Karl Rove’s Republicans are pulling the same old crap. Note that Rove is a fixture on FOX where this ‘gotcha’ question was formulated:
A Third Party run was not the gotcha. The gotcha was admitting an unwillingness to support the establishment candidate.
Parenthetically, had my question been asked every hand except Trump’s and Cruz’s would have shot up:
I suspect that Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly, and Chris Wallace would have raised their hands so fast they would have dislocated their shoulders. In short: Establishment Republicans will never vote for a true conservative. Frankly, I have Ted Cruz in mind. I’d go so far as to say that Trump is useful in that he is taking the torpedoes that would be aimed at Ted Cruz if The Donald had not entered the race.
My point: Everything remains as it was in 2008 and in 2012. Establishment Republicans cannot win without conservatives. Media strategy is to con Tea Party conservatives into voting for Jeb Bush, or Marco Rubio, or John Kasich, or which establishment Republican the media finally crowns.
The media sales pitch is even the same: If you do not vote for our choice you will get another Democrat. You would think they figured it out by now. The public knows that establishment Republicans have been campaigning on being the lesser of two evils since Bob Dole was their nominee.
On top of sinking conservatives the media is turning the highest negatives into positives for their choices. Jeb Bush (Common Core, immigration), Marco Rubio (amnesty for illegal aliens), Chris Christie (governor elected by Norheast liberals in a solid Democrat state) and John Kasich (everything wrong) all stand for hardcore conservatism to hear talking heads tell it.
The biggest slam against Trump is that he cannot compete against well-informed professionals. To me, Trump is like Eisenhower in that Ike knew how to delegate authority. Everything Trump ever said about negotiating told me that he knows how to delegate authority as did Ike. Trump does not build buildings with his bare hands; he hires the right people to do the job. The only thing Trump has to know is how to put the ball in the right man’s hands and let him run.
Incidentally, Ike was portrayed as an idiot who did not stand a chance against Adlai Stevenson’s experience and super intellect. Ike beat him twice and governed the country for the best eight years of my lifetime. Another great president was also a lightweight by media standards even though he was exceptionally politically astute: Ronald Reagan.
One last observation is for political wonks who list to starboard.
Standpat original meant conservatives who stubbornly refused to accept change nipping on their heels. Today, the Republican party is buried in standpattism to the point of catatonia.
BAIER: Gentlemen, we know how much you love hand-raising questions. So we promise, this is the only one tonight: the only one. Is there anyone on stage, and can I see hands, who is unwilling tonight to pledge your support to the eventual nominee of the Republican party and pledge to not run an independent campaign against that person.
Again, we’re looking for you to raise your hand now — raise your hand now if you won’t make that pledge tonight.
Again, we’re looking for you to raise your hand now — raise your hand now if you won’t make that pledge tonight.
A Third Party run was not the gotcha. The gotcha was admitting an unwillingness to support the establishment candidate.
Parenthetically, had my question been asked every hand except Trump’s and Cruz’s would have shot up:
Flanders: “Who is unwilling tonight to pledge your support to the eventual nominee of the Republican party if he is a conservative?”
I suspect that Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly, and Chris Wallace would have raised their hands so fast they would have dislocated their shoulders. In short: Establishment Republicans will never vote for a true conservative. Frankly, I have Ted Cruz in mind. I’d go so far as to say that Trump is useful in that he is taking the torpedoes that would be aimed at Ted Cruz if The Donald had not entered the race.
My point: Everything remains as it was in 2008 and in 2012. Establishment Republicans cannot win without conservatives. Media strategy is to con Tea Party conservatives into voting for Jeb Bush, or Marco Rubio, or John Kasich, or which establishment Republican the media finally crowns.
The media sales pitch is even the same: If you do not vote for our choice you will get another Democrat. You would think they figured it out by now. The public knows that establishment Republicans have been campaigning on being the lesser of two evils since Bob Dole was their nominee.
On top of sinking conservatives the media is turning the highest negatives into positives for their choices. Jeb Bush (Common Core, immigration), Marco Rubio (amnesty for illegal aliens), Chris Christie (governor elected by Norheast liberals in a solid Democrat state) and John Kasich (everything wrong) all stand for hardcore conservatism to hear talking heads tell it.
The biggest slam against Trump is that he cannot compete against well-informed professionals. To me, Trump is like Eisenhower in that Ike knew how to delegate authority. Everything Trump ever said about negotiating told me that he knows how to delegate authority as did Ike. Trump does not build buildings with his bare hands; he hires the right people to do the job. The only thing Trump has to know is how to put the ball in the right man’s hands and let him run.
Incidentally, Ike was portrayed as an idiot who did not stand a chance against Adlai Stevenson’s experience and super intellect. Ike beat him twice and governed the country for the best eight years of my lifetime. Another great president was also a lightweight by media standards even though he was exceptionally politically astute: Ronald Reagan.
One last observation is for political wonks who list to starboard.
Standpat original meant conservatives who stubbornly refused to accept change nipping on their heels. Today, the Republican party is buried in standpattism to the point of catatonia.
