[Cincinatus' Wife]

On his proposal to "carpet-bomb" ISIS, Cruz has been getting blasted by military leaders for weeks for a) not seeming to know what carpet bombing actually is, and b) not knowing that it's a war crime. But he hasn't changed his pitch. In Nashua he tells the crowd that during the first Gulf War in 1991, the United States flew 1,100 sorties a day against the Iraqi army, "carpet-bombing" it into oblivion so that all our ground forces had to do once the invasion began was mop up the shattered remnants of Sadaam Hussein's forces. This understanding of carpet bombing is wildly inaccurate. Cruz either does not know this, or more likely he does not care. I'm betting on the latter.

*********************************************************

*********************************************************

FR THREAD: A Reagan Doctrine for the Twenty-First Century - Let's take off our gloves

Post #1: The AEI scholars recommend a return to the level of defense spending proposed by Robert Gates, and the gradual build to "an affordable floor of 4 percent of gross domestic product that would sustain the kind of military America needs." These numbers might not be as shocking as Reagan's. But at least they would reverse the hollowing out of the force. And they would grab the attention of the Kremlin.

"...."You claim it is tough talk to discuss carpet bombing," [Ted] Cruz said. "It is not tough talk. It is a different fundamental military strategy than what we've seen from Barack Obama."

Cruz continued to hammer Obama over his military strategy.

"Barack Obama right now, No. 1, over seven years, has dramatically degraded our military," he said.

He then invoked the Persian Gulf War, using it as justification of his strategy of increased air attacks:

Just two weeks ago was the 25th anniversary of the first Persian Gulf War. When that war began, we had 8,000 planes. Today we have about 4,000. When that war began, we had 529 ships, today we have 272. You want to know what carpet-bombing is? It's what we did in the first Persian Gulf War: 1,100 air attacks a day, saturation bombing that utterly destroyed the enemy. Right now Barack Obama is launching about 15 and 30 air attacks a day. He's not arming the Kurds. We need to define the enemy, we need to rebuild the military, to defeat the enemy, and we need to be focused and lift the rules of engagement so we're not sending our fighting men and women into combat with their arms tied behind their backs. Jan 28, 2016

[Faith65]

The special hell of a Cruz rally: What it’s like to spend an evening with GOP’s oiliest operator.

“The speech is filled with the usual bullshit that no one will call him on”....

[LeoWindhorse]

Gary Legum belongs on someones list

It is so amazing that American has begat these people

[deport]

Apparently New Hampshire isn't buying from the oil salesman.

Polling Data

Poll	Date	Sample	MoE	Trump	Rubio	Cruz	Kasich	Bush	Christie	Fiorina	Carson	Spread
RCP Average	2/1 - 2/5	--	--	31.3	15.0	11.6	11.4	10.0	5.0	4.0	3.1	Trump +16.3
UMass/7News (Tracking)UMass Lowell	2/3 - 2/5	501 LV	4.9	35	14	13	10	10	4	3	3	Trump +21
Boston Globe/SuffolkBoston Globe	2/3 - 2/4	500 LV	4.4	29	19	7	13	10	5	4	4	Trump +10
WBUR/MassINCWBUR/MassINC	2/2 - 2/4	410 LV	4.9	29	12	12	9	9	6	8	4	Trump +17
ARG (Tracking)ARG	2/3 - 2/4	420 LV	5.0	36	15	12	14	8	6	2	2	Trump +21
CNN/WMURCNN/WMUR	2/2 - 2/4	209 LV	6.8	29	18	13	12	10	4	4	2	Trump +11
NBC/WSJ/MaristNBC/WSJ	2/2 - 2/3	653 LV	3.8	30	17	15	10	9	4	2	4	Trump +13
Harper (R)Harper (R)	2/1 - 2/2	425 LV	4.8	31	10	9	12	14	6	5	3	Trump +17

[okie01]

I am proud to be supporting a man who can arouse so much vitriol from the lap-top of such an arrogant and repulsive individual.

How such superior people can bear to share a country with the likes of us must truly astound and amaze them...