As Lindsey Graham said: Choice between Trump, Cruz like "being shot or poisoned".
“Donald Trump, I think, is the most unprepared person I've ever met to be commander in chief,” Graham said. “And when it comes to Sen. Cruz, he's exhibited behavior in his time in the Senate that make it impossible for me to believe that he could bring this country together.”
I still think the candidate who comes in 3rd in IW, NH and SC is in the best position for to take on Trump and Cruz and for the party establishment to get behind. And right now, I still believe it's Marco Rubio - kind of like a bridge between the establishment and the next generation, the right-wing without much of the vitriol.
Just my own political observation as I watch the Republican/Tea Party presidential candidate mess (actually clown/horror show unfold). This is what happens after 30+ years of dumbing down America with outright lies and attacks.
“Donald Trump, I think, is the most unprepared person I've ever met to be commander in chief,” Graham said. “And when it comes to Sen. Cruz, he's exhibited behavior in his time in the Senate that make it impossible for me to believe that he could bring this country together.”
I still think the candidate who comes in 3rd in IW, NH and SC is in the best position for to take on Trump and Cruz and for the party establishment to get behind. And right now, I still believe it's Marco Rubio - kind of like a bridge between the establishment and the next generation, the right-wing without much of the vitriol.
Just my own political observation as I watch the Republican/Tea Party presidential candidate mess (actually clown/horror show unfold). This is what happens after 30+ years of dumbing down America with outright lies and attacks.
7
By the way, while you might think Trump loves NY, NY doesn't love him. NY is suing Trump in the tune of $40 million for defrauding Trump University students. So is CA. The play list that Trump used with that money make endeavor should be read and understood as an embarrassment to Americans if Trump were elected President. If you examine the entire scenario, it sure appears that he's the consummate scam artist. Indeed, Fox News Krauthhammer has stated he's a demagogue of the type not seen in the US since McCarthy. http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/12/what-we-talk-ab...
Right now the big establishment hesitates to support Cruz because they won't be able to pay for his favors. But if Americans support him, they will. And I truly believe that we will enter a desperately needed Raegonaite era
Read the following article. You the voter will determine who the GOP backs, Ted Cruz, who won't be bought, or Trump, who is a demagogue that appeals to peoples desires and frustrations and lives under a big cloud of one shady deal after another. He's a person who says that he has a good relationship with god because he's a "good person." He doesn't view defrauding and paying actors to attend his events as bad, two examples comprising the huge black cloud looming over his head.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/does-the-establishment-want-trump-not-...
Right now the big establishment hesitates to support Cruz because they won't be able to pay for his favors. But if Americans support him, they will. And I truly believe that we will enter a desperately needed Raegonaite era
Read the following article. You the voter will determine who the GOP backs, Ted Cruz, who won't be bought, or Trump, who is a demagogue that appeals to peoples desires and frustrations and lives under a big cloud of one shady deal after another. He's a person who says that he has a good relationship with god because he's a "good person." He doesn't view defrauding and paying actors to attend his events as bad, two examples comprising the huge black cloud looming over his head.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/does-the-establishment-want-trump-not-...
1
Ted Cruz agreed with Trumps 911 answer by the way, but that was not Cruz's point. As he said, there are many great New Yorkers, but too many of them are comfortable supporting liberal big establishment politicians who keep charging more and more taxes, creating more and more regulations that discourage startups, innovation, competition, and raising the cost of living so only the very wealthy, limousine liberals can live in the Big Apple.
Not since Ronald Reagan has the United States had a chance to elect a true anti-establishment candidate. He's opposed big government and big crony supported legislation supported by John Cain (no wonder Cain doesn't like Cruz). Bob Doll is not a Reagonite, so no wonder he doesn't like Cruz.
Of great interest to sales tax free New Hampshire, view this video to understand how deeply Ted Cruz is committed to preventing big government from taking control of our lives. Curz is passionate about protecting our liberties and helping the small guy.
Cruz keeps stating and truly believes that the American people are smart, they can get it. It's a matter of leaders taking the time to engage them and honestly explaining. When you view this video, have a cup of tea or coffee because it's not 5 minutes. Note how he understands the specifics, sees the bigger pictures, and explains. He also talks without a teleprompter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR1BHjanLIc
If you have the time, keep viewing. He truly is the most articulate anti-establishment candidate since Reagan
Of great interest to sales tax free New Hampshire, view this video to understand how deeply Ted Cruz is committed to preventing big government from taking control of our lives. Curz is passionate about protecting our liberties and helping the small guy.
Cruz keeps stating and truly believes that the American people are smart, they can get it. It's a matter of leaders taking the time to engage them and honestly explaining. When you view this video, have a cup of tea or coffee because it's not 5 minutes. Note how he understands the specifics, sees the bigger pictures, and explains. He also talks without a teleprompter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR1BHjanLIc
If you have the time, keep viewing. He truly is the most articulate anti-establishment candidate since Reagan
Trump is the least hostile of all the gop candidates toward social security. That said, they all enemies of the ordinary american even if they have convinced a lot of people to vote against their own interest.
1
Eliminate ALL of the republican candidates EXCEPT for John Kasich, because all the rest of them are NOT good for America, no matter what the Evangelical's think of them. Since theirs is a tainted view of the world. Oh and why are we so enthralled by the Iowa Caucus? A state that contains less than ONE PERCENT of Americas voters, 93.1% plus percent white, and religiously " 53.91% of the people in Iowa, Iowa are religious, meaning they affiliate with a religion. 16.59% are Catholic; 1.06% are LDS; 4.28% are another Christian faith; 0.13% in Iowa, Iowa are Jewish; 0.13% are an eastern faith; 0.21% affilitates with Islam." Which means they are 96 percent Christian variations. SO PLEASE explain how does this voting group get to decide the fate of American politics. Oh and the breakdown for New Hampshire is also 93% white and 1 percent black, and 6 % others. And is politically split between republican, democrat, and independent. With a bias towards the Independent more pronounced ( good for them ) But again far to small a group and NOT representative of the rest of America.
1
Trump or Cruz or any of the others, how low can you go. They are all worthless.
This is wrong in so many ways: "Republicans ... can live with Mr. Cruz, extending a longstanding intramural debate over pragmatism versus purity that has been waged since ... Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller. They say Mr. Trump, on the other hand, poses the most serious peril to the conservative movement since the 1950s-era far-right John Birch Society."
--Today there is no pragmatism in the Republican party; there is only a will to power.
--Any supposed pragmatism among today's Republicans is simply a strategy to hide radical reactionarism. Gingrich spoke of the Republican "revolution." There are of course no liberal Republicans, but there are no moderate Republicans either. The Republican party, including people like John Kasich, is the party of the far right.
--Today, Rockefeller would likely be a Democrat. Bill Clinton is today's equivalent of a Rockefeller Republican.
--The current Republican party's beliefs are fully compatible with those of the John Birch Society of the 1950s. The party establishment just doesn't want to say so publicly.
--Today there is no pragmatism in the Republican party; there is only a will to power.
--Any supposed pragmatism among today's Republicans is simply a strategy to hide radical reactionarism. Gingrich spoke of the Republican "revolution." There are of course no liberal Republicans, but there are no moderate Republicans either. The Republican party, including people like John Kasich, is the party of the far right.
--Today, Rockefeller would likely be a Democrat. Bill Clinton is today's equivalent of a Rockefeller Republican.
--The current Republican party's beliefs are fully compatible with those of the John Birch Society of the 1950s. The party establishment just doesn't want to say so publicly.
5
I am just loving all this Trump vs Cruz stuff. The only time I will stop laughing is when one of these guys gets elected. Then, the jokes on us.
While neither candidate is particularly palatable, Cruz seems to be the far more dangerous of the two. Sure, Trump is a somewhat crass, bloviating narcissist who tosses out vague populist platitudes without any detail on how he'd actually accomplish anything he wants to do, but Cruz is another matter entirely. There's a reason very few people in DC like this guy, even in his own party. Despite his intelligence, he appears to be a deeply frightened, paranoid, extreme ideologue who sees everything in terms of black & white, good & evil, right & wrong. Government is never to be trusted with anything but running the military and almost nothing else. Now, of course, many would say that those attributes would make him right at home with the neo-conservative movement. And maybe so. But there is no gray area with Ted Cruz. You're either with him, or you're a traitor. And I've found that those are the most dangerous people to give power to.
6
Yes....how could anyone vote for an anti-government candidate that wants to run the government?
If Bush's government hand-outs to the Iraq War "Military Advisors" and the "Too Big to Fail" banks were not scary enough for you, Cruz's giveaways will be much, much worse. Goddess help us!
If Bush's government hand-outs to the Iraq War "Military Advisors" and the "Too Big to Fail" banks were not scary enough for you, Cruz's giveaways will be much, much worse. Goddess help us!
As for Trump, there is this:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/01/18/we-have-a-serious-problem?i...
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/01/18/we-have-a-serious-problem?i...
Well, my mind is definitely made up now. If all the current Republican established politicians do not want Cruz, he is definitely must be the guy we need to shake things up. I am sick and tired of status qua. It's gotten us nowhere but further in depth, more government, and less individual rights. People have to be naive to believe Trump is remotely conservative but, most people chase the bright and shining objects. I find it hilarious these RINOs think they will lose the election with Cruz but yet Dole, McCain and Romney all got smoked with their moderate ideology. How did that turn out for us? Wake up people and don't give into their agenda.
1
These "party leaders" recognize the inherent unsuitability of both of these candidates to become president of the United States. Why are they consumed with which one will do the least damage to them personally ("access", "power", etc) and not a single mention of the good of the country? If both of these candidates are so awful, why are these putative patriotic Americans not out recruiting someone else or even endorsing a non-Republican candidate?
2
Call this LBJ's revenge served very cold.
First he made the Democratic party unpalatable to the xenophobes and racists by helping pass the Civil Rights and Immigration reform acts. And now, 50 years later, the path he same reactionary elements he cast out are destroying the Republican party, which welcomed them with open arms. Comeuppance.
First he made the Democratic party unpalatable to the xenophobes and racists by helping pass the Civil Rights and Immigration reform acts. And now, 50 years later, the path he same reactionary elements he cast out are destroying the Republican party, which welcomed them with open arms. Comeuppance.
2
The Republicans can't get their act together. They can't get with the times or figure out how to appeal to the larger base needed to win the election. Many Americans predict their acquiesce to another Clinton as the scariest, most dreaded scenario in U.S. politics.
Ted Cruz is too strident to deliver the required votes of moderates.
Donald Trump could yet bring good sense to bear and actually win, if and only if quite soon he begins a speech with "Now that I have your attention..." and proceeds to deepen his dialogue calmly, leaving unrealistic, polarizing and prejudicial diatribe at the door. His singular positive trait is that he is rallying hard for the American economy. And we definitely need that.
Yet, his gratuitous snide remarks, unrestrained, will doom him. What a huge waste of his money.
Were Donald Trump to reveal diplomatic skill in proposing thoughtful, practical alternatives on current and long-standing issues without alienating huge sectors of the populace, he could change the most scathing perceptions of him and be seen as "Presidential material."
Too bad Republicans don't focus on that as a methodical strategy to win the White House, instead of continually shooting each other in the foot.
How pathetic.
Ted Cruz is too strident to deliver the required votes of moderates.
Donald Trump could yet bring good sense to bear and actually win, if and only if quite soon he begins a speech with "Now that I have your attention..." and proceeds to deepen his dialogue calmly, leaving unrealistic, polarizing and prejudicial diatribe at the door. His singular positive trait is that he is rallying hard for the American economy. And we definitely need that.
Yet, his gratuitous snide remarks, unrestrained, will doom him. What a huge waste of his money.
Were Donald Trump to reveal diplomatic skill in proposing thoughtful, practical alternatives on current and long-standing issues without alienating huge sectors of the populace, he could change the most scathing perceptions of him and be seen as "Presidential material."
Too bad Republicans don't focus on that as a methodical strategy to win the White House, instead of continually shooting each other in the foot.
How pathetic.
1
Voting only for Trump or Sanders and will write in vote for 1 of them.
1
All dudes but true and thinking Republicans, are giggling about Don and Ted's "Excellent Adventure." I know that obscure film references are lost on some, but do any of you dudes remember these lines from the 1989 classic...Imagine, just after the Iowa Caucus when Trump and Cruz finish 1 and 2, the following most excellent exchange.
Ted: Are you sure we should be doing this?
Don: Ted, you and I have witnessed many things, but nothing as bodacious as what just happened. We told ourselves to listen to Iowa.
Ted: What if we were lying?
Don: Why would we lie to ourselves?
NYTimes dudes, this is truly an excellent adventure.
Ted: Are you sure we should be doing this?
Don: Ted, you and I have witnessed many things, but nothing as bodacious as what just happened. We told ourselves to listen to Iowa.
Ted: What if we were lying?
Don: Why would we lie to ourselves?
NYTimes dudes, this is truly an excellent adventure.
1
Guess the problem for "mainstream" Republicans is that they allowed their party to embolden those fringe elements by not standing up to them and allowing them free reign.
"They" also didn't do anything to curtail the vitriole coming out of the mouths of the extreme element. Yes, it is difficult to stop someone else from insults or hate speech, but to sit there and say & do nothing while the hate speech continues is enabling those fringe elements.
While the Democrats lost their majority in 2010 because their own didn't support Obama forcefully and just hid away, the Republicans will lose in 2016 because their party allowed extremists to hi-jack them.
Now we have Trump and Cruz. Trump who says outlandish things and does what they wants to do regardless of his political leanings and Cruz who is the more dangerous of the two because Cruz believes in Cruz and no one else.
I sincerely hope the voters in New Hampshire and Iowa open their eyes and think clearly of what is ahead for them. Either of these candidates is not good for the country. Trump because he is not a good manager (he never was) and Cruz because if he has his way, Iowa will eat cake while he (and his wife) will continue to have their comfortable lifestyle while she's on leave from Goldman Sachs.
"They" also didn't do anything to curtail the vitriole coming out of the mouths of the extreme element. Yes, it is difficult to stop someone else from insults or hate speech, but to sit there and say & do nothing while the hate speech continues is enabling those fringe elements.
While the Democrats lost their majority in 2010 because their own didn't support Obama forcefully and just hid away, the Republicans will lose in 2016 because their party allowed extremists to hi-jack them.
Now we have Trump and Cruz. Trump who says outlandish things and does what they wants to do regardless of his political leanings and Cruz who is the more dangerous of the two because Cruz believes in Cruz and no one else.
I sincerely hope the voters in New Hampshire and Iowa open their eyes and think clearly of what is ahead for them. Either of these candidates is not good for the country. Trump because he is not a good manager (he never was) and Cruz because if he has his way, Iowa will eat cake while he (and his wife) will continue to have their comfortable lifestyle while she's on leave from Goldman Sachs.
1
"Trump is not a good manager"? Now that's the most ridiculous statement yet! He is a fantastic manager and his business success proves that!
2
The focus of this article is on the fears and concerns of the GOP leadership, but the same issue is playing out in both parties. Neither Trump nor Cruz appear to have any interest in the good of everyday working Americans (they are both too pathologically narcissistic), but the party does not actually care about their pathologies nearly as much as the fact that these two are seen as "outsiders" who will disrupt the party apparatus and power. By stark contrast, Bernie Sanders is exclusively concerned for the good of everyday working Americans, and yet his campaign poses a very similar threat to the Democratic Party leadership. who long ago abandoned their core values and policies. The actual policies and proposals of these candidates could not be more different, but the threat to both parties is palpable. This is the beginning of the end of our two-party system, and it is frankly well-deserved, because neither party has cared to represent the actual concerns and issues facing all working Americans.
2
Both are a threat, since neither has even minimal qualifications to be president. This has nothing to do with experience or smarts - political, business or otherwise. An understanding of the "big picture", and, frankly, a grasp of reality are crucial. Both of them are lacking in those areas.
Aside from that, Trump is the more dangerous. He poses as a type of strongman, who appeals to an authoritarian streak that runs through much of the GOP base, and beyond. For example, a few days ago at Liberty University he said that when he becomes president, stores etc., will display "Merry Christmas" signs, not "Happy Holidays" ones. Really? How will he accomplish that, without endangering, among other things, free enterprise? Well, it's something he can't accomplish. But, the threat lies in his even saying it, and the approving response it elicits.
Aside from that, Trump is the more dangerous. He poses as a type of strongman, who appeals to an authoritarian streak that runs through much of the GOP base, and beyond. For example, a few days ago at Liberty University he said that when he becomes president, stores etc., will display "Merry Christmas" signs, not "Happy Holidays" ones. Really? How will he accomplish that, without endangering, among other things, free enterprise? Well, it's something he can't accomplish. But, the threat lies in his even saying it, and the approving response it elicits.
2
Cruz is a one-term senator, like Obama was, except that Obama was also elected as a state senator. Unlike Obama is not getting any guff about his lack of qualifications.
A hand full of talking heads have decided to inform the voters how stupid the voters really are and these voters should bow to the talking heads like themselves. Ted Cruz has failed to do his job as our senator. I was fooled once by this snake. Trump is a gamble as is any candidate. The polls say that Trump is the people's choice. I have always believed that the founding fathers were wise to leave the decision to the people. If Trump does well in the earlier races I will vote for him on March 1.
3
Schadenfreude - has there ever been a time when a word so eloquently found its spiritual home?
4
Ted Cruz has been saying that the problem with Donald Trump is that he will go along to get along. For folks like me who are tired of a do nothing congress I think The Donald's willingness to negotiate is his best quality.
I don't 8 more years of no bills passing except for votes against the ACA. I do want a leader that will lead and Ted Cruz has told us he doesn't plan to do that.
I will vote for the democratic nominee but at least I can stomach Donald Trump
I don't 8 more years of no bills passing except for votes against the ACA. I do want a leader that will lead and Ted Cruz has told us he doesn't plan to do that.
I will vote for the democratic nominee but at least I can stomach Donald Trump
2
The more important question is who is a bigger threat to the country. On the one hand, there is Tea Party darling Cruz, who a mere 3 years ago was perfectly willing to let the U.S. default on its obligations and, as a part of his efforts to prevent the Senate from passing a bill to increase the debt ceiling, gave a Hail Mary 21-hour speech, which included his inspired reading of Green Eggs and Ham on the Senate floor. On the other had, there is reality tv star Trump, whose proposed "solutions" to pressing problems are nothing more than smoke and mirrors and who can actually keep a straight face while spouting his nonsense (which I doubt that deep down even he believes -- build a wall and make Mexico pay for it -- really?).
Neither Cruz nor Trump has the judgment, gravitas or temperament to be president and their appeal to the lunatic fringe speaks volumes. If either of them succeeds in getting the nomination, then it's a sure win for the Democrats. If Romney, who is tame by comparison, couldn't defeat President Obama in his bid for re-election after 4 years of relentless Republican obstruction and mudslinging, then Cruz and Trump have no chance against Clinton or Sanders. At least that's the hope because the alternative is too horrific to contemplate.
Neither Cruz nor Trump has the judgment, gravitas or temperament to be president and their appeal to the lunatic fringe speaks volumes. If either of them succeeds in getting the nomination, then it's a sure win for the Democrats. If Romney, who is tame by comparison, couldn't defeat President Obama in his bid for re-election after 4 years of relentless Republican obstruction and mudslinging, then Cruz and Trump have no chance against Clinton or Sanders. At least that's the hope because the alternative is too horrific to contemplate.
32
I believe that Trump is serious about wanting to be US President. He wants the power and the prestigious. He wants to Rule —— yuuuugely.
Those with authoritarian personality want him.——yuuugely
“In a fascinating recent poll, a single characteristic emerged as the clearest sign that a voter is a Trump supporter. Contrary to what some might expect, it's not race, gender, income, age or education level. It's authoritarianism, clear and simple. Americans with authoritarian personalities (and they are more prevalent than any of us would like them to be) tend to support Trump.”
feelthebern.org *** Bernie’s WebSite explaining issues—click on a block
One Single, All-Too Common, Character Trait Unites Trump Supporters @alternet
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/one-single-all-too-common-characte...
Those with authoritarian personality want him.——yuuugely
“In a fascinating recent poll, a single characteristic emerged as the clearest sign that a voter is a Trump supporter. Contrary to what some might expect, it's not race, gender, income, age or education level. It's authoritarianism, clear and simple. Americans with authoritarian personalities (and they are more prevalent than any of us would like them to be) tend to support Trump.”
feelthebern.org *** Bernie’s WebSite explaining issues—click on a block
One Single, All-Too Common, Character Trait Unites Trump Supporters @alternet
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/one-single-all-too-common-characte...
2
All this concern over which candidate will do the least damage to the Republican party, when the real question is: Who will least damage the country?
I don't know the answer to my question but I am positive that either Cruz or Trump will send our country over a brink toward disaster.
I don't know the answer to my question but I am positive that either Cruz or Trump will send our country over a brink toward disaster.
6
God this is fun to watch!
If Trump gets the nomination, he will beat Hillary. I know most of the commenters here are partisan Democrats, but the reality is, people just don't like her.
Trump will lead as man of the people, and he will ignite the righteous fire of patriotism in the heart of all Americans. I welcome the administration of President Trump.
Trump will lead as man of the people, and he will ignite the righteous fire of patriotism in the heart of all Americans. I welcome the administration of President Trump.
2
Dear Dave,
Granted, lots of voters don't like Hillary. However, multiply those voters by hundreds upon hundreds of thousands -- millions upon millions, actually -- and you get the number of people who can't, and won't, ever ever stomach Bimbo Punk Trump (or anybody else like him; see Cruz).
Spew all you want about patriotism, Dave. Next November, the TRUE patriots will make sure Trump stays put in New York.
Granted, lots of voters don't like Hillary. However, multiply those voters by hundreds upon hundreds of thousands -- millions upon millions, actually -- and you get the number of people who can't, and won't, ever ever stomach Bimbo Punk Trump (or anybody else like him; see Cruz).
Spew all you want about patriotism, Dave. Next November, the TRUE patriots will make sure Trump stays put in New York.
1
Ted Cruz has said, “The Washington establishment right now has abandoned Marco Rubio and their running to Donald Trump.” But a look at the Open Secrets website and it shows that from 2011 through September 2015, big oil is the second biggest industrial contributer to Cruz campaigns with $952,662.
It is no wonder that Cruz is seen by the voters of Iowa as anti-ethanol. As a result Governor Terry Bradstad said, “It would be a big mistake for Iowa to support him.”
Cruz’s brand of take no prisoners conservatism may get him re-elected to the U.S. Senate in Texas in 2018, but he has made no friends there. This has prompted Donald Trump to say, “Here is a United States Senator, Republican, [who] doesn’t have the support of one other Republican senator. There’s something wrong there.” Indeed. Cruz’s holier than thou propaganda has former U.S. Senate leader Bob Dole predicting that should Cruz win the Republican nomination, “we’re going to have wholesale losses in Congress and state offices and governors and legislatures [throughout the country].”
From a New York Times article,“I think [Hillary Clinton would] be a pretty easy target in the general [election], if we nominate the right person,” Mr. Dole said. Was Mr. Cruz in that category, just in case there was any doubt? “No, he’s not that person,” said Mr. Dole. “If he does it, I think she’ll win in a waltz.”
It is a waist of money and a vote to support Cruz.
It is no wonder that Cruz is seen by the voters of Iowa as anti-ethanol. As a result Governor Terry Bradstad said, “It would be a big mistake for Iowa to support him.”
Cruz’s brand of take no prisoners conservatism may get him re-elected to the U.S. Senate in Texas in 2018, but he has made no friends there. This has prompted Donald Trump to say, “Here is a United States Senator, Republican, [who] doesn’t have the support of one other Republican senator. There’s something wrong there.” Indeed. Cruz’s holier than thou propaganda has former U.S. Senate leader Bob Dole predicting that should Cruz win the Republican nomination, “we’re going to have wholesale losses in Congress and state offices and governors and legislatures [throughout the country].”
From a New York Times article,“I think [Hillary Clinton would] be a pretty easy target in the general [election], if we nominate the right person,” Mr. Dole said. Was Mr. Cruz in that category, just in case there was any doubt? “No, he’s not that person,” said Mr. Dole. “If he does it, I think she’ll win in a waltz.”
It is a waist of money and a vote to support Cruz.
2
You're taking Bob Dole's views to heart? He lost against a philandering liar, I don't think he's a good judge of Candidates.
1
Senator Dole's opinion is reflective of many people across America including mine.
3
Trump and Cruz are merely the Worst in a Horrible field of 2016 GOP presidential candidates; thus, the easiest to pick on. Trump: the grizzled ol' frat-boy-type who never grew up. Cruz: the smarmy dude who lies as easily and often as we of integrity tie our shoes.
I wouldn't vote for these guys or their GOP peers if they were the last politicians on earth.
Meanwhile, I haven't missed a single Republican debate. Why? I like comedy. And these debates are, hands down, the best comedic entertainment going.
I wouldn't vote for these guys or their GOP peers if they were the last politicians on earth.
Meanwhile, I haven't missed a single Republican debate. Why? I like comedy. And these debates are, hands down, the best comedic entertainment going.
3
Yes the NYT and it's readers would love the idea that it is between two terrible candidates. God forbid the GOP get into power.
Meanwhile the Democrat candidate is a serial liar, cannot handle her emails in a secure way, and actively tried to assassinate the character of victims of sexual predation. Compared to her, any GOP candidate would be a saint.
Meanwhile the Democrat candidate is a serial liar, cannot handle her emails in a secure way, and actively tried to assassinate the character of victims of sexual predation. Compared to her, any GOP candidate would be a saint.
5
Instead of arguing which candidate, on both sides of the political fence, is worse for the party or more importantly the country, we should be concerning ourselves with how to get some unity among the citizens of this country. The ideology divide in this country is starting to resemble WWI trench warfare with the realistic intelligent people stuck in "no mans" land!
4
The GOP is acting as if they have a decision to make between Cruz or Trump. Is it not the people that should be voting for their nominee? I have great distaste for all things Trump and all things Cruz, but for the GOP to 'hand pick' their nominee shows a real problem with our democracy. This can be said for the Democrats as well. One of the most important things we've learned in the last 9 months of this election is the fragility of our democracy. It is controlled in by a handful of people who believe they are more superior, more ambitious than all of us. They have already casted their votes; we just get to watch.
7
What are we to make of a demagogue supported by an irrational populist and opposed by party apparatchiks who has not the competence nor experience to qualify him as president yet is leading amongst a field of inept aspirants only a handful of whom are possibly qualified but are ignored in the storm over ideological purity. The Republican madhouse is as crazy and irrational as it can be. How is opposition to abortion a qualification for the presidency? What relevance does denial of climate change have for leading the most intimidating military in the history of mankind where the choice of nuclear weapons would herald the end of humanity? The gravity of this presidential race seems to escape nearly all. We are in peril from every quarter yet fascinated with a huckster who hosted a reality TV show but has no training nor relevant experience to be president. We could face extinction with the choice we make but are fascinated by the canards that fly back and forth in this farce. Madness and irrationality pervades the pursuit of a party's nomination for the presidency while the press corps is fascinated with trivia and handicap the election as though it were a horserace. This is madness without limits.
8
All this before a single vote has been cast. Polls are notoriously inaccurate predictors of final voting results in primary elections, if only for the reason more that half don't decide who they will vote for until 1-2 weeks before the primary.
There are a lot of angry crazies on the right but they don't represent a plurality of Republican voters. In the end, I can't envision either Trump or Cruz winning the nomination. Iowa and New Hampshire Republicans are of a very different breed from each other, and they are as different from South Carolina and New York Republicans.
By Super Tuesday, all of this anger against Washington Republicans will have settled down and I think a more centrist candidate will emerge.
If Trump does emerge with a path towards the nomination and wins, I don't agree that the Republican Party has a short term problem on their hands. To have a major party of the most powerful country on earth nominate an inexperienced, crude, power-hungry and manipulative candidate is a seismic event. I don't see how the party survives without splitting.
When Trump and his advisers were asked after a debate why he didn't know about the basic concept of our nuclear triad for deterrence, they blustered and said oh we know about that. A key spokesperson for Trump went further on Fox News, “What good does it do to have a good nuclear triad if you’re afraid to use it?"
Good Lord - is this who Republicans are going to rally behind? Frightening.
There are a lot of angry crazies on the right but they don't represent a plurality of Republican voters. In the end, I can't envision either Trump or Cruz winning the nomination. Iowa and New Hampshire Republicans are of a very different breed from each other, and they are as different from South Carolina and New York Republicans.
By Super Tuesday, all of this anger against Washington Republicans will have settled down and I think a more centrist candidate will emerge.
If Trump does emerge with a path towards the nomination and wins, I don't agree that the Republican Party has a short term problem on their hands. To have a major party of the most powerful country on earth nominate an inexperienced, crude, power-hungry and manipulative candidate is a seismic event. I don't see how the party survives without splitting.
When Trump and his advisers were asked after a debate why he didn't know about the basic concept of our nuclear triad for deterrence, they blustered and said oh we know about that. A key spokesperson for Trump went further on Fox News, “What good does it do to have a good nuclear triad if you’re afraid to use it?"
Good Lord - is this who Republicans are going to rally behind? Frightening.
1
"They say Mr. Trump, on the other hand, poses the most serious peril to the conservative movement since the 1950s-era far-right John Birch Society."
Aren't the Koch brothers spawns of one of the founders of the John Birch Society and isn't their huge coffer of cash influential in this election? Perhaps they are spending so much money without concern of influence because they need the tax write-off. The United States of Koch vs everybody else is a better description of this civil war.
Aren't the Koch brothers spawns of one of the founders of the John Birch Society and isn't their huge coffer of cash influential in this election? Perhaps they are spending so much money without concern of influence because they need the tax write-off. The United States of Koch vs everybody else is a better description of this civil war.
1
"The debate essentially revolves around what is more important — who controls the party, or what the party stands for."
The debate should be what is good for the country if elected to be president of the United States. I think it is neither of these candidates.
Feel the Bern
The debate should be what is good for the country if elected to be president of the United States. I think it is neither of these candidates.
Feel the Bern
Perhaps the question shouldn't be whether Donald Trump or Ted Cruz will do the most damage to the GOP but rather which one would do the most damage to the country.
Trump and Cruz are extremist divisive figures who will create greater and more damaging divisions within the country. I can't see either one working with Congress; they just don't have the attitude or perhaps even the aptitude to do so.
Trump and Cruz are extremist divisive figures who will create greater and more damaging divisions within the country. I can't see either one working with Congress; they just don't have the attitude or perhaps even the aptitude to do so.
1
As Tom Brady frequently says, 'There' a lot more football to be played, boys!' I'm not a Republican, but my gut instinct says that a moderate will emerge and ultimately establish a base and chip away at these fringe candidates who've absconded with your airwaves. Perhaps having 22 candidates (Bush, Carson, Christie, Cruz, Fiorina, Gilmore, Huckabee, Kasich, Paul, Rubio, Santorum, Trump, and let's not forget Perry, Walker, Jindal, Gram and Pataki, and the lesser known Fellure, Martin, Lynch, Everson and McMillan) running for office undermined the credibility of any of them. Eventually, deals will be brokered to consolidate the votes behind 1 viable candidate - likely a Senator from a populous state who can mute the Hispanic exodus due to the party's immigration stance.
Makes a whole lot of sense...."Trump can be coached." He may be viciously rancorous but that trait alone will allow a "Puppet Presidency" to achieve great things for America- he will have absolutely no reluctance to do what hurts the most and pleases the least. America needs some tough love- a willing executor who is too rich to care if people like his decisions or not will do great at dispensing it.
1
“Do they all love Trump? No. But there’s a feeling that he is not going to layer over the party or install his own person. Whereas Cruz will have his own people there.”
Which brings us to the question no one seems to be asking: Does Trump have campaign advisors, if so, who are they, what are their credentials and what role, if any, do they play in forming Trump's positions?
Is Trump really unmoored, a one-man show, or does he have a team hidden and waiting to devise and implement programs with Trump's blessing?
Which brings us to the question no one seems to be asking: Does Trump have campaign advisors, if so, who are they, what are their credentials and what role, if any, do they play in forming Trump's positions?
Is Trump really unmoored, a one-man show, or does he have a team hidden and waiting to devise and implement programs with Trump's blessing?
1
'Conservative intellectuals'? Does such an entity still exist?
1
The only candidate in this Republican menage that sounds reasonable and conscientious ....ie beyond the soundbites , beyond the sound and fury of true tales on daytime TV .....is..............Governor Kasich . Why he runs in this time of know nothing verbosity and vindictiveness is not understood.
"Conservative intellectuals have become convinced ...."? Sorry--does not compute. Oxymoron. There are no "conservative intellectuals" any more. Fact based, rational, logical thinking used to characterize both sides, but no longer.
What a shame. Read the transcripts of the GOP "debates" and there isn't a sensible thought left on the right.
What a shame. Read the transcripts of the GOP "debates" and there isn't a sensible thought left on the right.
3
They're both terrifying choices. I'll take any one of the Democratic candidates over these two any day.
4
This socialist fears for the Republican Party. Democrats can be pretty crass, so they need an intelligent, reasonable and loyal opposition to work with. But in today's GOP, compromise is a flaw -- an absurd political posture that insults the Constitution and American political traditions. That explains why the Republican establishment has concluded they will move the party back to the center, and the first step is to support Hillary Clinton for President.
Donald Trump or Ted Cruz? Republicans Argue Over Who Is Greater Fool
2
This article illustrates the issue brilliantly (if inadvertantly). It's all about this power group vs that power group. It is blatantly and publicly about what's good for this politician or rich power broker vs that politician or rich power broker.
The source of strength of both Trump and Cruz is the people's disgust with all that. And rightly so. Politics is supposed to be about what is good for the PEOPLE. For the COUNTRY. Of course, power-mongering has always been at the core of politics - throughout all of history. But never before has it been so blatantly (proudly, even) OWNED by the politicians themselves. Touted. Boasted about.
They have turned VICE into VIRTUE. And proudly. Now they've got a real mess on their hands.
The source of strength of both Trump and Cruz is the people's disgust with all that. And rightly so. Politics is supposed to be about what is good for the PEOPLE. For the COUNTRY. Of course, power-mongering has always been at the core of politics - throughout all of history. But never before has it been so blatantly (proudly, even) OWNED by the politicians themselves. Touted. Boasted about.
They have turned VICE into VIRTUE. And proudly. Now they've got a real mess on their hands.
2
Sounds more like the Democrat Party to me
1
Hmm... Republicans are learning what the nation's voters have been doing for at least the past decade... too often we have to vote for the lesser evil instead of a candidate we think will do a good job.
1
Trump is a loose cannon. Cruz strikes fear in my heart, they call him Ted. I know him as Lucifer.
7
This is a nation of over 320 million people. And as each election cycle goes by, it seems that this country scrapes the bottom of a cesspool as far as what emerges as "candidates" for pretty much every elected office.
This year, on the GOP side, are a bunch of people who should not be in their current elected office; let alone to run this country. On teh Democrat size, the only one with any since of common sense is Bernie Sanders, at least he is addressing the issues. Issues, being ignored by just about everyone else.
These candidates are too busy defending themselves and attacking each other, to even have time to talk about various issues. And when they do, it is wrapped in hateful rhetoric.
This nation's politics, and its politicians, do not reflect the true cross section of America. And these politicians have no idea what it is like to be an American. They do not know, or care, about 99% of the people who work, and toil to eke out a living. They do not care what struggling families discuss at the kitchen table. They do not care about those who the send to war to protect "interests" of the very few.
The only candidate, again, who comes close is Bernie Sanders, and he has been dismissed as a socialist, communist or worse. The problem, though, is as each day goes by, people are hearing Mr. Sanders, even though he is being drowned out by the media, the political machines, and the special interests.
Want to make America great again Clean up the politician cesspool.
This year, on the GOP side, are a bunch of people who should not be in their current elected office; let alone to run this country. On teh Democrat size, the only one with any since of common sense is Bernie Sanders, at least he is addressing the issues. Issues, being ignored by just about everyone else.
These candidates are too busy defending themselves and attacking each other, to even have time to talk about various issues. And when they do, it is wrapped in hateful rhetoric.
This nation's politics, and its politicians, do not reflect the true cross section of America. And these politicians have no idea what it is like to be an American. They do not know, or care, about 99% of the people who work, and toil to eke out a living. They do not care what struggling families discuss at the kitchen table. They do not care about those who the send to war to protect "interests" of the very few.
The only candidate, again, who comes close is Bernie Sanders, and he has been dismissed as a socialist, communist or worse. The problem, though, is as each day goes by, people are hearing Mr. Sanders, even though he is being drowned out by the media, the political machines, and the special interests.
Want to make America great again Clean up the politician cesspool.
10
Thanks GOP for putting us in this terrifying situation and for giving voice to the crazies, the bigots, and the right-wing radicals. Sarah Palin was bad enough to put one heartbeat away from the Presidency. But Trump & Cruz? You are not patriots. You are irresponsible and this era will go down in history infamously.
27
Another perspective is Trump, Cruz, Rubio and the rest of the GOP nominee cabal all have the impetus to run for presidency because of their disdain, jealousy of the man who now holds that office: Barack H. Obama. All of them are still in disbelief that the American people elected him over Romney and McCain...two beloved "old boy's" of authentic American Heritage. The Red states were also enraged. The Tea Party and its nationalist message bordering on politics not seen since the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War was back in vogue, "take our country back." And all these sentiments compelled the GOP congress to put their statesmanship aside and uncharacteristically vehemently attack and disrespect the Office of the Presidency and the man who held that office. The American people and the mood of the country were liken unto a romantic affair and everyone was eager to see how the First black president's honeymoon would go. The American people and media talked about how far we had come as a nation. Then, the GOP and their minions spoiled it all. The president has endured two terms of GOP obstruction in the congress and in states controlled by the GOP. Their vitriol and tactics have not gone unnoticed by the American people. And now while they stew in the pot of confusion trying to find a winning recipe in the primaries; the American people will pay them back in the general election with a loss. Americans have had it with the GOP politics of hate.
24
Hope you are right, but I doubt it. We are too stupid
So, now we read that, given a choice between Cruz and Trump, the GOP "establishment" would vote for Trump? How curious. How timely.
Just when the Republicans are fed up with the establishment, the "establishment" (including Bob Dole, et al.) lets go with left-handed Trump endorsements. Why? Perhaps to drive votes *away* from Trump and toward the pack in back?
This Republican primary season is turning out to be something which could be an episode or two of "I, Claudius."
Just when the Republicans are fed up with the establishment, the "establishment" (including Bob Dole, et al.) lets go with left-handed Trump endorsements. Why? Perhaps to drive votes *away* from Trump and toward the pack in back?
This Republican primary season is turning out to be something which could be an episode or two of "I, Claudius."
3
@Bob Burns "Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out." (Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, circa AD 54 via Robert Graves)
3
Re: "Some of the intellectuals view the other faction as crass mercenaries more interested in protecting their access than in fighting for lofty principles."
"Lofty principles"? The Republican intellectuals, such as they may be, are at least smart enough to see that the Republican Party stands for no principles at all, just more and more and more money and power and privilege for the already very rich, powerful, and privileged. They reserve Republican pseudo-principles for the uneducated lower middle classes deceived into supporting the very rich, powerful, and privileged. Republican intellectuals don't really give a fig about abortion, gun proliferation, religious fundamentalism, or any other social question. They merely recognize that people strongly opposed to legal abortion, for example, or in favor of gun proliferation, and so on, are easily manipulated.
"Lofty principles"? The Republican intellectuals, such as they may be, are at least smart enough to see that the Republican Party stands for no principles at all, just more and more and more money and power and privilege for the already very rich, powerful, and privileged. They reserve Republican pseudo-principles for the uneducated lower middle classes deceived into supporting the very rich, powerful, and privileged. Republican intellectuals don't really give a fig about abortion, gun proliferation, religious fundamentalism, or any other social question. They merely recognize that people strongly opposed to legal abortion, for example, or in favor of gun proliferation, and so on, are easily manipulated.
8
Does Trump or Cruz pose the greater threat?
The answer, of course, is "yes".
The answer, of course, is "yes".
19
I'm a Democrat so I have no dog in the Trump vs. Cruz battle playing out in the Republican party. But by longstanding observation, whatever side Bill Kristol is on is inevitably the wrong one, so I would have to go with Trump if I were voting in a GOP primary.
7
It's not too often that you see it in black and white, that the shadow establishment players get a little sunlight, but there it is in this column. Mr Black the lobbyist says Trump can be "coached". The Establishment must have someone they can keep on a leash so the special interests continue to get what they want. That's what is really important. Meanwhile we stand at a crossroad. Are we going to have a new President who continues and improves upon policies to address global warming or one who dismantles everything done so far? There is zero debate about this, the most important issue in this election, or any other for that matter.
7
"The Establishment must have someone they can keep on a leash so the special interests continue to get what they want."
I'm pretty sure Donald Trump IS a special interest.
I'm pretty sure Donald Trump IS a special interest.
1
As an independent, I am trying to keep track of the maze of Republican factions and their infighting. To summarize:
- The establishment Republicans (Congress, lobbyists et AL) are fighting for their lifelong jobs, careers and their status quo.
- The established so called Republican "Intellectuals" (Glen Beck et Al) are fighting for their flawed ideology (and their jobs).
- The Tea Party extremists (Cruz et Al) are fighting to take over the establishment Republicans.
- Trump and company is running against the establishment Republicans, the "Intellectuals" and against the Tea party extremists.
- The radio show Republican media (Rush Limbaugh et Al) are in a holding pattern and confused?
- The religious right (Falwell et Al) are in the middle not knowing whom to support.
- The totally crazy ones (Sarah Palin et Al) are rooting for Donald Trump.
- The Republican voters are all over the map.
Conclusion: The Republicans in general implode and the Democrats win this election?
- The establishment Republicans (Congress, lobbyists et AL) are fighting for their lifelong jobs, careers and their status quo.
- The established so called Republican "Intellectuals" (Glen Beck et Al) are fighting for their flawed ideology (and their jobs).
- The Tea Party extremists (Cruz et Al) are fighting to take over the establishment Republicans.
- Trump and company is running against the establishment Republicans, the "Intellectuals" and against the Tea party extremists.
- The radio show Republican media (Rush Limbaugh et Al) are in a holding pattern and confused?
- The religious right (Falwell et Al) are in the middle not knowing whom to support.
- The totally crazy ones (Sarah Palin et Al) are rooting for Donald Trump.
- The Republican voters are all over the map.
Conclusion: The Republicans in general implode and the Democrats win this election?
12
Watching the Republicans is like watching ice melt. After a while...all gone!!
Neither one is going to get the nomination of their party. Watch.
I hope you are wrong. As both clowns are bad for the GOP and the country, the next POTUS won't be a GOPer.
1
Still believe the forces of reason will fix this mess? Maybe you also believe in the tooth fairy.
1
Trump and Cruz are both disasters, just different flavors. Unfortunately, no other presidential wannabe in the GOP's Dirty Dozen offers anything that's any better.
9
There is something even worse than choosing between Trump and Cruz, and that is a Trump-Cruz ticket.
11
A Trump Cruz ticket would guarantee a Dem victory. Nothing could be better.
1
There are no perfect candidates. The democrats have Hillary who many see as dishonest and not likable and Bernie who many fear as a socialist. Bernie at least many see as more honest and not influenced by the mega donors who support Hillary. On the other side there is Trump who the establishment republicans don't like because he isn't a politician and isn't taking money and thus not in their pocket versus Cruz who they say isn't likable because they can't say he is stupid. Both promise to go against the usual Washington way of getting things done. Most of the hard working middle class looks at the choices and have a hard time supporting the candidates in the pockets of the big donors. They see their wages being driven down by cheap labor. Their children have a difficult time getting a good full time job. They see increased crime. They worry about the future and are looking for a candidate who can give them some hope. The last 10 years haven't been good for them and they don't feel the usual candidates understand their concerns. They love this country. They don't love what is happening to it. So they are attracted to Bernie or Trump because they aren't the usual candidate. Trump in particular says that this country can be great again. He promises to bring jobs back to this country. Bernie wants to go against Wall Street and help the people. Maybe they aren't perfect candidates but they are speaking to the soul of the common man.
23
There is also Martin O'Malley.
Both (and everyone else in that clown car of GOP candidates is close behind)
2
schadenfreude - has a word ever found is spiritual home so eloquently?
8
If you want a Democrat then nominate someone other than Trump.
Ted Cruz is on his way out. Canadian documents are painting a new picture of the parents' marriage and his birth timeline. They are also raising questions about her supposed dual citizenship. Attorneys are seeking life documents from the Cruz campaign to verify dates of his mother's divorce marriage. She used her ex husband's name when Ted was born.
Why are bloggers finding all of the facts that highly paid media sources should be giving us?
Why are bloggers finding all of the facts that highly paid media sources should be giving us?
10
Did any of these folks consider country first instead of party first? These are all calculations about what would be better for the party, ignoring the absolute recklessness of electing one of these people and the imminent existential danger that such an election would pose to the country and the world. Is there not one shred of patriotism in even one of these members of these factions?
15
Cruz eats bacon, cooked from off of the hot barrel of a discharged machine gun type of weapon in a recent promotional. This worries me. I hope he doesn't get trichinosis.
It a hard call or difficult to discern who is the craziest candidate. The psychosis on daily display with both Cruz and Trump is alarming to any voter with some semblance of sanity.
Neither seem mentally fit to fulfill the role of president of this country.
It a hard call or difficult to discern who is the craziest candidate. The psychosis on daily display with both Cruz and Trump is alarming to any voter with some semblance of sanity.
Neither seem mentally fit to fulfill the role of president of this country.
20
Although the barbarians eventually conquered Rome , internal political decay was the actual cause? Do we see a similarity here ?
10
I do. As Ecclesiastes notes : " there is nothing new under the sun".
1
Choice between two Republicans-Those Gun totting, fat, cigar chewing, cadillac driving,environmental enemies: Choice between Devil & Deep sea.(Impression one makes if one follows their campaigns) It may not be true in reality.But can someone forget Iraq war Not finding any nuclear warheads
1
I would take any GOP candidate over Hillary Clinton. None of them are being investigated by the FBI.
The FBI investigation is not a criminal investigation, nor is it an investigation of Hillary Clinton. Rather, it's an investigation into the State Department's email situation at the time Clinton was Secretary of State to determine if any Federal laws were broken. Internal violations of departmental rules or regulations by themselves are not criminal acts.
Trump is a Nationalist.
His desire is to put America first.
He is the first candidate to do this in many years.
We keep being told that this is an out of date value and we should be looking to the EU and other societies for the future. Yet, we see the huge issues confronting these other countries and we reject these values.
I am not a Trump supporter but I am convinced if he is the nominee he will wipe the floor with either Bernie or HRC.
America First.
What a novel idea. Start each day thinking how to help OUR country.
His desire is to put America first.
He is the first candidate to do this in many years.
We keep being told that this is an out of date value and we should be looking to the EU and other societies for the future. Yet, we see the huge issues confronting these other countries and we reject these values.
I am not a Trump supporter but I am convinced if he is the nominee he will wipe the floor with either Bernie or HRC.
America First.
What a novel idea. Start each day thinking how to help OUR country.
2
The GOP is passively accepting its self-destruction because it engineered it. It gerrymandered a lock on GOP seats, wooed the ignorant and resentful voter, and did everything it could to ruin Obama’s presidency. The GOP has provided the nation a century of fiscal incompetence and mismanagement, an historically verifiable record of a continuing disaster for everyone but those at the top of the income/wealth pyramid.
The nation must finally rid itself of this contagian of reckless GOP obstructionism that's been a frustrating drag on dealing with entrenched protracted problems festering from the disastrous Bush administration. It would be very good for the country to finally expand Medicaid, address environmental issues, enact reasonable gun safety measures, address a crumbling infrastructure, attend to the plight of a stagnating middle class, address soaring college tuition costs, make legal voting easier, and appoint thoughtful judges.
The nation must finally rid itself of this contagian of reckless GOP obstructionism that's been a frustrating drag on dealing with entrenched protracted problems festering from the disastrous Bush administration. It would be very good for the country to finally expand Medicaid, address environmental issues, enact reasonable gun safety measures, address a crumbling infrastructure, attend to the plight of a stagnating middle class, address soaring college tuition costs, make legal voting easier, and appoint thoughtful judges.
10
Infrastructure? Power is already out in areas of DC metro. Due to storm. 8 years of lost opportunity. Thank you, Repubs.
Both are threats to America. Trump the know-nothing big mouth fear monger and Cruz who has managed to make himself hated by even his colleagues, wants to prop up the rich at the expense of the poor would further increase the divide between the rich and the poor.
6
It's ironic that many in the party that is so upset about President Obama's use of executive orders is so keen to turn itself over to Donald Trump, who would rule by fiat and has no details on how nirvana would come about while promising that "it's going to be great". Seems executive orders are only a problem when used by a Democrat--or a black man.
Also ironic that the other current option for the party of pragmatic business and working things out is Ted Cruz, the guy who prefers to shut down the government if he doesn't get his purist way.
What is it about Republicans who hate President Obama for (they claim) ruling like an autocrat, that their two top candidates at the moment are both autocrats--long on "I'll fix it" and short on the process of how that will happen?
Also ironic that the other current option for the party of pragmatic business and working things out is Ted Cruz, the guy who prefers to shut down the government if he doesn't get his purist way.
What is it about Republicans who hate President Obama for (they claim) ruling like an autocrat, that their two top candidates at the moment are both autocrats--long on "I'll fix it" and short on the process of how that will happen?
7
Cruz is the more dangerous. He's taken Dubya's "if you're not with me, you're against me" to new extremes.
10
a demographer colleague of mine suggested a few elections ago that we were headed for a new split into Red State and Blue State countries, and I scoffed. Well, I'm ready now. Let's carve up the country, issue passports and move as necessary. enough is enough.
6
It's not really a case of Dumb and Dumber. The Donald and El Rafael The Canadian are not dumb, far from it. These attack pit bulls are more an example of Worse or Worser. And this lifelong Democrat could not be happier, taking solace with my dilemma, Hillary or Bernie.
Though my allegiance is to Hillary, should Bernie pull off the near impossible, and let there be no doubt, Iowa and New Hampshire are not indicative of the nation as a whole, And Hillary will battle to the very bitter if she has to, Bernie would present a viable alternative.
Not so with Donny and Teddy. These two blowhards create real friction and sparks among Republicans. Is Donald the one who can pull off an upset and actually win the election in this crazy cycle? The problem of course is if elected The Donald may turn out to be a Trojan Horse, another liberal New Yorker in cahoots with the Clintons? My God, what to do?
The choice then is obvious, it's the foreign-born conservative Hate Magnet. Rafael is all the foaming at the mouth crowd wants, a carpet bombing warrior. A slight problem: Rafael's a guy who when he smiles evokes the smile/sneer of Dick Cheney, and there are not enough Hate mongers to drag Cruz over the finish line. There are too many decent moderate independent voters who are so tired of war, at home and abroad, they will vote Democrat. Yes, it's good to be King. You can do whatever you want. This year it's good to be a Democrat.
DD
Manhattan
Though my allegiance is to Hillary, should Bernie pull off the near impossible, and let there be no doubt, Iowa and New Hampshire are not indicative of the nation as a whole, And Hillary will battle to the very bitter if she has to, Bernie would present a viable alternative.
Not so with Donny and Teddy. These two blowhards create real friction and sparks among Republicans. Is Donald the one who can pull off an upset and actually win the election in this crazy cycle? The problem of course is if elected The Donald may turn out to be a Trojan Horse, another liberal New Yorker in cahoots with the Clintons? My God, what to do?
The choice then is obvious, it's the foreign-born conservative Hate Magnet. Rafael is all the foaming at the mouth crowd wants, a carpet bombing warrior. A slight problem: Rafael's a guy who when he smiles evokes the smile/sneer of Dick Cheney, and there are not enough Hate mongers to drag Cruz over the finish line. There are too many decent moderate independent voters who are so tired of war, at home and abroad, they will vote Democrat. Yes, it's good to be King. You can do whatever you want. This year it's good to be a Democrat.
DD
Manhattan
9
"...Erick Erickson, William Kristol and Yuval Levin, to write essays buttressing the argument that Mr. Trump had no commitment to restraining the role of government and possessed authoritarian impulses antithetical to conservative principles."
Authoritarian restraining the government and authoritarian principles are the very mantra of the republican party.
Authoritarian restraining the government and authoritarian principles are the very mantra of the republican party.
4
In any case, the Republicans seem unlikely to nominate a candidate who'll win a national election (even against a flawed Democrat). The real question is: will the deluded mass of the Republican base finally catch on, stop voting against their own interests, and elect a Congress willing to find ways to actually govern the country based on facts, evidence, and logic?
13
Nope.
Not to worry. Neither Trump nor Cruz will ever be elected President. Americans are not that stupid. A Democrat will win this election.
6
Not so sure about THAT - but - I appreciate the hopeful tone. By some freak occurence, I could see someone like Kasich grabbing the ring.
Agree with a Democrat will be elected. Disagree re intelligence of the average American
I used to believe that. But after the elections of 2004 and 2010, I think the electorate is capable of anything. Sad to say. But best to drop illusion.
The so called conservative intellectuals don't care about anything but ideology. They believe Ayn Rand is right even though she never did anything in life to prove her hypothesis about the virtue of the elites. Cruz is very dangerous to the nation and the world, which to me is quite more important than the conservative ideology. Trump is dangerous in that he is creating expectations among those who are suffering as we go through an economic transformation that will never be met, and he knows it. Confidence in government, already low, will take another hit if he is elected and the outcome may be quite dangerous. Lets hope the Republicans will come to their senses soon, and say neither.
7
I suspect a president Trump would be far different than his campaign rhetoric suggests. Probably very pragmatic and not very ideological. Pretty sure deep down Trump just wants attention and to be liked and praised.
1
We don't need any ignorant bigots running our nation. Trump has slandered almost every ethnic group, gender and religion in this country. Cruz smirks while sending anti-Semitic dog-whistle messages to his evangelical base, then disingenuously pretends he doesn't know what "New York values" is a code for.
These candidates are the best the dysfunctional GOP can produce. And nominating any one of them would guarantee our first female president a landslide victory.
These candidates are the best the dysfunctional GOP can produce. And nominating any one of them would guarantee our first female president a landslide victory.
8
Maybe these two egotists should engage in a debate to explain their respective...ooops, never mind.
Since when is Bob Dole some sort of Republican kingmaker ?
Face it. This election is the ultimate test of the power of Mouth vs. Money to change politics. So far, Money seems to be losing -- except when you brag about how much you have, rather than spend it. Republicans and Democrats alike are stunned by how little -- really little -- their super PAC spending is influencing voter preferences. Could it be that we're all tired of watching and hearing these slick adverts? They're all beginning to sound like the other commercial messages forced down our throats as the price for watching competitive sports. Like, I'm voting for Kia -- whoever she is.
In the end, it seems doubtful that either Slick Ted or Sick Trump will become our president. Sleek Kia has a better shot at the top position.
In the end, it seems doubtful that either Slick Ted or Sick Trump will become our president. Sleek Kia has a better shot at the top position.
1
Tragedy or Comedy...voting Republicans DO have a choice.
The Lies, manipulation, bombast, lack of any reasonable or rational plan of action are cloaking devices for their business as usual behavior should either actually get to the White House.
The Lies, manipulation, bombast, lack of any reasonable or rational plan of action are cloaking devices for their business as usual behavior should either actually get to the White House.
2
There are plenty of expressions in English to describe the conundrum for the GOP Establishment of deciding whether Cruz Or Trump is the greatest threat, and they include:
the lesser of two evils, being between a rock an a hard place and choosing between Scylla and Charybdis. However, in this particular case, I still prefer the French expression - choosing between the Plague and Cholera.
the lesser of two evils, being between a rock an a hard place and choosing between Scylla and Charybdis. However, in this particular case, I still prefer the French expression - choosing between the Plague and Cholera.
4
Been reading the NYTimes since my Junior year of college in 2007. Never since then, have I been do disgusted as now with the obvious bias against Mr.Trump by this paper.
Naive me. I always though the times was above this.
Naive me. I always though the times was above this.
1
Caught between Trump and Cruz... talk about a rock and a hard place. Poor old Republicans, it's just not going their way is it?
I think Trump has the best chance to defeat Hillary & Bill so I give him the nod.
It is all about winning over the Clintons and Trump has the charisma that Hillary lacks. And Bill seems injured.
It is all about winning over the Clintons and Trump has the charisma that Hillary lacks. And Bill seems injured.
Cruz is scary. Without morals.
Donald Trump is a mensch. Now you may not agree with a lot of what he says but he has the courage to speak his mind. He is uncompromised and right about trade and that illegal immigration is well illegal not "undocumented". He is wrong about what to do about illegal immigration, wrong about gun control and Obamacare. But he is hugely appealing for standing up to Wall St. The revolving door and the corruption of DC.
Cruz has just taken his playbook and parroted it in a good debating style. Cruz is way scarier.
Donald Trump is a mensch. Now you may not agree with a lot of what he says but he has the courage to speak his mind. He is uncompromised and right about trade and that illegal immigration is well illegal not "undocumented". He is wrong about what to do about illegal immigration, wrong about gun control and Obamacare. But he is hugely appealing for standing up to Wall St. The revolving door and the corruption of DC.
Cruz has just taken his playbook and parroted it in a good debating style. Cruz is way scarier.
"The Republicans who dominate the right-leaning magazines, journals and political groups can live with Mr. Cruz, believing that his nomination would leave the party divided, but manageably so,..."
Hey Republicans, how about a little concern for the country instead of your party? You know, that country you claim to love so much?
Oh wait, that bus left a long time ago and Reagan was driving it. Since then his successors have continued to drive -- careening over the cliff to the right. You get no sympathy from me. You have left your supporters with two choices. They can either support the crazy ideologue wing or they can support the business wing that deliberately and systematically destroyed any hope they ever had for economic security.
As so many thousands of others have said, you reap what you sow.
Hey Republicans, how about a little concern for the country instead of your party? You know, that country you claim to love so much?
Oh wait, that bus left a long time ago and Reagan was driving it. Since then his successors have continued to drive -- careening over the cliff to the right. You get no sympathy from me. You have left your supporters with two choices. They can either support the crazy ideologue wing or they can support the business wing that deliberately and systematically destroyed any hope they ever had for economic security.
As so many thousands of others have said, you reap what you sow.
5
The Nat. Review just made their case against Trump, but the establishment and the "Washington cartel" despises Cruz. Cruz will take away their meal tickets and take a chainsaw to D.C.
Cruz rebuilds the GOP into what it was supposed to be. Trump? He's a deal maker. The cartel can work with him.
Cruz rebuilds the GOP into what it was supposed to be. Trump? He's a deal maker. The cartel can work with him.
1
If I read some of the commentary on their campaigns correctly, a lot of Trump and Cruz supporters are disaffected Democrats and/or disaffected Republicans who share a very 1950's perspective on how America should be. They want solid union-pay jobs, "good vs. bad" foreign policies, racially and ethnically homogenous neighborhoods in which to live, and a white bread America that they can't understand and refuse to accept turned whole wheat years ago. These are the last gasps of the dinosaurs going extinct, hopefully including all those conservative Republicans whose disingenuous political rhetoric over the past thirty years created the very people who will cause their demise.
1
So what do you want? The working class want solid jobs. You don't ? They want safe neighborhoods to live in. Where do you live? I think it's disingenuous that the elites in both parties feel they know what is best for the working and middle class while living in their segregated upper income bastions.
2
"Mr. Cruz is viewed by many Republicans in Washington as stubborn and overweening." They hold similar view on Obama. What they are actually saying is that Cruz is scary smart, holds strong views on the function of government, knows the Constitution inside-out and upside -down, and can't be manipulated by the party elite. Trump, on the other hand, is a jerk, in over his head, and will beg for help in the very very unlikely event of his winning the election.
Trump is the "pragmatist" - he'll do 'whatever'. Cruz is the idealogue - well, just like Obama; he is a man with a plan, and it doesn't include kowtowing to the rich and powerful who have completely ignored the average American and brought financial harm to same with self-interested policies. That's why Trump - jerk that he is - is their much preferred choice.
Trump is the "pragmatist" - he'll do 'whatever'. Cruz is the idealogue - well, just like Obama; he is a man with a plan, and it doesn't include kowtowing to the rich and powerful who have completely ignored the average American and brought financial harm to same with self-interested policies. That's why Trump - jerk that he is - is their much preferred choice.
1
Wow, to read this one would think that Cruz was not educated at elitist institutions, was not married to a Goldman banker, has not benefited from sweetheart loans from big banks, and is not now beholden to big oil. Nope, none of those people or institutions are "rich and powerful." Just simple, honest everyday American folk.
The article just emphasizes the reason for both parties establishments being in all out panic mode: for the first time in God knows how long they both are not able to dictate and control their candidate. The people are, and that leads to great fear.
Things are so bad for the Republicans that they have given up trying to wangle their 3 percenter Bush into the nomination and are laying their last hopes on there 14 percenter.
Things are so bad for the Republicans that they have given up trying to wangle their 3 percenter Bush into the nomination and are laying their last hopes on there 14 percenter.
With the choice btw Cruz and Trump, I'm reminded of the Odyssey. Republicans have their choice of facing Scylla, the sea monster, or Charybedes, the whirlpool. Of course, they can sail their ship the safe route and choose a more moderate candidate such as Jeb! Or Rubio, but really to the sailors, that appears to be the worst option...
At least the GOP realizes the danger as they are trying to decide which is the "greater thread" and know it's not a choice of "the greater good." I sure hope Hillary wins as Trump would crush Sanders.
1
If we're to believe what we read in the NYT, the Republican Party is the only one in disarray this year. Has anyone checked out how badly the DNC has been managing things? Both of these organizations are an embarrassment to what we hold as a democracy.
Love to see a Trump vs Sanders general election. That would make for a very interesting contest with broad political implications. Probaby upset the established order inside the Beltway.
As an asides, that match up, of all possible ones, would probably have lowest combined likelihood of creating or expanding US wars.
As an asides, that match up, of all possible ones, would probably have lowest combined likelihood of creating or expanding US wars.
2
Cruz or Trump. It doesn't matter. In the end, whoever gets the nomination, the party faithful, whether they can't stand the nominee or not, will vote for them.
After all, I didn't see many GOPers staying home on election day when Sarah Palin could have been a heartbeat from the presidency.
After all, I didn't see many GOPers staying home on election day when Sarah Palin could have been a heartbeat from the presidency.
2
If Trump and Cruz are the most dangerous candidates to the Republican Party, why are they leading the Republican primary polls? Who votes in Republican primaries? Republicans? This leads to the basic question: Who are Republicans?
3
The issue is that the the Republicans are still trying to be all things to all people of "Right" wing persuasion, a struggle they've been dealing with since the days of having both Barry Goldwater and Jacob Javits both wear the Republican label. Unfortunately rather than forming a true conservative party, the more extreme variety of conservative decided to drag the existing Republican party further Right, tossing out the moderates and liberals. This worked for some time, giving us Ronald Reagan and the two Bush presidents.
The quest for ideological purity has become even more paramount with the emergence of the "Tea Party" faction, and their goal to drag the Republican party even further to the Right.
The elephant in the tent of the GOP is the refusal of the more extreme to realize that the harder they steer to right, the less they appeal to enough Americans to consider any candidate they run for president seriously.
Ideally we could have a multi-party system ranging on the spectrum from Liberal to Establishment Democrat to Establishment Republican to Conservative. Sadly we don't do this configuration.
So we're left with Bernie Sanders running as a Liberal, Hillary Clinton somewhere between Establishment Democrat and Republican, and then the Republican conservative "circus." To quote the song, "Send in the clowns. Don't bother, they're here."
The quest for ideological purity has become even more paramount with the emergence of the "Tea Party" faction, and their goal to drag the Republican party even further to the Right.
The elephant in the tent of the GOP is the refusal of the more extreme to realize that the harder they steer to right, the less they appeal to enough Americans to consider any candidate they run for president seriously.
Ideally we could have a multi-party system ranging on the spectrum from Liberal to Establishment Democrat to Establishment Republican to Conservative. Sadly we don't do this configuration.
So we're left with Bernie Sanders running as a Liberal, Hillary Clinton somewhere between Establishment Democrat and Republican, and then the Republican conservative "circus." To quote the song, "Send in the clowns. Don't bother, they're here."
19
Ted Cruz is toast if he looses Iowa and NH as the latest polls show. The establishment has little to offer in terms of new ideas for debt reduction or job creation so that leaves Donal Trump with a free reign to speak his mind and to say what he likes and there seem to be people who like what he says no matter what the British parliamentarians say about him. He is a one man show that seems like for now the only other show besides Bernie. The chips are falling all over on wall street and in the presidential race and the predictive value of both is anyone's guess, but a bit more certain in the presidential race.
The GOP is passively accepting its self-destruction because it engineered it. It gerrymandered a lock on GOP seats, wooed the ignorant and resentful voter, and did everything it could to ruin Obama’s presidency. The GOP has provided the nation a century of fiscal incompetence and mismanagement, an historically verifiable record of a continuing disaster for everyone but those at the top of the income/wealth pyramid.
The nation must finally rid itself this contagion of reckless GOP obstructionism that's been a frustrating drag on dealing with entrenched protracted problems festering from the disastrous Bush administration. It would be very good for the country to finally expand Medicaid, address environmental issues, enact reasonable gun safety measures, address a crumbling infrastructure, attend to the plight of a stagnating middle class, address soaring college tuition costs, make legal voting easier, and appoint thoughtful judges.
The nation must finally rid itself this contagion of reckless GOP obstructionism that's been a frustrating drag on dealing with entrenched protracted problems festering from the disastrous Bush administration. It would be very good for the country to finally expand Medicaid, address environmental issues, enact reasonable gun safety measures, address a crumbling infrastructure, attend to the plight of a stagnating middle class, address soaring college tuition costs, make legal voting easier, and appoint thoughtful judges.
5
Our. poor country. Choosing between Cruz and Trump - and not even choosing who is better. We're asking who is worse! Save us.
3
The Republican establishment should be concentrating its efforts upon choosing one candidate (such as Rubio or Kasich, or even Bush) and convincing the others to drop out. A single alternative to Trump and Cruz could beat them. Fortunately for Democrats, the selfishness and narcissism of these establishment Republicans will lead to a Trump nomination. (Cruz will not extend his support beyond evangelical strongholds such as Iowa.)
As a socialist who votes Democratic, "The Donald" does not scare me because I think he will turn into a pragmatist if he manages to get elected.
Cruz has many problems, not the least is that he has been one of the worst senators in Texas history. If Cruz wins that means the Tea Party came out in large numbers so that's all she wrote for this country.
I support Bernie and if Hillary is the Democratic nominee and it appears that the DNC fixed the nominating process I would seriously consider voting for Trump.
If Hillary wins will we get four more years of gridlock and this nation will continue sliding towards the abyss. The massive ABC (anybody but Hillary) vote will allow the GOP to keep their numbers in Congress so conceivably it will be even worse under Clinton than under Obama.
If Trump wins it could work against the GOP down ballot, which would weaken the influence of the Tea Party on the GOP. Once "The Donald" realizes that as a moderate he will be able to practice "the art of the deal" more easily with the Democrats it will weaken the influence of the GOP establishment.
Republicans voting for Bernie may seem counter-intuitive but many in the GOP would rather vote for him than either Trump or Cruz or heaven forbid Hillary Clinton. If Bernie wins and gets a mandate then there is still some hope for this nation.
PS I liked Cruz better when he was in love with "The Donald":
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/038.png
Like they say, politics makes strange bedfellows!
Cruz has many problems, not the least is that he has been one of the worst senators in Texas history. If Cruz wins that means the Tea Party came out in large numbers so that's all she wrote for this country.
I support Bernie and if Hillary is the Democratic nominee and it appears that the DNC fixed the nominating process I would seriously consider voting for Trump.
If Hillary wins will we get four more years of gridlock and this nation will continue sliding towards the abyss. The massive ABC (anybody but Hillary) vote will allow the GOP to keep their numbers in Congress so conceivably it will be even worse under Clinton than under Obama.
If Trump wins it could work against the GOP down ballot, which would weaken the influence of the Tea Party on the GOP. Once "The Donald" realizes that as a moderate he will be able to practice "the art of the deal" more easily with the Democrats it will weaken the influence of the GOP establishment.
Republicans voting for Bernie may seem counter-intuitive but many in the GOP would rather vote for him than either Trump or Cruz or heaven forbid Hillary Clinton. If Bernie wins and gets a mandate then there is still some hope for this nation.
PS I liked Cruz better when he was in love with "The Donald":
http://userctl.com/BlueVsRed/038.png
Like they say, politics makes strange bedfellows!
1
"Conservative intellectuals," I chuckle to think about that phrase but I know they exist. With half the party lambasting "intellectual elites," to think that some Republicans actually care and display worry is News.
I can't help it, but Republicans have to be embarrassed with the crop of candidates they've given us. Really? I'm trying to figure out which one I could live with who doesn't want to take everything apart. They are becoming the Sad Old Party.
I can't help it, but Republicans have to be embarrassed with the crop of candidates they've given us. Really? I'm trying to figure out which one I could live with who doesn't want to take everything apart. They are becoming the Sad Old Party.
Remember all those Republicans, including some of those mentioned here, who hammered President Obama for, amongst many other purported sins, lack of experience, being 'only' a one-term senator?
Now these same folk are debating when it's better to nominate a one-term senator or a man with no political experience whatsoever.
p.
Now these same folk are debating when it's better to nominate a one-term senator or a man with no political experience whatsoever.
p.
2
Given that hate is an idea, Trump and Cruz disprove the opinion that the Republican party has no ideas.
2
Trump buries rightwing … now there's a hope worth hoping for.
From condescension to panic, same route the Clintons take when viewing Bernie Sanders.
Go Bernie, and bury the neolibs.
From condescension to panic, same route the Clintons take when viewing Bernie Sanders.
Go Bernie, and bury the neolibs.
The players are being played by all the constituencies they have played since Ronald Reagan. Trump holds the Working Class voters. Cruz holds most of the counterfeit Christians. The establishment GOP tried to rig the game. Their now left holding all their useless Jokers Christi, Jeb and Rubio all seriously flawed. The beltway lobbyists are in a panic because their money machine could dry up. Cruz will shut them all out. Trump will make a deal and bring new voters for the down ballot can they trust him? The panic is on and the only shot I see is the Governor from Ohio. Next time you rig the game, make your Jokers Wild. Great for maximum leverage. And the hate game, it eats you up from the inside and works its way out. Not a pretty site.
1
There is something wrong with the political calculation that Trump would be "okay" as a potential president: he is wholly unqualified for the job. His manipulative skills, cutting deals behind closed doors with insults, threats and law suits flung about in equal measure, don't translate. Presidents are forced to deal with members of Congress they don't like. They are forced to swerve in directions unplanned and uncharted. Further, his proposals for using military power and acting preemptively against other countries, like Mexico, could undo generations of goodwill in a few weeks. Trump could destroy the Republican party by accident (oops) because he would be more concerned, excessively, with is own show than anyone else's.
As for the general fretting over these two intentional trouble makers, the Republican party could have tilted away from extremism years ago instead of embracing ever more radicalism. Instead, it has sold its followers on the idea that they deserve everything on their wish list. To keep its party combination of big wealth/old money, the newly mega-rich, farmers and rural people who are generally afraid of the future, along with religious fundamentalists, the Republicans oversold what could ever be expected or accomplished. They, and their media good buddies, empowered the problems they now fear.
After every presidential loss, the party faithful has cried out for "purity" of future conservative candidates. None urged moderation as the new direction.
As for the general fretting over these two intentional trouble makers, the Republican party could have tilted away from extremism years ago instead of embracing ever more radicalism. Instead, it has sold its followers on the idea that they deserve everything on their wish list. To keep its party combination of big wealth/old money, the newly mega-rich, farmers and rural people who are generally afraid of the future, along with religious fundamentalists, the Republicans oversold what could ever be expected or accomplished. They, and their media good buddies, empowered the problems they now fear.
After every presidential loss, the party faithful has cried out for "purity" of future conservative candidates. None urged moderation as the new direction.
31
Re "His manipulative skills, cutting deals behind closed doors with insults, threats and law suits flung about in equal measure, don't translate"
Where do we start with Trump -- he is so out of touch with the facts, with reality, he spews outrageous falsehoods almost too fast to count -- and won't fess up when proven wrong. 74% of Mr. Trump's biggest claims were rated false and none of his biggest claims were rated entirely true by Politifact.
Doesn't mean he can't continue to con people, but truthfulness is hardly his strong suit.
Where do we start with Trump -- he is so out of touch with the facts, with reality, he spews outrageous falsehoods almost too fast to count -- and won't fess up when proven wrong. 74% of Mr. Trump's biggest claims were rated false and none of his biggest claims were rated entirely true by Politifact.
Doesn't mean he can't continue to con people, but truthfulness is hardly his strong suit.
2
Agreed. It is my strong impression that when people get locked into a business deal with Trump, the wind up looking for some type of settlement just to get out of the room with him. That would work a few times in DC, but then people would turn on him like rabid wolves. For those out there in the heartland saying we need a "CEO president" after Obama's years, be careful what you wish for. The skills of almost any business executive do not equal the skills needed for a president. In fact, they clash.
The last president we had who took the presidency primarily as a high level managerial job was Jimmy Carter. He tried at many turns to be a micromanager, in fact. While he worked that angle, along with the many other facets of the presidency, he lost the support of the public. It takes an incredibly skilled person with a vibrating sense of the general mood to ride that wave. People who train for lifetime have still have difficulty.
The last president we had who took the presidency primarily as a high level managerial job was Jimmy Carter. He tried at many turns to be a micromanager, in fact. While he worked that angle, along with the many other facets of the presidency, he lost the support of the public. It takes an incredibly skilled person with a vibrating sense of the general mood to ride that wave. People who train for lifetime have still have difficulty.
As for the last paragraph of this comment above, I should have said few cried out for moderation and, furthermore, those voices were generally drowned out. The Republican party has been purging itself of moderates for at least the last 40 yrs. What used to be considered hard right, like former senator Dole, are people now consider far to reasonable and far to prone to compromise.
At the end of the day, the issue of Trump vrs Cruz will be decided by answering the question: Who has the better chance of winning? But as neither is deemed electable, the matter seems to be nearly moot. Next question: which one poses the least embarrassing loss?
13
The republicans are so desperate to gain POWER many are willing
to make a Faustian bargain to achieve that goal. A deal with the
devil will be political suicide.
to make a Faustian bargain to achieve that goal. A deal with the
devil will be political suicide.
In November, Ted Cruz (along with Huckabee and Jindal) attended a Des Moines conference for Republican candidates sponsored by Pastor Kevin Swanson, who called for the death penalty for homosexuals - after they've had time to convert to heterosexuality. An open and publicized call for genocide of gays! At this conference, Ted Cruz embraced Pastor Swanson.
In a less chaotic political year, this horrific act would have disqualified any candidate but we can scarcely pay attention to all the madness.
But Cruz is a foul human being - no one worse has ever run for president with the approval of a major political party. I also suspect Cruz is a fraud, well connected and awash in billionaire and corporate PAC donations. But Cruz chooses to run on an open agenda of hate and bigotry so horrific that to see it clearly causes a normal person to gasp.
Only Rachel Maddow tried to publicize this incident and the media basically ignored it. But it's revelatory of character - Ted Cruz knowingly affiliated himself with this horror.
I have no illusions about crazed bigot Donald Trump, a narcissistic slave to personal slights. Donald Trump, the 'tit for tat' candidate. But it's hard to imagine Trump embracing anyone who promotes genocide and politically motivated murder.
Not enough people are speaking out forcefully on what Cruz really stands for, who he's affiliating himself with.
Ted Cruz is the gutter. We can't say we weren't warned.
In a less chaotic political year, this horrific act would have disqualified any candidate but we can scarcely pay attention to all the madness.
But Cruz is a foul human being - no one worse has ever run for president with the approval of a major political party. I also suspect Cruz is a fraud, well connected and awash in billionaire and corporate PAC donations. But Cruz chooses to run on an open agenda of hate and bigotry so horrific that to see it clearly causes a normal person to gasp.
Only Rachel Maddow tried to publicize this incident and the media basically ignored it. But it's revelatory of character - Ted Cruz knowingly affiliated himself with this horror.
I have no illusions about crazed bigot Donald Trump, a narcissistic slave to personal slights. Donald Trump, the 'tit for tat' candidate. But it's hard to imagine Trump embracing anyone who promotes genocide and politically motivated murder.
Not enough people are speaking out forcefully on what Cruz really stands for, who he's affiliating himself with.
Ted Cruz is the gutter. We can't say we weren't warned.
10
Trump is bright, but mostly comports himself as a jacka**.
Cruz has a genius IQ and is a sociopath.
Cruz is the greater threat. But neither pose a threat to Mrs. Clinton.
Cruz has a genius IQ and is a sociopath.
Cruz is the greater threat. But neither pose a threat to Mrs. Clinton.
7
Who cares if Donald Trump is a conservative? There are those that are making a big deal about this when his supporters couldn't care less. Donald Trump is appealing to all of the frustrated voters that are tired of the likes of Mr. Obama. and the hate America bunch. We have just witnessed 7 years of a president that hates America and drives wedges between races. Americans are tapping into the "make America great again" message from Mr. Trump.
1
Wouldn't it be refreshing if the "establishment" Republicans took responsibility for these Frankenstein monsters they've created with their decades-long strategies of dog-whistle racism, bait & switch economics, and fake culture-war dudgeon?
3
My gut tells me that while Trump is tossing around a ton of red primary meat he doesn't actually eat that primary meat himself.
Trump's history in real estate, television, publishing, etc shows a guy who is extremely pragmatic. If I need to do X (play a certain character on TV) to accomplish Z (high ratings) I will do X. If getting my book on the bestseller list means I need to say some outlandish things during its promotion I will say some outlandish things during its promotion. If an elected official in Scotland needs a bribe to help pave the way for my golf course I will bribe him to pave the way for my gold course in Scotland.
Same with running for president. Saying provocative things (ban Muslims, Mexican illegals are rapists, Rand Paul is short, Jeb is a loser, etc) guarantees free media coverage while simultaneously appealing to the demographic he needs in order to win.
I think people sometimes forget how much Trump values return on investment. He's invited almost nothing and is leading. For him that's a 2,000 percent return on his money. The best investment he's ever made. And it could not have happened without free media, which could not have happened without saying outlandish things.
If he wins I think he'll bring this same pragmatism to the White House. I doubt he'll be calling people stupid losers and advocating angry policies. That primary strategy will no longer help him accomplish his new definition of winning: to be viewed as a great president.
Trump's history in real estate, television, publishing, etc shows a guy who is extremely pragmatic. If I need to do X (play a certain character on TV) to accomplish Z (high ratings) I will do X. If getting my book on the bestseller list means I need to say some outlandish things during its promotion I will say some outlandish things during its promotion. If an elected official in Scotland needs a bribe to help pave the way for my golf course I will bribe him to pave the way for my gold course in Scotland.
Same with running for president. Saying provocative things (ban Muslims, Mexican illegals are rapists, Rand Paul is short, Jeb is a loser, etc) guarantees free media coverage while simultaneously appealing to the demographic he needs in order to win.
I think people sometimes forget how much Trump values return on investment. He's invited almost nothing and is leading. For him that's a 2,000 percent return on his money. The best investment he's ever made. And it could not have happened without free media, which could not have happened without saying outlandish things.
If he wins I think he'll bring this same pragmatism to the White House. I doubt he'll be calling people stupid losers and advocating angry policies. That primary strategy will no longer help him accomplish his new definition of winning: to be viewed as a great president.
1
.
.
In 2000, the Supreme Court of Florida issued an order regarding the counting of votes in accordance with Florida law. The order was issued to Florida counties and officials, and was to be executed only in Florida. At stake was the selection of Florida's Electors who would meet in Florida to cast their votes.
I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with the Florida Supreme Court ruling.
Based solely on principle, the conservative -- state's rights -- position at that point was to fight the battle within the State of Florida. To take the battle outside (to the US Supreme Court) would constitute abandonment of that longstanding conservative principle.
As we all know, Republicans took that battle to the US Supreme Court. That's why the name "Bush" is first in the name of the case, "Bush v. Gore". At that moment, conservatism stopped being the rubric by which the GOP operated. What followed was excessive government action best symbolized by extreme federal spending. Within a dozen years, a supporter of same-sex marriage who had opposed the Iraq War was on stage at the Republican National Convention talking to a chair.
And conservative thinkers are ONLY NOW worrying about which candidate would most threaten their hold on the party apparatus?! The only issue now is when they will accept their loss of that hold. I thought that would be plain to the great minds working on the manifesto.
.
In 2000, the Supreme Court of Florida issued an order regarding the counting of votes in accordance with Florida law. The order was issued to Florida counties and officials, and was to be executed only in Florida. At stake was the selection of Florida's Electors who would meet in Florida to cast their votes.
I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with the Florida Supreme Court ruling.
Based solely on principle, the conservative -- state's rights -- position at that point was to fight the battle within the State of Florida. To take the battle outside (to the US Supreme Court) would constitute abandonment of that longstanding conservative principle.
As we all know, Republicans took that battle to the US Supreme Court. That's why the name "Bush" is first in the name of the case, "Bush v. Gore". At that moment, conservatism stopped being the rubric by which the GOP operated. What followed was excessive government action best symbolized by extreme federal spending. Within a dozen years, a supporter of same-sex marriage who had opposed the Iraq War was on stage at the Republican National Convention talking to a chair.
And conservative thinkers are ONLY NOW worrying about which candidate would most threaten their hold on the party apparatus?! The only issue now is when they will accept their loss of that hold. I thought that would be plain to the great minds working on the manifesto.
2
I'm not concerned with what pundits are saying.
I'm concerned with the money.
Ted Cruz has more PAC money than any other candidate. Most of his campaign donations come from the famously unholy energy, finance and insurance sectors. We don't know who contributes PAC money to Cruz but it's not Jesus.
Why are financial interests contributing so heavily, while Cruz runs as an 'outsider' solely concerned - so he says - with fundamentalism and a Taliban-like desire to punish those who don't share 'evangelical values'.
What's that got to do with oil, coal, Wall Street, energy and financial interests - his likely PAC donors? Not a thing!
Cruz pitches himself to the evangelical churchgoer. But his likely secret donors are the Koch brothers and their ilk, secretly bankrolling Cruz who as president would push for laws and regulations supporting their interests.
Cruz is a fraud. Beholden to some of the wealthiest corporate and financial interests but pretending to be concerned only with rightwing religious and cultural values. A liar. He's been bought.
The media is completely ignoring the real story about Cruz, preferring to cover his media war with Trump and other foolishness instead of asking "Who does Ted Cruz really represent and why?"
The flabby oblivious media - seen in this article - obsessed with political points and 'the horserace' - is an enemy of our democracy. When will they cover what's important about Cruz - who's contributed a fortune in PAC money and why?
I'm concerned with the money.
Ted Cruz has more PAC money than any other candidate. Most of his campaign donations come from the famously unholy energy, finance and insurance sectors. We don't know who contributes PAC money to Cruz but it's not Jesus.
Why are financial interests contributing so heavily, while Cruz runs as an 'outsider' solely concerned - so he says - with fundamentalism and a Taliban-like desire to punish those who don't share 'evangelical values'.
What's that got to do with oil, coal, Wall Street, energy and financial interests - his likely PAC donors? Not a thing!
Cruz pitches himself to the evangelical churchgoer. But his likely secret donors are the Koch brothers and their ilk, secretly bankrolling Cruz who as president would push for laws and regulations supporting their interests.
Cruz is a fraud. Beholden to some of the wealthiest corporate and financial interests but pretending to be concerned only with rightwing religious and cultural values. A liar. He's been bought.
The media is completely ignoring the real story about Cruz, preferring to cover his media war with Trump and other foolishness instead of asking "Who does Ted Cruz really represent and why?"
The flabby oblivious media - seen in this article - obsessed with political points and 'the horserace' - is an enemy of our democracy. When will they cover what's important about Cruz - who's contributed a fortune in PAC money and why?
5
Watching the GOP tear itself apart is a delicious, guilty pleasure.
I should be more civic-minded and less filled with schadenfreude, but oh well.
As for me, I'd take the deal-cutting blowhard over the theocratic jerk.
I should be more civic-minded and less filled with schadenfreude, but oh well.
As for me, I'd take the deal-cutting blowhard over the theocratic jerk.
4
And what's that rumbling noise approaching from offstage, like the roar of an approaching F4 Phantom jet, but a huge GOP groundswell crying for the leadership of that nice young Congressman Paul Ryan?!
The country saw Trump and Cruz coming along WAY back there, yet the comfy old happy-to-lose GOP leadership just assumed they would get lost.
But the revolution took place in the Town Hall summer of 2009 when fully half the country announced that it was DONE with Obama and any who stood with him.
Sadly, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner continued to stand with him even considering the brief shutdown when Obama stomped his foot so charmingly and fenced all the old people our of open-air memorials in D.C.
So the people took the House away from His Excellency Barack in 2010, and the GOP just assumed the world was the same anyway after Barack gave some guys a plane ride.
Then the voters took the Senate away from the statists in 2014 but the GOP never even tried to stop anything from happening. Democrats running Congress had totally stopped the government down repeatedly to get their way, but that frightened the GOP. So they wore their I Love Barry hats.
Now the people are back and want NOTHING to do with GOP insiders and the guys in granddad's Oldsmobile ask what happened?
But the revolution took place in the Town Hall summer of 2009 when fully half the country announced that it was DONE with Obama and any who stood with him.
Sadly, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner continued to stand with him even considering the brief shutdown when Obama stomped his foot so charmingly and fenced all the old people our of open-air memorials in D.C.
So the people took the House away from His Excellency Barack in 2010, and the GOP just assumed the world was the same anyway after Barack gave some guys a plane ride.
Then the voters took the Senate away from the statists in 2014 but the GOP never even tried to stop anything from happening. Democrats running Congress had totally stopped the government down repeatedly to get their way, but that frightened the GOP. So they wore their I Love Barry hats.
Now the people are back and want NOTHING to do with GOP insiders and the guys in granddad's Oldsmobile ask what happened?
The dilemma which a choice between Cruz and Trump poses for the GOP is about nothing so much as the long term meal ticket which the party's insiders subsist on. This party machine is little different from the self serving welfare bureaucracy that the GOP has historically been glad to pillory. Or the self serving military defense establishment which left leaning Democrats have so often faulted.
The one thing this article misses is that the GOP insiders are almost no different from the Democratic insiders who fear Bernie Sanders' ascendancy equally as much. In both cases it's all about personal power and nothing about democratic processes.
Maybe a Trump Sanders faceoff this fall is exactly what this country needs to shed itself of the scelerotic and entrenched mandarins whose only calling is their own parochial self interest.
The one thing this article misses is that the GOP insiders are almost no different from the Democratic insiders who fear Bernie Sanders' ascendancy equally as much. In both cases it's all about personal power and nothing about democratic processes.
Maybe a Trump Sanders faceoff this fall is exactly what this country needs to shed itself of the scelerotic and entrenched mandarins whose only calling is their own parochial self interest.
5
In a way it's funny, since their karma's kicking them now. Except, if, Goddess and God forbid, the unthinkable happens and one of these creatures actually takes the oath of office, we'll have to try to survive the aftermath. I've read a few comments in other NYT pieces, of people saying they'll leave, temporarily or permanently. I've read articles focusing on others who've said the same. I've spoken to my family about doing so. What if there's a brain drain in the U.S.? What about climate change? WHAT??
1-22-16@1:51 am est
1-22-16@1:51 am est
1
Trump would likely quit the job two years in...Cruz would be an absolute nightmare for everyone. Fortunately neither of them will be the nominee. It'll be Rubio and if the Democrats put Sanders up against him they could be in for a surprise.
"Mr. Trump, with his message of nationalist-infused populism, poses a dire threat to conservatism."
Conservatism (def.) 1. Lower taxes, cut social safety net. 2. Encourage immigration to create surplus labor and suppress wage growth. 3. Free trade policy to enable export of manufacturing jobs. 4. Support low cost red meat culture war issues to please and distract low information voters. Pound the Bible. Pack a gun.
Assuming the quote is correct, it explains everything that is fascinating about the Donald Trump phenomenon. If the policy goals in definitions 1, 2 and 3 are smashed to smithereens I will dance in the street for joy. The Donald is a threat to this heart of conservative ideology.
What about definition 4? The genius of Donald Trump the marketer is to understand that the culture 'vibe' of conservatism is its motivating heart at the level of the voters. His insight? Give them their red meat AND promise them to shore up social security ( the most popular policy in America), AND limit competition with immigrant labor AND stanch the flow of manufacturing jobs OUT of America.
Admittedly this is a pretty raw strategy. But you do have to acknowledge Trump has struck a pretty powerful nerve, whether you like it or instead are completely freaked out.
Conservatism (def.) 1. Lower taxes, cut social safety net. 2. Encourage immigration to create surplus labor and suppress wage growth. 3. Free trade policy to enable export of manufacturing jobs. 4. Support low cost red meat culture war issues to please and distract low information voters. Pound the Bible. Pack a gun.
Assuming the quote is correct, it explains everything that is fascinating about the Donald Trump phenomenon. If the policy goals in definitions 1, 2 and 3 are smashed to smithereens I will dance in the street for joy. The Donald is a threat to this heart of conservative ideology.
What about definition 4? The genius of Donald Trump the marketer is to understand that the culture 'vibe' of conservatism is its motivating heart at the level of the voters. His insight? Give them their red meat AND promise them to shore up social security ( the most popular policy in America), AND limit competition with immigrant labor AND stanch the flow of manufacturing jobs OUT of America.
Admittedly this is a pretty raw strategy. But you do have to acknowledge Trump has struck a pretty powerful nerve, whether you like it or instead are completely freaked out.
17
The simple truth is this: the republican party is over, and they don't seem to know it yet. For the moment, it can be called the Humpty Dumpty "party", but it is fractured beyond repair. The conclusive moment of impact was when Palin showed up on stage. The splintered groups can now give up the charade of a primary and run their own general election. Good luck with that.
1
Trump and Cruz = the revenge of the gods on the Republican Party.
4
Let's hope they don't become the revenge of the gods on everyone.
Appearances to the contrary, a self-promoting, opportunistic Donald Trump never has been and never will be a winner. It is all smoke and mirrors. But he is tapping into the seething hatred that has been built up in recent decades by the Republican Party. However, now even the National Review editorial board has rejected Trump as embarrassment and a risk to true conservatives.
Then we have Ted Cruz who supports Pastor Kevin Swanson - an advocate death penalty for gays and lesbians and promotes carpet bombing of civilians to destroy the embedded ISIS forces. Cruz who lied about his campaign financing in 2012 is universally disliked by the entire Congress Republicans and Democrats.
It is not at all clear how the Republican Party can regain its position as the Party of fiscal conservatism instead of the Party of hateful right wing extremists. Perhaps there is a sane Republican candidate waiting in the wings but more likely they will be forced to take their losses facing an electorate that rejects extremism on either the right or the left. Perhaps they will learn something from their disastrous mistakes, but, more than likely, they will not
Then we have Ted Cruz who supports Pastor Kevin Swanson - an advocate death penalty for gays and lesbians and promotes carpet bombing of civilians to destroy the embedded ISIS forces. Cruz who lied about his campaign financing in 2012 is universally disliked by the entire Congress Republicans and Democrats.
It is not at all clear how the Republican Party can regain its position as the Party of fiscal conservatism instead of the Party of hateful right wing extremists. Perhaps there is a sane Republican candidate waiting in the wings but more likely they will be forced to take their losses facing an electorate that rejects extremism on either the right or the left. Perhaps they will learn something from their disastrous mistakes, but, more than likely, they will not
6
From a worldwide view, I believe Trump is more dangerous.
My reasoning is that the world is already laughing at America because of the success Trump has had so far. Nobody outside the U.S.A. (aside from a few hard to find loons) believes Trump is a qualified politician, let alone president. Sure, they think Trump is funny, he's interesting because of his crazy comments, and to some degree they enjoy following his political journey for entertainment purposes. However, at this point, nobody outside America really believes he can win. Thankfully, or naively, they still believe the majority of the USA is too smart to elect such a fool.
If Trump does win (even the primaries), it sends a signal to any logical thinking person with a sense of humanity that America is becoming a horribly pathetic and dangerous place. It would be a sign that all the bad things natives of foreign nations say about America is becoming true. So, for anyone with a righteous nationalistic awesome view of Trump, please note that if you really care about America, you also have to care about diplomacy with the rest of the world too... so take a step back, and please don't elect Trump.
Cruz, on the other hand, might make just as horrible of a president. However, I think he would just be viewed as some oddball who unfortunately got elected. Other countries also go through periods of poorly elected leaders too, and the world just waits it out with a sense of malaise.
Trump, Cruz = No winning
My reasoning is that the world is already laughing at America because of the success Trump has had so far. Nobody outside the U.S.A. (aside from a few hard to find loons) believes Trump is a qualified politician, let alone president. Sure, they think Trump is funny, he's interesting because of his crazy comments, and to some degree they enjoy following his political journey for entertainment purposes. However, at this point, nobody outside America really believes he can win. Thankfully, or naively, they still believe the majority of the USA is too smart to elect such a fool.
If Trump does win (even the primaries), it sends a signal to any logical thinking person with a sense of humanity that America is becoming a horribly pathetic and dangerous place. It would be a sign that all the bad things natives of foreign nations say about America is becoming true. So, for anyone with a righteous nationalistic awesome view of Trump, please note that if you really care about America, you also have to care about diplomacy with the rest of the world too... so take a step back, and please don't elect Trump.
Cruz, on the other hand, might make just as horrible of a president. However, I think he would just be viewed as some oddball who unfortunately got elected. Other countries also go through periods of poorly elected leaders too, and the world just waits it out with a sense of malaise.
Trump, Cruz = No winning
Like picking between two garbage cans.
1
Aquanet Don or the Goldman Boy Tail-gunner Rafael, a natural born Canadian?
Boss Crisco and the Jersey Economic Miracle?
Marky Rubio and the yellow brick road to citizenship?
Jeb ! and the entire ! legacy.
The Kasich Kure (balanced the budget, cut the deficit, killed him a bear when he was only three, cured cancer)?
Ayn Rand Paul.....
Silent Ben....anyone taking a stab on him?
Cancer, gunshot, poison, ebola, zika, leprosy, mesothelioma, psoriasis, terminal athletes foot, or godzilla.....
Boss Crisco and the Jersey Economic Miracle?
Marky Rubio and the yellow brick road to citizenship?
Jeb ! and the entire ! legacy.
The Kasich Kure (balanced the budget, cut the deficit, killed him a bear when he was only three, cured cancer)?
Ayn Rand Paul.....
Silent Ben....anyone taking a stab on him?
Cancer, gunshot, poison, ebola, zika, leprosy, mesothelioma, psoriasis, terminal athletes foot, or godzilla.....
1
***PLEASE READ***
A few days ago, Trump came to my turf and I went to his rally. From the time I stood in line 'til the end, I had the opportunity to meet many people. My favorite was this couple who had been married for over 30 years and both had excellent careers. I could feel the energy in the place and momentum for viable change.
I am getting sick and tired of hearing the corrosive attitude towards Trump supporters like myself. I don't agree with everything he says, but you know what, that's life. Get to KNOW us and UNDERSTAND why we like him. (I also like Sanders and Rand Paul.) We are tired of DC politicians doing the bidding of Wall Street, our debt and defect increasing and our jobs going off shore.
I am more than willing to take questions and hopefully give an adequate response. I am not asking you to agree with me, I am asking for an open ear and heart.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
A black educated woman :)
A few days ago, Trump came to my turf and I went to his rally. From the time I stood in line 'til the end, I had the opportunity to meet many people. My favorite was this couple who had been married for over 30 years and both had excellent careers. I could feel the energy in the place and momentum for viable change.
I am getting sick and tired of hearing the corrosive attitude towards Trump supporters like myself. I don't agree with everything he says, but you know what, that's life. Get to KNOW us and UNDERSTAND why we like him. (I also like Sanders and Rand Paul.) We are tired of DC politicians doing the bidding of Wall Street, our debt and defect increasing and our jobs going off shore.
I am more than willing to take questions and hopefully give an adequate response. I am not asking you to agree with me, I am asking for an open ear and heart.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
A black educated woman :)
4
I do understand your support for Trump but he is an American phenomenon that won't sit well internationally. The farther we pull from the mainstream of what I would call a more moderate western world than American is trending toward, the less of a world leader we become. The question is who will fill that void if we fail to produce responsible, civil leaders? Every nation needs allies. If we choose someone as vitriolic as Trump or worse, as small minded as Cruz, our international integrity will suffer. We are already falling behind many Western nations in educational gains, public health and standards of living. I don't think Trump will improve any of those issues. Rocking the boat alone is not a wise move if there is no plan to right it after it has capsized. He relies too heavily on insult and too little on substance to be taken seriously.
3
Thank you for your point of view!
Ignorant and dangerous vs odious and dangerous.
4
The Bush Family collaborators address the Aquanet Don:
Gooble gobble one of us
we accept you
one of us........
Gooble gobble one of us
we accept you
one of us........
1
“He’s not a conservative, he’s an angry populist." And if Trump had run in 2012 he would have been leading then too. The 'experts' still haven't realized that they have spawned a part of "angry populists" - nice work guys. Cruz understands this though and plays it cynically, and that's what makes him most dangerous of all.
1
After Trump beats the dogged old pol Hillary, he will lead as a latter-day Andrew Jackson cossed with Reagan, and his example will ignite a raging fire of patriotism in the heart of every red-blooded American man and woman.
The pot calling the kettle black!
If the democrats draft Biden, he will win.
1
Was reissuing Sarah Palin a scheme to make Trump and Cruz seem reasonable by comparison?
1
I've been mulling over the idea that the Trump and Cruz campaigns re being secretly funded by the Jeb Bush campaign to make Jeb look like the voice of reason.
Trump is a New York Republican. Cruz is a Texas Republican. That's all you need to know. Now tell me who is more dangerous?
2
".....Mr. Trump has the potential to bring out new voters...."
I'm afraid the Republican Party has NO idea.
I'm afraid the Republican Party has NO idea.
The one bright side to a Cruz presidency in 2017: the Democrats would sweep into power on both sides of Congress in 2018, making Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders look like Phil Graham and Liddy Dole.
Today's GOP basically IS the John Birch Society isn't it?
Interesting that that idea was threatening in the 50s but they dont seem to mind it now. Maybe Fox would like to analyze this since they made all this possible. Are they thinking it "just happened"???
Interesting that that idea was threatening in the 50s but they dont seem to mind it now. Maybe Fox would like to analyze this since they made all this possible. Are they thinking it "just happened"???
9
W.C. Fields coined a phrase that captures the Republicans’ self-induced dilemma: “They have to grab the bull by the tail and face the situation.”
8
Uhhh... you mean the elephant, don't you?
1
What was I thinking? Of course! But then I'm such a donkey.
2
The founder of Koch Industries was a co founder of the John Birch Society and his sons dominate the party once imperiled by this racist group. Yet today the Koch Brothers "dark money" is infused in virtually every dish the (tea) party cooks up. Fortunately Jane Mayer and others are shining a light into these dark places. Whether Trump or Cruz, Republicans have good reason to worry.
5
Ha!
Ha ha!
Ha ha ha!
Ha ha ha hah!
Times are tough for satire writers. Reality is such a caricature of itself, there is little room to make fun of it anymore.
Ha ha!
Ha ha ha!
Ha ha ha hah!
Times are tough for satire writers. Reality is such a caricature of itself, there is little room to make fun of it anymore.
1
The civil war in the GOP finally appears to be coming to the surface. The fact that this is a debate between Cruz and Trump as the alternatives is a measure of how off the rails Republicans have gone.
29
Clinton, Cruz, Trump; all three are the same thing. That is great fro the 1%; bad for everyone else.
18
Compare the tax plans of the Republican two you named to the Democratic one you named: only 2/3 are "great for the 1%"
2
Nytimes just endorsed Ted Cruz for his unrelenting support for the occupation of Palestine.
Your cynicism is nothing but lazy snark. There are vast differences, and particularly between Ms. Clinton and Messrs. Cruz and Trump. You might want to reflect on what the trajectory of YOUR life is likely to be under each of these three as President.
Not likely the same...
Not likely the same...
3
"Conservative intellectuals" ?
That's funny.
I guess it does take quite a bit of intellectual firepower to think about all the different ways you're going to con and rip off the entire country while waving the flags of fear and 'free-dumb'.
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest
exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior
moral justification for selfishness."
--- John Kenneth Galbraith
"A Conservative Government is organized hypocrisy."
--- Benjamin Disraeli
Good to see the Grand Old Phonies hard at work.
That's funny.
I guess it does take quite a bit of intellectual firepower to think about all the different ways you're going to con and rip off the entire country while waving the flags of fear and 'free-dumb'.
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest
exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior
moral justification for selfishness."
--- John Kenneth Galbraith
"A Conservative Government is organized hypocrisy."
--- Benjamin Disraeli
Good to see the Grand Old Phonies hard at work.
166
It's a shame we don't debate the efficacy of ideas and solutions to society's problems. Instead, we debate who most consistently parrots extremist talking points; how the candidates play the game of gaining power; and who can be relied upon to peddle influence. We focus on the distractions and ignore real problem solving.
92
When all each party sees in the opposition is scraggly people full of hate, the actual problem solving is always put on hold.
If you ask the Republican candidates about the efficacy of ideas and solutions to society's problems, they'll accuse you of asking gotcha questions, and will refuse to answer.
It's not our fault, and it's not the media's fault, it's theirs.
It's not our fault, and it's not the media's fault, it's theirs.
1
Funny, but wasn't it just 2-3 months ago we were being told by conservatives (including many of the cited individuals in the column) that the GOP had this vast wealth of candidates, while the poor Democrats could only field two?
Now, here we sit just a few months later, and Democrats grow stronger daily, both candidates, and the GOP itself are fighting over which of their leading candidates would be the lesser or greater threat to the party's future!!
There's great irony here. Sadly, there's also great danger for the entire nation.
Now, here we sit just a few months later, and Democrats grow stronger daily, both candidates, and the GOP itself are fighting over which of their leading candidates would be the lesser or greater threat to the party's future!!
There's great irony here. Sadly, there's also great danger for the entire nation.
127
A liar and a socialist on your dem side? I don't think so, majority of Americans don't think so! Wake up!
Trump is not a conservative. He is a pragmatist in the Nixon mold who goes with whatever ideas seem to make sense to him. Unfortunately, his fatal flaw is that he has committed himself to immigration policies which would play directly into the hands of Islamic State and Al Qaeda which wish to convince Muslims that we hate Islam, and not merely terrorists. This is why his election would be disasterous for U.S. foreign policy interests. Even Cruz is not that short sighted.
43
I recently read a critique of Fox News's incessantly broadcasting "news" of ISIL' atrocities bringing fear, I.e. terror, to the homeland. This constant broadcasting is doing ISIL's work of spreading terror. That is the goal of organizations that want to control by means of terror. Well done Fox.
1
Re: "Unfortunately, his fatal flaw is that he has committed himself to immigration policies which would play directly into the hands of Islamic State and Al Qaeda which wish to convince Muslims that we hate Islam, and not merely terrorists."
I doubt very much Trump is really committed to anything. He's perfectly willing to contradict himself and unconcerned about the consequences. There's no telling what he would really do. That's scary, but I'm actually more scared right now of Bush III and Rubio. I know precisely what they would do.
I doubt very much Trump is really committed to anything. He's perfectly willing to contradict himself and unconcerned about the consequences. There's no telling what he would really do. That's scary, but I'm actually more scared right now of Bush III and Rubio. I know precisely what they would do.
1
I agree with your basic premise, but I think you might be underestimating the shortsightedness of Mr. Cru.
the more damaging to everybody and everything would be cruz, the most hated man in the senate. whats absolutely hysterical is the "true conservatives" and repub "intellectuals" getting this close to soiling their britches that a guy who dosnt grovel for their money, dosent need or want their "campaign expertise", who exposes the jebs? and cutie-boots rubios as nothing more than trollops for the filthy rich who think answer to everything is tax cuts for billionaires and two hands around the govt's throat til it chokes and dies (to heck with the kids in flint, mi). heck next thing you know maybe all these party parasites might hack him off so much he ramrods through a law repealing citizens unites. and they're all out of a job. that would break my heart. not. it almost makes me think I'd trade 4 years of an egomaniac to once and for all get that slimey sheen off of DC forever.
8
Cruz is as big a tool for the Kochs and their allies as Bush and Rubio....he's just aiming for the crazy vote-went to a Cruz rally here in NH a few weeks back-had to come home and take a shower...
1
If you are, as I am, a Democrat, you have GOT to be loving this! The GOP has deliberately and systematically attracted to its banner the most ignorant, the most bigoted, the most irresponsible, and the most bitter aspects of our society, and now these groups make up enough of their rank-and-file to ignore the dictates of "their betters" and support candidates that old-fashioned Republicans find abhorrent. And it may be beyond even the power of their vast riches to do anything about it.
Perhaps they should have thought better of it before they began engaging in their "Southern Strategy" and started poking the sleeping "Silent Majority" with a stick back in the '60s, with their campaigns of bigotry, xenophobia and fear.
They've made their bed. Now it is up to We the People to make sure they sleep in it.
Perhaps they should have thought better of it before they began engaging in their "Southern Strategy" and started poking the sleeping "Silent Majority" with a stick back in the '60s, with their campaigns of bigotry, xenophobia and fear.
They've made their bed. Now it is up to We the People to make sure they sleep in it.
70
Dr. planarian:
Hopefully, for a very long time. How about 30-40 years? They deserve it.
Hopefully, for a very long time. How about 30-40 years? They deserve it.
Booooo!!!! Be very afraid!!!!
Uhh ... you won't love it when they win.
I think Trump is bad for America; his message is based upon hatred, division and exclusion. Cruz would be a catastrophe for the GOP. I agree with Dole; I don't think he could win a national election. But to have at the top of one our two political parties someone whose message reminds me of utterings from the Thrid Reich is even worse. There will be no GOP if Trump is elected (which I hope never happens). The GOP will become the American version of France's National Front.
28
How is trump's message based on hatred? He's trying to solve problems that are plaguing this country. We have terrorist commiting acts of murder and immigrants intruding into the US. What should be done with illegal immigrants?
Americans used to say Canada was its 51st state. Perhaps, we should wish to become Canada's 11th province. Too bad they'll only take us as its 4th territory.
14
This is a real funhouse.
If one accepts that the appeal of Trump is the way he seems to operate outside the current system of lobbyists and donors and influence peddlers, it is quite ironic that the lobbyists and donors and influence peddlers themselves say they can live with him - he isn't going to try to change the system. He will be, ultimately, as absurd as it seems, pragmatic. A deal maker.
Meanwhile, someone like Ted Cruz actually would upend the system. He would rid the place of the influence peddlers. Except he would replace the current system with something akin to the Taliban.
Meanwhile, the influence peddlers and lobbyists are evidently willing to "rent" the party to Trump for a few months and then give the country to Hillary Clinton for at least four years? This is preferable to giving the standard of the party to Ted Cruz for a few months? Because - news flash - Ted Cruz is ALSO not our next president.
If one accepts that the appeal of Trump is the way he seems to operate outside the current system of lobbyists and donors and influence peddlers, it is quite ironic that the lobbyists and donors and influence peddlers themselves say they can live with him - he isn't going to try to change the system. He will be, ultimately, as absurd as it seems, pragmatic. A deal maker.
Meanwhile, someone like Ted Cruz actually would upend the system. He would rid the place of the influence peddlers. Except he would replace the current system with something akin to the Taliban.
Meanwhile, the influence peddlers and lobbyists are evidently willing to "rent" the party to Trump for a few months and then give the country to Hillary Clinton for at least four years? This is preferable to giving the standard of the party to Ted Cruz for a few months? Because - news flash - Ted Cruz is ALSO not our next president.
20
I'm very confused.
Not so long ago Lowry was seeing "starbursts" flying from his TeeVee when Sarah Palin appeared on the idiot box. He was swooning over her! (In the manly fashion of any Iraq war advocate/non-participant, of course.) But now the former half-term governor of Alaska has revealed that Trump is The One. No starbursts for Lowry this time. Rich is miffed!
I can't figure it out. From where I sit, it seems to me that Trump is the apotheosis of the very Republican "values" that Lowry's pushed for years, decades. Trump **always** appeals to the rigorous Aristotelian logic that Lowry, as an "intellectual", has himself always encouraged in any political discussion, right? Lowry should be as happy as the father of a newborn baby!
So fickle....
Not so long ago Lowry was seeing "starbursts" flying from his TeeVee when Sarah Palin appeared on the idiot box. He was swooning over her! (In the manly fashion of any Iraq war advocate/non-participant, of course.) But now the former half-term governor of Alaska has revealed that Trump is The One. No starbursts for Lowry this time. Rich is miffed!
I can't figure it out. From where I sit, it seems to me that Trump is the apotheosis of the very Republican "values" that Lowry's pushed for years, decades. Trump **always** appeals to the rigorous Aristotelian logic that Lowry, as an "intellectual", has himself always encouraged in any political discussion, right? Lowry should be as happy as the father of a newborn baby!
So fickle....
22
But I'm so glad Sarah is back. I was getting a little bored with the trump/cruz show and needed to change the channel. So thank you Sarah! Can I interest you in an interview with Katie Couric? We'll rent you some clothes!
1
I don't think that these operatives and intellectuals are looking at what is really happening, i.e. the party is so fundamentally split that an explosion is inevitable. On one side, you have the establishment get-along types, who know the Tea Party is making demands that are quite simply unworkable. That didn't stop them from demagoging Tea Party passion to the max, making equally ridiculous promises they never intended to keep. On the other, you have a base so enraged at being taken for dupes that they will not support or trust the establishment ever again. This is a disaster for the GOP and will tear at the fabric of our institutions for generations to come.
32
"The lobbyists, strategists and elected officials [note that lobbyists are first on that list] perceive the intellectuals as aloof ideologues who do not have to worry about getting elected, building coalitions and governing."
I'm glad the Republican Party is worried. It should be, caught between a rock and a hard place as it is. But I want to reassure them. The only thing they need to worry about is getting elected. They abandoned the concept of building coalitions and governing a long time ago.
That anybody is considering Ted Cruz is a little difficult to comprehend unless one buys the idea (not exactly unpopular) that the GOP has lost all of its marbles. Cruz wants to do away with the establishment, he made that very clear right from the beginning.
And anybody who thinks Trump, the man who has never believed he had to answer to anybody, will be manageable when he has ultimate power—well, they really have lost their marbles.
I'm glad the Republican Party is worried. It should be, caught between a rock and a hard place as it is. But I want to reassure them. The only thing they need to worry about is getting elected. They abandoned the concept of building coalitions and governing a long time ago.
That anybody is considering Ted Cruz is a little difficult to comprehend unless one buys the idea (not exactly unpopular) that the GOP has lost all of its marbles. Cruz wants to do away with the establishment, he made that very clear right from the beginning.
And anybody who thinks Trump, the man who has never believed he had to answer to anybody, will be manageable when he has ultimate power—well, they really have lost their marbles.
45
So it's Dennis the menace vs Eddie Haskell. Dennis gets away with way too much, not really considering future consequences. Eddie is shifty, conniving, and lies with ease.
This would be glorious reality tv if the consequences weren't potentially grim. There is a certain fascination, it's an improbable matchup. For my sanity's sake, gotta believe either would lose in November.
This would be glorious reality tv if the consequences weren't potentially grim. There is a certain fascination, it's an improbable matchup. For my sanity's sake, gotta believe either would lose in November.
48
So the solution is Little Ricky and a democrat in republican clothes from Ohio?
1
Rubio and Kasich? Not great from my point of view, but at least not the stuff of nightmares- yet.
This is truly a hillarious situation for an avowed liberal.
The Republicans are *publicly* badmouthing both of their frontrunners as "bad" and "worse."
We agree wholeheartedly that both Cruz and Trump are unsuited ... no ... Incapable of being an effective President of the United States, one because he is simply against *everything* that civilized government is intended to do for society, and the other because he has no clue how to govern, but expects that he will control situations by fiat, given sufficient power in a "take it or leave it" negotiation, which is his personal preference for dealing with others.
Neither has a clue of how a democracy is supposed to operate, with give and take. They both are happy with the "take" part, not so much with the "give" part.
Both need to be put out to pasture.
Do the Republicans have the guts to stand up on their hind legs, or are they just going to get rolled by the extremists they have been cultivating for about the last 30 years?
Time will tell.
The Republicans are *publicly* badmouthing both of their frontrunners as "bad" and "worse."
We agree wholeheartedly that both Cruz and Trump are unsuited ... no ... Incapable of being an effective President of the United States, one because he is simply against *everything* that civilized government is intended to do for society, and the other because he has no clue how to govern, but expects that he will control situations by fiat, given sufficient power in a "take it or leave it" negotiation, which is his personal preference for dealing with others.
Neither has a clue of how a democracy is supposed to operate, with give and take. They both are happy with the "take" part, not so much with the "give" part.
Both need to be put out to pasture.
Do the Republicans have the guts to stand up on their hind legs, or are they just going to get rolled by the extremists they have been cultivating for about the last 30 years?
Time will tell.
117
More like forty years, Joe. Remember how they all wanted us to believe that
Carter was bad? Democrats appeal to people's reason, Republicans appeal
to people's emotions.
Carter was bad? Democrats appeal to people's reason, Republicans appeal
to people's emotions.
2
When two noblemen disputed as to which was entitled to a higher place at the table (that is which had precedence over the other) Dr Johnson remarked that it is difficult to settle a question of the "precedency between a flea and a louse." Such is the problem of the republicans today--does the flea or the louse deserve a higher plalce at the table?
104
What Cruz and Trump have in common is that they both spew hate: that seems to be the 2016 Republican brand. So much for ideas.
97
Thurm, go review what YOUR guys always say about the Republicans. You'll get a refresher course in personal destruction. Google David Axlerod and Rahm Emanuel 2008. The hate was spewed across parking lots.
Republican strategy should be to lose Cruz and then support one non-odious establishment candidate against Trump.
Kasich and Rubio are logical choices.
Kasich and Rubio are logical choices.
11
No. Billion-dollar media buys like Barack always has totally destroy such ''normal'' people with taunts of how comfy their houses are and their binders full of job applicants. You got played by the very same cruel manipulations and you didn't even notice it .
The media can no longer be trusted by the people to be fair with ''normal'' government types because the media figures out how to make the malleable emotion-based voters hate these guys who kinda look like their dad or aunt.
So, the GOP is going with video-friendly people just like Democrats do.It's a smart-phone election process anymore.
The media can no longer be trusted by the people to be fair with ''normal'' government types because the media figures out how to make the malleable emotion-based voters hate these guys who kinda look like their dad or aunt.
So, the GOP is going with video-friendly people just like Democrats do.It's a smart-phone election process anymore.
They're all odious.
Trump has the virtue of being a great showman.
Trump has the virtue of being a great showman.
3
The logical choices put me to sleep like Boehner and McConnel.
3
One of their own senators Lindsey Graham is reported as saying that choosing between Trump and Cruz is like choosing to die by being shot at or by taking poison. Neither option is acceptable. Perhaps Jeb Bush or John Kasich is their best bet.
21
None of them are acceptable! Trump/Cruz happen to be the most outrageous of the bunch, but ALL are bought and bossed by Wall Street. Their views on women's reproductive rights are abhorrent; they care little about addressing the horrendous wealth disparity which is destroying the country; and Climate Change~fuhgedaboutit! VOTE DEMOCRAT!
2
Yeah, we really need another Bush.
No more status quo. No more "go along to get along" types who have set this country on a path of destruction.
No more status quo. No more "go along to get along" types who have set this country on a path of destruction.
1
It's possible that Jeb Bush's previous shenanigans, like throwing tens of thousands of minority voters off the rolls and gaming the ballot recount for the 2000 Florida election that installed his brother in the White House, or his completely unconstitutional abduction of brain-dead Terri Schiavo from her family, might finally become national topics of conversation. Trump is a joke. But Bush, like his father and brother before him, is a threat.
1
Either of these men would make excellent dictators, monster egos, no concern for the people, but president of the US? No way. Please.
21
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. But I have to say that a Trump Presidency, while a very scary prospect, is impossible to imagine. If he is the GOP nominee, I have faith in the American electorate. The damage to the party will be contained by his performance in the general election. Cruz is another matter entirely. He just might prevail.
2
No matter who wins the GOP nomination - Trump or Cruz - this November's election provides a once in a lifetime opportunity for the Democratic party to reset the US political landscape for a generation. Nothing gets you up in the morning like a good hate and tens of millions of Americans insulted by Trump and others - hispanics, blacks, disabled, women, etc. - hate the GOP. Hate by itself is corrosive. But if it can be channeled to positive political action at all levels, major gains can be made. Democratic party, time to get to work organizing. From President Obama down to the street level community organizer, this is your time.
64
Trump and Cruz are both loathsome demagogues. Things are bad enough as it is; if either of them ever makes it to the White House we are truly doomed.
38
It's the strangest thing, no one mentions that the internal fracturing of the Republican Party, as exemplified by the Cruz-Trump clown car and the hand-wringing it is causing on the right, is a major legacy accomplishment of President Barack Obama. The Republicans, in their desperation to prevent the first black man from winning the presidency, took a flyer on Sarah Palin as running mate for John McCain. By doing so, the right-wing, lunatic fringe was legitimized. Then, once Obama was elected, an event no white Republican ever thought possible in their lifetime, the modern John Bircher's, the Tea Party, was formed. Republican legislators vowed to remove the usurper and restore white privilege to the ruling class. But a funny thing happened; at every turn, Obama won. And he won re-election in 2012. No matter what the Republicans tried to defeat him, and they tried EVERYTHING, Obama still won. He beat them like a rented mule until they were so thoroughly frustrated that internecine warfare among the Republican tribes caused a splintering that has reached a point of no return. Maybe this is what Manifest Destiny means in 2016?
293
Obama has appealed to the educated, to Mainstream Christians
(Blacks and Hispanics are basically Mainstream Christians rather than Fundamentalists) and those who have come to the conclusion, over several decades, that the Republican Party is the most destructive force in America.
(Blacks and Hispanics are basically Mainstream Christians rather than Fundamentalists) and those who have come to the conclusion, over several decades, that the Republican Party is the most destructive force in America.
1
Speak (only) for yourself. Your statement "Once Obama was elected, an event no white Republican ever thought possible in their lifetime..." is false. I am a white Republican, still alive, and was not surprised in the least at Obama's victory. John McCain is responsible for the downward spiral of the Republican party in his choice of the truly frightening Sarah Palin as his running mate.
The Republican party may never recover from McCain's horrific choice.
The Republican party may never recover from McCain's horrific choice.
1
@judgeroybean-Well said, thank you for the analysis-but the right, thanks to the 'Kochtopus', is still incredibly well-financed through ALEC, AFP and the other tentacles- I'm sure the will and resources are there to groom various young local and state legislators for a new 'crop' of congressmen and senators for 2020 and 2024..they know their ground game, and they'll be back...
GOP intellectuals? Would these be the ones who don't believe in evolution (including the neurosurgeon Ben Carson)? Would these be the same people who don't believe in man made climate change? Yes the left has some people who believe stupid things completely at odds with the science (see vaccines and GMOs) but its not at all comparable to the anti intellectualism on the right. The entire republican party rejects basic science.
124
Governor Snyder, R - Michigan - certainly rejected science. Science illiteracy is a fatal flaw in this age. Especially for one's constituents.
1
The science on vaccines is that some of them have had serious consequences, see the vaccine court. For mant the intervals between doses is too short. But GMOs on the other hand have had many adverse effects on people living right on top of agricultural fields that use excessive amounts of Roundup. In studies in Europe, the ME and Asia cattle and other animals fed grain or other crops that are GMOs, those animals consistently show deformities and smaller litters until the subsequent offspring are sterile. Theses findings obviously do not show in a 90 day trial here in the USA. Also Monsanto applied for and was granted approval of an increase in residual amounts of Roundup to allowed on crops for human consumption. Dems are not the science deniers you and others would make out. They are science believers, including climate change!
What a horrible choice. But Trump may modify his positions if elected.
Cruz is Joe McCarthy with brains.
I'm not crazy about Hillary, but she has my vote.
Cruz is Joe McCarthy with brains.
I'm not crazy about Hillary, but she has my vote.
102
The Republicans brought these twins of disasters on themselves and I can't help but watch with glee as they reel between choosing Tweedledum and Tweedledummer.
50
So now the GOP harvests the bitter fruit planted by Fox News and right-wing radio--with the ready and willing assistance of the Republican establishment. After years of fomenting hatred and fear, after doubling down on resentment politics, the two candidates that best fit the bill for what they have created are now duking it out for what may be a worthless nomination. For the Republican base, fed a steady diet of disinformation, distortions and outright lies, has finally figured one thing out--the Republican leadership doesn't give a rip about them. And the anger and resentment the Republican establishment has fostered is now coming back to bite it.
You reap what you sow.
You reap what you sow.
154
People are upset because our political system does not favor finding solutions to everyday problems. Money affects everything, so candidates and politicians focus on the needs of the wealthy and powerful. Until we reform our electoral and political systems and mitigate the power of money, we will have to deal with anger and resentment and the extreme politics they promote.
33
So Republicans plan to solve this problem of too much money in the political system by supporting a billionaire who's never worked a hard day in his pampered, wealthy life?
That makes sense, I guess, if you're a Republican.
That makes sense, I guess, if you're a Republican.
30
“Trump won’t do long-lasting damage to the G.O.P. coalition,” said John Feehery, a Capitol Hill aide turned lobbyist. “Cruz will.”
The question would seem to be what exactly does this GOP coalition stand for today? It seems to me that it is predominantly a collection of people with seething misdirected resentments and destructive rage that have been deliberately fostered for decades now. Through Nixon's "southern strategy", Reagan's "welfare queens" and the symbolism of Philadelphia, Mississippi, and Bush Senior's Willy Horton. Bush Junior didn't need to do the heavy lifting because, by then, the work had been subcontracted to Carl Rove and Rush Limbaugh. For McCain even that wasn't enough; he needed to recruit the odd alchemy of the populism of Sarah Palin - devoid of logic and syntax but dripping with resentment and sarcasm. And now we have Palin's worthy successors in Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, less scatter-brained but proud to stride down the path blazed by the pioneer. The GOP Establishment can only watch in paralyzed horror.
The GOP coalition today is like a U-238 nucleus that has absorbed a slow neutron and is undergoing wild oscillations. It is about to undergo fission.
The question would seem to be what exactly does this GOP coalition stand for today? It seems to me that it is predominantly a collection of people with seething misdirected resentments and destructive rage that have been deliberately fostered for decades now. Through Nixon's "southern strategy", Reagan's "welfare queens" and the symbolism of Philadelphia, Mississippi, and Bush Senior's Willy Horton. Bush Junior didn't need to do the heavy lifting because, by then, the work had been subcontracted to Carl Rove and Rush Limbaugh. For McCain even that wasn't enough; he needed to recruit the odd alchemy of the populism of Sarah Palin - devoid of logic and syntax but dripping with resentment and sarcasm. And now we have Palin's worthy successors in Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, less scatter-brained but proud to stride down the path blazed by the pioneer. The GOP Establishment can only watch in paralyzed horror.
The GOP coalition today is like a U-238 nucleus that has absorbed a slow neutron and is undergoing wild oscillations. It is about to undergo fission.
187
The GOP core is nothing more than self-seeking lobbyisys, whose principal worry is being swept out, along with their filthy lucre, by Cruz (Trump being something of a non-ideological "one-off," that they feel they can manage). That;s it. No ideology-- making money by lobbhying is their soul-less raoson d'etre. And to hear them as much as admit it in their expessions of loathing for the broom wielding Cruz --incredible and beyond contempt, their United States,
As a side note, Kasich is an obnoxious, grating lout with little to offer even Republicans.
As a side note, Kasich is an obnoxious, grating lout with little to offer even Republicans.
15
Absolutely. GOP or the Democratic, Progressive, Socialist, Liberals are virtually the same. Strange that they cannot get together to solve the Nations problems but are united in their attack of Trump (and now Palin).
The more the Washington insiders and their pet media attack Trump, the more I know they are absolutely petrified that Trump will be the President to end their gravy train and corruption. I believe they are right. Trump will do what is their greatest fear.
Politicians are not the answer, politicians are the problem and have been for decades. To continue to elect politicians over and over again, expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity, according to Einstein.
The more the Washington insiders and their pet media attack Trump, the more I know they are absolutely petrified that Trump will be the President to end their gravy train and corruption. I believe they are right. Trump will do what is their greatest fear.
Politicians are not the answer, politicians are the problem and have been for decades. To continue to elect politicians over and over again, expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity, according to Einstein.
Cancer or heart disease?: roll the dice.
26
How about the Republicans nominate "None of the above."
Sounds like a plan to me.
Sounds like a plan to me.
41
@Coolhandred,
By Jove, I think you've got it!
1-22-16@1:22 am est
By Jove, I think you've got it!
1-22-16@1:22 am est
2
Or Fiorina. She would get fewer votes than "none of the above".
2
One is a disaster and the other dangerous. My poor little vote will not go to either. The GOP is sucking air with their top 3. The have lost control clearly.
24
Once again the GOPe sowing seeds of discord. Either one is better than the est of the choices....
1
The fact of the matter is, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are two sides of the same bigoted coin, and both are as bad as each other since they both rely on hatred and fear to fuel their candidacies. Both use outdated policy ideas based on a mix of shameless bowing to the wishes of their conservative electorate and demonising of minority groups, both are stuck somewhere between the Middle Ages and the 1950s on the issues of women's rights, minority rights and gay rights, and both stick to an economic system based around making the rich richer and the poor poorer.
When it comes to being a President, Ted Trump and Donald Cruz will - unless you're a rich, white, conservative male - be your worst nightmare either way.
When it comes to being a President, Ted Trump and Donald Cruz will - unless you're a rich, white, conservative male - be your worst nightmare either way.
32
Neither one is qualified to be President.
54
Both Trump and Cruz are somewhat insane in the context of their desire, emotions, and knowledge. And they both are the real threats to our greatest America. To my judgment, Trump is bad, while Cruz is worse!
33
it seems the difference between war, and civil war, as Cruz stirs divisions among Americans.
1
Here's a great quote from an article in Salon: "Palin understands, probably better than anyone besides Donald Trump, how thinking is the enemy of the conservative populist mission. What she wants is to make you feel, to have those feelings of bitterness and misplaced entitlement wash over the crowds until they are screaming for more blood."
"Thinking is the enemy of the conservative populist mission"
If you're not a conservative populist, think about that for a moment. This is what led to "global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated by man", and "the Big Bang Theory, evolution, and embryology are lies straight from the pit of hell," and that great little nugget "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
This is what modern America and our future is up against.
"Thinking is the enemy of the conservative populist mission"
If you're not a conservative populist, think about that for a moment. This is what led to "global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated by man", and "the Big Bang Theory, evolution, and embryology are lies straight from the pit of hell," and that great little nugget "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
This is what modern America and our future is up against.
208
Let me answer the 2 questions posed at the end of the article.
Who controls the party: Wealthy puppeteers.
What does the party stand for: Power and money for the wealthy puppeteers
Who controls the party: Wealthy puppeteers.
What does the party stand for: Power and money for the wealthy puppeteers
179
Because of the gridlock created by the GOP career senators and congressmen, people have started considering so called 'outsiders' even when those candidates have no public record or experience. Mr. Cruz is a political stooge of big donors. He always call himself a 'conservative' not a 'conservative republican'. So its better to ditch him to the daycare of tea party.
Unless republican party weed out Tea party darlings from the party, i don't think, GOP has any future. Mr. Curz being one of them. They have dragged the party to far right enough that no chance of winning general election when independent voters make the final call.
Time to make a decision whether to be moderate to adapt to the needs of the public or only to a handful of big donors. Final call rest with GOP.
Unless republican party weed out Tea party darlings from the party, i don't think, GOP has any future. Mr. Curz being one of them. They have dragged the party to far right enough that no chance of winning general election when independent voters make the final call.
Time to make a decision whether to be moderate to adapt to the needs of the public or only to a handful of big donors. Final call rest with GOP.
10
I never thought I would live long enough to see Nixon look good again, in a relative sense. But here we are.
I am pretty sure paranoid, pill-popping, felonious Dick Nixon is a lot less scary that these two Damiens from Omen.
Maybe Dick Nixon is the high bar at this point. Sad.
I am pretty sure paranoid, pill-popping, felonious Dick Nixon is a lot less scary that these two Damiens from Omen.
Maybe Dick Nixon is the high bar at this point. Sad.
95
They are even making Joe McCarthy look good. His wild-eyed demagoguery only got him as far as the Senate. He couldn't the damage there that these two fire-breathing knuckleheads could do in the White House.
9
@leftcoast,
Your mention of Damien reminds me of what I've said sometimes, although this piece mentions two nightmares instead of three far right wing monsters.
If you include two Harry Potter characters, the unholy trinity of D's: Damien, Dudley and Draco.
1-22-16@1:34 am est
Your mention of Damien reminds me of what I've said sometimes, although this piece mentions two nightmares instead of three far right wing monsters.
If you include two Harry Potter characters, the unholy trinity of D's: Damien, Dudley and Draco.
1-22-16@1:34 am est
1
Just what are conservative intellectuals? How the party has worked for decades is for the benefit of the wealthy while exploiting the hate and fear of the lower class Whites.
The "think tanks" that talk about conservatives being for less government are hypocritical. They want less government when it interferes with their profits and more government when it comes to social issues that conflict with their personal religious beliefs.
The "think tanks" that talk about conservatives being for less government are hypocritical. They want less government when it interferes with their profits and more government when it comes to social issues that conflict with their personal religious beliefs.
67
I believe the technical billing for this showdown would be Alien vs. Predator.
May the best monster win.
May the best monster win.
45
If either one of them is elected, it's the aliens who'll be facing the predator.
6
Don't overlook the brilliant subhead to the film's movie poster - "Whoever wins, We lose"
24
@Stu Freeman,
You called it.
1-22-16@1:28 am est
You called it.
1-22-16@1:28 am est
2
They can always run the worse as POTUS and the much worse as VEEP. Plan B is, we petition the U.K. to take us back as a single big colony, admitting to the mother country that our two-hundred year experiment in republicanism and democracy has failed and we would like to be governed by Parliament who should appoint a governor general. Oh, and could we have single payer health insurance please and retain our nuclear arsenal?
82
Maybe the question is unanswerable because they are both loathsome in their own distinct ways. You can see Trump as a neo-fascist: no governing philosophy; only The Leader is smart enough to lead us out of horrible peril; designate scapegoats (Mexicans, Muslims) on whom to blame these horrible perils (substitute "Jews" -- sound familiar?). Cruz, on the other hand, stated the other night that he is "a Christian first and an American second" (then a conservative and a Republican). Wow, really? So apparently he really would put the interests of his religion ahead of the interests of the country. (I guess that's a "Texas value.") Isn't that unconsitutional as a violation of the "no establishment of religion" clause? He falsely claims to be a "Constitutionalist" but I honestly believe he would try to establish his rotten brand "Christianity" as the state religion, explicitly or implicitly. I want a candidate who is an "American first."
Each one worse than the other!
Each one worse than the other!
198
Berlusconi is the closest Trump analog I can think of.
Trump is a logical, inevitable endpoint on the trajectory that began with the sainted Reagan, and carried on to Bush the Lesser.
As always, Kristol amazes with his astonishing lack of self-awareness. His entire career has been devoted to feeding the tiger that Trump is now riding. Naturally, he can't walk away from the disaster fast enough. This is what passes for a "conservative" "public intellectual".
Trump is a logical, inevitable endpoint on the trajectory that began with the sainted Reagan, and carried on to Bush the Lesser.
As always, Kristol amazes with his astonishing lack of self-awareness. His entire career has been devoted to feeding the tiger that Trump is now riding. Naturally, he can't walk away from the disaster fast enough. This is what passes for a "conservative" "public intellectual".
31
I guess it's some solace to watch the disgusting spectacle of the cabal of lobbyists, whose only ideology is greed, quivering in their fear and loathing of a Cruz win.
9
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE!!!
A foundational premise of this country.
Not one pundit or debate moderator, not one!!!!, has ever questioned any of these hypocrites and terrorists about one of the most basic foundations of our constitution.
This really angers me a lot .........for their god talk alone they ought to be disqualified.
Why are the pundits and msm not calling them out on these egregious statements that
sound more like the Taliban than the USA.
The 4th estate has gone the way of the Republican Party in terms of credibility.
But the cognitive dissonance is there when ever coin and bills, court rooms etc
have "god" plastered all over them.
A foundational premise of this country.
Not one pundit or debate moderator, not one!!!!, has ever questioned any of these hypocrites and terrorists about one of the most basic foundations of our constitution.
This really angers me a lot .........for their god talk alone they ought to be disqualified.
Why are the pundits and msm not calling them out on these egregious statements that
sound more like the Taliban than the USA.
The 4th estate has gone the way of the Republican Party in terms of credibility.
But the cognitive dissonance is there when ever coin and bills, court rooms etc
have "god" plastered all over them.
5
From the perspective of a citizen who's going to have to live with the consequences, the question is better phrased as "Shall we burn the country down, or tear it down?" Neither seems very appealing.
269
It should read, "Should we burn the Democrat establishment down, or tear it down?"
It is merely an election and it may not be Hillary's turn after all. Imagine.
It is merely an election and it may not be Hillary's turn after all. Imagine.
It's like a choice between two types of terminal cancer.
4
Reading this article, the true motivation of the Republican Party is revealed. None of the arguments against either candidate has anything to do with governance. They are about power, who gets it and who gets to keep it. Ideology, principles, and policy all take a back seat, if they even matter at all. Both candidates threaten one faction or another of GOP power. The rest of us are worried about what they would do to the country.
269
The most telling part of this story is that the Republican thinkers will judge whether Trump or Cruz is the worse threat not based on which one would be a bigger disaster for the _country_, but rather, which one poses a great danger to the layers and layers of Republican party operatives.
344
ABH - anybody but Hillary.
Who cares what the establishment republicans think? They're the one's that got us into this mess.
65
"Donald Trump or Ted Cruz? Republicans Argue Over Who Is Greater Threat"
And they say Democrats and Republicans can't agree about anything! We Democrats are having the exact same argument.
Hey, it's a start.
And they say Democrats and Republicans can't agree about anything! We Democrats are having the exact same argument.
Hey, it's a start.
130
The think is, the electorate hate these two groups. They feel that they have been betrayed by the professional politicians and pundits. The electorate has ZERO faith in the likes of Paul Ryan. They are tired of watching republicans bow down to liberals, either afraid of bad press or afraid of cutting off the supply of Lobby money.
The base wants someone that reflects THEIR wishes, not the wishes of the pros or the pie in the sky elitists. Either Cruz, who fights the establishment, or Trump, who ignores and infuriates them, fits the bill.
The Elitists, the establishment, the professional "conservatives" have only themselves to blame. Next time, do what you promise...
The base wants someone that reflects THEIR wishes, not the wishes of the pros or the pie in the sky elitists. Either Cruz, who fights the establishment, or Trump, who ignores and infuriates them, fits the bill.
The Elitists, the establishment, the professional "conservatives" have only themselves to blame. Next time, do what you promise...
10
Cruz may talk about fighting the "establishment," but his wife is an Executive at Goldman Sachs and he is a lawyer making over a million a year at the same time he is supposed to be representing Texas as a Senator. And how did he make those big bucks? He was over in New Mexico defending the award of a huge sum of money in a damage case all while he claims to be against big damage awards and for tort reform. Can you spell hypocrite?
35
"The base wants someone that reflects THEIR wishes"
This statement assumes the base wants a wall between us and Mexico, deportation of 11 million human beings, more bombs and more troops in the middle east, fewer taxes for the rich (and getting richer at your/our expense), Less subsidies for necessary social costs ((medicare, medicaid, social security), more guns and assault weapons on the street, etc.
Face it: the GOP, with or without the 'base' are devoid of principle, scruples, morals and ethics, and neither Trump nor Cruz are going to make America great again...
This statement assumes the base wants a wall between us and Mexico, deportation of 11 million human beings, more bombs and more troops in the middle east, fewer taxes for the rich (and getting richer at your/our expense), Less subsidies for necessary social costs ((medicare, medicaid, social security), more guns and assault weapons on the street, etc.
Face it: the GOP, with or without the 'base' are devoid of principle, scruples, morals and ethics, and neither Trump nor Cruz are going to make America great again...
9
The people like Trump. I am a life long Republican and do not care what these snobs think. They have only 1 vote like the rest of us.
7
Which people? The bigots, the buffoons, or the bigoted buffoons? Build walls, bomb ISIS, go ahead and use the "N" word. That's an agenda?
34
I am curious to understand your position. Why do you consider an adversary to your choice as a "snob"?
3
Re: "They have only [one] vote like the rest of us."
But theirs get counted many times.
But theirs get counted many times.
3
So the story here is that the GOP is debating who is worse, Trump or Cruz, then they're going to choose the second worst person as their candidate?
219
As the Democrats!
HDNY: No, then they're going to choose the first worst.
2
This is merely a pragmatic understanding of the situation. Trump weakens the upstart Conservatives in the Republican Party, mainly because Trump isn't really a Republican.
At best Trump is a RINO. But what Trump really is, is John Galt. Trump is not out for the country, or a political party, or an ideology. Trump is out for power.
He want people to stop making fun of his hair...