Ignorant outrage over Colorado caucus vote

[MisterBeale]

Ignorant Outrage Over the Colorado GOP Caucus Vote

As a Colorado Republican who had caucused in prior years’ elections, I was a bit disappointed back in August when I learned that the state’s GOP executive committee was cancelling this year’s presidential preference poll.

As a matter of curiosity, it would have been nice to find out which candidate my state was leaning toward on March 1. As a matter of pride, it would have been pleasant to hear the results reported on the national news, and discussed by national pundits. As a matter of practicality, however, it wouldn’t have served any meaningful purpose to either the voters or the candidates — something that’s been true for many years in this state.

You see, contrary to the impression that many people have been left with over the past couple of days, Colorado’s traditional caucus-night poll had never been a binding, primary-like election. That’s not how it worked. It was a simple straw-poll — nothing more, nothing less. It wasn’t the process used to distribute delegates to the candidates.

The nomination procedure in this state has been driven by the election of representatives for over a hundred years (except for from 1992 to 2002). It starts with grassroots caucus attendees from local precincts voting on congressional-district delegates (their neighbors) to represent them, and ends at the state convention a few weeks later when the representatives finish selecting national delegates to back a candidate at the national convention.

People have only ever voted by participating in caucuses, which they did.

Lots of Trump supporters and even several in the media have signed on to the deceptive narrative. The Drudge Report was perhaps the worst culprit, running a series of breathtakingly misleading, customized headlines:
Headline: “SHOCK: Republicans cancel presidential election in CO…”
Reality: It was hardly a shock, being that the rules were first reported eight months ago. It also wasn’t an “election” that was cancelled. It was a non-binding straw-poll.

Headline: “1 MILLION REPUBLICANS SIDELINED…”
Reality: The only people “sidelined” were those who didn’t (or couldn’t) show up on caucus night (which has been the case for several years). Those in attendance got to vote for people who shared their voting preference. And if they didn’t find such people, they had the option of running themselves.

Main Headline: “FURY AS COLORADO HAS NO PRIMARY OR CAUCUS; CRUZ CELEBRATES VOTERLESS VICTORY”
Reality: Colorado state law doesn’t allow for a primary. Colorado absolutely didhave a caucus this year. And no, Ted Cruz’s victory was not “voterless.” It came from Colorado voters who were elected by other Colorado voters to represent them.

Now, I don’t expect facts and rational explanations to pacify a lot of the people who are upset with the results of Colorado’s delegate distribution. Like I said, I’m not a fan of the process either. But rules do matter, and they must be followed.

Trump supporters in Colorado had the same opportunities as the other candidates’ supporters to make their voices heard in the nomination process. As best I can tell, they largely chose not to pursue them.

When I showed up at the state convention last Saturday in Colorado Springs, I was surprised by the lack of identifiable support for Trump. Every now and then, I’d see someone walk by wearing one of those red “Make America Great Again” trucker hats, but the overwhelming majority of attendees were proudly displaying “Ted Cruz” stickers on their shirts. From the conversations I had with a number of other delegates that day (from different parts of the state), I began to understand why the GOP front-runner was fairing so poorly.

Each of them relayed the same story: Last month, shockingly few Trump supporters showed up on caucus night to vote for district delegates. And of those who did show up, hardly any of them offered to run as delegates to make their voices count at the state convention. They just weren’t interested in the job. Cruz and Rubio supporters, on the other hand, were very engaged.

Taking that into account with Trump’s embarrassingly disorganized (and seemingly clueless) ground-game in the state, a big Cruz victory made perfect sense. It almost seemed as if Trump were less interested in winning Colorado than his supporters were

Stop spreading lies. Cruz won because hisn supporters showed up to caucus and then stuck around to be Colorado convention delegates. Trump lost because he didn't care about organizing in Colorado.

No faux outrage will change that. Nor should it.

As they say in the establishment. . .


Money and entrenched interest talks, bullshit and emotion walks.



Hyperbole has the lifespan of a Tasmanian gnat.

Thanks, great post.

 

[Wildman]

It's amazing. It's like you guys didn't learn a fucking thing from 2012.

do not be fooled, fool.., we common folk learned a lot, it is the leaders of the "party" who seemed to have not learned, or they just prefer to ignore it, which i believe is the case, we tell them to get tuff (sic) down and dirty just like the demorat party does all the time, yet they act like preschoolers playing in a sand box with their own kind, and when they get sand thrown in their face they cry rather than kick the shit out of the sand thrower.

 

[Iceweasel]

Trump has never lost a state yet that he didn't holler "cheat," "I'm suing" or "not fair." It's what he does; gets his supporters all riled up. If the people of Colorado didn't like the rule change, it was up to them to protest it. As has been pointed out, Trump could have competed just as aggressively to get delegates as Cruz, but he didn't. So tough beans, boys. Nothing corrupt about it. President is not elected by popular vote. If Coloradans are too stoned to care if they vote in a primary, it is not our place to change it.

I suppose you think the Dems have a fair system too. Legal and corrupt are different words conveying different meanings. Just because it's legal doesn't mean it can't be corrupt. And no, Trump couldn't have won them, they made the rules specifically for him. There's nothing "fair" about it.

 

[Wildman]

No need to call me names.

it is not a name, it's a title.

 

[Avatar4321]

So if the rules are corrupt it's OK? No, people didn't get to vote for a candidate, CO was different. Should have Trump's team knew how corrupt it was? Sure. But that doesn't make it smell any better.

The people did vote. in their caucus. Like they always do. The fact that the trump campaign made little effort doesn't change that.

Only difference is they didn't do a nonbinding straw poll this year. That's it.

How exactly is that corrupt?

 

[Avatar4321]

The outrage is certainly not based on ignorance. It's based on a pretty astute knowledge of the current political climate. It's no secret that Trump probably would have won the Colorado delegates if the citizens were allowed to vote instead of the elites. That having been said, Judge Napolitano said it best, political parties do not represent the government, they are more like a club. They may use the same devices as are used in real elections but primaries are not real elections. If you are going to complain you need to know the rules. It should be noted also that if you don't like the rules you need to get involved in grass roots politics and change them.

Based on what? The lack of trump supporters showing up to caucus indicates otherwise

 

[Compost]

No need to call me names.

it is not a name, it's a title.

Aw, that's so clever. Did your little green head hand you that line?

 

[MisterBeale]

Stop spreading lies. Cruz won because hisn supporters showed up to caucus and then stuck around to be Colorado convention delegates. Trump lost because he didn't care about organizing in Colorado.

No faux outrage will change that. Nor should it.

It's amazing. It's like you guys didn't learn a fucking thing from 2012.

you remember 2012. It's when the Establishment foisted a Weird Mormon Robot on the GOP Electorate that the Rank and File didn't really want through various tricks and sandbagging other candidates. (like when Virginia eliminated every other candidate on the ballot except Ron Paul.)

And then you were all shocked, just shocked when Romney lost and lost badly.

Now, I'm no fan of Trump. I think he's a Nazi and a Clown and he has NO BUSINESS being the nominee. Damn the GOP for not taking him a lot more seriously early on, and damn them for not getting behind one of the sensible candidates they had.

But if he gets MORE VOTES than Cruz, he should be the nominee. Period.

If Cruz surpasses Trump in votes and delegates, then HE should be the nominee. Period.

Hillary will easily beat either one of them, and frankly, it will be an unforced error on your part.

I agree with your entire post except the Hillary part.

If the MSM weren't controlled by the CFR, and if they did their job, if the nation knew exactly every thing she had done in her life, a piece of cauliflower could beat her. Hell, Charlie Manson is less criminal and less corrupt.

ANYONE could beat her.


The popular culture is making her out to be less criminal and less offensive than she is, and is making Trump out to be way more offensive and corrupt than he actually is.

You either know this, or you are actually that dumb.



When America turns on it's TV, it turns off it's collective brain.



Trump is absolutely terrible, that's true.


But both Cruz and Hillary are part of the Deep State.

 

[Wildman]

Sure, I'm making assumptions.

you got that right!!......., ass ..............

 

[Mac1958]

Sure, I'm making assumptions.

you got that right!!......., ass ..............

I've been married 33+ years.

You cannot hurt me.
.

 

[Avatar4321]

Are the rules corrupt?

Try reading slower.

You aren't making your case. You are just sounding like a petulant child.

I did and you have no answer obviously. The words are still there, try reading them slower or have someone walk you through it.

CO does not have a standard primary like many other states do. How does that make it corrupt? So far, neither you nor Donald Trump has explained that. You boys have only managed to get snippy.

They changed the rules in August so the party heads could make the pick. I said the people didn't have a say so how did I not explain it? You stupidly complaining about it makes no sense. Don't try to make your stupidity my fault.

You Cruz c*nts are smarmy assholes, if that's the way you want to play the game.

No they didn't. the rule change simply eliminated the non binding straw poll. The choice was made through caucuses electing those from among them to go to the next level and choose delegates at the convention, the same way it always has been.

Trump lost because he failed to organize at the caucus and convention levels.

 

[Iceweasel]

So if the rules are corrupt it's OK? No, people didn't get to vote for a candidate, CO was different. Should have Trump's team knew how corrupt it was? Sure. But that doesn't make it smell any better.

The people did vote. in their caucus. Like they always do. The fact that the trump campaign made little effort doesn't change that.

Only difference is they didn't do a nonbinding straw poll this year. That's it.

How exactly is that corrupt?

Your definition of corrupt is very different than mine.

Leah Barkoukis - Trump Slams 'Totally Unfair' GOP Results After Cruz Wins Colorado Without Votes

Colorado GOP leaders canceled the party's presidential straw poll in August to avoid binding its delegates to a candidate who may not survive until the Republican National Convention in July.

Instead, Republicans selected national delegates through the caucus process, a move that put the election of national delegates in the hands of party insiders and activists — leaving roughly 90 percent of the more than 1 million Republican voters on the sidelines.

 

[Iceweasel]

Try reading slower.

You aren't making your case. You are just sounding like a petulant child.

I did and you have no answer obviously. The words are still there, try reading them slower or have someone walk you through it.

CO does not have a standard primary like many other states do. How does that make it corrupt? So far, neither you nor Donald Trump has explained that. You boys have only managed to get snippy.

They changed the rules in August so the party heads could make the pick. I said the people didn't have a say so how did I not explain it? You stupidly complaining about it makes no sense. Don't try to make your stupidity my fault.

You Cruz c*nts are smarmy assholes, if that's the way you want to play the game.

No they didn't. the rule change simply eliminated the non binding straw poll. The choice was made through caucuses electing those from among them to go to the next level and choose delegates at the convention, the same way it always has been.

Trump lost because he failed to organize at the caucus and convention levels.

The rules were changed so they can pick the candidate instead of the people. What's wrong with you?

 

[Freewill]

Try reading slower.

You aren't making your case. You are just sounding like a petulant child.

I did and you have no answer obviously. The words are still there, try reading them slower or have someone walk you through it.

CO does not have a standard primary like many other states do. How does that make it corrupt? So far, neither you nor Donald Trump has explained that. You boys have only managed to get snippy.

They changed the rules in August so the party heads could make the pick. I said the people didn't have a say so how did I not explain it? You stupidly complaining about it makes no sense. Don't try to make your stupidity my fault.

You Cruz c*nts are smarmy assholes, if that's the way you want to play the game.

No they didn't. the rule change simply eliminated the non binding straw poll. The choice was made through caucuses electing those from among them to go to the next level and choose delegates at the convention, the same way it always has been.

Trump lost because he failed to organize at the caucus and convention levels.

So Colorado was decided by who can organize not who the majority of Republicans supported. Or at least we will never know.

 

[Wildman]

Aw, that's so clever. Did your little green head hand you that line?

the operative word is "clever", nothing greenie about it.

 

[turzovka]

My dreams are coming true.
Some nutbags are realizing that many of their fellow nutbags are prone to exhibiting ignorant outrage.

Aim higher.

 

[Avatar4321]

Actually, you're the one who's ignorant.
After all of these years of lying and corruption in Washington, a state decides to ace the voters completely out of the process......it sends the wrong message. The optics are really bad, especially at this time. Another year, nobody would care. This is not the election to be trying stunts like this.

It doesn't matter if they can make up any rules they want. They should be smart enough not to.

I think they should have had a popular vote.

But Trump also should know the rules of the game before he started playing.

Of course, my running theory is that Trump never expected to STILL be the Frontrunner at this point. I think he thought he was j ust going to go in, make a spectacle of himself, and then have a season of "The Apprentice" in 2017 that would have boffo ratings.

Now he can't back down, and he can't win.

Obviously, you're nuts.
You're still operating off of the false assumption that Trump was never serious about being president. That's like saying that a First Lady would never, ever, be a serious presidential candidate.

If he was serious why did he blow off Colorado and why is he doing nothing about winning on a second ballot?

 

[Avatar4321]

The state of CO has it's rules. Cruz made the effort to learn the rules and play by them. Trump apparently did not.

This really does seem like the bottom line here. Cruz played the rules as they exist, he didn't break any, and that's that.

The rules look pretty dumb, of course, and the theory that they've been created to favor people against the spirit of the democratic process seems pretty solid, too.

Politicians, politicos, pundits and partisans. Dependably dishonest.
.

You assume that the rules aren't dishonest. And you also assume that Cruz hasn't already been caught cheating in this election more than once.

He hasn't. But that doesn't stop trump from lying about it

 

[Avatar4321]

Ignorant Outrage Over the Colorado GOP Caucus Vote

As a Colorado Republican who had caucused in prior years’ elections, I was a bit disappointed back in August when I learned that the state’s GOP executive committee was cancelling this year’s presidential preference poll.

As a matter of curiosity, it would have been nice to find out which candidate my state was leaning toward on March 1. As a matter of pride, it would have been pleasant to hear the results reported on the national news, and discussed by national pundits. As a matter of practicality, however, it wouldn’t have served any meaningful purpose to either the voters or the candidates — something that’s been true for many years in this state.

You see, contrary to the impression that many people have been left with over the past couple of days, Colorado’s traditional caucus-night poll had never been a binding, primary-like election. That’s not how it worked. It was a simple straw-poll — nothing more, nothing less. It wasn’t the process used to distribute delegates to the candidates.

The nomination procedure in this state has been driven by the election of representatives for over a hundred years (except for from 1992 to 2002). It starts with grassroots caucus attendees from local precincts voting on congressional-district delegates (their neighbors) to represent them, and ends at the state convention a few weeks later when the representatives finish selecting national delegates to back a candidate at the national convention.

People have only ever voted by participating in caucuses, which they did.

Lots of Trump supporters and even several in the media have signed on to the deceptive narrative. The Drudge Report was perhaps the worst culprit, running a series of breathtakingly misleading, customized headlines:
Headline: “SHOCK: Republicans cancel presidential election in CO…”
Reality: It was hardly a shock, being that the rules were first reported eight months ago. It also wasn’t an “election” that was cancelled. It was a non-binding straw-poll.

Headline: “1 MILLION REPUBLICANS SIDELINED…”
Reality: The only people “sidelined” were those who didn’t (or couldn’t) show up on caucus night (which has been the case for several years). Those in attendance got to vote for people who shared their voting preference. And if they didn’t find such people, they had the option of running themselves.

Main Headline: “FURY AS COLORADO HAS NO PRIMARY OR CAUCUS; CRUZ CELEBRATES VOTERLESS VICTORY”
Reality: Colorado state law doesn’t allow for a primary. Colorado absolutely didhave a caucus this year. And no, Ted Cruz’s victory was not “voterless.” It came from Colorado voters who were elected by other Colorado voters to represent them.

Now, I don’t expect facts and rational explanations to pacify a lot of the people who are upset with the results of Colorado’s delegate distribution. Like I said, I’m not a fan of the process either. But rules do matter, and they must be followed.

Trump supporters in Colorado had the same opportunities as the other candidates’ supporters to make their voices heard in the nomination process. As best I can tell, they largely chose not to pursue them.

When I showed up at the state convention last Saturday in Colorado Springs, I was surprised by the lack of identifiable support for Trump. Every now and then, I’d see someone walk by wearing one of those red “Make America Great Again” trucker hats, but the overwhelming majority of attendees were proudly displaying “Ted Cruz” stickers on their shirts. From the conversations I had with a number of other delegates that day (from different parts of the state), I began to understand why the GOP front-runner was fairing so poorly.

Each of them relayed the same story: Last month, shockingly few Trump supporters showed up on caucus night to vote for district delegates. And of those who did show up, hardly any of them offered to run as delegates to make their voices count at the state convention. They just weren’t interested in the job. Cruz and Rubio supporters, on the other hand, were very engaged.

Taking that into account with Trump’s embarrassingly disorganized (and seemingly clueless) ground-game in the state, a big Cruz victory made perfect sense. It almost seemed as if Trump were less interested in winning Colorado than his supporters were

Stop spreading lies. Cruz won because hisn supporters showed up to caucus and then stuck around to be Colorado convention delegates. Trump lost because he didn't care about organizing in Colorado.

No faux outrage will change that. Nor should it.

It comes down to this.

Was there a vote by the Republicans in the state? Yes/No?

Yes. At the caucus. Like in every other caucus state

 

[tinydancer]

Ignorant Outrage Over the Colorado GOP Caucus Vote

As a Colorado Republican who had caucused in prior years’ elections, I was a bit disappointed back in August when I learned that the state’s GOP executive committee was cancelling this year’s presidential preference poll.

As a matter of curiosity, it would have been nice to find out which candidate my state was leaning toward on March 1. As a matter of pride, it would have been pleasant to hear the results reported on the national news, and discussed by national pundits. As a matter of practicality, however, it wouldn’t have served any meaningful purpose to either the voters or the candidates — something that’s been true for many years in this state.

You see, contrary to the impression that many people have been left with over the past couple of days, Colorado’s traditional caucus-night poll had never been a binding, primary-like election. That’s not how it worked. It was a simple straw-poll — nothing more, nothing less. It wasn’t the process used to distribute delegates to the candidates.

The nomination procedure in this state has been driven by the election of representatives for over a hundred years (except for from 1992 to 2002). It starts with grassroots caucus attendees from local precincts voting on congressional-district delegates (their neighbors) to represent them, and ends at the state convention a few weeks later when the representatives finish selecting national delegates to back a candidate at the national convention.

People have only ever voted by participating in caucuses, which they did.

Lots of Trump supporters and even several in the media have signed on to the deceptive narrative. The Drudge Report was perhaps the worst culprit, running a series of breathtakingly misleading, customized headlines:
Headline: “SHOCK: Republicans cancel presidential election in CO…”
Reality: It was hardly a shock, being that the rules were first reported eight months ago. It also wasn’t an “election” that was cancelled. It was a non-binding straw-poll.

Headline: “1 MILLION REPUBLICANS SIDELINED…”
Reality: The only people “sidelined” were those who didn’t (or couldn’t) show up on caucus night (which has been the case for several years). Those in attendance got to vote for people who shared their voting preference. And if they didn’t find such people, they had the option of running themselves.

Main Headline: “FURY AS COLORADO HAS NO PRIMARY OR CAUCUS; CRUZ CELEBRATES VOTERLESS VICTORY”
Reality: Colorado state law doesn’t allow for a primary. Colorado absolutely didhave a caucus this year. And no, Ted Cruz’s victory was not “voterless.” It came from Colorado voters who were elected by other Colorado voters to represent them.

Now, I don’t expect facts and rational explanations to pacify a lot of the people who are upset with the results of Colorado’s delegate distribution. Like I said, I’m not a fan of the process either. But rules do matter, and they must be followed.

Trump supporters in Colorado had the same opportunities as the other candidates’ supporters to make their voices heard in the nomination process. As best I can tell, they largely chose not to pursue them.

When I showed up at the state convention last Saturday in Colorado Springs, I was surprised by the lack of identifiable support for Trump. Every now and then, I’d see someone walk by wearing one of those red “Make America Great Again” trucker hats, but the overwhelming majority of attendees were proudly displaying “Ted Cruz” stickers on their shirts. From the conversations I had with a number of other delegates that day (from different parts of the state), I began to understand why the GOP front-runner was fairing so poorly.

Each of them relayed the same story: Last month, shockingly few Trump supporters showed up on caucus night to vote for district delegates. And of those who did show up, hardly any of them offered to run as delegates to make their voices count at the state convention. They just weren’t interested in the job. Cruz and Rubio supporters, on the other hand, were very engaged.

Taking that into account with Trump’s embarrassingly disorganized (and seemingly clueless) ground-game in the state, a big Cruz victory made perfect sense. It almost seemed as if Trump were less interested in winning Colorado than his supporters were

Stop spreading lies. Cruz won because hisn supporters showed up to caucus and then stuck around to be Colorado convention delegates. Trump lost because he didn't care about organizing in Colorado.

No faux outrage will change that. Nor should it.

They changed the rules in Colorado because in the last primary for President Santorum beat Romney.

That's what the RNC does. They change rules to make sure THEIR candidate wins.

SOB aka standard operational bullshit.