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GOP Strategists Plot to Ban Donald Trump From Debates
Gateway Pundit ^ | July 23,2015 | Jim Hoft

Posted on 07/23/2015 11:24:03 AM PDT by Hojczyk

One idea that came up was to urge three leading candidates — Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor; Mr. Walker; and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida — to band together and state that they would not participate in any debate in which Mr. Trump was present, using his refusal to rule out a third-party bid as a pretext for taking such a hard line.

The thinking, according to a Republican involved in the conversations, was that the lesser-funded prospects who have been eclipsed by Mr. Trump would follow suit, and the TV networks airing the debates would be forced to bar Mr. Trump in order to have a full complement of candidates.

(Excerpt) Read more at thegatewaypundit.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Front Page News; Politics/Elections; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: bush; debates; donaldtrump; fox; gop; gopdebates; jebbush; marcorubio; rubio; trump; walker
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To: Hojczyk
Yes, I know their nickname is the Stupid Party, but really?

Trump will get all the media attention he wants. That's one of his strengths. He will be the story. If the GOP "elite" don't understand that now, well...there's no help for them.

A saying attributed to LBJ...I would much rather have someone inside the tent p!ssing out than someone outside the tent p!ssing in.

41 posted on 07/23/2015 11:57:40 AM PDT by gogeo (If you are Tea Party, the eGOP does not want you.)
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To: Hojczyk

we need a cartoon of the Rove Gestapo


42 posted on 07/23/2015 11:59:47 AM PDT by Cheerio (Barry Hussein Soetoro-0bama=The Complete Destruction of American Capitalism)
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To: GrandJediMasterYoda
W had some very, very admirable qualities. If he had left office in 2004 for some odd reason, he would have gone down in the top tier of US presidents. He had liberal tendencies at times, but his main fault was that he---like ALL of the GOP field except Trump and, to an extent, Cruz---refused to fight libs. Karl Rove said in his book it was the biggest mistake they ever made and I agree. It gave the Dems eight full years of attacking.

Among Bush's good points were that he was the ONLY Republican (including Reagan) to even attempt to reform Social Security by privatizing it;

The pro-life movement gained dramatically under W. He shut down abortions on fed facilities permitted by Clinton and closed as many loopholes as he could at the fed level;

He made, in my view, the absolute right call on invading Iraq. Even IF (and I don't buy it, but if) there were no WMDs there, it was still the right call becaue it was up to Saddam to PROVE there were no WMDs there;

After 2005, he got the Iraq war straightened out. Maybe too long, but Ike's first combat ops in N. Africa sucked too. Lincoln didn't do so well with McDowell and McClellan.

We all know the things he did wrong, bailouts, going along with Paulsen and Bernanke, the Roberts appointment (but Alito has been a gem), his handling of Katrina.

I like W. If I could assess his whole presidency and then decide whether to vote for him, I wouldn't. But based on his first four years, absolutely.

43 posted on 07/23/2015 12:01:18 PM PDT by LS ("Castles Made of Sand, Fall in the Sea . . . Eventually" (Hendrix))
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To: Hojczyk

One has to wonder where Fox actually stands in this. We know what Murdoch’s opinion of Trump is and that Jeb is his boy.... but on the other hand, the viewership would drop through the floor if Trump was somehow excluded. Hmmmm....


44 posted on 07/23/2015 12:02:05 PM PDT by hecticskeptic (In life it's important to know what you believeÂ….but more more importantly, why you believe it.)
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To: Signalman

A similar thing happened in the 1986 Alabama governor’s election. One of the Democrat primary candidates solicited GOP crossover votes in the runoff election. The Rats threw out the runoff results and proclaimed their choice to be the Rat nominee for the general election.

A guy who was a nobody up until that time won the GOP primary and proceeded to trounce the Rat nominee. His name was Guy Hunt. I went to HS with his daughter. Then, after Hunt was re-elected, the Rats brought some charges on campaign finance (practices that ALL the Rats got away with) that got Hunt convicted and thrown out of office.

Their victory party was short-lived because I don’t think there has been a Rat governor since. People notice this kind of crap. If the GOP does this to Trump, they might as well hand pick him as their nominee. It will also be the last bullet in the head of the GOP as we know it today. Rank & file voters who have tended to vote GOP, like me, will avoid them like poison. In excluding Trump,it will prove the Tea Party’s “bait & switch” and “stacking the deck” allegations. The party will not survive that and remain viable. The main reason Trump is getting traction is that he has heard main street Americans and given them a voice; the GOPe will be trying to take that voice away . . . and the people will be angrier than ever if it happens.


45 posted on 07/23/2015 12:02:13 PM PDT by RatRipper
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To: Signalman

A similar thing happened in the 1986 Alabama governor’s election. One of the Democrat primary candidates solicited GOP crossover votes in the runoff election. The Rats threw out the runoff results and proclaimed their choice to be the Rat nominee for the general election.

A guy who was a nobody up until that time won the GOP primary and proceeded to trounce the Rat nominee. His name was Guy Hunt. I went to HS with his daughter. Then, after Hunt was re-elected, the Rats brought some charges on campaign finance (practices that ALL the Rats got away with) that got Hunt convicted and thrown out of office.

Their victory party was short-lived because I don’t think there has been a Rat governor since. People notice this kind of crap. If the GOP does this to Trump, they might as well hand pick him as their nominee. It will also be the last bullet in the head of the GOP as we know it today. Rank & file voters who have tended to vote GOP, like me, will avoid them like poison. In excluding Trump,it will prove the Tea Party’s “bait & switch” and “stacking the deck” allegations. The party will not survive that and remain viable. The main reason Trump is getting traction is that he has heard main street Americans and given them a voice; the GOPe will be trying to take that voice away . . . and the people will be angrier than ever if it happens.


46 posted on 07/23/2015 12:02:40 PM PDT by RatRipper
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To: Hojczyk

Trump will buy time on the networks and run his own debates.


47 posted on 07/23/2015 12:02:54 PM PDT by Rennes Templar (NSA: The only government agency that really listens.)
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To: Hojczyk

I’m not a Trump fan.

But the RINOs will shoot themselves in the foot for disallowing Trump at the debates.

Everyone will know the whole nomination process is FIXED, and will bail out of the party.


48 posted on 07/23/2015 12:07:33 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie (WSJs approval of law-breaking and disdain for the Bill of Rights reveals anti-American principles)
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To: Rennes Templar

“Trump will buy time on the networks and run his own debates.”

On a set with 15 empty chairs, a la Clint Eastwood.


49 posted on 07/23/2015 12:07:43 PM PDT by riverdawg
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To: ryan71

God, have they forgotten Ross Perot?


50 posted on 07/23/2015 12:11:27 PM PDT by RobbyS (quotes)
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To: Hojczyk

If they pull dirty tricks he will go 3rd Pty. Their best strategy is to ... compete and go head to head with him in the arena of ideas and politics and let the chips fall where they may.


51 posted on 07/23/2015 12:12:51 PM PDT by plain talk
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To: Old Teufel Hunden
My idea is to allow him on the debate stage to show what an unserious candidate he is. Once the people see what a true blowhard he is and what an unserious presidential candidate he is, his numbers will fall and he will be an afterthought.

Do you really believe that "the people" don't already know who Donald Trump is? Ridiculous. People know Donald Trump very well, more than any other candidate running, and more than the vast majority of public figures. Your "idea" is predicated on one of the most absurd assumptions I have ever seen.

People already know that Donald Trump is a blowhard, egotistical, brash, often rude, and ... they have accepted him for who he is. And, it appears, many of them have decided that a president with those characteristics may not be such a bad idea.

Let America tell him “You’re fired!”

It is much more probable that America will tell him "You're hired! Go medieval on the DC swamp".
52 posted on 07/23/2015 12:14:53 PM PDT by jjsheridan5 (The next Ronald Reagan will not be a Republican, but rather a former Republican)
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To: Hojczyk

Why not just ban the debates?


53 posted on 07/23/2015 12:16:12 PM PDT by Genoa (Starve the beast.)
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To: riverdawg

I’m liking the idea of 15 empty suits...


54 posted on 07/23/2015 12:16:42 PM PDT by gogeo (If you are Tea Party, the eGOP does not want you.)
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To: Hojczyk
The thinking, according to a Republican involved in the conversations, was that the lesser-funded prospects who have been eclipsed by Mr. Trump would follow suit, and the TV networks airing the debates would be forced to bar Mr. Trump in order to have a full complement of candidates.

Ha...petulant fools....last man standing is....Trump.

...if they all quit the debates...Trump will be on alone and debate 9 empty chairs.

55 posted on 07/23/2015 12:20:43 PM PDT by spokeshave (If an illegal alien is undocumented immigrant a drug dealer is an unlicensed pharmacist)
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To: Hojczyk

Shep Smith is on Fox right trying to discredit Trump on the border. Shep is all out of breath and hyperventilating.


56 posted on 07/23/2015 12:24:18 PM PDT by conservative98
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To: spokeshave
...if they all quit the debates...Trump will be on alone and debate 9 empty chairs

With the obvious exception of Cruz, is this just a distinction without a difference?
57 posted on 07/23/2015 12:24:34 PM PDT by jjsheridan5 (The next Ronald Reagan will not be a Republican, but rather a former Republican)
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To: Ancesthntr
Romney WASN'T right about the 47% last election. What happened in the Kasich election two years after that proves it. Romney avoided campaigning to the inner city OH populations, having no gauge of how dissatisfied they are. Kasich brought it to the full political spectrum, and annihilated the (granted, hideously flawed) democrat.

Do you really think everyone who is poor and trapped by the elitist machine likes it that way?? Now that I think of it, and I'm no Kasich cheerleader, perhaps a Trump/Kasich ticket would be a good match. Kasich is one heck of a campaigner, and doesn't back down. And he's from the other side of the tracks.

58 posted on 07/23/2015 12:25:59 PM PDT by grania
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To: jjsheridan5

I would guess that they will let him the debate. He will be able to make his opening statement and then will never be asked a question or asked to give a rebuttal.


59 posted on 07/23/2015 12:26:48 PM PDT by BubbaJunebug
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To: jjsheridan5
...if they all quit the debates...Trump will be on alone and debate 9 empty chairs

With the obvious exception of Cruz, is this just a distinction without a difference?

..even better...they can play "good cop bad cop" on the leftie moderator.

60 posted on 07/23/2015 12:28:01 PM PDT by spokeshave (If an illegal alien is undocumented immigrant a drug dealer is an unlicensed pharmacist)
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