Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Was Trump the only Republican who could have won this year?
Washington Examiner ^ | 11/15/2016 | W. JAMES ANTLE III

Posted on 11/15/2016 4:56:14 AM PST by iontheball

The conventional wisdom was that almost any of the other 16 Republican presidential candidates could have run better than Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton's team certainly believed it.

Now that Trump is president-elect, not only was his weakness clearly exaggerated. With the benefit of hindsight, Trump may have been the only Republican contender who could have broken Clinton's blue wall and pulled off the upset.

"I wouldn't have believed it," said a D.C. anti-Trump conservative. "Now it sure seems like it."

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...


TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: election; trump
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-120 last
To: castlegreyskull
Hillary would have exploited his Canadian birth to no end. You can argue all that you want if he was eligible, but this would have killed him.

I am certain that would have been one of their lines of attack. I think the larger line of attack would have been more along the lines of "He is the second coming of Cotton Mather. He is a religious nut job who will impose his ideas about religion on the rest of the nation."

We need to do something about the media. Having one party control of the news networks is detrimental to the best interests of the nation.

101 posted on 11/15/2016 7:40:44 AM PST by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: Gay State Conservative

Cruz? The guy with the greasy face and hair, the Canadian citizenship, the piercing nasal voice like a dentist’s drill, the Bushie past, and the depressive wife with big hair?


102 posted on 11/15/2016 7:52:21 AM PST by Arthur McGowan (https://youtu.be/IYUYya6bPGw)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: pepsionice; Tanniker Smith; Wallace T.; BRL

I wonder if Cruz would have won the debates. He has a great reputation for debating, but how did that play out in the primaries?

Here’s an example. In one of the later debates, Cruz spoke of natural born citizenship. He said that some extremely strict originalists say that only two natural born citizens can give birth to a NBC.

This is patently, absurdly, ludicrously untrue. No strict originalists believe this, because it would mean that no such thing as a NBC exists, or has ever existed.

Since Cruz is intelligent enough to know this, why would he make such a claim? Perhaps to throw Trump off stride, since it would mean that his Scottish born mother disqualified him for POTUS.

It didn’t throw Trump off for even a nanosecond, however. He simply responded that his mother was a US citizen when she birthed him, and moved on.

As a debate point and/or tactic, it was ineffective. So how would he have done so much better against Hillary? It just doesn’t seem likely.


103 posted on 11/15/2016 7:59:15 AM PST by Fantasywriter (Any attempt to do forensic work using Internet artifacts is fraught with pitfalls. JoeProbono)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: poinq

Cruz had just loaded his coffers with over 10 million dollars.

He had a well greased ‘steal the delegate’ back deal to claim the nomination at the convention.

But his dirty little secret began to unravel in the form of his father’s past work in New Orleans with LHO.

And it’s so funny that Poppy had to have been the only one with memory & knowledge to have uploaded that old CIA tape of Rafael & LHO as insurance. That tape was made public the year prior when they assessed that Ted could be standing in Jeb’s way to the coronation.

And the tape blew up in the Bush face after Jeb & the rest were defeated and Ted was the only globalist left standing. The insurance they tossed out there eventually sealed Ted’s demise. So ironic and so funny.

Lee Harvey Cruzwald.


104 posted on 11/15/2016 7:59:40 AM PST by Beautiful_Gracious_Skies
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 65 | View Replies]

To: John 3_19-21

I have always said that. He was done in South Carolina.

And God Bless Jerry Falwell, Jr and Franklin Graham for endorsing our next president.

Somehow, the people of SC seem really good at picking the winner of our primary. It carries a great deal of weight due to it’s size and it’s representative diverse population that is reflective of the nation.

Starting in 1980, South Carolina Republicans had picked the eventual nominee every four years except for 2012 (Newt Gingrich.)

SC- 9 out of 10 Republican Presidential Nominee picks is an awesome record.


105 posted on 11/15/2016 8:09:19 AM PST by Beautiful_Gracious_Skies
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 70 | View Replies]

To: BeadCounter

And there could be many millions more R absentee votes that were never counted if the postman or the elections workers tossed or buried them.

Maybe every one that voted by absentee ballot should be checking to see if their vote was recorded? It’s possible to do this and could yield interesting results.

My neighbor’s daughter & friend registered to vote at their college campus by some Hillary volunteers. When it came time to vote they had not been registered and were left out.


106 posted on 11/15/2016 8:13:43 AM PST by Beautiful_Gracious_Skies
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 72 | View Replies]

To: Beautiful_Gracious_Skies
I think James O’Keefe’s approach that there are a million cameras everywhere also helped a lot with people possibly more afraid to double vote or impersonate, or whatever, also helped. I don't know how much but I loved that he was all over Twitter with a constant “we are watching you” theme! Very smart!
107 posted on 11/15/2016 8:21:48 AM PST by GizzyGirl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 95 | View Replies]

To: Beautiful_Gracious_Skies

My daughter and her husband had same thing! They were registered at a concert but when they went to vote, not there! They had to go into different line and be processed accordingly. They said everyone was really nice, but the concert was last November (my early Christmas to them), so it had been nearly a year and still not processed. I’m sure it’s because they were both registering as Republicans. Well, I’m not sure technically, but you know what I mean!


108 posted on 11/15/2016 8:24:35 AM PST by GizzyGirl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 106 | View Replies]

To: Gay State Conservative

No way Cruz would have won. We like our sermons in church on Sunday not from a politician who has zero personal skills.


109 posted on 11/15/2016 8:25:54 AM PST by napscoordinator (Trump/Hunter, jr for President/Vice President 2016)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: nikos1121

Well said. Even if we combined Bush, Cruz & Rubio as a trio, they still lose.

Thank you for insisting on civility for the primary rally threads.

Thanks for the dozens of rally threads that became epic during the final week.

I will miss them and all the yummy food photographs as well as the historical and architectural tidbits.

Perhaps there’s a role for you in Pres.-E Trump’s WH. You deserve it!


110 posted on 11/15/2016 8:26:02 AM PST by Beautiful_Gracious_Skies ('45 will be the best ever.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 69 | View Replies]

To: poinq

TRUMP 2020

PENCE 2024

PENCE 2028

DON, JR 2032

DON, JR 2036


111 posted on 11/15/2016 8:30:16 AM PST by Beautiful_Gracious_Skies ('45 will be the best ever.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 80 | View Replies]

To: DiogenesLamp

Wrong. Any DEMOCRAT is eligible. Any Republican must be from a family that came over on the Mayflower.

And truly ineligible candidates like Cruz and Rubio? Forget about it.


112 posted on 11/15/2016 8:39:28 AM PST by Arthur McGowan (https://youtu.be/IYUYya6bPGw)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 97 | View Replies]

To: mad_as_he$$

Axelrod is very smart and has great instincts. Because Trump is so wealthy, they were unable to take him out of the game and pick their desired opponent.

In 2008, money was scarcer and they delivered us McCain by financial means.

Soros and his cabal of leftists were all donating the maximum to keep McCain afloat. Researching political donations from the Seattle area revealed leftist $$$$ to McCain.

Individuals that had never supported a republican were suddenly donating the maximum to Mc Cain. Very telling.


113 posted on 11/15/2016 8:41:44 AM PST by Beautiful_Gracious_Skies ('45 will be the best ever.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 82 | View Replies]

To: DiogenesLamp
"A correct understanding of eligibility no longer has anything to do with it. After Obama, pretty much anyone is de facto eligible. "

So long as oaths are broken and honor impugned.

114 posted on 11/15/2016 10:29:40 AM PST by Godebert (CRUZ: Born in a foreign land to a foreign father.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 97 | View Replies]

To: iontheball

I told anyone that would listen Trump was the ONLY candidate who could and would win the general election... I was called names... I was told I was clueless.. I was mocked... Not by everyone but by a lot of people.

I made this argument again and again... Between supporters of other candidates... Never trumpers... Liberals.. Democrats... Few if any wanted to listen.

Trump by throwing away the free trade/open border globalist nonsense was the ONLY candidate who was putting forth a strategy for a strong win. Without that no other candidate was going to be able to play in PA, Wi and MI and so... What path would any other R have? Take away 47 PA,Wi,MI and ME 2. R is sitting at 259. Which I think the rest of the states would have gone R regardless... But where was anyone else going to find the 11 more needed?

NH? Maybe.. But not enough... CO? Not likely and not enough... What other states was any other R going to be able to take? Nothing that could get you the win.

Even if another R would have had the abuility to see tossing the open border and more importantly free trade overboard would put the upper Midwest into play... None of them could have done it because their money men would have never ever allowed it because they want free trade and open borders.


115 posted on 11/15/2016 11:26:28 AM PST by HamiltonJay
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: iontheball
My first choice was Walker but he was unable to get any traction.

My next choice was Carson. He did better but he proved unable to get much traction either.

Trump was not the last person on my list but he was not at the top.

Still as I watched the rest of the group either shoot themselves in the foot or in one case, let their ambition outrun their eligibility, he began to grow on me.

Most of the GOP field was, at best, mediocre.

116 posted on 11/15/2016 11:34:43 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (Not a Romantic, not a hero worshiper and stop trying to tug my heartstrings. It tickles!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: InterceptPoint
You are probably right about the upper Midwest but it would nice to hear the rational for the claim.

Because he would have acted exactly like he did in the primary and ignored us.

117 posted on 11/15/2016 11:38:58 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (Not a Romantic, not a hero worshiper and stop trying to tug my heartstrings. It tickles!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: iontheball
I thought from early on this was the case. Now, it seems to me to be beside the point.

The MSM and the RAT party are smoldering ruins. PC is on the run. Look at Trump's 100 day plan. Could any other candidate have run...and won...on that mandate, or anything close? Would any other candidate be poised to accomplish what Trump is?

THAT'S the pertinent question, IMO.

118 posted on 11/15/2016 11:50:42 AM PST by gogeo (Black Lives Matter to Donald Trump.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Regulator
Cruz had zero chance of winning in the upper midwest in a general election.

Agree.

119 posted on 11/15/2016 11:53:54 AM PST by Dagnabitt (Trump - Because countries without Islamic immigration are countries without Islamic terrorism.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: SMARTY
There will be NO ‘I hate America’ bast*&ds in HIS administration...

And for those few who sneak in who aren't with the program...see the house cleaning already done on the Transition Committee.

120 posted on 11/15/2016 11:54:41 AM PST by gogeo (Black Lives Matter to Donald Trump.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-120 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson