The Coming Ted Cruz and Donald Trump Showdown

Slate ^ | 12/11/15 | John Dickerson

[libbylu]

Cruz is demonstrating a skill a president must have: avoiding a confrontation for a larger goal. During political campaigns, there is an obsession with presidential action. The party out of power demands that the president do something in response to everything. But it’s often the case that letting a situation develop is the wiser course. That’s the course Cruz is on.

[editor-surveyor]

.
I made plenty of sense.

Nobody has “dissed” Trump that I have seen.

TRump has massive leftist, globalist, statist baggage, and calling attention to it is a positive thing.

Its called “Vetting.”

[Axeslinger]

Sadly yes and most assuredly not in the primary. AND trump would be an order of magnitude worse that W ever thought of being.

[mkjessup]

End of the Cold War. Major achievement.

Who are you trying to kid? The Cold War ended because we had a President who recognized that the objective should be to WIN, not to further legitimize and continue the globalist policy of 'detente', GHWB was an advocate of leaving the Soviet Union right where it was, captive nations and all. It was Reagan who directed that the West, led by the United States was going to put the Soviets out of business and that's exactly what he did. Georgie only got the credit because he happened to be serving as caretaker (a failed caretaker) over what was considered to be Reagan's third term. If it were up to GHWB, the Eastern European nations would still be enslaved, Germany would still be divided with the Berlin Wall in place, and the Baltic states would likewise still be part of the Soviet empire.

Also, avoided the mess his son got us into in the Middle East. That also counts for something.

Ask the Kurds who GHWB stabbed in the back. After directing that leaflets be dropped all over Iraq during Gulf War I, urging the Iraqi people and those in opposition to Saddam to 'rise up', when they DID rise up, the orders went out to our troops from the White House NOT to assist, participate, encourage or let alone ARM those rebels with captured Iraqi Army weapons. Numerous reports of weapons being either blown up OR shipped off to anti-Soviet rebels still in Afghanistan. Saddam was hanging on by his fingernails for a brief period, but Bush I let him off the hook.

Good luck on Trump turning out to be as good a diplomat and not antagonizing everybody we have to work with.

I would be willing to bet that Trump won't be talking about 'New World Orders' and that Islam is a 'Religion of Peace' and the issue isn't 'antagonizing everybody we have to work with', the issue is that those who have to work with US, (as in U.S.) had better damn well not be antagonizing US!. How's that for an improved perspective?

[MARKUSPRIME]

You and Ted go hand out some more teddy bears to illegals you douche bag.

[magglepuss]

IF, the folks on this forum really wanted to “vet” the candidates, they would knock off the personal attacks. But, sadly, they don’t. What part of Trumps platform do you disagree with? A wall, maybe keeping Muslims out of the country, maybe you don’t agree with a national right to conceal carry?

This is the problem. So many on FR, even long time freepers, want to peronally attack. i think it’s wrong.

[x]

Bush dealt with the remaining Cold War problems when he was in office and did so well. Things could still have been screwed up by a lesser president. Whatever policies he might have favored earlier or under other circumstances are irrelevant.

Similarly, that Bush didn't create the mess his son did in the Middle East is to his credit. What we've seen recently only confirms that he followed the right course, whatever missteps occurred along the way.

It sounds like you've opted for the "omnipotent America" hypothesis -- that we can do anything we want in the world by ourselves. Good luck with that. And with Donald Trump. You're going to need it.

[Calpublican]

My statement was based on the dead air that met Trump’s attempts in Iowa to fairly gently attack Cruz. The crowd was quiet. They cheered everything else he said.

He realizes he has to tread carefully and Cruz will just go after policy differences.

Maybe I’m wrong; I’ve been wrong a time or two. :)

[mkjessup]

The only thing I have in common with Donnie-boy is that neither of us will ever hold elective public office.

On January 20, 2017 I will place an order in your name for some Trump Steaks(c) to be shipped COD to you (you didn't think I was going to buy 'em for ya did you?) with a delicious side order of CROW.

Do you like your crow broiled, fried, or baked?

Here, start saving up now, Trump Steaks are NOT cheap, but they ARE worth it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyONt_ZH_aw .

[Menthops]

For a long time I thought Ted Cruz would be the best candidate. However, I have become sickened by the never-ending, false, immature and ad hominem attacks on Donald Trump by the media, by the GOP, and by the supposedly “conservative” conservative punditocracy. It is absolutely sickening and uncalled for. To see Ted Cruz going down that same road truly is distressing.

Donald Trump offers true conservatives the best opportunity in a lifetime to absolutely destroy the GOPe-led Republican party. We cannot have a conservative country until our country has a conservative party. The Republican party must be totally destroyed so that a true Constitutional party can rise from the ashes.

Also, it is going to be tremendously entertaining to watch the GOP implosion!

[AllAmericanGirl44]

I admit, ever since stumbling on a thread where editor_whateverhisname is, showed he/she is a Sandy Hook truther, I no longer even read his/her words.

He/she has proven themselves to be completely unhinged.

[dforest]

I will very generously provide the appetizers. A can of Armour Vienna sausage dog _icks and a can of pork and beans!

[magglepuss]

When have I advocated for anyone but a solid conservative Christian for any office?

---

So when the left called us all racist for not supporting Obama, they were right? how do you think YOU can determine what is in someones heart? this is totally left think.

[C. Edmund Wright]

My statement was based on the dead air that met Trump’s attempts in Iowa to fairly gently attack Cruz. The crowd was quiet.

aha....got it.....he loves the cheers, so that must've stopped him in his tracks a bit.

[TigersEye]

It ought to be a great debate!

[magglepuss]

You gave me a list of why you don’t like Trump. I asked a question. Why do you do it?

[crosdaddy]

The whole Bush clan are Fabian Socialists, and both G W and his father have talked about a “New World Order”. It might just be me,but some how I
doubt that would be good for America,and her backbone,the middle class.
These are not good people,their power and world view is all that matters to them,for they are the anointed ones.
You voted for Bush over the two dopes he was running against,I understand that. But that is the ol, lesser of two evils shtick.Now you are reformed,and you yell in righteous indignation.
I am for Cruz,and have backed him financially,but I have also praised Trump,and thank God for his fight against the worst thing to ever infect this
country,Cultural Marxism.
Cruz has done a couple questionable things that I wasn’t comfortable with,but I still back him financially,Trump has said and done some things I also wasn’t comfortable with.I truly don’t know if either one is going to do what they say, but I pretty comfortable in saying absolutely no one else in the race for Pres., is anything other than a Progressive turd.

[mkjessup]

Bush dealt with the remaining Cold War problems when he was in office and did so well. Things could still have been screwed up by a lesser president.

They WERE screwed up by a 'lesser president', that being GHWB's successor who COULD have been beaten like a red headed stepchild if Bush had chosen to go for the jugular and WIN his re-election effort. The only thing Bubba Clinton did after the Cold War was happily discover a new drinking buddy in Boris Yeltsin who proved to be just as much a chucklehead as Clinton was. The Clinton years regarding Russia have been described as a 'vacation from history' and that is certainly an accurate depiction.

Whatever policies he might have favored earlier or under other circumstances are irrelevant.

Like Hell they are. The embrace and support for 'detente' reveals the moral vacuum that existed in Bush, Ford AND Nixon.

Similarly, that Bush didn't create the mess his son did in the Middle East is to his credit. What we've seen recently only confirms that he followed the right course, whatever missteps occurred along the way.

Bush I failed to finish the job when it would have been possible to do so without a SECOND U.S. liberation of Iraq that failed. If Poppy Bush had done the job right, we would NOT have had the thousands of U.S. casualties that took place in 'Operation Iraqi Freedom'. GWB would have had no justification for attacking Iraq had Saddam already been gone.

It sounds like you've opted for the "omnipotent America" hypothesis -- that we can do anything we want in the world by ourselves

I believe in American exceptionalism and we CAN do damn near anything we set our national minds to, sounds to me that you agree with the Buffoon from Georgia Jimmy Carter who was always whining about having to limit ourselves and pushing the idea that our greatest days were behind us.

Not by a damn sight they're not, not then and not now.

[jwalsh07]

My biggest concern with Trump is foreign policy. I think he is a Buchananite militarily and a Smooth Hawley guy economically. My views are not coincident with either.

[jwalsh07]

Smoot-Hawley. My Android has a mind of it’s own.

[C. Edmund Wright]

...and neither are mine...