At campaign events, a fiery Sen. Ted Cruz often proclaims that his campaign has made reporters act “like they lit their hair on fire.” That after his presidency “there are going to be a whole lot of reporters and newspaper editors and journalists that have checked themselves into therapy.”
He prefaces each jab with the sarcastic phrase “our friends in the media” but then he sometimes does something curious: He knowingly wags his eyebrows at the jumble of reporters in the back of the room — a group that doesn’t seem to hate Cruz at all, and with whom Cruz sometimes goes out for drinks or shows up with a box of doughnuts. He’s also far more accessible for improptu questions than most candidates, and seems to genuinely enjoy the give and take.
Yes, the candidate who has most built his campaign on maligning the media — loudly confronting debate moderators, complaining of anti-GOP bias — is also one of the most media-friendly. Whereas Hillary Clinton has spent more than 70 days without a single press gaggle, and Marco Rubio’s town halls turn into speeches with no questions allowed, Cruz is regularly willing to engage with reporters. …
Cruz gaggles with reporters nearly every single day on the trail. And if he stops for a few days, and reporters begin to complain, the gaggles start back up. Cruz has held off-the-record drinking nights with reporters. And he knows how to create the media moments in ways that will drive the cycle, if only for a few hours. …
______________________________
So why do the media call an election before there are 50% of the votes counted? Are they trying for higher ratings? I am all for a free press, but I liked the old days when it was two or three hours before they called it.
Technology has made it possible to call races — if there’s enough of a spread.
Well, here we are. Trump … on it goes.
But *gulp.*
Kudos to Bush for bowing out, he gave a gracious speech after having taken the brunt of the bullying from Trump through the months. That couldn’t have been pleasant, but he held up under it better than I would have. 🙄
So up next is the Nevada GOP caucus on Tuesday (are the polls out for that? Trump again expected to win? Oy … ); then, a week later — on March 5 — Super Tuesday.
Bush the Unready is out. Kasich and Carson (Sorry, Mumsee) should immediately follow him. Then each of the two Mexicans should be prepared to bail out and support the other if it looks like Trump can continue to win with both of them in the race.
I never thought Jeb Bush had a chance — by virtue of his name alone. But then he was also such a lackluster candidate, not very compelling (to put it mildly) and he never had any traction.
But I did come away with the impression that he was a decent guy.
Winnowing the field from here on out will help to combat the Trump phenomenon, however.
Should Trump be toppled, though, it won’t be pretty. He won’t be felled without a roar and a counter fight that could go through the general election.
Again, when a Texan says “Mexican”, he means anyone from San Antonio to the Southern tip of Chile. I am pretty sure Cuba is south of San Antonio. Rubio and Cruz are tan (Rubio more so). They have dark hair and brown eyes. They have Mexican names and they even speak Mexican. Therefore, to a Texan they are Mexicans.
Incidentally, this whole rule was developed by my son who is half Mexican.
On the day after Trump won South Carolina and the evil Hillary defeated their buffoon in Nevada, one must do all he can to keep the mood light.
Tychicus, How has Trump changed? Ever since I first heard of him he has been a typical loud, rude New Yorker. He has always been profane and amoral. He has always had liberal New York values. He has always been as arrogant and narcissistic as anyone on earth. The man makes Obama look like the model of humility and propriety.
Trump has also always been an excellent self-promoter and con man. In the past he con the ignorant into paying to attend “Trump University”, or buying one of his books or watching his moronic TV show. Now he uses demagouery to con the same group to vote for him.
Democracy “works” in the sense that people vote for candidates who represent who they are. Clinton represented our amorality. Little Bush represented our intellectual laziness. Obama represents the unjustified arrogance of the beneficiaries of Affirmative Action. Trump also represents what we have become and that is the scariest thought of all.
rw: I’m not saying that he’s been totally transformed, but he has changed some of his positions from years ago and become more conservative, and more recently he’s walked back some of his outlandish statements that have offended others. He’s learning the ropes of the political scene, and even in the last few weeks has become more prudent and nuanced. He’s certainly not my cup of tea, but people are really responding to his anti-politics-as-usual, “tell it like it is” message, and we have to be realistic that he could very well win the nomination.
If Trump wins the nomination, could you hold your nose and vote for him? I know you wouldn’t vote for a socialist from the other side…
Here is something from Matt Walsh that MakeItMan shared on Facebook. I also shared this, but I took out the part (about Trump’s supporters being “angry”) that I thought would be offensive to the few Trump followers among my friends, including a dear lady who attends our church.
“Trump won South Carolina, a supposedly conservative Christian state, by a wide margin tonight.
A few quick reactions:
– Don’t rationalize this. He didn’t win because of Democrats. The man won Evangelicals. The man who — JUST THIS WEEK — praised Planned Parenthood, and who fishes for applause lines by cussing out his competitors and mocking disabled people, and who can’t name a book in the Bible, and who said he doesn’t need forgiveness from God, and who brags about sleeping with married women, and who said he’d love to date his own daughter because she has a hot body, and who supported the murder of fully developed infant children, and who blatantly lies and then lies again about lying, and who has encapsulated literally the exact opposite of anything that could remotely be considered a “Christian value,” won with the indispensable assistance of Christians. The anger I feel towards those Christians in this moment cannot be put into words. They should be ashamed. I will pray for them.
– Speaking of winning conservatives, Trump — JUST THIS WEEK — said he likes the Obamacare mandate. This was, according to conservatives, the most important thing to defeat not but two years ago. Now some of those same conservatives are voting for a big government liberal who says he supports the very thing these very people were sure would undo the Republic just a few months ago.
– If Trump wins the nomination, conservatism in this country is officially dead, and the country itself will be close behind it.
– Speaking of the country’s demise, Trump fans are gleefully ushering in tyranny. I am tired of hearing about their “anger.” They claim they are angry at the very thing they now embrace. They aren’t angry. They’re bored. They’re immature. They’re infatuated with celebrity and fame and money. They aren’t angry. I’m angry about what they are doing to my nation. The rest of us can be angry, but these people have lost the right to have their anger taken seriously.
– I don’t want to hear about second place consolation prizes. If Cruz or Rubio can’t win South Carolina, it may be time to panic. I’m sorry, but it’s true. Deal with the reality, folks.
– According to exit polls, Trump fans don’t necessarily think he’s electable and they don’t believe he shares their values, but “they want change.” Dear God, we are really doing 2008 all over again. People voting for ambiguous, non-specific change in spite of the avalanche of red flags. We are really doing this again. I am so disgusted at the stupidity in this country.
– Bush should be commended for dropping out. He’s an honorable and decent man, although I didn’t support him. The others in the bottom tier, should they stay in, will be doing potentially irreparable harm to this country and my children’s future. And that is something I will struggle to forgive.
– Get on your knees and pray for this country tonight. Right now. I feel we are on the cusp of something terrible. Pray we avoid it.”
So far, I have viewed the GOP presidential race as a slow-motion train wreck, but after South Carolina I think there are reasons to be optimistic:
1) Conservative candidates took 67.5% of the vote.
2) At some point, conservative Republicans will coalesce behind Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz. Either, at that point, should be able to defeat the RINO Trump rather easily. The risk, obviously, is that such unification could come too late. …
_____________________________
But even if either a Rubio or a Cruz won a general election, we’re still in a deep mess in this country, seriously divided.
Interesting to watch — from a spiritual perspective — as this unfolds in our life time.
(There’s a sound clip I’ve heard several times this weekend from Bernie Sanders who is speaking from the stump about Nevada — this was before the caucus — and saying something like “this is the beginning of … the revolution.” Every time I hear it, I mentally finish that sentence differently. “This is the beginning of … the end” ???)
Another interesting note: Turnout for the Democratic primaries and caucuses is significantly down since ’08. Republican turnout is way up.
This usually bodes well for the party that’s most engaged and it sounds like the Democrats are concerned about the lack of participation this time around — so far.
I say that despite the fact that I agree with what he is now saying about the Iraq War. I agree with what he has said about Putin and Russia. I even agree with his Tax Plan which is more like Reagan’s 1986 Act than the plans of the other candidates (per Mark Levin).
I will not vote for him because he is a demagogue. All candidates pander to voters, but Trump blames America’s problems on the Chinese, on Mexico, on immigrants. That is not the truth. We spent $19 trillion we don’t have. We created the world’s most inefficient healthcare system. We destroyed our own public education system and allowed higher education to become an overpriced laughingstock. We killed tens of million babies and now allow men to enter women’s restrooms and dressing rooms.
Secondly, I will not vote for Trump because of his character. He has gone through two divorces, but never thought he needed forgiveness. This morning he said he “really won” Iowa, refusing to concede defeat. His first response to the Pope was to call him “disgraceful”. He curses in front of children and calls women “ugly”. I would never want his hand on the the nuclear button.
Twenty years ago we blamed the Democrats for nominating and electing a sexual predator who made America a disgrace and a laughingstock in front of the entire world. We must not repeat their mistake by nominating and helping to elect an outlandish maniac as President.
Try to beat Trump in the primaries. If you fail, vote for the Prohibitionist Party or the Libertarian or don’t vote at all. Whatever you do, never vote for Trump!
I was chatting with a friend at church after the service today — a 70-something British guy, former actor-turned-broadcast-journalist, came to the US in the 1960s and is over-the-top patriotic, also is a Democrat.
But he was marveling at the naivety of young people supporting Bernie Sanders and socialism. Just wait ’til they see their taxes, he said.
Do you think many are in the working world? Maybe, but many of those 20-somethings have got big college debts and are struggling to get by on small salaries with enormous housing costs and limited financial futures?
But they’re looking at the Nordic countries that are supposedly socialist. What they don’t realize is that socialism didn’t really work for those countries, & they are turning to privatizing.
Here’s an article I shared on Facebook the other day about young people’s infatuation with socialism, & how they don’t really know what it means. . .
My editor tells the story of his barber — who came from one of the Scandinavian countries, can’t remember which one — and told him that under socialism his homeland had deteriorated to the point where hardly anyone had the incentive to work, they just collected their checks and other freebies, alcoholism rates skyrocketed … The barber was ambitious, didn’t want to live in that kind of environment, so he came to the U.S. where he was able to start his own business.
Wandering Views 
Interesting piece on Cruz and “the media”
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/ted-cruz-media-219424?lo=ap_b1
_____________________________
At campaign events, a fiery Sen. Ted Cruz often proclaims that his campaign has made reporters act “like they lit their hair on fire.” That after his presidency “there are going to be a whole lot of reporters and newspaper editors and journalists that have checked themselves into therapy.”
He prefaces each jab with the sarcastic phrase “our friends in the media” but then he sometimes does something curious: He knowingly wags his eyebrows at the jumble of reporters in the back of the room — a group that doesn’t seem to hate Cruz at all, and with whom Cruz sometimes goes out for drinks or shows up with a box of doughnuts. He’s also far more accessible for improptu questions than most candidates, and seems to genuinely enjoy the give and take.
Yes, the candidate who has most built his campaign on maligning the media — loudly confronting debate moderators, complaining of anti-GOP bias — is also one of the most media-friendly. Whereas Hillary Clinton has spent more than 70 days without a single press gaggle, and Marco Rubio’s town halls turn into speeches with no questions allowed, Cruz is regularly willing to engage with reporters. …
Cruz gaggles with reporters nearly every single day on the trail. And if he stops for a few days, and reporters begin to complain, the gaggles start back up. Cruz has held off-the-record drinking nights with reporters. And he knows how to create the media moments in ways that will drive the cycle, if only for a few hours. …
______________________________
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Well…..
It looks like Trump. Again. 😦
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*sigh*
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So why do the media call an election before there are 50% of the votes counted? Are they trying for higher ratings? I am all for a free press, but I liked the old days when it was two or three hours before they called it.
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Technology has made it possible to call races — if there’s enough of a spread.
Well, here we are. Trump … on it goes.
But *gulp.*
Kudos to Bush for bowing out, he gave a gracious speech after having taken the brunt of the bullying from Trump through the months. That couldn’t have been pleasant, but he held up under it better than I would have. 🙄
So up next is the Nevada GOP caucus on Tuesday (are the polls out for that? Trump again expected to win? Oy … ); then, a week later — on March 5 — Super Tuesday.
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Bush the Unready is out. Kasich and Carson (Sorry, Mumsee) should immediately follow him. Then each of the two Mexicans should be prepared to bail out and support the other if it looks like Trump can continue to win with both of them in the race.
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I believe you mean the two men of Cuban descent, not Mexican…….
And I agree.
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Is Anonymous talking to himself?
Carson is in to remind us that men of integrity and character still exist and we might consider choosing one, some day.
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I never thought Jeb Bush had a chance — by virtue of his name alone. But then he was also such a lackluster candidate, not very compelling (to put it mildly) and he never had any traction.
But I did come away with the impression that he was a decent guy.
Winnowing the field from here on out will help to combat the Trump phenomenon, however.
Should Trump be toppled, though, it won’t be pretty. He won’t be felled without a roar and a counter fight that could go through the general election.
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Well, Trump is rambunctious, but he indeed has changed, and is learning every day…
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Again, when a Texan says “Mexican”, he means anyone from San Antonio to the Southern tip of Chile. I am pretty sure Cuba is south of San Antonio. Rubio and Cruz are tan (Rubio more so). They have dark hair and brown eyes. They have Mexican names and they even speak Mexican. Therefore, to a Texan they are Mexicans.
Incidentally, this whole rule was developed by my son who is half Mexican.
On the day after Trump won South Carolina and the evil Hillary defeated their buffoon in Nevada, one must do all he can to keep the mood light.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tychicus, How has Trump changed? Ever since I first heard of him he has been a typical loud, rude New Yorker. He has always been profane and amoral. He has always had liberal New York values. He has always been as arrogant and narcissistic as anyone on earth. The man makes Obama look like the model of humility and propriety.
Trump has also always been an excellent self-promoter and con man. In the past he con the ignorant into paying to attend “Trump University”, or buying one of his books or watching his moronic TV show. Now he uses demagouery to con the same group to vote for him.
Democracy “works” in the sense that people vote for candidates who represent who they are. Clinton represented our amorality. Little Bush represented our intellectual laziness. Obama represents the unjustified arrogance of the beneficiaries of Affirmative Action. Trump also represents what we have become and that is the scariest thought of all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
rw: I’m not saying that he’s been totally transformed, but he has changed some of his positions from years ago and become more conservative, and more recently he’s walked back some of his outlandish statements that have offended others. He’s learning the ropes of the political scene, and even in the last few weeks has become more prudent and nuanced. He’s certainly not my cup of tea, but people are really responding to his anti-politics-as-usual, “tell it like it is” message, and we have to be realistic that he could very well win the nomination.
If Trump wins the nomination, could you hold your nose and vote for him? I know you wouldn’t vote for a socialist from the other side…
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Trump says one thing, says the opposite the next time — no one knows what the heck he’d do.
He’s the “strong man” who carries a big stick, speaks loudly and promises, promises … what?
He remains very worrisome to me.
And perhaps even more dangerous as he “figures it out” politically and then publicly moderates his tone?
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As of now, I could not vote for Trump.
I don’t know what I’d do if he got the nomination. 😦 😦 😦
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Here is something from Matt Walsh that MakeItMan shared on Facebook. I also shared this, but I took out the part (about Trump’s supporters being “angry”) that I thought would be offensive to the few Trump followers among my friends, including a dear lady who attends our church.
“Trump won South Carolina, a supposedly conservative Christian state, by a wide margin tonight.
A few quick reactions:
– Don’t rationalize this. He didn’t win because of Democrats. The man won Evangelicals. The man who — JUST THIS WEEK — praised Planned Parenthood, and who fishes for applause lines by cussing out his competitors and mocking disabled people, and who can’t name a book in the Bible, and who said he doesn’t need forgiveness from God, and who brags about sleeping with married women, and who said he’d love to date his own daughter because she has a hot body, and who supported the murder of fully developed infant children, and who blatantly lies and then lies again about lying, and who has encapsulated literally the exact opposite of anything that could remotely be considered a “Christian value,” won with the indispensable assistance of Christians. The anger I feel towards those Christians in this moment cannot be put into words. They should be ashamed. I will pray for them.
– Speaking of winning conservatives, Trump — JUST THIS WEEK — said he likes the Obamacare mandate. This was, according to conservatives, the most important thing to defeat not but two years ago. Now some of those same conservatives are voting for a big government liberal who says he supports the very thing these very people were sure would undo the Republic just a few months ago.
– If Trump wins the nomination, conservatism in this country is officially dead, and the country itself will be close behind it.
– Speaking of the country’s demise, Trump fans are gleefully ushering in tyranny. I am tired of hearing about their “anger.” They claim they are angry at the very thing they now embrace. They aren’t angry. They’re bored. They’re immature. They’re infatuated with celebrity and fame and money. They aren’t angry. I’m angry about what they are doing to my nation. The rest of us can be angry, but these people have lost the right to have their anger taken seriously.
– I don’t want to hear about second place consolation prizes. If Cruz or Rubio can’t win South Carolina, it may be time to panic. I’m sorry, but it’s true. Deal with the reality, folks.
– According to exit polls, Trump fans don’t necessarily think he’s electable and they don’t believe he shares their values, but “they want change.” Dear God, we are really doing 2008 all over again. People voting for ambiguous, non-specific change in spite of the avalanche of red flags. We are really doing this again. I am so disgusted at the stupidity in this country.
– Bush should be commended for dropping out. He’s an honorable and decent man, although I didn’t support him. The others in the bottom tier, should they stay in, will be doing potentially irreparable harm to this country and my children’s future. And that is something I will struggle to forgive.
– Get on your knees and pray for this country tonight. Right now. I feel we are on the cusp of something terrible. Pray we avoid it.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Here’s a more upbeat assessment after SC:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2016/02/after-south-carolina-reasons-for-optimism.php
__________________________
So far, I have viewed the GOP presidential race as a slow-motion train wreck, but after South Carolina I think there are reasons to be optimistic:
1) Conservative candidates took 67.5% of the vote.
2) At some point, conservative Republicans will coalesce behind Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz. Either, at that point, should be able to defeat the RINO Trump rather easily. The risk, obviously, is that such unification could come too late. …
_____________________________
LikeLiked by 1 person
But even if either a Rubio or a Cruz won a general election, we’re still in a deep mess in this country, seriously divided.
Interesting to watch — from a spiritual perspective — as this unfolds in our life time.
(There’s a sound clip I’ve heard several times this weekend from Bernie Sanders who is speaking from the stump about Nevada — this was before the caucus — and saying something like “this is the beginning of … the revolution.” Every time I hear it, I mentally finish that sentence differently. “This is the beginning of … the end” ???)
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Another interesting note: Turnout for the Democratic primaries and caucuses is significantly down since ’08. Republican turnout is way up.
This usually bodes well for the party that’s most engaged and it sounds like the Democrats are concerned about the lack of participation this time around — so far.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tychicus, No. I could not vote for Trump.
I say that despite the fact that I agree with what he is now saying about the Iraq War. I agree with what he has said about Putin and Russia. I even agree with his Tax Plan which is more like Reagan’s 1986 Act than the plans of the other candidates (per Mark Levin).
I will not vote for him because he is a demagogue. All candidates pander to voters, but Trump blames America’s problems on the Chinese, on Mexico, on immigrants. That is not the truth. We spent $19 trillion we don’t have. We created the world’s most inefficient healthcare system. We destroyed our own public education system and allowed higher education to become an overpriced laughingstock. We killed tens of million babies and now allow men to enter women’s restrooms and dressing rooms.
Secondly, I will not vote for Trump because of his character. He has gone through two divorces, but never thought he needed forgiveness. This morning he said he “really won” Iowa, refusing to concede defeat. His first response to the Pope was to call him “disgraceful”. He curses in front of children and calls women “ugly”. I would never want his hand on the the nuclear button.
Twenty years ago we blamed the Democrats for nominating and electing a sexual predator who made America a disgrace and a laughingstock in front of the entire world. We must not repeat their mistake by nominating and helping to elect an outlandish maniac as President.
Try to beat Trump in the primaries. If you fail, vote for the Prohibitionist Party or the Libertarian or don’t vote at all. Whatever you do, never vote for Trump!
LikeLiked by 4 people
I was chatting with a friend at church after the service today — a 70-something British guy, former actor-turned-broadcast-journalist, came to the US in the 1960s and is over-the-top patriotic, also is a Democrat.
But he was marveling at the naivety of young people supporting Bernie Sanders and socialism. Just wait ’til they see their taxes, he said.
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We’re both stumped by Trump. 🙂
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Do you think many are in the working world? Maybe, but many of those 20-somethings have got big college debts and are struggling to get by on small salaries with enormous housing costs and limited financial futures?
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Not to mention that the California youngsters have to pay way over market rates for electricity, thanks to the Green Weirdos.
Here is Matt Walsh on Seattle’s restroom/dressing room insanity:
http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/sorry-girls-just-have-to-deal-with-being-assaulted-for-the-sake-of-trans-people/
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The horrific history of socialism in countries where it’s been tried should be part of the information weighed, no?
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But they’re looking at the Nordic countries that are supposedly socialist. What they don’t realize is that socialism didn’t really work for those countries, & they are turning to privatizing.
Here’s an article I shared on Facebook the other day about young people’s infatuation with socialism, & how they don’t really know what it means. . .
http://thefederalist.com/2016/02/15/why-so-many-millennials-are-socialists/#.VsZiMp_fkeA.facebook
I agree with Michelle. So many young people these days don’t see much hope for the future. The “idea” of socialism sounds fair to them.
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Good article, I’d seen it last week also.
Every generation has its challenges and perhaps because the US has been moving toward a
semi-socialist model anyway,
it just seems benign to them.
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My editor tells the story of his barber — who came from one of the Scandinavian countries, can’t remember which one — and told him that under socialism his homeland had deteriorated to the point where hardly anyone had the incentive to work, they just collected their checks and other freebies, alcoholism rates skyrocketed … The barber was ambitious, didn’t want to live in that kind of environment, so he came to the U.S. where he was able to start his own business.
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I’m convinced that it’s not a system that’s particularly good for the human spirit.
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Nothing new under the sun, but we keep looking for that utopia.
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