Cruz, Perry Take Opposite Tacks on Trump

 

Rick PerryHow do you solve a problem like The Donald? How do you catch a clod and pin him down?

While the Trump tsunami has receded this week, GOP presidential candidates are still trying to deal with the toupeed terror. Some contenders laugh him off while others avoid mentioning him at all. But the two Texans in the race have taken opposite tacks on dealing with the reality TV star.

Ted Cruz has publicly embraced the serial Clinton contributor, praising his frank talk and unconventional style. Cruz claims to be a “big fan of Donald Trump’s” and even flew to New York City to meet with him. The candidates discussed a variety of topics in a “very friendly” meeting at Trump Tower.

Trump hyped the meeting beforehand on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “Ted Cruz called me. And I don’t know why I’m meeting him, to be honest, but I do have respect for him,” Trump said. “I respect the fact that along with a couple of others, he came out and he came out very strongly and agreed with what I said on illegal immigration. And he came out very strongly and he came out early, and I respect that. I like him.”

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry took a decidedly different approach:

Donald Trump continues to demonstrate his fundamental misunderstanding of border security. Make no mistake – border security is a federal responsibility, but when I met with President Obama last year and it became clear he would not act, I told him if he would not secure the border, Texas would. Rather than thanking Texas for stepping into a gap it shouldn’t have to fill, Mr. Trump has made clear that he believes the states should fend for themselves on border security. Not only is this wrong, it perpetuates the same failed policies that have left our southern border porous and vulnerable.

I have a message for my fellow Republicans and the independents who will be voting in the primary process: what Mr. Trump is offering is not conservatism, it is Trump-ism – a toxic mix of demagoguery and nonsense.

America doesn’t need another president who pays lip service when issues of national security are at stake. America doesn’t need another president who will pass the buck on border security. We need a president who will finally act to secure the border after decades of failed leadership in Washington, D.C. And Mr. Trump has done nothing to prove that he is the president America needs.

I assume that the first draft added that Mr. Trump looks funny and his breath smells like Corn Nuts.

My preference is for candidates to just step aside while The Donald inevitably sabotages himself. But if you’re going to engage, I prefer Perry’s tactic over Cruz’s. I’m sure that Sen. Cruz would love Trump’s money and supporters once he drops from the race, but it makes this principled constitutionalist look like a suck-up. If we’re playing “who’s more conservative,” Trump isn’t worthy to scrape the muck off of Cruz’s cowboy boots. Don’t play the beta male, Ted; it’s unseemly.

Perry is setting himself up as the grown-up in the race. Along with his race speech a couple weeks back, it’s Perry, not Trump, who is the truth-teller of 2016. He knows he’s a bit of a long-shot, so he might as well say what he really thinks and roll with the consequences. By picking a public fight with Trump, Perry gets his name in the news but will get blowback from the few committed Trumpistas. Nevertheless, his swagger makes him look like the tough, no-nonsense alpha that Texans know he is.

How do you think candidates should handle The Donald? Fight, Flirt, or Flight?

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  1. Pseudodionysius Inactive
    Pseudodionysius
    @Pseudodionysius

    Because the Donald “shoots from the hip” which, in this case, would have killed the attacker. There’s a Celebrity Apprentice episode where Piers Morgan wins in support of disabled military veterans. Have a look on YouTube. Just because it’s a spectacle doesn’t mean he’s wrong.

    • #31
  2. Leigh Inactive
    Leigh
    @Leigh

    Aaron Miller: It’s a mistake for any candidate to specifically reference another candidate. Why devote your airtime to publicizing someone else? Reference only the other person’s policy proposals and arguments, even refusing to use the person’s name while doing so if possible. And never devote more than a minute or two to addressing another candidate’s positions without leading into your own.

    I’d agree the vast majority of the time.  I wouldn’t want Walker, who’s still my preferred candidate and currently positioned where he needs to be, to get in a shouting match with Trump.  Just ride above the fray; it’s July 2015.  But I like having somebody do it — it just needs said.  By saying it, Perry gets my attention in a positive way.  It’s a risky strategy, but he’s still a long-shot candidate who has to take risks.  Right now, taking on Trump directly gets him more attention than talking policy.

    • #32
  3. user_966256 Member
    user_966256
    @BobThompson

    Along with questions of Trump’s commitment to conservative principles, I wonder why he has approached entry into this campaign in the way that he has. It just doesn’t pass the smell test for me. How can someone with long-standing apparently important business and commercial associations and relationships abandon those in this manner? Too much shock effect for me. I don’t quarrel with most of his recently expressed positions, but it all seems so sudden and somehow suspect.

    • #33
  4. Freesmith Member
    Freesmith
    @

    Ryan M:

    Freesmith:Of the three of them – Trump, Cruz and Perry – which one has said that today America needs fewer immigrants?

    The answer? None.

    Wake me up when somebody does.

    Do you think any of them should?

    Why, yes, seeing that the statement has the twin virtues of being 1) true, and 2) conservative.

    • #34
  5. Pseudodionysius Inactive
    Pseudodionysius
    @Pseudodionysius

    Right now Trumps twit fits seem mostly focused on Bush as punching bag. The attacks on the other candidates seem kind of cartoonish (likely interns who have yet to be chased around the office by Hillarys husband). I’m waiting for Newt to say something to turn this into the bar fight scene from John Wayne’s movie Brannigan. Perhaps we could write Nigel Farage in for a cameo.

    • #35
  6. user_966256 Member
    user_966256
    @BobThompson

    Pseudodionysius:Right now Trumps twit fits seem mostly focused on Bush as punching bag. The attacks on the other candidates seem kind of cartoonish (likely interns who have yet to be chased around the office by Hillarys husband). I’m waiting for Newt to say something to turn this into the bar fight scene from John Wayne’s movie Brannigan. Perhaps we could write Nigel Farage in for a cameo.

    Didn’t Trump forfeit many significant long-term relationships to harass Bush? Why?

    • #36
  7. Ontheleftcoast Inactive
    Ontheleftcoast
    @Ontheleftcoast

    Sundance over at Conservative Treehouse has a very thought provoking post on Trump vs the rest.

    We’ve explained the underlying problem of why the GOP hates their own base– and why they will never do anything tostop the progressive agenda.  The GOP are committed to #1) ObamaCare remaining; #2) Comprehensive Immigration Reform to include Amnesty; and #3) Common Core Education Standards.  We’ve also explained why admitting thatfactual reality is just a matter of following the factswhere they lead.

    When youadmit the problem, and finally agree to stop being a co-dependent in your own diminishment, you join a growingcoalition of supporters for a candidate outside the professional political class, the establishment GOP.

    He notes that despite voters not (presently?) taking Trump seriously (currently about half) he’s still polling very well.

    Trump’s growing poll numbers is a frightening reality especially for the Jeb Bush team, who desperately need –and have strategically planned for– a highly divided electorate.

    Team Jeb are relying on having a dozen (or so) various special-interest factions of the voting base so their own small ‘professional political class’ coalition of around 15 to 20% can win the primary.

    The absolute nightmare scenario amid the Establishment GOP is that a single candidate can unite a voting block that is larger than Jeb Bush.  The Decepticons have worked diligently to insure this would not happen; even, as many suspect, funding candidates to enter and remain in the race (Marco Rubio).

    • #37
  8. Pseudodionysius Inactive
    Pseudodionysius
    @Pseudodionysius

    Bob Thompson:

    Pseudodionysius:Right now Trumps twit fits seem mostly focused on Bush as punching bag. The attacks on the other candidates seem kind of cartoonish (likely interns who have yet to be chased around the office by Hillarys husband). I’m waiting for Newt to say something to turn this into the bar fight scene from John Wayne’s movie Brannigan. Perhaps we could write Nigel Farage in for a cameo.

    Didn’t Trump forfeit many significant long-term relationships to harass Bush? Why?

    If you’ll recall a certain Vegas hotel mogul bank rolled Newt for awhile and then Trump flew into Vegas and endorsed Romney.

    • #38
  9. user_966256 Member
    user_966256
    @BobThompson

    Ontheleftcoast: The absolute nightmare scenario amid the Establishment GOP is that a single candidate can unite a voting block that is larger than Jeb Bush.  The Decepticons have worked diligently to insure this would not happen; even, as many suspect, funding candidates to enter and remain in the race (Marco Rubio).

    So did Trump see this and decide he would destroy the Establishment GOP strategy and go for the nomination himself or is there some other source behind him and what is the end game, in either event?

    Or is Trump just doing what he always seems to do, get in for some exposure and when he tires of that or it loses its effectiveness, he drops out. I think this last is ok if it gets someone other than Bush the nomination.

    • #39
  10. Leigh Inactive
    Leigh
    @Leigh

    Bob Thompson:

    Ontheleftcoast: The absolute nightmare scenario amid the Establishment GOP is that a single candidate can unite a voting block that is larger than Jeb Bush. The Decepticons have worked diligently to insure this would not happen; even, as many suspect, funding candidates to enter and remain in the race (Marco Rubio).

    So did Trump see this and decide he would destroy the Establishment GOP strategy and go for the nomination himself or is there some other source behind him and what is the end game, in either event?

    Is he destroying the Establishment GOP strategy, or is he helping it out?

    • #40
  11. user_966256 Member
    user_966256
    @BobThompson

    Leigh:

    Bob Thompson:

    Ontheleftcoast: The absolute nightmare scenario amid the Establishment GOP is that a single candidate can unite a voting block that is larger than Jeb Bush. The Decepticons have worked diligently to insure this would not happen; even, as many suspect, funding candidates to enter and remain in the race (Marco Rubio).

    So did Trump see this and decide he would destroy the Establishment GOP strategy and go for the nomination himself or is there some other source behind him and what is the end game, in either event?

    Is he destroying the Establishment GOP strategy, or is he helping it out?

    How does this help the establishment get Bush the nomination?

    • #41
  12. Leigh Inactive
    Leigh
    @Leigh

    Bob Thompson:

    Leigh:

    Bob Thompson:

    Ontheleftcoast: The absolute nightmare scenario amid the Establishment GOP is that a single candidate can unite a voting block that is larger than Jeb Bush. The Decepticons have worked diligently to insure this would not happen; even, as many suspect, funding candidates to enter and remain in the race (Marco Rubio).

    So did Trump see this and decide he would destroy the Establishment GOP strategy and go for the nomination himself or is there some other source behind him and what is the end game, in either event?

    Is he destroying the Establishment GOP strategy, or is he helping it out?

    How does this help the establishment get Bush the nomination?

    Because the people flocking to Trump are not potential Bush supporters.  That’s obvious.  Bush probably has a lock on a certain percentage of the vote.  He just needs the rest to avoid coalescing around any one candidate.  Having someone like Trump eating up air time makes it a little harder for someone else to build the profile necessary.

    • #42
  13. user_966256 Member
    user_966256
    @BobThompson

    Leigh: Because the people flocking to Trump are not potential Bush supporters.  That’s obvious.  Bush probably has a lock on a certain percentage of the vote.  He just needs the rest to avoid coalescing around any one candidate.  Having someone like Trump eating up air time makes it a little harder for someone else to build the profile necessary.

    So what happens if Trump draws a leading contender closer to him on immigration issues, take Walker for example, and then Trump drops out before the primaries, is it likely that Walker would benefit substantially against Bush?

    • #43
  14. Leigh Inactive
    Leigh
    @Leigh

    Bob Thompson:

    Leigh: Because the people flocking to Trump are not potential Bush supporters. That’s obvious. Bush probably has a lock on a certain percentage of the vote. He just needs the rest to avoid coalescing around any one candidate. Having someone like Trump eating up air time makes it a little harder for someone else to build the profile necessary.

    So what happens if Trump draws a leading contender closer to him on immigration issues, take Walker for example, and then Trump drops out before the primaries, is it likely that Walker would benefit substantially against Bush?

    Could go either way.

    Walker was distinguishing himself from the rest of the field before Trump came along — much more cautiously.  This might have been a wedge issue for him anyway.  A timely Trump pull-out might play into his hands, or it might essentially leave his position associated with Trump in a way he’d really rather not.

    • #44
  15. Quinn the Eskimo Member
    Quinn the Eskimo
    @

    Leigh:Because the people flocking to Trump are not potential Bush supporters. That’s obvious. Bush probably has a lock on a certain percentage of the vote. He just needs the rest to avoid coalescing around any one candidate. Having someone like Trump eating up air time makes it a little harder for someone else to build the profile necessary.

    True, but potentially worse.  If Trump manages to hang around long enough, it might end up being a Bush-Trump race.  (I think I have speculated before on a Trump-Bush-Paul race a/k/a the nightmare scenario.)  I think Bush wins that race.  So does the Democrat at the top of their ticket.

    • #45
  16. Leigh Inactive
    Leigh
    @Leigh

    Quinn the Eskimo:

    Leigh:Because the people flocking to Trump are not potential Bush supporters. That’s obvious. Bush probably has a lock on a certain percentage of the vote. He just needs the rest to avoid coalescing around any one candidate. Having someone like Trump eating up air time makes it a little harder for someone else to build the profile necessary.

    True, but potentially worse. If Trump manages to hang around long enough, it might end up being a Bush-Trump race. (I think I have speculated before on a Trump-Bush-Paul race a/k/a the nightmare scenario.) I think Bush wins that race. So does the Democrat at the top of their ticket.

    Well, according to the latest Fox poll, it’s a Trump-Walker-Bush race.  And I’m guessing that Trump — unlike the rest of them — is at his ceiling.

    • #46
  17. Eric Hines Inactive
    Eric Hines
    @EricHines

    Leigh:

    Quinn the Eskimo:

    Leigh:Because the people flocking to Trump are not potential Bush supporters. That’s obvious. Bush probably has a lock on a certain percentage of the vote. He just needs the rest to avoid coalescing around any one candidate. Having someone like Trump eating up air time makes it a little harder for someone else to build the profile necessary.

    True, but potentially worse. If Trump manages to hang around long enough, it might end up being a Bush-Trump race. (I think I have speculated before on a Trump-Bush-Paul race a/k/a the nightmare scenario.) I think Bush wins that race. So does the Democrat at the top of their ticket.

    Well, according to the latest Fox poll, it’s a Trump-Walker-Bush race. And I’m guessing that Trump — unlike the rest of them — is at his ceiling.

    I think (hope) you’re right, but I’m not as confident.  He’s getting a lot more favorable coverage and poll support at this stage than did Bachman, Cain, or Perry at this stage in ’12.

    Trump is more dangerous.

    And quitting his day job to do this?  If I had $10B in liquid assets, I’d be willing to walk away from a lot in order to follow my bliss.

    Eric Hines

    • #47
  18. Mark Coolidge
    Mark
    @GumbyMark

    Eric Hines:

    Leigh:

    Quinn the Eskimo:

    Trump is more dangerous.

    And quitting his day job to do this? If I had $10B in liquid assets, I’d be willing to walk away from a lot in order to follow my bliss.

    Eric Hines

    Trump is 69 years old; Cruz, Rubio and Walker are young enough to be his kids.  This is probably his last chance to run.  He’s got the bucks; he’s gonna have some fun.

    • #48
  19. Leigh Inactive
    Leigh
    @Leigh

    Eric Hines: I think (hope) you’re right, but I’m not as confident.  He’s getting a lot more favorable coverage and poll support at this stage than did Bachman, Cain, or Perry at this stage in ’12. Trump is more dangerous. And quitting his day job to do this?  If I had $10B in liquid assets, I’d be willing to walk away from a lot in order to follow my bliss. Eric Hines

    I’m reasonably confident he will not be majorly competitive for the nomination.  Money doesn’t buy everything, and he’s not a politician.  Business savvy is not the same thing as political skill.  Sooner or later, his style is going to backfire on him — not to mention his past policy positions and his complete lack of any record to back his rhetoric.

    I think he might be a threat as an independent candidate, but we’ll see.

    Maybe he can be convinced to try politics at a level where he might have a shot at actually holding office and where he can’t do more harm than good?  Mr. Trump, your city needs you!  Your talents are wasted and unappreciated on this vain quest — put them to work here!

    • #49
  20. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Let’s see… I live in Iowa. If I tell the next pollster who calls that I’m pumped for Trump, will that make Mike Murphy cry?

    Now that that has occurred to me, I’m not sure I have the willpower to resist.

    • #50
  21. Leigh Inactive
    Leigh
    @Leigh

    Percival:Let’s see… I live in Iowa. If I tell the next pollster who calls that I’m pumped for Trump, will that make Mike Murphy cry?

    Now that that has occurred to me, I’m not sure I have the willpower to resist.

    But you’ll make Clinton and MSNBC happy at the same time.  If you’re trying to make liberals unhappy, you need to try harder.

    • #51
  22. Ricochet Coolidge
    Ricochet
    @Manny

    Candidates should respectfully fight Trump.  Bring up how he supported Hillary in the past and now he says she was the the worst Sec of State ever?  Bring out how he’s been a Democrat and supported Democrats.

    Frankly I am appalled at how Trump calls people names.  He’s really a disgrace, and if Ted Cruz wants to associate himself with that then he’s a disgrace too.  Rick Perry continues to grow in my eyes.

    • #52
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