Posted on 01/28/2016 7:56:44 AM PST by don-o
MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa Donald Trump's hopes of turning reality TV into reality could well be in the hands of Barb Matney.
She's 57, a lifelong resident of this central Iowa town, and a supporter of Trump's presidential bid who recently signed up on his webÂsite to volunteer for his campaign. Last Sunday evening, eight days before 2016 voting starts with the Iowa caucuses, she finally heard back.
"They called me the other night and said I'd be a precinct captain," she said as she stood in snow flurries waiting to enter a Trump rally. The job entails calling other potential Trump supporters in Marshall County to remind them to turn out Monday night at 7 p.m. Of course, to do that she needs names and phone numbers which, as of earlier this week, she still had not received.
"I've asked for a list, and there's only a few days left, so I hope it's soon," she said.
And therein lies the central mystery of the developerturned reality TVst ar's unorthodox campaign: Is precinct captain Matney's inability to get basic campaign data the exception? Or the rule? And, with a candidate who has relied on his ability to hijack "earned media" coverage with outrageous remarks, does it even matter? Even the experts admit they don't know.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationaljournal.com ...
Ground game...what ground game?
I have to say I know nothing about how the Iowa caucus is run but think that way to much importance is given to one state (sorry all you Iowans). Either have all state primaries on one day or split it into two or three days where the states are split equally and rotated every presidential election so that no one state becomes the end all be all for determining who the winners are.
the guy who ran Santorums’s Iowa ground game 4 years ago is running Trump’s.. don’t bet against it
“the guy who ran Santorumsâs Iowa ground game 4 years ago is running Trumpâs.. donât bet against it”
Was Barb Matney once Bob Matney?
Trumpanzees are too stupid to find their caucus site on their own. /sarc
Really, so in order to justify Trump's lead, somehow 50,000 more caucus attendees will have to show up and vote for Trump than have ever shown up before. Trump has 12 paid staffers in Iowa, led by Tana Goetz, a 48-year-old former runner up on “The Apprentice.” Wow, what raw horsepower.
One volunteer leader enlisted by Donald J. Trump to turn out Iowa voters has yet to knock on a single door or to make a phone call. Another is a "9/11 truther" with a website claiming that the Sept. 11 attacks were a government conspiracy. A third caucus precinct captain, who like the others attended a training session in West Des Moines last month, said the campaign's goal of having them each enlist 25 supporters was unrealistic.
Cruz has over 1,000 precinct chairs, a 240-plus person leadership team and over 5,000 volunteers in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties (all of which Cruz has pledged to visit before the caucuses, and it looks like he’ll make it happen). They’re led by seasoned professionals such as Jake Dagel, who was field director for Turning Point USA.
So, all this heat and light coming off the Trump campaign is based on people answering pollster questions on the phone.
http://theresurgent.com/trumps-lead-in-iowa-is-based-on-a-miracle/
That and the fact Trump makes a point to be unpredictable. He doesn’t want his generals talking to the press. People still don’t understand that.
people who live around me would not walk across the street to see Cruz but they would drive 50 miles to see Trump.. now you have to deal with that fact
Actually, the article asks does ground game even matter going up against Trump. If he steamrolls Iowa, and it is revealed he did not have much of a ground game, more "conventional" wisdom has been blowed up.
Establishment.......
“Trump has 12 paid staffers in Iowa, led by Tana Goetz, a 48-year-old former runner up on âThe Apprentice.â Wow, what raw horsepower.”
LOL!
Lots of people agree with that and some steps have been taken - first Super Tuesday, now SEC primaries.
Playing the first two games of the season in 2012 Obama +6 states is not good.
Does he have voter records of those who supported Santorum?
This is where things get interesting, in spite of all the hyperventilating.
What will be the nature and volume of Trump supporters in Caucus living rooms?
So many variables that are unknown. Could be YUGE! Could be a whimper. Could force Anyone But Trump into Cruz’s hands. Could galvanize everyone for Trump.
Who knows?
Nobody.
What great political theater we are having.
Trump is NOT the Uniparty.
While I am a Cruz supporter and not in favor of Trump, the options were are, in this order:
Uniparty or Not?
Trump or Cruz?
The key to this election is the defeat of the Uniparty. Everything we hold dear as conservatives is attacked and undermined by the Uniparty. To ever defeat the Uniparty, we must first defeat them within the Republican Party.
Trump does that. It may be ugly. It may be populism. It may be unpredictable. Trump may gore our ox 50% of the time, and the other guyâs ox 50% of the time.
But the Uniparty is killing us 100% of the time.
So quit thinking Trump is the end of the world. He is a half-measure when weâve currently got nothing.
The message is, politics as usual or you’ll lose. Let’s hope they’re wrong otherwise we’ll be stuck with these “traditional” politicians forever.
Yep, I think Ted Cruz is going to win...and possibly even by a large margin.
Ann Coulter and Sarah Palin = Vegetarian Red Meat Dispensers
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