Posted on 08/17/2015 12:20:23 PM PDT by Red Steel
CLEVELAND, Ohio – On second thought, maybe this Donald Trump thing is for real.
In July, the real estate mogul-turned-reality TV star seemed little more than a passing fad in a Republican Party known for its presidential flavors of the month.
And then Trump went ahead and dominated the race like few others have in history. National poll after national poll pegged him as the frontrunner. So did polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states on the election-year calendar.
Yes, Trump's universal name-recognition in a crowded field of relative nobodies is helping him. So, too, is the free media coverage he is "earning" with his antics. But John Kasich summed it up astutely at the GOP debate in Cleveland this month.
"Donald Trump is hitting a nerve in this country," Ohio's governor said. "People are frustrated. They're fed up. They don't think the government is working for them. And for people who want to just tune him out, they're making a mistake."
This has all been a long way of saying ... maybe it was a mistake to exclude Trump from our Republican presidential power rankings, though we're far from the only ones to underestimate Trump-mania. But like Trump after a failed business deal, we move on and make adjustments. This month, we account for Trump's impossible-to-ignore rise.
Remember, these rankings consider who, given current trends, is most likely to win the GOP nomination. Some of these candidates had very strong months but won't necessarily be the last man – or woman – standing at next year's convention in Cleveland.
With that, let's count down from 10. Our slideshow begins here.
1. Marco Rubio; Last month: 3
2. Jeb Bush; Last month: 1
3. Scott Walker; Last month: 2
4. John Kasich; Last month: 5
5. Donald Trump; Last month: Not ranked
6. Ted Cruz; Last month: 4
7. Ben Carson; Last month: 8
8. Chris Christie; Last month: 7
9. Rand Paul; Last month: 6
10. Carly Fiorina; Last month: Not ranked
The slideshow here if you want to read his comments.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2015/08/republican_presidential_power_5.html#1
Henry Gomez confuses his own desires with reality.
Someone tell me what a Kasich is... Who are these phantom supporters. On an interview with Hewitt back in March or April I found his personality off-putting. People see what they want to see.
CNN has been spending 30-40 minutes PER HOUR today attacking Donald Trump, across the board. They are trying HARD to drive his negatives up, along with the rest of the Mainstream Media.
Yeah it’s in overdrive today. They should press their pens harder on their scribbler pads. It might help them do their mind tricks.
A Kasich is a paid for, obedient lap dog which does whatever its big donor masters tell it to do.
Guess what? The GOPe created Trump. Without the go-along, get-along establishment ignoring the base REPEATEDLY, dismissing conservatives as relics or as ill-informed for such insults to our political system as...wanting the law of the land to be obeyed, and wanting politicians who campaigned on a platform of opposing Obama to actually, you know, OPPOSE Obama...for doing this they have EARNED Donald Trump.
Trump may not be the perfect messenger to communicate the frustration of the people of this country with the establishment (GOP and Dem) that is running this country into the ground, but he is damned sure the most effective...and that may earn him free rent at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for 4 or 8 years. I'm not a Trump guy (Cruz is my favorite, still), but Trump's willingness to take on EVERYONE is moving me in his direction. I know that this country is in grave danger of ceasing to exist as we've known it, and while Trump is far from perfect he also knows it and has a huge interest in reversing our current direction. FUGOPe!
He did an amazing job at that time.
Trump proved these low information folks were wrong on 6/16/2015. While many others sat up and paid attention, many of the low info folks quickly mocked and called him names.
They've finally admitted theywere wrong. Instead of listening in the beginning, they opted to mock and discredit the man. But most changed their tunes and many now support him.☺
Are they sheep? Or just a bit slow to understand what government has done to America for decades? Probably both.
Jeb said he is not and angry candidate... If he is not angry he is not paying attention.
So falling in the polls increases your ranking...
20 years is a long time... Been doing too much ‘thinking’...
Cruz’s poll numbers ar up significantly but his power rating is down
www.gpsdeclassified.com
Has a lot in common with other polling numbers...
Wrong, Johnny boy ...
We're convinced that the government is working AGAINST us.
And we're right!
Thank you, Jesus! WTP thank you for this blessing We offer our humble gratitude. Amen
And if anyone actually watched CNN it might work.
LOL on your comment.
I can remember Trump shredding Wulf Blister on CNN a few years ago and telling him “too bad there’s only 40,000 people watching this, they might learn something”.
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.