The Republican Primary Race Is Filling Up

[Lowe0]

oh

Meghan McCain shocks with sudden endorsement of Cruz | Washington Examiner

I had a higher opinion of her than that.

 

[BugI02]

"First, I spent the last 20 years watching the conservative media in Washington endorse and urge me to vote for one candidate after another who made a mockery of conservative principles and values. Everyone talks about how thankful we are for the Citizens United decision but seems to have forgotten how we were urged to vote for the co-author of the law that the decision overturned."

"Second, it doesn’t appear to me that conservatives calling on people to reject Trump have any idea what it actually means to be a “conservative.” The word seems to have become a brand that some people attach to a set of partisan policy preferences, rather than the set of underlying principles about government and society it once was."

"Lost in all of this is the older strain of conservatism. The one I grew up with and thought was reflective of the movement. This strain of conservatism believed in the free market and capitalism but did not fetishize them the way so many libertarians do."


"Third, there is the issue of the war on Islamic extremism. Let me say upfront that I am a veteran of two foreign deployments in this war. As a member of the 1% who have served in these wars which movement conservatives consider so vital, my question for you and every other conservative is just when the hell did being conservative mean thinking the US has some kind of a duty to save foreign nations from themselves or bring our form of democratic republicanism to them by force?"

"At the same time, I cannot for the life of me understand how conservatives of all people convinced themselves that the solution to the 9/11 attacks was to forcibly create democracy in the Islamic world. I have even less explanations for how — 15 years and 10,000-plus lives later — conservatives refuse to examine their actions and expect the country to send more of its young to bleed and die over there to save the Iraqis who will not save themselves."

I know many will dismiss this out of hand because its the Post, thus proving one of the authors points, but I like this guy
Why I support Trump ? and resent the elites trying to destroy him | New York Post

 

[olhorseman]

Yeah, Nate missed it big time with the Michigan Democratic primary polls. Hillary Clinton was rated at 99% chance of winning. She lost.

What The Stunning Bernie Sanders Win In Michigan Means | FiveThirtyEight

Polls, schmolls. Something new is going on this year.

I'll still bet on Nate who went 49 of 50 in 2008 and 50 of 50 in 2012 in picking the state presidential winners.

 

[Expat]

Not sure if posted yet, I read that Jon Voight has come out for Trump.

 

[Super Bee]

This evening The Great One also endorsed Cruz.


?Some of You Will Be Angry At Me?: Mark Levin Makes 2016 Endorsement | TheBlaze.com

 

[Timjoebillybob]

Mittens has filed paperwork to run for president

Mitt Romney Files FEC Paperwork To Run In 2016 Election

But, that's as un-possible as criminals having guns in gun free zones. Just 4 days ago, Romney said that he wasn't running:

Mitt Romney Says He Will Not Run For President - Fortune

Actually he hasn't that I can find. His committee filed paperwork but he is listed as a candidate for 2012 not 2016. And this was done in Jan. His committee also filed in 2015. Compared to lets say Cruz which lists him as a candidate for 2016.

Worth remembering: Cruz has already pulled just that dirty trick once already during this campaign.

Really? Just that dirty trick? When did he or one of his campaign staffers provide anonymous info portraying them self as a staffer of another party?

What his staffer(s) did was either misunderstand what the other candidate actually did stay or will fully twist his words. Honestly I believe it could be either. Carson stated in response to a question about what he was going to do after the primary in that state and answered "I'm going back to Florida", which can honestly be understood as he was going to drop out.

**** sake. Cruz ran (running?) with it LONG after it was denied.

Cruz is begging me to not vote for him.

Actually no he didn't/isn't, that was put out by some possible supporters that are not connected with his campaign.
Cruz Campaign Disavows Email Claiming Rubio Advisors Wanted Him to Drop Out | Mediaite

We'll start with the non-linked commentary. The few times I have watched Cruz speechifying, I watch him lie through his teeth about other candidates - made all the more despicable since he shields himself with his Bible. Similarly, Cruz pulled extremely dirty tricks in Iowa (VOTER VIOLATION mailer), lied directly to caucus-goers about other candidates (Carson), and is doing the same thing now with Rubio in Florida.

Cruz claims to be a "consistent Conservative", but is anything but. This is admittedly a pro-Trump video, so consider the bias. But while context can be biased, the fact of Cruz changing positions cannot be:

[video=youtube;6VckRA4tYFo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VckRA4tYFo[/video]

Things that I can link to regarding Cruz positions/policy/issues:

Ted Cruz voted (procedurally) to authorize TPP/TPA fast-track (before voting "against" it):

Yes, Unfortunately Ted Cruz Did Support Trans-Pacific Trade Deal (TPA) ? With Video? | The Last Refuge

Ted Cruz has a conflict-of-interest issue with Goldman Sachs (wife Heidi is a longtime employee/investment banker), and failed to report Goldman Sachs campaign loans (this is kind of a big deal):

Ted Cruz?s Goldman Sachs Problem - The New Yorker

The TPP/Goldman Sachs issues are very much connected:

The Debate Issue The Wall Street Funded RNC/GOPe Refuse To Allow? | The Last Refuge

Ted Cruz proposed amnesty during the Gang of Eight fiasco. (Even if it was a gambit/poison pill, amnesty for illegals is inherently wrong, and I disagree with Cruz that he had to propose the amendment in order to prove that Republicans had to "do something".)

Blue State Blues: Ted Cruz Is 100% Right About Gang of Eight

Ted Cruz also joined Glen Beck in his "give teddy bears and soccer balls to illegal alien children" ruse in 2014:

Everything You Need to Know About Mercury One?s Border Relief Effort | TheBlaze.com

Ted Cruz criticized Trump for a non-repudiation (that was actually a repudiation) of a non-endorsement, while he himself actively campaigns with an extreme, anti-gay bigot Bryan Fischer:

Ted Cruz Campaigning Tomorrow In Mississippi With Extremist Bryan ?Arrest All The Gays? Fischer? | The Last Refuge

Ted Cruz preaches privacy, and protection against government intrusion on that privacy - then creates a data-mining, user-monitoring/surveillance campaign app that severely violates privacy:

Cruz app data collection helps campaign read minds of voters

I have no idea what's in Ted Cruz's records (or in his mother's), nor do I have any opinion on his NBC status, but I am bothered that someone proclaiming integrity and transparency would have/keep such records sealed.

I am troubled by the Dominionist beliefs of Ted Cruz's family:

Ted Cruz?s Father: My Son ?Anointed? To ?Take Control of Society?.. | The Last Refuge

I am troubled by the use of proselytizing as an electoral strategy. We are electing a secular office-holder, not a religious leader:

Sen. Ted Cruz Tells Volunteers: We Can Win 'If We Awaken And Energize The Body Of Christ" - Breitbart

That video included a bunch of very short clips so it's hard to know if they were compared in context. One I will touch on that claimed to show him changing his mind didn't. It showed an older clip of him stating that a gun owner database would be unconstitutional, the next showed him stating that the NICS database could be improved. Two different things. I'll attempt to answer the rest below.

No factual rebuttal?

• Has or has not Cruz engaged in a pattern of dirty campaign tactics and lying about his opponents?
• One possible not guaranteed that I have seen. One is not a pattern.
• Has or has not Cruz flip-flopped on several issues?
• Probably, but people do change their opinions and that video showed a change of opinion after several years. As evidenced by the age progression between clips. Also as I pointed out above that the clips were very short and it was impossible to know the context and in at least one case they compared apples and oranges if not apples and baseballs.
• Did or did not Cruz provide procedural vote support that allowed TPP/TAP fast-track to pass the senate (even though he voted against final passage)?
• I would guess it would have passed anyway. What he voted for was to limit any additional debate to a maximum of 30 hrs more. Oh and Ron Paul did the exact same thing numerous times on budget bills.
• Did or did not Cruz submit an amendment that would give citizenship to illegal aliens?
• No he did not. He did submit an amendment that would have allowed illegals to legally stay but would have denied them citizenship and the right to vote. He stated he did so to show that the Dems were more interested in the votes they would get than the illegals themselves.
• Did or did not Cruz fail to report his Goldman Sachs loan? Did or did not Cruz lie about that loan? Is or is not Heidi Cruz an employee of Goldman Sachs?
• Yes he failed to disclose, he stated it was an over-site and if they were required to be disclosed they would file an amendment. Did he lie is a more difficult question, he did state that he liquidated assets but the article doesn't state that he was asked about the loan and denied it.
• Did or did not Cruz join Glen Beck in his "teddy bears for illegal alien children" ruse?
• Yes he went to it. But why do you call it a ruse? What is wrong with handing out food and toys to children?
• Is or is not Cruz campaigning with Bryan Fisher?
• No. He went to a convention and spoke where Bryan Fisher also spoke and introduced speakers. That is not the same as campaigning with him.
• Did or did not Cruz release a data-mining/privacy-invading campaign app?
• Sure did. With the users consent. What's the problem with that?
• Are or are not Cruz's records sealed?
• No link for this one, but I'm going to guess your talking citizenship records. If so yes, so are mine, my daughters, and most likely yours. All are sealed unless the person in questions allows access. But I have no idea why it would be questoined. He was born in Canada of a US citizen(mother) and a Canadian citizen (father) Under the laws at the time was a citizen of both countries at birth. US law at the time for birthright citizenship as opposed to naturalized citizenship were "For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen, is required for physical presence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child." His mother was 35-36 and had lived all but 3 years in the US.
• Are or are not Cruz's family Dominionists?
• No idea. The link you provided didn't show one way or another. It stated in their opinion that they were 7 mountains adherants, which is not the same.
• Does or does not Cruz engage in proselytizing as electoral strategy?
• I'd say no. Does he reach out through churches to spread his name? Oh yes. That is no proselytizing.

These are the things that concern me about Ted Cruz. You asked for cited links, and then instead of addressing the substance, rejected the sources. That's your prerogative, but it certainly isn't a sincere interest in understanding why someone who once supported Cruz no longer supports him.

My answers above in blue.

I think GP posted this poll earlier:

ABC/WaPo national poll: Trump?s lead declines, Cruz, Rubio, and Kasich all gain « Hot Air

While Trump support dipping doesn't surprise me, given the scorched-earth tactics the GOPe are bringing to bear since shortly before Super Tuesday, three things stand out to me:

1. Why no February results?
2. Rubio is currently crashing and burning, yet he is shown as UP almost 80% from his previous polling point?
3. Other than Vermont, where has Kasich ever even approached 13%?

This poll seems as reliable as the one that recently showed Trump up almost 20 points in Florida. The reality is somewhere in the middle.

1. I'd say there is a good chance they didn't ask those particular questions prior, in the link they did list the responses for several different questions going back much farther than Feb.
2. No idea why it has but the RCP average for him is 18% also.
3. Good chance his polling data has jumped because of other candidates dropping out. The current RCP average has him at 12%

Hawaii is a caucus state.

Yes, but they are not a closed caucus state like most/all of the rest. They are an open caucus state.

 

[CountryBoy1981]

"First, I spent the last 20 years watching the conservative media in Washington endorse and urge me to vote for one candidate after another who made a mockery of conservative principles and values. Everyone talks about how thankful we are for the Citizens United decision but seems to have forgotten how we were urged to vote for the co-author of the law that the decision overturned."

"Second, it doesn’t appear to me that conservatives calling on people to reject Trump have any idea what it actually means to be a “conservative.” The word seems to have become a brand that some people attach to a set of partisan policy preferences, rather than the set of underlying principles about government and society it once was."

"Lost in all of this is the older strain of conservatism. The one I grew up with and thought was reflective of the movement. This strain of conservatism believed in the free market and capitalism but did not fetishize them the way so many libertarians do."


"Third, there is the issue of the war on Islamic extremism. Let me say upfront that I am a veteran of two foreign deployments in this war. As a member of the 1% who have served in these wars which movement conservatives consider so vital, my question for you and every other conservative is just when the hell did being conservative mean thinking the US has some kind of a duty to save foreign nations from themselves or bring our form of democratic republicanism to them by force?"

"At the same time, I cannot for the life of me understand how conservatives of all people convinced themselves that the solution to the 9/11 attacks was to forcibly create democracy in the Islamic world. I have even less explanations for how — 15 years and 10,000-plus lives later — conservatives refuse to examine their actions and expect the country to send more of its young to bleed and die over there to save the Iraqis who will not save themselves."

I know many will dismiss this out of hand because its the Post, thus proving one of the authors points, but I like this guy
Why I support Trump ? and resent the elites trying to destroy him | New York Post

Trump is not for smaller government, he believes that he can make government work good.

 

[T.Lex]

Trump is not for smaller government, he believes that he can make government work good.

Because if anyone knows how to buy good government, its him.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

The problem is this may very well help Trump. Bush had the GOPe backing and failed, so the GOPe went to backing Rubio and his polling has now tanked, if I'm Ted Cruz I would probably be telling the GOPe I don't want their backing. It just seems once the GOPe touts a candidate that the voters run from that candidate to someone else.

Carly Fiorina is GOPe? How do you figure, because she is a successful businesswoman?

Old is OK. Look at the most popular guy in this cycle: Bernie. An old grumpy guy.

Our airports are, like, Third World.”

I can understand why he may feel that way. He has flown into the Gary IN airport a time or 3.

Nope! I'm still pleased he is out of the race and do NOT want to see him as a VP to anyone.

Hey having a comic joke for a vp isn't all bad. It let's the comedians riff on him rather than the Pres, and can help to be insurance against assassination. IMO I think the 2nd reason is part of why Obama picked Biden.

Trump is not for smaller government, he believes that he can make government work good.

Work good for who is the question.

Because if anyone knows how to buy good government, its him.

Yep.

 

[Expat]

Because if anyone knows how to buy good government, its him.

As I said a few months ago, the Donald is "the crony" ...

 

[chipbennett]

oh

Meghan McCain shocks with sudden endorsement of Cruz | Washington Examiner

Yes, the Carly Fiorina and Meghan McCain endorsements really shore up that "outsider" status Ted Cruz has going...

 

[Expat]

Yes, Carly Fiorina is a long time establishment figure.

 

[Super Bee]

Yes, the Carly Fiorina and Meghan McCain endorsements really shore up that "outsider" status Ted Cruz has going...

As much of a twit Meghan McCain may be, I would much rather have her endorsement than David Dukes.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I don't have any stats but it certainly seems like the flurry of Rubio endorsements have slowed way down since his campaign appears to be running into a sand bar.

 

[chipbennett]

Yes, Carly Fiorina is a long time establishment figure.

Indeed, she is UniParty Establishment.

Here she is in 2003, parroting the words/policies of SecState John Kerry:

HP Carly Fiorina Speech: U.S.-Arab Economic Forum

Here she is in 2014, participating in the Clinton Global Initiative:

Clinton Global Initiative - CGI America: 2014 Participants

Here she is, supporting the DREAM act:

Carly Fiorina Supports DREAM Act, but Says She's Against "Amnesty" - CBS News

Here she is, shilling for Climate Change:

Politics Eggs Breakfast Carly Fiorina | Video | C-SPAN.org

Here she is, supporting Common Core:

http://www.carlyforca.com/downloads/CarlyonEducation.pdf

She's practically Jeb Bush in a skirt.

 

[Landon]

Carly Fiorina is GOPe? How do you figure, because she is a successful businesswoman?

I was not referring to Carly, did you open the link and read the article? Its talks about Rubio donors are now shifting to Cruz and several that are GOPe are throwing support behind Cruz. Hence the consolidation of support to Cruz.

 

[Expat]

Trump is a Dream Supporter?

[video]http://www.examiner.com/article/donald-trump-agrees-with-parts-of-the-dream-act-video[/video]

Trump supports Common Core?
https://pjmedia.com/trending/2016/02/11/trump-lets-slip-were-going-to-keep-common-core/

Trump supports Clinton Foundation?
Trump gave at least $100K to Clinton Foundation | TheHill

I could go on and on with Planned Parenthood, late term abortions, etc. He has been on both sides of every issue.
I guess he is part of the uni-party establishment as well.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Man how do I get into this "establishment" thing. Sounds like a sweet gig.

Edit: Not sure how accurate this story is... but Breitbart journos could use a little abuse now and again -

Trump campaign manager gets rough with Breitbart reporter

Also, found a recent picture of Sean Hannity. Not sure if anyone else has been following his Trump-humping lately.

 

[jamil]

I think the electorate are a forgiving lot. In the last campaign, he was viewed as a plutocrat. And he didn't know when to keep his yap shut. Plus, Obama was a sitting president with overwhelming minority support. He would have been difficult to unseat in any event.

This time around, he's not the richest guy in the field (if you believe anything Trump says). He hasn't said much or appeared on the clown debates. Compared with Trump, he's George Washington reincarnated.

The Black Lives Matter and ANGRY BLACK stories in the press (including something so trivial as Jada Pinkett Smith and Spilke Lee boycotting the Oscars) has created a strong, silent backlash among middle class whites. They want a white guy to run and, frankly, a Latino isn't "white" enough.

Romney has a shot, and a very good shot, methinks, against Clinton.

I think Romney could possibly beat Clinton. Sure, many conservatives would stay home, but I think he'd get a YUGE! chunk of the moderate independent vote this time around. Clinton isn't nearly as popular as Obama was with them. I really don't want to see Romney get in it. His time came and went. He fizzled.

They don't deserve to win the election if they're going to be so petty as to try to stop the American voters from having their choice of candidates. If they think the public is voting with their middle finger now, they're really not going to like what the public will be voting with next, it's called a couch.

WHAT? Really? If most American voters had their choice Trump wouldn't be in the picture. You forget. Trump is in the position he is because the two party system and the primary process is one of the least representative systems we could have. In a more representative system Trump is middle of the pack at best.

What I find most astonishing with this election is that both parties are about to nominate the two major candidates with the worst favorability ratings. Is that ****ed up or what? And the republican party managed to bubble up the top two candidates with the worst favorability ratings. So you really think American voters aren't being stopped from having their choice of candidates when it nominates Trump and the Hildabeast?

But you're right about the Trumpers. About 25 to 35% of the public, including all those democrat crossovers, will stay home in November and sulk on the couch like petulant children, while the hildabeast coasts to an easy win.

As much of a twit Meghan McCain may be, I would much rather have her endorsement than David Dukes.

Well, there's that.

 

[UglyAmerican]

Keep the Promise is a Super PAC supporting Cruz. Let's have a look at an FEC filing of theirs from October of last year.

Scroll on down to page 8:


Yep, that's what it says. On 6/18/15, when both Cruz and Fiorina were in the race, Keep the Promise sent five hundred thousand dollars to Fiorina's campaign. Curiouser and curiouser...