Posted on 11/23/2015 7:17:44 AM PST by VinL
We still have not reached the Donald Trump inflection point. Since he first descended that ridiculous escalator way the hell back in June, the prevailing theory about Trump 2016 has been that he'd spike owing to name recognition, and then collapse under the impossible weight of his own outlandish ignorance. Trump spiked, but collapse just won't happen, and that's in spite of Trump's best efforts to make himself politically radioactive.
It's too much work at this point to create a comprehensive list of the Trump utterances that would have sunk any other politician, so for the time being we'll just focus on his reaction to the Paris terrorist attacks, which really brought out the authoritarian strongman inside the Republican front-runner. Trump is capitalizing on the growing anxiety over terrorism by recommending that mosques in American be put under surveillance and shut down if “bad things are happening†there. He's shown some legitimately disgusting openness to the idea of creating a registry of Muslims within the country.
Comments and policies like these deserve nothing but strong and unequivocal condemnation, and Trump is getting a lot of that. But not from everyone. Ted Cruz, Trump's competitor for the Republican presidential nomination, offered the gentlest of disagreements when asked about Trump's Muslim registry flirtation, saying he’s “a big fan of Donald Trump’s, but I'm not a fan of government registries.†Then he knuckle-rapped the media for trying to sow discord in the GOP field. “I recognize that the media would love to get me and other candidates to attack Donald Trump,†he said, "There may be other candidates who want to do that. I ain't gonna do it."
Of course Cruz...
(Excerpt) Read more at salon.com ...
Most candidates "collapse" when their Sugar Daddies pull out and head from greener pastures. Trump does not have to sweat that.
What’s wrong with Cruz? AFAIK he’s the best Conservative candidate of the bunch, Trump having only the better chance of actually winning via sheer brand recognition (don’t get me wrong, he’s not a bad choice should he win).
Well, THAT’s a first.
The author is trying to bait Cruz into attacking Trump, which Cruz has wisely chosen not to do. If Trump does not self-immolate, attacking him merely puts one in the same camp as the GOPe.
Cruz is smart enough to avoid that trap.
(BTW - the self-immolation comment is neither a wish nor a prediction. It is merely recognition that Trump is not dependent on the party for his support, and therefore he controls his own destiny.)
Ah my FRiend, you miss the point of these worthless meanderings.
They are not to inform US about our candidates.
They are to give the low information voters of the left the IMPRESSION they're keeping up with what "the other side" is doing.
Yes, it is a joy to see them go crazy.
I usually don’t bother with Salon, but lately it’s been an enjoyable, satisfying read.
Spoiled children don’t like it when an adult is in charge.
Methinks Cruz knows he’d be the likely winner if not for Trump; insofar as Trump is present & winning, best to keep the banter friendly and work for a solid #2 spot - keeping the VP option probable, ready to win should Trump drop out for some reason (self-destructing comment, unexpected metabolic challenges, etc), or otherwise ready with an already commanding lead in the next race.
Sometimes you have to accept you’re not going to win, so you fight like he11 for second place and do with that what you can.
BTTT!
Trump’s not owned!
And this is a major flaw in Cruz’s strategy of wining by standing still. Trump defines the issues early and benefits from events confirming his positions. Events are rapidly heading more in his favor by the week.
Cruz takes those positions for sure, but the first mover advantage benefits Trump.
“So far they HAVE been trending towards Cruz, at least in national polling. If some go over to Santorum or Huckabee, and those two eventually drop out, the delegates will more likely go to Cruz than Trump at this point, I believe. Fiorina delegates can go anywhere, and Kasich and Christie votes might wind up with Rubio. The John Ellis Bush votes will cry, as the John Ellis Bushies resent the hades out of Rubio. “
I think you are *probably* correct.
It’s just that many things can happen in the remaining time that could color how people order their priorities.
Economic crisis? Who is best?
War? Who would be the best guy to run it?
Domestic terrorism? Who is best?
ETC
Not to mention anything that comes out about any candidate - from an error or a report - that colors perception.
It isn’t a static game.
It is a moving target and rotation is probably normal.
Cruz has a ground operation in every county in the country and every possession of the US. That is evidence of his thinking, not supposition or being in his mind turning the cogs. I have said since he started putting the grassroots plan in place that this massive effort would pay off in actual votes.
I have worked in such county efforts in past years and know that every election is “local”. That means county by county. I helped several district judge candidates in different districts, putting together Republican voter lists for these judges and they all won. I also did that for state candidates, including Rick Perry, as I was on his committee the first time he ran.
If Cruz doesn't win, with this massive effort county by county, I will be surprised.
Hillary will lose the election. She is incompetent, a liar and a crook. Trump is not PC, the dirt on Hillary will be swept out into the open. Hillary is also tightly tied to Obama fail foreign policies that directly threaten our security. Hillary will lose. Hell she might even be jailed before the D’s convention.
Like I believe Salon...
I also think Trump is smart enough to keep both Carson and Cruz in the race.
************
I don’t bash Trump, I never have.
But, I did post a thread when he came out after Carson on a personal level, and asked Trump supporters if they thought that move was wise politically. Carson and Cruz split a vote, I argued- taking down Carson only would elevate Cruz in Iowa ( as apparently has happened).
But because of that attack, I don’t think many folks who support Carson are going to embrace Trump if Carson collapses— least not as many as might have if Trump had merely allowed nature to take it’s course.
By all counts, Cruz is a genius. Enough of a genius to realize several things:
1) Trump is doing marvelous things for conservatives by being a shield. He is protecting Cruz and the other Republicans by taking the brunt of Democrat and media attack. This allows the other candidates to work behind the scenes without a continual barrage of hate. It also gives conservatives somebody who rips the illusion of invincibility from Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, the establishment favorites.
2) Cruz also realizes that the presidency is not a dictatorship, that Obama cannot get the vast majority of what he wants, and much of what he has done can be torn down in a few months after he is out of office. Importantly, the man responsible for making Obamacare easy to destroy is Chief Justice Roberts, who could not stop it from being approved by the SCOTUS, so inserted “poison pills” into it.
3) The next justice appointed to the Supreme Court is likely to replace a liberal, most likely justice Ginsburg. She has refused to step down during Obama, because she correctly fears she would be replaced with a die hard antisemite.
If Trump wins, and appoints Cruz to the SCOTUS to replace Ginsburg, it would make the rest of Trump’s administration a success. It would also give conservatives control of an *entire branch* of the US government.
This position could be vastly more powerful than even the presidency, if there is still RINO leadership in charge in congress. States could sue the federal government a hundred times to tear down federal abuses, and the SCOTUS would find for the states, against the Trump administration that didn’t need or want to fight at all. Slam dunks.
And while Mitch McConnell hates Cruz, it could be sold to him as a means to get Cruz out of the senate, so he would no longer harass McConnell there.
Last but not least, once again Cruz is by all accounts a *legal* genius, so it is likely that Roberts would appoint him to write decisions that would be bullet proof for a hundred years. And he would remain on the court far longer than the term of one, two or even three presidents.
The bottom line to all of this is why both Trump and Cruz are very polite to each other, and go out of their way to not fight, though they are goaded a lot by the media that hate them both.
You will be surprised. He has a similar problem that Hillary has. He just isn’t likeable.
This is just liberal talking head logic that Cruz is waiting for Trump collapse.
Cruz has been playing to win, but from the beginning has signaled by his meetings with Trump that he will take a VP nod.
Trump will not collapse we need a ball busting non-PC leader, most loyal americans know that.
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