Recently, a smug leftist on Facebook smugged smugly, “Trump and Cruz are at the front of the Rethuglican pack. This is good news for us because both are unelectable.”
Mm-Hm.
That does seem to be the conventional wisdom. Hillary wants to face off against Trump or Cruz because they are unelectable, toxic even. But are they really unelectable?
Donald Trump is an anti-politician in an age where politicians are roundly despised. He is a celebrity in a culture that adores celebrity. Putting aside his policy positions — which are largely irrelevant since most voters are ignorant at best, misinformed at worst — there is a path to the White House for him. He is unlikely to lose any of the states Mitt Romney won. It’s not inconceivable that Trump could flip states like Florida, Nevada, and Ohio, or even siphon off disaffected moderate Democrats put off by Hillary’s corruption, cronyism, and dishonesty.
Ted Cruz is despised by the Republican Establishment, and therefore, it is believed, he is “unelectable.” However, the last time I looked, the Republican Party was hated liberals, moderates, and conservatives, so he is in good company. Ted Cruz is a very gifted speaker and debator. His biggest challenge would be getting through the MFM filter; the same MFM that smeared Mitt Romney as a dog-torturer who gave women cancer with his Mormon cancer gun. Ted Cruz does do something none of the “electable” Republicans (Jeb, Kasich) do; he turns on the base and makes them excited to come out and vote.
Since 1992, the Republican Party has decided its nominee on the basis of “electability.” Every election but 2004 has featured one or more upstart candidates from the right (Pat Buchanan, Steve Forbes, Newt Gingrich) that was crushed by the party establishment in favor of a more moderate “electable” nominee. In that time, their record has been Lose, Lose, Lose Popular Vote, Win, Lose, Lose.
Not that Trump or Cruz would have an easy time of it. They wouldn’t. The MFM in this country is a propaganda arm for the Democrat Party. The Democrat fraud machine in cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Detroit all but guarantee their states will turn blue regardless of how voters actually vote. But any Republican candidate would face those exact same hurdles.
But there are also other variables; a Democrat nominee that turns off their base or commits a gaffe too big for the MFM to hide; a sudden change in the economy or in the national security environment. Hurricane Sandy was certainly a last minute boost to Obama in 2012, though whether he needed it is debatable.
It’s also kind of funny that the Democrat Party front-runners are a corrupt, tone-deaf woman of no accomplishment who has a tough time appearing even moderately human on a good day and an angry old white Marxist. But no one ever seems concerned about the ‘electablility’ of Democrat candidates.
Maybe it’s just me,but I have to wonder…why is Hillary Clinton being briefed by Sec’y of State Kerry,Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and Security Advisor Susan Rice?
Isn’t Clinton just a private citizen now?
Didn’t she give up all of her security clearances?
A cautionary tale;
No-one though Dick Nixon was electable in 1967.
Few ever heard of Jimmy Carter in 1974.
Barak Obama was a relatively unknown Sate Senator in 2004.
And, in the late 1970’s, a lot of Republicans feared that Reagan was unelectable, because he was generally perceived as a right-wing extremist.
I’m sick of the establishment pushing the “electable” candidate on the voters, getting their way then watching the electable candidate lose in the general election. Even Bush 43 lost the popular vote.
I’m done thinking about electability and my vote is going to the candidate who is most in line with my positions and who I think can most be trusted to advocate and promote conservative principles.
I don’t trust Trump but I admit Cruz is growing on me. I still like Fiorina and Walker and would vote for Paul. The Spare me any Bushes.
Kasich is one of the more electable ones, although that is because he is a squishy Republican. In this day and age, it will be hard to put someone in the Oval Office that is really conservative. That is because the country has let in many millions of legal immigrants, who are overwhelmingly Democratic. At least the second and third generations of immigrants due turn more conservative.
Cruz is loathsome—a warmonger whose first loyalty is to a hostile foreign country, not the US. We need serious work on domestic issues; his speeches are all hifalutin’ rhetoric and emotional whoring—sheer poetry, I tell ya.
Cruz is NOT a patriot or conservative. We cannot afford any more neocon experiments.
Don’t think Israel is hostile? Ever heard of Jonathan Pollard or the USS Liberty?
I do share your view that many who claim Trump/Cruz are unelectable will be surprised come voting day. At this point the GOP has simply failed its voter base by capitulating to democrats at every turn. If Trump or Cruz or Carson are on the ticket I predict voters will turn out in record numbers. If a Bush or Rubio or Christy or Kasich are on the ticket Id rather chug a beer at the local dew drop in than waste my time going to vote.
BTW- Luv your blog and please keep up your analysis the Gay Patriot has become a daily stop for me!
Well done!
Voter apathy is a huge danger this elections since it’s been growing every election-cycle. For the last NJ Primary this June, I was the 1st-voter to enter the polling-station that serviced two voting-precincts ( 1/3 of our entire Township with 2500+ eligible voters) at 11am. Not one eligible voter of either party had bothered to vote despite the polls being open for 5-hours. …Not one. Out of 1600+/- registered voters. WTF ??
Last year when the Governor’s mansion and a NJ senatorial seat were at stake, I was only the 16th Republican voter after the polls had been open for nearly 14-hours…15-minutes before the Polls closed. And only 12 Democrats had voted so-far. At my previous address in the adjacent town, the Mayor was typically elected by 3-5% of the actual registered voters on the rolls. You could be elected to Council with even less-support. Where I live now, they had to appoint a school-board member after the election last Spring since they had three open seats and only two local-residents ran for office.
So much for small-d democracy and the Will of the People. **snert**
Robert A. Heinlein was right.