Posted on 07/16/2015 9:41:46 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
If you had to vote in your state primary/caucus today, knowing what you know now about the various declared and probable candidates, who would you vote for? Why? Who would you like to see as the running mate for your preferred candidate? If you could help staff your candidates cabinet and other top appointments, who would you choose? If you could recommend different congressional leaders than we have now, who would they be? And who would you like to see on the Supreme Court and why? And finally, feel free to donate to Free Republic.
Excellent point
Jebbie is more popular in TX than many seem to think. His son got 70 percent plus in 2014 in both the Republican primary and the general election for land commissioner. People like a Bush, often because they don’t know what else is available.
No, you’re right: there are too few conservatives to win much of anything.
Yes, Cruz is pushing issues, but the American people are too uninformed to know.
Cruz is first choice but I could easily vote for either one of them.
Their VP and administration I would leave up to them.
Oh BS.
Tell me the last time that conservatism....REAL conservatism was actually a choice in a Presidential Election and lost? (Other than the over-cited 1964 contest)
In 2008 and 2012 the Republican candidate was not a conservative.
When an articulate conservative gets up and communicates to the people real ideas and platforms that offer a stark contrast to the other side, it makes a heck of a difference. At the Presidential level, you have to get people to vote “for you” and not just “against the other guy”. 2012 proved that. Animosity over Obozo was not enough to push Romney across the finish line. And so did 2004 when Bush derangement syndrome was enough to push John F*ing Kerry over either.
If Ted Cruz is the nominee, I guarantee you he will not only win, but win in a landslide as he carries every battleground state that’s important. And I know this because I can already see the campaign he’s running now. I know how he’ll connect with voters, bypass the media, and get more “moderates” and “Democrats” to vote for him than any number Jebbers could get because Cruz will earn something from them that the Hilderbeast will not, their trust. And no amount of money can buy trust.
And by some chance if Cruz loses, then this whole exercise is moot anyway because the country will be lost.
Meanwhile, the fanaticism with Trump needs to stop. So he made a couple of obvious statements, so what? The guy’s a liberal. He will push for amnesty, won’t battle Bohner/McConnell, won’t fight to repeal Obamacare, won’t do anything about an out of control court, and would be relegated to “Scott Brown” status less than a year after he took office.
In a race where Cruz and Trump are both on the ballot and one chooses to vote for Trump, that is a wasted vote.
Once the debates start it will be obvious who the real Presidential contender is and it isn’t Trump.
President Cruz cures the blues.
Walker
>> Hilliary must not get in WH, that is my main focus <<
With the recent news from Platte River, it looks probable that we no longer need to take your WH hypothetical into serious consideration.
IMHO, Madame Rodham now is basically finished. Current activity is mostly prelude to a memorial service at the political columbarium. You may now change focus.
>> Cruz is doing 4% and evangelicals are not going to carry him to victory <<
Agreed. And speaking of evangelicals, I gotta wonder how they react to a man who is famous for casinos, who brags about manipulating the bankruptcy laws, who hints that he has bribed many politicians, who has been married three times, whose current wife is a former nude model, who jokes about eating “crackers” at communion, who proudly uses locker room language in public and who displays a general lack of good manners? Inquiring minds want to know.
>> If I am proved wrong. great! <<
About Cruz? Agreed there also!
>> especially if [Trump ;s] going to bankroll the campaign himself <<
That meme rests upon another of Trump’s big exaggerations, to wit:
Even if he is as wealthy as Forbes and Bloomberg News have recently estimated, he doesn’t have the on-hand cash for a one-billion-dollar national campaign. His wealth is tied up mainly in illiquid real estate assets.
Moreover, if he tried to sell a lot of this property to raise cash, the liquidation values are likely to be significantly less than the current book values. Even worse, the sale proceeds would be subject to huge depreciation recapture taxes.
For example, let’s say you need to liquidate a real estate asset that’s appraised at one million. If you’re in a hurry, you’ll be lucky to get $800K or less. Then after you pay the depreciation recapture tax, you’re like to net something like $600K. Been there, done that!
Now let’s apply such numbers to Trump:
Forbes and Bloomberg have estimated his true net worth at around 2.5 billion. Let’s say he puts two billion of these assets up for sale. Since his campaign will need a lot of cash soon, he’s basically going to be in a “distress sale” situation. He therefore might get something like 1.6 billion for the properties.
Next, the IRS duns him for a 25% depreciation recapture. So he nets maybe 1.2 billion. One billion of this amount will be needed for his national campaign against Biden, Gore or Kerry.
Bottom Line:
Trump is left with ca. $200K in cash to finance the alimony for Melania’s high life style, plus maybe $50 million per year cash flow from the assets he didn’t sell. Good luck with that!
(Don’t believe me? Just run the scenario by a CPA who specializes in large real estate transactions.)
Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz/Allen West
CRUZ/LEE
OR
CRUZ/COTTON
President: Ted Cruz
Vice President: Sarah Palin
Director of Immigration & Naturalization Services: Donald Trump
Attorney General: Trey Gowdy
Director of BATF: Ted Nugent
Department of Treasury: Jeff Sessions
I think we can safely assume that Mr. Trump knows a thing or two about finance. As it stands, right now he’s had to spend very little money since he’s gotten millions of dollars in free publicity from dominating the news cycle for weeks.
Cruz / Carson
>> I think we can safely assume that Mr. Trump knows a thing or two about finance <<
Of course. And for that reason, I’m sure he knows that he doesn’t actually have the liquid assets for a one-billion-dollar national campaign.
>> As it stands, right now he’s had to spend very little money since he’s gotten millions of dollars in free publicity from dominating the news cycle for weeks <<
Absolutely correct again!
Bottom line:
A self-financed Trump campaign is highly improbable. And to the extent that he hints and brags about possible self-financing , I think he’s probably blowing smoke.
Does it really matter at this point? The point is to win, and so far Mr. Trump is doing just that.
>> Does it really matter at this point? The point is to win, and so far Mr. Trump is doing just that <<
Is truth an overarching value? Or do you mean to say that the end justifies the means, and that it’s OK for a candidate to say anything that will help him get votes, true or not?
More specifically, if Trump is blowing smoke when he hints and brags about possible self-financing, does it matter whether or not he’s misleading the voters?
I think it matters quite a lot. As far as I’m concerned, Trump’s truthfulness or lack thereof goes to the man’s fundamental character. You’re obviously free to have another view. So let’s agree to disagree.
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.