Posted on 07/17/2015 9:47:30 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Insiders say Donald Trump is a candidate who is as uncompromising as Cruz on hot-button issues like immigration — and can deliver the message with even more fiery rhetoric.
Donald Trump’s turn in the national spotlight is mainly taking a toll on Ted Cruz, the Texas firebrand running as an uncompromising, anti-establishment conservative.
That’s the assessment of this week’s POLITICO Caucus, our weekly survey of the leading strategists, activists and political operatives in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Roughly a third of Iowa and New Hampshire Republican insiders pointed to Cruz as the candidate who is damaged the most in their states by Trump’s rise in the polls and emergence as a media-grabbing protest candidate.
“The Trump Circus is no doubt having the biggest impact on Ted Cruz. Cruz, the incumbent proxy for the disaffected GOP “Hell No!” Caucus, has been virtually starved of oxygen since Trump entered the race,” said an Iowa Republican, who, like all POLITICO Caucus participants, was granted anonymity in order to speak freely.
“Cruz needs to consolidate the rage-against-the-machine, anti-establishment block of Caucus votes (both the harder-edged evangelicals and tea party types) as his Iowa Caucus foundation upon which to build,” said another Iowa Republican. “Trump is sucking all the oxygen out of the room. While I seriously doubt most of those folks will ultimately caucus for Trump, his message is scratching their anti-establishment itch at a time when Cruz needs to start showing some momentum.”
In New Hampshire, where Chris Christie’s hopes are riding on a strong finish, roughly a quarter of Republicans believe the brash and straight-talking New Jersey governor is also put at risk by Trump’s emergence in the field.
“Christie is the “tell it like it is” candidate, but he certainly can’t hang with Trump in that regard,”(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
I actually think they’re right...but ONLY in the short term. Long term, will help Cruz. (they don’t say that of course)
Disagree completely.
In fact, it hurts everyone but Cruz. Trump is going to win primaries - lots of them.
Cruz will too. The GOP went too far this time. Even the middle and working class are starting to ask WTF?
My wife was complaining about how bad our health insurance has become. Their trust switched from Premera to UHC. She went on a rant about it.
At the end I said, “Sorry honey, this is what you voted for. This is what they were talking about when they passed Obamacare. You, and your parents, voted for this. More to the point, I told you this wouldn’t work, and couldn’t work. Go ahead and complain, because you earned that right when you voted for it, but it didn’t have to be this way.”
To be fair, had Romney won, I’m pretty sure we’d have been stuck with Obamacare anyway. Had McCain won, I don’t even want to imagine what that loony bastard would have declared ‘conservative’ and pushed ahead with.
Only one party in DC right now. This is why Trump is winning - the contrast is stark and what he’s saying is common sense.
As soon as they use the “r” word I know what follows is pure garbage.
That is a favorite word of the leftists.
So where are you sleeping?
Right you were but as you know that doesn’t matter...unless she tells you it does... ;)
I think Trump does steal from Cruz, but I think he steals equally from Walker, Santorum, Huckabee, Perry, and even Christie and Fiorini. There is no one stealing yet from Kasich and Pataki because there isn’t much there to steal from. Those 2 candidacies clearly steal from Bush, with both of them thinking of being a VP pick, and not being serious Potus candidates. Pataki can’t truly think he could deliver New York. It won’t happen.
Kasich, in my mind, clearly could deliver Ohio. Like it or not, but it’s a fact. I’m an Ohioan.
I agree. Cruz's campaign was hurt by his dealing with the devil on that trade deal. There was cyber war going on here on FR, trying to tell his supporters that Obama and his supporters (and 'pub enablers) would turn it around against Cruz. This was when Cruz looked a little iffier because of his call for more H1B Visas. At the same time, Trump came along, with one of his strengths being he's a great negotiator.
Cruz can walk it back, but he needs experience in controlling the outcome of things. He needs to get back that strong independent voice he demonstrated in his magnificent 21 hours and in the campaign to elect constitutional conservatives. If Cruz has Trump as a mentor, he might be at that level in four years.
JMHO
Kasich is Perry without a six-shooter. Neither one is going anywhere.
I agree....his numbers are the same as they were before Trump announced.
When Trump is thru he’ll help Cruz in the remainder of the primary. What do think that meeting was about between the two?
It is still early, I know that is the “ thing” to say but it really is. I do hope though that Cruz will be the tiger he is during the debates and not kiss up to Trump then or it will be done for him and I am all for Cruz.
There is only one true conservative in this race and that is Ted Cruz....he will get my vote.
Exactly. Trump isn’t taking votes from Bush, Christie, or Rubio. He’s just helping to split the conservative vote.
LOL All anonymous sources.
Oooooo. I’ll bet Ted’s scared now.
Other than to fire people up and get into the debate, polls are meaningless at this point.
Or maybe ever...why are these polls given any credibility when they could just as easily be complete fabrications? (Or do you believe “oh, they’d never do that!”)
I just got sick of it. Her parents complaining, her complaining, her kids showing up to school unfed, or moving because the parents lost their jobs.
I just kept hearing it from them coming home from work.
She was really, really pissed about the health care stuff, and at the height of the rant, I pointed it out.
She blinked a couple of times. She was between pissed and shocked. She’s pretty careful about saying stuff you can’t take back, and what I said was fact.
I’ve pointed out to her before that people look at party affiliation they way they do sports team affiliation, which is stupid. If your party starts doing things that are going to materially harm you or your family, then dump them like a bad habit.
Last election, locally, she actually asked me - for the first time - who I was voting for and why.
I don’t vote by party, and I’m not a libertarian. Romney was a disaster, and Ray Charles and Helen Keller both could see that.
Romney was the candidate the press wanted us to have - that and country club republicans.
I told her, when she asked me who to vote for: ‘Jobs. Vote for the one least likely to cost us jobs. Number two, vote for the candidate least likely to strip away your rights, because when they are gone, you don’t get them back without spilling blood. Number three, vote for the candidate least likely to screw your children over. Now, with that, you pick because its your vote.’
She’s not voting lock-stock for D’s anymore. She’s also backing anti-union people, which is VERY tough to do in WA state (The People’s Soviet of Washington).
Pity it is when a man finally finds wisdom for which he can no longer benefit. That describes a lot of people here in this state.
I agree that they’ll go no place in the primaries, but they know that, too. They are clearly in the race for a different purpose. Kasich’s purpose is either to set himself up for a run at Brown’s senate seat here in Ohio, or it is to set himself up as a VP candidate. It could, of course, be both, but in the near term, I think Kasich would readily agree to be a VP candidate.
And he really could deliver Ohio.
All of the above applies to Perry, I suppose, except for a senatorial seat.
thumbs up for both of you.
-PJ
Bush thought SCOTUS would stop I forget what. Maybe we don’t get the Wise Latina, but maybe we end up with Roberts II - some compromised idiot that literally believes the words in the law don’t matter as much as the INTENT of the law.
Mark Levin wrote ‘Men in Black’ which is a history of the idiot legacy of SCOTUS. As an institution, its an abject failure. I would count on them for nothing. I would bet that Scalia would agree with this sentiment - regardless of who is President.
-PJ
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