Posted on 01/24/2016 7:33:38 AM PST by jimbo123
Just over a week before the first votes are cast in the Iowa caucuses, Donald Trump has regained his lead over Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the state of Iowa. Trump now holds a 5-point lead over the Texas Republican, with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio lagging far behind in third place.
In New Hampshire, the race remains unchanged at the top, with Trump holding a commanding double-digit lead over his two closest-but-still-distant rivals Cruz and Rubio, who are locked in a tight battle for second place. Further down, Ohio Gov. John Kasich has edged past New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie into fourth place.
Looking ahead to South Carolina, Trump continues to hold a double-digit lead over Cruz, his closest competitor in that state.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Yay!!!!!
Thanks for the ping.
Go Trump - take Iowa and beyond :)
“If Trump and Cruz could kiss and make-up and run on the same ticket, they could be unbeatable.”
Trump has already blown that opportunity by resorting to his “birtherism” attack on Cruz. How, after attacking Cruz over his “ineligibility”, could he possibly ask him to run as his VP? How is he going to explain that, since the VP is one heartbeat away from being President?
Presidential Delegate Count:
Trump 0
The only “poll” that matters.
But by all means keep digging, there just HAS to be a pony in there SOMEWHERE.
Cruz made his big push and was the flavor of the week, but now needs a dose of Cialis to get the blood pumping. Ain’t happening.
“Beck is now out saying he would vote for Bernie over Trump.
Comedy gold.”
Ties right in about letting Marxist into the country. Beck is consistent. Down deeply he likes Marxist.
Precisely - think of Trump as a transition person, to both get the country’s demographics back to something sustainable and to get the country ready to go back to its Constitutional roots (i.e., Cruz). Cruz is just too much for the general electorate to bite off right now.
It looks like that “STOP TRUMP” NRO Manifesto really did the trick!! Sarc...
Comeback? Looks close. Hopefully Ted’s ground game can pull it out.
If not, I’ll hope someone knocks off Trust Fund Donnie in New Hampshire.
Then if Trump ultimately gets the nod, I just have to decide which 3rd party candidate to support. I’m leaning libertarian right now - but that could change.
There’s your “comeback.”
Hank
Des Moines Register endorsed Marco Rubio today. Look for Trump’s numbers to increase further.
So how does that work exactly? Let's say you are a Trump supporter showing up to caucus and the Cruz people are "being aggressive and immovable". What's to stop you from ignoring them and walking over to stand in the Trump circle?
Oh boy. Expect the Cruz Missiles to kick the volume level up a notch.
What they can’t do in terms of making a good case for their candidate, they make up for in sheer white noise.
IIRC, an Iowan on here who is heavily involved in the caucusing process pointed out the other day that the GOP doesn't hold their caucuses the same way as the Democrats.
The GOPers basically listen to speeches and then cast secret ballots. The Democrats cluster into groups and aggressively go after anyone not in their circle until the bell rings.
Then if Trump ultimately gets the nod, I just have to decide which 3rd party candidate to support. Iâm leaning libertarian right now - but that could change.
***************************************************
Expound on that here after Trump becomes the republican nominee hype your candidatew and then wait for the zot.
Could still happen. There are many examples of two people running on the same ticket after going through a nasty primary fight.
Those of us on the sidelines can easily believe that these guys now hate each other. But that is probably not the case. They happen to be both competing for the most powerful job in the world. So now that it's down to them, they are going to knock the hell out of each other to try and gain an advantage. It's nothing personal though. This is how the game is played.
To give you an analogy, think of Peyton and Eli Manning in the NFL. Both star quarterbacks. When they play each other, especially in the playoffs, they are nasty to each other on game day. They are going to seek advantage any way they can to gain victory. Then when the game is over and the dust settles, they go back to being brothers and all is forgiven.
My recollection from 2008 is that some folks were blatantly using racism as a method to "persuade" people to support Obama. "If you go and stand in that corner, everyone will know that you're a racist!! All the good people are standing in this corner with me!!"
Obviously a lot of people wouldn't be moved by such childish behavior, but I think enough were "guilted" into supporting Obama.
Also, if reasonable people get together to discuss the merits of one candidate over another, conceivably some real persuasion might take place. But again, in 2008, I think one group was open to discussion and the other group just said "You're a racist!" and I think some people said "Whatever, I'll go stand wherever you want me to stand if you just shut up."
2016 is different. And another poster said that Republicans in Iowa have a more secret sort of ballot so the unreasonable pressure may be more easily avoided.
But my basic thought is that neither the Trump nor the Cruz crowds seem like they want to discuss or persuade anyone in a civil manner. I think the caucuses may be a little rough this time.
New Beck/Cruz Three $ bill?
Well, gee. I guess my life would pretty much be over at that point.
Hank
Beck & Cruz commit suicide.
Trump retakes lead in IOWA.
Nice graphic.
Big mistake to get Beck involved.
Once you open the door for Beck, you can never get him out.
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.