Posted on 01/20/2016 1:23:56 PM PST by springwater13
Bob Dole, the former Kansas senator and 1996 Republican presidential nominee, has never been fond of Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. But in an interview Wednesday, Mr. Dole said that the party would suffer "cataclysmic" and "wholesale losses" if Mr. Cruz was the nominee, and that Donald J. Trump would fare better.
"I question his allegiance to the party,†Mr. Dole said of Mr. Cruz. "I don't know how often you've heard him say the word ‘Republican’ — not very often." Instead, Mr. Cruz uses the word "conservative," Mr. Dole said, before offering up a different word for Mr. Cruz: "extremist."
"I don’t know how he's going to deal with Congress," he said. “Nobody likes him."
But Mr. Dole said he thought Mr. Trump could "probably work with Congress, because he's, you know, he's got the right personality and he’s kind of a deal-maker."
The remarks by Mr. Dole reflect wider unease with Mr. Cruz among members of the Republican establishment, but few leading members of the party have been as candid and cutting.
"If he’s the nominee, we're going to have wholesale losses in Congress and state offices and governors and legislatures," said Mr. Dole, who served in the House and Senate for 35 years and won the Iowa caucuses twice. He described Mr. Cruz as having falsely "convinced the Iowa voters that he’s kind of a mainstream conservative."
The only person who could stop Mr. Cruz from capturing the nomination? "I think it's Trump," Mr. Dole said, adding that Mr. Trump was "gaining a little."
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
22 years ago. Today’s youngest voters had not even been BORN yet when Bob Dole was given the repubbie nomination. (er, “was chosen the hallowed nominee by our betters in the elite”.)
When Bob Dole prefers Trump, that ought to raise a red flag among Trump’s Republican supporters.
Post of the week!
thanks for that
Scared he won’t get 31 percent of the vote. It is something to be scared of.
Trump 2016.
A Republican presidential nomination contest wouldn’t be complete without Bob Dole saying something bitter or nasty about someone. Usually what he says is more amusing than this.
Great advice for the man who beat Bill Clinton and became the ...
Oh wait. I need to check that Wikipedia article again before I post this.
Wow...it is just a amazing thing to watch.
You go, Pineapple Bob!
Oh, my God. I thought the GOP-e hated Trump. This is so bizarre. How old must Bob Dole be? 1996 was a LONG TIME AGO. In fact, 20 years.
What did she do?
I wonder if this says more about Dole or Trump?
It appears Mr. Dole thinks Trump would be a good GOP establishment candidate.
that is funny right there....I don’t care who you are. Very good!!!
No, but being trounced in a general election is a career killer. Especially if it is to Hillary Clinton.
Republican supporters today are very different than in Dole’s day. Doesn’t apply.
hmmmm...how did Bob Dole do when he ran for President?
I am still trying to sort out all the relevance of this - Ted Cruz is supposed to be the Kryptonite that drives so many of the voters away? To be sure, there would be a much different mix of voters in a Cruz v. Clinton match-up, than there would be in a Trump v. Clinton contest, This would not necessarily mean that Cruz cannot win, because whatever baggage Cruz may be carrying, Herself is clearly carrying a far GREATER burden. What it comes down to, there would be a smaller turnout in a Cruz v. Clinton election.
But the interest surrounding Trump v. Clinton would attract a LOT more people to the polls, in what at this point promises a landslide outcome in favor of Trump.
As much as I really don’t care for bob dole, he’s right.
Cruz would get smashed, no matter who he faces in the general. Cruz will get zero crossover votes. ZERO.
Cruz would crush hillary. (of course, not "trust" which I mistakingly typed in error)
My comment stands. Tell that to the tens of thousands of people who stand in long lines, in terrible weather, and spend hours of their time to attend Trump rallies.
I would say this is a good thing to have him endorse you. Kind of like saying Hitler endorses me...it’s not something you brag about.
If this is a sincere endorsement then I’d be worried to vote for Trump because that means they think they can still get some free pork out of Trump.
But maybe the GOPe is trying to play reverse psychology by endorsing Trump over Cruz they scare people to vote for Cruz. No one wants to be on the GOPe side right now, so I’m not sure what to believe.
“”I question his allegiance to the party” Mr. Dole said of Mr. Cruz.”
Translation-Hillary’s legal problems are bigger than anyone knows and are going to spill over into the GOPe so we need someone that is friends with Hillary to cover up what she’s done because Cruz won’t.
Protect the party at all cost.
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