quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
I still can't fathom that CNN is putting that asshole who rushed Trump on primetime.

Nice message. Threaten Trump, and we'll make you famous. Just awful.

And no one blames CNN for promoting unlawfulness. They call it, journalism.

quote:

I still can't fathom that CNN is putting that asshole who rushed Trump on primetime.

It is okay if they publicly cane him

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
I still can't fathom that CNN is putting that asshole who rushed Trump on primetime.

Nice message. Threaten Trump, and we'll make you famous. Just awful.

Imagine if a redneck tea party prepper had rushed shillary's stage. There would be nothing else discussed in the lame stream media.

quote:

Imagine if a redneck tea party prepper had rushed shillary's stage. There would be nothing else discussed in the lame stream media.

What, if any, is your point?

quote:

Originally posted by olfuzzy:
A Republican National Committee Standing Rules Committee member told the membership Friday that convention delegates are not bound to cast their votes at the convention according to primary vote results in the first round of voting.
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So, can they vote for anyone on the first round or does it have to be someone who's won 6 states? I've heard they can make first ballot deals for delegates, but only if they've won a certain number of states. If that rule is still in play nothing has really changed and they can only go to Trump and Cruz.

The next question is do they count Puerto Rico and D.C. as "states" in this process?

I really believe the current party leadership does not care if Hilary wins. Matter of fact they probably prefer it. If they win they will actually have to DO something; if Hilary wins they can bombard the airwaves for the next four years claiming "help us stop Hilary, vote for us!" Anything to keep the status quo.

quote:

Originally posted by bionic218:

quote:

Make no mistake, whatever they do will be technically legal and within wiggle room

I have no doubts it will be "correct" and "allowable" by the process. . . .

If it's Trump, bully for Trump. If it's Cruz, bully for Cruz. But if they try some trickery to install some non-contender like Rubio, Kasich, Bush, or Romney - I am done.

Rules and Delegates

The fact that the RNC will take every chance to get the result that insiders want is no surprise. That is partly why I previously posted the story of the “corrupt bargain” in this thread as well as my wife being so mad at one convention when we were elected delegates that she wound up on top of a chair yelling “Riot. Riot.” when the rules were being changed by the insiders from the podium.

The fact is, the only thing that will take away RNC shenanigans is overwhelming voter support. Unfortunately, Trump has not been getting an overwhelming amount of voter support - yet. He is ahead but he’s not overwhelmingly dominating with the voters. That really needs to change.

Cruz has said that he is happy with a “convention” to settle the nominee if it is between Trump and Cruz. And, I always interpreted that to be the result of Cruz having confidence that he is building a strong “delegate” infrastructure. If delegates stay strongly in favor of their candidate, fairness and the will of the majority of voters, then the first ballot rules make no difference.

In contrast, I do not believe Trump is working on any delegate infrastructure because he’s relying on the sheer number of voters to send their message of strongly preferring Trump.

Most people have probably glossed over the fact that Cruz selected slick Ron Nehring as Cruz’ California Campaign Chairman. Nehring has been pushing to sign up convention delegates for Cruz and he’s on the ground in Florida. I had some experience with Nehring when he worked as Chairman of the California Republican party. I was doing town hall speeches to support candidates at the time.

Nehring is smooth but is very much the GOP insider. Nehring was the vice-chair and the chair of the California Republican party from 2005 to 2011. Nehring talked a good game but was often seen as a weak GOP shill against Tea Party adherents. Indeed, some strong Cruz supporters I know cannot believe that Nehring has anything to do with Cruz’ campaign now.

Nehring also served fours years on the Republican National Committee. Nehring was tagged with jimmying with the rules at various times in California as he oversaw a reduction of Republican voters in California to about 30% as he was perceived as leading the GOP to become more like the Democrat party. But, conservative voters did not respond well.

So, I guess Cruz, who feels confident about a convention, has a GOP insider on his core staff. I just heard that Jeb is supposed to endorse Cruz on Wednesday - after the election. But, I just wonder if GOP insiders are hitching up to the Cruz wagon to eventually kill it. Trump may truly be the only real outsider left in this race.

Vote. It may be time for the Cruz voters to also consider getting behind Trump in large numbers. Rubio’s campaign has turned into a single cause: “Not Trump.” And, Cruz may be aligning himself with insiders who seek to neutralize or block Cruz from even the nomination. For insiders, all they need is Cruz being used to drain overwhelming votes from Trump to give them more power at a brokered convention.

quote:

Originally posted by pbslinger:
OK Donald, you've entered an arena where you are a rookie, but you claim you will dominate. Solve the hired agitator problem with a smooth and clever solution and you will gain many voters.

If you are as great and the winner you claim, you should be one step ahead of them instead of being forced to play and react to their game.

That is what I've said from the beginning myself. To me, your sentiments also apply to the primaries and general election as well. This politics stuff is not a game that's played with all the cards on the table - unless someone has an overwhelming majority of the voters behind him/her.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
So this fuckhead who charged Trump is being given a national stage by CNN by giving him an interview.


CNN, you are fucking awful. This is truly shameful.

I'm no Trump fan, but you're right. Disgraceful.

quote:

Originally posted by Himiko:

quote:

Imagine if a redneck tea party prepper had rushed shillary's stage. There would be nothing else discussed in the lame stream media.

What, if any, is your point?

If any? I didn't think the point was latent. If a conservative had done this at a dem rally. It would be front page news and covered on every main stream news outlet constantly. The hypocrisy of how low of importance this incident is when it doesn't fit their agenda. We'd know the perps life history, how big his arsenal, conflicts with his kindergarten teacher, associates etc.

quote:

Cruz has said that he is happy with a “convention” to settle the nominee if it is between Trump and Cruz.

And I'm fine with that too. I don't care if they are that close. They can arm wrestle, play washers, or have a spelling contest. I don't give a damn; because either outcome is acceptable to me.

But if they try to deny the two consistently big vote getters - Trump and Cruz - in order to saddle us with one of their ninny establishment choices, I will want blood.

I think both are good and decent men, capable of leading the nation, and capable of much better than what we've had.

But this push to keep the status quo; simply because it's "safe" or whatever, will not end well. And that seems to be where they're headed. Make no mistake, one is just as bad as the other to the establishment types. If it's contested, it won't be a Cruz instead of Trump or Trump instead of Cruz type battle. It will be a giant fuckarow with them trying to install a Rubio (easily manipulated) type candidate in place of the two front-runners.

quote:

Sometimes, less is more, and in infamous "Black Swan" philosopher Nassim Taleb's case, summing up the chaos that is enveloping America, and its forthcoming election was as simple as the following:

"The *establishment* composed of journos, BS-Vending talking heads with well-formulated verbs, bureaucrato-cronies, lobbyists-in training, New Yorker-reading semi-intellectuals, image-conscious empty suits, Washington rent-seekers and other "well thinking" members of the vocal elites are not getting the point about what is happening and the sterility of their arguments."

To which he appended the following 17 perfectly succinct words:

"People are not voting for Trump (or Sanders). People are just voting, finally, to destroy the establishment."

Yes, I think he nailed it. Or maybe its that people "...are pissed, and they're not going to take it anymore."

Here's a nice twist to the whole protester thing:


After left wing protesters disrupted a Trump rally in Illinois, and a man jumped the stage to attack the GOP front runner, Donald Trump called for their arrests. Many thought it seemed harsh, but the law is on Trump’s side.

According to Reason.org:
What might be a surprise is the fact that quietly and right under our noses in 2012, Congress nearly unanimously passed H.R. 347 (a.k.a. the Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act) which makes it a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison to “willfully and knowingly” enter a restricted area or to engage in “disorderly or disruptive conduct” that in any way impedes “government business or official functions.”
Signed into law by President Obama, this supposed tweak of a pre-existing law effectively criminalized protest of any person under the protection of the Secret Service, a select group which includes both major parties’ front-runners for the presidential nomination. During the general election, the nominees of both parties are automatically assigned Secret Service protection, but Hillary Clinton, as a former first lady, is entitled to a Secret Service detail for the rest of her life, and Donald Trump has had a detail assigned to him since last November.
According to AP, 4 are now charged with obstructing justice related to the Trump riot:

CHICAGO — Chicago authorities say four people were charged after the protest against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The Chicago Police Department said in a news release sent Saturday night that the three men from Chicago and a 45-year-old woman from Michigan were arrested and charged for participating in a disturbance at the protest Friday night.


http://prntly.com/blog/breakin...-charged-in-chicago/

It would be ironic if a Democratic-loaded Supreme Court found that law unconstitutional.

Rubio has now dropped to 3rd in Florida...

http://www.foxnews.com/politic...s.html?intcmp=hphz03

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio has dropped to third place just days ahead of a crucial primary in his home state of Florida, according to a CBS News poll released Sunday.

The primary, among five Tuesday, is essentially a must-win for Rubio, who significantly trails front-runner Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the delegate count. And Rubio’s drop in the poll appears to be another indication that his campaign might soon come to an end.

On Sunday, he continued to criticize the violence at Trump rallies, saying the candidate and protestors share the blame.

"You have a leading contender for president telling people in his audience, ‘Go ahead and punch someone in the face. I'll pay your legal bills,’ ” Rubio said in Florida. “That's wrong if our kids did it. That is disastrous if a president does it.” He has also acknowledged that some of the protestors appeared to be paid.

The CBS News 2016 Battleground Tracker poll shows Trump -- who has several, popular golf-resort properties in Florida -- maintaining his lead in the state’s winner-take-all primary, in which 99 delegates are at stake.

The billionaire businessman has 44 percent of the vote among registered voters in the state, compared to Cruz at 24 percent and Rubio at 21 percent.

At a rally Sunday in Ohio, Trump tried to portray Rubio as an unpopular senator who was elected in 2010 to go to Congress but has since repeatedly missed votes to instead campaign and further his political career.

The poll, conducted by the YouGov an online polling group, shows Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the remaining GOP presidential candidate, in a dead heat in Ohio, at 33 percent. They are followed by Cruz at 27 percent and Rubio at 5 percent.

On Sunday, Trump hit Kasich at rallies, including one in the Cincinnati area, for voting as a congressman in favor of the roughly 20-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement that critics say has taken away millions of manufacturing jobs, especially ones in so-called Rust Belt states such as Michigan, Illinois and Ohio.

Kasich faces a similar situation as Rubio, needing to win in his home state to keep his campaign headed toward the GOP convention in July.

The popular governor has repeatedly vowed that he will win Ohio and that he will drop out if he loses the primary, in which the winner gets all 66 delegates.

Trump leads the delegate count 460, followed by Cruz with 370, Rubio with 163 and Kasich, who has yet to win a primary or caucus, with 63.

The three other states on Tuesday also holding primaries are North Carolina (72 delegates), Missouri (52 delegates) and Illinois (69 delegates.)

Trump also leads in Illinois -- 38 percent, followed by Cruz at 34 percent, Kasich at 16 percent and Rubio at 11 percent.

CBS said the numbers suggest Cruz is “emerging more generally in the minds of many non-Trump voters as the alternative to the frontrunner.”

While an “overwhelming number” of Trump supporters described him as “authentic and not beholden to big donors,” backers also described him as “too extreme at times,” according to the poll.

On the Democratic side, frontrunner Hillary Clinton has a big lead in Florida over rival Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 62-to-34 percent, according to the CBS poll.

However, she leads Sanders by single-digits in Ohio, 52-to-43 percent, the poll show. And Sanders has a narrow 48-46 percent lead in Illinois.

Early voting in Florida's primary comes to an end Sunday, with more than 1.9 million voters having already made their presidential choice.

Republican voters far outnumber Democratic ones, according to the latest figures released Sunday by the state Division of Elections.

Republicans account for more than 1.1 million early voters, while about 819,000 Democrats have cast ballots.

Early voters are projected to account for at least half the total number expected to vote in Tuesday's primary.

Florida's closed primary is open only to those registered to one of the major parties.

I don't expect Kasich or Rubio to drop out if they lose their states on Tuesday. They'll stay in to muck things up and hang on with hope for winning a brokered convention. Dropping out would be the honorable thing to do if they lost their states and had absolutely no chance. They won't do the honorable thing.

quote:

And I'm fine with that too. I don't care if they are that close. They can arm wrestle, play washers, or have a spelling contest. I don't give a damn; because either outcome is acceptable to me.

I don't know about arm wrestling but dick measuring might be a possibility!

Cruz has burnt any bridge he had to me.

Just to update a story from a few pages back, Ben Shapiro and Michelle Fields just resigned from Breitbart. They both follow the resignation of Kurt Bardella as their spokesman who said Breitbart is flat out lying about Lewandowski in an interview with CNN. This doesn't reflect on Trump so much as Breitbart and Lewandowski. Shapiro is a credible guy who's pretty well liked by conservatives. There are much bigger things going on, but it's interesting he would give up his job as editor.

Wow. Good for them.