2016 Presidential Primaries [ SUPER TUESDAY | 3-1-'16]

Too bad Trump doesn't have it in him to be presidential. If he did then Pubs would have their best candidate since Reagan. But after the debate last night it's pretty clear that he's incapable of being presidential. I don't know what the pubs are going to do now. They are in a tough spot. I have to be honest.

I think their options are as follows:

1) Get behind Kasich 100% and drop both Cruz and Rubio who I think have no chance. They can make Kasich out to be the comeback kid.

2) Get to a brokered convention and nominate an outsider. Fiorina I think might be the only person with a chance to beat Hillary who could be accepted by the Trump supporters.

3) Back Trump and do everything you can to convince him to be presidential. When he's presidential he's unstoppable.
Option 3 is their best play from that list. Once he's got the nomination he's going to start running to the center to get the moderate vote anyway. Of course, he has a lot of baggage by way of past quotes that will follow him to Nov.

Another option is concede the WH and concentrate on Congress and local elections. Probably what is going to happen.
 
If I was a member of the Republican Party, I would not want to give this thing away to Trump, but if he gets the majority of the delegates during primary season, you kind of have to. Contesting the convention would just wind up being corrupted. The best strategy right now out of several bad ones is to "back" Trump, but let your Senate and House incumbents run at a distance from him.

They've screwed up their chance with Kasich. He's easily the most level-headed, accomplished one, with a history of bipartisan work and the majority of voters are too blinded by celebrity, extreme economic nationalism and religious insecurity to recognize it. Even if you wound up nominating him, would a 60-year-old white guy who isn't a celebrity generate enough enthusiasm? Would he survive Clinton and the Democrats going to their favorite "anti-women" card when they point out he signed the bill defunding Planned Parenthood?

Nominating Fiorina sounds like an awful idea.

I thought Bloomberg said he would only consider running if it were a Trump-Bernie election. He pretty much lines up with Clinton as far as political views go. I can't think of many major differences.
 
Yet your guy is Cruz?

Cruz does strike me as the most ideological guy in the race on the Republican side. Probably wouldn't (and couldn't) govern with the same ideological framework, but he does check all the conservative boxes and he strikes me as the most consistent--some would say strident--in expressing his views.
 
OK then can you tell me why you like Ted Cruz then? Not trying to start anything, just curious. I asked my Division Chair the same question a couple of days ago.

Because I thought he was a legit candidate that could beat Hillary in this current environment. A guy that would pump up the base. A reasonable "outsider". I think the pubs needed a guy that the base would rally around and be motivated to go and vote. The dems were super pumped about Obama and he got a bunch of new voters to show up and vote. I was hoping Cruz would be that guy and still hope that he is, but I think Trump pretty much stole that base from him.
 
Because I thought he was a legit candidate that could beat Hillary in this current environment. A guy that would pump up the base. A reasonable "outsider". I think the pubs needed a guy that the base would rally around and be motivated to go and vote. The dems were super pumped about Obama and he got a bunch of new voters to show up and vote. I was hoping Cruz would be that guy and still hope that he is, but I think Trump pretty much stole that base from him.

I think Cruz--or someone like him--would have done better than Romney four years ago and perhaps won. Always hard to say in the swing states. I just think the social conservatives have lost some steam this go-round with the economic populists (many of whom are social conservatives) taking their place at the front of the line. Romney wasn't a darling of social conservatives, although he gained their support. What is truly different for the Republicans in this cycle is that the big money from the establishment that supported Romney has pretty much been wasted thus far in 2016 given the middle class angst that seems to be fueling Trump. Whatever Cruz believes about economic populism (and his wife works for Goldman Sachs and he really hasn't said a lot about economic issues other than tax policy), it didn't come across.
 
Cruz looks like a guy who'd eat a booger

while driving this van:

AAEAAQAAAAAAAAOMAAAAJDFkMzcyMTMwLTU2ZDAtNGQ5Ny1iM2ZmLTMxOGFjNzYzNWRhNQ.png


he's so ****ing creepy
 
Back
Top