Where were Trump's 'Leadership Skills' in Iowa? All I Saw was a Poorly-Managed, Ego-Driven Mess

Reaganite Republican ^ | 04 February 2016 | Reaganite Republican

[Reaganite Republican]

When you're battling for something as important as the US presidency
-and you've got financial resources and a lengthy record of success launching new ventures into the business and entertainment spheres-
most observers would surely expect to see a guy like Donald Trump roll into Iowa with a polished, professional organization based on
sound principles of what's worked in the past... as conservative politics  -and most
sound business decisions- are grounded in.

I know that's what I thought we'd be seeing...

Something more along-the-lines of the impressive campaign that
Ted Cruz has bolted together.

Instead we get an hyper-arrogant Trump -seemingly lacking in self awareness- thinking he can go win it his 21st-century way, twitter, Facebook,
and rah-rah rallies -surrounded by yes-men/pollsters and co-opted media sources that are stroking him all the time- and going with something that's never
been tried before... just waltz in and get crowned. 

What made him even think it would work-- other than a misplaced belief in his own supposed greatness? Some caucus meetings said
no Trumpsters showed-up to speak on behalf of the candidate at their locale... the most basic building block of the entire caucus process, sounds like they really
dropped the ball.

Alas, much like Rumsfeld's 'light' approach brought disaster in pre-surge Iraq 
-a costly strategic error also borne of hubris and wishful thinking-
Trump's hollow campaign organization may have produced some
initial shock-n-awe, but he mostly lacks a 'ground game'
-a concept The Donald incredibly claims to have little awareness of. 

All this showed in Iowa- Team Trump's effort was based on nothing but a bloated self-image telling him he could do it any way he pleased....
including a fussilade of disingenuous personal attacks on Ted Cruz
in the run-up to caucus night.

Self-assured delusion -'everybody loves him'- no respect for principle or the lessons of history, he's got a better way that's never been
tried before, but us less-gifted sorts probably won't understand...
so just trust him on that, 'kay?

And if anybody opposes or threatens Trump's 'revolution', he now incites his brownshirts to bully people like he does -demonizing anyone who dare look at Trump cross-eyed-
how exactly is this whole schtick any different than Obama, Hillary, and the residual Alinskyite left?

But the problem for Trump is shallow support from actual conservatives...
he'll likely soon be hemorrhaging Evangelical and constitutionalist supporters now that his ceaseless boasts of inevitability have been exposed as so much flapdoodle.

Since The Donald is neither conservative nor saintly, many of Christians/conservatives were on-board purely based on inevitability/momentum... but that's over now, and no amount of
bought-and-paid-for endorsements are going to help.

Trump didn't do himself any favors with that twitter meltdown/tantrum yesterday, either- if you've long wondered where his poll ceiling was,
it looks like we've found it. Listen carefully and you might hear thousands
quietly deleting #Trump2016 from their twitter profile...

[true believer forever]

Jeff Roe, Cruz’ campaign mgr, has pulled this suspending campaign trick before ... exact same thing. Cruz surely must have known that.

Excerpt:

An e-mail sent to news media outlets and a “tweet” issued by a fake Twitter account announced that Eckersley had suspended his campaign due to personal reasons.

Eckersley blames his opponent, Republican Billy Long, for sending out the hoax days before the election,

“You know this is dirty politics. This is Jeff Roe style management. That’s who Billy’s retained. That’s who he writes the big checks to,” Eckersley tells Missourinet affiliate KTTS. “This is Kansas City management doing what they do best, which is playing dirty.

http://www.missourinet.com/2010/10/29/eckersley-calls-e-mail-a-hoax-says-hes-still-in-the-race-audio/

[Byron_the_Aussie]

.. this Trump-bashing is all meaningless if he wins decisively in New Hampshire next Tuesday ..

The bashing ritual isn't about Trump.

It's about a sick little group on FR united by hate, and obsessive to a degree which would frighten John Hinckley Jnr.

[Guenevere]

hmmmm

Ben Carson......or Napolitano

I’ll take Carson

[ilgipper]

Iowa aint about delegates. It’s about positioning and weeding out. No one in history is focused on delegate count. That’s pointless spin.

[dp0622]

please tell me you’re lying. He obviously made fun of that guy with the Neurological disorder.

[elhombrelibre]

If Trump doesn’t win New Hampshire by 25%, he should get out.

[Reaganite Republican]

He seemed pretty serious about Iowa until he lost

And Trump supporters seem to have trouble finding the voting booth...
not as fun as the rallies I guess

[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

When Cruz starts leading in every poll for 6 months and fills entire stadiums at his rallies, let me know.

Iowa is nothing.

[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

Exactly. I really like Cruz, but his supporters here have lost their minds.

I realized this when they started trashing SARAH PALIN of all people.

They're saying we've all been fooled all these years by Palin.

She's really a RINO traitor, right?

Oh and Rush is a RINO, too of course.

Ted Cruz has become the center of their universe.

[mak5]

Those were Trump;s leadership skills. There’s nothing else there.

[xander]

Trying to keep faith.

Disappointed in the crap tactics on the Cruz front and the whine on the Trump front. Trump’s allegiances are always in question and Cruz’s are not to be questioned. Neither seem focused on obliterating the horrors of these past seven years. Ethanol and nuking Denmark are ridiculous distractions from our bigger battles. Both candidates are rapidly losing my support with their petty schoolboy antics.

[Byron_the_Aussie]

... Exactly. I really like Cruz, but his supporters here have lost their minds ...

Are they supporters? Because its obvious from the reaction when Trump attacks Cruz that conservatives don't like to see their candidates at each other's throats.

[John W]

Bottom line after all this continuing blather is Cruz beat Trump in the first 2016 vote.

[ilgipper]

Find one discussion EVER about the importance of delegates in Iowa. Obama didn’t win because he got a delegate or two more than Hillary. He gained control of the narrative and captured attention. Y’all are foolishly grasping at straws. Donald wanted a win for the win, not for the delegates. It’s a tiny state. It’s irrelevant compared to Pennsylvania, Ohio, FL or any other large state. This has gotten stupid over the past few weeks. I forgot...everything Trump does is genius even when it doesn’t work. He trashed opponents, embraced the left, skipped a debate and lost a lead. But he still played it perfectly in your mind. He went all in at the last minute and blew it. Ego beat good strategy. The war of Iowa opened the door for Rubio and he’s going to bust through it over the next few weeks and take this thing. I am not thrilled about it, but the door is wide open for him.

[DungeonMaster]

You mean the Ted Cruz who ....apparently.....will stoop to anything to get votes.... ...like....flash send across Iowa to all 1500 caucus sites .....that Ben Carson is dropping out of the race....

That would have been a dirty trick if it had happened. It didn't happen in the mass 30 precinct caucus I attended. Where are the Iowans who are being interviewed by the ravenous liberal media wolves saying how they had their votes stolen. They are strangely missing.

[Stingray51]

I agree.