Christie is Done. But Wow! What a Parting Shot!
I don’t think Chris Christie makes it out of New Hampshire. But he may have put ‘paid’ to Rubio and indirectly punched tickets for his rivals Bush and Kasich. Because Lord knows that Trump didn’t do himself any favors on eminent domain in the Live Free or Die State nor did Cruz for laying back and even apologizing to Carson.
48 hours ago I was confident that New Hampshire would be a major winnowing event. But now the only person I still see an unlikely to make the cut is the guy that THREW the upper-cut. Those of us of a certain age have fond memories of the toy Rockem Sockem Robots and its catch phrase “Knock his Block Off”. For those that click through that is Rubio in blue to the right.
Other first and second impressions of the Republican Debate? Or the Hillary/Bernie grudge match? “Let’s Get it On!”
Of course the debate doesn’t determine exit tickets from NH, the voters do. But I find the following results perfectly plausible (although not predictive):
Trump 24 , Kasich 17 , Cruz 16, Rubio 14, Bush 11, Carson 9, Christie 8, Fiorina 1
Fiorina and Carson have their own lanes and can be expected to drift and grift until bodily removed. And Bush has enough money still that he just has to finish ahead of SOMEBODY. But in this lineup it would be Christie who is squeezed out. while everyone else squirms through. Rather ironic for a person of his girth and no doubt galling because of his roll in cold cocking Rubio and the reputation of South Carolina for its own special type of barbecue.
Still IMHO and contrary to my judgement two days ago there seems to be seven tickets out of New Hampshire.
For non fight fans the phrase “Let’s Get it On!” was the one legendary fight referee Mills Lane used right before the opening bell.
Interestingly Lane’s day job was as a judge in Reno and he used that same phrase after declaring newlyweds ‘Man and Wife’. I know that for a fact because he performed the ceremony for my brother and sister-in-laws respective second wedding.
If the Clinton campaign is losing people like this guy: http://www.nolandalla.com/i-just-got-push-polled-by-hillary-clintons-nevada-campaign/
There will be no firewall. Only fraud and fear. Losing.
I think Kasich and Christie had the best showing. Rubio may be lucky to come in 4th. He and Trump may fall the most compared to pre-debate polls. And I wonder why Carson is still around. He should be sitting in the weeds with Fiorina .
Carson is just on the extended version of the same book and lecture tour he has been on since he ‘retired’. And Fiorina more or less an an extendted audtion for a top cabinet job or in her dreams the VP slot. Neither has a day job that they are neglecting each has a vehicle to bill personal expenses to.
20 years ago their fundraising would have dried out long ago, they would have maxed out their personal credit cards on motel bills at the Courtyard Inn and been sleeping on lingering supporters couches. And if Fiorina wasn’t personally rich she might be pushing that edge now. But between now and Nov the media spotlight is going to be on presidential candidates and Carson’s business model depends on him staying as close to that light as possible. It is as simple as that.
And Rubio has decided to double down. Which if his talking point was coherent might make sense. But boil it down to its basic structure and Rubio is claiming his goal is this:
Fix. Don’t Change.
That’s it. Obama wants to Change the Country. Rubio wants to Fix It. Which only makes sense in the literal one of ‘fix’ where it means something like ‘cement and plaster over in place’. As if there is nothing really wrong with this place that can’t be fixed with some DAP 25. Which is to say WHITE Plaster of Paris. Plus some Bondo.
Rubio is going to the country on THAT?
Though my favorite bow hard (Trump) did frighten me in the debate.
I failed to understand who Rubio was appealing to with the Obama is changing the country. As I have seem Obama simply continue and extend Bush ll policies.
Bruce,
This is terrible! You are joining the media conspiracy to ignore candidate Jim Gilmore, who is still running! I mean, he may be polling at zero percent and has never been invited to participate in even the children’s table debates, but he is still in there, and obviously it is a media conspiracy that he is being so ignored. So, shame on you for going along with this ignoring of this eighth ticket out of New Hampshire. He may not get any votes, but gosh darn it, he is not hanging up his hat anytime soon!
The biggest difference between Jim Gilmore and Generalissimo Francisco Franco is that Franco is still dead and Gilmore might as well be Schrodinger’s Cat. We won’t know if he is alive or dead until someone spots him.
His campaign is barely solid enough to be a wave-form. They say that lightning strikes but in Jim’s case that might just be enough to collapse his current quantum state.
If/when Bloomberg goes in, is he going in to run to the left of the Republican candidate (i.e. “as an adult” against Trump), or to the right of Sanders?
I thought he was just hedging against Trump being an idiot and Clinton being damaged goods but assuming she would still make it to the general election a week or two ago, but now I’m wondering if he just knew more about what was going on inside the Clinton camp than others did.
Webb’s right – Christie is finished, and he put a huge dent in Rubio. On the other side Bill Clinton rips into Sanders with a dull knife:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/08/politics/bill-clinton-sanders-supporters-attacks/
So what does this get us? Mike Bloomberg.
MB is interviewed in the FT today. He will (maybe) toss in his hat as early as March…. I have my fingers crossed:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/b6d1fc34-ce9f-11e5-831d-09f7778e7377.html#axzz3zfp7Qk3w
Honest question: who is Bloomberg’s constituency? Reagan Democrats? Soccer Moms? Tea Partiers? Evangelicals? Minorities? Who?
The guy literally got rich selling information and information terminals so that the 1% could gain trading advantages on everyone else. This is the guy that is going to address stagnant wages? Who outside finance even likes this guy?
Webb – You ask a good question – but it is the wrong question. It is not who would vote for MB. It is who will vote for HRC, Bern, Donnie or Cruz.
You do understand that the leading candidates all have big blocks of folks who hate them??
I say to you again – MB can win NY, NJ and Fl. How many other states does he have to get so that he gets 1/3 of electoral votes? If the (current) House were to vote on a Bern, Trump & MB split, the house would give the nod to MB.
There is a huger block of people this year who hate New York Billionaires.
I say MB cannot carry Upstate NY, Downstate NJ or Middle and Panhandle Florida. My evidence? Just following your lead by claiming not to need any.
You are projecting that is all. Maybe me too. But if I say that Bloomberg has zero constituency outside NY Metro where is the evidence to contradict that?
Webb – Bloomberg terminals are at the Fed, Treasury and every state Treasurer’s office. The are at all Universities and every Central Bank in the world. If you are in finance, you have a Bloomberg terminal.
You spin the success of Bloomberg as something to do with the 1%. Not correct at all.
Bloomberg did not make billions selling terminals to tax collectors. And the idea that Central Bankers not have ‘something to do with the 1%’ is frankly moronic. You don’t have to believe the Fed and the other Central Banks are actually in the pockets of the 1% (though many would argue that point with vehemence) to understand that they are part of a tight nexus of regulator and regulated. With an especially wide revolving door. Robert Rubin? Ever heard of him? Used to have his signature on your dollar bills. Before and after he was a top Wall Street Banker.
Webb – Tomorrow’s Headline will be:
“Trump and Bern Win Big in NH”
And I say that a majority of Americans would hate to vote for either of them.
Can MB win NY? I think so. I also think he can carry NJ and Fl. But that is just speculation based on my own experiences with people who live in these areas. I can say for sure that Trump and Sanders are flat out hated by many.
Wait till the Ides of March. Then we can get real poll data on how MB would fair in a few key states.
Webb – I can’t imagine that you would support Trump. You would line up for Sanders. But I hope you agree that President Sanders would rip up SS like no other President. You would end up with something that is far from Roosevelt envisioned. You want SS to be THE vehicle for income redistribution?
You want to tax the rich more? (Bloomberg does) Then do it through the tax code, not SS.
Shorter BK: “Area man says area would vote for area ex-mayor for President.”
And Krasting you have obviously not read Sanders’ SocSec Plan. Where did you get THAT claim?
Bloomberg is alternative for Clinton elites…….Bloomberg hates guns, even dabbles in control of what one should have to drink.
He will hurt Sanders more than republicans.
As much as Trump is as war mongering as Clinton, at least he understands that the trade deals we have make are damaging our economy, and plans on fixing that.
Yes Webb – As someone who has lived with MB and seen him win elections and govern, I think he has a shot. Like I said, wait six weeks and see if the polls bear me out.
I tell you again – Sanders, HRC, Trump and Cruz are hated by many. If there is ever a chance for a third party candidate, 2016 is the year.
If have read your words many times on SS. You have always advocated that SS be a Worker Paid program so that it did not fall into the DC clutches. You have no concern that Bern will do what you have argued against? Where’s Coberly when I need him?
Webb – I assure you that there are Bloomberg terminals located in IRS offices. So yes, tax collectors use them too. So do every state that issues municipal bonds. So does the World Bank, IMF and BIS.
There are (at least) $200 Trillion worth of pieces of paper floating around the globe. MB did not create that huge pile of paper. He just organized it all and put in on a screen.
Bloomberg Inc. is like Comcast. A cable company that sells info/video to paid subscribers. I understand you don’t like him, but there will be others who will say, “We need a guy who has been successful in both business and government”. “We need a guy who does not take money and pay back with favors”.
If MB made his money as a big shot at Goldman he would not have a chance. But that is not the case. You don’t agree and would prefer Bern. That is what elections are about.
Why on earth would an IRS office need a Bloomberg terminal? It’s reliably reported to be a $24,000 a year subscription and is mostly useful for bleeding edge finance related news and numbers and not for collecting taxes on the previous quarter or previous year’s income.
And why are you spending so much time in IRS offices? That you can “assure” me they have those terminals? Are they out in the lobby or something? Come on man!
Comcast is not like a Bloomberg terminal. Comcast owns NBC Universal, and even before that was a major sports entertainment content creator in nearly all US markets.
Bloomberg isn’t even in the same weight category as Comcast, even though Bloomberg has his TV channel, a radio station and some magazines. It’s like comparing the bodega down the street to Albertson’s.
So I think Trump and Sanders win tonight. No surprise there. I think Clinton really hurt herself during the last week by appearing desperate and getting mean with everyone who does not support her. I think Rubio was shown to be the empty shirt he is. Do not know who besides Trump benefits. I will vote for Trump before I vote for Bloomberg. I really do not mind that some people have obscene amounts of money while millions have food insecurity but to have somebody with that money tell the millions what they can eat, drink or smoke is a bridge way too far
What Terry said. You know how many calories are in a fine wine or Brandy or in a dessert cheese or anything on the entree side of a high end steakhouse?
Yes I don’t think Bloomberg ever tried to shut down Ruth’s Chris Steakhose, the Four Seasons or Tavern on the Green. Nor were I bet many high end Cigar Bars quacking in their boots.
Nor do I expect Bloomburg would even see the irony.
So no surprises from NH. Trump and the Bern win big. What does this mean for Bloomberg?? Some of the articles so far:
Politico:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/02/michael-bloomberg-2016-213609
NY Post
http://nypost.com/2016/02/10/sanders-trump-wins-could-open-door-for-bloomberg/
Boston Globe:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/02/10/michael-bloomberg-real-winner/uod8MeGrgiSVXHg7SarY2N/story.html
MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/former-nyc-mayor-inches-closer-independent-2016-bid
Financial Times:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/388359ca-cfbe-11e5-92a1-c5e23ef99c77.html#axzz3zloZ7XZV
I suspect that there will be more articles in the next day or so. GO MIKE!
Multi link posts will land any post in moderation.
Sure sure. Because this race needs at least one arrogant self obsessed billionaire that HASN’T (yet!) filed for bankruptcy protection.