Carly Fiorina endorses Ted Cruz
It doesn’t surprise me.
Cruz adds this:
“This race, I believe, will end up one-on-one between me and Donald Trump because Donald and I are the only two that have any path to getting to 1237 delegates.”
“And head-to-head with Donald Trump, we win,” Cruz claimed. “The polling yesterday showed we beat Donald head-to-head by 13 points. And so if you don’t believe Donald Trump is the best nominee for Republicans, if you recognize as 65-70 percent of Republicans do that Donald loses to Hillary in the general, then I would encourage Republicans even if you were supporting another candidate to come, join Carly, join the millions of conservatives who are coming together, unifying behind our campaign.”
I think he is correct. The question is whether it will come to pass.
It’s clear that Cruz wants to win outright, and realizes how bad a brokered convention could and probably would be. He also realizes that his only chance of a straight win is if the others drop out, and that they are unlikely to do so in time (particularly Kasich). That’s why he needs voters to realize this and unite behind him, even if the others don’t drop out.
What gets me is that the Trump supporters do not understand is that there is already someone in the race that has shown their willingness to do what is difficult in the face of Rino cowardice. He has done it and born the whisper campaigns in the media that McConnell / McCain etc has dished out in payback.
Trump talks a good game, but he has talked the exact opposite game as well for years. Cruz has done it, not talk it.
Yet yall continue to vote for Trump??
Amazing. It is like you want Hillary to win, and when she takes the oath of office without a Bible due to lightning concerns, you folks will have made it happen. Not the democrats who will turn out in less numbers than Obama got.
My dream ticket. Ted and Carly.
Both are CLOSE personal friends.
Jim Doherty:
I believe a lot of Trump’s supporters are attracted to him because they see him as a better vehicle for the destruction of the GOP than Cruz is, and in particular because he channels and expresses their rage the best. Cruz is just not flamboyant, outrageous, or angry enough. Emotion is driving this.
I heard a recorded replay of a small portion of Mrs. Fiorina’s presentation, where she described going to the Virginia primary polls last week, seeing her own name on the ballot, and then chose to vote for Ted Cruz. I thought this image she created was a very fine and graceful thing, so full of decency to us all. Well done, Mrs. Fiorina, well done.
Sdferr
Had not heard that story. Great image.
Cornhead,
You have a great circle of friends. I’m impressed.
I think Carly could add some important talking points to Cruz’s campaign, especially about slimming down government and getting rid of the mass of regulations. And then, of course, she could go after Hillary and no one could call her sexist. This is more than an endorsement. It is team building, something Trump has been very weak on.
I’m slightly exaggerating but I have met them both.
Ted should value the endorsement of Carly way more than that of most Senators.
http://www.jammiewf.com/2016/illegal-alien-arrested-after-killing-five-was-deported-12-years-ago-released-in-snafu-in-september/
There are not enough attention units to cover the reasons to be incandescently angry at government. The result is anger overcomes reason.
Hence Trump’s support over Cruz.
Love to see Carly on the ticket.
Here is Carly’s endorsement:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/03/09/fiorina_endorses_it_is_now_time_to_unite_behind_ted_cruz.html
It’s so refreshing to hear sensible and knowlegable people.
The hyper vanity of Kasich and Rubio is tossing the nation into the lap of Hillary.
Message to Rubio: “It’s over.”
Romney dropped out in 2008 to stop fratricide.
These two need to follow that example.
Romney’s recent ‘advice’ to the anti-Trumps was terrible.
He needed to (privately) persuade Rubio and Kasich that it’s over.
The only viable outcome (for November) of a brokered convention would be Trump/Cruz.
I can easily see Cruz backing Trump — to become VP — as both would be kicked to the curb once the GOPe stepped into the picture.
Kasich is pining on just that. He’s running solely as a dark horse.
In November he’ll run as well as Dole did — twenty-years ago.
‘Gerald Ford II’ is not going to attract Democrat voters.
– Neo and Jim Doherty
I guess I’ll go ahead and mention that I think Cruz also turns people off to some degree because he’s perceived as a bible thumper. Small sample size, but several people I know dislike Cruz because he talks about God unprompted.
Combine that with the nerdy/nice guy thing he’s got going on, and I don’t think it’s really that strange that lots of people prefer the boisterous Trump to Cruz.
Quinippac (?) has Trump at 45%, Rubio at 20% ish… barely above Cruz 18%.
Quin is not my idea of an accurate pollster — but still.
I stay in contact with people on the Cruz Iowa team, Fiorina’s endorsement is no big surprise. She will be the VP if Cruz can get the nomination. She is campaigning with him and may bring him enough votes to top Rubio in FLA but its a winner take all primary with 99 delegates at stake. Cruz will need a big last minute surge to beat Trump, unlikely but not impossible. Too bad Rubio is unwilling to take one for the Gipper.
Jim Doherty,
I would never, under any condition, vote for Trump over Cruz. That said, if Trump does gain the nomination, how is a refusal to vote for Trump NOT a vote for Hillary? If you believe that Hillary would be preferable to Trump, make the case.
Cornhead,
“My dream ticket. Ted and Carly.”
Ditto, double ditto.
neo-neocon at 3:07 pm,
Once again, you put your finger squarely on the heart of the matter.
expat at 3:55 pm,
I too think that Fiorina could bring great value to a Cruz ticket.
Richard Aubrey,
“The result is anger overcomes reason.”
Yes.
blert,
Why would either Kasich or Rubio assist Cruz? Cruz does not further the interests of their donors.
Trump’s a ‘deal maker’, such a man is always open to ‘compromise’ and places value only upon what is personally of value. Offer him what he wants and he’ll sacrifice anything in which he places no personal value.
Kasich is a donor toady, who sees Ohio as an electoral linchpin, giving him the leverage to angle for a VP slot under the nominee.
Rubio knows its over, he’s looking for a path out of the disastrous maze within which he finds himself. Right now he’s a failed candidate, a younger Kasich. Losing Fl would be a disaster and probably end his career.
Ironically, Rubio’s great personal ambition and now desperation is keeping him from seeing the obvious path out of the quandary within which he finds himself. Dropping out before FL, “taking one for the team”, and calling upon Kasich to do so as well, would go far toward restoring his reputation.
He might even gain the VP slot, for obvious reasons, that might work for Trump and with Cruz, a ticket consisting of two Hispanics would utterly derail democrat charges of a racist GOP and would gain Hispanic voters, simply because they’re ‘one of them’. Hispanics would not be able to resist that ticket, any more that blacks could resist voting for the first black President. Reverse racism is alive and well in America.
If Rubio then immediately went back to the Senate, having vowed to “chop wood and carry water”, (always open privately to being drafted into the VP slot) he’d be correcting his lack of ‘seasoning’ and, gain time with conservatives to reverse his betrayal on amnesty. Giving him another future chance at the ‘brass ring’.
“I can easily see Cruz backing Trump – to become VP – as both would be kicked to the curb once the GOPe stepped into the picture.”
Please amplify and explain. If Cruz backed Trump in a brokered convention, how could the GOPe kick them to the curb?
The Quinippac poll is bogus.
nyght,
That’s probably true but easily addressed. As it can easily be turned into a positive. All Cruz has to say is that he seconds Ronald Reagan’s religiosity, a deeply held faith that would never countenance imposing it upon another. And, that his faith is in fact voter’s assurance that his consistent support for the Constitution and the Constitution’s inherent constitutional principle to “make no law regarding the establishment of religion” ensures that his faith will not be a concern should the American people elect him.
parker,
“She will be the VP if Cruz can get the nomination.”
From your lips to God’s ears.
“Romney dropped out in 2008 to stop fratricide.”
And as I recall, Huckabee refused to. Or, at least, he stayed in far longer than he should have.
I’m happy about the Fiorina endorsement. Despite the naysayers, I always got the impression that her government philosophy was similar to the one being shown by Cruz.
And speaking of naysayers…
It took practically no time at all before people started attacking her in the comments over at Instapundit.
If we don’t get back to “In God We Trust” and all that goes with it, we are doomed to suffer the Gramscian march to total secular collectivism and its inescapable immorality, and I am not an “Evangelical”.
1.) Cruz would never except a VP spot on a djt ticket.
2.) Rubio can not win his home state, why would Cruz want him as VP?
3.) Kasich has yet to win Ohio, his only chance to be VP under djt, under Cruz, no way, so its premature to speculate.
4.) Cruz/Fiorina would have a very good chance to run the board. If you haven’t watched Fiorina work a rally, you can not appreciate her abilities.
Frog,
Me neither, in fact I am an agnostic, but I know what you mean. We are without an anchor if we forget the Judeo-Christian foundation of Western Civilization.
junior,
You mentioned that Huckabee refused to drop out of the 2008 race. Now he is for Trump. I used to have a more tolerant view of him. I never wanted him to win anything, but I was OK with letting him talk. Now, I have moved to a strong dislike. How can a man who talks about religion and morals endorse someone totally lacking in both. His hypocracy is up there with Trump’s.
parker Says:
“Frog,
Me neither, in fact I am an agnostic, but I know what you mean. We are without an anchor if we forget the Judeo-Christian foundation of Western Civilization.”
I’ve been an atheist over a half century, but I’ve always defended the religious (sans Muslims), not only because Judeo-Christianity is a source of morals and ethics for socializing the animal instincts of the human species, but also based on the 100 million dead and virtual enslavement of the living under atheist rule.
More on-topic, what’s with all these last second endorsements?
The governor of Mississippi waited until the last possible second when there was no chance it would help because 95%++ wouldn’t hear about it until after they pulled the lever. Fiorina dropped out a month ago, knowing Cruz was the one who had similar views to her own. Perhaps her endorsement might have made a difference in some states.
Where’s Ben Carson, who also shares views mostly with Cruz? Did he forget already that when he was creeping up on Trump, that Trump engaged in vicious character assassination, publicly calling him a homicidal maniac for a teenage incident, with uncontrollable rage that would disqualify him for POTUS? Or is he still butt-hurt over the ridiculous charge that Cruz stole his votes in Iowa? His endorsement could help Cruz, too.
Maybe I’m just thinking with my idealism and honor here. If it was me, I’d immediately endorse the candidate that most shared my views on the issues. Are these late- and non-endorsers playing chicken with the candidates, engaged in negotiations to get better favors as deadlines approach and the stakes get higher?
(Rhetorical question) Are nearly all actual and wanna-be politicians too vainglorious to think of country first?
What if Perry and Walker endorsed Cruz? Rick has to know him fairly well.
Cornhead:
Perry endorsed Cruz in January.
I don’t see how a convention fight would necessarily be a bad thing. The public would have to be educated to the fact that all the primaries do is pick delegates who are committed to a candidate –on the first ballot.
If Trump, or any candidate, fails to get a majority on the first, a significant number of delegates are up for grabs. It is hard to imagine other delegates turning to Trump.
The Dem’s media allies, and the Trumpsters, will try to spin it, so the GOP would have to be out front to educate the electorate that it is a legitimate process.
The problem is that if Trump gets the most delegates, but doesn’t get more than 50% of the delegates (and the nomination then goes to someone else), then his supporters are going to claim that he was robbed of the nomination.
expat-
Huckabee also set off the hackles of quite a few mormons back in 2008. A poll conducted of the potential candidates during the primary season actually found that Huckabee would lose Utah in a match-up with Obama.
Oldflyer:
The problem is that (even before Trump) the public doesn’t really understand that if a candidate doesn’t achieve the vote threshold on the first ballot all bets are off. That’s what a convention is and always has been, but populism has taken hold to the point where I don’t think that would be acceptable to most people no matter what “education” on the topic that the party would try to offer.
And that’s even without Trump. With Trump, and the activism of many of his supporters, the idea that the elites had stolen the election from them would be shouted from the rafters.
You can bet on it.
Neo, Junior, I understand the perceptions. It would be a tough sell, but that could still be the best outcome.
I turned my back on the RNC several years ago, and the small contributions I now make go to individuals. Still, the RNC under Reice Priebus has been pretty effective, despite the abuse thrown at them. After all the GOP controls both houses, most governorships, and most legislatures. Not shabby work. So, I believe that the RNC is capable of making the argument if they are motivated enough.
Trump would be the wild card. If he were man enough, and decent enough to say, “this is the long standing process; I did not get a majority, so we follow the process”, then it would help a lot. I know the caveats are likely pipe dreams, or as we used to say, “you, Oldflyer, are just whistling dixie”.
Mike Lee finally got off the fence and endorsed Cruz.
Oh, and the Trump drones are all over Breitbart trashing Lee already as an establishment RINO insider, because Republican.
If he’d endorsed Trump, they’d be setting up a GoFundMe campaign to erect an altar to him already.
Oldflyer:
After all the GOP controls both houses, most governorships, and most legislatures.
Most of that happened before anyone would even think to ask “What’s a Reince Priebus?”
Based on the incredible energy of the Tea Parties, the Republicans took 650 state legislative seats from the Marxists in 2010.
Priebus was elected RNC Chairman in January, 2011.
They took another 250 seats in 2014.
Even after the Candy Crowley/Obama coordinated attack on Romney in 2012 debate #2, and the usual biased treatment by “moderators”, Priebus agreed to almost nothing but leftist moderators on all the debates this year.
Oh, and the Trump drones are all over Breitbart trashing Lee already as an establishment RINO insider, because Republican.
If he’d endorsed Trump, they’d be setting up a GoFundMe campaign to erect an altar to him already.
——————
In the comments section for the Fiorina endorsement over at Instapundit, someone suggested that the endorsement post should have gone up stating that Fiorina was endorsing *Trump*. And then after an hour or so of Trump supporters praising her to the high heavens, a correction could have been posted that she had, in fact, endorsed Cruz and not Trump.
😛
junior:
Great idea.