Who Is To Blame For Trump?

Ken AshfordElection 2016, Republicans, Tea PartyLeave a Comment

A short incomplete list by conservatives and even GOP moderates to explain how Trump happened.   ANSWER ONE: Obama is to blame for Trump says Bobby Jindel in the Wall Street Journal. We’ve had eight years of the “cool, weak and endlessly nuanced” Barack Obama, he argues, which means now voters are hungry for the precise opposite – they want “a … Read More

The Best Thing To Happen To Hillary

Ken AshfordElection 2016Leave a Comment

It’s too early to pull the plug on Bernie Sanders.  He trails in the delegate count, and he has to keep on pulling upsets like he did in Michigan to prevail as the nominee. And it is quite possible that he might pull some of those upsets tomorrow — in Missouri, Illinois, and even Ohio. But he has to do … Read More

Trump Campaign Takes It To A Whole New Level

Ken AshfordElection 2016Leave a Comment

Or… depth I should say. Friday night saw the cancellation of a Trump event in Chicago because of protesters.  Trump stated that he decided to cancel the event after consultation with law enforcement, but the Chicago PD says they never advised Trump that the safety issues were beyond what they could handle. Rachel Maddow entered Ed Murrow land — talking … Read More

Okay, So How Will A Contest Convention Work?

Ken AshfordElection 2016Leave a Comment

So, the eventual Republican nominee needs 1,237 delegates to secure the party’s nomination before its July convention. If that doesn’t happen, then it creates a potential opening for another nominee as the delegates vote on the convention floor. The Republican Party of each state has its own rules about whether and/or when a delegate is bound to the results of the primary votes. … Read More

Breaking Down Last Night’s Primary Results

Ken AshfordElection 2016Leave a Comment

TRUMP Yesterday was big for Trump.  The first major set of primaries after a huge onslaught of non-Trump ads, and it seems to have bounced off him.  No, he never won 50% in any state yesterday, but he came close.  In Michigan, he got 36.5% (Cruz: 24.9%, Kasich: 24.3%).  In Mississippi, he got 47.3% (Cruz: 36.3%).  And in Hawaii, he … Read More

Time To Face Reality

Ken AshfordElection 2016Leave a Comment

Here’s the plan: The presentation is an 11th-hour rebuttal to the fatalism permeating the Republican establishment: Slide by slide, state by state, it calculates how Donald Trump could be denied the presidential nomination. Marco Rubio wins Florida. John Kasich wins Ohio. Ted Cruz notches victories in the Midwest and Mountain West. And the results in California and other states are … Read More

Why Florida and Ohio Matter In The GOP Primaries

Ken AshfordElection 2016Leave a Comment

Florida and Ohio are not only big states with lots of delegates, but they are winner-take-all delegate states.  AND Rubio is from Florida.  AND Kasich is from Ohio. Both have primaries on March 15.  And Rubio and Kasich as giving Trump a run for his money in Florida and Ohio, respectively. Something will give on March 15.  Not definitively, but … Read More

About Last Night’s Algonquin Round Table

Ken AshfordElection 2016Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I heard some pundit on TV say that Rubio and Cruz, having insulted Trump in their stump speeches, would come in last night and elevate themselves in a statesmen-like discussion of policy issues. Yeah, right, I thought.  I was correct: “Gentleman, gentleman, you’ve got to do better than this,” Chris Wallace implored the candidates after one particularly nasty bout … Read More

Romney Enters The Fray

Ken AshfordElection 2016Leave a Comment

At some point today, Mitt Romney will make the case against Trump for President: Mitt Romney will call Donald J. Trump “a phony” and “a fraud” in a speech on Thursday in which he will urge Republicans to rally around one of Mr. Trump’s presidential rivals, according to excerpts from his remarks. The hastily organized speech, to be delivered in … Read More

Carson Kinda Out and Romney Kinda In? Maybe?

Ken AshfordElection 2016Leave a Comment

Is Romney going to get in? Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will give a speech on Thursday addressing his party’s presidential race, according to online reports. The 2012 nominee and former Massachusetts governor will address the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah. Romney’s involvement in the race so far has been limited to lashing out at … Read More