Tuesday night, we had Ben Carson linking Hillary to Satan (via Saul Alinsky's dedication of his book to Lucifer), and this morning "Hell's A-Burning" for Ted Cruz. I guess that means Republicans are mad at Cruz. Tuesday night, Chris Christie had the crowd chanting — "Lock her up" — about throwing Hillary Clinton into prison, and Wednesday night — "Ted Cruz booed lustily as he refuses to endorse Donald Trump" — I guess they were ready to chuck Cruz into Hell.
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116 comments:
Drudge isn't the only one using the burning metaphor. Nor the Lucifer metaphor. Cub Scouts are lining up to roast marshmallows on Ted Cruz's uplifted open palms.
Cruz got played. He was turned into the 'heel' by Trump, who then played the 'face'. All that book learnin' of Cruz's is no match for a professional wrestling pro.
Apologies to Satan!
Satan appears to be getting all the airtime today, not Pence/Trump/Gingrich etc.
I'm guessing Drudge was reacting to the photograph and comically riffing. That pulsating redness in the background... and Cruz's face.
A plurality of Wisconsin primary voters voted for Cruz to stop Trump, including Althouse. So now in November they can go forth and stop Pence too.
Cruz got played.
Like a violin. The Trump camp had advance access to his speech and his intentions. More rope, Ted?
I guess they were ready to chuck Cruz into Hell.
It looked to me like he jumped in on his own last night.
That pulsating redness in the background... and Cruz's face.
Enough heat to cause a meltdown!
Apologies to Camille Paglia.
If Trump wins, I hope he chucks Cruz onto the Supreme Court; there to annoy and frustrate the progessives for the next 30-40 years.
The overboard "Lucifer" comments and "firing squad" suggestion looks like a pretty good way to make at least some of the anti-Hillary crowd say "geez, I don't like her, but these guys are really nuts". Once again, GOP overplaying a good hand.
The fact is Hillary is very unpopular for a lot of good reasons, and she absolutely deserved indictment. But the focus right now is on preventing the American people from giving her a promotion to president--something she is on track for--and carefully laying out every good reason her election is unacceptable (the related goal of course is making Trump, a more unpopular candidate, acceptable for that middle group that likes neither of them). Her string of failures and inability to learn from them, her insularity, her venality, the whole "pay for play" scheme that is the Clinton foundation, her well-documented dishonesty, and her lack of a reason for the private server should be repeatedly and simply conveyed, each day of this convention. No American not under a rock should be able to avoid the constant drumbeat of why she must be rejected (and why Trump wouldn't be so bad).
Instead, someone decided "let 'er rip, hit her ten times as hard!" and now it just looks like a four day primal scream.
Did Cruz get played? Seems to me that his speech stands on its own merit, regardless of the Trumped up reaction of some of the crowd. He just addressed the Texas delegation this morning and he doesn't sound like a man that "got played." He sounds like a man with principles.
When Satan smirkingly instructs his cult " Do as you will", he is not on really their side.
After The Donald exposed him, The Once Mighty Cruz just looks like weak bad joke.
ARM nailed. Trump knows melodrama from his WWE days.
I just found out the other day that there's actually some sort of controversy -- people actually taking themselves seriously -- among some subset of religious people who believe in evolution but who disagree as to what point along the line of human development God decided to insert the soul.
My understanding is that there used to be serious debate among scholars as to where hell was actually physically located in the Earth.
I'd like to live long enough to see the idea of Satan reduced to nothing more than a joke but I don't see that happening. Not in a world where people looked at photographs of the burning towers of the World Trade Center and thought they saw the face of Satan in the smoke.
"Cruz got played."
So Trump is now more likable than Cruz. Congrats on jumpin' over that high bar!
Indeed, the two Rep "candidates" with the highest unfavorables finish 1/2 and really, really don't like each other.
Regardless, Lincoln along w/his better angels of our nature are rollin'over in their graves ...
I liked Cruz except for his citizenship issues. He was sort of my second choice after Rand Paul. Bot seem to be liberal minded constitutionalists. I think that is what we need in a President.
Now he has shown that he is a dishonest person. He stood up on the stage at the first debate and pledged to support whoever the candidate was. He later signed a pledge to do just that. Now he is not?
He is going back on his word. His word is most assuredly not his bond, just something of convenience subject to change.
Fuck you, Ted Cruz. Go back to Canada.
John Henry
Mid-Life Lawyer said...
He just addressed the Texas delegation this morning and he doesn't sound like a man that "got played." He sounds like a man with principles.
He looked clueless at the end of his speech, for which he clearly anticipated a very different reaction. If he really understood how he had been played would he have done this:
"Texas Senator Ted Cruz was denied entry into billionaire GOP donor Sheldon Adleson’s suite following his speech at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night, Independent Journal Review has confirmed.
A former U.S. Senator inside the Adelson’s luxury box at the Quicken Loans arena told Independent Journal Review that Cruz approached the suite after he finished his speech that fell short of endorsing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“Because he’s a piece of sh*t,” the source said.
Cruz was stopped at the door because several attendees inside the suite were furious with his decision to not endorse Trump. An aide to Adelson then confirmed that Cruz was turned away."
Cruz is done at the national level. He would have beaten Trump this time if all his colleagues didn't hate him. Now most of the party hates him.
If the conversation is about Trump, good or bad, 24/7 throughout the week of the DNC, then I'm going to start to believe the guy can win in November. Trump is every bit the national obsession that Obama was eight years ago. Unlikely people are going to vote for him just to find out what happens next.
"Say what you will about Ted Cruz’s politics or personality, but it takes a special kind of badassery to stand up at a convention — in front of millions of viewers — and unfurl a comprehensive attack on the party’s nominee. It’s also unprecedented. Last night, Cruz gave a commanding and inclusive speech about conservative values. It was so good that the crowd forgot to boo until he was more than halfway finished."
Heh
Ted didn't throne sniff to the throne sniffers satisfaction.
The leftwing media are orgasming - Trumpers are seething with rage.
"Cruz’s wife had to be escorted out of the convention center because a mob of Trump fans was threatening her."
Classy.
Trump might not lose the election - but his supporters might lose it for him. They are some of the biggest self-righteous A-holes i've encountered.
@Mid-Life Lawyer who said, "He sounds like a man with principles."
Cruz at first debate, hand raised high: "I will support the nominee whoever it may be."
Cruz at RNC: "Vote your conscience."
Principles? Don't make me laugh.
"Cruz’s wife had to be escorted out of the convention center because a mob of Trump fans was threatening her."
This is another Cruz lie.
Some Trump supporters are so f*-ing stupid, blinded by rage, they play right into the hands of the pro-democrat hack press.
If only "conservative values" could get someone elected to the Presidency. The general election is not a Hoover Institution paper.
Now Trumpers are lying like Hillary. With ease!
The Cruzers are reverting to playing the victim card. Poor little Teddie was just doing noble things and was attacked. This ploy is set out on page 666 of his wife's copy of the Bush Family Playbook for tricking silly Texans.
Cruz's performance makes me believe old man Cruz really did meet with Lee Harvey Oswald. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, you know.
"The leftwing media are orgasming" Cruz has every reason to be pissed. But he chose the wrong time and manner for retaliation. You don't give political dildos to your real enemies. Of course, the Trump amateurs are doing it themselves as well, though inadvertently.
Why is "Vote your conscience" considered offensive by touchy Trump fans?
I take him to mean that if you have a conscience, you cannot possibly vote for Hillary.
Trumpers don't see it that way? funny.
"Now he has shown that he is a dishonest person. He stood up on the stage at the first debate and pledged to support whoever the candidate was. He later signed a pledge to do just that. Now he is not?"
Problem is, no one takes that pledge seriously, and this year has shown us that flip flopping on your word is no bar to winning either party's nomination. Going back on a pledge won't mean squat.
The risk for Cruz is that it pisses of Trump fans and establishment folks who sucked up to Trump for "unity", and that they may all hate Cruz come 2020. But Cruz won points from people who don't like Trump (a not insignificant number) and who saw what he did as "principled".
From my perspective, he sort of had no choice. If he endorsed Trump after Trump went after his wife and father and never apologized, he would look like a supplicating wimp (e.g., McCain). Maybe like Kasich he should have stayed out of the convention, and taking advantage of his speaking slot to essentially non-endorse Trump was sneaky, but then why the hell did Trump's team let him up there without vetting the speech and getting an endorsement on record ahead of time? What sort of incompetent boobs are they? Probably the same group that didn't vet Melania's speech to spare her unfair embarrassment. These are very stupid people. If they somehow beat Hillary it should be all the more humiliating for her considering how inept her opposition was.
I didn't think Cruz was pissed at all. He gave a great calm speech.
It's the Trump throne sniffers who are seething with rage because everyone must grovel at Trump's feet.
"We could not allow Ted Cruz to use the Adelsons as a prop against Donald Trump," he continued. "The Adelsons support Donald Trump and made that clear. They like Ted Cruz, but there was no way the Adelsons were going to be the first stop after not endorsing. That would be disrespectful to our nominee."
The idea that Cruz understood his assigned role in this spectacle is clearly refuted by this behavior. If he was making a principled stand against the King would he have made his next stop Sheldon Adelson's suite? Of course not. He would have retreated to the Texas delegates and made himself available to selected sympathetic members of the press. Completely clueless. Hubris personified.
Trad guy - wow you're an a-hole.
"Why is "Vote your conscience" considered offensive by touchy Trump fans?"
Exactly! Had they simply played it the way Newt tried to ("Cruz implicitly endorsed Trump") instead of booing him--or if Trump joined him at stage to thank him, treating it LIKE an endorsement--that would have been a great end-run. Now, their visceral reaction to the guy is like saying "he wants you to vote your conscience! What a cad! Vote Trump instead of your conscience!"
And Laura Ingraham's remark is pretty much guaranteed to not convince a single Trump skeptic to come over the line.
How about - who cares if Cruz doesn't officially endorse him? Get over it.
I am with April!!! Senator Cruz encouraged people to vote their conscience, for candidates up and down the ticket who they trusted to defend our freedom and the constitution. If this doesn't describe your candidate, then your problem is your candidate, not Senator Cruz!
Also this quote is quite fitting..“It was the glory of this man that he could stand alone with the truth, and calmly await the result,” said Frederick Douglass at the funeral of his fellow radical abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, who first took up the cause at a time when it was deeply unpopular."
Winning in 2016 depends on convincing the slim margin of people who are neither conservative nor cashing a government check to vote for you. Prating about conservative values, as much as I may love them, is not going to thread that particular needle.
Thanks for the complement, April. But all my clients liked me. It was the other side's lawyers that said that about me when they needed an excuse for losing.
Everyone is reading WAY too much into it. Good Lord - it was a speech.
After that story broke about Cruz's dad, I did a little reading on the guy. What a life he led. Imprisoned by Batiste -- yes, he originally sided with Che -- he sees the light on communism, escapes prison (or just gets out ... can't remember exactly), comes to America, gets into Texas A. M., knowing zero English, gets engineering degree, flees later to Canada likely to escape the U. S. draft, has Ted, divorces first wife, gets religion, marries second wife, becomes apocalyptic preacher, divorces second wife ... I'm probably messing some of the details up but his life was anything but conventional. He's actually an interesting character but it wouldn't surprise me at all that he met Oswald. They were in New Orleans at the same time, both with communist Cuban connections.
Losing big donors like Adelson is fatal. Can't replace a guy like him.
Maybe if he apoloogized and gave a ringing endorsement, he might survive.
@ Wendybar
.... Senator Cruz encouraged people to vote their conscience, for candidates up and down the ticket who they trusted to defend our freedom and the constitution. If this doesn't describe your candidate, then your problem is your candidate, not Senator Cruz!
Boom. Thank you. Why are Trumpers so thick?
Maybe Cruz has principles and he doesn't give a rats ass what you think? Perhaps he has no plans to run again and all your meaningless paranoid conjecture and hatred is silly and a waste of time?
That would be awesome.
Bottom line - Trump's fanatics are his worst assets.
"Problem is, no one takes that pledge seriously, and this year has shown us that flip flopping on your word is no bar to winning either party's nomination. Going back on a pledge won't mean squat."
Does to me. That's why I'm astonished that Hillary is a viable candidate.
I find it amusing that the pledge was invented by the GOPe to keep Trump from running third party and thus giving the election to Hillary. Now they are snared in their own noose.
I'm old and old fashioned. A PLEDGE means something, or at least it should. Apparently not to Bush, Kasich and Cruz.
2nd comment.
Is disgust at someone not fulfilling a pledge, at crapping in the punch bowl at a party where you are an invited guest, flipping a bird from the stage your host provided you... is all that a sign that I am a Trump fanatic?
Sad, sad little Never Trumps. He was about my 10th choice at the beginning of this effort. I still think he's a lousy choice.
If the D's hadn't presented Hillary as their champion I might have sat this one out.
I will vote against Hillary, but you Trumpers are doing everything possible to make me sick about it. Sheese, get some perspective, already. Step back, and take a breath. You sound like Jim Jones followers, and I bet you would drink that kool aid if that's what supporting Trump required. Seriously ask yourself: Is there anything he could do to get you to not endorse him, and don't tell me it's because of Hillary being the alternative. This sycophant shit started way before that, and like Cruz was saying, you can vote your conscience against Hillary without pretending to like what Trump is. Like me, you can even vote for him while hating his schtick and saying so.
yes, "conservative values" do require the use of a casino mogul's money..best be careful.
It's the Trump throne sniffers who are seething with rage because everyone must grovel at Trump's feet
Yep. They started chanting, "endorse Trump" before it was obvious Cruz wasn't going to endorse. If it was me, I wouldn't at that moment just out of spite. Mob behavior.
"Winning in 2016 depends on convincing the slim margin of people who are neither conservative nor cashing a government check to vote for you. Prating about conservative values, as much as I may love them, is not going to thread that particular needle."
Winning simply requires convincing a bunch of people who see neither candidate as desirable but will go with whoever looks less dangerous and less of an embarrassment. That's the majority of voters out there. Due to Hillary's obvious failures and corruption, this would be a lot easier for Trump than Clinton, but he simply doesn't have it in him. It would be really easy for him to be up by double digits right now. His supporters would support him no matter what, so he could go after the rest, but he's just too addicted to Trumper adoration.
Blogger AprilApple said...
Some Trump supporters are so f*-ing stupid, blinded by rage, they play right into the hands of the pro-democrat hack press.
Some Trump haters do too. Any time you gather a large group under a banner, you will have within it the full range of humanity--the smart, the stupid, the crazy--and you will find things to back up any position you care to argue for regarding that group.
"I'm old and old fashioned. A PLEDGE means something, or at least it should. Apparently not to Bush, Kasich and Cruz."
Then I expect you'll be voting your conscience and going third party, because Trump made clear he wouldn't have stuck with it himself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enGZ_wYd99U&feature=youtu.be
Anyone who values honesty would have nothing to do with any of these people.
A few years ago, Trump loved him some Hillary.
*memory hole*
bagoh20 said...
It would be really easy for him to be up by double digits right now.
No. Trump and Clinton are performing similarly to generic R and D candidates, despite both candidates obvious issues. To paraphrase Seinfeld, people vote for the laundry, red team uniform or blue team uniform.
The Republicans have tried two generic candidates in a row without success. It makes strategic sense to try something new in an attempt to shake up the electorate, which currently trends against them at the national level.
During the primaries, Trump resorted to very personal attacks on his opponents. It would defy the odds that every one of them would turn around and endorse him. I do not fault Cruz for holding a grudge. I also don't expect any endorsements from Jeb or Rand after the personal assaults. It may have gotten Trump through the primaries, but it will hurt him now. I think he took a calculated risk. Slash and burn through the primaries and fade the heat later. We shall see if it has any impact.
So far, other than Christie and Carson, I haven't seen much support from any other primary candidates, nor do expect to. Since Trump didn't personally insult me, I guess I could still vote for him. We having a lying, narcissist, power hungry, criminal who may already be compromised by foreign governments vs. a buffoon. Our choices, "Doing for America what we did for Akransas and Libya" vs. "Doing for America what I did for the USFL and Atlantic City".
I'll go out on limb here and forecast lowest voter turnout percentage in the last 28 years.
"That's why I'm astonished that Hillary is a viable candidate."
Oh, Lord. She isn't. Even most Democrats realize that Hillary is a vile piece of shit. But the GOP isn't running against Hillary.
They're running against every welfare check mailed, every EBT card reloaded, every Obamaphone activated, every public housing apartment occupied, every aspiration of getting a job at the DMV or Post Office.
It's 2016. Ted Cruz can promise to go to Korea all day long, but he could never win a presidential election in America as it currently exists.
"A few years ago, Trump loved him some Hillary."
Yes, but it's everyone else who's a RINO and disloyal and breaking pledges. Trump is just "changing the game."
Anyone who values honesty would have nothing to do with any of these people.
Yes. My vote is for Gary Johnson. I wish more people would stop voting against someone and start voting for the third choice.
I disagree with Johnson about a lot, but at least he's honest.
Ted Cruz this morning:
“I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father. And that pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you go and slander and attack Heidi that I’m gonna nonetheless come like a servile puppy dog and say, ‘thank you very much for maligning my wife and maligning my father,’” Cruz said. “Get over it. This is politics!” said a man in the crowd."
Not a smart strategy to make it personal rather than principled. Still clearly clueless about how he has been played.
"Trad guy - wow you're an a-hole."
Althouse cons turning on each other as the donald continues to unite Reps.
Indeed, Reps have become the Dem party of old. As always, I applaud their transformation into irrelevancy.
continued predilection for irrelevancy
Cruz is a principled man. Like me, Cruz may end up still voting for Trump even if he didn't endorse him. That's pretty much how I feel about Trump - don't like him, but he's better than Hillary.
First of all, why does Cruz have to endorse anybody? People put waaay to much stock in endorsements in my opinion. Every damn election there's far too much air time, ink, and pixels wasted on ruminating about who's going to endorse whom, not to mention the endorsements themselves. Honestly think about it, has an endorsement (or a lack of one) ever changed your mind about voting for a particular candidate or not? If so, I'd be interested in hearing about it. Do you believe that most voters who are on the fence could realistically be swayed by an endorsement? Do you believe that this election hinges on Ted Cruz's endorsement of Trump?
This just boils down to a tiff between two angry parties and has little to do with a stupid endorsement. But ultimately the fact that Cruz refuses to bend the knee will have practically no effect on the election one way or the other. It's another reason for people who hate each other to argue. It's just another reason to be idiots.
Cruz didn't get played, Texas still loves him and four years from now after Trump loses 'bigly' he will be reviled even more than Romney and McCain. Cruz will be remembered as the guy with principles.
Trump gets to humiliate, slime, shit-upon, and lie about all his primary opponents, and now they are required to kiss his ring.
Cruz handles it with class, and Trump's fanatics go insane. Really - find some introspection and clam down.
Poor losers are really unattractive.
AprilApple said...
Trump gets to humiliate, slime, shit-upon, and lie about all his primary opponents, and now they are required to kiss his ring.
Ted Cruz:
"Donald Trump is completely amoral."
"If Donald Trump is the nominee, Hillary Clinton wins by double digits."
"Donald Trump is unfit to be president."
"Donald Trump is a coward and a bully."
"Donald Trump is completely amoral."
"If Donald Trump is the nominee, Hillary Clinton wins by double digits."
"Donald Trump is unfit to be president."
"Donald Trump is a coward and a bully."
The truth shall set you free!
Unknown said...
Cruz didn't get played, Texas still loves him and four years from now after Trump loses 'bigly' he will be reviled even more than Romney and McCain. Cruz will be remembered as the guy with principles.
2 out of 4 of these statements are true.
"Yes. My vote is for Gary Johnson. I wish more people would stop voting against someone and start voting for the third choice."
I'm leaning towards him right now. He's got better experience than the other two combined, has some good policies, and at least seems to have decent character. Why settle for one of the two awful choices when you have another option--one who's actually qualified?
"like Cruz was saying, you can vote your conscience against Hillary without pretending to like what Trump is" Except that's not quite what he was saying.
"four years from now after Trump loses 'bigly' he will be reviled even more than Romney and McCain."
No, it won't take (4) years, rather instantaneously the night of the election as the winner is announced. And maybe days before if "polls" indicate a double digit Hillary win.
Trump got nothing from this he didn't already have, and he may have lost out on getting some he needed because of how his supporters handled it, so if that's playing someone, it's playing to lose.
High principles of CONSERVATISM are an intellectual exercise akin to Scholasticism. But in a fight,it. Is a convenient excuse to divide the army under fire and refuse to fight. The election fight has started now, and we need team players. This is basic reality. In a battle, you need to count on the man by your side.
Cruz wants the GOP to lose. He is a traitor akin to the heroic General,Benedict Arnold
On what planet is that an act of conscience, because you feel the Commander is a bad man because he is from New York and Florida so you betray the Nation.
"Why settle for one of the two awful choices when you have another option--one who's actually qualified?" Sorry, guys. I appreciate your concern for honesty and your own conscience, and I share your distaste for Trump. But a vote for Johnson is a vote for Hillary. At least in the battleground states. Remember Perot. One Clinton third-party favor was enough.
AprilApple said...
@ Wendybar
.... Senator Cruz encouraged people to vote their conscience, for candidates up and down the ticket who they trusted to defend our freedom and the constitution. If this doesn't describe your candidate, then your problem is your candidate, not Senator Cruz!"
Ted could have given an endorsement without actually endorsing Trump by simply stating in his speech that no one in good conscious could vote for the likes of a Hillary Clinton for president. Indeed he could have tied all Democrats at every level running for election to Hillary and that no one in good conscience can vote for a party that is comfortable with such conduct. He would have hit it out of the park. But he didn't. I like Cruz. I voted for Cruz. I donated to Cruz and will again for his Senate run but dang he made a yuuuge unforced error. I understand that Trump went too far when attacking his wife and father, to me that is reason enough to forget the formal pledge but Cruz should have thought it through and done something along the lines I suggested.
"First of all, why does Cruz have to endorse anybody? People put waaay to much stock in endorsements in my opinion."
Endorsements don't really mean much, and a reluctant endorsement by Cruz wouldn't have made a difference here, but as usual this all boils down to Team Trump's moronic reaction to it. Instead of "ok, Cruz didn't endorse, we move on with grace" or a more clever "we treat that like an endorsement, because anyone voting conscience votes for our guy", they completely lose it. It sends a message to Trump Skeptics (distinct from "Never Trumpers") that reads: "we hate you, we insult you, we think you suck, why don't you endorse us?" which is a nice mix of hysterical bullying calculated to appeal to no one.
Sorry Arm -the garbage spewed by Trump was MUCH worse.
At this point - I don't care. It's the Trump throne sniffers who refuse to let it all go. Trump needs to add to his numbers, not subtract. All this gnashing of teeth and Drudge-rage and vengeance only solidifies fence sitters to sit it out.
The selfish "boos" didn't help.
Exactly, Bagoh. Trump's supporters are so blind, they have no idea how they make it worse for him.
""Why settle for one of the two awful choices when you have another option--one who's actually qualified?" Sorry, guys. I appreciate your concern for honesty and your own conscience, and I share your distaste for Trump. But a vote for Johnson is a vote for Hillary. At least in the battleground states. Remember Perot. One Clinton third-party favor was enough."
I dunno--polls seem to suggest a vote for Johnson helps Trump, though who knows. Of course I live in a non-swing state.
Trad guy - get a grip.
Shiloh, like that immature 12 year old boy on MSNBC named Rachel Maddow, use similar 12 year old boy debate club offerings.
If you assume that every move Cruz, or Trump, or Hillary, or whomever takes is designed to advance a position in "the game" then it's hard to detect a person standing on their principles. I'm not that cynical.
Cruz did not say one negative thing about Trump, he congratulated him for winning the nomination, and he laid out a sparkling case for conservatism and told the crowd to vote their conscience. Had the crowd responded appropriately, then it would have worked for all involved. The crowd being spun into an idiotic frenzy by a bunch of reality show producers doesn't mean Cruz "got played." If someone plays a dirty trick on you, you didn't get played. If, however, you sold yourself out and then they stabbed you in the back, then you got played. Cruz gave his speech and didn't sell out.
Cruz may or may not be done on the national stage. If he is done then it has a hell of a lot more to do with the fact that this nation is now a collection of people who elected Barack Obama twice and have now nominated Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to run for president than it is to do with Ted Cruz's speech and integrity.
-or - Get over your Cruz butt hurt and do or say something to get your guy elected. We are counting on you.
"The Republicans have tried two generic candidates in a row without success. It makes strategic sense to try something new in an attempt to shake up the electorate, which currently trends against them at the national level."
Many of the other choices were not generic either. The reason that both McCain and Romney lost was lack of conservative support. Against Hillary all you have to be is non-amnesty, not an architect of Obamacare, and not an embarrassment, and you have a blowout. Trump is two of the triad of a win. He's a two-legged stool.
bagoh20 said...
Trump got nothing from this he didn't already have
He gets a story, some drama, a 'heel' and he gets to be the 'face'. Trump genuinely believes that all publicity is good publicity. I have my doubts, but you can't deny that it has been working for him so far. He will probably be leading in the polls by the end of this week. It won't last but it will shut everyone up for a while. Besides, everyone hates Cruz - "If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you". He was the perfect heel. Part of me admires this kind of game playing, despite myself.
Hillary will have a tedious convention where Bill and Obama desperately try to drum up some enthusiasm and then things will settle down to the generic polling prediction. I await the debates. If Trump falls it will be in the debates. The alpha male dominance thing will be a lot trickier with a woman opponent. If he figures that out he wins.
Gary Johnson is a pothead. Hillary is a traitorous sociopath. Trump strikes me as an asshole who speaks before he thinks.
I will take the asshole behind door #3. That is voting my conscience.
Hillary supporters are all thorn sniffers.
bagoh20 said...
Many of the other choices were not generic either.
Not from the perspective of the general electorate. Rand Paul was the only real exception and he got even less traction than his father.
Cruz is done. No chance in 2020. In fact if Trump wins it might start a trend of business people getting into politics.
Cruz has only begun. His revenge will be sweet. Also, he seems to be very patient. "Revenge is best served cold."
The big loser last night was Pence. His speech was very, very good. And a nice self-introduction to the nation. He should be getting headlines.
But today's news is all Cruz, all the time.
PM - butt hurt!
"I will vote against Hillary, but you Trumpers are doing everything possible to make me sick about it. Sheese, get some perspective, already. Step back, and take a breath. You sound like Jim Jones followers"
I haven't seen a single pro-Trump person on here emote like you're suggesting. Even from the Right Trump seems to to draw this kind of overwrought, disconnected accusation. Sign of the times, I guess.
But a vote for Johnson is a vote for Hillary.
Not really. Johnson is actually pulling more support from Clinton than Trump at this moment in time. Not a large margin, but noticeable.
"Cruz has only begun. His revenge will be sweet. Also, he seems to be very patient. "Revenge is best served cold."
Cruz is out in the cold, though. His colleagues (for better or worse) hate him -- even before the convention speech. Taking the speaking slot and then speaking as he did is simply a dick move. Refuse the slot, and go out and make your own speech.
The man has lost a lot of potential support in 24 hours. Unlike Trump, he needs donors to have a viable political career. Outside of evangelists, where is he going to get that much support?
Do all of you "remember Perot, vote Trump" people remember that Perot suspended his campaign in July only to come back in October?
Unless Gary Johnson decides to crap out like that, it's not fate. Besides, GWB is no Donald Trump and Hillary! is definitely not 92Bill.
Trump is the explosive Ex-Lax that is racing through the constipated bowels of the eGOP/MSM/Democrat body politic. Trump is going to use the NeverTrumpers as toilet paper.
Yes. My vote is for Gary Johnson.
Us Trump supporters want Johnson on as many state ballots as possible because in a general election the polls indicate that Johnson siphons votes from Hillary. Please … give Johnson as much support as possible – the more the better. He seems like a nice person, a little flaky but nice.
Another thing us Trump supporters would like to see: That the Democrats organize another sit-in in Congress to push gun control. We doubt it will happen but we can hope.
I like Ted Cruz. The only major issue I have against him is that Value Added Tax he was pushing under the misleading label of a “Fair business tax.” I would love to see him on the SCOTUS. But I fear he has lost his political capitol with this move.
This AM on Morning Joe Nicolle Wallace was emphatically declaring that something or another “proves” that Trump doesn’t know how to run a campaign. This about a man that kicked the ass of 16 opponents in the primaries, setting records in the process.
They can see it happening; they can describe its effects, usually accompanied with surprise, disbelief and confusion, but they have no clue to what is actually happening. And that’s good because if they knew they might be able to counter it.
Trump is using the convention to bring his kids into politics. Just like he did with the family business. I see a dynasty in the making.
If I were Trump I would lead Melania out on stage tonight. The crowd will surely cheer her and demonstrate their sympathy. If she would visibly tear up, turn to Trump, embrace him and put her pretty head on his shoulder it would be perfect theatre.
@Brando: "a more clever "we treat that like an endorsement, because anyone voting conscience votes for our guy", they completely lose it. It sends a message to Trump Skeptics (distinct from "Never Trumpers") that reads: "we hate you, we insult you, we think you suck, why don't you endorse us?"" We're mostly on the same page, as you know. But I read the Trump reaction differently: We're gonna play hardball. You're with us or against us. No more Mittens. An FU election needs an FU campaign. We're giving notice. Hill, watch out. Of course, I also think they make amateurish mistakes, etc. etc., but at least the Trump camp brings a fighting attitude.
grackle said...
If I were Trump I would lead Melania out on stage tonight. The crowd will surely cheer her and demonstrate their sympathy. If she would visibly tear up, turn to Trump, embrace him and put her pretty head on his shoulder it would be perfect theatre.
I agree, but I doubt she has the acting chops to pull it off. She seems genuinely uncomfortable in the political arena. Because of this I don't think the plagiarism will hurt her very much. She comes across as a bit out of her depth rather than an ambitious Lady Macbeth type.
"But I read the Trump reaction differently: We're gonna play hardball. You're with us or against us. No more Mittens. An FU election needs an FU campaign. We're giving notice. Hill, watch out. Of course, I also think they make amateurish mistakes, etc. etc., but at least the Trump camp brings a fighting attitude."
We all want someone who fights--I'd just like to see effective fighting. The sort that would have Hillary polling in the mid-30s right now, and the DNC discussing if there's any way to drop her from the ticket. Instead, we have a guy who seems to rescue her every time she has a bad week, and spending more time fighting his potential allies out of some insecurity complex than slaying the dragons of the left establishment.
"I haven't seen a single pro-Trump person on here emote like you're suggesting. Even from the Right Trump seems to to draw this kind of overwrought, disconnected accusation. Sign of the times, I guess. "
The reaction to Cruz, who didn't say a single bad thing about Trump, and then the support for that reaction here and elsewhere is emotion driven disconnect from any principles other than Trumpism. Cruz simply did not debase himself by kissing the ring of a man who openly and brutishly attacked his wife and his principles. It's open hatred for anyone who fails to SUFFICIENTLY support the guy. They actually want bowing and submission. In America, it's a disgusting development, and expectation.
"If I were Trump I would lead Melania out on stage tonight."
She'll be on stage after Trump's speech. When Trump's not standing directly in front of her she can attempt one of her insincere smiles as the queen waves to her adoring public!
Republicans may be "mad at Cruz" because they are "party first, country and principles second". Conservatives are glad Cruz did not become a servile little puppy to the orange buffoon.
So much for this non-news. Did you hear what Trump said in an interview about "breaking" his pledge with NATO? Estonia is worried. This is what we will get from DT -- intemperate off-hand remarks that will set the world on fire.
intemperate off-hand remarks that will set the world on fire.
And from Clinton's 'smart diplomacy?' Literal worlds on fire.
Booze cruise.
"spending more time fighting his potential allies out of some insecurity complex than slaying the dragons of the left establishment."
It takes two to tango, and the GOPe has been quite a willing partner to the dance. Recall they created the pledge as a specific way to freeze Trump out of running a third party campaign. It came back to bite them in their largely useless asses.
"It takes two to tango, and the GOPe has been quite a willing partner to the dance. Recall they created the pledge as a specific way to freeze Trump out of running a third party campaign. It came back to bite them in their largely useless asses."
Those guys deserve no credit either, but hell--once you're the leading contender (and he was pretty much from the start) it's on you to lead, not make excuses and waste energy sniping at people who you need to rally. But sometimes I get the feeling this guy has some other personal agenda completely apart from trying to win this race.
People have to remember--and Trump has largely obscured this--but Hillary is incredibly weak this year, even more so than I would have guessed four years ago. SHE should be the one with the divided party, deciding whether to dump her, and wondering why her approvals are so low. And against an actual "fighter" she'd be pummelled all year long, not just unpopular among white men but minority groups and women as well, and on every single issue. The heat would be on her this year, and the question on everyone's minds would be how many more seats the GOP would win, and what agenda they'd pursue when they unified the government under their control next year.
Instead, we have this shit show. It's like Trump is a gift from Heaven for Hillary, saving her from destruction.
Remember when AprilApple and bagoh20 were saying that Trump is Hillary's stalking horse? What tools. Poor losers are really unattractive, on top of being losers.
Being called a loser by a Trumper is the same as being called a racist by BLM. It's a mindless tribal response to fill the emptiness of having no sensible argument. And I personally never said Trump was a stalking horse, just it's rear end.
Cruz looks like he has a single ballsack for his chin. He would never be elected President.
Brando's looking more like a moby every day.
Truth is, Jon, I don't think Brando was ever a conservative, so it may not be fair to criticize him on that basis.
All of you who are posting that Cruz got played.....wrong.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
He knows Trump better than Trump knows himself.
Cruz had told Trump several days in advance that he would not be endorsing him.
Trump needs Cruz as Trump does not know a damn thing about military or foreign affairs, or even the laws of this country. He has never even read the Constitution.
Cruz congratulated Trump on his win (also it was ramrodded through without proper procedures.) Cruz never said one single ill word against Trump but rather laid out the thought provoking message of Freedom. That includes the freedom to worship, speak and vote as we desire. He ended by encouraging everyone to vote, and to vote their conscience up and down the ticket for those candidates that they felt would uphold the constitution.
Trump had a copy of Ted's speech ahead of time and knew what was going to be on it.
Trump did not realize the impact on the audience in the style in which Ted would deliver it......and of course, all of the sudden it hit him.....He does not know the constitution, and he has not defended it.
Interestingly, Ivanka used (copied) the same words at the close of the convention.....
Cruz is a brilliant chess player, and knew exactly what he was doing. He got under Trump's nerves as it obvious because he has been talking about him non stop for the past two days.....don't we have more important issues like ISIS?
Good luck Trumpsters...you have a incompetent child on your hands.
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