GOP Today: Four States And 150 Delegates
[guest post by Dana]
There are a total of 150 delegates at stake tonight in the four states of Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, and Mississippi. You can follow the numbers here at Decision Desk HQ. Fox News is reporting that early exit polls show Michigan late-deciders are breaking for Kasich (35%) and Cruz (31%).
And, wow:
Donald Trump holds a narrow, three-point lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows, but the data also reveal potential cracks in his support.
The New York businessman is the top choice of 30% of likely Republican primary voters nationally, the poll finds, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, at 27%.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich has 22%, while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has 20%, according to the poll.
Ted Cruz clearly hasn’t been just cruzin’ his way through the campaign, and his hard work shows. As for Rubio, well, I am really starting to feel sorry for him.
Interestingly, according to a survey released today, while Trump may be leading the pack, it’s not all sunshine and roses:
The bad news [for Trump] is either senator still in the Republican presidential race, Ted Cruz of Texas or Marco Rubio of Florida, would easily beat him in a head-to-head matchup.
The survey, released Tuesday as GOP voters head to polls in Michigan, Mississippi, Idaho and Hawaii, lends credence to the argument that both Cruz and Rubio have been making against one another: Trump can be defeated in a two-man race, so you should drop out.
In hypothetical two-way matchups, Cruz leads Trump by 54-41 percent and Rubio leads Trump by 51-45 percent in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates. While the latter lead isn’t statistically significant, both are further signs of the apparent limits to Trump’s popularity within his party. Indeed, among non-Trump supporters, seven in 10 say they’d prefer Cruz, and as many say they’d pick Rubio, in head-to-head contests.
All those saluting pledge-takers is making someone optimistic!
–Dana
UPDATE BY PATTERICO: Apparently Fox has called Mississippi for Trump and he is sweeping Michigan.
Hello.
Dana (86e864) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:15 pmCan you start posting which states are allotting proportional delegates vs the winner take all model?
Dejectedhead (81690d) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:16 pmNo states today are winner-take-all.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:22 pmGOP rules prohibited winner-take-all contests before March 15. But FL & OH will be winner-take-all on that day.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:23 pmBut isn’t Michigan a bit different, in that if a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, he gets all 59 delegates?
Dana (86e864) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:27 pmUPDATE BY PATTERICO: Apparently Fox has called Mississippi for Trump and he is sweeping Michigan.
Patterico (86c8ed) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:30 pmYes,Dana, but he won’t
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:31 pmlil roobs is doing so so bad tonight
so embarrassed for him
and all those people who though he could dick joke his way to the white house?
boy was that a boner
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:39 pm*thought* i mean
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:39 pmFox’ call in MS must be based entirely on exit polling. Less than 1% of the vote is in yet. I’m not saying it’s wrong, but I’m still watching the returns, thank you.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:40 pmTrump’s win in MS brought to you courtesy of Trent Lott.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:42 pmYou’re just jealous because you don’t have a throatwarbler mangrove and he does.
nk (dbc370) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:43 pmTrump’s win in MS brought to you courtesy of Trent Lott.
pls to explain for the slower kids thanks
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:43 pmMy hope from this weekend is fading fast.
Patterico (86c8ed) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:43 pmIt’s not over until Chris Christie sings.
nk (dbc370) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:48 pmCalling Michigan for Trump is just a formality waiting until 6 pm Pacific when all the polls there are closed.
Patterico (86c8ed) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:49 pmRubio at 1.5% in Mississippi.
Patterico (86c8ed) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:49 pmMake book. 2016 tickets:
Trump/Kasich vs. Clinton/Castro.
Trump wins by 2.6% of popular vote.
DCSCA (a343d5) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:50 pmTrent left so many MS Republicans upset the way he sleazed his way to a victory in the 2014 primary, with the backing of the GOPe, that they would vote for anyone the powers that be hate.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:50 pmRubio is done. There’s that.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:52 pmTrent Lott or Thad Cochran?
Patterico (86c8ed) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:52 pmPlease drop out, Marco, this is becoming too painful to watch.
Dana (86e864) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:52 pmRubio doing so poorly in Michigan and Mississippi, may not qualify for any delegates. Will that cause him to pull out of the race?
Dana (86e864) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:56 pmRubio is young and evidently needs to learn the hard way on how and when to step down.
steveg (fed1c9) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:58 pmIt is not his time.
My opinion, likely to be much abused… is: Cruz should step down in short too.
Ted, they are not going to make you the nominee…. ever
@22. Alamo Marco will not drop. If running for President was a step on the career ladder to getting elected God, Marco would use the 747 at our expense and never show up for work in the Oval Office.
DCSCA (a343d5) — 3/8/2016 @ 5:59 pmMoments ago, Carson was beating Rubio in Mississippi.
Carson.
Patterico (86c8ed) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:01 pmSorry, my bad, I get them confused. Thad Cochran.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:09 pmcochran, lott, the two heads of cerberus,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:09 pmTed, they are not going to make you the nominee…. ever
“They” are not going to make Trump the nominee either.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:11 pmAnd here is your hoped for ground swell, a fracking rumble.
The polling was suspect going in but now we see thru March 15 reality bites. Trump and Cruz must unify at some point or a victory for the Right is just another sticky spot on the laptop screen.
DNF (755a85) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:11 pmhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWphqA1Slrw
voiceofreason (494009) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:11 pmyes yes Mr. Cruz would make a very thoughtful vice president choice i think
Mr. Trump is nothing if not magnanimous
Mr. Cruz probably just needs to ask nicely
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:14 pmABC: Trump takes Mich. and MS.
Dana (86e864) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:16 pmMy bet is Trump asks Sanders to join him as the VP pick. Cherry on top and all…..
voiceofreason (494009) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:18 pmIn MI the anti-Trump vote is split between Cruz and Kasich.
Trump is, well he was, being more presidential in his speech tonight,
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:19 pmbut the more he talks he starts slipping a bit…
That would work for me. Paul Ryan two heartbeats, which might be all the two Geritol junkies have, away from the Presidency.
nk (dbc370) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:21 pm30 Happyfeet
With Cruz as VP his new buddy Lindsay Graham and Paul Ryan can cook up an impeachment and Shazam!
pinandpuller (0845e7) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:22 pmRubio curb stomped and ted swatted aside like a bug. Every body got their wish. Heil trump.
spokanebob (494009) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:30 pmAs I said, the more Trump speaks…
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:31 pmhe doesn’t know when to stop,
and that reveals more of who he really is.
37 MD
I guess he will stop speaking when he stops winning.
pinandpuller (a12946) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:37 pmAs I said, the more Trump speaks…
he doesn’t know when to stop,
and that reveals more of who he really is.
But the press will keep mum until the general election and then it will be 24/7 Stormtroopers.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:37 pmFair point, MD. Less is often more.
Bugg (3ae93d) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:38 pmTrump: “Marco helped me a lot because he called Ted a liar.”
Yup.
Also, exit polls show Cruz would have thumped Trump in Michigan in a head to head race.
GET OUT RUBIO!
Patterico (86c8ed) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:38 pmDonald Trump: Fighting for your right to be vulgar, too!
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:47 pmyou see they don’t think strategically, except which vertebra do you put the kris knife,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:49 pmSad so many “conservatives” are falling for the cult of personality that is Trump, just like so many liberals fell for Obama.
I have hope that we will at least get to a brokered convention.
Patrick Henry, the 2nd (ddead1) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:49 pmSo are operators standing by so I can order me up some o’ them steaks?
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:51 pm“Jeb Bush’s brother Neil joins Ted Cruz’s finance team”
Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign is getting some help from the Bush family.
Neil Bush, the brother of former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who dropped out of the presidential race last month, has joined Cruz’s finance team.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/03/08/jeb-bushs-brother-neil-joins-ted-cruzs-finance-team/
cruz is getting more establishmentey every day…
sound awake (6ad1ec) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:53 pmugh he got bushied up
that’s soooo gratuitous
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:55 pm@ sound awake, who wrote (#46) that “cruz is getting more establishmentey every day”:
You’ve got that exactly backwards.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:56 pmhes literally married to goldman sachs and the council on foreign relations
now he has a bush on his team
that doesnt make him less establishment
it makes him more establishment
it stinks
sound awake (6ad1ec) — 3/8/2016 @ 6:59 pmEarly in his speech, Trump noted that one GOP primary had more than doubled its turnout from 2012.
That was Texas. He didn’t mention that.
The man radiates dishonesty. It wafts from him like gas from a rotting corpse.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:01 pmNo, sound awake. If Ted Cruz had changed some position, made some compromise, sold out some little piece of himself to get Neil Bush to join his campaign, that would have meant that Ted Cruz was becoming more “establishmentey.”
The fact that Neil Bush wants to join Ted Cruz’ team, volunteers to do so, and does so ahead of the other #NeverTrump members of the GOP (as a leading indicator) means that the establishment is reconciling itself to Ted Cruz even though he’s not one of them.
Calm down, the black helicopters aren’t coming for you tonight, dude.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:04 pmIf you want to talk about who’s pandering desperately to try to make himself look acceptable to the GOP Establishment: Did you watch that nauseating Trump “press conference” just now?
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:06 pmHow about that pig roast down in Georgia with all the connected a-holes thinking they are going to grease the voters. I have a torch for these pompous elites.
mg (31009b) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:06 pmhes even more connected to goldman sachs than hillary clinton hes actually married to it
sound awake (6ad1ec) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:07 pmi’m curious who wins idaho
it’s such a pretty state
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:08 pmBeldar- Trump is no worse than traitor ryan and the rest of team republican.
mg (31009b) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:08 pmhes trying to get rubio and kasich votes dude its pretty obvious
sound awake (6ad1ec) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:09 pm47 Sound Awake
Neil Bush knows how to make deals. He cost the taxpayers 1.3 billion dollars and he only had to pay $50,000
I don’t think there’s any doubt Ted Cruz believes in redemption and could stand up as Trump’s VP.
Neil Bush is only one wife behind Trump and he has a thing for Thai hookers.
He’s staying next door to Erin Andrews tonight in a Holiday Inn Express.
pinandpuller (928ad9) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:09 pmHow about the sixth Marx Brother thus far running ahead of Her Majesty in Michigan? It might not hold up, as perhaps the major urban areas haven’t yet reported.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:10 pmHow high up in the company is she? a VP? a board member? A controlling stock holder?
I think none of the above. Yeah, my wife’s brother was a Ford mid-level exec, which meant we could get a good deal on a Ford, that didn’t mean a whole lot more than that.
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:11 pmCrater of the Moon National Wilderness area is outstanding, happyfeet.
mg (31009b) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:12 pmCruz as Trump’s VP. I’m going to go out there to see if there any pigs flying in my neighborhood.
nk (dbc370) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:13 pmFriends love Romney for opening his pie-hole. They think between Romney and the georgia pig roast Trump is a lock. More people are showing up with the middle fingers blazing at you Rove, Ryan lovers.
mg (31009b) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:15 pmHeidi had been VP for seven years before she became the Region Head for the Southwest Region in the Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs in Houston.
nk (dbc370) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:16 pmAlso, exit polls show Cruz would have thumped Trump in Michigan in a head to head race.
GET OUT RUBIO!
To be fair, Patterico, at this point it is John Kasich who is doing the most damage to Cruz in Michigan by capturing 25% of the vote as opposed to Rubio’s measly 9%.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:17 pmSound Awake
If Neil Bush could show Hillary the right routing numbers she could get her Goldman Sachs direct deposit like Heidi Cruz.
pinandpuller (928ad9) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:18 pmi’m home already it was exhausting – got sick so we sped it up – already almost recovered though
moab was super neat and the drive up the river on the 128 is very very special
got to explore cisco utah a little
everything else was just me playing tour guide for places I already been to
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:18 pmhere’s a lil piece of americana for you
With 62% of the vote in, Sanders holds a small 14k vote lead over Clinton. Wouldn’t that be something if Sanders holds on to win after Hillary!’s nasty demagoguery of him on the auto bailouts?
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:19 pm“In 2005, she joined Goldman Sachs, serving as a private wealth manager[25] and is currently the Region Head for the Southwest Region in the Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs in Houston.[1][19][26] Peter Conway, Cruz’s employer, assisted in her recruitment and was impressed by her being among the first to arrive and last to leave, remembering her doing well in a field of men. Conway would later recommend her to lead the office.
**Cruz used politics to gain common ground with her clients and deployed her husband to join her in meeting with potential investors.***
She had served as vice president for seven years before the promotion in 2013.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Cruz
sound awake (6ad1ec) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:19 pmWe’ll see what happens…
Trump is aiming to win on first vote, having gained enough delegates in the primaries,
(us) Cruz supporters would have liked to have seen Marco drop out early enough for Cruz to go head to head with Trump and win
Kasich thinks he is going to peel off enough delegates (along with Cruz) to keep trump from winning on the first vote and think people will consolidate around him (perhaps for VP, if he can’t get the P)
he looked pretty good in MI, assuming it holds up
If he can actually win Ohio he might make a case for being on the ticket
And then again, what really is going to happen we’ll have to wait and see.
maybe Trump will get a new slogan…
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:20 pm“A (Trump) Steak on Every Grill”…
I’m rooting for Bernie in MI and indeed throughout the rest of the Dem primaries, but it ain’t gonna happen. My rooting is purely strategic: I want Bernie to continue to push Hillary hard to the left through and including the Dem convention.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:20 pmmg… bringin’ teh love… so much love, it’s all around us…
Colonel Haiku (d1ec67) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:20 pmMnt. Biker, happyfeet? Moab? I never would have guessed it.
mg (31009b) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:21 pmIn 2003, she worked for the Bush administration on economic policy,[1][20] eventually becoming the director for the Western Hemisphere on the National Security Council under National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice in 2003.
sound awake (6ad1ec) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:21 pm@ sound awake: Name one thing in Ted Cruz’ campaign platform that you think Goldman Sachs might possibly like. Just one.
You make Jon Snow look like a genius. You know nothing, sound awake.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:22 pmyeah thats right hes not establishment hes just married to it thats not the same thing
sound awake (6ad1ec) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:22 pmbut trump made some ties in china…thats terrible…
sound awake (6ad1ec) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:22 pmThanks, sound awake,
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:23 pmwell, she is higher than my brother in law at Ford and higher than I thought
still, she is not the head of the dog
i just love the west and hiking and stuff, but no hiking on this trip
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:23 pmClintoon has no shot against Trump or Cruz. Although she will beat anyone else.
mg (31009b) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:23 pmIt is all over for the establishment republicans. Hip-Hip-Hooray.
mg (31009b) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:24 pmCruz has now passed Kasich in MI.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:25 pmSanders has increased his lead to 20,000 votes with 67% reported.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:25 pmIdaho is a pretty state, Hf. You probably shouldn’t joke about that.
I mean, it’s effin, gorgeous.
Steve57 (c2ddfd) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:25 pmUp by almost 22,000 with 69% reported.
I mean, come on: the Clinton machine must have the ability to manufacture at least 75,000 votes if need be, right?
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:26 pmCruz has now passed Kasich in MI.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:25 pm
Now that’s encouraging, if Cruz can beat Kasich in a state he thinks he is strong in…
but Kasich will stay in through Ohio, I would be very surprised if he doesn’t,
and if he gives it to trump by splitting with Cruz…
like I said, something will happen, and we will see what it is
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:28 pmG’nite
Here’s an interesting figure to mull over. Right now there have been just under 800,000 votes cast on the GOP side, with only 56% reported. The Dems have a little under 700,000 votes cast with 71% reported.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:29 pmsound awake: You didn’t answer my question. You didn’t even try.
You can’t.
Do you have any idea how many VPs a company like Goldman Sachs has? Do you know how invested — literally, to the tune of billions of dollars — a company like Goldman Sachs is in preserving the status quo?
Goldman Sachs would be perfectly happy with either Hillary or with Trump/Kasich/Rubio. This isn’t about who Ted Cruz is married to. She’s a tiny cog in an enormous machine, albeit a very competent and successful one (in a very competent and wealthy company). But the real world doesn’t work the way things work in your fevered fantasies.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:30 pmTrump claiming tonight that he is a very “highly principled person”, and the fact that people actually believe that a very highly principled person looks and behaves like the vulgar and dishonest Donald Trump, says more about the American voter than it does about a narcissist. It’s what I would expect from him. I would have, once upon a time, expected more from my fellow citizens. Especially with so much at stake.
Dana (86e864) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:30 pmSanders holding on to 21,000 vote lead with 71% reported.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:30 pmThe Cruz campaign spent a grand total of something like $1100 in Michigan. That’s not $1 million one hundred thousand. That’s the cost of a couple of dozen pizza parties.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:32 pmCol.- I am livid with Romney care, my wife and I just lost are Doctors of the last 20 years. And they want my wife to drive 4 hours round trip to see her new Dr. Through Boston. They are going to have an experience meeting me when I barge into their office. My level of hate for him and his ghost writer Gruber is through the roof.
mg (31009b) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:32 pmUgh. Little Debbie Washerwoman was on Fox and referenced Trump talking about his “manhood” (in her words ).
Dana (86e864) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:32 pmit gets worse…or better i guess if youre all in for cruz:
this is dated 2005
“HEIDI S. CRUZ is an energy investment banker with **Merrill Lynch** in Houston, Texas. She served in the Bush White House under Dr. Condoleezza Rice as the Economic Director for the Western Hemisphere at the National Security Council, as the Director of the Latin America Office at the **U.S. Treasury Department**, and as Special Assistant to Ambassador Robert B. Zoellick, U.S. Trade Representative. Prior to government service, Ms. Cruz was an investment banker with **J.P. Morgan** in New York City.”
http://www.cfr.org/canada/building-north-american-community/p8102
evidently while she was at cfr she was on some task force and she helped write some policy paper on the merits of some kind of “north american community”
nothing to see here…move along
sound awake (6ad1ec) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:33 pmWhat the heck???
I just saw this:
Ted Cruz 69.5%
—
Donald Trump 14.7% 259,702
John Kasich 10.3% 182,261
Marco Rubio 3.8% 67,405
Precincts Reporting
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:33 pm44.9%
Total Votes
729,187
538 — oh, excuse me, FiveThirtyEight — put Her Clintonic Majesty as a 99% chance of winning Michigan and forecast that her taking 60% of the vote was the most likely scenario. Imagine the egg on their face if these results hold up.
But I’m still guessing that Hillary’s people will “find” 75,000 uncounted votes for her very soon.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:33 pmPlus a $300.00 a month increase. Romney and Gruber are no 1 and 2 in Howie’s death pool.
mg (31009b) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:34 pmMust have been a glitch, trump back on top
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:35 pmSanders up 23,000 votes (50.6% to 47.5%) with 75% reported.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:35 pmso this seems like iowa again, for red queen,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:36 pmhis WIFE is in his platform
they probably like that
its kinda neat having direct access to the president through his wife who works for you
nothing to see here…move along…these arent the establishment underpinnings youre looking for…
sound awake (6ad1ec) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:36 pmAnswer my question, sound awake, or admit that you can’t.
Name one thing in Ted Cruz’ campaign platform that you think Goldman Sachs might possibly like. Just one.
(Hint: Admit that you can’t.)
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:37 pmSo you think Goldman Sachs would be thrilled with the abolition of the IRS and the elimination of all of their clients’ and their own private shareholders’ (effectively partners’) tax deductions and loopholes?
Spit it out, dude, or admit that you’re full of it.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:38 pmNever mind. It’s obvious to everyone that you’re full of it. I regret wasting my time conversing with you, sound awake.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:40 pmyeah…goldman sachs…which is the establishment…is so unhappy with cruz…theyre spending all their time and energy trying to run TRUMP out of the race…yeah…thats it…
sound awake (6ad1ec) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:40 pmYou aren’t using ellipses correctly, sound awake.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:41 pmpro tip:
when youre wrong just admit it and move on everybody is getting bored with you
sound awake (6ad1ec) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:41 pmsound awake, do you find yourself shouting at the television set a great deal?
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:43 pmSanders up 25,000 votes with 78% reported.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:44 pm44… just like so many liberals fell for Obama
So who should the Democrats picked in 2008? Clinton, Edwards?
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:45 pmHillary! has a nearly 24,000 vote lead in Wayne County (where Detroit is located). She’s slightly up in the Detroit suburbs of Oakland County. But Sanders seems to be consistently hammering her in the smaller counties where all the white liberals live, getting 55-60% of the vote in most of them.
Sanders is now up 30,000 votes with 81% reported. Amazing.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:49 pmSo who should the Democrats picked in 2008? Clinton, Edwards?
Speaking as a nasty right-wingnut, it would seem that Hillary! was a way more attractive candidate in 2008 than she is today. Of course she got overwhelmed by a cult of personality candidate that year, much as might be happening tonight.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:50 pmIf Sanders is up by 30,000 votes with 90% in, it’s hard to see how Hillary! legitimately catches up. Any final influx of votes for her would have to be seen as questionable.
Right now he is still up by 30k with 84% reported.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:53 pmDemocrats with 85% of vote reported — 830,000 votes
Republicans with 68% of vote reported — 975,000 votes
Maybe some Dems are crossing over to vote for Old Whazizzname, or maybe the GOP really does have all the motivation this spring.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:57 pm92. There is no question whatever that Trump’s success to date is on the GOPe.
Moreover, when at Convention Trump is left holding the bag no credibility will attach to the result however furiously you spin it.
Romany filed with the FEC on Fegruary 1st.
DNF (755a85) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:58 pmWHAT are you talking about???
Gerald A (7c7ffb) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:02 pm114. You are rather careless with your reasoning.
DNF (755a85) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:04 pm114. You are rather careless with your reasoning.
Please enlighten me, then.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:05 pmthis was perhaps a poor acquisition,
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/25/bush.brother.reut/
not to mention his part in marketing ignite, the nclb template,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:05 pmWith 90% of the vote reported, Hillary! has cut Sanders’ lead down to 24,000 votes. Here’s where her people steal it.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:07 pmCNN’s live odds tracker has Sanders as a 90% likelihood of winning Michigan, so they aren’t nearly as paranoid about the Clinton machine’s sleazy ways as I am.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:10 pmnarciso, it’s not an “acquisition.” Cruz didn’t hire Neil Bush. Neil Bush volunteered to help Cruz raise money.
Why would you expect Cruz to turn away that sort of help?
I repeat, it’s a good thing that someone as quintessentially establishment as Jeb’s & Dubya’s brother chooses to support Cruz. It’s not a knock on Cruz, it’s an indication that the Cruz insurgency is being recognized by the GOP establishment figures like the Bushes as the only remaining alternative to Trump
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:10 pm102Name one thing in Ted Cruz’ campaign platform that you think Goldman Sachs might possibly like. Just one.
His tax policy and court picks. Both of which can be expected to favor rich people.
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:11 pm118. “some Dems are crossing over to vote for Old Whazizzname, or maybe the GOP really does have all the motivation this spring.”
Indies are a larger group than either major and the Trump vote is manifestly anti-GOP, certainly a strong current in the Cruz faithful as well.
If you cannot unify the Trump and Cruz voters but retain the partisans you will lose this edge in turnout guaranteed.
The GOPe on anyone’s team means a loss.
DNF (755a85) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:12 pm112Speaking as a nasty right-wingnut, it would seem that Hillary! was a way more attractive candidate in 2008 than she is today. …
Other than being 8 years older, how has she changed? Do you think she would have been a better President than Obama?
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:15 pmyeah because the LAST THING that goldman sachs wants is one of their own married to the guy that may or may not appoint the next chairman of the federal reserve or secretary of the treasury or the attorney general…
sound awake (17e4e3) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:16 pmCol.- I am livid with Romney care, my wife and I just lost are Doctors of the last 20 years. And they want my wife to drive 4 hours round trip to see her new Dr. Through Boston. They are going to have an experience meeting me when I barge into their office. My level of hate for him and his ghost writer Gruber is through the roof.
Yeah, because Romney forced that plan “he wrote” through an unwilling 80% Dem legislature and his vetoes that they overrode were just for camouflage. But you can’t blame yourself for continuing to life in a state that’s run by crazy people, so you blame the rear guard for not stopping the rampaging horde.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:16 pm122. Spin like you’ve never spun before.
DNF (755a85) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:17 pm@ James Shearer: How does eliminating tax deductions and radically simplifying the tax code, making it simple and completely transparent, favor rich people?
To the contrary, it’s the only way to ensure that rich people are actually paying what they owe.
As for SCOTUS picks, your comment simply makes no sense. Perhaps you can explain why a constitutional conservative in the mold of Scalia would favor rich people.
My goodness, the stupidity quotient is approaching 1.0 in the Trumpites tonight.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:18 pmSo who should the Democrats picked in 2008? Clinton, Edwards?
McCain. Then we could have picked a Republican.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:18 pmI repeat, it’s a good thing that someone as quintessentially establishment as Jeb’s & Dubya’s brother chooses to support Cruz. It’s not a knock on Cruz, it’s an indication that the Cruz insurgency is being recognized by the GOP establishment figures like the Bushes as the only remaining alternative to Trump
no…they see a campaign and a candidate that they can co-opt…
sound awake (7316fb) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:20 pmheidi is a malevolent force that sucks happiness from small children and putrefies the hopes of anyone who dares harbor a dream
a dream that together we can make America great again
and I have a problem with that
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:20 pmIndies are a larger group than either major and the Trump vote is manifestly anti-GOP, certainly a strong current in the Cruz faithful as well.
According to the CNN exit poll, the independent vote is shaping up pretty much in the exact same proportions as the votes from Republicans. Your guy is currently at 37% of the vote with a 34% share of independents, Kasich and Curz are both at 24% of the overall vote with a 27% and 23% shares of independents, respectively.
The interesting data point is that almost 1 in 3 votes in the GOP primary this year have been cast by independents. Again, a sign of enthusiasm on the Republican side, that may or may not last until November.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:20 pm127. There is no white-washing Romanycare, designed to lift hundreds of millions in Federal dollars to subsidize wealthy MA.
He is and shall remain a scumbag.
DNF (755a85) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:20 pmnothing to see here…move along
Hey, sound awake, do you hide under the bed when the Trilateral Commission meets?
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:20 pmno he hired gruber, who wrote the plan, just as with gina mccarthy, the future kevorkian of coal, why do you think ted kennedy was smiling at the bill ceremony, trump like gingrich has vague notions, but he actually implemented policy.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:21 pmWell, here we go: Crunch time.
For Mr. Cruz to win, then he needs to earn it: lead, find a way, excel against adversity. He needs to out-think his opponents.
An obvious way to make it happen: Go to Rubio and offer him VP. Should not be too hard to convince Rubio: “You’re career is over with/without FL. Join me. If we lose, then you still have life for the future (blame loss on me), and if we win, you’ll be VP and have the youth to run in 8.”
In the general election, two Hispanic Americans, one popular with conservatives and one popular with women, Cruz should win this.
Something like that, but now is the time to figure it out.
Pons Asinorum (49e2e8) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:21 pm@ sound awake: Name one time when Ted Cruz has been coopted.
Again, put up or shut up.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:21 pmMeanwhile, Hillary! has cut the margin down to 17,000 votes with 92% reporting. Here comes the heist.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:21 pmcruz is doing good in idaho so far
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:23 pmAre there any sane Trump supporters? Maybe there are but I guess they don’t go on the internet much…
Gerald A (7c7ffb) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:23 pmpaul ryan was the greatest thing to the conservative movement at one time…tea party favorite and all…they HATE him now
as soon as he got any real power he went full rino
cruz doing the same thing cannot be ruled out and is actually at least as likely as not going to happen
but hey trump made some ties in china so vote for cruz i guess
sound awake (ee03e5) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:24 pm@ sound awake: It’s your guy, Trump, who brags about bribing politicians. It’s your guy, Trump, who changes his position on things as significant as abortion rights or the Second Amendment with the blowing winds.
Trump brags that he’ll change, that he’ll become politically correct, that he’ll cut deals.
My goodness, such nonsense! You know, you probably should go outside now. Breathe deeply and look for the black helicopters.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:24 pmoh my goodness Mr. A you be all doing the ad hominems on people
pls to rise above this
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:24 pmCNN’s odds tracker now has Kasich down to only a 45% probability of winning second. They still have Sanders as a 92% probability of beating Hillary! tonight.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:25 pmSanders has now dropped to 87% probability of winning. Ominous.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:27 pmwell she learned the lesson of 2008, which doc brown’s cadre, are learning now,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:27 pmAnd now somehow Sanders is back up by 27,000 votes, yet it still says only 92% in. I find Michigan Democrats to be rather hard to comprehend.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:29 pmCNN now has Kasich as only 26% likely to take second place. Sanders is at 85% likely to win on the Dem side.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:30 pmAgain, this is an open primary where voters don’t have to chose a party until they cast their ballot. Lots of opportunity for Democrats to choose the worst possible Republican.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:30 pmCruz now up in Idaho.
Patterico (86c8ed) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:31 pmcruz is doing good in idaho so far
A closed primary.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:31 pmDemocrats at 92% reported are right at one million votes cast.
Republicans at 78% reported are a little over 1.1 million votes cast.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:31 pmyou cant even read much less make a rational argument
establishment boys are like that
cant think for themselves
slaves and zombie followers of the gop establishment the lot of them
sound awake (67d144) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:31 pmAn ad hominem is a fallacious argument in opposition to someone’s claim. I was just asking a question.
Gerald A (7c7ffb) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:33 pmCruz passing Kasich in Michigan.
GET OUT KASICH
Patterico (86c8ed) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:33 pmSanders up 22,000 votes at 94% reported; CNN has him back up to 91% probability of victory.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:34 pmA.P. has called Michigan for Sanders.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:34 pmSorry to hear of your troubles, mg. however, I agree with Kevin, I would’ve left there a long, long time ago.
Colonel Haiku (d1ec67) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:34 pmCNN now has Kasich as only a 6% probability of taking second in Michigan.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:34 pmI know, I just saw Brit Hume tweeting that out.
As he said: wow.
Patterico (86c8ed) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:34 pmI guess it should be a sign that I’m wasting my time when the person who’s debating me can’t be bothered to punctuate or capitalize the English language, much less conduct a coherent argument in it.
Mea culpa. I need to remind myself, or friends to remind me: Illegitimi non carborundum.
(I know it’s faux Latin, but it’s still good advice.)
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:36 pmFox has also called it for Sanders. CNN still not yet ready.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:36 pmDoes anyone here think this puts Bernie back into contention for the Dem nomination? ‘Cause I don’t.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:37 pmWho are you addressing?
I haven’t seen anything that could even be called an argument from you. It’s more like random thoughts (or pasting large blocks of text).
Gerald A (7c7ffb) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:37 pmHow many states that early voting, and how big is that? In LA we all know that voters the day of were more for Cruz than early
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:38 pmIt does show how weak HRC is.
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:39 pmI reserve my dislike for liberal Democrats, or “progressives”, whatever their preference.
Colonel Haiku (d1ec67) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:39 pm129.@ James Shearer: How does eliminating tax deductions and radically simplifying the tax code, making it simple and completely transparent, favor rich people?
As I understand it Cruz would cut taxes which favors people who pay taxes.
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:39 pmi never said he was co-opted i said that the establishment sees something that could be co-opted
you know like trump could be a nazi
sound awake (9e7ba0) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:39 pmThe richest people hire tax lawyers,
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:41 pmThey have the most to lose with a simplified tax code
And their accountants…
doc brown was prescient on two issues, he was against the 07 amnesty bill, and against the auto bailout, hillary was for both, the second had butterfly effect type consequences,
tactically trump’s stands help him in the deep south and in the midwest, and those voters are loyal, they don’t waver, the other houses in westeros, they move to and fro, emotions and analysis shouldn’t mix,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:42 pmThank you, Mr. Shearer. Now that I know how simplistic and childlike your understanding of the tax system is, I’ll not waste my time trying to educate you further.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:42 pmDoes anyone here think this puts Bernie back into contention for the Dem nomination? ‘Cause I don’t.
In the long run, no, but this definitely should be something for Hillary! to worry about. Every time it looks like she is going to pull away and cruise to victory, voters seems to get skittish and abandon her. FiveThirtyEight had her as a 99% probability of winning the Michigan primary going into this. For her to lose demonstrates that her support is way weaker than polls are indicating (all of the polls that FiveThirtyEight were analyzing showed her with a lead ranging from 5% to 23% ). She now has to keep at it and working to shore up her own party, rather than having some time to try to fix her legal problems and plot for the general election.
I may write up a post on this. Probably won’t get to it tonight though.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:42 pmThe most meaningful races in Mississippi and Michigan may be for the non-gold medals. Er, make that non-medals.
Rubio has defeated Ben Carson by 3 points to take 4th place in Mississippi, and looks set to beat Carson again in Michigan, again securing 4th place by an even wider margin (7 points) over Carson. Personally, I think Carson’s decision to exit the race last week may have hurt him in vote totals tonight, but he’s still coming closer to Rubio’s numbers than he has in the past. With numbers like these, Rubio may be a strong favorite to take Guam before this race is over.
Cruz leading by 7 in Idaho with 17% in, but not called yet.
Arizona CJ (da673d) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:44 pm@ MD [in] Philly: Yes, indeed, that is why rich people hire those CPAs and tax lawyers and lobbyists.
For very rich people who aren’t taking advantage of loopholes and shelters and accounting tricks, then yes, perhaps Ted Cruz’ tax cuts would end up actually cutting the total amount they pay in taxes.
But that’s a tiny, tiny sliver of the Venn diagram. Rich people who don’t find and use tax breaks and tricks end up becoming poor.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:44 pmdoc brown was prescient on two issues, he was against the 07 amnesty bill, and against the auto bailout. . .
Aw, the only reason he was against the auto bailout is because he says it was folded up in the legislation to bail out the banks. He intimated in the Flint debate that he would have supported legislation to bail out the auto industry had it been a stand-alone bill and not tied up with the banks.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:45 pm129As for SCOTUS picks, your comment simply makes no sense. Perhaps you can explain why a constitutional conservative in the mold of Scalia would favor rich people.
In general by supporting the status quo which favors rich people. More specifically by opposing the plaintiff’s bar which is anti-business and anti-rich people. Whose judges would be more supportive of lawsuits to extract money from rich people and businesses based on tenuous legal theories?
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:46 pmsound awake he might join. He wouldn’t believe.
Steve57 (c2ddfd) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:47 pmCNN calls it for Sanders too.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:47 pmSon #2 (almost) CPA has been doing more corporate stuff…
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:48 pmyeah you know youre right i guess every us president should be married to a too big to fail bank executive
nothing wrong with that
lets get the tea party favorite turned rino paul ryan to introduce a bill to make it a requirement to run for president
ted cruz would vote for it in the senate
sound awake (67813a) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:48 pmSo, I buckled down and watched the Fox town hall last night with Hillary and Bernie. Without going into the magic beans aspects of their proposals, Bernie was at least forthright about what he wanted to do (freeeeeee! and the rich will pay for it all !!!) while Hillary was playing 3-card monte.
Bernie is more earnest about what he wants to do than Hillary and this makes him far more believable.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:50 pmgood night ladies
sound awake (d017ae) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:51 pmThe only way that Sanders can get the nomination is if Hillary looks like a loser to Cruz. I don’t think she’ll look like a loser against Trump since the GOP division there is unlikely to heal.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:54 pmMr. Shearer, the SCOTUS is not important because of tort reform or tort awards. That’s one of its least important functions, and cases like that comprise some tiny fraction of a hundred of a percent of its cases.
The SCOTUS is important because it’s a constitutional check on the other two branches of government and the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution and laws of the United States. Not even Bernie Sanders has as shallow a view of the SCOTUS as you, even though he — like all socialists — views it simply as a tool of class warfare.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:54 pmgood night ladies
Good night, chump.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:55 pmIs that what you thought Justice Scalia was, Mr. Shearer? A class warrior? 😀
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:55 pm176 … Rich people who don’t find and use tax breaks and tricks end up becoming poor.
You don’t need tricky tax breaks to stay rich. Just put your money in index funds and live off a portion of the dividends. Under current tax law you should easily stay ahead of inflation in the long run. At least if future market returns are similar to past market returns. You might have trouble passing your wealth to your children however because of the estate tax. What is Cruz’s position on the estate tax?
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:55 pmSanders is really, really, really elderly.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:56 pmAlbanian. That’s the word.
Steve57 (c2ddfd) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:57 pmIs Sound Awake EPWJ?
The attacks on Cruz from all angles seems familiar and personal.
njrob (f17a2c) — 3/8/2016 @ 8:57 pmIs that what you think rich folks do in the real world, Mr. Shearer? “Just put your money in index funds and live off a portion of the dividends.” I’m guessing that’s not why people hire CPAs and tax lawyers and investment advisors and estate planners.
You can find all the details of Ted Cruz’ tax plan, plus the rest of his agenda, at his website. Perhaps you should have looked at that before posting here. Come back in a couple of weeks and we can discuss it further.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:01 pmFox calling ID for Cruz.
Pons Asinorum (49e2e8) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:01 pm186.Mr. Shearer, the SCOTUS is not important because of tort reform or tort awards. That’s one of its least important functions, and cases like that comprise some tiny fraction of a hundred of a percent of its cases.
There are lots of cases every year where there is a pro-business side and an anti-business side. Republican judges are more likely to favor the pro-business side.
For what fraction of cases does the Chamber of Commerce (or a similar broad based business organization) file a friend of the Court brief? I expect it is well over 1%.
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:01 pmWell…
Slightly off-topic, but has anyone seen the story about the pastor (Tim Remington) who got shot in Idaho?
He went to a Cruz rally on Saturday, and prayed there.
On Sunday at 2 pm, he was found at his church, with 6 bullets in him, shot from behind (3 in the chest area, 1 in the right shoulder, 1 in the head, not sure about the 6th); he was still alive, and they managed to get him in stable condition at the hospital. Apparently he got off the ventilator earlier today.
Anyhow, they named a suspect at that point (Kyle Odom, formerly in the Marines, more recently BS in biochem; white, blond, 6′ tall, 170 lbs).
Said suspect was arrested today, after throwing “objects” over the White House fence.
Yes, that’s right: 2 and a half days later, the suspect was in DC.
(h/t Ace, Twitchy)
Ibidem (f7be92) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:02 pmclaims the priest was a martian, three cups of crazy,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:05 pmBernie is a true believer. Hillary is a con. She’ll say or do whatever it takes to win. People without a well developed conscience are are so easily able to move across any constraining lines of ethics, morals, and principles. They’re just things to be stepped over. She’s so very similar to Trump in that way.
Dana (86e864) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:06 pmOur interstate system is one of the modern wonders of the world.
nk (dbc370) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:06 pmIdaho:
Cruz 41.5% ✓
Trump 29.2%
Rubio 18.2%
Kasich 7.3%
Source: Fox
Pons Asinorum (49e2e8) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:09 pmActually, no Mr. Shearer, the Chamber of Commerce certainly doesn’t file an amicus brief in anything close to 1% of the cases in the SCOTUS.
You really don’t have a clue what they do there, do you?
It’s very difficult to say that there’s a “pro-business wing” or an “anti-business wing.” It depends very much on the issue and very much on the way it comes up. In intellectual property or antitrust law cases, for example, you may have big businesses on both sides.
And in fact, straight-up business cases are a relatively small percentage of the number of cases for which the SCOTUS is asked to review writ applications, and a much tinier percentage of the cases they agree to hear.
But forget that. Let’s pretend that your fantasy version of the SCOTUS, Chamber of Commerce conspiracy theories and all, is correct.
Why do you think Goldman Sachs would prefer the Justices Ted Cruz picks to those whom, for example, Donald Trump might pick?
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:10 pm193 193.Is that what you think rich folks do in the real world, Mr. Shearer? “Just put your money in index funds and live off a portion of the dividends.” I’m guessing that’s not why people hire CPAs and tax lawyers and investment advisors and estate planners.
Lots of rich people want to be even richer. But you don’t have to hire a bunch of high priced advisors to stay out of the poor house. You are more likely to end up in the poor house by trying to get too tricky.
As for estate planning I believe Cruz favors eliminating the estate tax which would certainly favor rich people.
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:13 pmDana @198, I can’t tell if that makes Trump more dangerous than Hillary! or less.
Steve57 (c2ddfd) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:14 pmI’m not saying business disputes are rare, or that they aren’t important at other levels of the court system. I make my living off those kinds of cases.
But something way north of 97% of the business litigation in the federal courts settles before trial; of the business cases that actually are tried to a final judgment or dismissed on pretrial motions, most of those settle before or while on appeal; and of what’s left, virtually all of those cases get decided, definitively and without further meaningful likelihood of review, at the court of appeals level.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:14 pmMr. Donald Trump will pick the justices what will help make America great again
he’s very focused on that
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:15 pmYeah, Mr. Feet, that’s why he’s already forgotten Bill Pryor’s name. Laser-like focus.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:16 pmMr. Shearer, again, the only people who pay the estate tax are the barely-rich — typically “asset-rich and cash poor,” like family farmers — who can’t afford the tax dodges that the genuinely wealthy use to minimize any estate tax consequences.
This is how Donald Trump’s daddy gave him a $200 million head start in business while leaving an estate only valued at $20 million.
This ends out conversation. I don’t think you’re making these arguments in good faith, but regardless, you don’t seem to be educable. Good night, Mr. Shearer.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:19 pmwell the important thing is if he remembers it when it really counts
it’s like remembering all the ingredients for to make carrot cake pancakes
you really only need to remember them all come sunday morning after church not so much on tuesday afternoon
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:19 pmI think it was tommy corcoran, after organizing the new deal bureaucracy, that hung a shingle, to stear like the styx helmsman through the tax code,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:21 pmI would put harriet miers back on the list, now that hugh hewitt, has eaten enough crow over the incident, she represents what scalia mentioned in terms of diversity, smaller schools, less corporate practice, more common sense,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:26 pmNot so bad, really.
If this doesn’t do it, I don’t know what it’s going to take to get Rubio and Kasich out of the race, short of losing their home states. They both deserve that kind of humiliation.
Kasich and Rubio are a microcosm of what is wrong with the GOP and, for that matter, politics, in general. For them, it’s all about wishful thinking – magical thinking, really.
If I liked either of them more, I’d feel embarrassed for them. As it is, I merely feel disgust.
ThOR (a52560) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:33 pmthat crack reading staff,
http://www.weaselzippers.us/260729-fail-cnn-cant-read-their-own-election-graphics/
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:34 pmI admire your patience, Beldar.
nk (dbc370) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:37 pmRule 40(b) in the Rules of the Republican National Committee:
Idaho will be Ted Cruz’ fourth qualifying state. Trump has six, and will surly get to eight, but no one else but Cruz is in shooting distance of the required eight states yet, nor do Rubio or Kasich have a clear path for any but, arguably, FL & MI.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:39 pmThank you, nk. My tolerance for suffering fools continues to shrink during this election season, and I’m having to fight that trend.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:40 pmRe #214 above: I should have added that I haven’t done the calculation to verify those totals, but rather, I have relied upon something — actually a re-tweet published at — fivethirtyeight.com.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:44 pmthey don’t really explain how they flubbed the polls do they,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:45 pmThose are today’s rules.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:45 pmAll the talk of Rule 40, and anything at all about the convention, comes down to the rules fight which will be epic beyond belief. I’ve seen a couple of reasonable pundits state flatly that Rule 40 will go away.
The bigger point is that other then the magic number of 1237 on a first ballot, it will be open season on the rules and the establishment will have its say. Just as in the House where the Rules Committee reports bills out with restrictive rules, so, too, will this convention be largely determined by its Rules Committee – with the one caveat of a 1237 candidate.
Folks – THIS is where to keep your eyes. And pray your butts off that Trump loses both OH and FL.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:46 pmBy the way, the NY Times has some interesting simulations on delegate counts. Among other things, they show that Bernie can win the nomination if he can maintain a 5% lead, on average in the rest of the primaries.
It’s a little harder to gauge on the GOP side, with the winner-take-all rules, but there are lots of ways to keep Trump from winning outright, and Cruz has possibilities of being in the lead (although winning outright is pretty difficult). Rubio needs God, and soon.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:49 pmWith each passing update, two good things are becoming close: 1) Cruz is solidifying his 2nd place finish in MI (up .6 with only 3% left to report) and 2) Rubio is sinking lower from the 20% threshold to win some delegates and thereby steal ID as a Rule 40 state for Ted.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:50 pmof course, they will change the rules, because they are the French General Staff, joffre, and co, and then all hell will break loose,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:50 pm@ narciso (#217): Yes, there are a lot of red-faced pollsters and poll analysts tonight, including there. 😉
@ Kevin M (#218): Yes, that is a significant and important qualification — the rules as of today, and for the past many months, but without guarantee that they’ll still be unchanged when the convention starts taking nominations.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:51 pmseriously the vituperation/results index has gone pearshaped here,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 9:58 pmJohn Fund’s latest estimate of tonight’s delegates, not including HI:
Trump 63
Cruz 51
Kasich 17
Trump supporters will say, “We haven’t been stopped yet.” And that’s true. But there surely is no longer any doubt which remaining GOP candidate is the only one who possibly can do that.
I’m staying up for Hawaii’s results!
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:01 pmKasich emits a vague odor of entitlement. He seems to feel he is entitled to win. He mocks and sneers and belittles his competitors as if they have some nerve getting in the way of what should be his. He’s an angry man who doesn’t like that voters aren’t as impressed with his big government credentials as he is. Utter arrogance
Dana (f0c334) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:03 pmwell he was a director with lehman, and the budget chair, where franklin raines pulled that scam in 1997,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:05 pm201.Actually, no Mr. Shearer, the Chamber of Commerce certainly doesn’t file an amicus brief in anything close to 1% of the cases in the SCOTUS.
According to this the Chamber of Commerce thought 34 cases in the 2014 Supreme Court term were of interest to business. They took a position on 21 (they never take a position on business vrs business cases). Since the Court heard about 75 cases that year that is way over 1%.
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:08 pmNo, Mr. Shearer, the relevant number is how many those 34 represented out of the many thousands of cases presented to the Court for possible review.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:09 pmDamn, did I waste another 10 seconds on you?
Go to bed, Mr. Shearer.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:10 pm201Why do you think Goldman Sachs would prefer the Justices Ted Cruz picks to those whom, for example, Donald Trump might pick?
I don’t particularly. As with tax policy I was comparing to the Democrats.
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:12 pmBeldar – Are we thinking our McGarrett will prevail tonight, or is Wo Fat gonna mess things up for us in the Aloha State?
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:15 pmthe tax shelter industry, just like sarbox and dodd frank creates externalities that serve little purpose,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:17 pm229.No, Mr. Shearer, the relevant number is how many those 34 represented out of the many thousands of cases presented to the Court for possible review.
This is nonsense. Most cases have no shot at review. Of the courses that the Supreme Court actually hears many are of interest to business and the Chamber of Commerce files amicus briefs for a lot of them.
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:18 pmR.I.P. Sir George Martin, record producer for The Beatles
Icy (38ffb0) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:18 pmEd, you should be asking Col. H — he’s Johnny on the spot in Hawaii!
Me, I’ve always wanted to go, never been. I used to watch the original 5-0, and I even tried to watch the rebooted version for a couple of episodes just because Grace Park is so hot. But her loveliness couldn’t offset the awfulness of the show, so I don’t even have the latest manicured version of the islands to base a guess on.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:19 pmCruz up 8K votes on Kasich in MI with 98% counted. Rubio at only 17.1% with 77% cuonted.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:21 pmRubio only 17.1% in Idaho.*
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:22 pmBeldar – From the heart – you simply MUST visit the Arizona Memorial before you expire from this earth. Seeing oil bubbles coming up from the bottom all these years later was among the most intensely felt moments of my life. Arlington National Cemetery evokes similar feelings.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:25 pmTrump with super early lead in HI – 2% DT 48 JK 20 TC 17 MR 13
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:32 pm13% DT 42 TC 28 MR 15 JK 14
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:39 pmCruz took 2nd in MI! He has 8K lead on Kasich with just 1% of votes outstanding.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:41 pmDuly noted, Ed! I’ve seen Arlington, and agree with you; and certainly if I ever do get to Hawaii the Arizona would be one of my “must-see” priorities. My dad steamed past the Arizona many times going in and out of Pearl in 1944-1945 aboard the USS Zeilin (APA-3), and he got to visit the memorial when the Zeilin held a crew reunion in Hawaii in the 1980s; I know he found it immensely moving, so I’d feel like I was closing a loop if I could see it myself.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:50 pmHI 22% DT 47 TC 29 MR 12 JK 11
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:54 pmIdaho at 90% reported. Rubio at 16.4. No soup for him!
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 10:58 pmHI 27% DT 47 TC 28 MR 13 JK 10
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 11:05 pm“As for estate planning I believe Cruz favors eliminating the estate tax which would certainly favor rich people.”
Comedy gold. Spoken like a true leftist.
JD (e4a094) — 3/8/2016 @ 11:11 pmSlight narrowing in HI…36% DT 44 TC 31 MR 13 JK 10
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 11:18 pmLooks to me like tonight Cruz took Idaho (and rather convincingly!) while Trump took the other three states (assuming his Hawaii lead holds). Cruz held second in every state save the one he won.
Looking at the numbers, Kasich coming in third in Michigan (a state he’d held hope of winning) might not bode well for him in Ohio next week.
As for Rubio, it looks like he finished 4th in Michigan and Mississippi, took third in Idaho, and is currently battling Kasich for 3rd in Hawaii.
Once again, closed caucuses (Idaho) seem to be Trump’s nemesis.
Arizona CJ (da673d) — 3/8/2016 @ 11:23 pmBut for Rubio staying in, and even jetting out there to campaign on Sunday, Ted would have won all Idaho delegates. Trump gets 10 free ones. Frig.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 11:26 pmIt looks like Trump will win Hawaii; Decision Desk has called it, and his lead looks like it’s holding up as more totals come in.
Nevertheless, I’m satisfied with the night’s results. Kasich has proved that he’s not even a “regional candidate.” Rubio is in free-fall. Cruz stayed close on delegates, but if these results actually do winnow the race, that would be the most significant development yet in the overall race for the nomination.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/8/2016 @ 11:28 pmDecision Desk calls HI for Trump.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 11:30 pmHere’s praying that the CBS report about soul-searching in the Rubio camp this morning is correct and that Marco hangs it up TODAY.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 11:32 pmlil roob roob is the conservative that can WIN
i read it on the internet
happyfeet (831175) — 3/8/2016 @ 11:43 pmLet’s not forget that there are primaries between now and Tuesday the 15th, and they are caucuses (where Trump usually does poorly, so he may be looking at a string of losses).
Thursday, the Virgin Islands caucus. My hunch, based on nothing more than Puerto Rico (I know, I know, different culture) is Rubio would do well there, maybe enough to keep him in the race. On Saturday, Guam Republicans caucus, and Washington, D.C.’s republican (is there more than one Republican there?) caucuses.
Not exactly major races, but they could have influence on who (if anyone) drops out and who does not.
My guess; Rubio stays in until just before the 15th no matter what, but if his internals show him getting trounced in Florida, he’ll drop out the weekend before it.
Arizona CJ (da673d) — 3/8/2016 @ 11:51 pmBeldar, basically Hawaii was a working port…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6ybb6myGE4
Steve57 (c2ddfd) — 3/9/2016 @ 12:21 amCol and Kevin M-
mg (31009b) — 3/9/2016 @ 1:46 amI live in Massachusetts because I love my wife and her family, she has been taking care of a brother with parkinsons, A brother who is a drunk, another brother who was a cop but has injuries that needs mental help, A mother who could not walk her last 5 years, God rest her soul, a most lovely women. A father who has been going through Alzheimers and is strong as a bull. A sister who is schizophrenic, and could burn down a school at any minute. I know i’m leaving something out. Oh yea, Romney is a turkey. I do go back to my farm in Minnesota a few times a year. But dealing with those loons is no easy task.
Congrats to Marco Rubio for his two 3rd Place WINS and his two 4th Place WINS!
Icy (4687f5) — 3/9/2016 @ 1:46 amWell at least with a Trump-Cruz ticket Ted can recite the constitution as a warm up act while his fans fantasize about Trump developing a severe health condition.
voiceofreason (494009) — 3/9/2016 @ 1:55 amTrump will treat him as the Kennedys did LBJ and Christie will be manservant for both….
Happy days indeed.
I want to see Rubio finish 4 th in his home state. That should end his life as a government hack.
mg (31009b) — 3/9/2016 @ 2:05 am251. The themes flogged, 1)That the voters will be heeded by the GOPe and 2)That the donors are invisible, with no influence to speak of, marks you as a partisan.
Without some guarantee to the RNC it is obvious and inarguable at this point that neither T or C will win outright on the first ballot. Even a few hundred delegates can swing the contest either way.
Lincoln was a Whig-elect entering the 1860 convention way out of contention, with Seward the odds-on favorite.
DNF (755a85) — 3/9/2016 @ 3:58 am262. Roobs is a place-holder to the big money:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/03/07/theres-a-big-problem-with-this-whole-gop-contested-convention-scenario/
Any way you look at it the GOPe can totally lose this election at convention. You people magnifiying Trump into and evil on some level with the Establishment are simply,..
LIARS, and you will be appropriately rewarded.
DNF (755a85) — 3/9/2016 @ 4:05 am258. Those who put their relationships first will emerge from the refining fire.
Those who put power, success, connections, etc., as their obsession are bound for torment in isolation.
The hope placed in government will be lost completely.
DNF (755a85) — 3/9/2016 @ 4:23 amMaybe Cruz has a chance to win MO, but he needs to change his focus:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/03/08/laura_ingraham_trump_and_sanders_won_michigan_primaries_because_of_nafta_and_tpp.html
The Conservative agenda needs cooperation from Congress and that is something he cannot possibly assure the voters.
They are interested in their bottom line and the end of Adventurism Abroad.
Wake up or roll over for the GOPe.
DNF (755a85) — 3/9/2016 @ 4:29 amI spent Tuesday afternoon feeding absentee ballots into the counting machine. This was in a Detroit suburb that went irretrievably Dem about 8-10 years ago, never to return. The clerk’s office people were busy out running extra ballots to the precincts that had run out, due to higher than expected turnout, so we didn’t get our final drop-off ballots until 9pm; it was 11pm when I finally walked out the door. As the ballots were passing through my hands, the Repub ones looked like about 50-60% Trump (purely a visual impression, I didn’t think to check the numbers at the end). As I looked down at them, I couldn’t help thinking of P.T. Barnum’s observation (at least to whatever extent actual Republicans had marked them).
Luke Stywalker (33f010) — 3/9/2016 @ 4:43 amFollowing is an excerpt from Katie Glueck article in Politico 3/9/16:
Get that? The GOP establishment is willing to embrace Ted Cruz in the hope can stop The Donald’s populist march to the nomination. These two-faced Philistines deserve to be swept aside as a new broom sweeps the party clean of dead wood, goldbricks, quacks, and the sort of professionals who sought to shove the likes of Dede Scozzafava down our throats.
PS: Ted, don’t be taken in, the GOPe will only embrace you as long as you help them thwart Trump, they’ll use you, but they’ll never love or respect you.
ropelight (c59a12) — 3/9/2016 @ 5:04 am266. And the GOP will never be behind him without significant assurances from the man himself.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/03/08/ed_rollins_republican_party_running_most_negative_vicious_campaign_against_our_own_frontrunner.html
The only chance for a victory of the Right is Trump and Cruz coalescing.
DNF (e4ee41) — 3/9/2016 @ 5:22 amHalf a bucket of milk and half a bucket of cowpiss. Drink up, boys, for victory. If it’s Trump/Cruz or Trump/Rubio in November, the GOP should die. Quickly and spectacularly or slowly and painfully, just as long as it dies.
nk (dbc370) — 3/9/2016 @ 5:27 amThe 47% calmly assert that “America has changed” and Hillary, e.g., is well-qualified.
It is simply not enough for Cruz to flog the Conservative agenda, Tax Reform, etc., avoiding Muslim Immigration, Jobs, the Federal Reserve and the intransigent GOPe.
At election the hoi polloi will see nothing in his program for them.
DNF (e4ee41) — 3/9/2016 @ 5:30 am268. Now you’re talking.
DNF (e4ee41) — 3/9/2016 @ 5:31 amWell for red to trust the fnork, would be like sonny with the Jersey till takers, recall they saddled Nixon with cigar store Indian lodge, who had lost to Kennedy.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/9/2016 @ 5:48 amThe other thing I would like to see is net-worth audits of the 100 top men in the RNC followed by “honest services” fraud prosecutions. (As soon as Santa brings me that Bugatti Veyron with Kate Upton is the passenger seat.)
nk (dbc370) — 3/9/2016 @ 5:53 amTrump pointed to his “Trump Steaks”, but were they?
I find it interesting on how people look at things. A “big night for Trump” shows that the majority of a great turnout doesn’t want him. Cruz continues to win or be second with a more than deciding number of votes siphoned by #3, in this case Kasich instead of Rubio, when he wanted to make a point that he would be competitive from here on out,
and the early votes were higher for Trump, with the votes the day of the election better for others.
We’ll see what happens next. Kasich wants to get enough delegates to prevent a first vote win for Trump, but he may just help Trump get it with only 38% of the popular vote.
I think it was Dana that said Kasich seems a bit entitled and put out that we all don’t recognize his superior credentials…characteristics of someone else we know.
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/9/2016 @ 6:04 amThat and his “I can reach across the aisle and work with the Dems”….ughh
Cruz is like Nixon in certai respects, it doesn’t matter what your credential are, of you pose a threat to them.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/9/2016 @ 6:08 amTrump will be really like Nixon should he be elected. Or maybe Andrew Johnson is a better comparison. He will have no friends in Congress and will be walking on the knife edge of impeachment if he attempts one-tenth of the things Obama is getting away with.
nk (dbc370) — 3/9/2016 @ 6:13 amWe know now why sasse and cotton did not endorse cruz, it wasn’t in there interest to do so.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/9/2016 @ 6:14 amThis is why he needs a vocal majority, the dems did a good job of astroturfing dissent against w on every front in the intelligence community, in the law, etc.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/9/2016 @ 6:19 amI can understand that a bit, being first term senators it’s not like they have established power,
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/9/2016 @ 6:20 amBut Sasse did make his not Trump stand that likely helped Cruz.
No, you can’t pantomine, you have show your cards, btw how is that xorker deal going.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/9/2016 @ 6:21 amGlobal economic RESET and World War III are baked in the cake.
You would think these issues could be nibbled at around the edges.
You would be wrong except tangentially by Trump in his stream of consciousness.
Once again the politicians are utterly ignoring that which will occupy them totally in the office.
Call me Chicken Little but you have no argument to bring, nada, zilch, nothing.
DNF (e4ee41) — 3/9/2016 @ 6:37 am“New poll shows Romney speech reinforced Trump support” 🙁
Even Romney voters shrugged.
http://hotair.com/archives/2016/03/08/new-poll-shows-romney-speech-reinforced-trump-support/
yeah lets run romney again…
sound awake (04e750) — 3/9/2016 @ 6:44 amDNF
What do you propose, what do think Trump would do that would be so good?
The best I can see is having a president that believes in the rule of law and religious freedom and doesn’t believe socialist nonsense.
Whether Iran and Putin and the Chicoms decide to blow everything up or not.
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/9/2016 @ 6:44 amFor my money the best commentator out there:
http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/gop-elites-for-hillary/
The notion that you will get Cruz unhamstrung with the GOPe fully in his corner is in-your-face horsesh!t.
Well, if the Donk nominee died mid-October and Cruz/Merda won.
DNF (e4ee41) — 3/9/2016 @ 6:45 amJVW (9e3c77) — 3/8/2016 @ 7:19 pm
That was probably not in spite of that, but because of that.
Sammy Finkelman (936567) — 3/9/2016 @ 6:51 am281. To begin, with an anti-Establishment unity ticket you might actually win.
There, opportunity, is kinda of a plus.
The anti-Immigration plank will stop the Chamber’s GOP in its tracks and at least obstruct Neocon militarism.
The trade wars won’t be helpful but baby steps.
DNF (e4ee41) — 3/9/2016 @ 6:55 amWell I’m not so hung up on the second point, but seeing how so called realists for us tied to the salafi in afghanistan, and with the baathist in Iraq.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/9/2016 @ 7:00 amYou are making assumptions about what I believe that are not true,
And I fear you are making assumptions about Trump that are not true
From my limited vision, the best is that Cruz wins, and those that stone wall him get voted out in 2 years
My fear concerning Trump is that he will be Trump, making deals on the fly that are advantageous for him primarily.
I take seriously what people do or have been doing,
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/9/2016 @ 7:39 amAnd what people say is important to me when they are caught speaking their mind by accident. From what I can tell, Trump is not a businessman, he is a salesman.
My mother called Obama a “snake oil salesman”, Trump is the prototypical not to be trusted used car salesman.
The fact the “GOP establishment creeps toward Cruz” is reason enough to celebrate his victory or Trump.
This has always been about dragging the RNC to the right (dead or alive) and hoping it gets away from “Compassionate Conservative BS”
Maybe then Conservative Principles can at least win out on a myriad of issues even if losing on others.
What we got now with the RNC is 0 conservative wins, 999 losses and 999 ties.
I have said and still believe Cruz should get together with Trump and arrange a purge of biblical proportions of the RNC elite from Govt and the party while also eliminating DNC Wack Jobs in Govt and NGOs.
Hand over the Senate and House to Cruz, retire McCain, McConnell et al. Replace all the Committee jobs with Cruz loyalists and purge those budgets (and flunky jobs) from the Bureuacracy.
Trump in turn can do WTF he wants in the WH including selling steaks or whatever the fuck crazy he wants and we hope that during his 8 years Cruz does more to fix this country via the legislature and judicial appointments that even Reagan could not achieve.
Rodney King's Spirit (3adc86) — 3/9/2016 @ 7:42 am“…praying that the CBS report about soul-searching in the Rubio camp this morning is correct and that Marco hangs it up TODAY.”
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/8/2016 @ 11:32 pm
I say let Rubio work it out and let CBS look inward at its Democrat masters to see if if can identify any redeeming qualities or principles amongst all the criminality, tribalism and Balkanization.
Colonel Haiku (d1ec67) — 3/9/2016 @ 8:18 amI live in Massachusetts because I love my wife and her family
mg–
I live in Los Angeles, so perhaps I shouldn’t throw stones. But then I don’t play the victim card with respect to CA politics a lot either. I would dearly love to see CA broken up into two red states and two blue states though. But until that happy day, I have to accept the results of my choices. The weather here is wonderful and it’s where the family is.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/9/2016 @ 8:34 amArlington National Cemetery evokes similar feelings.
I’d like to see that. For me, walking a few miles of the Berlin Wall from Checkpoint Charlie in the summer of ’89, was a profound experience. It seemed like there was this permanent scar on the human soul.
Then a few months later it was gone, without a shot fired. Now there are just a few bits of that wall left, which is too bad in a way. The intact thing was a searing indictment of the supremacy of the State.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/9/2016 @ 8:49 amCarly endorses Cruz.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/carly-fiorina-endorses-ted-cruz/story?id=37518489
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/9/2016 @ 8:57 amTrump ain’t playing. Despite all these attacks on him he’s still winning winning. Lol! It’s awfully quiet here. Stop supporting a loser and rally round the clear choice of the party.
The Emperor (8823d2) — 3/9/2016 @ 9:21 amMany of the people “around here” care more about supporting conservative principles than ‘the party’.
Icy (4687f5) — 3/9/2016 @ 9:38 am“The party” that is choosing Trump seems to speak loudest in open primaries. Why do you suppose the party is so against Trump when Democrats and independents are kept out?
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/9/2016 @ 10:36 amGuilty as charged! What’s a party worth if not for what it will do?
Dustin (2a8be7) — 3/9/2016 @ 10:43 amAn excerpt from an article by Roger Simon at PJ Media:
I too am more about supporting conservative principles than the Republican Party however, I realize that the way politics is currently aligned without the Republican Party conservatism will have no voice.
Rev. TrusTED Hoagie ™ (eb7063) — 3/9/2016 @ 10:56 amYeah. Three words.
Thad Cochran Mississippi.
You watch. GOPe is so horrified about a Cruz candidacy that eventually they’ll wrap their minds about whatever socialist policy Trump decides to inflict on the country and conclude they can live with it.
Steve57 (4d34f4) — 3/9/2016 @ 11:06 amIf that is true and you are correct Steve57, then the Republican Party is finished and real conservatives are on their own. That’s why a Cruz candidacy is imperative and it is imperative to stop alienating the Trump supporters that we will need in the future to be the real evil force: Hillary!
Rev. TrusTED Hoagie ™ (eb7063) — 3/9/2016 @ 11:22 am*beat the real evil force.
Rev. TrusTED Hoagie ™ (eb7063) — 3/9/2016 @ 11:23 amHoagie @296, I don’t want to alienate the Trumpsters. I just don’t know how to affiliate with them.
Other than the Trump brand I don’t know what they’re voting for.
I want more than the Trump brand, Hoagie. Unlike the students at Trump University I can’t sue to get my vote back.
Steve57 (4d34f4) — 3/9/2016 @ 1:02 pmI have a question.
Why does Bernie Sanders sound like a Jewish comedian from the Catskill’s in the 1970’s when he talks?
Rev. TrusTED Hoagie ™ (eb7063) — 3/9/2016 @ 1:46 pmWe all have questions, Hoagie.
It occurred to me; ordinarily the motorcycle would be the better deal considering the cost of upkeep.
But you don’t have to register the horse with the state. And right now I’m thinking that counts for a lot.
Plus, try eating a motorcycle.
Steve57 (4d34f4) — 3/9/2016 @ 1:50 pmRoger Simon has gone insane. I consider him a friend and have told him so directly. Roger’s in the class of people who actually understands that Trump is a fraud, but who support Trump anyway. It’s profoundly pathological, and I hope he gets well soon.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/9/2016 @ 1:53 pmwell c’mon like having a fraud president is a new thing
happyfeet (831175) — 3/9/2016 @ 1:54 pmBack when we had bases in the Philippines we used to place bets on which squadron would have the first sailor to put in a special request chit to get married.
And, who could blame them? Nobody in Kansas did to him what that Olongapo professional did to him.
We’d do him a favor and sit on the request for a couple of weeks. It was really love it would last.
The Trump campaign is like deja vu all over again.
If these Trumpsters fell in love with a 25 y.o. meth head stripprer or a National City bar hog I could at least kinda sorta understand it as in first case the attractions are obviously on display and in the second I know what it’s like to be intoxicated.
I’m not getting the Trump thing.
Steve57 (4d34f4) — 3/9/2016 @ 2:09 pmWorld War III is baked in the cake?
Gerald A (7c7ffb) — 3/9/2016 @ 2:10 pmNo, actually it’s cooked into the Zabaglione. I have the recipe if you want it.
Steve57 (4d34f4) — 3/9/2016 @ 2:49 pmMy bad. By WWIII I thought you meant the Marsala wine.
Again, my bad.
Steve57 (4d34f4) — 3/9/2016 @ 2:52 pmWhat is totally contemptible to me are certain Republican insiders who reportedly dislike both Trump and Cruz and don’t want to see either of them nominated. Worse of all, some of those same Republicans are saying that if it’s a choice between Trump or Hillary or Cruz or Hillary, they’ll be pulling the lever or plucking the chad for Hillary.
No wonder the rank and file throughout America is so restless and disgusted.
Mark (6c93d5) — 3/9/2016 @ 2:58 pm