Patterico's Pontifications

3/10/2016

GOP Debate Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 4:25 pm



[guest post by Dana]

So tonight, just five days before 350 delegates are up for grabs, we have another GOP debate. This time it’s coming from the University of Miami and will be aired on CNN.

I already feel exhausted just thinking about Trump spouting off about himself and how fabulous he is. I really hope one of the moderators asks him if he condones his campaign manager assaulting women.

Oh, and for what’s it’s worth, it is being reported that Ben Carson will announce his support for Trump tomorrow.

Here we go!

–Dana

A Would-Be King And A Would-Be President: Compare And Contrast

Filed under: General — Dana @ 7:34 am



[guest post by Dana]

This:

And this:

TED CRUZ: No political candidate is going to make America great again. It is not going to be Donald Trump, it is not going to be me.

The only power strong enough to restore the nation is we the people. It is not about us. It is about we the people. The idea you would take this loyalty of I and I take an oath to you, to the people—that’s who’s working for whom.

The idea that a candidate running for office wants the people to pledge loyalty to him like subjects to a king, well, we’ve had seven years of a president who thinks he is an emperor.

I’ve got to say, the only hand-raising I’m interested in is on January 20, 2017, when I hope to raise my right hand and have my left hand sitting on the Bible when I make a promise, a pledge to every American to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

–Dana

UPDATE BY PATTERICO: This is as good a place as any to note that Ted Cruz yesterday was endorsed by Carly Fiorina, who told an entertaining story about seeing her own name on the ballot, and then voting for Cruz instead:

“I walked into the ballot box and I looked at the ballot and I saw my own name on the ballot. It was kind of a thrill,” she told the crowd. “But then I checked the box for Ted Cruz, and I’m here to tell you why.”

Mark Levin also endorsed:

People are starting to realize that Cruz is the only realistic alternative to Trump.

If we could just get Marco Rubio and John Kasich to realize that, we’d really be getting somewhere.

Michelle Fields Explains What Happened At The Trump Press Conference

Filed under: General — Dana @ 6:16 am



[guest post by Dana]

In her own words:

On Tuesday night, I went to cover Donald Trump’s press conference at the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida. I was looking to cover the event like I have covered many live political events for Breitbart News, including an uneventful Trump press conference in Palm Beach the week before.

Addressing the gathered reporters and the nation at large, Trump was in an especially jovial mood Tuesday night. The networks just declared he had won the Mississippi Republican primary and, during his speech, that he won Michigan Republican primary as well.

I wasn’t called upon to ask a question during the televised press conference, but afterwards Trump wandered around, stopping at every reporter to take their questions. When he approached me, I asked him about his view on an aspect of affirmative action.

Trump acknowledged the question, but before he could answer I was jolted backwards. Someone had grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground, but was able to maintain my balance. Nonetheless, I was shaken.

The Washington Post’s Ben Terris immediately remarked that it was Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who aggressively tried to pull me to the ground. I quickly turned around and saw Lewandowski and Trump exiting the building together. No apology. No explanation for why he did this.

Even if Trump was done taking questions, Lewandowski would be out of line. Campaign managers aren’t supposed to try to forcefully throw reporters to the ground, no matter the circumstance. But what made this especially jarring is that there was no hint Trump was done taking questions. No one was pushing him to get away. He seemed to have been happily answering queries from my fellow reporters just a moment before.

Lewandowski is no stranger to hostile behavior on the campaign trail, and Trump is no stranger to condoning it. And it’s not like Fields was a protester that Trump’s plainclothes private intelligence officers had ferreted out and sought to expel from the event.

Fields does not mention that she has filed a police report.

As of this writing, the Trump campaign has apparently not offered an apology to Fields nor fired Lewandowski. And as of this writing, I cannot find where the candidate, known for madly tweeting about anything and everything to do with himself, has mentioned the matter either.

–Dana

UPDATE BY PATTERICO: CNN should ask Trump tonight about the assault. Then, they should have Michelle Fields re-ask the question she was trying to ask Trump about Scalia.


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