Posted on 02/24/2016 8:30:17 PM PST by TigerClaws
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The “southern firewall†Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign has been building for months appears to be crumbling under the weight of Donald Trump’s staying power and Marco Rubio’s 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 Rubio’s 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 Cruz’s exit from the state so close to election day is unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected.
“Decisions like this are difficult for any campaign to make, but they have to do what they think is best,†he said. “Once a campaign goes into survival mode, sometimes they have to cut their losses and move resources where they can be most effective. A candidate’s time is the most valuable resource any campaign has.â€
South Carolina Republican strategist Hogan Gidley said Cruz’s lackluster performance in his home state was the first public sign that Cruz’s southern strategy was not coming together.
“It does definitely put a dent into the manufactured reputation that Cruz is coalescing all conservatives,†he told National Review. “I 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 Cruz’s path to the nomination could be disappearing.
“If Cruz — the Texan, the staunch evangelical, the anti-Washington guy — can’t win in Alabama and across the South, he can’t win,†the consultant said on condition of anonymity so he could speak freely. “I’ve 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 Cruz’s 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.
+1
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/02/politics/ted-cruz-ben-carson-apology/
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/ted-cruzs-iowa-mailers-are-more-fraudulent-than-everyone-thinks
+1
+1
Cruz apologized that a member of his staff passed along a CNN report.
Big deal.
Maybe Trump should apologize for lying about Cruz. Or about committing adultery so many times. Or about initiating so many lawsuits against so many people. Or about being such a vulgar man. Or about his supporting Planned Parenthood, Hillary Clinton, ethanol subsidies, eminent domain, touchback amnesty, and single-payer healthcare.
Maybe Trump should apologize for calling Carson a pathological child molester.
The only one running for President. Did I REALLY have to say that?
But...but...a Cruzbot on here posted it 114 times a day. Doesn’t that make it true?
:)
Yeah right. Keep telling yourself that, and one day you may believe it.
Yup, Trump has been hammering him so hard that he’s had to pool all his money and time into Texas. Even if he gets Texas he’s probably done. Without Texas he’s history.
So, do you side with the so-called dirt bags in those situations?
Bamboozled again. McCain. Romney. Trump. After Hillary stomps Donald, who are we going with in 2020?
Probably not in the real world.
Cruz isn’t running for President anymore. He is running for delegates that he can sell for whatever he can get for them. Maybe it’s just a speaking position at the convention. He really can’t bargain for anything substantive because nobody wants him in the room with them. First you sell your soul and then you sell your delegates. That’s Cruz.
So, you will not even apologize and admit that Cruz's failure was God's will. And that basically God said, "Not in my name."
Exactly!
By COLIN HENDERSON ・ 02/23/16 11:41pm
...round 2 a.m. on Sunday, we discovered from another Cruz staffer that the book in question in the video was the Bible, and we updated the post accordingly. But this significantly changed the meaning of Rubio's words as originally transcribed, as it now purported to show Rubio pointing to the Bible and saying "not a lot of answers in there." Later, the accuracy of that transcription was brought into question due to the unclear audio; upon returning to Philadelphia Sunday evening, we updated the post to reflect uncertainty over what was said...
But Cruz Communications Director Rick Tyler had shared the original post on Twitter and Facebook earlier Sunday.
http://www.thedp.com/article/2016/02/letter-from-the-president-marco-rubio-video
Indeed.
Why hasn’t sessions endorsed Cruz?
Cruz must throw his support to Trump. If he doesn’t it will prove Trump AND Rubio right in calling him a liar.
What I’ve always thought was a shame about Freerepublic was being slammed for voting your conscience.
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.