Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

What Trump Saw and Cruz Did Not
Weekly Standard ^ | 4/26/16 | Rich Danker by way of Bill Kristol

Posted on 04/27/2016 11:07:30 AM PDT by jalisco555

From: Rich Danker, Lone Star Committee founder

Date: April 24, 2016

Re: The 2016 Republican race

For those of you who have supported the Lone Star Committee's independent expenditures and operations, I want to give you an overview of what we did, how it contrasted with other organizations' efforts, and most importantly, how and why I believe the race has run its course with Donald Trump besting Ted Cruz as the presumptive GOP nominee. This includes an analysis of Cruz and Trump's respective strategies, especially in the critical early voting states where we played a role.

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


TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: billkristol; cruz; richdanker; thirdpartybill; trump; weeklystandard
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-87 next last
To: fireman15
"I don't think that there have been any unscripted moments in Cruz's events."

Even his facial expressions seem scripted. Half the time when he smiles it's the same sort of smile you get when someone who is barefoot in polite company steps in dog dung but isn't a quick enough wit to say something humorous and doesn't think on their feet fast enough to say what they really feel in a way polite company can accept it.

21 posted on 04/27/2016 12:18:33 PM PDT by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory !!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Rockpile
All of the imbecile moronic doofuses on the Trump/ Cruz threads bitching at each other is utterly revolting

Good point that many here share, including me. But then you proceed to prove you are one of those imbecile moronic doofuses. by saying this.

I hope now that Trump will make the effort to start trying to sound like a grownup instead of a snarky junior high girl.

Way to rise above it all now that Cruz has lost for sure.

22 posted on 04/27/2016 12:19:10 PM PDT by itsahoot (Trump is a fumble mouthed blowhard that can't finish a sentence, but he will finish a term.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: jalisco555

Yup. They love Kasich because they want another establishment loser like Romney who won’t rock the boat.


23 posted on 04/27/2016 12:35:42 PM PDT by pierrem15 ("Massacrez-les, car le seigneur connait les siens")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; Convert from ECUSA; ...

It's always the same thing with Bill "Creepy" Kristol:
Danker's insights go beyond his analysis of the 2016 Republican race, and are a helpful guide to any independent candidacy that may be necessary if Trump prevails.

24 posted on 04/27/2016 12:43:12 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: jalisco555

It is brilliant, but (toot my own horn) I said in this forum in August at the latest Trump would be the nominee. This writer could have just read the columns and posts here on FR-—many people said exactly these things-—for some time.

Many of us said that Trump’s lack of specificity was an advantage, not a drawback, because his 12-poin plan couldn’t be deconstructed. We said Cruz’s “ground game” would be useless in large states. We said Trump had his finger on the pulse of the people, listening to what they said.

But where we all said something he didn’t is this: Ted just proved unlike able on the campaign trail and Trump proved more like able.

Finally, he ignores the “holiness” factor. There is nothing wrong with running a “Puritan” campaign. Coolidge did it. But you can’t even have the perception of foul play (the Carson stuff) or poor judgment (the porn star in ads) or back room deals (CO). That stuff hurt Cruz big.


25 posted on 04/27/2016 12:52:45 PM PDT by LS ("Castles Made of Sand, Fall in the Sea . . . Eventually" (Hendrix))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fhios

Right-—how many times did Freepers ask, “But can he win in Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and Virginia?” The answer of course was not just “no” but “not even close.”


26 posted on 04/27/2016 12:55:45 PM PDT by LS ("Castles Made of Sand, Fall in the Sea . . . Eventually" (Hendrix))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: fireman15

Good comparison, and a similar analogy could be made between Reagan and Bush I. Reagan never had to bother with scripted moments, while Bush I was nothing but scripted moments (”read my lips: no new taxes” sounds like a line from Cleverbot).

Tellingly, Reagan had enormous political success thanks to his honesty, while Bush rode on Reagan’s coattails and lost an election to a rapist hick. Dole, McCain, and Romney were also afraid to say anything without the approval of a focus group.


27 posted on 04/27/2016 12:59:37 PM PDT by Objective Scrutator (All liberals are criminals, and all criminals are liberals)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Rashputin

Trump brags that he is a deal maker. If he has hopes of winning this he has to used the machinery the party has in place to help Trump win. Read up on how the Party sat on its hands after the Goldwater nomination.Clinton is certainly not sitting in the catbird seat the way that Johnson was in 1964, but right now Trump Trump is still in no position to dictate terms. He hs to show he won’t hurt the candidates down ticket.


28 posted on 04/27/2016 2:05:23 PM PDT by RobbyS (```JMJ)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: RobbyS
Sorry, but Trump will be dictating terms and the Party can sit on it's hands all it likes.

Trump is in the process of creating a new party few if any of the current Party bosses will be part of. We The People are fed up with politicians who put America and Americans dead last on their priority list, undermine American and Western culture to suit people who cater to the perversions of the Nobility, spew out tens of thousands of laws and regulations they exempt themselves from, and sit on their toadstool puffing a hookah like the Cheshire Cat every few years grinning and saying they're looking out for the average guy.

The worm has turned, my friend, and the list of who Trump is going to have to make a deal with will be surprisingly small leaving many a "faithful Republican" rat bastard without their little piles of garbage to hide in.

29 posted on 04/27/2016 2:22:47 PM PDT by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory !!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: LS

This is a fascinating, if painful, electoral cycle. I am currently a Cruz supporter (after supporting Walker, Perry, Jindal, — wait, am I the angel of political death?) because I am tired of losing with a moderate, and tired of winning with people who then cave to the enemy while telling me its necessary in order to keep ‘winning’.

Is Trump conservative? Pretty clearly not. He has decades of very non-conservative words and deeds, followed by months of what can be described as a Manhattan caricature of what conservatives believe. Can he articulate the conservative position and rationale on any issue? No, he is unable to convince someone with an argument because he doesn’t understand the underlying principles. Witness the frequency of the campaign statement ‘clarifying’ what Trump said just hours before.

Do I think Trump will win? Probably not. I know some very sensible conservative women who will just stay home on election day rather than vote for Trump.

Would I prefer him to Hillary!? In a New York second. He’s a coin flip to accidentally do the right thing, she’s venal and demonstrably incompetent. There is some value in being a little crazy and unpredictable, people will give you a wide berth.

Will I vote for him? Probably, though if NJ is out of reach I might not break traffic laws to get from work to the polls before closing time.

My mother-in-law is a Trump supporter, insisting that ‘he’s self-funding, he doesn’t owe anybody.’ I gave her a copy of a news article where a Trump campaign official talked about starting the fundraising operation as soon as he has the nomination wrapped up. When she read that she looked like she found half a worm in her apple, and didn’t talk to me for the rest of the evening.


30 posted on 04/27/2016 2:24:16 PM PDT by boomstick (One of the fingers on the button will be German.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: fireman15

Significantly, Trump always includes us in his plans to make America great again. He emphasizes “we’re going to do this.”

Cruz is a frustrated lone wolf.....you got the feeling he’s using the presidency to find his human potential.

He’s cravenly opportunistic ....to him Americans are commodities.

He will advance himself at the expense of others.

Not a nice guy, by any means.


31 posted on 04/27/2016 2:24:55 PM PDT by Liz (SAFE PLACE? A liberal's mind. Nothing's there. Nothing can penetrate it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Rashputin

“Trump sees America, Cruz sees useful idiots.”

BINGO!

Trump LISTENS. Cruz just runs his mouth.

He is a great listener!

Evidently the ONLY one in politics today, other than Jeff Sessions, willing to put his ASS on the line to tell you the truth!

He LISTENS...and evidently he listened in 2004, during the debates of the presidential race when Bob Shieffer of CBS stated that the most questions he got from the PUBLIC to ask the candidates was about......WAIT FOR IT...

IMMIGRATION!

2004!

THAT is how long we have all been ignored, until Donald Trump!

SCHIEFFER: Let’s go to a new question, Mr. President, I got more e-mail this week on this question than any other question. And it is about immigration.

(PS....if you really want to see what phonies both Bush and Kerry were, take a look at their answers in that debate to the ONE immigration question! http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=october-13-2004-debate-transcript


32 posted on 04/27/2016 2:25:53 PM PDT by AuntB (Trump right on Trade, Immigration, Terrorism,Economy, 2nd amend. Without them, we are lost.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: jalisco555
I have never seen a presidential candidate as comfortable around the press as Trump.

This is key. Most politicians avoid and suspect the media. Trump saw them as a campaign tool. Allies... maybe unwilling allies... but allies all the same.

Anderson Cooper has responded several times on CNN when someone complains about all the Trump coverage. He says Trump is by far the most accessible candidate to the press. He rarely turns down an interview. He'll give the press a few lines, even if he's in a hurry between events.

The press have to cover something, and Trump has fed them a steady diet. And, to be honest, I think they like him for it.

Cooper, Gloria Borger, and the rest of the AC360 team like Trump, you can tell. Wolf Blitzer likes him.

During the Nevada caucuses, Trump was talking to an MSNBC reporter, and Trump gave a shoutout to Rachel Maddow in the studio. She was like a little schoolgirl being winked at by the quarterback. We're talking Rachel Maddow, for God's sake.

For the most part, Trump's "most dishonest people in the world" comments aside, he and the press have a very mutually beneficial relationship.

Remember he thanked the press for treating him fairly "for the past two hours?" It was definitely an inside joke between him and these reporters.

Contrast this to Hillary, who goes months between interviews...

33 posted on 04/27/2016 2:38:31 PM PDT by TontoKowalski (You can call me "Dick.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Rashputin

So far he has polled less than Hillary. Besides start-up parties begin slowly. The Publie lost in 1856 and only won in 1860 because the Democrats split.


34 posted on 04/27/2016 2:43:16 PM PDT by RobbyS (```JMJ)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Liz

Why do you not think that Trump is an opportunist? Here is a man as old as Hillary and whose views are about what hers were in 2008. A celebrity builder and endless self—promoter for whom the Presidency is a chance to go down in the history books.


35 posted on 04/27/2016 2:48:03 PM PDT by RobbyS (```JMJ)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: mrsmith

“And Cruz’s campaign strategy was centered on getting delegates in the early southern primaries. Failing to do that put his entire campaign in a shambles which he could never recover from.”


His best play would have been to cut a deal with Trump right after he fell off the edge of the planet on Super Tuesday. It would have spared his dignity, gotten him something (maybe Veep, maybe AG, maybe a SC appointment) and kept the party united. But he let his ego rule his intellect, and now he’ll have a tough time getting re-elected as Senator - NO ONE will owe him ANYTHING, and the Establishment’s hatred for him will be higher than ever, especially for having failed to stop Trump.

So disappointing - I used to really like the guy, to think that he was Presidential timber, this generation’s Reagan. Nope, he’s just another flash in the pan on that score.


36 posted on 04/27/2016 2:57:22 PM PDT by Ancesthntr ("The right to buy weapons is the right to be free." A. E. van Vogt)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: RobbyS; Liz

“A celebrity builder and endless self—promoter for whom the Presidency is a chance to go down in the history books.”


The difference is that Cruz’ ego just requires him to be the guy on top. Trump’s ego requires that, too (of course), but also requires him to SUCCEED at whatever he sets out to do - and much more so if everyone says that it is impossible. IOW, Cruz’ ego is an annoying and negatively-oriented one, whereas Trump’s is equally annoying but generates much better results for everyone else.

Bottom line - ALL pols have an ego, many of them are annoyingly arrogant (both qualify here), but Trump is a guy who accomplishes things and MUST continue to do so until his casket is lowered into the ground.


37 posted on 04/27/2016 3:01:53 PM PDT by Ancesthntr ("The right to buy weapons is the right to be free." A. E. van Vogt)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: Ancesthntr

Nice deconstruction.


38 posted on 04/27/2016 3:03:13 PM PDT by Liz (SAFE PLACE? A liberal's mind. Nothing's there. Nothing can penetrate it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: Ancesthntr

Cut the pop- psychology and look at the political facts. Trump is far more acceptable to what Freepers call RINOS than Cruz is. So is Kacik. Kacik was in the race only to prevent Cruz from being the never Trump only alternative. Trump is old man. Cruz is not. Trump is a moderate on all social issues, Trump is not. Borttom line, on a whole range of issues Trump is not much different than Romney, except. he is a far better campaigner.


39 posted on 04/27/2016 3:48:32 PM PDT by RobbyS (```JMJ)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: RobbyS

I served under FDR as CIC during his time of WW2-—a man of courage, determination and deep love of country who knew what the cost of war might be BUT kept his citizens knowing the tears and sweat needed to win for America and the free world—those of us who served respected his faith and strength of purpose and trusted his leadership to his eventual death——thank God there are such men regardless of politics and greed——I pray Donald Trump is such a man for we need such a one now


40 posted on 04/27/2016 4:21:26 PM PDT by cmomm44
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-87 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson