Posted on 01/15/2016 7:51:50 AM PST by GonzoII
Months ago, during the Summer of Trump, Republicans looked at the appearance of this gross, comic, orange interloper among them with a mix of shock and disdain. Fox News tried to discredit him as a serious candidate; nobody else onstage knew quite what to do with him. Since then, Trump has created facts on the ground, making himself an indispensable element of the party. He now seems completely normal.Part of it is that Trump has gotten better, more polished. His cartoonish facial gestures come less frequently. He is less outrageous (and less funny). He seems to control his tone more effectively.
But mainly, Republicans have decided to start treating him as a regular candidate and a member of their party in good standing, rather than an impostor who has hijacked it on a lark. He faced the same softball questions as everybody else, with no follow-ups. (Would you put your business in a blind trust if elected? Trump: Oh, yeah, I'd let my kids run it. In other words, no.)
Jeb Bush went after Trump on his unfathomable proposal to exclude all Muslim immigrants, but he did so almost as a supplicant, asking him to "reconsider." It was as if Bush was afraid Trump would turn on him again, and Trump, recognizing Bush's gesture as a plea for mercy, reciprocated.
Signs have popped up everywhere that Republicans have not only begun to accept Trump as one of them, a regular candidate, but to even resign themselves to his candidacy.
From my convos,GOP estab mood on Trump moving from fear/loathing to resignation/rationalization,ie he'd run better than cruz & slam Hillary - Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) January 13, 2016
Same source (when I ask what's happening on the ground): "On the ground? Everyone literally is getting resigned to Trump as nominee." - Matt Lewis (@mattklewis) January 14, 2016
Trump was Trump and that means he had a good night. I give him a 60% shot of being the GOP nominee. - Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 15, 2016
Indeed, Trump's numbers have not only risen, but the entire backdrop of his position has changed. The percentage of Republican voters who could see themselves supporting Trump has grown from 23 percent last March to 65 percent now. Trump could now beat Marco Rubio (a popular figure within the party) in a head-to-head matchup. He remains far from inevitable. The first vote will still not be cast for weeks. Yet those of us who believed Republican elites would kill Trump's candidacy out of self-preservation have to face the increasingly plausible prospect that, for whatever reason, they may lay down their arms before a shot has been fired.
[My dog could beat Hillary or Bernie.]
Neither one of them will be the Democratic Candidate. Biden and Warren are waiting in the wings.
See #40.
I hate to say it but Cruz has an Uriah Heep quality that I find unsettling. He’s smart and right on most topics but I can’t get past that. It was really on display last night.
I agree with you. It is a bit unsettling when I get called an anti-Semite, AND a John Bircher in the same thread....LOL!
Rape
Misogyny
Anti-Muslim
Anti-Immigrant
Anti-American
Anti-Republican
Anti-Reagan
Anti-Hispanic
Anti-Black
Anti-Choice
Pro-Choice
Anti-Planned Parenthood
Pro-Planned Parenthood
Anti-H1B visas
PRO-H1B visas
Xenophobic
Delusions of God-hood
Out of touch with reality
Deranged
side-show freak
PRO Eminent Domain
He is a Liar
He is a Democrat
etc.
I'm just curious as to what you think the GOPe has been trying to do to Trump up to now?
You know me better than that. There's a reason Cruz is leading among California Republicans: With Arnold, we got a hard lesson about fast talking fascists posing as faux conservatives. Yet over and over, conservatives fail to vote our true preferences in primaries on the belief that our policy positions cannot win with the independents.
It's not true.
And dam proud of it. Where were you on 911 coward.
The ‘elephant in the room’ of the primary coverage has been that the moderates- those in the ideological middle- agree with Trump’s issues. Not extremist, fringe or just far-right conservatives.
The media and Parties have claimed his support is everywhere except where it is: in average people.
I don’t know why others didn’t see this gap between the elites and exploit it as strongly. It was certainly obvious.
The few who tried were too slow and too timid.
She’s got personality. I can see it!
“Cruz would lose the general election. Trump will win it”
What is this statement based on? I see it all the time by Trump supporters.
The fact is that there is no basis other than unsubstantiated opinion or wishful thinking.
The only “facts” we have so far is head to head polling data against Clinton, the presumptive Dem. nominee. In those Cruz fares better than Trump.
It is my opinion that Clinton, if she is in fact the nominee, is an extremely weak candidate being propped up by her only constituency, the mainstream media.
Both Cruz and Trump can beat her. I’m a staunch Cruz supporter but I don’t post any “Trump can’t win the general election” nonsense ad nauseam.
I deserved this dog.
So you celebrate homosexuality and abortion, I understand, because you well know thats what Cruz was talking about. I am embarrassed for you
It is a very strongly held belief backed up by a chain of logic that I do not feel like posting right now because it will initiate a minimum of 300 back and forth posts that I simply do not have time for today.
Suffice it to say:
It is a very strongly held belief that is slowly but inexorably spreading throughout the general voting population, even as I write, right this second.
Last night all the questions were pointed to Ted. Both Rubio and Trump worked to cram everything done Ted's throat.
Say they are all successful, who do you think the GOPe is going to work on next?
Jeb?
Don't forget the GOPe has one goal and that is to have their guy end up at the top of the ticket. They don't want Trump.
Trump will get an even worse rolling than he has up to this point.
Their problem is they do not know exactly how to take him out.
I sit here and listen to all of the candidates.
I would rather have someone as president who has experience defending the Constitution, because if the candidate has that experience then he will defend us and the Constitution no matter what.
No other candidate will do. No matter how many buildings he has built and how much money he has in the bank.
I agree.
“Cruz would lose the general election. Trump will win it.
More and more people are recognizing this fact.”
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I couldn’t agree more! Trump may lose in the general election but he also has a very good chance to WIN! I like Cruz, but from what I have seen, how the MSM has gone after him, in the past two weeks.....I don’t see him having a snowball’s chance to win the General Election! The MSM, the Pop Culture (i.e. low info voters), the College Elites, and so called “moderates” will tear into Cruz and I just don’t see him over coming it! JMHO
I guess my definition of charm is different.
The question you ask can easily be asked of all the candidates. In the final analysis, we take what they say, look at what they have done (Trump has built a Real Estate brand that is significant) and hope they will succeed in doing what they say. What Trump says appeals to me, I too hope we get to see much of his plan implemented.
I do believe he will be a patriot to counter Obama’s destructive “hope and change”.
He is not. Most of us Trumpsters are civil, and don’t attack our future VP. I can’t tell you how many times I have posted it is going to be a Trump/Cruz ticket. Why in the hell would I attack our future VP and 2024 POTUS ?
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