Do you believe in “momentum”?
The Associated Press reports that
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — Donald Trump tightened his grip on the mantle of Republican presidential front-runner on Saturday as South Carolina voters seething about Washington and career politicians propelled the billionaire businessman to a comfortable primary win.
One of Trump’s favorite targets, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, finally threw in the towel, suspending his campaign after a dismal finish. “Thank you for the opportunity to run for the greatest office on the face of the earth,” an emotional Bush told his supporters.
Trump looked ahead to Nevada and then the 10 primaries and caucuses on Super Tuesday as he tries to increase his delegate advantage.
In a family-affair victory speech, Trump ticked off his policy promises, vowing to terminate President Barack Obama’s health care law and get Mexico to pay for a wall at the border.
“We’re going to start winning for our country because our country doesn’t win anymore,” said Trump, with his wife, Melania, and daughter Ivanka at his side.
Two freshmen senators — Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida — were battling for second place, which would give them bragging rights but might not get them any delegates in the march to the nomination.
Rubio declared, “This has become a three-person race.”
Cruz evoked his win in the leadoff Iowa caucuses as he urged conservatives to rally around his campaign, saying, “We are the only candidate who has beaten and can beat Donald Trump.”
The two-three finish of Cruz and Rubio undercut the value of some coveted South Carolina endorsements. Rubio had the backing of Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott and Rep. Trey Gowdy; Cruz got the support of former Gov. Mark Sanford, now a House member.
Exit polls showed 4 in 10 voters angry about how Washington is working, and more than half saying they felt betrayed by politicians in the Republican Party.
Trump’s victory capped a week in which he called rivals liars, blamed House Speaker Paul Ryan for the GOP’s loss in the 2012 presidential race, and even tangled with Pope Francis.
He was backed by nearly 4 in 10 of those who are angry at the federal government, and a third of those who feel betrayed. He did best with men, older voters, those without a college degree and veterans.
About three-quarters of Republican primary voters support a temporary ban on Muslims who are not U.S. citizens from entering the United States. Nearly 4 in 10 of those voters backed Trump, while a third who oppose such a ban preferred Rubio.
Trump won a majority of the delegates in the South Carolina primary — at least 38 of the 50 — and has a chance to win them all.
Trump leads the overall race for delegates with 55. Ted Cruz has 11 delegates, Marco Rubio has 10, John Kasich has five, Jeb Bush has 4 and Ben Carson has three.
It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination for president.
While the real estate magnate scored a decisive win in New Hampshire, his second-place finish in Iowa to Cruz illustrated gaps in his less-than-robust ground operation, and questions remain about the extent to which he can translate leads in preference polls and large rally crowds into votes.
Trump’s win Saturday could answer some of those questions, adding momentum going into the collection of Southern states that will vote March 1.
The exit polling of voters was conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks by Edison Research.
The final results, courtesy of politico.com, show the following…
FoxNews.com reported previously, that
Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer told viewers Friday on “Special Report with Bret Baier” that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will be the victor by a wide margin in Saturday’s South Carolina GOP primary.
“I think the odds are that Trump is going to win, probably big. That’s expected,” Krauthammer said. “[But] I think the real key is going to be what the distance is between the one who comes in third, and the bottom three.”
Those are the results that might help determine the eventual Republican nominee, Krauthammer said.
“In other words, if you get Trump, [Sen. Ted] Cruz, [Sen. Marco] Rubio, in that order, and then the bottom three are in single digits it… would be a seminal event.”
“If the race is a three way race, then it really is a toss-up, who of the top three will get it,” Krauthammer said. “If it remains a six man race [or] a five man race that means that Trump will romp all the way to the nomination, because he will dominate if the so-called establishment vote is split,” he said.
Well, Dr. K, I would say that Trump won by a pretty wide margin, wouldn’t you?
Why do I believe that Donald J. Trump is still the frontrunner among all the Republican Presidential Candidates?
This brash, unabashedly American, business entrepreneur and quintessential showman has dominated the media for the past several years.
The popularity of his reality program on NBC and the catch phrase that came leaping out from it, “You’re fired!”, spread across America like wildfire.
Now, his Presidential Campaign continues to do the same.
It is not just his flamboyance that has caught the eye of Americans.
The fact is, after almost two terms of an Administration taking the great country in the world on a scenic tour of the Highway to Hell, Donald Trump is the only Republican Candidate shouting, “Hit the brakes, you idiots!”
Trump’s straightforwardness has struck a chord in the hearts of average Americans, tired of the wussification of America, being so relentlessly pushed by both modern political parties.
This is what I don’t understand about the Republican Establishment:
They run around telling everybody how Conservative they are, when in reality, they actually hold the same beliefs as Liberal Democrats.
Ronald Reagan gave a famous stump speech about the fact that the Republican Party at one time, needed “bold colors, not pale pastels”.
From what I’m seeing out of a lot of the Republicans right now, they’re not even presenting Americans with pale pastels.
…Except for Donald Trump.
They are showing their color to be Liberal Blue, while they claim to be Conservative Red.
It is almost as if they believe that the Political Tsunami, which resulted in Republicans holding both Houses of Congress, came about because they made themselves look like Democrats.
They need to come down off of Capitol Hill every now and then.
And, visit Realityville.
As the polls show, and will continue to show, Trump is striking a resonant chord in the hearts of Average Americans, living here in the part of America, which the snobbish Political Elites refer to as “Flyover Country”, but which we refer to as “America’s Heartland”, or, quite simply, “HOME”.
Our palpable anger is one which has been building since January of 2009, when a Lightweight, who has as much in common with average Americans as a Martian would, was inaugurated as President of the United States of America.
That anger, a result of his anti-American actions and resulting policies, which have affected Americans’ daily lives, has been exacerbated by the Republican Elite, who, in their desire to “reach across the aisle” and “go along to get along”, have distanced themselves from the Conservative Voting Base, who elected them to Congress in the first place.
Meanwhile, average Americans, like you and me, remain mired up to our necks in an abysmal swamp of bills and taxes, living paycheck-to-paycheck, afraid to make a move, for fearing of drowning in an ocean of debt.
Seemingly forgotten, in all of the forgotten promises, made by Barack Hussein Obama, are the 94 million Americans, who are no longer, largely through no fault of their own, participating in our Workforce.
You want to talk about anger and frustration?
Try looking for work, when you are over 55 years of age.
It makes you want to give up…daily.
But, I digress…
Anger has played an important part in the forging of this great country, which will be lucky to survive Obama’s final year in office.
It was anger that formed our country….an anger over being held captive to “Taxation Without Representation”…an anger which, as a prime example of history repeating itself, Americans are experiencing, even as I type this blog.
It is this anger, which has propelled Donald J. Trump to his lead in the Republican Primary Race…and those who prefer the Washingtonian Status Quo know it.
If the Republican establishment does not accept the fact that Americans are angry, they will go down to defeat again in 2016.
They will never achieve victory by trying to push the Jello of “Liberal Moderation” up a hill.
Hence, the failed campaign of Jeb! Bush.
In summation, the American people are tired of Political Correctness and anti-American political expediencies being forced down our throats by both political parties and trumpeted by their lackeys in the Main Stream Media.
Donald Trump, for all of his brashness and braggadocio, is a breath of free air and, quite frankly an anomaly. He’s not a professional politician. He is a businessman who wants to become a public servant.
Now, where did I hear about that sort of thing before?
Oh, yeah.
That’s the way the Founding Fathers envisioned our system of government, led by citizens, who served their term s as public servants…AND THEN WENT HOME.
But, I digress…
You know what intrigues me the most about “The Donald”?
He reminds me of one of my favorite movie characters.
He actually has a backbone.
Just remember what ol’ Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol’ storm right square in the eye and he says, “Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it.” – Jack Burton, Truck Driver (Kurt Russell) “Big Trouble in Little China”
…and that, boys and girls, despite all of Trump’s faults, remains a refreshing change.
Until He Comes,
KJ