Posted on 01/15/2016 2:13:38 PM PST by presidio9
The sixth Republican debate on Thursday showed off a smaller top tier of candidates, who also showed that they’re getting better the more they debate. All of the contenders had their moments, but the main event was Donald Trump versus Ted Cruz, and Mr. Trump won handily with an big assist from "New York values," of all things.
The Texas Senator this week said Mr. Trump "embodies New York values" as a way to suggest that the Manhattan businessman isn’t really a conservative. The two are fighting it out to finish first in the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1, and Mr. Cruz decided to change his previous strategy of praising Mr. Trump and slip-streaming in his policy wake.
He's right that Mr. Trump isn't a conventional conservative. The branding expert has no consistent philosophy that we can detect, and his economic instincts are sometimes free market, but more often mercantilist. He understands corporate taxes but is a flat-out protectionist on trade. Mr. Trump says the Chinese will roll over on trade if he threatens them with, say, a 45% tariff, but that is a leap in the dark of beggar-thy-neighbor economics. As President he would be a policy adventure, and his Treasury Secretary might need to be the second coming of Alexander Hamilton.
But Mr. Trump is a better politician than we ever imagined, and he is becoming a better candidate. The Texan was asked about his "New York values" gibe, and he said with almost a sneer that
-SNIP-
Mr. Trump struck back that "conservatives actually do come out of Manhattan, including William F. Buckley and others, just so you understand." He then won the round in a knockout by invoking the response of the firefighters, police and the entire city after 9/11. -SNIP-
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Trump is definitely getting better at the debates. The first few were a little rocky but he would always come back in the polls a few days later. The best part is the GOP added yesterdays debate because they figured it would give them another shot at knocking down Trump. It backfired on the GOPe big time!
There are many things that I like about Trump and his candidacy, but I also think this website is a good place to hash-out some of the question marks hanging over each candidate’s head. For Donald Trump, as far as I am concerned, one of those is definitely his position on abortion.
I appreciate the fact that, like a lot of good people, he has come around on this issue late in life. I respect him for his word. But until I hear him speak out on this issue –not on funding for Planned Parenthood, but on the sanctity of human life, I will have problems with him.
With that being said, I think this was the finest moment of his campaign, and I agree with the Wall Street Journal editorial staff –that Mr. Trump is getting better at this as he goes along.
There are many more important questions but I’m just wondering....
could Mr. Trump carry New York state in the general election?
just wondering....
5 months ago, I thought Trump would be Distant memory by now.
Now, I think he will be the next POTUS, especially if he wins NY
If any Democrat candidate lost NY, it would be game over for them.
However, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Mr. Trump is a fantastic self-promoter, and he probably did win a few more NY votes for himself. However, NY voter rolls are now about 60/30 liberal. Trump has a chance to appeal to some of these, but the odds are still very much against him.
The Journal of the Chamber of Commerce can go pound sand. They want Yeb! Mr. “I can Fix it!”
Go suck an egg.
This guy watched a different debate from everyone else.
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