Just letting you know I'm stealing your joke for this graphic!
Posted on 02/03/2016 2:29:45 PM PST by GodGunsGuts
On Wednesday morning, two days after losing the Iowa Republican caucus to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, Donald Trump accused the Texas senator of stealing the election. According to Trump, Cruz’s campaign committed “fraud” by sending direct mail pieces to lapsed Republican voters and by spreading public reports that pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson might be dropping out of the race.
On the night of the Iowa caucuses, Ben Carson accused Ted Cruz's campaign of spreading false rumors about his campaign suspending its bid for the GOP nomination. Cruz’s people had been pushing a report that originated with CNN, which reported that Carson was planning on going home to Florida after the caucus instead of traveling to New Hampshire or South Carolina.
With his poor showing and diminishing numbers, it was not outlandish to deduce from this that Carson was toying with the idea of dropping out. Turns out he wasn't. It turns out Carson only planned to briefly return home so he could grab some "fresh clothes." Part of the incident can be chalked up to the ambiguous comments coming from Carson's amateurish campaign and the other part to Cruz’s campaign doing what campaigns tend to do: push narratives and stories that help them win elections.
But unless new evidence emerges, Trump's accusations of fraud and illegality are as absurd as his calls for a new election. Moreover, even if we believed Trump's charges, under no scenario does he win Iowa.
Ted Cruz didn’t win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
Let’s say deception was afoot. Where is the evidence that the CNN story or the Cruz tactic changed the dynamics of the race at all? Carson's RealClearPolitics polling average was 7.7 percent-with some of the better polling putting him at 9 percent. One poll even had him at 10 percent. He finished the night with 9.3 percent of the vote. This seems right, and probably a little better than expected. Carson's numbers had taken a nosedive since peaking on Nov. 1st, and there was no evidence that a Carson surge was underway. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Even if we concede, for the sake of discussion, that Carson lost two or even three thousands voters to the rumor (which is pushing it), nothing changes. Even if Carson finished at 10 percent or 12 percent, the political outcome is the same. To believe Trump was cheated out of the race, you have to accept that Carson lost more than six thousand supporters, and all of them went to Cruz. Well, Carson pulled in a little over 17,300 votes.
In truth, it’s far more likely that any Carson defecting voters would have dispersed somewhat evenly among the other major candidates. Let's go big, though, and say Carson lost 15,000 supporters. According to a not-very-scientific NBC poll in early January, Cruz and Trump were tied as the second choice of Carson supports, at 26 percent each. Trump would have been in the same place. In a more scientific and more recent Des Moines Register/Bloomberg poll, Trump was tied with Marco Rubio as second choice. Trump's favorability tracked way below that of every other candidate except Chris Christie. Considering the Rubio surge, it's far more plausible that Carson's lost votes would have gone to Rubio and pushed Trump into third place.
Now, I realize nothing is going to change the minds of Trump and his fans. Believing they were cheated out of Iowa is almost a philosophical necessity. The story helps Trump continue to latch onto to polls as unvarnished Truth and dismiss the idea that he has ever really lost at anything. But even if we believe Cruz cheated, none of the outcomes lead to a Trump victory.
So, your contention is that any time there is a negative news report about a candidate, other candidates should check with the candidate first before repeating the story?
And you support TRUMP?? King of the "they say," "I heard," "people are saying" weasel-word method of spreading rumors?
No, only major announcements like they’re leaving the campaign to pursue a different line of work. Seems like good sense to me if not to Cruz geniuses.
You have a history of inability to comprehend like the TPP. The men I served with and especially those this nation lost, which was quite was quite a few, paid too high a price for Cruz and his old man to lie and further sell us out. BTW, several of the men I know say Rubio’s brother was SF.I will look it up. I had no idea.
You have a history of inability to comprehend like the TPP. The men I served with and especially those this nation lost, which was quite was quite a few, paid too high a price for Cruz and his old man to lie and further sell us out. BTW, several of the men I know say Rubio’s brother was SF.I will look it up. I had no idea.
How in the devil can you say that? Their information came from other sources. You another Trump-Chump?
Just letting you know I'm stealing your joke for this graphic!
No, it’s Cruz responsibility not to lie and cheat a candidate out of his fair share of votes. That shouldn’t be too much to ask of the smartest person - outside of Hillary Clinton, that is - to run for office.
Get off it. He wouldn’t have shown anyway....
Trump-Chumps....
Mario Rubio did serve in Special Forces. He was in the 7th Group. My friends are usually correct. He is quite older then Marco.
Good job on your history. You probably weren’t even born when that took place. Many supported Castro until he showed his real colors Kind of like Trump.....
What about, say, speculation that a candidate is not eligible to run for President? Should other candidates check that one out before circulating that rumor?
How about rumors that a candidate received "very low interest" loans for their campaign? Should those be checked out first?
Point is, your candidate will spread any news, any rumor, any bit of information--true or false, verified or not--about anyone who gets in his way.
I see I am getting under your skin. One of life’s small pleasures.
A notion is a belief, a fact not so much. I am surprised that you are having trouble with that. All the ad hominem in the universe isn’t going to change that.
I take it by your outrage that you did not support Trumps slandering of the good Dr. I’ll take you at your word on that. But it does lead to an obvious question. Was Trumps slandering of Dr. Carson as a psychopath admirable politics while the Cruz campaigns repeating a news report an immoral act worthy of shunning?
Your voter fraud assertion is simply asinine. Repeating or disseminating press reports is covered by the First Amendment S is Trumps slanderous speech regarding Carson.
Good luck in NH!
Good on Mario!
Cnn ran the story like he quit.. This is just sour apples from Losers!!
I think I have a higher opinion of Iowa conservative voters than some. Voters motivated enough to attend the Caucuses do not seem like the type to be led around like sheep. Dr. Carson outperformed his average poll numbers by about 2%.
What did you think of it when Trump railed about Carson being a psychopath with homicidal tendencies which drove Carson’s numbers down in Iowa from about 30 to 9%?
“Cruz is sleazy”
I think Carson owes Ted an apology: http://thefivepilgrims.com/2016/02/03/a-quick-fact-sheet-of-the-cruz-carson-controversy/
I apologize if this is already being discussed on FR threads, but I browsed and didn’t see it jump out at me. This is about Jeff Roe, from 2010:
Quote: “””An e-mail sent to news media outlets and a “tweet†issued by a fake Twitter account announced that Eckersley had suspended his campaign due to personal reasons.
Eckersley blames his opponent, Republican Billy Long, for sending out the hoax days before the election.
“You know this is dirty politics. This is Jeff Roe-style management. “””
An old Jeff Roe trick....most recently used by Ted Cruz. Mr. Cruz probably doesn’t realize who he has working for him - or doesn’t care.
I agree. Looks like the same Cruz groupies always say the same BS.
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