The Republican Primary Race Is Filling Up

[CountryBoy1981]

I voted pragmatically for Romney. And I tried to talk the "principled" voters into doing the same. But in the end, I just have to shake the dust from my boots and move on. Those people didn't vote for Romney because they didn't see him as any more reliable on guns than Obama. Romney didn't win and as much that remains to be seen in what Romney would have done, I think most people would think Obama did worse than Romney would have. I think I was more correct about the inevitability of things. But I didn't have crystal ball to tell me I was right. Events had to make that evident.

If you want gun control, and you vote for candidates who want gun control, you voted your conscience. But I'm going to blame you for opposing my right to bear arms.

If you don't want gun control, and you don't vote for someone who wants gun control. I'm not going to blame you for being wrong.

I'm not saying people aren't responsible for how they vote. I am saying that the Puritans have as much right to their principles as I have to my pragmatism. You don't live in a vacuum either. If you want to speak of inevitable results and principles, we can talk about your seemingly unquestionable support for Trump despite the many warnings that he's not what you think. We both believe different things about that. Should I blame you if Trump is elected and you turn out to be wrong? Should I blame you if Hillary gets elected because your unquestioning support of Trump helped him defeat candidates who would stand a better chance against her?

I probably might say I told you so, but I'm probably not going to blame you for exercising your conscience.

Trump is the only candidate that I know of who has advocated for a one time 10% net worth tax, that's even further to the left of Clinton and Sanders. There are times where Trump makes Clinton look like a moderate or even a Republican.

 

[BugI02]

I would also allow that "conservativism" is a spectrum unto itself. Like "violet" covers portions of the light spectrum - visible and invisible.

But, as noted above, perhaps the commonly accepted range has shifted considerably away from my own. And this is even excepting social issues.

Bernie and Hubble both might see that as a 'Red shift'

 

[T.Lex]

Bernie and Hubble both might see that as a 'Red shift'

Indeed - moving away from me. Here's hoping there's a blue shift in the near future....

 

[chipbennett]

Well, well, well...

In Indiana, the Deal to Stop Trump May Be Backfiring - Bloomberg Politics

“People who were supporting Kasich have been coming into the office to pick up Trump signs,” said Laura Campbell, Republican chairwoman of Hamilton County, whose residents earn more money than anyone else in the state. “People are not happy here with that alliance.”

...

Even some Cruz supporters in Indiana aren't happy about the arrangement. Tim Douglass, 30, a social worker from South Bend, said he initially supported Trump because he liked the idea of an outsider. He switched to Cruz when the billionaire failed to provide specifics, but Douglass doesn't agree with the effort to block Trump.


“I don’t like the teaming up,” Douglass said while standing in line on Tuesday for a $1 pretzel at the opening of a Ben's Soft Pretzels store downtown. “You should play to win, not play to stop someone else.”


Craig Dunn, the Indiana Republican Party's 4th District chairman and a delegate who is supporting Kasich, termed the race a “jump ball” between Cruz's appeal to religious and social conservatives and Trump's economic and populist appeal. He called the pact between Kasich and Cruz a “political mistake” that was unnecessary.


“I just don't know if there'll be enough Kasich people that will say they're going to participate in this strategy,” Dunn said. “And probably the ones who do will be somewhat cancelled out by others that say, ‘Gee whiz, Indiana's not important enough for him to do it, so I'm going to do Trump.’”

...

It was hardly a ringing endorsement. And his supporters left the meeting less than enthusiastic about Cruz; in interviews with 10 donors who attended the meeting, just one planned to switch his or her vote to Cruz.

“I cannot bring myself to vote for either Ted Cruz or Donald Trump—I just can’t do it,” said John Mutz, a former Indiana lieutenant governor. “So, even though I understand the strategy, I’m going to vote for John Kasich.”

 

[chipbennett]

The NYT delegate tracker seems easier/more intuitive than RCP, and currently has Trump on track to win 1,289 pledged delegates (i.e. not including, for example, the 40 unbound delegates that Trump has in PA):

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/30/upshot/trump-clinton-delegate-calculator.html

 

[T.Lex]

The NYT delegate tracker seems easier/more intuitive than RCP, and currently has Trump on track to win 1,289 pledged delegates (i.e. not including, for example, the 40 unbound delegates that Trump has in PA):

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/30/upshot/trump-clinton-delegate-calculator.html

Yeah, saw that awhile ago, and I love how it uses simulations for the projecting. But, I don't like how it forces the same percentage across all states. Not all delegate wins are equal.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Americans view GOP less favorably | Pew Research Center

 

[T.Lex]

Heck, I view the GOP less favorably than I did a couple months ago.

 

[chipbennett]

But I learned on INGO that Trump couldn't beat Hilary:

24% Opt Out of a Clinton-Trump Race - Rasmussen Reports?

(If only we could dispense with the hypothetical head-to-head poll nonsense. Until the two parties actually have nominees, the polling is beyond worthless.)

 

[T.Lex]

But I learned on INGO that Trump couldn't beat Hilary:

24% Opt Out of a Clinton-Trump Race - Rasmussen Reports?

(If only we could dispense with the hypothetical head-to-head poll nonsense. Until the two parties actually have nominees, the polling is beyond worthless.)

My prediction: the 2016 Presidential Election will have the lowest voter turnout ever (as a percentage, and the lowest raw number in 30 years).

No one knows who'd win, because no one knows who'd show up.

 

[rob63]

Does anybody have a source where I could find out where each candidate is going to be each day? I would like to attend a rally just for the novelty of it since there has never been this kind of opportunity in my lifetime. I don't have Twitter or anything and these things seem to pop up, get cancelled, or rescheduled faster than I can keep up.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Donald Trump’s chances against Hillary Clinton look far worse than Ted Cruz’s

something something polls don't matter (until they do) something.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Donald Trump’s chances against Hillary Clinton look far worse than Ted Cruz’s

something something polls don't matter (until they do) something.

You do have to admit though, in the graphs presented, in the more recent periods, the trend for Trump is to be closing the gap and Cruz is to be opening the gap.

 

[CountryBoy1981]

Trump essentially endorsed by Boehner and Trump stands up for McConnell.

 

[rob63]

Donald Trump’s chances against Hillary Clinton look far worse than Ted Cruz’s

something something polls don't matter (until they do) something.

The 2012 electoral map at the bottom coupled with the last few paragraphs of the article are pretty depressing either way.

 

[CountryBoy1981]

Trump names his foreign policy slogan after a pro-nazi organization:

It is extremely unfortunate that in his speech Wednesday outlining his foreign policy goals,Donald Trump chose to brand his foreign policy with the noxious slogan "America First," the name of the isolationist, defeatist, anti-Semitic national organization that urged the United States to appease Adolf Hitler.

Trump's America First has ugly echoes from U.S. history - CNN.com

 

[BugI02]

Does anybody have a source where I could find out where each candidate is going to be each day? I would like to attend a rally just for the novelty of it since there has never been this kind of opportunity in my lifetime. I don't have Twitter or anything and these things seem to pop up, get cancelled, or rescheduled faster than I can keep up.

Hmmm. Member of a conservative forum for gunowners. Presumed gunowner. Wants to be able to track the candidates on a daily basis.

Not known to answer to 'squeeky' or 'sarah jane'

 

[BugI02]

Donald Trump’s chances against Hillary Clinton look far worse than Ted Cruz’s

something something polls don't matter (until they do) something.

Abandon all hope. Sanders outpolling Cruz and Trump both by double digit margins and beating Kasich by almost 5.

And even Sanders can't beat Clinton






Or maybe something is wrong with the polls

 

[rob63]

Hmmm. Member of a conservative forum for gunowners. Presumed gunowner. Wants to be able to track the candidates on a daily basis.

Not known to answer to 'squeeky' or 'sarah jane'

Yeah, I was thinking that it could really, really be interpreted the wrong way when I was asking the question.

Kasich was going to be in the same town I live in before he and Cruz made their deal and then it was cancelled. I'm not picky, just think it would be neat to go see any of them. A friend went to the Fox town hall, but I didn't know anything about it until the next day.

 

[BugI02]

I think you're on the right track. I believe this will indeed be a historic election and witnessing a bit of it live would be memorable. Unfortunately I've seen enough of Kasich to last a lifetime