Why didn't Rubio and Carson hang in there after they were mathematically eliminated?

[Jim Robinson]

Well, for one thing, it would be counterproductive. With three, four or five candidates drawing delegates, it simply prevents anyone from getting to 1237 and ensures that the GOPe gets to install one of their own establishment guys at the convention. The malleable "rules" are designed to to preserve, protect and defend the establishment ruling class. Nothing more.

Cruz knows this. He has betrayed the grassroots.

[ObamahatesPACoal]

I thought Rubio was technically still there.

[RitaOK]

Forget Cruz.

TRUMP has already aired his laundry in public, said his penance, and is a force of personality in line with a political Patton. Blunt. Take it or leave it styled honesty.

TRUMP is easily battle ready for Hillary. What’s she going to throw we haven’t already heard?

The man and his WALL are enough alone, for most American voters to elect him.

Killing off this North American Union curse are enough by themselves to elect TRUMP.

TRUMP is on to TPP and all this fundamental transformation of our population, which alone by stopping may save the country.

Forget Cruz.

[RitaOK]

You have to make THAT decision along with Cruz delegates, if you want to sit out the next election or get with the program.

Ted Cruz came by his senate seat with what? 4% of Texas voting for him.

He sat his bags down there and immediately mapped out the delegate down low, to become president. Intermittently, he did some pony tricks for the rubes.

His signature is on TPA, the Corker Bill, and he is well known for mouthings for pathways to legalization, as a reward to an invasion. He has no intention of a WALL mentality occurring any time soon. This is his game. It started with the Bushes.

He is a globalist. So is Heidi.

You don’t even know him.

He just noticed Houston flooded at 10:00 AM yesterday. He is in a self constructed bubble, same as Hillary.

Gad.

[RitaOK]

” but I think he’ll hang in there. >>>

He will hang alright, anywhere he lands.

As for Alinsky rules pulled on him. LOL!! He invented that crap on day one arriving in the Senate, counting delegates to bounce him to the White House. He’s cunning to a fault, has been exposed by DJ TRUMP and is finally, finally about to taste some of his own tactics as they are about to be crammed down his throat.

[Agamemnon]

...said his penance

Trump doesn't think he needs to ask forgiveness from God, Himself. What penance nonsense are you dreaming about here?

... and is a force of personality in line with a political Patton. Blunt.

And somehow you're just too naïve to realize that Double- down Donald will go after your kind next when he thinks he has no credible checks on his own power grab.

It's all about him. It's always been about his ego.

It's all the "image thing" - different in private than he is in public, just like his new right hand man, GOPe Manafort says, and you are gulled by the image you've projected onto him, not what you know he is.

His media image is as fake as the WWWF. It's all an act, until he doesn't think he needs you anymore.

He's playing you.

He turns on a dime. He has no restraining core principles of conservatism that form his core identity.

His admitted history is one where he's freely checked whatever principles he's ever pretended to have at the door of his expedient business arrangements in NYC in order to cater to the NY values politicians. He's not beyond doing it again for whatever expedient equivocating rationale he uses for an excuse next time.

You and his other acolytes will be in his crosshairs soon enough.

You're cuddling a porcupine.

FReegards!

[RitaOK]

No need to get snippy and hysterical.

Bashing TRUMP is just not selling and it’s certainly not moving the numbers anymore for Cruz.

Forget Cruz.

[Nita Nupress]

Dang. You project your candidates flaws and shortcomings almost as well as your candidate does.

[Smokin' Joe]

Alinsky rules have squat to do with counting delegates. They have a lot to do with character assassination, which is what Trump has been doing to Cruz since the first tweet about “Lyin’ Ted”. Maybe you should read the book since your boy uses it. I would have you particularly note the dedication. That’s the side you have chosen.

[CPT Clay]

Great list!!! Thanks.

[unlearner]

“Trump supporters are very loyal; more loyal than any other candidates’.”

There is loyalty and then there is slavish devotion.

I am a Trump supporter. I just prefer Cruz more because, contrary to the many ridiculous assertions otherwise, Cruz is the more conservative candidate. Sorry, you don’t get to redefine terms and ideologies just because you are starstruck.

“If Bernie isn’t the Dem nominee, a large number of those people will vote for Trump.”

I think you may be right about this. And that IS a good reason to support Trump.

As I have been saying for a very long while, if Trump and his supporters had stuck to the message of why Trump is a better candidate, instead of name calling and childish attacks on Cruz, he would have already wrapped up the nomination.

Attacks on a KNOWN conservative make a lot of conservatives very leery of a guy with a track record of liberal support. I’m all for people snapping to the reality that liberalism is a failed non-solution. As long as they really do change. Trump has been positive about Pelosi, Reid, and Planned Parenthood. He and his devotees have saved their most vicious attacks against the most conservative candidate in the race. It’s insulting, not just to Cruz, but to his supporters.

“The more people learn about Ted, the more they don’t like him.”

No. The more liberals and socialists, the ones you think will switch to Trump in the general, hear about Cruz, the more they dislike him. The duty of the Republican nominee is to educate the public why conservatism works, not redefine the party platform to be more liberal.

Left-leaning moderates are no longer welcome in the Democratic Socialist party, so they don’t want to start their own party, they want to come over to the Republican party and “fix” it by making it more liberal.

In a sane world, Hillary or Bernie would be the nominee of the Communist party. Trump would the nominee of the Democrat party. And Cruz would be the nominee of the Republican party. In this case, Trump would probably win. He’s neither extremely conservative, nor extremely liberal. Trump is a modern day JFK.

“Cruz is NOT a conservative and he has spit up on and shredded the Constitution.”

Cruz has a track record that has caused him to be rated more conservative than any other candidate running (generally 100% or nearly that) by EVERY conservative organization. Again, you do not get to redefine conservative to fit what you want it to mean.

I understand the sentiment that Cruz is a spoiler, and the base needs to unite. I agree. But Trump must EARN it. He does not just get conservative support handed to him because he is Trump. He needs to commit to conservatism and stick to it. He has been too wobbly lately. I still support him, but I will not pledge my undying loyalty to him or any other candidate.

I have given multiple scenarios in which proof of Trump supporter accusations against Cruz would result in me switching support to Trump. Proof was promised. It never materialized. The nasty things said over and over ad nauseam here and in the media have been said NOT because of Cruz’s lack of conservatism, but because he is the biggest threat to a Trump nomination.

“Trump can win without your vote.”

Neither you nor Trump needs to worry about running without MY vote. I WILL vote for Trump if he is the nominee. Unfortunately, many of the millions of Cruz supporters will not, unless he can convince them to unite. How does he do that?

If you think the Bernie (Socialist) supporters switching toTrump, means Trump does not need conservatives to win, you are completely delusional. There is simply no way possible. Now, maybe conservatives continue to tolerate non-conservative candidates pragmatically like we did with Romney and McCain. Or maybe Trump picks a great VP, like Allen West. But somehow he MUST get conservatives on board. And he has won many.

My defense of Cruz has not been an attack onTrump. I know that the ones who have always hated Cruz are the GOPe and Democrats, and hail-Satan, hard-left, abortion-loving, Planned Parenthood types. Some of them are on this forum to attack Cruz and spread lies. Others are socially-liberal, fiscally-conservative types who don’t like Cruz. And some are naive types who trust CNN over any long-term, conservative organization when it comes to Cruz’s track record.

Trump wins by staying on message. If he and his devotees refuse to heed this advice and keep doing the “lyin’ Ted” schtick, it will continue to weaken Trump. And you can keep whining about how Cruz getting delegates is unfair. Or you can stick to why Trump is the best candidate to win and fix problems. And he just might still pull off a 1237 win and carry some momentum into the general. Otherwise, Trump will be forced to do some hard negotiating to get the nomination. And whether his devotees are smart enough to realize it, he knows he will need to work with Cruz to win the general.

He will have my support regardless.

[unlearner]

“I swear the only place in the real world or the internet where I encounter any number of hard core Cruz people is right here. That’s it.”

https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/anecdotal

anecdotal fallacy: You used a personal experience or an isolated example instead of a sound argument or compelling evidence.

Check how many millions of primary voters voted for Cruz. It’s 5.5 Million. That’s PRIMARY voters. Not general election. Of the 20+ Million Republican primary voters, Trump has received the support of 7.5 Million. Awesome. But it is wrong to ASSUME that Cruz has no support. He has a lot.

Cruz has been the BIGGEST obstacle to Trump getting the nomination. And this makes Trump devotees VERY ANGRY. But the reality is that conservatives are just looking for someone to represent our interests. Trump has won the support of many conservatives who focus on the conservative stances he has, and ignore the nonconservative ones.

But it is foolish to deny the fact that Cruz has a huge following. Same as denying the reality that Bernie and Hillary also have huge followings. You don’t win elections by denying reality.

[unlearner]

Well, if Trump gets to 1237 before the convention, he will have all the flexibility in the world to make that choice. If he does not, then he is going to put his incredible deal-making skills (and I do NOT mean that sarcastically) to work. Trump is the presumptive nominee in my mind. Has been for a while. But he still has to cross the finish line. May the best man win.

[unlearner]

Cruz made it to the senate thanks to Palin and grass roots efforts by Tea Party conservatives who STOPPED GOPe Dewhurst from filling the seat vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Cruz made a lot of conservative promises to win our support. He kept all of his promises. He weathered some harsh attacks from the left and the GOPe during his brief time as a senator.

At one point, conservatives rallied behind him as the hero of our cause. Many people on this forum considered him the number one pick for president long before he formed an exploratory committee. Of course that has happened with Ben Carson, before he went soft on gun rights, etc. It happened with Rubio before he joined the gang of 8 and betrayed the conservatives who got him elected. Cruz never did this.

Many questioned his judgement on TPP and even how to deal with the gang of 8. But he ALWAYS did what he promised, even when taking some serious flak for it.

I defend Cruz because he is a proven conservative. We need many more like him. He has flaws. I have criticisms.

And I am still fully prepared to vote for Trump in November. He is also human and has flaws. And I have criticisms for him as well. But he is night and day better than ANYTHING the Dems have to offer. He has potential to be a GREAT president. We will see.

[Tammy8]

I am not saying he didn’t have support, in fact I seriously considered supporting him and knew several others that did. What I am saying is now I hear no one say they support him except right here. The numbers that voted for him do not show how many would not now vote for him. Many people say that now.

I have noticed a definite change in support for him not just in my little corner of the world but on the internet as well.

It is over for him with the voters, he needs to turn out the lights and go home.

[TTFX]

“Worrying about Cruz staying in the race is sign of insecurity.”

Wrong. It’s a sign that it’s a time to unite the party and to focus on defeating Hillary.

[TTFX]

“Carson did as well as he was expected to do in the Iowa caucuses. That would not have been the case if votes had been “stolen” from him. “

Wrong.

Had Cruz not stolen his votes, Carson would have done better than expected.

[Agamemnon]

Dang. You project your candidates flaws and shortcomings almost as well as your candidate does.

I'll bet you wish they could sell you Viagra for posts as flaccid as that.

Your soul mate, "DynoHomo," is breathlessly waiting for your call. He's probably got more pix for the two of you to drool over.

[editor-surveyor]

.
Cruz picked up just 65 of the 94 delegates up for grabs yesterday.

[RitaOK]

Agravateton is a bitter drooler. Exactly like Cruzader.

Nasty piece of work when things don’t go their way, and insufferable even when things do.

His only talent is in the adjectives field of bloviation.
It’s a new college department dedicated to obnoxious discourse. He may run it.

In other words, a colossal gas bag, and name caller, with the only exception being when speaking to the owner of the sight to avoid a full blown flaming zot.

[JustSurrounded]

That used to be SOP for a father and husband.

(Just catching up on old threads) Oh my, did that sentence strike a chord with me! I had forgotten all about that until you reminded me. I can recall it clearly. You are absolutely right, that's how it was.

Thanks for the inadvertent trip down memory lane!