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Gentlemen, It’s Time to Do Your Sad Duty
Over at The Weekly Standard today, Bill Kristol put up poll results from South Carolina. Although the pollster wished to remain anonymous, Bill explained, he was unaffiliated with any of the campaigns and is both “honest” and “competent.” Here’s where his work indicates that matters now stand:
- Trump 32
- Cruz 26
- Rubio 20
- Bush 10
- Carson 7
- Kasich 2
In re which, a friend left this note in my inbox:
If Bill’s friend’s numbers are right, Jeb needs to get out of this race … for the good of the Republic.
Things are getting serious — and the phrase “for the good of the Republic” does indeed apply, does it not? And it goes without saying that if the moment has come for Jeb, then it has come as well for Dr. Carson and Gov. Kasich.
Gentlemen, it’s time.
Published in General
Of course they’re not reading this, but Peter, you might be able to put in a call to someone… I wish they would pay attention, because this is ridiculous.
I wish they’d see it that way. But I doubt they will.
“For the good of the Republic” seems a touch hyperbolic. As if the Republic will collapse if Rubio isn’t nominated. It just isn’t so.
Well if trump or Clinton are president, then yes we are in big fricking trouble…
Oh? You don’t suppose the Republic will be a better place if someone other than Donald J. Trump receives the nomination? And that the only two candidates with a chance to deny The Donald are Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio?
I suppose on a day on which gravitational waves have been discovered in the far reaches of the universe, we’re allowed to see the country as a mere speck of dust–but only for a moment.
Yes, Fred, the Republican nomination matters to the future of the Republic. And you may quote me in tomorrow morning’s “Daily Shot.”
I still think it is early for general quarters. We’ve awarded about 20 delegates out of 1200+, I believe. I think it is Ok if they slog it out through Nevada.
I think SC is similar to IA. Perhaps Trump under performs and Cruz out performs.
While I am not a Rubio guy I respect that he is a skilled politician and one of the best, if not the best communicators in the field. He has upside. Still a lot can happen.
I fear that Jeb! and Kasich cling to the vainglorious hope of a miraculous victory, against all odds.
They suffer from myopia, and cannot let go of the illusion, regardless of the consequences for the country at large. God help us…
Let’s not forget Gilmore. His three voters could swing this thing for someone.
His upside still seems limited while splitting votes with Kasich and Bush. It is not at all helpful that our good friend Mike Murphy is spending millions of dollars attacking Rubio.
I am not really a Rubio guy either but if the goal is to beat Trump the field has to shrink soon. Rubio is a better candidate then Bush.
So many times while commuting on a busy highway, I have thought, “if only all these cars would get out of my way, I could quickly pass through, and then there’d be one less car clogging the road for everyone else.”
I suspect JEB! and Kasich are operating under analogous “logic”.
If you’re reaching for a vegetable metaphor, I recommend a carrot. ;-)
If only some dashing contributor to Ricochet had recently written about this…
Except SC isn’t a caucus state, which I think hurt Trump very badly because he has little to no ground game. Also SC is an open primary, which means people who aren’t habitual Republican voters can vote in the GOP primary.
Poll numbers are more likely to translate into primary results in SC than they were in Iowa.
If the Republic is at stake then why doesn’t Rubio throw his support behind Cruz today, helping him to win in SC, win across the SEC and gain the 50% he needs to make Texas winner take all, and make a real push to beat Trump in Florida?
Rubio was polling between 11-13% in SC before the NH meltdown. That 20% number is pretty suspect.
More suspect: the line at which candidates are urged to sacrifice their egotistical efforts for the good of the country is always set 1/10% below Rubio’s polling average.
It comes across as special pleading for Rubio, which is deadly for him right now.
Rubio needs to own his policy positions however general-oriented they are. Give us a clear, realistic and humane portrait of immigration enforcement under Pres. Rubio. He needs to make the case for the Rubio-Lee tax plan for young families with children.
Finally, he needs to stop the high-flown aspirational cant and cut out the pretense that he is running against Obama and Clinton.
Rubio needs to take the fight to Trump directly. One month ago, he should have pounced on Trump and grilled him for not knowing the basics of US nuclear weapon stockpiles, deployment or policy. Letting Trump walk off that stage unharmed by muttering “oh the nuclear, oh the nuclear, it’s huge” or whatever jibberish he offered was a big lost moment.
Rubio cannot afford to lose another moment.
I hope the two Republicans Without Borders (Jeb and Marco) politically choke each other out.
Because apparently a collective decision has been made that if only everyone would fall on their sword, Rubio fever would sweep the country. I mean, letting people actually pick the candidate they want… pfffft.
Quick reminder that Fred is on record as hoping that both parties are destroyed at contested conventions. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
Oh good lord. Rubio has a single delegate less than Cruz. Both have viable paths to the nomination. Neither should drop.
Carson and Jeb have no such path. Their presence makes each of the other two less likely to defeat Trump. That is why they should drop.
Conservatives know that people respond to incentives. Constantly telling candidates with big egos to drop out for the good of the country is more than a bit futile. (And I would imagine that even the least of them has an outsized ego if he’s running for president.)
Figure out real incentives, if any exist.
All I’m saying is that it’s hyperbolic to insist that “for the good of the Republic” anyone do anything at this point. If it were a three-way race, and Jeb’s 10 points where the only thing keeping the anti-Trump from winning, your friend might have a point.
But I just think it’s too early in the process to make such grand pronouncements. A week ago Rubio had just claimed victory in Iowa and Donald Trump was a “Dead Clown Walking.”
Such are the whims of the primary season.
I agree.
Narrow it down to Trump, Cruz and Rubio. In a month from now, loser between Cruz and Rubio bows out, and supports the other.
Boom, we’re done with this.
That’s not what I said and, no, not the whole world.
Context is important. And if I recall, when you questioned me on it, I quoted Thomas Jefferson:
Take a joke, Fred.
This “‘Rubio is one delegate behind Cruz” is simply silly. It is barely less risible than “Bush is only seven delegates behind Cruz”.
As a morale boosting talking point, it is about all Rubio folks have today. Just don’t repeat it too much!
Yes Rubio has a path to the nomination but it is far narrower than the Cruz path and dead in the water without some breakout campaigning, which Rubio is capable of.
Rubio needs to run a strong, confident, unscripted race and all the whining from his supporters and calls for candidates who beat him in NH to leave the race and stop directing negative ads at Marcito simply makes Rubio look weak and unprepared for the major leagues.
Well if kasich really only pulls 2% in SC then he will probably bow out. Jeb is in this thing at least until FL. Carson will stay in as long as he has money.
If Rubio doesn’t win Nevada he has no real shot at the nomination, unless Trump or Cruz unexpectedly drops out or dies.
I think Fred’s right. Even after South Carolina, you still have 47 states to go. Who says that if Jeb gets out, all his voters go to Rubio?
Or maybe for the good of the republic it should be Rubio who should go. ;)
I think Kasich is banking on the mid west states. He won’t go until that’s through.
He didn’t say it would collapse, he said it would be good for the republic if these men stepped aside. And this seems inarguable to me, really. If nothing else, all that money they’re spending on commercials could be more productively invested.
Yeah, but maybe people will read and understand Peter’s post before replying to it …
The ironic thing here is that Fred is projecting. The opposite of “good” isn’t “collapse of the Republic.”
EDIT: Even more ironic, given the way Fred has titled some of his posts in the past. ;)