Posted on 02/24/2016 8:30:17 PM PST by TigerClaws
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. â The âsouthern firewallâ Ted Cruzâs presidential campaign has been building for months appears to be crumbling under the weight of Donald Trumpâs staying power and Marco Rubioâs resurgence.
The Cruz campaign told Yellowhammer Wednesday night they are pulling out of the Presidential Forum set to be held at Samford University in Birmingham on Saturday, and will not be holding any other events in Alabama ahead of election day. Senator Marco Rubioâs campaign, however, reiterated their commitment to the event.
The move is one of the most open indicators to date that Cruz has failed to pick up steam in the Bible Belt South, once believed to be his geographic stronghold and his most likely path to the nomination.
Numerous southern states and almost a quarter of the Republican delegates are up for grabs in the so called SEC Primary on March 1st.
Yellowhammer CEO Cliff Sims said Cruzâs exit from the state so close to election day is unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected.
âDecisions like this are difficult for any campaign to make, but they have to do what they think is best,â he said. âOnce a campaign goes into survival mode, sometimes they have to cut their losses and move resources where they can be most effective. A candidateâs time is the most valuable resource any campaign has.â
South Carolina Republican strategist Hogan Gidley said Cruzâs lackluster performance in his home state was the first public sign that Cruzâs southern strategy was not coming together.
âIt does definitely put a dent into the manufactured reputation that Cruz is coalescing all conservatives,â he told National Review. âI think we can put an end to that myth.â
A longtime Alabama political consultant who is not working for a presidential campaign but has seen presidential campaign polling numbers through other state-level campaigns told Yellowhammer Cruzâs path to the nomination could be disappearing.
âIf Cruz â the Texan, the staunch evangelical, the anti-Washington guy â canât win in Alabama and across the South, he canât win,â the consultant said on condition of anonymity so he could speak freely. âIâve seen polling in the last week that shows Cruz in third in Alabama, far behind Trump and behind Rubio, too. It might become apparent after March 1st that Cruzâs goose is cooked.â
Senator Rubio is scheduled to be in both Birmingham and Huntsville on Saturday. Donald Trump is scheduled to be in Huntsville on Sunday. No other Republican candidates are currently scheduled to campaign in the state ahead of the March 1st primary.
Please ignore the gloaters. They’re either trolls, have small minds & big emotions, or they’re suffering from a temporary lapse in good judgment. Whoever ends up fighting Rubio for our country, it’s going to take all of us fighting together when these blowhards go full MS on him.
You’re kinda dense aren’t ya? This is the 2nd time today I’ve had to explain things to you.
It has nothing to do with holding an elected office before running for President. It has to do with Cruz running for and winning a Senate seat and then instead of doing what he promised to do as a US Senator, he started running for President before he’s even completed his first term. At least Rubio made a choice.
If Cruz had filed to run for President as a regular citizen like Trump, Fiorina, Carson, Jeb, etc did, I would have no problem with it whatsoever. Or if he’d resigned from the Senate. But he took an oath to serve as a Senator, and he isn’t doing the job he was elected to do.
He has only won 3 states...
He is in the lead for sure, but the nominee he is not.
Those numbers can easily be reversed, if they are even real numbers ...Trump is the only one tough enough to pound the Dim candidate into the ground ..it can’t be done with polite pseudo-intellectual arguments and platitudes offered by Cruz and Rubio ... it’s going to have to be brutal , and Trump is the only one who can do brutal ...
Give Cruz his home state by 15 points-— It is too little too late...
True dat. Folks around here are still pointing fingers at each other over Romney 2012.
And then every one of us will rag on you til you go nuts...
I support both Cruz and Trump.However the fact that Cruz needs the big donors always had me worried that if the donors shut off the money he would wither on the vine.It would seem to be happening and that just sucks.Trump is the guy that tells the establishment 2 words.RUN BITCHES.
I don't see it that way at all.... And I don't see this as a Rebellion either...... I see what's happening as nothing more than destruction of anything even resembling conservatism and the moral fiber of this nation going down with it and mass supportive behavior as that of a cult following a deceptive and cruel leader.
The voters have decided to chase after all that glitters as if gold....as he shoots venom from his lips as the snake that he is........it isn't the first time man has been fooled....it's just what we once thought was our side has been fooled....painfully so. The Demorats are running this entire thing and I won't feel one bit sorry if Trump gets this and spits in the faces of those who supported this Ghetto Thug......we have a chance to finally get a Constitutionalist into office and instead people are all caught up in a web of deception Trump has wound around them...willingly so.
There was once a garden where this likewise occurred......and the end result will be likewise for this country under Trump who is nothing more than a dictator in waiting......and he will assure that Congress will become Democratic after his four years without question as will the Supreme Court.
All this for the sake of people's desire for revenge thru a a man that will never bring them what they expect.
This is the last chance.....and it's being blown to smithereens by those supporting him.
Panic at the Disco. Reverend Ted is rushing folks to try and save Texas.
Cruz is a liberal-— he wants legal status for illegal immigrants, he is for a huge increase in H-1b visas.. He voted to take away the veto power on the deal with Iran... I don’t really believe Cruz is a liberal, but this is how Cruz supporters attack Trump... and that is why Trump supporters are so sick of Cruz...
Lord works in mysterious ways.
What do you know about Free Republic, noob? You just signed up today.
I don’t like the Cruz bashing either and I wont engage in it.Now throw in rufeeo and I’m off the chain.
Yes, itâs almost as much fun as the month that Senator Principled Conservative was campaigning for Obamaâs legacy trade agenda. Ted Cruz made his bed. Now heâs got to lay in it.It's not his fault (it never is) his open borders wife made him do it.
Baloney! Cruz sold out on obama’s Trade Deal.....TpA so Tpp could go through. Cruz sold out on the Iran Treaty, giving away our Sovereignty. Where was Cruz when it came time to vote on Audit the Fed? Cruz is FOR amnesty, really. Follow his votes and follow his lies. And to top it off he is not eligible. He pulls all the tricks of the Establishment and votes with them to give Obama what he wants. How you figure he’s anything but one of them is beyond me!
Agreed. Not good.
Some might wonder why all those who were once respected here on FR are now cannon fodder for nasty remarks and making fun of including Rush and others. Where debate and vetting of candidates was a priority instead of the harshness and brittle remarks said and done at nausea... that have chased away Cruz supporters or had them time out for daring to speak up against Trump........ I've not seen it as this in the past for it's got a foul flavor that comes directly from Trump in how he speaks, thinks and hears to his supporters.....and it's vile.
How people can support Trump is beyond stunning....it's much more than that....it's mass celebrity cult worship and has all the markings of such.
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You were right in doing so.That sumbitch said he didn’t need the base to get the nomination.It was sweet watching his concession speech.
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