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Are You #NeverTrump?
For months, we’ve speculated, theorized, and (occasionally) hyperventilated over how we’ll vote in the general election. So — with the stipulations that the following poll makes no pretense of scientific accuracy and that the Ricochetti have polled quite differently than Republicans at large — let’s shed a little light on how members of The Smartest Conversation on the Right intend to vote this coming November:
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I still haven’t decided on my never Trump status so I left that blank. This is just so awful. I love Cruz as a Senator but I’m not even all that excited about him for President. How did we get here?!?!
I live in PA and there seems to be a huge amount of support for Kasich here. My parents are independents that have always been pretty solid D voters. They dislike all candidates D and R except Kasich whom they seem to think is the only remotely sane choice.
I once got into a heated debate with them about Cruz before the Presidential stuff even was a thought. I just can’t bring it up with them again.
As insane as it sounds, I think it is an extremely tight 3-man race with any outcome possible at this point.
I think Cruz winning Wiscy could give him some traction here.
I think the question about the convention is missing something.
I agree that the nominee has to get the 1,237.
I don’t agree that it should be someone who didn’t run. The delegates need to be locked in the convention and bars on the bathroom doors until they to 1,237 from those remaining standing.
Nicely delineated set of questions, Tom. Thanks.
The last question needed another option. If the choice for president is Trump or Hillary, I’ll just leave it blank and continue down the ballot, voting for US Rep and state candidates.
I won’t stay home.
I plan to write in James Lileks.
It’s going to be a contested convention and the nominee will be Scott Walker! Hey, it could happen right?
Oops! Accidentally clicked “Trump” instead of “Cruz” on question no. 1.
I have no idea how large the responder sizes are for these polls (hint, hint…that would be nice to know), so I have no idea whether one wrong vote can have a noticeable effect on the outcome.
I should have been included that as an option. When we do one of these next, we’ll be sure to.
I haven’t heard anyone else say this, but in a runoff election, no one gets a majority in the general election so you pick from the top two vote getters. In this case, someone must get a majority, unless there is a tie which is very unlikely.
Although I’m no fan of Trump, my thinking is that if no one has a majority of delegates, the second ballot at the convention should choose from the two leaders, in this case Trump and Cruz. I tend to think Cruz would win in that contest, especially given that Jeb Bush and other establishment Republicans have endorsed him. I’ve been a Cruz supporter all along, so I’m biased.
Thank you for this poll! Good to know I am not alone. Below are my answers.
• Currently support: Ted Cruz
• I will not support Trump as the Republican nominee (#NeverTrump)
• Rules are rules (just like in Casinos, and we may need some muscle to enforce our house rules for the first time in a long time). 1,236 = as good as Zero.
• I will vote for Hillary if Trump is nominated and there’s even a chance Trump might ever be in the same room with our nuclear codes. (Please read Max Boot in Commentary-you must and should subscribe).
Also check Jenn Rubin on why many Pubbies will vote for Hillary:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2016/03/25/why-many-republicans-will-choose-clinton-over-trump/
Given the overwhelming consensus among Ricochet members reflected in the current results, I imagine these questions won’t show up again in the next Ricochet poll. Rather, it will probably ask something like:
Which country do you plan to move to after November?
A: New Zealand
B: anonymous’s bunker in Switerzland
C: The Cayman Islands
I’ve been informed that no question can be left blank – that all fields are required – for your answers to be tallied.
This definitely poses a problem for those who aren’t committed to #NeverTrump, but who believe that agreeing with the statement “I COULD support [Trump] if he wins the nomination” would be a lie.
In a perfect world, I’d agree with you that people who simply don’t know yet whether they could do something should not be forced to say that they could do it.
That’s reassuring. I tried to leave the last question blank but got an error message, so I picked an option and resubmitted. When I saw that others had seemingly managed to submit answers with blank questions I was worried that my submission would be invalidated as a double vote.
Maybe those of us who believe we cannot honestly answer one of the poll questions as posed should narrow it down to two options, then flip a coin? :-)
Don’t most political polls also offer an option of “don’t know/no opinion/unsure” for most questions?
I think we need an option to vote Sanders. If Mrs. Clinton doesn’t get her act together, then she could still lose the nomination. Right now, it’s still possible that Bernie could win more delegates at the polls, and then the superdelegates could switch, which is how Obama beat her in 2008. I know that a Sanders nomination is implausible, but then, so is the Donald.
Under other conditions, I’d just skip/write in my wife for president so that I could vote for other offices. But since I live in Maryland, that’s kind of a washout also.There’s almost no reason to bother. Probably won’t even watch the returns.
Well, I picked the one I thought was most likely. I’ve already made a decision about what I will do depending on circumstances, so I picked the choice with the circumstances that I thought were more likely.
While I am supporting (and hoping for) Cruz, I checked the box that I could support Trump if he were the R nominee.
My reasoning is that I’d rather the next President fill the ranks of political appointees throughout the government-bureaucratic complex from the GOP-slanting faithful rather than from the Democrat faithful. I am playing the odds that I and those who think as I do would be less “oppressed” this way, than by the policy inclinations of people who profess views I deplore or even detest. The Dem, Hillary or any other, would in many ways continue and advance the “progressive” direction pioneered by the likes of Obama, Kerry, Lynch, ValJar, Lois Lerner, Sotomayor, Kagan, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseam.
I wonder how many of us couldn’t complete the survey because we just can’t answer questions 2 and / or 4. I don’t know what I’ll do if Trump is the nominee and there’s no third party candidate who can win.
And BTW, on question 3, I chose 1 but not cause Rules are Rules. Cause the party needs to twist and stretch rules to stop Trump, as desperate times call for desperate measures.
Good point.
#NeverTrump, as always.
I’m fully in the NeverHillary camp. She is evil and must be defeated. I’ll be a team player and vote for the Republican nominee – that is the only way to defeat her.
So I guess we can put Ricochetland down as “lean Cruz.”
I’m actually surprised by the size of the NeverTrump vote. C’mon – I fell in line and voted for Dole, for crying out loud. Falling in line is what we do. The country is lost anyway, let’s at least have some fun with it.
Can you add SMOD as an option? I would love to see where everyone stands on SMOD vs. Chuthulu
I struggled with this as well.
I interpreted the “maybeTrump” as simply supporting him if wins the nomination, which I don’t think I can do without drastic changes from Trump. I’ve said Trump could win my vote between now and November, but do so would require him to alienate most of his base, which I’m fairly certain he won’t do. So, I chose “nevertrump” which is the statement that most closely approximates my current position.
Though, I’m increasingly of the opinion that Trump doesn’t really want to be President. He has a pretty awesome life now, which would be severely curtailed if he becomes President (for example, he won’t be able to weekend at Mar-a-lago without shutting it down, which I don’t see him doing) and he clearly doesn’t like to be criticized, which he will be daily after the convention. I think he started this as a lark and now can’t quite figure out how to get out of it without harming his brand, and he cares more about his brand than he does the country.
Relatedly, I’ll meet the legal requirements for the presidency this year, so I’m available as a viable write-in candidate. My mother wasn’t a US citizens when I was born, but copies of my US birth certificate can be made available.
#VoteMeyer
The convention rules have never been like that, so why change them now? I believe the nomination is up in the air. It may be that the best candidate is someone who didn’t run, and right now I’d support virtually anyone over Trump. If someone can rally people better than Cruz can, I say go for it. Our system was designed to avoid populist madness and keep out candidates like Trump; this year, we need the wisdom of the founding fathers, and I just hope we have the nerve to utilize the contingency plan they gave us.
Looks like you an I are exactly the same age.
#ryanMforveep
So it’s settled then.