Fox Focus Group Declares John Kasich The Debate Winner. But. . .

"Overall, the members of the group seemed most upset by all the personal attacks and the lack of substance during the debate."

 

Weasel Zippers

"And unicorns are running around in my backyard.

"Via Daily Mail:

A 25-person focus group appearing on Fox News following Thursday night’s debate declared the winner to be Governor John Kasich – in a landslide.

Of the 25 people, 18 said Governor Kasich did the best, six said Senator Ted Cruz had the strongest night and just one said they thought Donald Trump was the top performed.

None of the people selected Senator Marco Rubio.

The focus group was conducted by Frank Luntz, and made up of local registered Republicans.

Keep reading…

"Of the 25 people, 18 said Governor Kasich did the best, six said Senator Cruz had the strongest night and just one said they thought Trump won 

"None of the people selected Senator Marco Rubio.

"Governor Kasich was referred to as the 'only adult in the room' by one member of the focus group 

"The words used to describe the debate by members of the focus group were 'disgusting,' 'embarrassing.' 'childish,' and 'sophomoric.' 

Meanwhile over at NRO, David French declares Cruz Triumphant
(But that's just one man against 25 on the Luntz group).

"Tonight was the night when I could clearly see Ted Cruz as President of the United States. He made the right moral judgment — dealing with Donald Trump was far more important than jockeying for position with Marco Rubio or John Kasich. He made the case against Trump in the right way — he was civil even as he eviscerated Trump again and again. And he connected with the audience not just with his command of the facts, but also by making his case in an effective, human way." . . .

. . . "Regarding Kasich, his performance was cheap and cowardly. Anyone can look statesmanlike when they opt out of a necessary fight. By choosing to cast himself as above the fray, he created a false moral equivalence between Trump, Rubio, and Cruz, and he transparently curried favor with viewers weary of conflict. With every passing moment, he is staining his legacy and his reputation. At a crucial moment, Kasich chose to be — first and foremost – for Kasich. Shame on him." . . .
 Read more...

The Republican debate, by Salvador Dali  "Russia is engaged in a massive build-up of troops in Armenia that threatens Turkey, a NATO ally.  Donald Trump assured the world that there was "no problem" with his penis size.

"China has militarized the South China Sea.  The GOP frontrunner became incoherent when trying to defend his lies and flip-flops.

"North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has told his military to prepare to use nuclear weapons.  Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz turned a presidential debate into a feces-flinging contest between monkeys.

"It's possible that only the surrealist painter Salvador Dalí could capture the essence of the vulgarity, the stupidity, the childishness of a night where the Republican Party descended to depths unknown for more than a century of political combat. 

"Frank Bruni of the New York Times captured the spirit of the night:" . . .

Finally, the writer sums up his thoughts with this:

"The world is blowing up all around us – crisis upon crisis, with no America to lead and a current administration who sees American leadership as evil or unnecessary.  Will we substitute the naive belief that we shouldn't accept our role as a leader in the world with a shocking ignorance of what that leadership should be?"

Somehow all this makes Joe Biden's revolting behavior in the 2012 debate with Paul Ryan seem almost well-mannered. By comparison.

Ben Carson announces campaign is over

'I will still continue to be heavily involved in trying to save our nation,' the retired neurosurgeon said.

Ben Carson formally quits White House race - and WON'T endorse anyone else (yet)
. . . "He was going to serve as the national chairman of My Faith Votes, an organization that has the goal of getting evangelical Christians to the polls. "

. . . 'I'll be involved in a lot of different things including my Faith Votes, which is an organization that is going to try and help the faith community to recognize how important their vote is,' Carson explained. 'Because in 2012, 25 million evangelicals did not vote. The margin of difference was only five million.' 

"He bemoaned that this year's electorate hadn't had 'enough of this foolishness.' 

" 'We haven't gotten there quite yet,' Carson noted.

Politico

. . . "The outgoing candidate peppered his speech with implicit warnings to the country about its future, both for fellow candidates and for the media, which intensely scrutinized claims about his biography throughout the course of his campaign.

“ 'You don’t need to have much of a developed brain to react, to react in fear," Carson said in urging a more thoughtful, productive national political discourse. "Animals can do that; lizards do that.”

"Later in the speech, Carson appealed to the audience to get active and informed.

“ 'We cannot continue to allow ourselves to be influenced and molded by the political class and by the media. That is going to destroy us," he said, remarking that it's "kind of sad" that the press is the only business protected by the Constitution "because they were supposed to be the allies of the people.' " . . .

From Infowars  . . . "The retired neurosurgeon said he would spend the rest of the campaign trying to motivate the Christian voting base.

“ 'Nothing is more important to me than my personal faith, and it is my faith that motivated me to be involved in the political process to begin with,” Carson said. “I believe Christians in this country can easily determine the next president of the United States and all other national and local leaders, should they simply show up at the polls.' ”

I'm pleased the Doctor knows he is loved by many of us who would not have chosen him. Many of us wanted him to be spared the personal destruction that would have come upon him from the Democrats. TD

Weasel Of The Week!! – 03/03/16 UPDATED

UPDATE: Another Racism Cry Backfire  . . .  "We are way past time for Liberals to stop lying about all the so-called racism that is occurring. The real racists running around America are the Leftist who see racism in everything except themselves." . . .
From Kevin Jackson at TheBlackSphere

Noisy Room  "Yes, once again, It’s time to present this week’s statuette of shame, The Golden Weasel!!

"Every Tuesday, the Council nominates some of the slimiest, most despicable characters in public life for some deed of evil, cowardice or corruption they’ve performed. Then we vote to single out one particular Weasel for special mention, to whom we award the statuette of shame, our special, 100% plastic Golden Weasel. This week’s nominees were all particularly slimy and despicable, but the votes are in and we have our winner… the envelope please…

Racist Hate Crime Hoaxsters Ariel Agudio, Alexis Briggs, and Asha Burwell!!

"Nice Deb: I’d like to nominate the three African American women who perpetrated a major racial hate-crime hoax at SUNY Albany, to be this week’s Weasels.  

"On January 30, Ariel Agudio, Alexis Briggs, and Asha Burwell falsely claimed that they were harassed and assaulted by a mob of white people while riding on a CDTA bus back to campus from the bars in Albany.

"Their story involved 10-20 white students spewing racial epithets and punching and kicking them while on the bus.

"Without confirming whether the allegations were true, SUNY Albany President Robert Jones said he was “deeply concerned, saddened and angry about this incident.”Hundreds of students appeared at a rally that also included members of the National Congress of Black Women and the Albany chapter of Black Lives Matter.

"After watching to surveillance videos from the 12 cameras on the bus, listening to their 911 call (especially when they were on hold and didn’t realize they were being recorded) and after talking to multiple witnesses, the police decided to charge the alleged victims with third-degree assault and with falsely reporting an incident.

"It turns out that Agudio, Briggs, and Burwell were the ones throwing the punches and yelling racial slurs. The other kids were just trying to stop the assault.

"It doesn’t get much weaselier than that." . . .

The Left Disarmed the Racism Charge

Who of you has not grown sick to your stomachs over the racial divisions that found fertile ground in the Obama Administration and the Democrat Party?

Commentary Magazine

"Many conservatives believe that the charge of racism has lost all meaning. And they have a point."

. . . "Republicans could not campaign against Barack Obama’s lack of executive experience in 2008 without that line of attack being dubbed racially suspect. When John McCain criticized the Illinois senator for his association with slumlord, convict, and Obama facilitator Antoin “Tony” Rezko, he was accused of base racial agitationand waging a campaign of guilt by association-style McCarthyism. The same was said for anyone who dared note that the president launched his political career in the living room of a convicted anti-American, far-left terrorist, Bill Ayers. Ditto the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, whose hateful, un-American sermons were so damaging to the campaign that the Illinois senator was compelled to deliver a grandiloquent speech on race in America in which he framed his critics as insufficiently educated on the subject of ethnicity." . . .

"Today, they point and shout “racist” into the void, but Democrats only have themselves to blame for the fact that so many on the right are no longer listening."

Donald Trump: Defender of the Faith

What on earth happened to Cruz's evangelicals?

Charles Krauthammer

. . . "Cruz had done all the groundwork to win evangelicals and sweep the South by putting together strong alliances with local pastors and leaders. And yet, outside Oklahoma and Texas, he lost them to Trump bystunning margins — by 21 points in Alabama, 13 in Georgia, 14 in Tennessee, 16 in Virginia and 36 in, of all places, Massachusetts.

"How could this have happened? A more scripturally, spiritually flawed man than Trump would be hard to find. As several anti-Trump evangelical voiceshave argued, Christian witness cannot possibly support a thrice-married man with such an impressive list of sins, featuring especially spectacular displays of the seven deadlys.

"These theological arguments are both eloquent and impassioned but, in this season of fear and anxiety, beside the point. This time around, evangelicals are not looking for someone like them. They’re looking for someone who will protect them." . . .

The "2 Corinthians" gaffe sparked many reactions

. . .  "Several students at the Christian university corrected Trump’s mistake on the spot, while other critics took to Twitter to poke fun at Trump using the freshly minted meme, “Two Corinthians walk into a bar…' ”

The Ben Carson watch . . .

Looking for new info at bencarson.com  So far, only Dr. Carson's statement on March 2nd:

I have decided not to attend the Fox News GOP Presidential Debate tomorrow night in Detroit.  Even though I will not be in my hometown of Detroit on Thursday, I remain deeply committed to my home nation, America.  I do not see a political path forward in light of last evening’s Super Tuesday primary results. However, this grassroots movement on behalf of “We the People” will continue. Along with millions of patriots who have supported my campaign for President, I remain committed to Saving America for Future Generations. We must not depart from our goals to restore what God and our Founders intended for this exceptional nation.

Hillary Emails Betrayed Whereabouts of Murdered Ambassador Chris Stevens

Breitbart via Weasel Zippers.

"An email containing the whereabouts and plans of murdered U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens passed through Hillary Clinton’s private server, dispatches released Monday in the final group of messages from Clinton’s emails reveal.

"The email was actually first released last May but was contained in Monday’s batch as well, serving as a reminder that numerous emails sent to Clinton’s private address betrayed Stevens’ location while he was stationed in arguably one of the most dangerous zones in the world for an American diplomat.

"The email in question was written Sunday, April 10, 2011 by State employee Timmy Davis and sent to the State email addresses of other employees, including Clinton’s then-foreign policy aide, Jacob Sullivan and Clinton’s senior aide.

"Abedin forwarded the message to Clinton. At the time, Stevens was the U.S. envoy to the Libyan rebels."   The email read:

The situation in Ajdabiyah has worsened to the point where Stevens is considering departure from Benghazi. The envoy’s delegation is currently doing a phased checkout (paying the hotel bills, moving some comms to the boat, etc). He will monitor the situation to see if it deteriorates further, but no decision has been made on departure. He will wait 2-3 more hours, then revisit the decision on departure.

 

Muslim ‘refugees’ refuse food parcels because of the Red Cross on the boxes!

JewsNews   "Just in case you didn’t know what’s headed your way as hundreds of thousands of Middle Eastern migrants mass to invade Europe!

"This is one video that the BBC most certainly won’t let you see!

"This stunning footage shows the ungrateful Muslim mob on the Greek/Macedonian border waving away food parcels because they are offended by the red crosses that have been on the boxes since 1864." . . .

"When the weary soldiers turn back the crowd cheers. Note also the ‘One God – Allah’ one finger ISIS* salutes.  Something wicked this way comes!"

*shown used by Obama here:

Chief justice rejects plea to block air pollution rule

Another victory for this Petulant President. 

The Hill

"Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected a plea Thursday to block a contentious air pollution rule for power plants in a big victory for the Obama administration.

"Roberts’s order came despite his court’s 5-4 decision last year ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation, known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, is illegal.

"Michigan led a group of 20 states last month — empowered by the Supreme Court’s recent unprecedented decision to halt the EPA’s carbon dioxide rule for power plants — in asking the court to live up to its ruling last year and block the regulation’s enforcement.  

“ 'Unless this court stays or enjoins further operation of the Mercury and Air Toxics rule, this court’s recent decision in Michigan v. EPA will be thwarted,” the states wrote in a Feb. 23 filing with the court.

“ 'A stay or injunction is appropriate because this court has already held that the finding on which the rule rests in unlawful and beyond EPA’s statutory authority.' ” . . .

Doctor Ben Carson in today's commentary

I hope this good and decent man goes out with the same class and dignity that was made manifest throughout his life and his campaign. TD

Carson close to ending campaign   . . . "Carson was easily the nicest candidate in the field, who rarely had an unkind word for his opponents. But in a campaign so incendiary, so toxic, he was drowned out by the bombast coming from others.  That, and his frightening ignorance of national security issues, led to his eventual downfall." Rick Moran

Add caption

Ben Carson tells supporters he sees 'no path forward'

“We, as Americans, can and must do better than that,” Carson said. “We have a process, an electoral process. That is a process that I’m in the process of following and will continue to follow and will continue to listen to our millions of supporters and we’ll act accordingly.”

 Video at the link  

Some see a chance of Ben Carson joining Trump  "Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson looks to be dropping out of the presidential race, despite multiple declarations to the contrary on Super Tuesday. He will skip out on Thursday night's debate, and he has openly declared that he does "not see a political path forward." Carson will speak on Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where he is expected to drop out of the race. If so, whom will he endorse?"

RedState is more critical of Carson than many I don't like the writer's use of the word "scam", but do wonder if Carson is out or just holding his place.

The Closing Chapter of Ben Carson’s Campaign   "Yes, his campaign dragged on for far too long, and he stumbled forward in denial of basic electoral realities and his own weaknesses as a candidates, Yes, he generated so few votes for so much eagerly donated grassroots money. Ben Carson didn’t enter this race a policy expert, but his heart always seemed to be in the right place. He wasn’t up to speed on the details, but he almost always seemed to see the big picture right — and perhaps more importantly, he could say he had lived by the right values. Every high schooler in America ought to hear about Carson’s life story and his ability to overcome adversity. Some presidential front-runners come out of the blue and you wonder what a fickle primary electorate sees in that figure; in Carson, the appeal was clear."

Trump, Trump, Trump; 24 hours a day.

http://terrellaftermath.com/

I don't see Gov. Christie as a vice-president, even with his attack-dog qualifications, but picture him as Attorney General. TD

Rush feels bad for Gov. Christie  " Yeah, I'm sitting here thinking about Chris Christie.  This is another one of these things that won't go away.  They're making fun of the guy.  They're literally destroying the guy.  And I'm sure that Christie, when he endorsed Trump, I think he probably thought it was gonna be heralded, you know, a great move, courageous move. . . . And instead he's standing behind Trump last night on the stage not knowing how to do it. "

Victor Davis Hanson on how to fight Donald Trump  . . . "The problem for Trump is not just that he cannot score points on ideas and so he monotonously strikes back with ad hominem slurs, but also that, off the cuff and in passing, he is capable of saying almost anything. Over two hours, those anythings — especially when they are windows into his past and his present values — finally add up." . . .

So far, Trump wins open primaries and Cruz wins closed … and the calendar is starting to change toward more closed primaries

The Volokh Conspiracy

"Following the South Carolina primary, an interesting article by Michael Harrington went around Facebook that speculated that Donald Trump’s victory in the South Carolina primary was attributable to Democrats voting in the Republican (open) primary. One of the good things about Harrington’s article is that he put out a testable hypothesis — that turnout in the Democratic primary a few days later would be less than 390,000. In fact, it was 367,000. Harrington concludes that had South Carolina had a closed primary, Ted Cruz would have won the primary there. I don’t know him and the author seems to be anti-Trump based on other things he has written — but the fact that his prediction was borne out adds some independent verification to his thesis. So that got me to thinking."