Posted on 07/01/2015 4:19:50 PM PDT by Mariner
Donald Trump is surging. In a field that has grown to 16 Republican presidential candidates (once Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich make their candidacies official), Trump is now in second place pretty much wherever you look. A new Quinnipiac poll of Iowa voters shows him tied for second with Ben Carson; they each have 10 percent to Walker’s 18. The latest CNN/WMUR poll in New Hampshire also puts Trump in second, with 11 percent, behind only Jeb Bush at 16 percent. And in the Huffington Post Pollster average of national polls, Trump comes in a mere 0.7 percent behind Bush.
While everyone has treated the Trump story as an amusing sideshow to the campaign (which it certainly is), there’s a genuine danger for the GOP in his presence that goes beyond the simple fact that he makes the party look silly (which he certainly does). More than any other candidate, Trump is telling Latinos that the Republican Party doesn’t like them.
Now let’s be clear: It isn’t as though Trump is going to be a serious contender for the nomination. But he could also go significantly higher than he is now. Just think about what happened in 2012, when one ridiculous candidate after another shot to the front of the Republican primary race. At one point, Rick Perry was in the lead with 32 percent support. Herman Cain once led with 26 percent. Newt Gingrich topped the field with 35 percent. Rick Santorum was No. 1 with 34 percent. The 2016 race may or may not be that volatile, but it will certainly have some ups and downs, as one candidate or another will stumble and another will rise.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The million dollar question is Grace G...
Who gave birth to the Tea Party? Perot in 92' or Pat Buchanan running in that Primary taking on GHWB for being a quasi-RINO? Remember Buchanan's famous words? "My friends, this is a cultural war". After last week he sounds like a freakin' prophet.
Right or wrong and as flawed as they are, these two guys got the fact that E-GOP was stabbing us in the back and right or wrong were tapping into our zeitgeist, that we knew we were being screwed.
For better or worse, Trump gets we are getting screwed and has the BALLS their I said it, to dare speak the truth, and has the money to do something about.
Compared to the warm bucket of spit the E-GOP and it's leadership has become, does anyone get NOW why Trump is attracting attention?
Whether it is 92' or 16' we have been here all along, we almost got it together in 09' ans somehow they boxed us in.
Does the Donald become our voice, or do we tangentially go the Article V route and Organize, Connect, Protest and Boycott as Beck Denotes?
I have no answers, I fear we are over...
When you get down to it, that’s exactly right.
How many decades did it take for the GOP to get here, and yet they are so upset Trump is connecting to people who have demanded, begged, and done everything else to get the GOP to listen with regard to immigration and trade?
Some folks here are livid Trump was right on those two subjects, and will do everything in their power to destroy him, so the GOP can continue on as it has for decades more.
Sorry. I have not the slightest sympathy with them.
I look at how Leftist the Republican Party has become, and try to work up a sweat over Trump being Liberal.
So far, I’m just not able to give a damn about those attacking Trump.
The GOP could have avoided this mess. Look at the state of our nation and tell me the cared. Look at the House and the Senate. They can’t work up a single refusal for Obama.
Bring it Trump.
Might turn out to be the Hokie Pokie.
Oh, what the hell.. realistically, the chances of defeating Hillary are minuscule at best anyway, so let The Donald fire away. At least he’ll make it entertaining.
The Republican Party hasn't become leftist, the RINOs are leftist.
Maybe so.
There is none.
We’ve got a lot of low information voters on our side that just throw the “Trust but verify” sentiment out the window.
Trump is a chump and a fraud. Mark my words sometime between now and next year he will use the term “teabagger” at some point to disparage the Tea Party like he’s done in the past.
The idea that someone could support a Trump, call him trustworthy, and label him “conservative” while disparaging someone like Ted Cruz, who’s actually a Reagan Republican, shows their are plenty enough stupid voters on our side of the spectrum as their are on the liberal side.
Trump supposedly “pro” 2nd Amendment while praising “brilliant” mayor bloomberg
Trump against displays of Confederate Flag:
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/donald-trump-confederate-flag-119325.html
Trump supposedly for marriage equality, but has no problem attending sham services http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-takei-donald-trump-attended-805926
Trump attacking the Ryan Plan (back in the days when the Ryan Plan was actively promoted by conservatives but defeated by the establishment) http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-id-be-willing-to-pay-higher-taxes/
Yeah, these are all the marks and actions of a solid full-spectrum conservative /sarc
It isn’t him. It’s the issue. The unifying issue. He is the only one that talked about the borders and the type of people coming across the border.
‘very bad’ ... according to the washington post
when your enemy claims you’re off course, that’s when you know they’re scared
Come on, we all know that we are getting Jeb. We have no say in it, our opinions are irrelevant. How the actual voters feel about it is dismissed outright. The primary is a fraud as is the three week long general election with no Identification.
Trump is just tap dancing in the ashes. Buy ammo and get in shape.
Sorry 3rd should read:
Trump supposedly for traditional marriage, but has no problem attending sham services http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-takei-donald-trump-attended-805926
But the main point is Trump is a clown that will say whatever it takes to benefit Trump. That’s not what America needs at the moment.
If this is the only way this issue gets a complete airing then thank God for Trump.
Well that’s sort of a mute point when all the powers that be in the party are RINOs.
Not so. He intends to disrupt the debate and come out smelling like a rose with all his good and bradsh comments. Comments are good, but issues and details of how hw intends to accomplish these ideas of his is another story. Unfortunately the low information voters and some on this site will favor him. I am not one of them. I hope he is gone by the time of the convention. But by then, H may have ruined our conservative candidates. he may ruin all the conservative candidates first./
Trump already has unmatched mindshare with the low-information voter, doesn't need to pander to them, and knows it. For anyone else, his brashness and refusal to mouth PC pieties or backpedal in the face of the expected faux outrage from the media makes him an obvious standout in a mostly undistinguished field. The fact that he's already rich also makes it a lot more likely that he's not going to be bought by the usual suspects once in office.
Can he win? He's certainly a wild card, but after Obama anything's possible.
I am tempted to support Trump just because he is so irritating to everyone.
“It’s a Perot reboot”
Bingo! An eccentric billionaire showing a bit of populism and people wetting their panties.
I've been saying the following for over 3 decades: I don't care if an illegal alien is from Mexico, Canada, Scotland (my heritage), or anywhere else. I also don't care if they're white, black, brown, yellow, green or purple. If they are here illegally, including expired visas, they should be deported. Period.
It's time to ask the Republican candidates about a double wall in strategic access areas only. California built a double wall back in the 90's along a small portion of our border. It reduced illegal alien crossings by about 95%.
Let's forget about the entire border, it only needs to be built where there are border towns and/or staging areas along highways close to the border. Every where else in the southwest has huge expanses of desert where it would be suicide to attempt. The above is something even the "pathway to citizenship" types could get behind. It would also shut down the Liberal arguments about the cost of a wall along the entire southern border.
Is your first name Janet? If that is reason enough to support Trump—can you say, “President Hilary Clinton” for the next four years or less if we no longer have a country.
1) Trump plays well to the PISSED OFF AMERICAN vote, just like Ross Perot did.
2) He sucks off enough support from serious potential reformers like Cruz, Paul, and Rubio that Jeb Bush wins the nomination.
3) Trump doesn't go quietly, and then switches to run as an independant.
4) Angry Republicans vote for Trump. Establishment republicans vote for Bush.
5) With the opposition vote split, Hillary Clinton wins in a landslide.
Trump has donated to the Clintons for years. He's one of their biggest supporters. You can see this train wreck coming for miles.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.