" Praise be to God I won I won ! "
Posted on 02/01/2016 11:32:49 PM PST by Michael van der Galien
It was an exciting race, but the results are in: Ted Cruz has won the Iowa caucuses.
The senator from Texas was my favorite going in, but the talking heads in the media and the pollsters didn't agree. According to them, Iowa was Donald Trump's for the taking.
Well, not quite so. He lost big tonight. Early in the evening people thought it could be too close to call, but that was absolutely not the case. Cruz led from the get-go and stayed on top all throughout the night.
What this means is simple: Cruz has rallied Iowa conservatives behind him, and we can expect conservatives, supporters of the Tea Party, and evangelicals to flock to him even more. Especially now that The Donald has suffered a humiliating blow.
Speaking of Trump, he will now have to win New Hampshire. If he does not, his game is up and he'll fade away.
According to Fox News, Marco Rubio is "the big winner," but that's nonsense. He finished third. Third. He did better than many thought (I actually predicted he and Trump would almost be too close to call, but I gave it to Rubio beforehand because he had momentum), but a bronze medal is never gold. It's now up to him to compete in New Hampshire by rallying the moderate and establishment vote around his campaign. If he does, he may come very close in the Granite State which would make him a real competitor.
But it's not even clear that this scenario will happen. Many Cruz insiders believe he will do better than many expect in New Hampshire.
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
Considering how everyone said Trump had NO ground game and that his supporters would never show up to caucus, I wouldn’t count this as much of a victory
The Trumpets will be blowing bad notes.............
It could be said that if Ted won at all he won by the skin of his teeth.
That’s not a decisive win it’s a virtual tie
There are big differences between beating Rubio with the establishment eventually lining up behind him, and beating Trump with the establishment hating him almost as much as they hate Cruz. I'm hoping to see Cruz win despite that, but it takes a lot of planning, coordination, and ground-game. Cruz had those in Iowa, and I hope he has the structure he needs elsewhere.
I challenge his eligibility.
You all may laugh that Jebba the Hut only got 1%, but that was his strategy all along. He was going to lose the primary to win the general. You just watch. /sarc.
Cruz got 51,000 votes. Previously, Santorum won with 29,000 and Huckabee won with 40,000.
Trump’s percentage was lower than the 2nd place winners’ percentages in 2008 and 2012.
" Praise be to God I won I won ! "
However, it is a big win as it creates a lot of positive momentum for Senator Cruz, and momentum is important in a field that contains a lot of people jostling for votes.
It is my hope that the field will narrow a bit. If you recall in 2012, the three horse race between Gingrich, Santorum and Romney had Romney only getting a third of the votes, but the 'good votes' getting split between Santorum and Gingrich. Result? Romney won.
We currently have a three horse race between Cruz, Trump and Rubio, and things are about to get quite interesting.
Indeed. I think you will find that Ted Cruz is a meticulous planner despite the occasional mis step. I also think he is capable of adapting to the changing situation and conditions in each state. We’ll see, but I think he has what it takes.
The strange dynamic is that Trump needs Rubio to take votes away from Cruz, and Cruz needs Trump to take votes away from Rubio. In the next few states the dynamic will be complex, but very interesting. It is in Cruz’s interest that this become a two-man race. I think Cruz has a better shot with Trump as his foil, but he definitely need one of these two to be eliminated as soon as possible.
Cruz needs a kill-shot against Rubio, but does he have one? He is going to have to make a calculation as to which of these guys he has the best shot at taking out and go for it.
There is another path open to him, but it is a high-risk one, and that is to facilitate the mutual destruction of both Trump and Rubio. The question is how does Cruz manage to stay above the fray and out of the crossfire, or becoming their mutual target.
Three-man races are inherently unstable and one candidate will usually fade if voters perceive him to be the loser in the group, and won’t want to waste a vote on him. Cruz will need to make sure the fader is not him. If past experience is a guide, Trump will be the fader; can Cruz make that dynamic shift to Rubio?
Perseverance, strategic thinking and a good ground game still get the job done. One down and 49 to go. Well done, Ted!!
GO CRUZ!!
Cruz won by 6,200 caucus votes and 4%. He pulled ahead after the early moments and steadily increased his lead throughout the night. That’s hardly an example of a “virtual tie.”
Welcome back!!!!!
I know it’s had to fathom, but conservative voters voted for the conservative candidate in Iowa instead of the fake conservative.....
Obviously, it was rigged by Goldman Sachs .../ S
And the Trumpets are hitting sour notes........
I’d really like to see Cruz as the prez, but I question if he has the massive support in the other 56 states that give him a win over Hitlery. I think that’s where the Donald would win out.
Exactly. Count Dracula’s Undead followers act like they just won the Powerball.
By “win” what they really mean is, “We thought we were toast after tonight and were ready to fold our tent for the last time.”
So their ineligible guy will live another day, still riding on Trump’s coattails and with Rubio drafting behind both of them, until the Count is determined to be ineligible to hold the office ...
“Hey, wait a second. Has anyone noticed that this guy’s ... not a NBC?”
That will be Uniparty’s cue: Hello Beatle-booted protege of Yeb Boosh!
Not to worry though. It just makes things a little more difficult for Trump.
The tactical result of an engagement forms the base for new strategic decisions because victory or defeat in a battle changes the situation to such a degree that no human acumen is able to see beyond the first battle. In this sense one should understand Napoleon's saying: "I have never had a plan of operations." Therefore no plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first contact with the main hostile force. [Often paraphrased: No plan survives contact with the enemy.]
- Field Marshall Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke the Elder
The real questions are: how much will Cruz learn from his successes (and, even more important, his failures) in Iowa, and how much will Trump and Rubio learn? This is as it should be. I don't want a White House occupant, like Obama, who decided everything back in his Marxist indoctrination days and already knows all the answers. I want a real president, one who learns from each encounter. I know Cruz is a good learner. It's time for him to prove it. Again. Or for Trump to prove that he's even better. I pray it won't be the establishment proving that they learned what they need to put their shill, Rubio, on top.
Vs the cultists of Prophet Modonald, who were oh-so-sure they were going to sweep to an easy 50-state victory. Turns out He From On High isn’t quite so brilliant and invincible after all.
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