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Why Donald Trump Dropped the Ball in Iowa
vanity | February 2, 2016 | Nathan Bedford

Posted on 02/02/2016 10:49:53 AM PST by nathanbedford

Like a downfield receiver who turns to run before securing the ball and muffs the catch, Trump turned his eye to the general election and began to run toward the middle and so he muffed the election in Iowa.

Trump believed the polls, he thought he had Iowa in the bag, he was counting on New Hampshire and almost immediately thereafter South Carolina; he thought he was unstoppable all the way to the nomination. All candidates by necessity project confidence in their ultimate victory but Trump went beyond that, in describing his upcoming tenure in the Oval Office he assumed he had already won the election. His narcissism kicked into high gear.

Like all narcissists he abandoned his friends and betrayed his supporters immediately it was more profitable to seduce a new group of potential friends, supporters and voters.

So Trump began to run toward the middle. He told us what great people Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi were. He had praise for Mitch McConnell. He told us how he could "make deals" with all of them. He flirted with single-payer healthcare. He became less definite on immigration. Trump attacked Cruz from the left on the issue of biofuels in Iowa thus betraying an unseemly eagerness to pander. Trump demonstrated that as president his dalliances with big government crony capitalism would not stop, he would simply be playing the same game from the other side of the table.

The candidate who had achieved front runner status by pretending to champion the cause of disenfranchised conservatives against the GOPe/unitary party abandoned those who had supported him as the new Messiah to pander after a new pool of voters in the broader, richer, land of crony capitalism and government largess.

In short, Donald Trump unwittingly betrayed the kind of president he would be if elected, he would not be loyal to any conservative principles, he would not be loyal to the Republican Party, he would not be faithful to any cause except the advancement of Donald Trump. He did it because his ego told him he could get away with it because he believed he had already won the nomination and because it advanced, he thought, the fortunes of Donald Trump.



TOPICS: Humor; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: narcissist; nathanbedford; trump
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To: nathanbedford

I think you have it about right. In the final two weeks before Iowa, he re-allied himself with the Washington establishment figures and trashed the most bold conservative in Washington. A guy conservatives have rallied around. Going on offense against Cruz is expected. The vitriol of nastiness and the attacks matching the left/GOPe was enough to change the entire story about Trump. He proved for the moment he is not one of us, but rather one of them. He’s still in position to make a run, but if he had taken a different course in the final weeks, he could have won and been nearly inevitable.


41 posted on 02/02/2016 11:16:23 AM PST by ilgipper
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To: ifinnegan
-"I’m not sure Trump actually wants to be president."

What is giving you doubts?

42 posted on 02/02/2016 11:19:01 AM PST by LibFreeUSA
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To: VideoDoctor
Like Huckabee and Santorum, before Cruz, all three candidates came out of Iowa with a win but no strong foundation in the upcoming states.

You really need to do more research before commenting. There have been many articles talking about the level of Cruz's infrastructure in the upcoming states. He even has a strong organization in California, which is the last primary of the season. Of all of the candidates, Cruz is the one who has spent the most time and effort laying the foundation for a strong GOTV in all of the primary states at least through March 15th.

43 posted on 02/02/2016 11:19:26 AM PST by CA Conservative (Texan by birth, Californian by circumstance)
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To: ifinnegan

I am concerned that Trump might appear a loser.


44 posted on 02/02/2016 11:20:31 AM PST by cornfedcowboy
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To: West Texas Chuck

Amen


45 posted on 02/02/2016 11:23:05 AM PST by MEG33 (God Bless America And Our Troops)
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To: nathanbedford
Like all narcissists rookies he abandoned his friends and betrayed his supporters immediately it was more profitable to seduce a new group of potential friends, supporters and voters.

That's a little harsh for a close second place, don't you think?

In keeping with your analogy, I fixed it for you.

-PJ

46 posted on 02/02/2016 11:23:27 AM PST by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
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To: sickoflibs

How do I get into the Cruz-dementia club?

Is a disbelief of reality required? Then never mind.

Trump came within 1 delegate of Cruz with very little effort and money. It’s all coasting for him from here.


47 posted on 02/02/2016 11:23:45 AM PST by ConservativeWarrior (Fall down 7 times, stand up 8. - Japanese proverb)
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To: dangus

I am a Cruz supporter.

He got one extra delegate. All the “votes” don’t count towards the nomination, only delegates. One more delegate out of the 1,200+ needed for the nomination.

Trump got 7 delegates, Rubio got 7 delegates,

For Cruz it was a slightly favorable TIE.


48 posted on 02/02/2016 11:30:02 AM PST by taxcontrol ( The GOPe treats the conservative base like slaves by taking their votes and refuses to pay)
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To: taxcontrol; All
Iowa was a three way tie. Cruz got 8 delegates, Trump 7 and Rubio got 7. Cruz didn’t win, and Trump nor Rubio lost. It was a tie.

ALL: If the Broncos beat the Panthers by a point in the SuperBowl, I'd be wary of Taxcontrol's potential posting that the game was a "tie."

49 posted on 02/02/2016 11:31:40 AM PST by Colofornian
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To: nathanbedford

I remind everyone that the best dealmaker ever was Satan. It didn’t work out well for mankind. Trump’s bromance with Carl Icahn says a lot. For those who have never had dealings with or against Icahn, he is just as ruthless as Gordon Gecko in the movie “Wall Street.” I have many friends that had their careers destroyed by him, and not because they were bad companies, but because he just decided he had to have them, and carve them up like turkeys and sell the parts...Icahn was the consummate model for the ‘Hostile Takeover’. Perhaps some feel like in order to win, we must sacrifice everything to do so. I understand that business model, but I do not agree with it. If that is the person that Trump heralds, watch out. Conservatism will win out in the long run.


50 posted on 02/02/2016 11:33:11 AM PST by richardtavor
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To: cornfedcowboy; All
I am concerned that Trump might appear a loser.

A candidate should represent his constituency well. So what better way to represent l_ _ _ _ s?

51 posted on 02/02/2016 11:33:41 AM PST by Colofornian
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To: sickoflibs

Not all NYers Love Trump. I know a few and claim Trump doesn’t speak for them - maybe his upper East Siders but again not all.


52 posted on 02/02/2016 11:38:41 AM PST by zerosix (Native Sunflower)
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To: nathanbedford

I just thought Trump lost because Iowa picks losers.


53 posted on 02/02/2016 11:40:04 AM PST by Wilderness Conservative
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To: dangus
And proved he could withstand the worst sh!+storm flung at him in any primary contest ever.

Hyperbole much?

Seriously, though, what are you comparing this to? There have been many, many contests in the past. This one is mild compared to the Adams-Jefferson battles of the campaign of 1796!

54 posted on 02/02/2016 11:40:34 AM PST by Alas Babylon! (As we say in the Air Force, "You know you're over the target when you start getting flak!")
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To: dschapin; All
Trump started to betray conservatives before he had even won a single vote.

This, of course, assumes he was committed/loyal to any conservative cause to begin with.

* He was openly pro-abortion 1999-2011.
* He ran with the gambling industry in Atlantic City before bankrupting himself & many investors.
* He said in 2000 that Republicans were wrong on gun related issues.
* He said in 2000 he was in favor of universal healthcare.
(IoW, to know the "real" Trump just hit the rewind button 15-16 years)

55 posted on 02/02/2016 11:43:14 AM PST by Colofornian
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To: zerosix
RE:”Not all NYers Love Trump. I know a few and claim Trump doesn't speak for them - maybe his upper East Siders but again not all.”

If it wasn't for Trump on Sept 11 the Empire State building would have been next.

And the Brooklyn Bridge.

It was his Speech at ground zero that calmed down the survivors....his leadership...NYC values

56 posted on 02/02/2016 11:43:31 AM PST by sickoflibs (Donald Trump : 'It will be wonderful. It will be glorious., You will be amazed, Just wait')
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To: nathanbedford; All

Interesting analysis; thread.

HOORAY Trump
HOORAY Cruz


57 posted on 02/02/2016 11:46:52 AM PST by PGalt
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To: sickoflibs

glad to hear that i thought it was mostly Rudy but glad to hear he and Pataki weren’t the only New Yorkers!


58 posted on 02/02/2016 11:47:19 AM PST by zerosix (Native Sunflower)
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To: napscoordinator
It was a better bang for his buck compared to Cruz who spend 2 years and huge amounts of money for 4 percent win.

In a way, Trump has spent 30 years developing and projecting a persona that gave him a huge head start in name recognition. People already know who Donald Trump is, outaside of wonks like us and our nemeses at DU and maybe high-information voters in Texas, Ted Cruz was an unknown.

Trump's persona earned him unbelieveable gobs of free media exposure, mostly positive, at least to anti-Obama, anti-establishment types.

Trump has also framed the debate, forcing a spotlight on illegal immigration, which Pat Buchanan and Tom Tancredo failed in doing, and Bush, McCain and Romney had no interest in doing. So in that way, he is already a winner. He has tied John Ellis Bush in particular and the Establishment/consultant class generally in knots.

Despite the friction in the time before the caucus, I (a Cruz supporter) appreciate that Trump created breathing room for Cruz to succeed, and has also helped create a media environment where if Cruz fights back, he's not the only one, because Trump does it louder and has the means to hurt his opponents that Cruz does not have, because Cruz did not invest 30 years in building that persona.

Trump is not my first choice, but I do believe he loves our country, and the election is better thanks to his role in it.
59 posted on 02/02/2016 11:47:43 AM PST by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics)
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To: Dr. Sivana
In some way you are right as far as exposure but Iowa was a tough sell for Donald Trump even with notoriety. I actually think this is good. With Hillary expecting a coronation, I actually thought that Trump was going to get one to and that really isn't good. So now Trump has to work for the nomination instead of it being handed to him. I think that is good for everyone. If Trump would have won last night, the primary would have been over and really the more debates and especially answers that Trump will have to give will just make him stronger in the end which is good for all of us.
60 posted on 02/02/2016 11:51:45 AM PST by napscoordinator
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