Cruz or Rubio would get all of the other's votes. Some Rubio voters would consider Cruz too conservative and go with chameleon Trump, and some Cruz voters would consider Rubio too soft on immigration and go with nativist Trump.
I don't think anything can stop him now, and whether he wins or loses it's bad news for conservatism and the rule of law. But this is what the GOP has sown.
Everyone done here? I need to sweep the floor and turn the lights out.
I don't think anything can stop him now, and whether he wins or loses it's bad news for conservatism and the rule of law. But this is what the GOP has sown.
It's like being in an accident on a snowy icy road. The thing to did that irrevocably caused the accident was about a hundred feet back, you are powerlessly trying things to prevent it, but here you are slow motion in a snow globe sliding towards the impact and your fate.
"It's like being in an accident on a snowy icy road. The thing to did that irrevocably caused the accident was about a hundred feet back, you are powerlessly trying things to prevent it, but here you are slow motion in a snow globe sliding towards the impact and your fate."
Pretty much. I'm just going to get the entertainment value out of it. Maybe in another four years a conservative candidate will emerge. But the next four years will be a stink of corruption, incompetence, and government heavy-handedness. Though gridlock may put a bit of a brake on some of it.
The last two presidents held much hope and ultimately disappointed us.
Is it possible that President Trump might exceed expectations?
"Is it possible that President Trump might exceed expectations?"
Well, he could only exceed my expectations.
So many people are misreading the results. Cruz is a southern evangelical conservative, so his best chance to win states and pick up delegates was last night. His path depended on him doing better than he did in Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, etc.
Now what's his plan? Why would Rubio drop out now?
Rubio had a mixed night - passing the necessary delegate thresholds in some states, missing them in others - but he has a much better shot than Cruz the rest of the way.
If you want to stop Trump, then Rubio and Kasich need to stay in the race at least for the sake of Florida and Ohio. Also, the Donald has won about 37% across the board. DO NOT LET HIM WIN A MAJORITY.
@Brando
I see what you did there. Well crafted.
And Rubio's hardly in a position to assure Cruz that he wouldn't be Borked by the Senate;
McConnell would have to be on board (and promise the Senate), before it's a done deal. They would have to work together.
The time for disruptive candidate is over. We already have a disruptive candidate. We need a unity candidate. Rubio is the guy who can unify (and keep) all or almost all of the supporters of Cruz and Kasich and Carson.
I have no reason to believe that he'd be any less effective in working with Congress than Ronald Reagan was, although at this same point in the 1980 election cycle, people were insisting that Ronald Reagan was unelectable and too ideological.
Cruz does not have the charm of Reagan, who had massive political skills. Cruz does not have massive political skills. What he does have, plenty of brains and a tiger shark attitude, is perfect for Scalia's seat. Cruz would have to trust other people and make a deal.
You unify with the middle guy. You cannot unify with the far right guy. Your plan's not going to work, not this election. That's why so many people (Christie, Jeb) were attacking Rubio so early and so often. He sits in the primo spot, politically. And he knows it. But suppose he does this high road thing that you suggest. Can he deliver all his voters to Cruz? No, because his voters are not as committed to him. Many of them will go to Kasich, or Carson. So now you got to promise them the veep selection. But you already made that promise to Rubio.
Rubio promises the Supreme Court vacancy to Cruz, and the vice president spot to Kasich or Carson. He can cobble and hold a team together. And he can demolish Trump, that's obvious. Liberals will vote for him to stop Trump.
These so-called "elites" and "leaders" better make a back-stage deal quick. I am not kidding.
Mary, fuck off, you criminal.
Colorado - WE HATE Clinton. the criminal.
1000 to 1 McConnell has already thought of this, and is holding the Scalia seat for Cruz. 1000 to 1. These guys are not stupid. Maybe too damn cautious sometimes. But they are not stupid.
Cruz, take the damn Scalia seat. Stop being an ass!
I am proud of my fellow Coloradans for knowing who the criminal in this race is.
hey Obama! Mr. Unity! Nominate Ted Cruz for Scalia's seat. Or watch Trump march forward.
And before liberals shit themselves, just let the Republicans keep the Scalia seat. For fuck's sake, get serious!
Todd Roberson said...
The Reagan coalition doesn't exist anymore and cannot be re-assembled. It was based upon the idea that the country was "center-right"; Democrats in the south were essentially conservatives. The demographics have changed dramatically since Reagan assembled his coalition. The country has moved to the left (your home state of Texas being a notable exception).
The country has moved left on only a small number of issues. Politics has moved greatly left, both Dems and Reps. That's essentially what Trump is all about. The Reagan coalition can't be reassembled because the constituent groups no longer make up the same percentages. Blue collar employment is stagnant while tech and government employment have skyrocketed.
Obama, your ridiculous Iran deal is what created Trump. You created this monster! Put him to fucking bed now. Please. Reach across the aisle and go out in style. I will sing your praises for years, I swear I will.
Colorado hates Hillary. We understand who the private server criminal is in the race. Go Bernie!
. The country has moved to the left
Yeah, that's why the Democrats lost the House, the Senate, so many governorships and state houses. Because they country has moved left.
Impressive that Trump is doing a press conference, accepting challenging questions and engaging intensely... This is nervy and it makes him look presidential.
Agree. I just watched the whole thing and Trump was impressive. He's able to dial it down and act presidential. He's a brilliant salesman.
The only off note was having Christie on stage with him. From watching his face, it was obvious that his thoughts were not focused on what Trump was saying. He didn't even pretend to do so. His sporadic, non rhythmic clapping was comical.
Imagine if President Obama throws this monkey wrench:
"I am inviting Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Marco Rubio, Dr. Ben Carson, and Governor John Kasich to the White House, to discuss the vacancy on the Supreme Court. I know you are busy! But I would appreciate it if I could have a couple of hours."
Brando said...
"It's like being in an accident on a snowy icy road. The thing to did that irrevocably caused the accident was about a hundred feet back, you are powerlessly trying things to prevent it, but here you are slow motion in a snow globe sliding towards the impact and your fate."
Pretty much. I'm just going to get the entertainment value out of it. Maybe in another four years a conservative candidate will emerge. But the next four years will be a stink of corruption, incompetence, and government heavy-handedness. Though gridlock may put a bit of a brake on some of it.
And just imagine if Hillary or Bernie got elected. Trump is a con artist I can deal with.
So it's Ming verses Zaphod.
Saint Croix, are you in the "bargaining" phase?
What's wrong with Minnesota?
So let's say Trump gets the nod.
Do you think he might choose Petraeus for VP?
Some might argue that such a choice might inoculate Hillary, but Trump has a history of turning negatives into positives. If he chooses Petraeus, he gets military creds AND he makes both sides talk endlessly about breaches of security and the comparitive magnitudes.
The General's crime was vastly inferior to hers, and HE has already been punished for it.
AprilApple said...
Colorado - WE HATE Clinton. the criminal.
I am proud of my fellow Coloradans for knowing who the criminal in this race is.
Colorado hates Hillary. We understand who the private server criminal is in the race. Go Bernie!
It is this kind of thoughtful, reasoned analysis that makes Althouse commenters the best commenters in the world.
Sci Fi is always there for us. It's "Resistance is futile" vs "Never give up! Never surrender!"
It is this kind of thoughtful, reasoned analysis that makes Althouse commenters the best commenters in the world
LOL, so I am sure you can present a well reasoned argument, founded in fact, that refutes him, being "reasonable" and all. Are you done shilling for Trump to get him as an opponent for Hillary yet? Or are you still going to play along for a while?
Do you think he might choose Petraeus for VP?
Patraeus might have a tough time getting his security clearance reinstated, since he has demonstrated he can't be trusted with classified information.
Patraeus might have a tough time getting his security clearance reinstated, since he has demonstrated he can't be trusted with classified information. Freder
While I agree with you that it is a stupid idea in a sane world, in the world where Hillary, who has been even more careless with the most highly classified information is the favorite to be President? I can see where it might make a little sense. From an irony point of view anyway. But I can see how you have no sense of irony, so it is probably lost on you.
Trump remains a Realist who insists on dealing with reality. That makes him the ONLY non-Con Man you have ever seen. Thus destroying years of careful indoctrination by Talk Radio and Fox News that we are ruled by Liberals who are monsters and Pure Conservatives must die fighting them.
So what if Trump once adapted to political reality of NYC values. Now he is totally on our side.
If you have a brain, you need to simply relearn enemy recognition and stop the friendly fire at Trump and join him in shooting at real enemies called Globalists who have spent 45 years selling us for body parts to China and other Global cash stream holders. Those are called Connecticutt/Chapaqua insider profiteer values.
Our caucus in St. Paul for a Minnesota Senate district that is heavily Democrat, had over a 1,000 attend where they normally expect just a couple hundred. Rubio got 40 out of 53 votes in our precinct, as one of my daughters was appointed convenor for our precinct and also worked as vote tabulator. Trump had 2 votes. I would say St. Paul GOP voters were coming out with a message as "anybody but Trump".
Stock market had a Super Tuesday rally yesterday looking ahead to the Trump economy. Of course the CNBC shills are trying to spin that Trump is actually bad for business. Jim Cramer is so in the tank for Hillary Clinton, I'm shocked. He's a bandwagon rider, so he will come around as Trump's inevitability even dawns on him.
Todd Robertson -
Good posts. All of 'em.
The "true conservatism" which "conservatives" here pine for isn't possible under current demographic realities and global trends. (And it's only one among a dozen flavors of historical American "conservatism", anyway.)
Limited blogger said...
Jim Cramer ... He's a bandwagon rider
That is why he is such a shitty stock analyst.
tim in vermont said...
But I can see how you have no sense of irony, so it is probably lost on you.
Quite amusing to the rest of us though.
Rubio's chant: "I'm number three! I'm number three!"
"I'm number three! I'm number three!" somehow makes me think of a sci-fi story in which the aliens produce three forms of excrement. As with humans, each one in the numerical sequence is nastier than the one before.
Trump has 300 delegate, Cruz has 200 delegates, Rubio has 100 delegates. Coming in second in Virginia gave Rubio one less delegate than Trump. Right now, I don't see any winners.
It's going to be an interesting convention.
You know the movie The Aviator? I love that movie. One of Scorsese's best. Howard Hughes is a crazy passionate artist billionaire.
There is one scene where Howard Hughes has to testify before all these adults. "I'm like, stay sane, Howard! You can do it, man!" I am pulling for Howard Hughes, when I watch that movie.
But that does not mean I would trust the pee-in-the-bottle guy with the nuclear launch codes.
A lifetime of crazy and irresponsible behavior says more to me than a 2 hour press conference. Who gives a shit if he can hold it together for 2 hours? The presidency is a full time job!
Written the next morning: I see Marco Rubio finally won one. Minnesota. Isn't that the last (or second-to-last) state a Republican would pick up in a 50-state landslide?
Minnesota was the one state that Walter Mondale carried in 1984, but that's because he was from that state. (Mondale, unlike George McGovern in 1972, carried his own state> The state that McGovern carried was Massachusetts. Both carried the District of Columbia, for 3 Electoral votes)
In 2004, George w. Bush did worse than Minnesota in Michigan, New Jersey, Delaware, Washington state, Hawaii, Maine, Illinois, California, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Vermont, Rhode Island and Massachusetts (worst of all)
About the results in Massachusetts, where Trump got his highest percentage, 49%.
About 20,000 people changed their registration some time before the primary from Democat to Republican, mostly to vote for Trump. There was some of that also in the year 2000, at amuch smaller scale, but that time it was to vote for McCain. Cruz was not a factor in Massachusetts - the top three finishers were Trump, 49%, Kasich 18% and Rubio, 18%
I did not read so far any explanation of Sanders' win in Oklahoma, 52% to 42%. Indians?
Brando said...3/2/16, 6:08 AM
1) What will people who are disgusted by both Trump and Clinton going to do? They're more up for grabs this cycle than in previous ones.
That's very much up for grabs, and there will be some other candidate(s) most of them no good, though.
5) Is this the end of Chris Christie? After that "hot mike" incident ("go home, you're done") it doesn't look like he'll get anything for his suicide mission.
Chris Christie showed up last night, standing stonefacedly next to Donald Trump, but not saying anything.
6) Will a strong third party candidate emerge?
Really big question. And can somebody who isn't a billionaire try?
7) Finally, any other game changing events--the economy, terrorism--and how will they play?
No telling. By the way, if Trump wins there could be a possible rematch in 2020, but if Hillary wins, Trump is done.
BDNYC said...3/2/16, 6:54 AM
If you want to stop Trump, then Rubio and Kasich need to stay in the race at least for the sake of Florida and Ohio.
Yes. I wonder what kind of idiots want Kasich to drop out. Rubio and kasich should cross endorse each other in their respective home states.
Also, the Donald has won about 37% across the board. DO NOT LET HIM WIN A MAJORITY.
He's won about 37% of the vote, but 45% of the delegates so far. The winner take all states are really important. And Donald Trump really needs to be kept below 43% of the delegates.
In 1976 and 1992 the Democrats did not run a stop-Carter and stop-Clinton campaign and they were able to gte the nomination with around 37% of the delegates. It won't be like that this timer. In 1972, the stop=McGovern movement was too weak. That was the forst time calls for "party unity" were heard.
I think the Republican Party may be doomed to split no matter how things go. The key therefore, is to split the Democratic party, too.
But this is what the GOP has sown.
This is what the entire DC establishment of both parties has sown.
Saint Croix said...
"Imagine if President Obama throws this monkey wrench:
"I am inviting Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Marco Rubio, Dr. Ben Carson, and Governor John Kasich to the White House, to discuss the vacancy on the Supreme Court. I know you are busy! But I would appreciate it if I could have a couple of hours."
If you want to make sure Donald wins, make it look like Democrats AND Republicans are working against him. Rubio is already making that case but this would make it explicit enough for most democrat voters to get it. Bernie voters are already going to pick Trump over Hillary. Lets just make that a unified cause.
6 Gannett newspapers in New Jersey are calling for Chris Christie to resign as Governor because he endorsed Trump. Or that's what I seem to have heard on the radio.
>> I did not read so far any explanation of Sanders' win in Oklahoma, 52% to 42%. Indians?
I see that Beldar said that it tells you just how thoroughly destroyed the Democratic Party is in that state and that it's now basically a rabble.
I don't think a rabble, but destroyed maybe. That could maybe explain also Trump winning the Republican Party primary in Massachusetts.
In both cases the respective parties have shrunk in that state, so now they reflect the hard core.
Well Sammy, that might inform what Blogger Amexpat and many others noted:
"The only off note was having Christie on stage with him. From watching his face, it was obvious that his thoughts were not focused on what Trump was saying."
I think Trump has promised the vice-presidency to Christie.
Obviously!
Will he hold that promise?
No!
Rubio won one state, which is almost certainly going to go for the Democrat nominee in November.
Cruz won three states, all of which are almost certainly going to go Republican in November.
The states Trump won include all of the swing states that held primaries yesterday.
Hmmm.
Saint Croix said...
I think Trump has promised the vice-presidency to Christie.
--
Or AG?
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