It's going to be lose for us all if you can't find a conservative to support.
Posted on 02/13/2016 9:32:01 AM PST by SoConPubbie
These rivals are itching for a fight as South Carolina settles into a two-man race.
Ted Cruz and Donald Trump enter Saturday's debate locked in a two-man race for South Carolina, and to prepare, both have gone full negative.
After splitting the first two votes, the New York billionaire has relentlessly hammered away at Cruz on everything from his campaign's tactics to what Trump sees as the Texan's character flaws. And on Friday, Trump warned that he has standing to sue Cruz over questions of his birth and constitutional eligibility to serve in the White House.
"If @tedcruz doesn't clean up his act, stop cheating, & doing negative ads, I have standing to sue him for not being a natural born citizen," Trump tweeted of his rival, born in Canada to an American mother.
Asked about the threat, Cruz did not back down. "There's more than a little irony in Donald accusing anybody of being nasty given the amazing torrent of insults and obscenities that come out of his mouth on any given day," he told reporters. "Suddenly every day he comes out with a new attack."
Trump is expected to carry these attacks onto the stage on Saturday at the final candidate forum before South Carolina votes. It's a fight Cruz's allies say they are ready for, as they prepare to assault Trump's Republican credentials with an eye on the conservative, religious and security-focused voters throughout the south.
"There's a Himalayan mountain of evidence out there that Donald Trump is not a conservative," said Charlie Condon, a former South Carolina attorney general and a Cruz surrogate, pointing to Trump's past positions on issues including abortion, health care and Wall Street bank bailouts. "I'm confident that everything I'm telling you will be discussed at the Peace Center."
Condon said that the more Trump attacks Cruz on Saturday, the more the Texas senator will come across as the Trump "alternative."
"It's a recognition of what we think the reality is: This is becoming a two-man race," he said. "So if you're not comfortable with Donald Trump being president, whether for temperament reasons or judgment reasons or the fact that he really is a campaign conservative—he's been a Democrat almost his whole life…if you're uncomfortable with that…Cruz is the alternative."
Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler said the candidate would be "prepared" for Trump, whose campaign he dismissed as unserious. "This is the Seinfeld candidacy," he said. "It's a campaign about nothing."
The escalation of the conflict between the two leading candidates for the Republican nomination comes as they contest a state that has refined the political dirty trick to a fine art and where the mogul is accusing a "dishonest" Cruz of orchestrating anti-Trump robocalls.
Already, in Iowa, the Cruz campaign came under fire for spreading inaccurate reports that Ben Carson was suspending his campaign on the day of the Iowa caucuses and sending out high-pressure mailers intended to shame inconsistent voters who were likely to support Cruz into turning out.
In South Carolina, where polls show Trump with a double-digit lead over Cruz, the senator and his supporters are not holding back. "I've worked campaigns for long time and I've never seen the stuff Cruz is putting out," said one Trump campaign staffer in the state, referring to mailers that question the businessman's conservative credentials.
According to the Real Clear Politics average, Trump is running a solid first in South Carolina with 37 percent, followed by Cruz at 20 percent. (Marco Rubio sits a distant third at 14 percent.)
"As we approach South Carolina, Trump's competitors will grow increasingly desperate," said Seth Weathers, a Trump supporter who briefly served as the businessman's George state director. "Trump's tweet was a reminder that he doesn't take attacks lying down. He never attacks first, but when he responds, he unleashes hell."
$4B in credit default.
If the debate consists of each candidates painting their portrait of Hillary, it will truly be an ugly debate. (except for Bush’s and Kasich’s portraits of course).
So says Politico.
But Trump just went “nice” on his ads, right?
I am so very SICK and TIRED of the political media and punditry telling us how to think.
It's going to be lose for us all if you can't find a conservative to support.
So did Trump!
This is what he's doing when you hate him the most.
Make America Humble.
“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,’’ Trump told New York magazine in a 2002 profile of Epstein written three years before Epstein began to be investigated. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
Oops!
I hope there is a knockout or four!
I hope Trump does what he did last time and ignores Cruz. Shows he’s above the fray, Presidential.
Trump does not just have skeletons in his closet, he has them open for public display. And the populist conservative-pretenders are willingly paying to see the sideshow. It is sad if once-in-a-lifetime-conservative such as Cruz is denied nomination because of that freakshow.
I’d much rather see the real thing. So, if there is any boxing on tonight, I won’t watch the debate either.
I think he may ignore Cruz until he senses that he has to hit back. However, it’s a coin flip as to whether he slaps down Cruz right out of the gate.
I predict Cruz will get tangled up in a three way with Rubio and Yeb. Trump will stay above the kiddie fight and look presidential. Kasich will flail his arms around bragging about coming in second in NH.
Agree. The GOP voting base is starting to coalesce around Trump as they see him a winner in the general election and the most effective change agent we can send to the Whitehouse.
I used to LOVE Trump. Now I can’t stand him. He is very different from the man I thought he was.
TRUMP/CRUZ 2016!!!
Impossible. Trump says Cruz isn't eligible.
Why are you Cheering!!! for something your man says is impossible?
I tell you what, I'm going to watch that whole sermon/event and I'll get back with you. I'll admit it might need some splainin. On the other hand, I don't think I necessarily need to tag Ted Cruz with responsibility for something he had no control over/involvement in.
“Trump does not just have skeletons in his closet, he has them open for public display.”
Sure thing. That means that trump would have no problem answering some questions about Epstein and pedophile island?
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