Trump’s Melania-Heidi wars
You know, I keep taking vows not to respond to every petty thing Trump does. And for the most part, I think I’ve done okay (not perfect, but okay) at keeping to that vow, and trying to deal with only the bigger and more important things.
But today I’m torn. Because the smaller seemingly petty things are so telling about the man, and often so troubling.
So I’ll take up the gauntlet of Trump’s attack on Heidi Cruz, but I’ll do it by referring to two other blog posts that go into the back-and-forth in some detail: this and this. Read them, or at least one of them, in order to get the flavor of what we’re talking about here.
It tells us a number of things about what used to quaintly be called character. To me, it says that Trump’s either careless about the truth or willfully distorting the truth about the origins of the ad with Melania’s photo. It also says that low blows and threats are his stock in trade (but we already knew that). Giving this guy more power—much less the most powerful office in the land—would only encourage this monster within him to grow and thrive. And no, it’s not an act on his part, nor is it just politics—much less politics as usual. This dirty pool had been Trump’s m.o. for his entire adult life, probably even earlier.
Trump is juvenile. I don’t want someone juvenile in the Oval Office. Obama was juvenile enough for me, and Trump makes Obama look like an old graybeard. Why couldn’t Trump have answered the ad showing the semi-nude GQ photo of Melania (and which was captioned “Meet Melania Trump: your next First Lady”) by saying something like: “Aren’t I a lucky guy? That’s MY “first lady,” every single day!” Every man—and some women—in America would probably have chuckled and thought it a great thing. But he didn’t go there; he went in a completely different and much lower direction, because that’s his nature.
In the latter of those two posts I linked to, Ace writes:
Trump has exactly two business successes: Being successfully born to his mother, and successfully outliving his father.
I’ll be charitable and add three more: for the most part Trump has been good at large-scale real estate development, he is excellent at self-promotion, and he is good at channeling and expressing the frustrations of many voters these days. Those are very real accomplishments, but they are not transferable to being a good president, although so far they definitely have been transferable to success in the GOP primaries this year.
[NOTE: Some people would add a fourth accomplishment of Trump’s (one I consider irrelevant to the presidency): he’s a good father. That is based on how his kids seem to have turned out. I would agree that the evidence is that he’s certainly not a bad father—and that he loves his kids and they love him. But the evidence also is that he didn’t have all that much to do with raising the children during their earlier years—nor did their mother, for that matter. That task was left to a combination of nannies and their grandparents.]
Well said, neo. For those that don’t know what Trump’s reaction was, you can look at twitter@realDonaldTrump.
This is just another of example of why I can’t and won’t vote for this man. Petty, juvenile, wildly inconsistent, uninformed and unwilling to study up on the issues. And he’s a Democrat.
“Trump is juvenile.” This is an insult to actual juveniles, most of whom behave better than Trump, though may be because they know their parents will ground them if they don’t! Trump is what we used to call a juvenile delinquent.
You been had neo, as you didnt point out that trump was attacked first… but then again many places lied by ommission.
The press has been one sided on this in that the first shot was from cruz pac, and cruz…
THEY are the ones that decided to attack trump by attacking his wife for her pseudo naked pictures in GQ as a model (she is, as is all trump ladies, very pretty)
IF you dont take the time, you will see all the news outlets (cnn, etc), reporting how trump attacked cruz.
however…
The Facebook ad features a tasteful nude photo of Melania Trump that does but not revealing anything, with the caption, “Meet Melania Trump, your next First Lady. Or, you could support Ted Cruz on Tuesday.”
and they put up this image
http://16004-presscdn-0-50.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/Melania-Trump-PAC-Ad.jpg
The photo of Melania Trump used in the ad was for an issue of GQ published in 2000
after that is when trump responded about telling the world all the issues with Cruz… but never saying ANY issue. then the news pundits who did take up his part of things, started to reveal Cruz issues as they tried to figure out what Trump was referring to.
The ad was released by the Make America Awesome PAC and first reported by Buzzfeed on Monday. The group, headed by Liz Mair, says it is targeting Mormon voters with the Facebook ads.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/anti-trump-group-runs-facebook-ads-seeking-to-rally-mormon-v
also the twitter comment has changed as well
Trump is operating on the idea that nothing in politics happens by accident. and Cruz has been caught several times now in this kind of thing, with his very nasty campaign manager (who previously called an evangelical a jew to declare that she could not represent evangelicals – she lost the election)
Cruz never publicallly disavowed the pac…
and Trumps wife is not from the US she is an immigrant from Yugoslavia… now slovenia… a slavic state in which the soviets wanted to exterminate the peoples (being much hated)
people then responded by creating similar images of Cruz wife with retort text… of which Trump has no control.
Technically Cruz and the Pac are not to coordinate, but Cruz is allowed to point out that he did not side with that smear.. he didnt, he said something else
Artfldgr:
What are you talking about? I linked to two posts that described the entire thing, including the fact that the anti-Melania post came first from the PAC (which actually was originally a pro-Rubio PAC). I mentioned how I thought Trump should have responded to it instead, and criticized how he did respond.
And I am heartily sick of any candidate having the actions of any PAC attributed to that candidate. That’s not the issue here, though—the issue is Trump’s response.
And as I said in the post, this is not Trump doing politics. This is Trump’s m.o. from way way back, before he was a politician. He just has a bigger audience now, and Twitter (which he’s used heavily long before he was running for office, in order to broadcast his juvenile insults to many many people).
Neo says: Why couldn’t Trump have answered the ad showing the semi-nude GQ photo of Melania (and which was captioned “Meet Melania Trump: you next First Lady”) by saying something like: “Aren’t I a lucky guy? That’s MY “first lady,” every single day!”
cause then you would hate HIM for his narcisism and his treating his wife as an object and trophy, and would have hated him for implying Cruz wife us ugly!!! you would now be saying how ugly it is that he bragged he has a model wife, and made cruz ugly wife look uglier.
it was a no win…
instead, he ignored Cruz wife, and implied cruz had dirt that trump has been a gentleman not bringing up.
its a head he loses tails they win game for him.
in fact i will let Whoopie Goldberg and Carson explain this:
For years you have heard people say why dont republicans fight back, Trump exposes why, and Carson exposes why by showing what happens if you dont.
even Camile Paglia on Salon knows and says so (being fair and still going for Bernie)
it still floors me she was sooo respectful, and she also caught the constitutional conservative LAWYER suggesting unconstitutional solution
people here are worried that trump is the authoritarian for saying close borders “till we can figure things out”, and Cruz wants to send the gestapo into muslim neighborhoods and do what? stopping immigration for a while is not unconstitutiona, deporting illegals is not unconstitutional. What cruz proposed as a constitutional conservative was unconstitutional as what Neils did, what Elliot Abrams did, etc.
hopefully that was not too much and i am not cut down
Artfldgr:
What are you talking about?
i hit enter before i could stop it from going, and correcting it and your blog does not allow an update.
then i could not contact you fast enough to fix it either.
mea culpa on the failure to mention that the first shot was Cruz pack…
The old saw “birds of a feather flock together” still applies, evidently.
Artfldgr:
I often think you confuse me with other people. Because when you write this, there is really nothing that I’ve ever said that you’re basing it on:
You ought to know better, having read this blog for so long.
Maybe someone somewhere would be saying that, but not me. Plus, as long as Trump didn’t even mention Heidi Cruz, why would I even think he was implying anything about Heidi Cruz?
I happen to think both women are very attractive, in very different ways. In fact, I wrote a post about 2 months ago about how attractive most of the GOP candidates’ wives are, and both Heidi and Melania were featured. In it, I also mentioned Melania’s nude photos, but said that in this day and age it won’t matter, nor is she the first First Lady with nude photos out there, Ms. Sarkozy having been the other.
It’s not an issue for me.
the issue is Trump’s response…
Republicans need to wake up and realize that Trump’s triumph is not due to some drunken delusion by a benighted rabble but is a direct result of the proven weakness of their other candidates. Ted Cruz, the last one still standing, is bombastic, sanctimonious and coldly sharkish behind that forced smile. Is Cruz a truly convincing model of Christian values of charity, compassion and humility? Jimmy Carter did it way better than this. Cruz seems consumed by a vainglorious conviction of his own destiny, tied to an apocalyptic view of history. He reminds me of glad-handing televangelists like Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker, who were loved and trusted by so many but whose careers ended in disgrace. — Paglia
Carson his opposition was and is right..
you dont like Trump which is fine, but to not like him for not doing what would cause him to lose and fault him for what is causing him to win, is kind of wrong. the game is to win, and that is what he is doing.
you may not want to fault the pac, but thats your own special rule that does not apply outside the place where you make the rules, yes?
Blumenthal Calls on Cruz to Disavow PAC Ad
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/11/09/senator-blumenthal-call-on-senator-cruz-to-disavow-pac-ad/
the side your on decided to try to win the race by slut-shaming a mans wife… Trump responded in kind to the man who did not say that was wrong…
— Blumenthal
Artfldgr:
Yes, it’s true that once a comment is up there, the writer can’t edit it. So I understand what you’re saying about that.
sorry i should have used the general they, not the general you, which you took as the specific… damn..
im out… way wya way too much by me…
please delete what you want and if you want correct the points i wrote mistakenly… miscommunication was on my part due to lack of being careful writing fast… it was more the general than the specific, you took it as specific, and it was my fault… i am in between things at work and trying to write, stop, write, and so on… so i am missing some things. edit what you think if you ahve the time, if not erase it all.. i have posted way too much in this thread. way too much
Artfldgr:
Melania’s nude photos are in the public domain.
As I said, I’m sick of any candidate being told to disavow a PAC which has nothing to do with him/her. I’d say that even about Trump (although I don’t think there currently is a PAC for him).
Candidates would be spending all day disavowing PACs. PACs operate on their own. And this ad wasn’t even bad! As I said, Trump could have turned it into an asset. Instead, he—personally— decided to insult and threaten Heidi Trump.
Juvenile, snarky, characterless, and personally done by him.
Artfldgr:
It’s okay, don’t worry about it; I get it.
My distress with the side not winning in this primary (and I’m on that side …I’m almost always on “that side” lol) is best expressed by this quote from Rumsfeld:
So when I hear “I’ll never vote for Trump. Never. I’ll vote for Hillary instead” I don’t get it.
Ah, don’t give me “reasons”. Again. I’ve heard the reasons. But at that level of purely emotional reaction, reasons have boiled down to “I hate Trump”, and nothing else is really relevant then, is it.
And I’m not listening.
Because.
You have lost it.
And as a result I just quit paying attention to you. Seriously, why would I?
There is NOTHING that Trump has reportedly or reputably ever done – and likely will ever do! – that approaches the evil and lies and outright crimes that Hillary Clinton has committed.
And you know that too!
Trump is no moral giant G-d knows, but compared to Hil’ he’s positively Paul Bunyan-esque in stature.
Really? You’re not voting Trump if he’s the candidate?
Trump’s mere shenanigans (legion though they be) somehow approach Benghazi level evil? Or the national security laws she’s so palpably and willingly and arrogantly broken and which in an honest government and department of justice would have already resulted in an indictment?
You’re voting for Hillary? Seriously.
Get a grip.
You may not much like (which is pretty damn obvious) the PT Barnum guy (no real offense meant to Trumpies …it’s just when I see Trump, too often I’ve got this picture of Foghorn Leghorn overlaying my optical nerves …it’s really hard to take Senator Beauregard Claghorn seriously …but do keep in mind over your objections to my characterization that just because I see him as clownish, that don’t mean that I won’t quite happily press the button for ‘im in November over the commie or especially over The Criminal) …but I don’t see how anyone can jump from past positions of counseling holding your nose at the ballot box, to a protest vote for the Dem’ after the past 8 years for reasons of Trump’s moral turpitude or what-the-‘ell-ever.
That! – with apologies to another popular TV character – simply does not compute.
…and y’all need to take it down a notch or three.
If Trump’s the army we got, than Trump’s the army we go to war with.
This may be a Trump clown show, but that don’t mean it ain’t serious. Deadly effin’ serious.
Hillary …the Dems …are the enemy.
Not! the rich guy in the rooster suit with the hottie wife.
(Gawd I hope Ace reads this.)
I will compliment Donald and Melania for not dancing the tango and yukking it up with Raul at a baseball game to celebrate the islamic terrorists’ success in Brussels. Otherwise, juvenile definitely describes how I view Trump, although I would place deeply disturbed before juvenile.
Paglia’s comment about Cruz demonstrates a certain willful cluelessness. Cruz was talking about a program of NYPD scrutiny of muslims that De Blasio axed after taking office. Paglia is a very smart person, so I have to assume this was her attempt to smear Cruz. She tends to be of a libertarian bent, so advancing Trump at the expense of Cruz is a bit strange. There is nothing libertarian about eminent domain donald.
brdavis9,
There is an alternative to voting for Trump or Hillary should that come to pass. Its called voting for libertarian, greenies, etc. for the oval office slot. As an aging farm boy I still attempt to avoid stepping on feces. On the farm that is sometimes unavoidable, in the voting booth it is. 😉
brdavis9–I share your frustration. With Trump there is a chance (no matter how small) that our other 2 branches of government will function in the manner in which the Framers intended. With Hillary or any other Democrat there is no way. We will with 100% certainty continue on our march toward the cliff.
1) Anti-Trump PAC creates tasteless ad using a risque photo from Melania’s modeling days.
2) Cruz claims this is not from him, but does not contact PAC to take down ad targeting candidate’s spouse.
3) Cruz sends his wife out to target Trump
4) Trump finally hits back at Heidi.
Steps one, two and three were all on Cruz. Every single one. You do not target family members in this way. By not asking the PAC to take down the ad, Cruz in essence condoned the attack and tried to put distance between himself and the ad to make it look as if Heidi was innocent in all of this mess.
FYI, very easily found a similar event by a Gingrich PAC in 2012 denigrating Romney in nasty ways, Gingrich asked the PAC to take it down. They did. That is how you handle nasty ads from PACs…not by claiming you didn’t put out the ad and then letting it sit out there.
I think it speaks volumes about Cruz. Without asking the PAC to take it down, Cruz condoned the behavior and opened the door to attacking wives on their looks and bodies.
Reminder: there are no Trump PACs that I know of, so Trump cannot have similar sideways attacks coming from supposedly ‘unconnected’ groups trying to help Trump. Therefore, Trump’s only outlet to hit back at PACs is through the means that he used. I have NO problems with this.
Cruz showed his true character by saying NOTHING to the PAC.
brdavis9,
The problem that I (and isuspect many of us here) have is that so many Trump supporters have acted from day 1 as if there were no choices except Trump and Hillary. They were unable to look at other candidates and discuss things in a way that might have helped the Reps put a good team together. Trump has run off other good people that I would like to see having some input for the next 4 years. It’s like he wants to be made empirer for life. I think he has really damaged both the conservative movement and the Rep party.
K-E,
The PAC you are talking about was started by a woman fired from the Walker campaign. Cruz had nothing to do wih it.
BTW, Donald wasn’t too strong about taking down his KKK supporters.
A great line from Ace’s article:
“A useful test of a politician is the repulsiveness of the lies you have to tell on his behalf to support him.”
expat, I understand that the PAC is not directed by Cruz…however, there are many things linking this woman to Cruz, which makes me highly suspicious. Also, please show me where Cruz told the PAC to take it down? He did not. You do not target wives and children in political ads, yet this is what the PAC did.
Sorry, that is not in the same realm as David Duke saying he suppported Trump. People are allowed to have political favorites. Doesn’t mean the candidate wants your support. Trump disavowed the KKK and Duke a billion times. This is NOT the same.
Trump does NOT have PACs. Wonder why that is…don’t you? Cruz has shown his slimy side more than once in this campaign. He is not the man I thought he was ayear ago.
parker:
Paglia wasn’t incorrect because Cruz made two different statements on the matter. The first one on his Facebook page said “We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized” and made no mention of the NYPD program. The second statement made later in the day by his campaign brought up the NYPD program.
I’m in complete agreement with neo as to what Trump’s responses reveal about that aspect of his character.
I’m in complete agreement with brdavis9 and Sharon W, as to the necessity to vote for Trump, should he be the nominee.
If Trump is the nominee, a vote for the any other candidate is a vote for the democrat candidate. It is also an implicit declaration that a ‘progressive’ Pres. Hillary will do less harm than will a narcissistic, bullying Pres Trump. IMO, logic, reason and fact do not support that assertion.
Why do people think that those of us that live in blue states think that it really matters who we vote for? There used to be about 8 true swing states, i.e. those are the only people whose votes make a difference. the republicans have now lost colorado, new mexico, and virginia. iowa, florida, are hanging by a thread and north carolina is starting to teeter.
My reaction to Trump is not some emotional, he’s icky response. Go look at the interview he did with the WaPo editorial board. It’s beyond pathetic. Talking about his hands and answering a question about bombing Syria by talking about Rubio and Jeb.
expat at 4:47 pm,
Do you actually think that had the Trump supporters discussed things ‘more reasonably’, that the GOPe would have then “put a good team together”?
How exactly could Trump ‘run off’ good people who stood their ground? Did Trump run off Fiorina or Carson?
Conservatives like those on the National Review and a “long train of abuses” by the GOPe have really damaged the party.
Wow — it’s getting tough out there: Cruz to Trump: “Donald, you’re a sniveling coward, leave Heidi the hell alone”
Ann,
I don’t do facebook or tweet, definitely a 20th century man who would have been well suited for the 19th. I’ll take your word for Cruz on facebook. Never said he was perfect or pure, I only have said he is the best choice since Walker and Fiorina dropped out.
GB,
You are assuming King DJT will cause less harm than the Shrew Queen. Fine, that is your POV and I can respect your thought process that has arrived at that conclusion. It is not my POV. I am concerned about what happens down ticket if DJT is the nominee. I am willing to bet thousands that in the general DJT loses the popular by 20% (or more) and the lopsided electoral count will be a reprise of 1984 if DJT faces off against hrc or any dem. Shall we make a wager? 🙂
@parker – We’ve discussed ad nauseum on this blog over the years that “protest votes” (be it write-in, third party, jocular, whatever) are effectually votes for the “other guy”. The raison d’éªtre logic of the truth of that is kind’a commonly accepted by all at this point.
(We may not personally like it that there’s no effective Third Way, but that’s how it is with being rational squishes: you can’t deny deductive reasoning. Well, unless you don your Weepy Suit, and purely emote. Which …you should save that response for stuff that don’t matter, when you know it can’t hurt. It’s hard being us, sigh.)
Ergo, your [threatened] vote in the general for Bugs Bunny would be only slightly less effective then pulling the actual lever for the Sith Lord.
(Actually, neo Herself has talked me off that same ledge at least a couple of times, mostly recently for Romney Hisself. The McCain season though, was kind’a epic: I didn’t come ’round until Palin was added to the ticket. And it was still pretty close after that: as I viscerally despise McCain for his myriad betrayals to conservatives and the base over the years. I still don’t like myself yet for having voted for the SOB. But I’d do it again, against the current incarnation of Shiva.)
Look, you know deep down that Hil’s the current personification of evil in American politics. The woman is Bad News.
And the next prez’ chooses the bent of the Supreme Court for the next, what, 30 years maybe?
And sure, you don’t like – you can even despise: it’s fine with me …heck, I probably agree with you most days – Ronald McDonald.
…but hold your nose.
It matters.
Don’t be pissed off just ‘cuz.
Man up.
Do The Right Thing.
…gawd I can’t believe it’s me saying that.
@expat.
It’s the GOPe that have ruined the GOP. And dissed the conservatives. They were never our party in the first place. It’s become more obvious with each passing election just how much they despise us.
Thus, I see Trump as symptom, not disease.
I’ve been predicting (and commenting elsewhere: Ace, for one) a Whig Moment for the GOP for a dozen plus years.
You can’t square the circle, and it wasn’t that hard to see it coming, if you were paying attention. Which, many have been.
With the GOPe suggesting a willingness to vote Hil’ or vote Third Party, I’m calling it “Game over, man. Game over.” (No, I really can’t not do that. I luvs me my doofuss referential quotes.)
I’ve held my damn nose and voted the party line for an age. Now the chickens come home to roost, and – whether Cruz (hopefully: but I’m not seeing a path to the convention if NY goes Trump, which seems likely) or Trump – the bastids hate them both (!), and are bugging out.
Eff’ ’em.
Let the damn Party die.
If that’s all Trump accomplishes (given he loses the general, which I am by NO MEANS assured of, polls be damned …they haven’t proven reliable yet this season), then it will be Mission Accomplished.
Personally, I can’t lose.
And the Republic will survive, and thrive. It needs a cleansing anyways. We’ve become un-moored, but we’ve not lost the way yet.
And.
Wars coming. A real one. A nasty one. Really, really nasty.
That’s how religious wars are.
But this one? – Prob’ly of apocalyptic proportions.
(No, not The Apocalypse. Yet. I hope.)
And don’t forget the other races in this election – hopefully we can put some good conservatives back in the Senate & House as well as increasing the hold on the state governments.
@parker –
Considerations of what happens down ticket playing a part in your choice are only relevant now during the primaries.
It’s illogical to think that if the general election is Hil’ and Trump, that your “holding your nose” vote for Trump in the general is going to matter more OR less to the down ticket then.
It could go either way then …and the only time it matters as consideration – that you should weight it in your decision – for your vote is now, during the primaries.
So: irrelevant rationale as cause for not voting Trump in the general.
I’m weighting signifiers that Hil’s nomination will depress Dem’ turnout, and that The Donald is attractive to blue dogs (whom I believe are the “increased turnout” we’re seeing) precisely due to all the same reasons that conservatives don’t care for him.
Our mutual chagrin being especially poignant because there’s finally a half-decent actual conservative otherwise likely to win.
…but have you ever considered that without The Donald sucking up all the air in the mainstream media, Cruz couldn’t possibly be where he’s at now, and Jeb’ or Rubio would be more likely in the ascendent?
…I have, and just because I’m by no means comfortable with the logic of that scenario, means I can simply ignore it and wish it were not so. When have we seen this before? Yeah, never (maybe Reagan …maybe).
…give the devil his due: Trump has been a freaking Force of Nature this election, and I am unconvinced we’d even have Cruz as a possibility without Trump.
…and for the same reason – the “force of nature” viz the media – I’m totally unconvinced by the so-far-unreliable polls that Teflon Don will fare any worse in the general. It’s not a given.
If I’m right …and so long as the GOPe doesn’t desert the party (and damn them, they might) …it’s ours.
Whether we like the guy or not. (I don’t.)
Or pine for What Might Have Been. (I already am, sigh.)
I expect Cruz to lose NY, and any hope for a clear path to the convention.
And if the GOPe tries ANY shenanigans with the delegate count, they will be the ones who plunged the knife into the heart of the party.
That WOULD be the Whig Moment, and they will have been not merely the proximate, but the final, cause.
If they do that, then almost any hope for the prize evaporates.
Oh. And you can bet your a$$ Cruz isn’t going to be the nominee in a second or third vote: the GOPe despise Cruz as much as they hate Trump.
As far as that goes, as much as they hate me. Or you. Or most of us.
They want our lovely loyal votes. At which point their attitude – as usual – will be to wish for us to go away and die ’til the next election.
Like I said. Screw ’em.
In that one sense, at least, – and whether Cruz or Trump – this is our moment.
The Tea Party wins.
If it does end up Trump vs. Hillary, my view as of now is that I would not vote. This is not a fit of pique but a genuine sense that they are about equally destructive, albeit in different ways. I assure you that I have no love for the Republican party as such. It has nothing to do with that. Rather, I consider that we are near or possibly already past a point where our constitutional system exists in name only. Things are so far gone that I’m really down to that one issue: which choice is less likely to do less damage to that system? I honestly do not see a persuasive argument in favor of either Trump or Hillary. As far as I can tell neither of them has any respect for the Constitution and fundamental American liberties.
A year or two ago, Ace would drift into “go ahead and vote for the Dem to burn it down faster” mode. Given that –
1.). He’s probably burned out dealing with the mess that is the Comments
2.). He’s very suspicious of the Republican front runner (not only does he think that Trump’s personality is bad, but he also believes that Trump’s really a Democrat trying to say what he thinks Republicans want to hear)
3.). He doesn’t trust the party establishment at all
4.). That effectively leaves Cruz, who’s got a rapidly dwindling chance of capturing the nomination
I think it’s safe to say that his latest comments suggest that he’s drifting back to the “vote for the bad guys to burn it all down faster” camp.
brdavis9,
My concern about what happens down ticket is relevant only during the primaries??? That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
You note that the gope despises Cruz, but fail to acknowledge some within the gope think they can make a deal with the “supreme deal maker”. You are askiing/demanding that I believe in the donald who changes his position on a host of issues hour by hour and is ever ready to morph as the wind blows. the donald that has donated to Schumer, the Cuomo thugs, hillary, etc.?
I may be many things, but I am not one who exalts BS as wisdom. You have your POV, I have mine. I will not in good conscience step in BS. You sir or madam are free to step as your conscience dictates.
Melania chose to be a model.
Melania chose to pose in various states of undress.
Trump chose to marry her.
That’s all his problem.
It is a federal crime to coordinate in any way between a superpac and a candidate. So Cruz cannot shut down the superpac or any ads it is running. Trump is perfectly well aware of that. PERIOD.
As a Cruz supporter opposed to #neverTump as just a path to a Rodham presidency, Trumps lying Ted meme and his vulgar, sleazy, low life attacks on Heidi make it very difficult to see supporting Trump in the fall.
When is Trump going to act like something other then a thug?
It’s really amazing to me that so many people are drawn to a man who is so unlike them. I’m still very rooted in my small-town/rural home although I live abroad and my husband is a professor–also small-town background. What I treasure about my home is the decency of the people. Trump just doesn’t fit in this world. He doesn’t even know these kinds of people. I just don’t think he can represent them.
parker Says:
Paglia’s comment about Cruz demonstrates a certain willful cluelessness.
I think Paglia is emotionally-driven. As an art-critic, she’s brilliant. As a selector of presidents, she’s awful.
I think she finds Trump interesting, and Cruz boring. That’s an awful way to pick a president.
Trump is correct in his response to the PAC ad. He could have taken the “high road” and responded with something “classy.” But, that would have been like Romney and he would have ended up like Romney – unelected.
True, Cruz (nor anyone else) should have nothing to say/do with the PACS that support them – that’s how it is suppose to work. BUT, there are some things that candidates – any candidate, not just Cruz – should speak out against. One of them is attacks on another candidate’s family.
I despised Obama when he didn’t say anything for three days when Palin’s family members were attacked. I equally despise Cruz because he didn’t say jacksquat either about the smearing of Trump’s wife.
Yea, maybe Trump is a bully; but, Cruz isn’t innocent here either. He could have, and in my opinion should have, said “hey, that’s off limits!” Instead, like Obama, he was hoping that others would do damage that he could remain blameless for.
So, really, who is the bigger jerk here? Trump or Cruz? In my opinion, they are both jerks; it is just that Trump is more obvious. Cruz, like so many other politicians is letting others do his dirty work. That’s not just being a jerk; that being real sleazy in my book.
The Republicans have been so busy slinging mud at each other and the only one coming out clean is Hillary. Hillary clean! Ha! That IS a joke on us!
And, I read comments here about how Trump isn’t conservative enough, Trump is a bully, Trump isn’t the only option, I won’t vote for Trump, I won’t vote! Fine, then don’t vote for Trump and we can have Lying Hillary in the Oval office.
@parker.
Oooooh-kaay.
…guess I totally missed that there right up lol.
And “sir” btw.
I’ll say it yet again:
This “vote for Trump or else Hillary will win” thing is the exact same emotional blackmail that the GOPe used on us for decades.
IT ANGERS ME WHEN TRUMP SUPPORTERS USE IT, IN THE SAME WAY AS IF AN SJW USED IT.
I will not be blackmailed, and if I have to burn everything down in order to teach Trump supporters a lesson about coalition-building and KEEPING A CIVIL TONGUE IN THEIR HEAD, then that’s what I will do.
Trump is a product, and I mean that in the best sense. He is selling himself to the customers: the voters. If he insults 60% of the customers directly or indirectly, he doesn’t get to question us about why we refused to buy his product.
If Trump wins the nomination and then goes on to lose to Hillary, it will be the Trumpkins’ own fault. Every poll for the last 6 months has said that he would lose to Hillary, and by a wide margin.
Trump losing to Hillary will be the least surprising outcome in US electoral history.
on another note this is how far the lefts little army is going
After the GOP frontrunner’s name was written in chalk on a campus wall, students said they ‘feared for their lives.’ The school vowed to identify the taggers. But professors at the school are now pushing back. Support for Donald Trump in the form of chalk markings on campus at Emory College sent the university into a tailspin this week, with the administration scrambling to appease students who felt threatened by the sudden scourge of pro-Trump scribblings on school grounds. Early Monday, students say, they were “attacked” by Trump’s name in large, pastel letters on campus walkways and buildings. -Emory College
Making the workplace tougher and tougher every day…
brdavis9 Says:
It’s the GOPe that have ruined the GOP.
The voters ruined the GOP.
The voters either didn’t vote at all, or voted for the wrong people. The voters didn’t make wise, dispassionate choices based on evidence. The voters allowed themselves to be manipulated by people they already know are liars.
Those who knew better didn’t fight hard enough, so they’re guilty too.
People get the government they deserve.
BUSTED: Anti-Trump Consultant Liz Mair Paid $15K A Month By Dictator (WITH UPDATE)
http://gotnews.com/anti-trump-failed-political-consultant-liz-mair-works-for-foreign-governments/
Time will tell if busted is valid. They have copies of the documents up for inspection if they are fakes they are better fakes than Obama’s birth certificate was…
[Anyone wonder if Trump would have the power to check that one out IF he won the election??? what about some other stuff on a whole lot of people that can be made public with a stroke of a pen??? but thats a whole other subject having to do with the lefts fear of nothing can stop that train if it gets into the station]
As a limited liability company, Trump Card LLC wouldn’t have to disclose its donors to the Federal Election Commission. Viveca Novak, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics, said she was aware of no restrictions on the kinds of political activities that could be funded through an LLC. “Anyone can set one up,” she said. “You don’t know who is behind it.” – Mair
From huffington post
When Republican operatives decided to finally organize an attack on leading presidential candidate Donald Trump, they didn’t launch a super PAC or start a nonprofit. Instead, Trump Card LLC, a limited liability company, was formed. Could this be the start of a new trend in political spending for the post-Citizens United age?
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
On the benefits side, an electorally active LLC, like a political nonprofit, would most likely be able to avoid disclosing its contributors. Donor anonymity appears to be a major reason for the formation of Trump Card as an LLC.
mair responds
If you search FARA, you’ll find our termination of registration and (I believe— at least you should) the letter confirming when the contract ended. I want to say it was something like early January 2015 (so no, the work is not ongoing, it was a very short contract). Frankly, we have tried since that contract ended to avoid doing any work for foreign governments, for a variety of reasons including that I prefer to spend my time doing things other than filling out forms.
like i said, time…
Hookay.
Again.
2X in one thread.
…time to submerge.
Simply not worth it …tah y’all.
I agree with brdavis9 to an extent. The GOP needs a reform from within. The Left accuses GOP for being racist, sexist, LGBTphobic, xenophobic and just pure evil. It is the cause of all the woes in the world in their mind. I disagree with The Left here. The GOP needs a tailor because it’s currently wearing ill-fitting suits from Jos A. Banks.
The GOP needs new blood that (A) isn’t Boehner/McConnell and (B) blood that doesn’t aspire to be DNC Lite. The GOP just doesn’t have the drive like the DNC; it’s a stagnant party and when they do get the majority of seats in Congress they mostly don’t do anything. It seems like they just like sitting there for the sake of sitting and being present.
Sir brdavis9,
The question remains… What happens down ticket is restricted to the primaries? How so? Can you provide historical evidence? Or are you not concerned about republican senators or representatives up for re-election in blue/purple states? Do you not care which party holds the majority or believe it makes no difference? LOL all you wish, but the question remains. This is not a personal issue between Sir brdavis9 and Sir parker, its a matter beyond the fate of you or me.
brdavis9: I realize you may have already checked out, but I wanted to respond to this:
“There is NOTHING that Trump has reportedly or reputably ever done — and likely will ever do! — that approaches the evil and lies and outright crimes that Hillary Clinton has committed.”
I’ve seen this in many forms. “Trump never did anything as horrible as Benghazi, etc”. People don’t realize or remember that Trump has never had anywhere near the kind of power that Hillary has had. From what I’ve seen of him, I think it would be reckless to vote for him. The argument “Well he can’t be as bad as Obama/Hillary/Bernie/etc” begs the question. Of course he can!. My guess is that in a Trump administration he’d spend his first 100 days using the full force of the executive branch getting even with his enemies.
So, basically, short of a miracle and the GOP nominating someone better, it’s going to suck.
Matt_SE @ 8:36 pm: You win the thread!
Hold your nose Trumpster apologists, yes you know who you are; think about the lost cause you are preparded to endorse. If it comes down to djt or hrc, wht is the difference? IMO it takes an elecrtron microscope to measure the angstrom distance between djt and hrc when it all comes down to dust.
This entire episode has been very disturbing to me. The way that everyone grabs and runs with their own version of reality without checking the actual events is downright frightening. I found K-E’s remarks very problematic:
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1) Anti-Trump PAC creates tasteless ad using a risque photo from Melania’s modeling days.
2) Cruz claims this is not from him, but does not contact PAC to take down ad targeting candidate’s spouse.
3) Cruz sends his wife out to target Trump.
4) Trump finally hits back at Heidi.
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This is not the order of events as I understood it, but to be fair, I just spent several hours researching it again. Regarding K-E’s list:
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1) Anti-Trump PAC creates tasteless ad using a risque photo from Melania’s modeling days. [Correct]
2) Cruz claims this is not from him, but does not contact PAC to take down ad targeting candidate’s spouse. [Not Correct]
3) Cruz sends his wife out to target Trump. [Not Correct]
4) Trump finally hits back at Heidi. [Not Correct]
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This is actual order of events, as best I could dig out.
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1) Anti-Trump PAC creates tasteless ad using a risque photo from Melania’s modeling days.
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Correct. It was an Anti-Trump Pac. It was tasteless. And Liz Meir has been very open about it. In fact, the first conversation regarding it was on March 21st, before and as the ads ran and before the Tuesday elections in Utah/AZ.
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Mar. 21, 2016, at 11:57 a.m.
Anti-Trump Group Runs Facebook Ads Seeking To Rally Mormon Voters – Liz Mair, a Republican strategist whose anti-Trump super PAC Make America Awesome launched the Facebook campaign last week, said each ad is expected to reach around 10,000 Mormons of voting age a day. The goal is twofold: increase turnout among LDS voters, and urge them to strategically consolidate around Ted Cruz, who is close to the 50% winner-take-all threshold in Utah. …..Mair said this is the first time the group has run ads urging voters to back a specific candidate. In Utah and Arizona, polls show Cruz with a much better chance than John Kasich of beating Trump
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/anti-trump-group-runs-facebook-ads-seeking-to-rally-mormon-v#.fggWJMBa
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Here is Mair boasting about the ads:
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Liz Mairâ€@LizMair
.@mckaycoppins with the lowdown on the ads we’re running in UT and AZ targeting Mormons ahead of tomorrow: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/anti-trump-group-runs-facebook-ads-seeking-to-rally-mormon-v#.qi8ovqzO8 …
1:39 PM – 21 Mar 2016
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This is the first indication that Trump was aware of the ad, a full day before his threatening tweet. But there was no tweet I could find that explains this “lol” tweet.
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Liz Mairâ€@LizMair
I see I pissed off Trump by running an ad that rightly acknowledges that Mormon women don’t want a nude model as First Lady. Tee hee.
5:56 PM – 21 Mar 2016
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Now we have one full missing day before anything more shows up — which I find very intriguing. I could find nothing on Trump’s or Cruz’s twitter about this ad at all. So I still don’t know why or how Mair knows Trump is not happy with her. But there is nothing regarding Cruz yet.
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2) Cruz claims this is not from him, but does not contact PAC to take down ad targeting candidate’s spouse.
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Not Correct — the first “shot” between Trump and Cruz very much appears to be fired by Trump, with a threat against Heidi Cruz, long before she joins the conversation. But why a full day after Mair’s tweet that Trump was not happy? And where is Trump’s evidence that the ad is from Cruz? The “fine print” on the ad clearly labels it as not affiliated with any candidate.
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Donald J. TrumpVerified accountâ€@realDonaldTrump
Lyin’ Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania from a G.Q. shoot in his ad. Be careful, Lyin’ Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!
6:53 PM – 22 Mar 2016
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Within minutes, Mair claims responsibility, and presumably, a spotlight she wants.
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Liz Mairâ€@LizMair
.@realDonaldTrump Hi Donald, I know you’re really upset about that ad, but it was Make America Awesome’s, not Ted Cruz’s.
7:08 PM – 22 Mar 2016
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Also within minutes, Cruz responds.
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Ted CruzVerified accountâ€@tedcruz
Ted Cruz Retweeted Donald J. Trump
Pic of your wife not from us. Donald, if you try to attack Heidi, you’re more of a coward than I thought. #classless
Ted Cruz added,
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
Lyin’ Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania from a G.Q. shoot in his ad. Be careful, Lyin’ Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!
7:21 PM – 22 Mar 2016
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I find these follow up tweets by Mair very interesting…if this is true, it adds another dimension to the tale. Has the Trump campaign been pushing the media to investigate Heidi Cruz and hinting at mental instability? Some speculation was out there about a mild bout of depression a decade or so ago, which frankly, I think is nearly as common as the flu these days. And Mair is claiming this line of attack pre-dates her ads, which, again, if true, pretty much negates the “Cruz attacked first” meme.
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Liz Mairâ€@LizMair
Donald Trump is so desperate to beat Cruz that his team has been pushing around rumors she’s a criminal w a mental illness for weeks now.
7:09 PM – 22 Mar 2016
—
Liz Mairâ€@LizMair
Trumpkins whining about our ad have been referencing this in lots of emails to you. There, @realDonaldTrump, consider your “thunder” stolen.
7:10 PM – 22 Mar 2016
—
Liz Mairâ€@LizMair
Presumably, the reason @realDonaldTrump hasn’t said what his campaign has apparently been pushing his followers to say about Heidi…
7:11 PM – 22 Mar 2016
—
Liz Mairâ€@LizMair
…b/c @realDonaldTrump knows there’s a little thing called defamation law. Which doesn’t apply to our ad bc the Melania pic is real. LOLZ.
7:12 PM – 22 Mar 2016
—
Liz Mairâ€@LizMair
.@rickhasen @Bencjacobs @tripgabriel His campaign has been whining to supporters about it for days now, urging them to send me hate mail.
7:33 PM – 22 Mar 2016
—
Liz Mairâ€@LizMair
.@tripgabriel @rickhasen @Bencjacobs Sure it is. I’m just saying, it’s not like this is a *new* line of attack for Trump. Predates our ad.
7:44 PM – 22 Mar 2016
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And as to the point that this is a “Cruz Super Pac” or that “Ted knew”…
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Liz Mairâ€@LizMair
.@JaredWyand @Flap For the record, guys, Cruz has never attended a conference of ours or asked for our support.
7:50 PM – 22 Mar 2016
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This was disturbing, as well…I don’t think she should have run the ad, but if Melania and Heidi are off-limits (which I think they should be), then Mair’s mom is too. When did two wrongs start making a right?
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Liz Mairâ€@LizMair
Cool… Trumpkins now calling my mother and leaving hateful, nasty voicemails on her phone. Very predictable.
5:13 AM – 23 Mar 2016
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The next day, upon being asked by all the media, Cruz unambiguously denounces the ad. Was this too long a delay? I’m not sure that’s a fair argument to make. The ad wasn’t his, and he had already made that clear. If he goes on to make a big deal about denouncing it, he’s open to accusations that he’s “milking it”. Isn’t that a bit of the “prove you haven’t beaten your wife today” position? It’s a no-win, especially for those who have pre-accepted Trump’s claim that Cruz lies. But when others bring it up, he does denounce it.
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“That ad was completely inappropriate and we had nothing to do with it. It’s a separate group, it wasn’t our campaign; it wasn’t even a Super PAC affiliated with us in any way. I don’t know the person who did it, I’ve never spoken with them; we have no involvement with them whatsoever. And Donald knows that. He just used it as an excuse to try and attack my wife Heidi.”
https://videos.files.wordpress.com/ZjWOSrvQ/ted-cruz-on-trump-and-melania-ad_dvd.mp4
1:06 pm — 23 Mar 2016
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Trump fires back, and again, without presenting any evidence of his claims.
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Donald J. TrumpVerified accountâ€@realDonaldTrump
Lyin’ Ted Cruz denied that he had anything to do with the G.Q. model photo post of Melania. That’s why we call him Lyin’ Ted!
7:22 AM – 23 Mar 2016
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First mention of Heidi’s perspective that I found:
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Betsy KleinVerified accountâ€@betsy_klein
.@tedcruz on Heidi: “She’s dealt with a lot of garbage in the business world…Heidi Cruz is not scared 1 iota by a bellowing Donald Trump.”
6:56 PM – 23 Mar 2016
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Evening of the second day, Cruz tries (in vain) to end this:
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Ted CruzVerified accountâ€@tedcruz
Ted Cruz Retweeted Donald J. Trump
Donald, real men don’t attack women. Your wife is lovely, and Heidi is the love of my life.
9:30 PM – 23 Mar 2016
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The drama continues into the third day. Social media at this point is awash with claims from Trump supporters that Mair is a Cruz supporter. The push back is pretty much ignored:
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Moe Laneâ€@moelane
.@JoeFree76 @betsy_klein Actually I know Liz, and she kind of dislikes Ted, and certainly the Super PAC would have preferred Marco.
4:40 AM – 24 Mar 2016
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And specifically on a twitter claim that Ted Cruz signed off on the ad?
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Moe Laneâ€@moelane
.@HavBat22 @JoeFree76 @betsy_klein …You DO realize that you’re claiming, without proof, that Ted Cruz violated federal campaign law?
5:24 AM – 24 Mar 2016
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It is still dominating the news cycle :
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10:57 am CT — 24 Mar 2016
Alice Stewart — Cruz Campaign Spokeswoman — “Ted has denounced the ad, he says spouses are completely off limits and family members are completely off limits when it comes to the Presidential race when it comes to the discourse and he has made that quite clear.”
https://videos.files.wordpress.com/90p3xu3z/cruz-spox-condemns-melania-ad_dvd.mp4
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Trump, still without providing any support evidence that Ted “knew”, falsely claims Cruz started it.
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Donald J. TrumpVerified accountâ€@realDonaldTrump
I didn’t start the fight with Lyin’Ted Cruz over the GQ cover pic of Melania, he did. He knew the PAC was putting it out – hence, Lyin’ Ted!
3:31 PM – 24 Mar 2016
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And here we have the reason Ted Cruz did not call for the ad to come down…it was already down before the first Trump tweet.
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Liz Mairâ€@LizMair
Only reason people are still writing+talking abt it is YOU;it hasn’t run for DAYS. If you want focus to end, stop talking! @realDonaldTrump
4:11 PM – 24 Mar 2016
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So this drama might well continue into a four day. But I am surprised that more individuals haven’t picked up on the pattern I am seeing.
Not Trump’s pattern of insulting women (like Jeb Bush’s wife and mother, Carly Fiorina, Megyn Kelly and now Heidi Cruz). Not the pattern of name calling and mudslinging without end (Lyin’ Ted, loser, dead show).
The pattern of diversion.
Remember the full missing day before Trump got on his twitter high horse? What was happening during that day?
Three things — Cruz won Utah with 69% of the vote, the media began giving a substantially greater slice of attention and focus to Cruz than had been the case previously (and it was a very noticeable jump in network appearances) and (in the wake of the Brussels attack) Trump began being seriously pressed by the media for answers on substance (What are you going to do about China in the S. Pacific? How are you going to handle ISIS? What do you think pulling back support to NATO will do to the stability of our allies? And etc.)
Trump needed a diversion badly. So he did what he does when he needs to re-direct attention — he created a controversy. And it worked. Boy, did it work. I think that is what I find most contemptible about it all.
P.S. Heidi Cruz’s only response seems to have been when directly asked by the press and then it was a graciously word deflection back towards the Cruz campaign.
P.S.S. Sorry this is so long a post, I’ve know I’ve spent way too much time on this, but clearly, it was bugging me a lot, so even if no one else reads this far, at least I felt better for writing it, I guess. 🙁
Late to the thread, but THIS is going to land like an M-80: Apparently Ted Cruz has been catting around quite a bit.
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/celebrity/ted-cruz-sex-scandal-mistresses-cheating-claims/
From those wonderful folks who brought you the Gary “Monkey Business” Hart scandal and the John Edwards’ “mistress and love child” scandal.
Can this race get any wilder? Wait until the Huma + Hillary stories hit the mainline. 😉
…and y’all need to take it down a notch or three.
AGREED, brdavis9!
The LEFT is by FAR our greatest threat. Hell, at least Trump wants America to WIN, and that ain’t tiddlywinks, compared to this Red/Pinko lot who’s running our nation into the ground.
So who will you vote for, the traitorous witch who’s Stolen the furniture out of the White House (talk about TACKY!) or the guy who will plate it with 24-karat gold?
Hmmm, let me see… so tough to decide!
Donated to Cruz twice, and I’m now shifting to Trump because he has the charisma to win. Ted, alas, has a negative Q quotient. Even Charles C. W. Cooke, who admitted he agrees with everything Cruz says, also declares he “can’t stand” the man. We do need someone with mass appeal in order to keep the Leftist orcs out of power; that’s just the way the human animal operates. AS we have seen with Hussein.
I do understand worrying about what Trump might do once he’s in office, if he’s elected.
But seriously, do you have ANY doubt about what Hildabeast will do if SHE’s elected? She’s already committed high treason by exposing all our national secrets via the State Dept. email scandal — she deliberately exposed our national secrets to our foreign enemies, for God’s sake. Who have been paying her and Billy Jeff millions of dollars via the Clinton Crime Family Foundation fund!
She’s running to the LEFT of Bernie Sanders, Communist (yeah, right, the Socialist who has gone on the record as wanting a “100% tax rate,” i.e., Communism).
She hates America as much as Hussein does.
None of the above is true of Trump, erratic though he be.
And we’re at the point where we have our collective neck on the cliff edge: after 8 years of Hussein O., with Obamacare’s chains already fastened around our ankles, sitting this one out is a luxury we can’t afford. I beg you, please, please think this over.
Beverly:
Charisma, Trump? Not with women.
And I’m surprised at your paying attention to the Enquirer. Sometimes they’re correct, often they’re not, and at this point there’s no reason to imagine that story is correct (see this, for example).
And why would anyone willing to support Trump even care whether Cruz has had affairs? Trump certainly has had them.
LJB – thank you. It’s sad that a lie can go half way around the world before the truth can get its boots on. We’ll done researching that.
Trump has a lot of chutzpah calling anyone else a liar.
To those begging some of us to vote for Trump because Hillary will be so bad – yes, this is awful. So the best thing to do is to get a nominee who is good. Trump isn’t, but there’s still time.
neo,
IF Cruz has been repeatedly unfaithful, it is highly relevant because Cruz presents himself as a deeply religious man. That goes not just to character but to his purported faithfulness to the Constitution, which is in turn assured by his claim to his Christian faith.
As a deeply religious Christian, IF Cruz is unfaithful to his marriage vows, making a mockery of his claim to deep religious faith, what faith can we place in his claim to be faithful to the Constitution?
It raises the possibility of Cruz’s conservative bonifides being merely cynical political calculation…
Really a conflict for me — Hillary is beyond obscene and Trump is an asshole. Sheesh!
Hillary is not a congenital liar – in HER view. She, like all leftists, merely have a different definition of “lie” and “truth.” To a leftist, “truth” is anything which advances the leftist cause, “lie” is anything which retards it. Therefore, she is telling the “truth” when she says she did not tell the families of the Benghazi victims that the video caused the attack — obviously, it would retard the cause if she were not elected. (I think we need new words to describe what leftists say; maybe “L-truth” and “L-lie.”)
Donald Trump is a liar also – he’s a real estate guy, and as someone who has dealt with many real estate guys over the years, I know he will say or do anything to get the deal. And it’s not as though he keeps that a secret — he published it in “America’s BEST-SELLING business book of all time!” as he’s so fond of saying.
The difference is that everyone once in a while, like a broken clock that is right twice a day, Donald will do the right thing. I think he genuinely loves America, and I think Hillary genuinely hates America. As between two people who are totally out for themselves, one of whom hates this country and the other who loves it, I don’t see much difficulty (not the same as reluctance and disappointment) in making a choice.
(As a plus, I know that the Donald is at least a fiscal conservative — he is renowned for his ability to get projects done on time and under budget. I think he also means it when he says ISIS will be destroyed — he has a genuine hate for Islamic radicals, probably derived from what they did to HIS city.)
I’m not at all sure about the accuracy of the polls showing Hillary beats Trump. I believe we’ve discussed here before the difficulty of polling in the modern era when so many people have only cell phones. I also think many people are very reluctant to admit to a pollster that they will vote for Trump. This opinion has no scientific basis — it’s just a gut feeling. And my gut feelings have been wrong many times in the past — but they’ve also been right many times.
Geoffrey Britain:
Well, we know that Trump HAS been serially unfaithful, unlike what we know about Cruz (which is nothing about his faithfulness). So what would that say about Trump?
Plus, I’ve actually always said that people can be unfaithful in the sexual realm and faithful in other realms. Not always, but certainly sometimes—the two are very different realms.
Lastly, Cruz’s dedication to the Constitution goes back to high school, and is well-known. I see no reason to doubt it.
LJB
I agree with your analysis of Sir Donald’s methods and character and appreciated the work laying out the time line. He is a slimy piece of work.
Speaking to other men who work with things, I hear a commen theme: talking about 220VAC, kilns and the like, we say: “I used to fear it. Now I respect it.”
Because Respect is Fear moderated through Rules. You Fear a mad dog but will never Respect it. You Respect a guard dog because, although it is Fearsome, it is kept in check by its punctilious observance of the Rules.
And you keep your hands away from the bitey end. That’s another Rule.