2016 Presidential Primary – random thoughts

by
Skip

Silly Season Phase One is now over. Just a few things off the top of my head from last night’s S. Carolina Republican primary and Nevada’s Democrat one:

  • South Carolina: Dead Men Walking – Jeb Bush knew it and was both bright enough and Old School enough to know when the game is over.  John Kasich and Ben Carson are just Vanity Candidates now.  Politicians love the limelight and will do anything do stay in it – even if they know they are going to be made sport of.  Look, they can keep on going, even get media time but they aren’t going anywhere.  People to continue to donate to them might as well put the bills on the grill, shut the cover, and light it.

  • Nevada – At some point, ya gotta ask “HOW lucky can Hillary GET???“.  She got 6 out of coin flips to win tied Iowa district caucuses – a 1.6% chance of that happening.  NOW she pulls the Ace of Spades vs Bernie’s 6 of Hearts???

Mrs. Clinton’s representative went first: She pulled the ace. Mr. Sanders’s precinct captain couldn’t top that with his six of hearts.

  • Kasich – Yes, I understand that Kasich probably thinks he’ll take Ohio – and that those delegates may be useful in a brokered convention.  Without that situation, he’s just a blowhard incorporating God into why he’s spending other peoples’ money in expanding Medicaid Expansion – and is $6 billion over budget.  How well can he do nationally if he has already pulled out of Nevada – its Republican primary is next week?
  • Jeb – nice guy but the wrong one for the wrong time and in the wrong way and campaigned wrong.  And certainly spent wrong.  And wrong on some vital issues: Common Core and that whole “Act of Love” to allow illegals burnt two ways:
    • CC told local communities “screw you, we’re taking over and you will LIKE it.  Now, take a knee to ME!”
    • Good public policy is not built on demanding that we forego the Rule of Law – you can talk about fines, learn English, pay back taxes (REALLY, do they expect us to swallow that???) all you want – it’s still amnesty
  • Dynasties – which leads to “one down and one to go”.  But there is still that Bush in Texas….
  • Have seen it a couple of times – what would happen if  Cruz and Rubio teamed up and announced themselves as Prez / Veep (pick your own order)?  Is that the only way to stop Trumpmomentum?  Given what happened in SC, can that even be remotely possible?
  • I’ve used the Bill Binnie example here in NH – money is not the end all be all.  With what we’ve just seen the end of in South Carolina – Jeb Bush and his SuperPAC give lie to the “campaign finance” stupidity of Bernie that is it only money that matters?  Especially where he’s now outraising Hillary?
  • Couldn’t have much of a closer finish for second than Cruz and Rubio – out of about 320K votes, only 1,000 or so difference between them?
  • Just watched a Netflix DVD of Jurassic World – meh.
  • The Establishment Republicans must be going out of their minds right about now, eh?  NOTHING has gone to plan – and it looks like they only have a 1 in three (Rubio vs Trump, Cruz) shot to win.  What WILL they do, what WILL the donor class do, if Cruz comes out on top?
  • It is looking increasingly like Trump may now run the table – will he go to the end on JUST his own money?  And how much IS he willing to spend (given that he has been amongst the most frugal spenders thus far)?
  • I wonder how many multiples of my yearly income that Trump has spent just on jet fuel for Trump Air…..or if the taxes paid on it is still more than my salary?
  • What does worry me about Trump IS if he has any kind of limiting factor when it will come to governance?
  • Speaking of Cruz, SEC Tuesday may be the break point.  For that matter, so it is for Rubio (playing Dr. Obvious here)
  • The GOP’s autopsy said it had to attract many more voters to itself – Trump is certainly doing that and winning almost in every slice up of the electorate (and yet the Establishment HATES him for it??).
  • I still lament and am despondent over the fact of how Socialism (both by Bernie and Hillary) is enthralling this country’s populace – if they win, we either will have lost forever or there will be a civil war?  For those of you who are now thinking this is just a rant from a future sore loser, you are living in the same world as Papa Smurf. This country will be rent in two as these two absolutely diametrically opposed political philosophies cannot exist side by side; there is no common ground and compromise, if one is to be in fidelity to the Constitution and its underlying philosophy, is impossible.  You tell me what the next step is – and the answer cannot blithely be “This is ‘Merica – it can’t happen here!”.  My response will be: if you have lost the Constitution, it certainly can happen here”.
  • Republicans hate their own Party and feel it has betrayed them: 52% vs 48%.  While turnout w/respect to Dems (here in NH, more turned out as Rs than Ds, here too,  only 2/3 of 2008 than 2016 for Nevada Dems ) is much higher, the Trump / Cruz numbers support that number.  Since this has been happening over a number of election cycles, will the Establishment just keep ignoring it – it certainly doesn’t seem that it is adapting to the lesson being taught to it, are they?

 

  • Do I know how this is gonna play out?  ‘Course not, don’t be silly.

Author

  • Skip

    Co-founder of GraniteGrok, my concern is around Individual Liberty and Freedom and how the Government is taking that away. As an evangelical Christian and Conservative with small "L" libertarian leanings, my fight is with Progressives forcing a collectivized, secular humanistic future upon us. As a TEA Party activist, citizen journalist, and pundit!, my goal is to use the New Media to advance the radical notions of America's Founders back into our culture.

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