Posted on 01/27/2016 6:46:26 AM PST by TaxPayer2000
Trump isn't the first top-tier presidential candidate to skip a debate. Ronald Reagan did not attend a Republican debate ahead of the 1980 Iowa caucuses, which he lost to George H.W. Bush. Reagan went on to the win the nomination and the presidency.
(Excerpt) Read more at thegatewaypundit.com ...
Tell the rest of the story, why don’t you?
Ronald Reagan had nearly defeated Gerald Ford, and had the Republican establishment use a barrage of dirty tricks to steal the nomination for Ford. Reagan adopted a strategy of avoiding the establishment events altogether, not just the Iowa debate. And he went on to lose Iowa. And he plummeted in the polls in Massacusetts and South Carolina.
In New Hampshire, he shifted tactics. He realized he needed to debate... and defeat... Bush. The Nashua Telegraph agreed to sponsor a debate between Bush and Reagan. Careful not to violate RNC rules, Reagan instead offered to pay for the debate, and invite other candidates. Bush was surprised to find other candidates in attendance, so Reagan went to the mic to explain what was going on.
Famously, the sound engineer tried to cut Reagan off, leading to Reagan demanding, “I’m paying for this microphone, Mr. Green.” The debate ensued between Bush and Reagan, and Reagan trounced Bush in New Hampshire.
But while eventually his demand to Mr. Green became legendary, the damage was done. Bush and Anderson pulled even in many Northern states, and Connelly pulled even in many southern states. Reagan went on to place 3rd in Massachusetts, virtually tie in Vermont, and was losing to Connelly in South Carolina. Lee Atwater’s “dirty tricks” were needed to rescue the Reagan candidacy. Connally quit the race in disgust.
Fortunately for Reagan, Bush and Anderson had abandoned the South, leaving Reagan essentially unopposed in Alabama, Florida and Georgia, and Louisiana.
He still had a much tougher go of it than he imagined. Reagan won by modest margins in Illinois and Wisconsin, and easily won in Kansas. Bush beat him in Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.
Finally, on May 3rd, Reagan eeked out a narrow win in Texas over Bush, and Anderson withdrew, eventually running as an independent. Finally, that broke Bush’s back. He would still trounce Reagan in Michigan, but Reagan finally was winning state after state.
I guess you don’t understand the media (FOX in this case - which is supposed to be the only fair and balanced network still in the business) is all in trying to sabotage Trump and that is OK with you? You’ll make some stupid excuse that if he can’t take criticism then he’s not fit for President? Can you agree this isn’t just criticism, and it is an all out attack to get him out of the race because they FEAR him? Do you realize Fox is not any different than CNN MSNBC or the rest only they pretend to be conservative?
Nice try.
They had a whole line up of people to take Trump out Thursday.
This has nothing to do with Megyn Smelly!
the fact of the matter is.
when you are up big just days before the voting you have almost nothing to gain and everything to lose from attending a debate.
I was saying BEFORE the tweet controversy that Trump shouldn’t do any more debates. He has the nomination in the bag. He just needs to play it safe at this point.
great picture!
Huh? You send this to me? I voted for Barry Goldwater, after I had served in The Army.
RR was my hero but you are right, the gope hated Reagan as much {or more} as they hate Trump and Cruz.
Trump is nothing but courage. Nice try with your propaganda. You could not hold a candle to Trump in your armchair quarterbacking!
The ramifications of Trump and Cruz agreeing to a one-on-one is that it operates to exclude both of them from future RNC debates in this primary cycle. Cruz might be agreeable to that, but it would be a bad deal for Trump, now that the RNC has promised to invite him to the other debates.
You sound exactly like what a Democrat would have sounded like in the past if Republicans would have gotten enough backbone to skip all those stacked CNN debates.
You sure about that or are you just making stuff up?
Reagan didn’t attend the debate moderated by the Des Moines Register, a liberal newspaper that was out to get him.
Trump is following the Reagan playbook.
I am a Cruz supporter, but I understand why Trump doesn’t feel the need to fave off Megyn. He doesn’t fear her, there is just no reason to hand over control and debate a journalist when he is supposed to debate his contenders. If he fights back again st her on stage, people think he’s picking on her because she is a weak woman, which she is not.
Reagan was always a classy adult not a rude vicious narcissistic clown like the NY liberal.
Well hopefully this doesn’t parallel the 80 election and Trump picking Jeb Bush as his vp. I pray to God that doesn’t happen as it will give us 4 years of Jeb from 2024-2028
I suspect that Trump has some loyalists at Fox who warned him about what was happening and going to happen at the debate which is why he pulled out.
Trump is going to get another 5% bump in the polls.
He wins Iowa by 10%+
I don’t blame Trump for skipping this ambush thus foiling MK’s and her band of Flying Monkeys the pleasure of trying to humiliate him.
Go Trump!!
Terrible photoshop.
Let me guess, it wasn't insulting for Trump to call women "fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals."
The only difference being that Romney was the Conservative and Crowley the liberal. Today, the roles are reversed.
I don't think Putin will be a problem for Trump.
Ailes doesn't respect Trump, but Putin will? lol
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