We had the chance, and we blew it.

FreeRepublic ^ | 2/19/2016 | Washi

[Washi]

It's appearing obvious that Trump will win South Carolina, and logic would tend to indicate that that makes him the odds-on favorite to win the Republican nomination (baring any GOPe dirty tricks at the convention).

While I will gladly vote for Trump over Clinton or Sanders, I'm still disheartened.

Ever since the last day of Reagan's administration, America has been in need of conservative leadership.

GHW Bush's squishiness gave us Clinton.

GW Bush barely won election. I'm glad he was in office after 9/11 instead of Gore, but he loaded us up with tons of debt and a lot of government growth. He also gave us Obama.

McCain was a squish and got his ass handed to him in Obama's first term.

Romney was a squish and got his ass handed to him in Obama's second term. Even Obama was surprised he won that one after the destruction he wrought in his first term.

Now, our chance has come.

On the democrat side, we have a nasty, entitled, corrupt, untrustworthy, unlikable, old hag and a grungy, mooching, old, socialist running for office.

On the republican side, we have a solidly conservative, well spoken, highly informed candidate that isn't afraid to stand up to the GOPe and fight for conservative causes. It's what we ALL have been waiting for.

We've ALL thought that we could win the presidency and right the wrongs of the past few decades of creeping socialism if we would just put a true conservative up as our nominee in the general.

Well, this is our chance. But, we're about to piss it away.

I think I understand the appeal of Trump. People are pissed and Trump has tapped into that. But this is a time for thinking, not feeling. Trump is a demagogue. People want to be on "Team Trump" because he's loud, proud, and unapologetic. But, Trump is also practicing a scorched Earth campaign of character assassination against Cruz in order to win the nomination for himself, and his whipped up supporters are dog-piling on anyone who dares to point out the emperor's lack of clothes.

Two years from now, when we discover that all of the red flags and warnings being blared by Trump's past positions and statements really are an accurate representation of Trump, and we find that "campaign" Trump was just that, we will kick ourselves when we realize that we had our chance, perhaps our last, to nominate the true conservative we had all been waiting for, and we screwed it up.

Turning a blind eye to Trump's liberal leanings just because he says the things we want to hear, and helps us express our dissatisfaction with the status-quo, doesn't make his leanings any less liberal.

We've said that electing a conservative could set us back on the right track.

We have, right now, a chance that we won't have again for a very, very long time. A chance to prove we were right.

But we're about to blow it.

[MaxFlint]

And if he is unable to achieve that, what are you left with?

The pleasure of watching Hillary's humiliating, ignoble defeat.

But Trump can close the borders, so I'll be way ahead.

[The Iceman Cometh]

Cruz and his campaign staff did nothing unethical, illegal or even immoral in Iowa and all of the contrived indignation to the contrary does not make it so.

Yep....Cruz apologized for doing nothing wrong. Makes sense.

[grey_whiskers]

One fights rhetoric with rhetoric.

[Washi]

You're heading into Kanye territory.

With two references to myself?

I guess I'll take your word for it.

[SteveSCH]

I’m a Trump supporter and i do not hate Ted Cruz.

I hate the amnesty pimps, the globalists, the communists, and the sellout shills that promote them.

We are tearing ourselves apart while the GOPe gets ready to crown Rubio tomorrow night regardless of the outcome...

[The Iceman Cometh]

Ted Cruz - right message....wrong messenger.

[Bullish]

The true appeal of Trump is that he’s willing to at least say he’s going to do something to rid us of the illegal alien invasion we’re dying from.

Everyone else running seems to be scared to death of the word “deport”.

[Outlaw76]

Trump has over 1000 H1’s on his payroll.

Does this issue really bother you or is it an excuse?

[Just mythoughts]

Are you a lawyer?

[crosdaddy]

Wayne Allen Root

[mbrfl]

I believe you’re sincere in your concerns, but I believe you’re wrong about Trump. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, but we’ll have to wait and see.

[Windflier]

...he growls "I'll do EXACTLY LIKE I SAID I'LL DO"

We get that same ad here in Texas. That last sentence grates on my nerves every time I hear it. It's about as genuine as a three dollar bill. Completely inauthentic.

[luvbach1]

Between Trump and Cruz I want the one who will win. That’s much more important than getting my first choice. At this point I’m not sure which one that is. My first choice is Cruz.

[moonhawk]

How would nominating a non-natural born citizen help? I wish it weren’t so, but we have no alternative to Trump.

The Dems would sue Cruz into oblivion. I was against Obama because he wasn’t legally qualified (among MANY other reasons), and I’d be a total hypocrite if I voted for Cruz.

He hasn’t shown the slightest inclination to man up and deal with the issue, and gives snarky Obama-like comments when it’s brought up.

But son’t worry==Our primary isn’t till June, and my vote will be irrelevant by then.

Meanwhile, Go Trump.

[Outlaw76]

They don’t need to kill him. Just ignore him. Poor! There goes trumps mastery.

It will break his mind.

[pnut22]

Well said.

[ConservativeMind]

A reasonable amount of this problem rests on Ted Cruz, himself.

He appears perfectly comfortable with self-certifying his “natural born American” status, while we all know his competitors, both Republican and Democrat, will seek to disqualify him as “Cuban,” “Canadian,” or merely “naturalized US citizen.”

His father was both Cuban and Canadian and his mother was a US citizen. He was born in Canada. It has been stated that Ted renounced his Canadian citizenship a handful of years ago. I have also read that Ted’s own parents may not have timely filed any US paperwork required to show his normally expected US citizenship.

I do believe that, to be “natural born,” there should not be any question of loyalties to any other country. For most of us, we are born to two US citizens and can say we only have US citizenship. Ted can claim three countries’ worth of citizenship.

Is it possible someone can be “natural born” of three distinct countries? How would the Founders have viewed this?

[right way right]

It’s not over until the votes are counted.
I still believe in the process.
It realy comes down to being able to vote FOR someone or against a Socialist supported by the CPUSA.
We must vote.

[CodeToad]

Ted Cruz, by sending these "Voting Violation" mailers, in my opinion, violated the following federal election laws. Many States have similar laws.

The following is an image of a mailer Senator Ted Cruz sent out intimidating and threatening voters. It contains voter information and the information of the voter's neighbors.

It threatens "follow up notices" with no doubt information about if the voter voted in the caucus.

It intends to intimidate a person into voting by threatening to disclosure to the neighbors the person's voting record.

What does Ted Cruz expect the person receiving this notice to do to their neighbors for not voting as he demands?

What might happen to the voter if the neighbors are informed the voter has not voted as Ted Cruz expects?

These are direct threats and intimidations in violation of federal election, civil rights, and postal laws.

The following PDF document link outlines the federal election laws and the government's position on such matters for the purposes of prosecution.

Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses Seventh Edition, May 2007

The following sections are from the above document. I've condensed and paraphrased the document to the important words.

42 U.S. Code § 1973gg-10 - Criminal penalties (violation of election law)
A person in any election for Federal office knowingly and willfully intimidates, threatens, or coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any person for registering to vote, or voting, or attempting to register or vote; urging or aiding any person to register to vote, to vote, or to attempt to register or vote; shall be fined or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.

18 U.S. Code § 594 - Intimidation of voters
Whoever intimidates, threatens, coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose, or of causing such other person to vote for, or not to vote for, any candidate for the office of President or Vice President shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

[Grizzled Bear]

When one plays the Jesus sent me card, then it was absolutely immoral. Some of US will not fall for deception... Bearing false witness is still one of the 10 Commandments.... Christ said you break one you break them all..

What would Jesus say about a man who publishes books with passages where he gloats about engaging in sex with married women while he is also married?

Is your moral outrage selective based upon the target of your outrage?