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Title: Donald Trump: National race 'pretty much over' if I win Wisconsin
Source:
Wisconsin State Journal
URL Source: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/lo ... 6b-5748-b6c5-3b976bef5974.html
Published: Mar 30, 2016
Author: MARK SOMMERHAUSER and MATTHEW DeFOUR
Post Date: 2016-03-30 09:54:55 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 905
Comments: 9
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, speaking to a crowd of 1,000 here Tuesday, predicted a win in Wisconsin’s April 5 primary could decisively swing the national GOP race in his favor. Trump said the national contest would be “pretty much over” should he prevail in Wisconsin, where he faces U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. As Trump protesters and supporters massed outside the Janesville Convention Center, Trump told the crowd he is less tied to special interests than his rivals. He insisted he is better-positioned to bring jobs back to American shores. Trump also took aim at Gov. Scott Walker, the executive of the state he hopes to win next week and his former rival for the GOP nomination. Tuesday’s rally was Trump’s first stop on a swing through Wisconsin this week. He also plans to visit De Pere, Appleton and Wausau. Recent polls show Trump locked in a tight race in Wisconsin with Cruz, with Kasich trailing. Earlier in the day, Walker announced he is backing Cruz. At the rally Tuesday afternoon, Trump appeared bent on retaliation. Trump said Wisconsin’s economy isn’t performing well — a problem, he suggested, that falls at Walker’s feet. He ticked off figures about people on public assistance in Wisconsin and lamented the state’s loss of jobs to Mexico. “Am I going to say he’s doing a great job? He’s not doing a great job,” Trump said of Walker. Speaking earlier Tuesday on a Rockford, Illinois, talk radio station, Trump, referring to Walker, boasted that “we sent him packing like a little boy” in the presidential race. “He walked out, frankly, in disgrace. I’m surprised he’s got any juice left in Wisconsin,” Trump said. Walker’s name got a healthy smattering of boos when Trump mentioned it during the rally. Janesville native and U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan also received some boos when Trump named him — a reaction that seemed to surprise Trump. ‘I’m controlled by you’ Trump’s remarks drew from his unmistakable, stream-of-consciousness speaking style that mixes boasts, insults, quips and promises — offered without explanation or detail — to bring jobs back to the U.S. He positioned himself as free from influence by special interests, saying his rivals are beholden to industries including finance, energy and pharmaceuticals. “They’re controlled by these people. I’m controlled by you,” Trump said. Trump also renewed an old criticism he has periodically lodged against Cruz: that he may not be constitutionally eligible to be president because he was born in Canada. Cruz has maintained this creates no legal problems with his candidacy. Legal scholars don’t have consensus on the question, but most say a Cruz presidency would survive a court challenge. Trump, however, predicted otherwise. He said Democrats will sue Cruz if he wins the Republican nomination and likely would win in court. “He wasn’t born on our soil,” Trump said. “If for some reason he should get the nomination, I really believe you’re wasting your time.” Unlike some Trump rallies elsewhere, Tuesday’s event was largely free of disruptions from protesters inside the venue. A handful of protesters jeered Trump but were quickly escorted out of the convention center without incident. Wisconsin primary a ‘stacked deck’ Outside the venue, a crowd of about 1,000 included both Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters. The scene was mostly peaceful, but there were clashes. In one incident, police said a 15-year-old Janesville girl was pepper sprayed and a 19-year-old Madison woman was also hit with the spray. Janesville, a city wracked by manufacturing job losses in recent decades, is populated by many blue-collar white people — the same demographic that has bolstered Trump in other states. But it’s not clear if Wisconsin will deliver Trump the sort of big wins he has garnered in other states. Speaking on the Rockford talk radio station, WROK-1440, earlier Tuesday, Trump said he thinks he should do well in the Wisconsin primary. But he lamented that the race here “seems to be a pretty well-stacked deck.” During the WROK interview, Trump criticized the U.S. military while lamenting his campaign theme that “our country doesn’t win anymore.” “Our military can’t defeat ISIS,” Trump said. “Can you imagine General Patton not being able to defeat ISIS? He’d laugh at ISIS. He’d have ISIS gone in one week.” Walker: Cruz not afraid to take on special interests In endorsing Cruz, Walker highlighted many of the same qualities he once promoted in his own short-lived candidacy. Walker also said after meeting with the Cruz campaign Monday night he plans to campaign with Cruz this weekend and through Tuesday’s presidential primary. Walker told conservative talk radio host Charlie Sykes that he backs Cruz because he is a constitutional conservative, he’s not afraid to take on “big government special interests” and he’s best positioned to win the nomination and defeat Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in the general election. Walker’s endorsement of Cruz was widely expected, especially as conservatives in Wisconsin have coalesced behind the first-term U.S. senator. Former Gov. Tommy Thompson, who has endorsed Ohio Gov. John Kasich, disputed Walker’s contention that Cruz is best-positioned to defeat Clinton in the fall, noting in an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal a slew of national polls showing Kasich leading Clinton in a hypothetical heads-up match and only one poll showing Cruz leading. When Sykes pressed Walker on whether he was endorsing Cruz or endorsing against Trump, the governor stuck to talking about why he likes Cruz. “This is not a default,” Walker said. “I’m only going to do this if I feel strongly.” Walker’s only swipe at Trump came in response to a question about Trump criticizing Walker’s record in Wisconsin during last fall’s presidential debates. Walker called Trump’s comments “the talking points of the left.” Walker called Cruz’s tax plan “excellent” and linked him to Ronald Reagan, saying he has a strong plan to build the military. He also highlighted his position on immigration, saying Cruz is “someone who sticks to his guns.” “We’d be living under amnesty right now if it wasn’t for Ted Cruz and his fight to take on the gang of eight,” Walker said, referring to a bipartisan group of eight U.S. senators who wrote an immigration reform bill in 2013. “It is hard not to acknowledge this is a guy who has been consistent in his positions and when push comes to shove will stand up for the people he represents over the special interests in Washington.” Cruz has secured other top Wisconsin Republican endorsements, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna. Kasich, running a distant third, has received the endorsement of former GOP Govs. Thompson and Scott McCallum, and former U.S. Reps. Mark Neumann and Scott Klug. State Journal reporter Rob Schultz contributed to this report. 
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#1. To: cranky (#0)
Perhaps in addition to giving Cruz the Reagan mantle, we should give him the Clinton mantle as well. Women sure seem to like him, a lot, and he likes them! So maybe he'll get the women's vote too! No wonder he won big in Utah. Ted Cruz: It's time to bring "Big Love" back to the White House!
It could be well deserved. For sure, he won't be getting the fawning, sycophantic coverage from the msm that both Clintons enjoy. There are three kinds of people in the world: those that can add and those that can't
Walker played this smart, emphasizing support for Cruz rather than mere opposition to Trump. And the Walker political machine is a very substantial asset in winner-take-all Wisconsin. I am still not sure exactly how WI awards its winner-take-all delegates though. I've seen it described as "winner take all, by district and by state". Which sounds a little contradictory to me. I think it means that each district (tentatively) awards its delegate to the biggest vote getter in that district and then all the district delegates get lumped together and the WI GOP then awards all the delegates to whoever has won the most district delegates. Hopefully, we'll hear more details on the mechanics of the WI delegate process. Trump's biggest obstacle is that he is culturally incompatible with rigorously polite Wisconsin GOP voters. They hate rabble-rouser types, other than the Lefties that congregate in the college towns and in Milwaukee.
I believe Walker has opined that if the convention doesn't produce a first ballot winner, the nominee will be someone who is not currently a candidate. Someone such as himself, oddly enough. There are three kinds of people in the world: those that can add and those that can't
My concern is that it is an open primary . That favors Trump a little bit . The good news is Bolshevik Bernie is making a play in WI . Maybe the Dems won't cross over .
"If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools." Plato
I'm sure there are many in the military that would set him straight on that . There is a difference between "can't defeat" them and our political leadership having the will to defeat them. But isn't it Trumps position that he would withdraw from the world ? "If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools." Plato
I don't think they will. I think they'll stick with their own party's candidates. There are three kinds of people in the world: those that can add and those that can't
But make the world pay for the security America provides. It's a nuanced position, I'm guessing. There are three kinds of people in the world: those that can add and those that can't
My conclusion as well. It's unlikely enough Dims will cross over to have any impact in choosing even a single district delegate.
Walker called Cruz’s tax plan “excellent” and linked him to Ronald Reagan, saying he has a strong plan to build the military. He also highlighted his position on immigration, saying Cruz is “someone who sticks to his guns.”
#2. To: Vicomte13 (#1)
we should give him the Clinton mantle as well
#3. To: cranky, tomder55 (#0)
#4. To: TooConservative (#3)
And the Walker political machine is a very substantial asset in winner-take-all Wisconsin.
#5. To: TooConservative, cranky (#3)
#6. To: cranky (#0)
“Our military can’t defeat ISIS,” Trump said. “Can you imagine General Patton not being able to defeat ISIS? He’d laugh at ISIS. He’d have ISIS gone in one week.”
#7. To: tomder55 (#5)
Maybe the Dems won't cross over
#8. To: tomder55 (#6)
But isn't it Trumps position that he would withdraw from the world ?
#9. To: tomder55 (#5)
My concern is that it is an open primary . That favors Trump a little bit . The good news is Bolshevik Bernie is making a play in WI . Maybe the Dems won't cross over .
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