They need to lock these 16 people in a room with no assistants and figure out a compromise as to who is going to run for president. All they are doing, right now, is trying to get attention. Hell, Mike Huckabee compared the Iran nuclear deal - which I haven't formulated much of an opinion about on this blog - to sending Jews to the oven! I really wish the GOP would stop pushing each other down to avoid drowning in this overcrowded field. All they are doing is creating material that MSNBC and liberal websites - crooksandliars.com comes to mind - can easily mock and rally behind.
And I think I'm right. This is from my Fox News First newsletter:
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TRUMPS’ CANDIDACY NOT ALL ABOUT HIM NO, SERIOUSLY
If Donald Trump can lead his closest rival in New Hampshire’s Republican primary by a 2-to-1 margin even after mocking local favorite John McCain’s five years as a prisoner of war, it’s time for Republicans to drop the idea that Trump will burn out or be blown away.The new Monmouth University poll – which was in the field starting the day Trump made his POW dig – shows the brash businessman with nearly a quarter of the vote, doubling up establishment frontrunner Jeb Bush. And for those who think that the nasty words of Trump’s lawyer about spousal rape or Trump’s history of dealings with the Mafia will undo the candidate, they’re still missing the point.
While there may be some who like the idea of a businessman in the White House, the core of Trump’s support seems to be among those chiefly interested in his power to smash the system – as a destroyer in chief.
You don’t care too much about the policy views or personal life of the guy you hire to bulldoze a building, just so long as he can put it asunder. Republicans have tried hitting Trump for serial flip-floppery, crassness and a lack of qualifications. The collective response from nearly one in five Republicans nationally: So’s yer mom! They don’t want Trump to make Washington work. They want him to burn the place down.
And guess what? That percentage of the party isn’t shrinking. Far from it.
So while candidates, particularly Rick Perry, are going after Trump with barrels blazing they’re not slowing him down. Why? The ironic truth is that the guy with the biggest ego in the field is the one with the campaign that’s really not about him.
But keep Trump in perspective. However long his reign as frontrunner lasts, it is bound to end. And it is not as likely to be from another candidate’s shots or a self-inflicted wound, as it is from the tyranny of fractions.
Republicans have opted to compress their nominating process this cycle. Candidates have been barred from participating in any debates until next week, when some network is kicking things off in Cleveland. Four years ago, the candidates were gearing up for their third debate at this time. As a result of this long period of vamping, candidate after candidate has gotten into the race. This compressed-primary strategy may look very different at the end of a process designed to produce a well-funded and unifying nominee, but in these dog days, the GOP is feeling the grind.
Plus with an open seat, lots of qualified candidates and a beatable Democrat dogging through a phony primary, there are lots of interested individuals. And since there’s seemingly little difference between being a top-tier contender at 6 points and a small-fry with 2 points, many have taken the plunge. In most years, people ask why they should run for president. This year the question seems to be “Why not?”
As a consequence of such a divided political pie, Trump can be the big man with relatively small wedge compared to previous years. But as the process kicks into gear and candidates drop out and constituencies coalesce, 18 percent won’t be enough to claim bragging rights. And with Trump trumping, party pressure will grow for long-shots to get out of the race to give real contenders a chance.
And that may be how the Trump saga ends: Once he is overtaken by other candidates, the wrecking crew that’s backing Trump now may have to accept the fact that he will never get to swing the ball on Pennsylvania Avenue. They will then either move on from politics this cycle or accept a more practical contractor for their planned demolition.
Jeb chides Huck, Huck doesn’t care - Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush took Mike Huckabee to task for comparing President Obama to a Nazi over the Iran nuke deal. Bush said, “The use of that kind of language is just wrong…This is not the way we’re going to win elections and that’s not how we’re going to solve problems. So, unfortunate remark — not quite sure why he felt compelled to say it.” Huckabee, for his part, has shown no sign of backing down.
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