Posted on 04/15/2016 7:06:37 AM PDT by reaganaut1
‘Gestapo tactics.” That’s how Donald Trump’s recently installed campaign manager, Paul Manafort, characterized the Ted Cruz campaign’s successful effort to win all 34 of Colorado’s pledged national-convention delegates at the long-scheduled Republican congressional-district and state conventions.
“Today winning votes doesn’t mean anything,” Trump complained. “It’s a corrupt deal going on in this country and it’s not fair to you people.”
Such complaints typically come from people who are not, in one of Trump’s favorite words, “winners.” Trump conspicuously refrains from complaining about the fact that, even though he has won just 37 percent of the votes cast in Republican primaries and caucuses, those votes have given him 46 percent of the delegates.
That happened because of the rules. Trump has benefited from winner-take-all rules in states such as Florida and Arizona. He has benefited from split opposition: In only one state (Massachusetts) has he won more popular votes than the combined total for Cruz, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich.
Anti-Trump candidates could have joined forces and encouraged tactical voting. When they didn’t (exception: Rubio advised his Ohio supporters to vote for Kasich, a favor not returned), Trump had no complaints.
But he did have complaints when Cruz operatives worked successfully to win technically uncommitted delegates in conventions, as they did in Louisiana and North Dakota. Trump’s response: “I don’t care about rules.”
It seems to run in the family. Trump’s son Eric and daughter Ivanka can’t vote for him in the New York primary because, as Trump explained, “They didn’t know the rules and they didn’t register [Republican] in time.” Even though the rules have been in force for years and are readily accessible online.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
Another “Rules are Rules, after all” toughsh!t, like it or lump it argument. Why is the COGOP head in hiding if his “rule changes” were honorable and honest?
65,000 insider votes over what? 4-5 meeting times are in what way a valid substitute for finding out what a million voters think?
News flash COGOP and national GOPe. You can’t screw voters with insider party rule fiddling in a general election. Think about that for a while - think REAL HARD about it.
>> Such complaints typically come from people who are not, in one of Trump’s favorite words, “winners.”
Ouch!
Sounds like Barone has objections to the rules he's defending.
National Review = DEAD IN THE WATER PROPAGANDA. Not worth reading.
Michael Barone is still in denial along with Steven Hayes and Jonah Goldberg. A lot of people are unhappy with the delegate selection process.
As Stalin said:
It’s not who casts the votes, it’s who counts the votes, that matters.
Unfortunately, all too true here also. How dare Trump complain about it?!
American can do better than a Whiner in Chief !
The truth of this rule is confirmed by the fact that Trump supporters never complain about the rules which "unfairly" advantage them by awarding them more delegates than their percentage would warrant. If the Trump camp were in fact "sincere" they would offer to give up a portion of the 46 % of the delegates they have obtained with only 35% of the vote. After all if one man one vote is good enough to require of Colorado, it should be good enough for Florida.
Sad that we only see the GOPe get into attack mode against one of their own, but fold up like bad poker players when up against the left. Mr. Barone, if you in the establishment conservative media and in Congress had actually stood for something instead of the same old status quo there would be no Trump candidacy today. You might have been able to slide your favorite GOPe guy Jeb to the nomination. Nope, you all were cowards against the left, especially these past seven years, and the rank and file are making this party pay for it now.
Yep, they’re (GOPe) are coming up to speed on cheating. But they’re not in the same league as Democrats. They have first dibs on the general election....
>> Sounds like Barone has objections to the rules he’s defending.
That’s not how I read it. Barone understands that rules are rules. Barone is just pointing out Trump’s double standard — he only complains when the OTHER guy gains delegates via benefitting from the rules.
And which 'vote' is that? The ones where normal voters actually were allowed to vote en masse, or the insiders (<1% of voter roll totals) who endured a series of 4-5 'meetings' to engineer a 'victory' for Trump?
Yes.
Even assuming the Trump voters are "normal" they never got anywhere near 50% in Florida or Arizona yet walked off with all the delegates. Are you going to give them back?
In Missouri Trump beat Cruz by less than one percentage point, are you going to give a representative portion back to Cruz?
No I think you won't, I think you will bleat on about fairness and one man one vote when, as Michael Barone said, the "process" offends you because you don't like the result.
The Yellow Kid points the way to yellow journalism...
And that's were you just lost your argument. You're just a hack like the rest. Check you bias.
Quacking the new Talking Points for the day, hey? LOL! :)
LOL! I never get tired of seeing Kim Jong Cruz's chubby little cheeks in that TOTALLY apropos picture. How about you, Gaffer? :)
I can’t wait till the Nebraska Jong Cruz picture comes out! :)
The sex toy thing is going to go over BIG with all those independent voters if Fat Dracula weasels his way into the general. LOL! :)
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