Signs that Republican hopefuls taking sharper aim at Trump

[webfact]

Signs that Republican hopefuls taking sharper aim at Trump
By LAURIE KELLMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gladiator season may have arrived in the fight for the Republican nomination.

Three days before the next Republican presidential debate, signs abound that some rivals of billionaire developer Donald Trump are taking direct aim at his decisive lead with attacks on his divisive rhetoric and vague policy.

"There will probably be more elbows thrown at that debate," Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

The field would narrow, he added: "There's not enough hard cash to go around to pay campaigns in these states in order to keep 17 candidates alive."

From the campaign to cable television, some of Trump's rivals are testing ways to hobble his bid, since the mogul's own bombast and lack of policy details have not.

"Someone has to bring him down," Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul told The Associated Press last week. "I'm not going to sit quietly by and let the disaster that is Donald Trump become the nominee."

For all of the GOP hopefuls, the CNN debate on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., is the last chance for several weeks to claim the national spotlight. Pope Francis is poised to eclipse national politics with his tour of the hemisphere, football season begins and Congress faces serious decisions about whether to fund or close the government.

Over the weekend, Trump's rivals campaign-tested their approaches, which seemed aimed at his credibility and his smash-mouth style.

"Mr. Trump says that I can't speak Spanish," Jeb Bush, speaking Spanish, told supporters Saturday in Miami. "Pobrecito (poor guy)."

And Carly Fiorina, whose face Trump ridiculed in a Rolling Stone interview, tried dismissal.

"Donald Trump is an entertainer," she told reporters in Dover, New Hampshire. Leadership is not "about how big your office is, it's not about how big your airplane, your helicopter or your ego is," she added in another appearance.

Trump's campaign, meanwhile, is soaring past uproars that would have sunk other candidates. His national poll numbers have risen to rival leading Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.

On Friday, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the leading anti-Trump voice among the GOP contenders, became the first candidate to drop his troubled bid for the nomination.

And among Republicans, still-early surveys suggested that the reality TV star has more support than Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio combined. In second place: retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who has repeatedly refused to criticize Trump in recent days.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich also declined to take on Trump. During an appearance on "Fox News Sunday" Kasich said he'd rather spend his time introducing himself to voters who aren't familiar with him.

Trump is showing signs that he's aware of the growing target on his back. On the eve of Wednesday's debate, Trump is expected to deliver an address on national security and veterans' issues. In a few weeks, there will be more policy, Trump said, when he releases a plan to reduce taxes.

For now, he's firing back.

"Lightweight Senator @RandPaul should focus on trying to get elected in Kentucky — a great state which is embarrassed by him," Trump tweeted late Saturday. "I truly understood the appeal of Ron Paul, but his son, @RandPaul, didn't get the right gene."

He's casting Carson, meanwhile, as lacking energy and an inadequate advocate for the nation.

"I'm a deal maker. I will make great deals for this country. Ben can't do that," Trump told CBS's "Face the Nation." ''Ben's a doctor, and he's not a dealmaker."

Carson noted on the same show that he's been on the board of international companies like Kellogg and Costco.

Earlier on ABC's "This Week," he said: "You don't have to be loud to be energetic."


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-09-14

[Just1Voice]

Love him or hate him, you can't ignore him.

[DKUNPUTAF713]

And, Jeb Bush still has to answer to his role in the 9/11 NYC debacle!!!!

Why was he on the C-130 the next day to DC with records seized by .....???

[Bakseeda]

Donald(wheres yoor troosers) Trump, all the way I hope. Politics needs some fun.!

[elgordo38]

Love him or hate him, you can't ignore him.

Every time his opponents take aim at the Donald they shoot themselves in the foot. People are tired of the everyday run of the mill spouting politicians. The GOP hopefuls only attack popular policies like Planned Parenthood, abortion yeah its called shooting yourself in the foot. Attacking women's issues never wins history has proven that. The Donald is a breath of fresh air in a world that is in a Sh*t storm. People are truly afraid. The only hope for these smucks is to tap into voters fears. Forget about giving them any kind of hope. Fear is the one thing that carrys the day.

[Ulic]

It will be a cage fight until Iowa. 16 contestants enter, 10 will be left 2 weeks after Iowa.

The Donald is what makes this so interesting for me. Love him or hate him, ignore

him at your peril if you are serious about winning the GOP nomination.

Hear me now, believe me later comes to mind for Trump's rhetoric.

[quandow]

The thing about Trump is that he has NOT been purchased by the Koch brothers, and people are willing to forgive A LOT if he will fulfill his campaign promises. I am NOT a fan, I'm voting for Senator Bernie Sanders. If you follow his grass roots support, you'll see it's swelling. Even Faux Noise is starting to say his name.

#feelthebern

[Pinot]

Love him or hate him, you can't ignore him.

Every time his opponents take aim at the Donald they shoot themselves in the foot. People are tired of the everyday run of the mill spouting politicians. The GOP hopefuls only attack popular policies like Planned Parenthood, abortion yeah its called shooting yourself in the foot. Attacking women's issues never wins history has proven that. The Donald is a breath of fresh air in a world that is in a Sh*t storm. People are truly afraid. The only hope for these smucks is to tap into voters fears. Forget about giving them any kind of hope. Fear is the one thing that carrys the day.

People aren't afraid. Republicans are afraid. It's part of their DNA. The Conservative brain has more fear neurons firing than normal people. It's true. Look it up on the Google.

How is this ignorant buffoon a breath of fresh air? He's sometimes entertaining, I'll grant you that. Entertaining like a train wreck is entertaining. He's fun like funhouse fun.

All this is just noise. There are 16 unelectable candidates that all get slaughtered in the general election. It doesn't matter who it is. There aren't enough fearful, misogynistic, racist, ignorant people to come close to electing Trump or any of these clowns.

I find it quite easy to ignore him...but I sometimes want a good laugh. They're all trying to appeal to the wingnutoshere, the only people who will vote for them. Every one of these guys are so far out of the mainstream with their god and guns and babies and war and Mexicans and terrorists and Obama and blah, blah, blah.

HRC is a slam dunk.

[Publicus]

Hopeless Republican hopefuls aren't the only ones taking some shots at Trump. A bunch of The Donald's New York City boyz in the hood gave him his due on sight of him.

Here's the video from ESPN of The Donald being booed on his arrival to the US Open to watch the Williams sisters in New York. New York is The Donald's native turf where he got a good 'Bronx Cheer' from the not so impressed homefolk.

Fans booed Donald Trump at the US Open

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:13611639

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:13611639&startTime=00:08

The rightwing cops love him though which is predictable.

Mrs. Trump got actual cheers.

My browser isn't very good so kindly pardon the links instead of the video itself, thx.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Publicus

[willyumiii]

In a logical country with logical voters, I would consider Trump amusing entertainment.

Unfortunately voting for people qualified to do the job is not how the GOP rolls.

They vote for the candidate who presents himself as " the kind of guy I like"..

That is how an unqualified, man of inferior intelligence like GW BUSH got into office.

Look at the damage GW did to the country and the world.

This could be dangerous and scary!

[Pinot]

In a logical country with logical voters, I would consider Trump amusing entertainment.

Unfortunately voting for people qualified to do the job is not how the GOP rolls.

They vote for the candidate who presents himself as " the kind of guy I like"..

That is how an unqualified, man of inferior intelligence like GW BUSH got into office.

Look at the damage GW did to the country and the world.

This could be dangerous and scary!

Yeah, well that was then, this is now. It's the reason that Jeb is not getting any traction.

Jeb thought...and his money guys thought it was going to be a cakewalk. Then, those ugly 8 years Jeb was embracing, reared its ugly head. By ugly head, I refer to Dick Chaney.

Donald Trump is the leading Republican candidate. All is well.

[umbanda]

Bill Clinton just said on a TV interview, that the Republican party is so full of incompetence, that he believes that Trump may become the party's nominated candidate to the Presidency.

[Publicus]

Trump may have peaked at this point but he could still coast the rest of the way. The three insurgents among them have 50% of Republican voters nationally supporting 'em -- Trump, Carson, Fiorina. The three divvy up 50% of the vote among 'em and that leaves the other 50% to consider Bush, Rubio, Kasich and the other zombies.

Ted Cruz is well bankrolled and already in process to make a big bang on Super Tuesday in April when most Southern states vote on the one same day, in addition to some states up north that will keep things fractured for the Rs.

Ultimately, however, it may come down to the Republican party super delegates who appoint one another delegates to make sure nothing 'untoward' happens at the convention. In 2008 the D party super delegates lined up behind Barack Obama and his otherwise narrow delegate lead, which is where the road ended for HRC.

Each party has the super delegates at the nominating convention as the safety valve, as it were, so Trump might yet get a facefull of steam while the nomination is simultaneously snatched from his grip.

This isn't 1964 when the right seized control of the R convention and nominated the extremist Sen Barry Goldwater who elected more Democrats to Washington and throughout the country than FDR had ever accomplished. Call it irony or call it unintended consequences, but it brought a political tsunami that rushed right over the Republicans.