The Rubiobot’s Malfunction

Lawyers, Guns & Money ^ | March 7, 2016 | Scott Lemieux

[2ndDivisionVet]

More reviews are in!

"They have no infrastructure," said Scott Reed, who is unaffiliated with any campaign but serves as the chief political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "His campaign hasn't been able to keep up with his candidacy. . . . They don't have the operation in the states to help him get over the top. He should be a finalist going all the way to California, and he's not."

[...]

But Rubio's game plan ran into reality -- the #MarcoMentum strategy, as it's been dubbed on social media, was covering up massive deficiencies inside the states that were voting. Rubio had little to no infrastructure inside those key states, and each effort began when he was so far behind that momentum meant very little. He ended up a distant third behind Cruz, whose campaign has run a more effective, traditional effort to find supporters and then get them to the polls.

What's particularly funny about this is that Rubio's "who needs an actual campaign operation when you have the intarwebs and some ad buys" strategery was already essayed by Newt Gingrich in 2012. Only in Newt's case at least 1) he was running more of a book tour than a presidential campaign and 2) didn't have the resources to run a real campaign even if he wanted to. It's hard to escape the conclusion that Rubio was just too lazy to do the hard work Cruz was willing to.

You can see the consequences of Rubio's choices in this data. Part of what happened on Saturday is explained by voters moving towards Cruz because of the Rubio's attempt to perform the same murder-suicide on Trump that Christie performed on him. But Rubio had some primaries in which late deciders broke his way and couldn't capitalize, because Cruz is running a real campaign and hence is much more efficient at getting his voters to the polls. And that's why Cruz at least has a shot and Rubio doesn't, even though Rubio is the much more appealing candidate on paper.

[Bubba Gump Shrimp]

[fireman15]

A very strange game is being played this year. Cruz is actually the one with the most connections to Bush operatives, Banks, Wall Street and Big Oil lobbyists, his campaign is being run largely by “former” CIA operatives... yet we are suppose to believe that he is the “outsider”.

I don’t know that Marco is so more “lazy” than Ted. Maybe the insiders are just helping Cruz more. This is a year when no one wants to be thought of as an insider... even the insiders. The citizenship question just makes it easier for the handlers to keep their thumbs on the two Cubans.

[SubMareener]

That is an interesting analysis of the situation. It is almost as if the establishment said, “We need a shinny thing to distract the conservatives! Let’s find someone who can ‘stand up to the Washington Cartel’, and support him!”

[UncleSam]

Yeah, the two cubano jumping beans doing the work that real Americans's don't want to do.

[octex]

fta... It’s hard to escape the conclusion that Rubio was just too lazy to do the hard work Cruz was willing to.
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That is what Rubio has demonstrated during his lack luster term as Senator. He’s been lazy, hasn’t voted on key issues and has said the job is boring so he will not run for the Senate again. ....Useless pseudo politician

[octex]

Please stop with the BS.

Cruz and Rubio are both Americans, not Cubans.

[fireman15]

So you think the fact that neither of Rubio’s parents were American citizens when he was born is going to go away when the primary ends and we go into the general election? You do not think that the fact that Cruz was born in Canada and his dad was a Cuban who fought along side Castro and that he did not renounce his Canadian citizenship until he decided to run for president is going to be brought up by whoever he faces in the general election?

Oh, I am sure that you are right. The manners of the Democrats are just to good to actually bring up these possibly disqualifying facts about either of these candidates. They would never try to question our candidates’ natural born status for political advantage. You are the one who needs to stop the wishful thinking.