Trump, brash New Yorker, builds up Southern campaign

[Lite Beer]

Trump, brash New Yorker, builds up Southern campaign
By BILL BARROW

NORCROSS, Ga. (AP) — Donald Trump is a brash New Yorker who knows the path to the Republican presidential nomination runs through a swath of Southern states where residents pride themselves on graciousness and gentility.

He leads many state polls in the region just as he does nationally. In the last few weeks he's hired aides in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia to go along with staff in South Carolina, which hosts the South's first primary.

Trump and his top advisers cite the expansion as they push back against notions — fueled in part by his own remarks — that the he's reconsidering his bid as some polls suggest his momentum has stalled.

"I love this. ... I love the country. We're never, ever getting out of this deal," Trump told thousands of supporters gathered Saturday in the Atlanta surburb of Norcross. "We're going to take it to ... the convention, and after that we're going to beat Hillary, or whoever it is, so bad."

Trump told reporters he's got several television ads ready to run "if I have to." He said he'd initially planned to spend $20 million on advertising by this point, but argued there has been no need; he pointed to free media attention and crowds like those Saturday and an August rally in Alabama that drew more than 30,000.

Indeed, political observers across the South say Trump shouldn't be taken lightly and that the region could give him a big boost next year, even if it may not seem like a natural fit.

"He may not sound like us," said David Mowery, an Alabama-based consultant who has worked for both Republicans and Democrats in multiple states, "but he's saying the things that people in the Republican base — and even disaffected, frustrated voters outside that base — want to hear."

South Carolina is accustomed to its place immediately after Iowa and New Hampshire in the nominating process. But the rest of the South is enjoying newfound attention, driven by Georgia and others moving up for a March 1 Super Tuesday dubbed the "the SEC primary" after the college athletics league. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia will have 471 delegates at stake that day. Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Florida follow in the next two weeks with a combined 301 delegates.

Among those, only Florida is winner-take-all; the rest will use varying proportional distributions of delegates. That means the region won't put any single candidate on the cusp of the 1,236 delegates necessary for nomination. But it will winnow the field.

And, if anything, Trump's anti-establishment rants may resonate more strongly in Southern states where white voters have long been among nation's most conservative and most distrustful of central government.

"He comes in and plays smash-mouth football, and it fires people up," says Henry Barbour, a Mississippian and influential member of the Republican National Committee who is neutral in the primary.

The Norcross crowd cheered Saturday when Trump called most politicians "stupid," laughed as he mocked his opponents by name and roared when he chided the media. When a few young attendees tried to protest his remarks on immigration, supporters drowned them out, one man repeatedly screaming, "Go home!" They roared again when Trump promised a sealed border and an end to birthright citizenship.

Amid the enthusiasm, Trump has overshadowed other candidates, including native Southerners. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, at ease with voters here, couldn't find his footing and dropped out. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist preacher, previously called the SEC primary "manna from heaven." He won several Southern primaries in 2008, but has found a tougher path this time. So, too, have Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Huckabee boasts that his grassroots organization in South Carolina and neighboring states is more important than Trump's early lead. And, indeed, several candidates devote more time than Trump to the meet-and-greet affairs that occur away from big rallies. If any candidate has managed to produce both large crowds like Trump and build a nuts-and-bolts organization in the region, it's Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, another conservative who appeals to the Southern GOP's anti-Washington bent.

Yet that balance may not matter in 2016, says Roger Villere, Louisiana's longtime Republican Party chairman and a vice chairman of the national GOP. With so many states bunched close together, he said, it may be a campaign won largely on television and sweeping visits — just the scenario for a bombastic billionaire.

"Sure, you need some help on the ground," Villere said, "but I'm sure Mr. Trump or any of the rest of them who are doing well coming out of South Carolina will find everything they need."

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-10-11

[zaphod reborn]

he's reconsidering his bid as some polls suggest his momentum has stalled

As I predicted, Trump's candidacy is going south on him.

[MadDog2020]

he's reconsidering his bid as some polls suggest his momentum has stalled

As I predicted, Trump's candidacy is going south on him.

Perhaps you missed the next sentence.

"I love this. ... I love the country. We're never, ever getting out of this deal," Trump told thousands of supporters gathered Saturday

[soalbundy]

The US deserve him

[johnmcc6]

It's high time someone called the establishment politicians for what they are. A good old boy network of wealthy family dynasties funded by big oil, big banks big drug companies and their thousands of lobbyists. They have done zilch for the average american in decades. This current mob has to be the worst yet. The reputation of America has been made laughable in the world by the current government. Hillary who can't lay straight in bed would be a repeat of Obama and his left policies and Bernie sanders would be the final nail in the U S econonomy with his wild socialist ideas of how to send the country broke. So love Donald or hate him he is giving the best stirring of the political pot since ww2. American voters have tried to elect progressive leaders who trot out the same old trust me nonesence like the snake oil salesmen many of them are. The public has simply had enough of all the B S from both parties and are sick of the liberal press .

For anyone who likes politics this is turning into a gold plated show.

[godden]

GO get em DT

[hakuho]

According to the author, Trump is brash, bombastic and HORRORS!---a NEW YORKER!!!.....nothing biased about that spin.

I think that because the concept of "statesmanship" left the political stage in 1963, when the most outrageous coup in American history was perpetrated by the CIA/Bankers/FED, many, if not most, American Proles would rather elect a kick-ass, mega-wealthy proven mafiosa (Trump) than a venal, proto-lesbian, gun-grabbing criminal (Bilary) or a lightweight medico,(Carson) because among other things, politics is NOT brain surgery (or. rocket science).....and someone from the BICF-Bush International Crime Family, whose cred is tarnished, after Dubya was shown on mass media TV kissing the Oil-man Muslim prince from Saudi Arabia, is old news.

question remains: Who is really behind Trump? only the (shadow) govt. knows...

[louse1953]

Racist buzzard knows where the votes are.They voted Bush the Minor in TWICE,so anything is possible.

[louse1953]

It's high time someone called the establishment politicians for what they are. A good old boy network of wealthy family dynasties funded by big oil, big banks big drug companies and their thousands of lobbyists. They have done zilch for the average american in decades. This current mob has to be the worst yet. The reputation of America has been made laughable in the world by the current government. Hillary who can't lay straight in bed would be a repeat of Obama and his left policies and Bernie sanders would be the final nail in the U S econonomy with his wild socialist ideas of how to send the country broke. So love Donald or hate him he is giving the best stirring of the political pot since ww2. American voters have tried to elect progressive leaders who trot out the same old trust me nonesence like the snake oil salesmen many of them are. The public has simply had enough of all the B S from both parties and are sick of the liberal press .

For anyone who likes politics this is turning into a gold plated show.

You failed to mention 8 long years of George Jnr which started the downfall.That man's govt,bent over for big biz more than any other.Deregulation my arse,no rules so the corparations can run amok more like it

[empireboy]

he's reconsidering his bid as some polls suggest his momentum has stalled

As I predicted, Trump's candidacy is going south on him.

You could be right, but it could also be just media BS... Trump hasn't even started spending on advertising yet since he's getting plenty for free.... you know the old truism, "Even bad press is good publicity!" Anyway, it's fun to watch!

[Mudcrab]

It's high time someone called the establishment politicians for what they are. A good old boy network of wealthy family dynasties funded by big oil, big banks big drug companies and their thousands of lobbyists. They have done zilch for the average american in decades. This current mob has to be the worst yet. The reputation of America has been made laughable in the world by the current government. Hillary who can't lay straight in bed would be a repeat of Obama and his left policies and Bernie sanders would be the final nail in the U S econonomy with his wild socialist ideas of how to send the country broke. So love Donald or hate him he is giving the best stirring of the political pot since ww2. American voters have tried to elect progressive leaders who trot out the same old trust me nonesence like the snake oil salesmen many of them are. The public has simply had enough of all the B S from both parties and are sick of the liberal press .

For anyone who likes politics this is turning into a gold plated show.

big oil, big banks big drug companies and their thousands of lobbyists. They have done zilch for the average american in decades.

Oh dear, the anti rich/big company rant yet again.

Next time you are looking for a job which then allows to feed your family, buy a car or buy a house.....ask the poor to hire you.

[ozyjon]

Bush the Minor

I love that, the most powerful, dumbest clown on earth

who knew nothing about the rest of the world, and where

was he on the 9/11 episode?

What an alibi - PRICELESS -

[Jingthing]

Oh please, it was apt to feature that he's a New Yorker as he's trying to win over the DEEP SOUTH. Yankees in Dixie. It's still relevant.

Bless your hearts!

Edited October 11, 2015 by Jingthing

[MW72]

Trump, brash New Yorker, builds up Southern campaign

By BILL BARROW

NORCROSS, Ga. (AP) —

The Norcross crowd cheered Saturday when Trump called most politicians "stupid," laughed as he mocked his opponents by name and roared when he chided the media. When a few young attendees tried to protest his remarks on immigration, supporters drowned them out, one man repeatedly screaming, "Go home!"

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-10-11

Sounds like their having an in depth debate on the finer details of Trump's policies.

[sirineou]

According to the author, Trump is brash, bombastic and HORRORS!---a NEW YORKER!!!.....nothing biased about that spin.

I think that because the concept of "statesmanship" left the political stage in 1963, when the most outrageous coup in American history was perpetrated by the CIA/Bankers/FED, many, if not most, American Proles would rather elect a kick-ass, mega-wealthy proven mafiosa (Trump) than a venal, proto-lesbian, gun-grabbing criminal (Bilary) or a lightweight medico,(Carson) because among other things, politics is NOT brain surgery (or. rocket science).....and someone from the BICF-Bush International Crime Family, whose cred is tarnished, after Dubya was shown on mass media TV kissing the Oil-man Muslim prince from Saudi Arabia, is old news.

question remains: Who is really behind Trump? only the (shadow) govt. knows...

You mean Trump is not brash, bombastic, and a New Yorker????

[Publicus]

The US deserve him

Dead wrong.

Only the Republican party and the far right deserve him.

If Trump finagles the R party nomination he'll for certain get handed his arse in the general election. On a platter. Bank on it.