Posted on 01/20/2016 7:09:20 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
With 13 days until the Iowa caucuses, Donald J. Trump and Ted Cruz, the senator from Texas, are deploying different surrogates but similar playbooks in the state, where the Republican electorate is conservative and where each is trying hard to win.
Mr. Trump's closing argument began on Tuesday night with the endorsement of Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 2008, who built a grass-roots following from the ashes of defeat that year. Mrs. Palin could be a significant help to Mr. Trump, certainly in terms of news media attention.
But much of the coverage of her endorsement speech was negative. Pundits and reporters took note of her rambling, edgy-seeming, sometimes-rhyming presentation in Iowa, with Mr. Trump standing nearby, occasionally looking as if he wished it would wrap up.
That may not matter much, since Mrs. Palin's supporters are mistrustful of the "lamestream media," as she has described the press in recent years. And Mr. Cruz's team was mindful enough of the potential impact of her endorsement that he clarified a negative comment from his spokesman about her support for Mr. Trump.
But some Republicans see an upside for Mr. Cruz in the performance of Mrs. Palin, who, like Mr. Trump, has reality television star as a line on her résumé and who has been absent from the national scene for many months.
Those Republicans argue that Mrs. Palin and Mr. Trump could make Mr. Cruz look more presidential....
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Yada, yada, yada. Nothing to do with what actually was happening.
GO TRUMP!
GO SARAH!
I don’t see any risks for Trump and Palin. The media has done their best to destroy them already.
Sarah is great!
Palin’s speech was great. The media has been negative on Palin and Trump from the first day either one of them appeared. Yet support for them is powerful.
The NYTimes didn’t understand Trump’s rise to near 50 percent polling in places like Florda. They didn’t understand Palin’s rise to great love and support. And they sure as hell will not appreciate the rise of Palin and Trump working together.
No risks. They have never been liked by the people that should not like them; it might even inoculate them from the GOPe feigning an attraction to Trump in some sort of agent provocateur head-fake.
I forgot to add — had Palin endorsed Cruz, they would not be saying anything at all like that; it would be just the opposite.
Hahahahaha! (gasp) Hahahahaha!
I’ve heard several people who were going to vote Trump now say they have reservations. Full disclosure: I had reservations before her endorsement. Those I’m talking about are Democrats who were going to vote for Trump, but I repeat myself.
Just shows how dishonest you are.
Someone wake me when all the conservatives are though fighting each other and they finally remember who the enemy is.
Try to remember the “conservatives” got us into the mess we are in. Didn’t we send a bunch to Washington in 2012 and 2014. Didn’t we listen to them promise they would fix things?
Time to forget them and go with someone who will actually fight. Conservatives don’t seem to be able to do that when it counts.
Had Palin endorsed Cruz, is there any doubt what Donald Trump’s Twitter feed would have looked like?
Probably something like this (Note: These are NOT real Tweets, just an illustration of what would have probably been said had Palin endorsed Cruz).
from @Real DonaldTrump: @SarahPalinUSA is a washed-up has been who ran away from office when the job got tough. And her Katie Couric Interview was a total disaster.
from @RealDonaldTrump: Nobody likes @SarahPalinUSA Anymore. Just ask Steve Schmidt or Nicole Wallace who had to deal with her. Totally Unprofressional.
from @RealDonaldTrump: @SarahPalinUSA isn’t even good at television. How many of her shows have been canceled due to low ratings? And not even on a major network like me.
from @RealDonaldTrump: @SarahPalinUSA came to me for mentorship and never once listened to any advice I gave her. What a loser!
And therein lies the problem. We could have a contest about what Trump’s twitter feed would have looked like had Palin endorsed Cruz. Would they look similar to the examples I just provided above? You Betcha!
Kinda getting tired of you, you sabe?
An interesting reflection! The tweets looked ... totally believable. Had Palin chosen the right guy, that is. But she chose the wrong one, to my surprise and disgust.
Sarah sold out her conservative values which was her base. Those who don’t care about conservative values think it is wonderful.
Than includes hardcore trumpees who do not care about conservative values either.
I’m for values, not the cult of personality.
Still winning....
She must like fame and money more than her principles which is sad.
Nothing she says will mean anything to me again. Levin made a point I have been wondering about - DT is on FNC more than Rove, why haven’t other candidates asked for equal time?
They let him tell his lies as truths. I have now quit even fox and friends.
So can you explain why you didn’t immediately flip to DT with her announcement?/s
As a Cruz supporter I’ve been honest and brutal regarding Palin and Trump. I can’t stand the NY times but this analysis could be spot on. Sarah gave a god awful speech. Trump did want her to shut up. It was uncomfortable to say the least.
Due to Trump’s celebrity it may not matter either way. His supporters are invested emotionally, but my gut is telling me Sarah is a negative on the campaign trail. A little Facebook column endorsement would have been better for Trump.
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