The Trump-Thing Further Elevates Political Discourse...

[Sue U]

On the R side, as Jim pointed out, Christie will call it a campaign in the next day or so, and Carson and Fiorina will probably do the same after South Carolina. This will leave Trump, Cruz and the eventual nominee (Bush, Rubio or Kasich), so that one will stay interesting for a bit longer.

I think it very likely that Cruz will come out on top after Super Tuesday, especially with Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and Oklahoma polling that day. If Cruz can stay in the top 3 finishers after that -- and particularly if Trump slides even a bit -- no one may have enough delegates to declare victory before the national convention.

[Long Run]

There are scenarios where the R race is not decided until the end, but experience suggests otherwise. After Super Tuesday, and maybe even before, it will be clear whether the nominee will be Bush, Rubio or Kasich. The winner among those three will get virtually all of the support that is not currently going to Trump or Cruz, which puts them over 50%, plus all the support from the state and national party. That person will also start to eat into the less disaffected supporters of Trump and Cruz. My guess is that it will be Bush, since he has the organization, money and is finally starting to sound like a decent candidate, and he will be the media darling with the comeback story, but that is just a guess.

[Econoline]

My guess would be Kasich, for pretty much those same reasons. Oh, and I wouldn't be surprised if Cruz gets the VP slot.

[Crackpot]

Why because it will keep him out of the senate (for the most part)?

[Sue U]

I don't see Cruz in the Veep slot at all. The party hates him, and from an electoral perspective he is more of a liability than an asset because most of the nation hates him, too. Also too, his ego is too big to take a position where his chief functions would be attending funerals, carrying water for the administration and not wrecking the government.

[Gob]

Here's some light reading for you Strop:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_St ... al_primary

There will be a test afterwards...

I'm sorry, I had to stop reading after a few paragraphs, the laughter was beginning to hurt.

Who says Americans have no sense of humour, that's the funniest stuff ever!

[Lord Jim]

I don't see Cruz in the Veep slot at all. The party hates him, and from an electoral perspective he is more of a liability than an asset because most of the nation hates him, too. Also too, his ego is too big to take a position where his chief functions would be attending funerals, carrying water for the administration and not wrecking the government.

I agree with Sue on this...

I don't see how Cruz brings any value as a VP pick...he brings nothing but bad Juju...(he sure as hell wouldn't help you get your program through on The Hill...if Ted Cruz came down with a case of Beriberi, you'd be hard put to get a 50-49 vote among his Senate colleagues to send him a get well card...)

If Kasich or Bush wanted to put somebody on the ticket who was perceived as "further right" then they are, there are a lot of folks they could pick from who would be far less odious and problematic then Cruz...

No GOP nominee is going to need Ted Cruz to carry Texas, and he might be the one Latino in the whole country that you could add to a national ticket who would actually cost you votes with Latinos...

[Econoline]

I wasn't thinking of the Latino vote (which the GOP hasn't got anyway, and appears to have given up on) but rather the religious right/Evangelical vote...which Cruz has been assiduous in courting, which has been a significant part of the loyal GOP base for years, and which may need to be thrown a bone in order to get them out on election day in big numbers again.

[MajGenl.Meade]

LJ, it may be time for a change of heart. Look at that Republican field... (strong stomach, eh?). Now think about Hillary... (very strong stomach)... Isn't she the closest of all candidates to actually being a Republican?

[Lord Jim]

I refuse to lose heart and throw in the towel at this point General...

The GOP still has three candidates in the field who would be vastly superior to Hillary or Sanders and who could beat either of them in a general election.

[Crackpot]

I count one

[Sue U]

That's "maybe one."

[Big RR]

And really, that's maybe one who could beat Hillary or Bernie, not one that is superior (vastly or simply) to either.

[Bicycle Bill]

I still think there should be a place on the ballot to select "Anybody but _________________".

However, since it would take too long for people to list or correctly spell the names, I'd also be willing to accept an option for "None of the Above".

-"BB"-

[Lord Jim]

I don't know what makes you people think that there's only one candidate that can beat Hillary...

Practically every poll that's been done shows her either losing or winning by just a few points either way against all the remaining candidates, including Trump and Cruz; (including recent polls, despite the fact that they've been beating each other up) almost no poll ever shows Hillary pulling 50% of the vote against anybody....

Hillary Clinton is a very vulnerable and beatable candidate.

[Crackpot]

It depends on how you look at those voting. The best plan the republicans have is someone that is both moderate enough to convince a large chunk of the middle to vote for him and can't be easily framed as scary in order to convince the Bernie fans to stay home and lick their wounds.

Cruz and Trump lose on both these counts.
Bush has a lot of ground to gain on the first but the simple fact he's a Bush kills the second.
Rubio if he can avoid any more debate performances a like the last one might get the first but his tea party roots will be tough for the second. Better chance than bush but much better.

That leaves Kacich moderate enough to gain a lot of the middle and progressive in just enough places to make the Die hard Bernie fans status home out of spite

Is there a candidate I'm forgetting?

[Lord Jim]

Is there a candidate I'm forgetting?

Ben Carson, but that's okay, he's very forgettable...(He's fallen to sixth behind Kasich in a SC poll that came out today; he may not make the criteria to be invited to the CBS debate tomorrow night...)

I also vigorously disagree that Jeb Bush can be successfully portrayed to persuadable voters as "scary"...

[Long Run]

I also vigorously disagree that Jeb Bush can be successfully portrayed to persuadable voters as "scary"...

I totally agree. It took him long enough, but he finally figured out how to effectively answer that obvious issue. In the course of a long campaign, he would be judged on his merits, not his father or brother's (just like HRC is being judged on her merits, not Bill's).

[Lord Jim]

Personally, I'm glad to see Carson hanging in through South Carolina...

Over 50% of the GOP likely primary voters in SC identify as "Evangelical Christians" so to the extent Carson attracts votes from anyone it will be mainly from Cruz, and some from Trump...

Anything that can help lower their totals works for me...

[MajGenl.Meade]

Yooge mark of the beast



Donald Trump demonstrates how all non-Hispanic and non-Moslem children will be marked on the hand in order to identify those who would be passed over by his administration