Rand Paul to Trump: I’m not going any where
For whatever reason, We Shall Overcomb has set his sights on Paul many times. I think it’s because in the first debate, Paul was the first one to go at him. Trump predicted Paul will quit but Paul says nope. Good. I don’t think Paul will win* but I’m glad to see someone in the GOP going with the libertarian angle. And I think he needs to be in the race for the debates to get that message out. And that’s why I send him money.
* Though, I think it’s still possible. The large GOP field will be a war of attrition. As people drop, their supporters will go somewhere. Maybe Paul can snatch them up. Well, here’s hoping.
September 29th, 2015 at 8:01 pm
Trump is what Scott Adams is calling a “wizard”. He’s engaging in verbal combat in a way that most of the candidates aren’t even aware of, hitting the audience at a subconscious level.
He’s going after Paul because there is no danger of Paul landing a wizard blow back. Paul is too logical, and is absolutely unaware of the second level happening in the conversation. Trump knows he can hit Paul (damaging all of the other candidates in the process) knowing that the others will let Paul respond, and that the response will have zero effectiveness.
Trump is in a verbal gunfight, and he knows that if he structures it in a way that makes Paul the one shooting back, Paul is going to do it by throwing the bullets.
September 29th, 2015 at 8:03 pm
And this before any caucuses or primaries have even occurred.
September 29th, 2015 at 8:08 pm
Just read the link. Paul is self immolating. I’m going to bold what the voters actually hear on the subconscious level when Paul says things like this.
September 29th, 2015 at 9:27 pm
I think Paul is more of a Constitutionalist than libertarian. Anyone who supports ALL of the Bill of Rights and restricting the government to its delegated powers will have a lot of agreement with Libertarians. Paul is also falsely accused of being weak on foreign policy, yet he has advocated declaring war on And destroying ISIS. That’s in stark contrast to the last four administrations who engage in unconstitutional, no win wars abroad while allowing our nation to be invaded AND facilitating immigration into our nation from jihadists countries!!! From an objective reading of Article III, Section 3 and Article IV, Section 4, this Democrat-Republican foreign policy is not only idiocy, but “treason”!!!
September 30th, 2015 at 4:49 pm
Unfortunately the election process is not about substance but perception. Appearance, speaking style, affability, bravado…none of those mean shit in terms of presidential qualification, but those are the guys that are successful in the process.
Occasionally guys that have those qualities of perception also have substance, i.e. Reagan, but most times perception and substance are mutually exclusive. Which is why the guys with some substance, i.e. Cruz, Carson, and yes, Paul…have zero chance of surviving the process and will never have a chance to go head to head with the true evil personified by Zero, Clinton, Sanders (and perception might work for Biden too, can you imagine anyone with less substance?) where their substance might actually matter.
In the current ‘pub field, Cruz and Carson are likely veep contenders, second fiddle to the bold and bombastic perception that Trump has successfully cultivated. Unfortunately for Paul, his shrill (yes, Trump is right about that) responses to attack and his appearance (yes, Trump is right about that too…am I the only one that immediately thinks Alfred E. Neuman when looking at Rand?), relegate him to the position of convenient whipping boy and foil for Trumps overbearing persona, so even with some substance (which in itself might be threatening to The Donald), he has no chance at either the big chair or even second fiddle.
What a fucked up mess this whole “process” is, and how I miss old Ronnie…once in a voter’s lifetime I reckon…maybe my kids will see the like of him again, but nothing on the stage right now is anywhere close.
September 30th, 2015 at 5:19 pm
JTC is on the right track. Cruz is the one playing the best long game. In any scenario, he ends up with one of the nominations.
Trump wins. He needs a policy guy to make the right feel good. Cruz.
Trump flames out. Trump’s people have to go somewhere. They are NOT going establishment. Trump has poisoned Carson (nice guy) and Carly’s hate for Trump is palpable. That leaves… Cruz.
One of the Establishment comes out on top. If he’s going to tack to the center and have ANY sort of hope of getting turnout from the base, he has to give them a bona fide anti-establishment VP. He needs someone unassailable on conservatism, like Cheney was. Obvious answer: Cruz.
Cruz is playing the smart, long game. He’s making the right enemies without making TOO many enemies. He’s going to have either the Prez or VP nomination, and if he gets VP, he’s the presumptive nominee in 2024, when he’s 53 years old. He’s played it very well.
September 30th, 2015 at 10:10 pm
Phelps, sounds like Cruz has positioned himself well for all scenarios except for a couple things:
First you attribute way too much logic to the perverted “process” which as I noted will preclude him from the top slot due to his almost complete lack of the shallow prerequisites of perception that I enumerated, and which you can pretty well lump together as “charismatic”; the one and only qualification of the One, and look where it got him.
If as is most likely, the game plans of ’08 and ’12
are any indication (and they are), the liberal machine and the RINOS (redundant) have their wingtip establishment pick as the last man standing, I think Cruz is smart enough to have learned the lessons of Sarahcuda and won’t go anywhere near that ticket; moot anyway as all conservatives will stay away in droves and the outcome will be preordained; another socialist in the white house, and any chance at avoiding social war and insurrection will be gone.
But let’s look at your first scenario. As distasteful as it seems, Trump is most likely to actually win the general if he can survive to the nomination; that is what scares the left most and why they expend all their resources trying to knock him down. Have you seen even one hit piece on Ted? They’re not worried about him but they should be; if he’s Donald’s veep, he’ll be up for potus in ’20 because Trump doesn’t want to be prez, he just wants to win. Soon enough he’ll realize it’s a lot of work and he doesn’t have any real conservative constitutional convictions anyway. But Cruz does, and in four years of doing the real work under DT, he’ll have established that his substance trumps (heh) perceptions, Trump will have tired of that real reality show, and there might be some chance that the Republic can make a comeback in the 20’s.
I’ll be old enough that it won’t matter so much to me personally, but for the sake of my children and grandchildren and my country, but I would love to live to see it, and I pray that it could happen.
Cruz needs Trump to win. And as distasteful as many patriots may find him, the rest of us probably do too.
October 1st, 2015 at 9:44 am
Or…..if we are dreaming, the new GOP President appoints Cruz to the Supreme Court.
October 1st, 2015 at 12:37 pm
Cargosquid,
Yes, maybe that would be a good place for Rand Paul too.