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After Iowa, Rubio prepares to take on trump

Unitedwestand13

Unitedwestand13

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For anxious members of the Republican Establishment, Donald Trump’s failure to win Monday night provided the first sign in months that reality might return to a race dominated by the reality-TV star. Marco Rubio’s surprisingly strong third-place finish — he trailed Trump by just one percent — strengthened the emerging consensus that the Florida senator will be the one party elites can rally around. “The Washington Establishment’s only chance at a candidate now is Marco Rubio,” a top GOP consultant said. “The only thing that stops Trump or Cruz is a winnowing of the field.”

It says a lot about this year’s upside-down Republican primary that coming in third in Iowa is a victory. But, according to GOP insiders I spoke to Monday night, Rubio’s bronze-medal finish behind Ted Cruz and Donald Trump makes him the victor in the race to break out of the crowded Establishment pack. Having survived his immigration war with Cruz relatively unscathed, Rubio may be emboldened to take on Trump. According to a source close to the campaign, Rubioworld is now arming itself for an assault on Trump. "They’ve done a lot of oppo research. Personal stuff," the source said. "It’s going to be personal to Trump because they know Trump will be personal to Marco.”
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http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/02/after-iowa-rubio-prepares-to-take-on-trump.html#

I don't know if this strategy of taking on trump on personal issues is going to work for Rubio. The first problem that comes to mind is that this seems out of character for Rubio as a candidate who try's to portray himself as a bright eyed optimist?

More importantly, Rubio is going to be in for a world of hurt when Trump retaliates in kind. Trump excels in personal attacks and Rubio may find himself unable to trade blows effectively.
 
Unitedwestand13 said:
More importantly, Rubio is going to be in for a world of hurt when Trump retaliates in kind. Trump excels in personal attacks and Rubio may find himself unable to trade blows effectively.
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Except Trump's an absolute squealer when it comes to taking it. Someone starts to really take him on with personal stuff he'll have a melt down and that won't go well for someone with very little friendly media to call on for support.
 
Andalublue said:
Except Trump's an absolute squealer when it comes to taking it. Someone starts to really take him on with personal stuff he'll have a melt down and that won't go well for someone with very little friendly media to call on for support.
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Since trump is counting on the anti-establishment vote, having the media against him makes more popular with those who believe the media is also corrupt.
 
Andalublue said:
Except Trump's an absolute squealer when it comes to taking it. Someone starts to really take him on with personal stuff he'll have a melt down and that won't go well for someone with very little friendly media to call on for support.
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This. Trump has proven himself to be a pissy whiny baby when he feels cornered. And I don't see a lot of people coming to his defense.

I think Rubio's strategy is a great one. He needs to strike while the iron is hot, and he needs to smack Trump down hard right now.
 
Unitedwestand13 said:
Since trump is counting on the anti-establishment vote, having the media against him makes more popular with those who believe the media is also corrupt.
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But if he has a specific point he wants to get across he cannot count on the media to help; he'll have to buy that coverage.
 
tres borrachos said:
This. Trump has proven himself to be a pissy whiny baby when he feels cornered. And I don't see a lot of people coming to his defense.

I think Rubio's strategy is a great one. He needs to strike while the iron is hot, and he needs to smack Trump down hard right now.
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But Rubio has been trying to present himself as the bright-eyed optimist, that does not sound like someone who engages in rough and tumble verbal exchanges. Trump's personality is that of bully, but that bullish persona works well when on the attack.
 
Unitedwestand13 said:
But Rubio has been trying to present himself as the bright-eyed optimist, that does not sound like someone who engages in rough and tumble verbal exchanges. Trump's personality is that of bully, but that bullish persona works well when on the attack.
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I think that depends on the audience. Most serious Republicans (and I know a lot of them here) aren't interested in mudslinging. They want meaty discussions about issues. The kind of people who like Trump's bullying are probably voting for him anyway.
 
Andalublue said:
But if he has a specific point he wants to get across he cannot count on the media to help; he'll have to buy that coverage.
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Trump's campagin lives for the spectacle, and if Rubio challenges him and draws the media spotlight on both of them, Trump will be in his element.
 
tres borrachos said:
I think that depends on the audience. Most serious Republicans (and I know a lot of them here) aren't interested in mudslinging. They want meaty discussions about issues. The kind of people who like Trump's bullying are probably voting for him anyway.
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And going after trump on personal issues counts as discussion?
 
Unitedwestand13 said:
And going after trump on personal issues counts as discussion?
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I didn't say it did. We were talking about Trump's brand of attack. I have not yet seen Senator Rubio attacking Trump and I have no idea what he plans to attack. If he's going to attack his hair or call his daughter ugly, that won't work. If he plans to attack Trump's business record, that will.
 
Attack Trump? Ask Jeb what happens, Ruby. He'll kick your ass to the kid's table just like he did to Jeb.
 
Unitedwestand13 said:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/02/after-iowa-rubio-prepares-to-take-on-trump.html#

I don't know if this strategy of taking on trump on personal issues is going to work for Rubio. The first problem that comes to mind is that this seems out of character for Rubio as a candidate who try's to portray himself as a bright eyed optimist?

More importantly, Rubio is going to be in for a world of hurt when Trump retaliates in kind. Trump excels in personal attacks and Rubio may find himself unable to trade blows effectively.
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It's an establishment tactic and Rubio has clearly identified himself as an establishment candidate. That's the end for him right there. Even if he can convince enough of the party base to trust another establishment candidate to win the nomination, that's all the support he'll ever get. That's not enough to win the general.

Like every single republican I know, if Trump or Cruz takes the nomination, I will vote republican. If one of the establishment candidates, like Rubio takes it, I will not.
 
I'm tired of the "he only finished third" nonsense.

Trump literally got ALL of the media attention for months on end. The rest were just backwash in the media orgy over Trump.

The fact that Rubio got the same number of delegates as Trump with barely a whisper of coverage is very telling for him.

And it's smart to poke at Trump. He'll go all New York nutty, and Rubio can just sit back and watch his numbers rise.

And when you look at that zig-zag family tree of Trump and compare it to Rubio's, it'll just put the picture in the frame even clearer.
 
clownboy said:
It's an establishment tactic and Rubio has clearly identified himself as an establishment candidate. That's the end for him right there.
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Being a part of the Gang of 8 illegal immigrant bill will also be a liability.
 
Roadvirus said:
Being a part of the Gang of 8 illegal immigrant bill will also be a liability.
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Not as much as admitting that Reid and Pelosi are his friends, and that he can make deals with them. That was stupid on Trump's part.
 
Erod said:
Not as much as admitting that Reid and Pelosi are his friends, and that he can make deals with them. That was stupid on Trump's part.
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And that's just the tip of the iceberg where it comes to Trump's 180 degree pirouette on most conservative principals.
 
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