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Donald Trump Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 05, 2016 98 Comments
All eyes are on Wisconsin. Before I get to today's primary, let's take a look back at one of my favorite political periods in the history of the world - the defeat of the Recall against Governor Scott Walker after over a year of protests against the public sector union collective bargaining reform bill. It was what I called Wisconsin's Long, Strange Trip, linking to our exhaustive coverage of all the crazy:
Police insurrections.  Palace guards.  Catch a Senator contests.  Doctors behaving badly.  Massive national solidarity protests which weren’t.  Identity theft as political theater.  Shark jumping.  Legislators who run away to other states.  Busbang bangs.  Protesters locking their heads to metal railings and pretending to walk like Egyptians.  Beer attacks.  Canoe flotillas.  (alleged) Judicial chokeholds.  Tears falling on Che Guevara t-shirts at midnight.  Endless recalls.  And recounts.  Communications Directors making threats.   Judges who think they are legislators (well, I’ll grant you that one is common).  V-K Day.  Hole-y warriors.  Cities namedSpeculation and Conjecture.  And the funniest blog headline so far:
First They Came For The Right To Retire After 30 Years On Full Salary With COLAs
When Walker defeated the Recall late in the evening of June 5, 2012, it was Oh what a night. That was a time when the Legal Insurrection community was more united and cohesive, and thousands of us celebrated the win with the inaugural launch of website fireworks and John Phillip Sousa music:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 04, 2016 151 Comments
If Donald Trump gets 1237 delegates prior to the Republican convention, it's lights out. But that is looking less and less likely unless Trump scores a major upset in Wisconsin on Tuesday, at the Colorado convention on April 9 (where the delegates technically are unbound but the sides are fighting to get their people selected as in North Dakota), and wins big in New York on April 19. Cruz has little chance himself of getting to 1237 prior to the convention, so his strategy is focused on the second ballot. That strategy, as it is playing out in real time, has two components: Make sure only Trump and Cruz are the choices facing the convention, and make sure there are large defections on the second ballot of delegates pledged to Trump on the first ballot.

Strategy, Part 1: Keep it Trump or Cruz

When it comes to keeping it to two, Trump and Cruz are on the same page. They are planning to fight to keep Kasich from being put in nomination, much less someone not currently in the race. The NY Times reports:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 03, 2016 64 Comments
At one level, the North Dakota delegate selection today was not a big deal, because the delegates are "unbound" even on the first convention ballot. The delegates were not even required to openly state their candidate preferences as the Bismark Tribune reported:
Delegates at the North Dakota Republican Party convention elected 25 unbound delegates to be sent to the Republican’s national convention following a debate and failed request providing candidates the choice to declare their preference for president prior to the vote.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 02, 2016 104 Comments
While Donald Trump leads in delegates, it's far from certain that he will obtain the needed 1237 delegates prior to the Republican convention. We may know whether Trump is on track to a majority after next Tuesday's Wisconsin primary, or the New York primary on April 19. If Trump falls short of that majority on the first ballot vote, even by one delegate, most of the delegates are released to vote as they want on the second and subsequent ballots. The Trump campaign obviously fears that second ballot, because it is trying to create a narrative that if Trump is close to the majority of delegates, or leads others by a lot of delegates, he should be given the nomination. Anything less will be "stealing" the nomination from him. Turning a plurality into a majority without actual delegate votes has no support in the most basic of convention rules, that an actual majority is needed to win. Trump predicted riots if he was close and didn't get the nomination.

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 02, 2016 19 Comments
Thanks in large part to the Emory University students who pathetically panicked after seeing pro-Trump messages written in chalk on campus sidewalks, pro-Trump messages are now appearing on other college campuses. The whole thing is going viral on Twitter under the hashtag #TheChalkening. Here are some choice examples:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 01, 2016 32 Comments
Rebel Pundit (aka Jeremy Segal) and Andrew Marcus have filmed some great videos of anti-Trump protesters. They filmed Bill Ayers and other wack jobs at the Chicago protest to shut down the Trump rally. The blond woman screaming about white male privilege is a haunting image of post-intellectual America. Language Warning

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 01, 2016 15 Comments
A young woman who was pepper sprayed at a Trump rally in Wisconsin this week is facing charges because video from the incident shows she punched an older man in the face. Some liberal media outlets have been advancing a false narrative that she was sexually assaulted. Professor Jacobson addressed this issue in a prior post. The Hill reported the police recommendation:
Police recommend charges for teen pepper-sprayed outside Trump rally The 15-year-old pepper sprayed at a Donald Trump rally earlier this week may face charges of disorderly conduct for allegedly punching a man in an altercation captured on video.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 31, 2016 181 Comments
In a CNN town hall Tuesday, Donald Trump disavowed the Republican loyalty pledge he signed in September. Trump's change of tune might cost him the 50 delegates he won in South Carolina. Zeke Miller reported for TIME:
The Palmetto State was one of several that required candidates to pledge their loyalty to the party’s eventual nominee in order to secure a slot on the primary ballot. Though Trump won all of the state’s delegates in the Feb. 20 primary, anti-Trump forces are plotting to contest their binding to Trump because of his threat on the pledge Tuesday.

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 31, 2016 23 Comments
Marco Rubio may have suspended his presidential campaign but he's still having an impact on the Republican primary process. He wants to hold onto his delegates for a contested convention and as usual, it's all about Trump. NBC News reports:
Rubio Makes Unprecedented Bid to Keep Delegates for Contested Convention Despite suspending his campaign, Sen. Marco Rubio is attempting to keep every delegate he won while running for president. The unusual move reflects preparations for a contested convention this summer — and comes as Donald Trump backed away from an earlier pledge to support the Republican party's nominee if he is treated unfairly after winning more delegates than his rivals.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 30, 2016 91 Comments
Seems like mere months ago, Donald Trump was cozying up with the Republican Party, signing pledges, and promising to support the eventual nominee. But that was September. The Donald has since had a change of heart.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 30, 2016 45 Comments
There is a continuing pattern of the media falsely trying to portray Trump rally attendees as violent, when in fact almost all confrontations were provoked by violent and intimidating conduct of anti-Trump protesters. We saw this extensively when Trump's Chicago rally was shut down after near riots by anti-Trump activists who infiltrated the rally venue. And we saw it yesterday at a Trump rally in Janesville, WI. The headlines, such as at The Hill, scream about how a protester was peppered sprayed directly in the face.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 30, 2016 64 Comments
Amanda Carpenter, former aide to Jim DeMint and Ted Cruz, was one of five women whose barely pixelated images were published by the National Enquirer as allegedly having affairs with Ted Cruz. Since then, Carpenter has been subjected to a truly insane, vicious Twitter smear campaign attacking her and her family. People have created fake social media accounts in her name and that of her husband. I'm not going to spread the garbage being spewed against her by Trump supporters, but it fairly is characterized as deliberately deceptive attempts to piece together her Twitter and Instagram photos along with images and video of Cruz in an attempt to "prove" the affair. The claim in a widely shared video compilation purports to show Carpenter wearing Cruz's suit jacket at a time when Cruz appeared on TV without a jacket -- something Carpenter mocked herself in response: https://twitter.com/amandacarpenter/status/714544438547202048

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 29, 2016 80 Comments
Had the video below bookmarked; wasn't sure what to do with it. But *somehow* right now seems to be a good time to post it. Both because I've been off the grid and don't have anything else to write about, and because of the fury from Trump world over the charge against Corey Lewandowski for battery on Michelle Fields. Scrolling through Twitter, clearly the world has gone mad. It started as a defense that Lewandowski never touched Fields, she made it up, and she's a publicity hound. Corey Lewandowski Tweet Never Touched You

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 29, 2016 183 Comments
Donald Trump's Campaign Manager, Corey Lewandowski was charged with misdemeanor battery in the case concerning former Breitbart News reporter, Michelle Fields. CCTV corroborates Fields original story that Lewandowski grabbed her with enough force to move her.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 29, 2016 54 Comments
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker appeared on the Charlie Sykes radio show in Wisconsin and endorsed ... Ted Cruz. It was a very strong endorsement for Cruz, not an anti-Trump endorsement. Walker said he was "all in" for Cruz. https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/714817364588634112 Scott Walker Statement Endorsing Ted Cruz

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 28, 2016 20 Comments
Elizabeth Warren is on the, er, attack against Donald Trump, who slashed back by mocking Warren's false appropriation of Indian identity to try to advance her career. The back and forth begs the real question, which is why did Warren decide to launch a tirade now against Trump? Trump has been being Trump at least since last summer. If Warren wanted to go ballistic on him, there were plenty of earlier opportunities.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 28, 2016 86 Comments
One of Senator Cruz's latest campaign ads sounds a little bit familiar. Worried, released late last week, has no mention of the Washington Cartel, DC insiders, or Obamacare -- Cruz's hallmark talking points. Instead, his campaign has opted for a soft embrace of a few Trumpisms.
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