insults – Kingsjester's Blog

After the debate last night, when the dust settled, according to CNN, there were 6 things that we learned about the Republican Candidates for that Party’s Presidential Nomination.

In today’s blog, I present their analysis and then, I analyze their analysis.

Hey, us “rubes”, here in “Flyover Country” are entitled to our opinion, too. Aren’t we?

CNN.com reports that

Donald Trump is leading the race, but Marco Rubio owned the stage — finally turning against Trump in a late effort to block the real estate mogul from running away with the Republican nomination.Rubio attacked Trump’s character. And Ted Cruz followed up by questioning Trump’s conservative credentials.

The big questions of the night: Which senator did a better job convincing voters they can best take on Trump? Did Rubio’s attacks and interruptions show a new side of himself? Did Cruz do enough to persuade people he’s worth another look? Or did Trump’s dismissive counters — Rubio is a “choke artist,” while Cruz is a “liar” — leave him looking like a strongman swatting away the sorts of politicians that turned his supporters furious in the first place?

Here are six takeaways from the final Republican debate before Super Tuesday:

Rubio stands up to Trump
From the opening minutes, Rubio mercilessly prodded, slammed and taunted Trump, talking over him in the sort of sustained way that Jeb Bush never could.

Rubio called the real estate mogul’s Trump University “a fake school.” He invoked Trump’s business record to question his sincerity on immigration, saying: “You’re the only person on this stage that’s ever been fined for hiring people that worked on your projects illegally.”

When Trump dismissed those allegations as old news, Rubio shot back: “I guess there’s a statute of limitations on lies.”

Later, as Trump insisted that the crux of his health care plan would involve allowing insurance purchases across state lines, Rubio pressed for more specifics, saying that “now he’s repeating himself” — an ironic response from a candidate who has been mocked as robotic for repeating talking points at speeches and debates.

“I don’t repeat myself,” Trump said.

“He repeats himself every day,” Rubio answered, adding that Trump’s refrains are all familiar: “Everybody’s dumb, we’re gonna make America great again, we’re gonna win, win, win…”

Rubio also got in a memorable retort on Israel. Even as Trump called himself “totally pro-Israel,” he said he didn’t believe there was any reason for labeling Israel and the Palestinians as the “good guy” and the “bad guy.”

“The position you’ve taken is an anti-Israel position,” Rubio said.

When Trump said he was simply a “negotiator,” Rubio shot back: “The Palestinians are not a real estate deal, Donald.”

Through it all, Rubio kept a smile on his face — almost as if to say to the audience, “Can you believe this guy?”

Rubio finally showed a fire in his belly last night, because, as I reported last week, with Jeb! quitting and going “home to Mother”, Rubio, has been selected as the Republican Establishment’s “Guy”.

Why Rubio was relentless against Trump

For Rubio, it was now or never. His attacks, and those of Cruz, weren’t necessarily new in substance — Trump isn’t a conservative, Trump is untrustworthy, and so on — but what stood out was Rubio’s sense of urgency to put himself center stage with the billionaire front-runner.

What it was about: Lighting a fire under the donor class and GOP establishment.

Rubio has to demonstrate that he’s worth a massive investment — right this minute — to try to block Trump from winning a nomination that the establishment grows more convinced by the day is his for the taking.

“We have an incredible decision to make, not just about the direction of America but the identity of our party and the conservative movement. The time for games is over,” Rubio said in his closing statement.

“I know you had a lot of choices to make, but now it’s time to narrow it down and I’m asking you to get behind me … so we can bring an end to this silliness, this looniness.”

The new “Chosen One” has a problem, however.

The Republican Voters don’t want to vote for him.

With 19 days to go until the Florida Republican primary, Trump has a 16-point lead over Rubio, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll. Even as the Junior Senator from Florida, Rubio has failed to win any of the early nominating contests, facing absolute must-win situation in the state he represents in the U.S. Senate. If Trump wins Florida’s 99 delegates, it would probably “all be over, but the shoutin”, as regards Trump’s securing the nomination.

Trump’s counterattacks draw blood

An underestimated Trump quality: His counterpunches often play extremely well with conservatives who distrust politicians and the media.

For instance, an early exchange, when Rubio asserted that Trump is “the only person on this stage that’s ever been fined for hiring people that worked on your projects illegally.”

Trump’s response: “I’m the only one on this stage that’s hired people.”

Another of his one-liners may have been the most damaging. “This guy’s a choke artist, and this guy’s a liar,” he said, turning to first Rubio and then Cruz.

Expect to hear more of that in the days ahead. Time and time again, Trump has proven that he owns the post-debate.

Whether it’s leveraging his massive influence on social media to wage a war against Fox’s Megyn Kelly or driving home his best lines of attack by calling in to every news television show on the air, he has a way of shortening the half-life of bad headlines.

As soon as the debate ended, he mocked Rubio’s perspiration.

“It looked like he just came out of a swimming pool. He was soaking wet,” Trump told CNN’s Chris Cuomo. “He’s a meltdown guy. I mean I look at him, he’s just pouring sweat. … We need somebody that doesn’t sweat.”

Boys and girls, Trump did not become a billionaire by being an idiot.

Remember, he is a master at “owning the stage”. He is also an American Businessman, who has negotiated multi-million dollar deals. He knows that perception is a powerful thing and a sharp, strong, effective comeback stays with the listener longer than the original accusation does.

Trump shows why he’s winning

He was hit from both sides of the stage Thursday night, but Trump managed to score some points of his own.

He consistently owns some issues that none of his rivals fight him for.

Trump laid into Mexico and China, blasting U.S. trade policies and giving Americans a direct outlet for their anger about job losses and wage stagnation.

He used former Mexican President Vicente Fox’s attack in a Fusion interview, when he said he’s “not going to pay for that f—ing wall” that Trump wants to build, to showcase his strength in the face of adversity.

“The wall just got 10 feet higher,” Trump said.

Yesterday, all across the Internet, Trump opponents from both sides of the political aisle, were posting a quote from him, in which he said that he liked “uneducated people”.

The quote came back to bite them in the hindquarters, because it was proven to have been an incomplete quote.

As I have written,

Trump is riding the crest of an ever-growing anger over the inaction of Professional Politicians, whom, after being voted into National Office by their constituents back home, have literally bitten the hand that feeds them, tossing Ma and Pa Kettle aside for Big Money Donors and the Political Prestige of “reaching across the aisle”, i.e.. “selling out”.

Did Cruz do enough?

He spent much of his time attacking Trump, too — but Cruz was clearly Robin to Rubio’s Batman in going after the front-runner on stage.

The Texas senator’s line of attack was designed to undercut Trump’s conservative credentials. And if that was the goal, he had some success — with Trump asserting at one point that “millions of women are helped by Planned Parenthood,” a group that is anathema on the right.

Mostly, though, Cruz waited for openings that were never there — because Rubio had spotted them first.

Cruz did regain his footing late in the debate, laying into Trump for donating to Democratic politicians and deflecting Trump’s goading that he not “get nervous” by saying, “I promise, Donald, there is nothing about you that makes anyone nervous.”

But the most raucous debate yet was about personality, and Cruz showed less of it than Rubio and Trump.

His best line might have come at the start of the debate.

“In 2013 when I was leading the fight against the ‘Gang of Eight’ amnesty bill, where was Donald?” Cruz said. “He was firing Dennis Rodman on ‘Celebrity Apprentice.'”

Cruz’s problem — Rubio’s attacks showed a new side of the Florida senator, and that may get him more of a second look than Cruz gets.

It “may”. But, then again, with the anger and resentment toward the Establishment (Vichy) Republicans by average Americans, here in “Flyover Country”, Rubio’s newfound “Establishment Creds” “may” stop his “surge” dead in its tracks.

Also, there are still a lot of Americans who still like Senator Cruz. I like him. I just don’t see any “coalition-building” happening in his campaign.

‘Can someone attack me, please?’

That was Ben Carson’s unsuccessful effort to work his way into an explosive exchange between Rubio, Trump and Cruz.

There were five candidates on stage. But Carson and Ohio Gov. John Kasich were both off to the side — their refusal to engage with other candidates, or criticize anything at all, turned both into afterthoughts.

Asked to judge his whether his opponents understand the importance of winning the support of Latinos, Kasich delivered a line that underscored his entire night, starting his answer by saying: “I’m not going to talk about that.”

But Carson may own social media for another line. When it comes to choosing a Supreme Court nominee, Carson said, he would look examine “the fruit salad of their life.”

It is a shame about Dr. Carson. He is a great American and a very good man.

However, it is time for both him and Gov. Kasich to call it a day and “suspend” their campaigns.

Going into Super Tuesday, it’s time for preliminaries to be over with. It’s time to separate the wheat from the chaff. It’s “Crunch Time”.

“This is it. Make no mistake where you are.”

“Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.”

“When the going gets tough…”

Oops, sorry. I got carried away on the Cliché Train…again.

Anyway, it is time to focus on the top three Candidates for the Republican Presidential Nomination.

Because, the way this campaign is shaping up, the Republican Nominee may be decided on Super Tuesday.

Until He Comes,

It’s amazing how websites are a reflection of our Political Reality.

Every website and Facebook Page, where there is political discussion, unless they are just Pro-one-way-or-the-other, puts out a plea for civil discourse in the discussions that happen between commenters on their site.

Unfortunately, though, that never seems to happen. And, why is that?

If you are an Internet – Surfing Political Junkie like me, at some time or another, you have no doubt run into an aggravating, bitter, whiney individual, commonly referred to as an “Internet Troll”.

In America, most Internet Trolls belong to the Liberal Political Ideology (whether they admit it, or not).

In our American culture today, the art of civil discourse has degenerated into a shouting match. This wouldn’t be so bad, if both sides had the right to shout equally as loud as the other side.

The problem is, for some reason, Conservatives are expected to mind our manners, be meek and mild, and follow the Marquis of Queensbury rules, while Liberals, libertarians, and self-identified “Moderates” (Social Liberals) call us everything but a child of God.

However, this doesn’t just happen on the Internet, this happens in the Real World as well… and it all starts with the President of the United States and trickles down from there.

Before Obama became President, in a private fund raiser in Pennsylvania, he referred to us American Conservatives as bitter clingers, clinging to our guns and Bibles. Then, the Main Stream Media, totally in love with their new messiah, told everyone who would listen, that if you did not vote for Barack Hussein Obama as President, you are a racist.

When Conservatives started to dig up historical facts about Obama, we told by those whom I identified to sit down, shut up, and know “our role” or “stay in our lane”.

After Obama was elected, and the country started to find out just exactly who he was, Conservatives started to speak out again. Again, we were told to sit down, shut up, and know our “role”(stay in our lane).

Finally, we had enough and began a groundswell, which led to the formation of what has become known as the Tea Party.

The rise of the Tea Party movement and America’s return to Conservatism, which resulted in the political massacre known as the 2010 Midterm Elections, was such a surprise to them. In their self-imposed isolation, they actually thought that the America people wanted them to continue their deal-making, soul-selling, business-as-usual politics.

They were in shock when American Conservatives stood up on their hind legs and gave the House of Representatives back to the Republican Party.

And, you know what happened afterwards?

The Liberal Establishment and their minions, the Internet Trolls, began a relentless Social Media Campaign designed to make American Conservatives, once again, the “Silent Majority”, calling us “racists” for speaking the truth about Barack Hussein Obama, and telling us, once again, to sit down, shut up, know our “role”/”stay in our lane”.

Now, after the recent, overwhelming Political Massacre that transpired on November 6, 2014, with Republicans gaining control of both Houses of Congress, thanks, once again, to the Conservative Base, and, the national resentment of the growing Liberal use of the Rhetoric of Class and Racial Warfare, spurred on by their Petulant President, the Internet Trolls are whining louder than the Civil Defense Siren at Noon on Saturday.

Are you beginning to see a pattern, boys and girls?

Liberal Trolls and their activity on the Internet are simply an extension of our culture at large.

Liberalism has always been a failed political ideology. It has never been embraced by the majority of Americans.

So, in order for Liberals to “get their way” on social issues and national policy, since their ideas are never excepted by the majority of Americans, they must resort to the facilitation of culture change through intimidation, rule by fiat, and via Executive Orders, if they have a president in the White House, who will do their bidding…which has certainly been the case since January 21, 2009.

In other words, Liberal Activists, especially Internet Trolls, are dirty, manipulative, little cowards, who overestimate their power….and, their own intelligence.

You see, Liberal Democrats, including the “Trolling” variety, both paid and unpaid, expect average Conservative Americans to behave like a dog who has been whipped too much, and go cower in a corner and allow them to insult us, and walk all over us in our online “discussions”.

Their expectation of Conservative Behavior is predicated on the fact that they know that we were raised right, usually by two parents, and that the majority of us are Christians, and are reluctant to have an out-of-body experience on an Internet Chat Board or Political Facebook Page, telling them where to go and the temperature when they get there.

Therefore, Liberal Democrats feel as if they can take advantage of the good nature of American Conservatives, and walk all over us.

Well, I’ve got some news for them.

As a Christian American Conservative, I do my best to live my faith, every day.

However, boys and girls, don’t forget… Jesus ran the money changers out of the temple.

Until He Comes,

Kingsjester's Blog

Tag: insults

The Republican Debate: Rubio Attacks! Cruz Attacks! Trump Responds! Did Anything Actually Change?

Internet Trolls: A Reflection of Our Political Reality [A KJ Op Ed]