Cruz wins Kansas GOP caucuses, battles Trump in Ky., Maine

From Drudge At 8pm CST

KENTUCKY
TRUMP 42% CRUZ 30% RUBIO 13%
MAINE
CRUZ 43% TRUMP 37% KASICH 11%

AP  "WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Ted Cruz claimed an easy victory in Kansas and battled with Donald Trump for Kentucky and Maine in Saturday's four-state round of Republican voting, fresh evidence that there's no quick end in sight to the fractious GOP race for president. Kansas Democrats gave Bernie Sanders a win, as voters in three states chose between the Vermont senator and Hillary Clinton." . . .
"The Texas senator defeated Trump by more than a 2-to-1 margin in Kansas, and early returns showed he and Trump were in tight races in Maine and Kentucky caucuses. Cruz, a tea party favorite, attributed his strong showing to conservatives coalescing behind his candidacy, calling it a "manifestation of a real shift in momentum.' " . . .

Politico:  Sanders beats Clinton in Kansas.
. .  . "Three states — and 109 delegates — are in play on Saturday, and the results could prove that Sanders is still in the game. Going into the weekend, Sanders was badly lagging Clinton in the delegate count, having secured 432 to her 1,066. It takes 2,383 to win the Democratic nomination." . . .

Sen. Sanders said the GOP debates sound like '6th-grade food fight'

Cruz and Trump Make BIG Gains On Super Saturday…Rubio, Not So Much  " '‘What it represents is Republicans saying it would be a disgrace for Trump to be our nominee and we’re going to stand behind the strongest candidate in the race.’"

Todd Starnes: Cruz rises to top as Rubio and Trump wallow in mud at GOP debate   "Thursday night's debate featured uncivil behavior from the Republicans -- sophomoric and crass -- bordering on obscene.

Sen. Marco Rubio behaved like a petulant child. Donald Trump flipped and flopped so many times that he flopped back to the positions he originally flipped on. 

"The only person on that stage who looked and sounded presidential and has a shot at getting elected -- was Sen. Ted Cruz.

"He stayed out of the locker room name-calling and focused on the issues.

"Senator Cruz understands the problems facing our great nation are no laughing matter." . . .

What about Kasich? He does have the most experience, if counterbalanced a bit by his being irritating to me.

Is this the end of the West as we know it?

. . . "Right now, we are two or three bad elections away from the end of NATO, the end of the European Union and maybe the end of the liberal world order as we know it."

Does this count the previous two bad Presidential elections just past?
Probably not, as this source is a pro-Obama one. 
At times like this it is well that we recall the hand of God on world history and know that whatever happens, for good or ill, the future is in His hands and that Israel will be at the center of it. TD
(This article posted in it's entirety as we feared it would soon be inaccessible.)  

Washington Post  

Back in the 1950s, when the institutions were still new and shaky, I’m sure many people feared the Western alliance might never take off. Perhaps in the 1970s, the era of the Red Brigades and Vietnam, many more feared that the West would not survive. But in my adult life, I cannot remember a moment as dramatic as this: Right now, we are two or three bad elections away from the end of NATO, the end of the European Union and maybe the end of the liberal world order as we know it.In the United States, we are faced with the real possibility of Republican Party presidential nominee Donald Trump, which means we have to take seriously the possibility of a President Trump. Hillary Clinton’s campaign might implode for any number of reasons, too obvious to rehash here; elections are funny things, and electorates are fickle. That means that next January we could have, in the White House, a man who is totally uninterested in what presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton, Reagan — as well as Johnson, Nixon and Truman — would all have called “our shared values.”
Not only is Trump uninterested in America’s alliances, he would be incapable of sustaining them. In practice, both military and economic unions require not the skills of a shady property magnate who “makes deals” but boring negotiations, unsatisfying compromises and, sometimes, the sacrifice of one’s own national preferences for the greater good. In an era when foreign policy debate has in most Western countries disappeared altogether, replaced by the reality TV of political entertainment, all of these things are much harder to explain and justify to a public that isn’t remotely interested.Trump has advocated torture, mass deportation, religious discrimination. He brags that he “would not care that much” whether Ukraine were admitted to NATO; he has no interest in NATO and its security guarantees. Of Europe, he has written that “their conflicts are not worth American lives. Pulling back from Europe would save this country millions of dollars annually.” In any case, he prefers the company of dictators to that of other democrats. “You can make deals with those people,” he said of Russia. “I would have a great relationship with [Vladimir] Putin.”
And Americans aren’t the only ones who find their alliances burdensome. A year from now, France also holds a presidential election. One of the front-runners, Marine Le Pen of the National Front, has promised to leave both NATO and the E.U. , to nationalize French companies and to restrict foreign investors. Like Trump, she foresees a special relationship with Russia, whose banks are funding her election campaign. French friends assure me that if she makes it to the final round, the center-left and center-right will band together, as they did two decades ago against her father. But elections are funny things, and electorates are fickle. What if Le Pen’s opponent suddenly falls victim to a scandal? What if another Islamic State attack jolts Paris?

Video added by TD 

Bad candidates and an unschooled electorate would be a terrible combination. TD

Anne Applebaum writes a biweekly foreign affairs column for The Washington Post. She is also the Director of the Global Transitions Program at the Legatum Institute in London. View Archive

"Trump's speaking in ways that men today still speak, when they're not hounded by the modern eclipse of feminism. . . "

Ann Althouse posts Rush Limbaugh

"Men speak this way to each other. They crack jokes this way to each other. It does not make them bad people. And I think there's a yearning for it among a whole segment of the population, women, men, they want this kind of gruff, fearless, tell-it-like-it-is persona. They don't think it's destructive. They don't think it says anything bad about the country. They don't think it says anything bad about the people who speak it. And it may be over the top, but the reason it's happening is because there have been so many invisible shackles put on people who are walking around on eggshells in this country for the last 30 years, afraid to be themselves, afraid to say what they really think, be who they really are, for fear they're gonna get fired, for fear that somebody's gonna lodge a complaint against 'em and be called before some tribunal to explain themselves, when there's nothing wrong with them. So here comes Trump...."

"Said Rush Limbaugh on his show yesterday."

How the GOP could stop Trump at the convention

The Hill

"Republicans might have one hope for defeating Donald Trump: denying him the 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination at the Republican National Convention in July.

"Party insiders who are deeply opposed to the businessman’s candidacy are looking at the plausibility of such a move, as he racks up victory after victory and the opposition to him remains divided among three candidates: Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich. 

"Such a gambit would be chaotic and controversial, however. It would likely also face one large hurdle that needs to be removed before the voting starts. 

"As things currently stand, only a candidate who has the backing of a majority of delegates from eight states can even make it onto the nominating ballot. 

"The easiest way to acquire such backing is to win eight primaries. But at present, Ted Cruz is four states shy of that mark, Marco Rubio has won only one contest and no other candidate, barring Trump, has won anything.  

"The eight-state rule would also plainly block the idea of some new candidate emerging at the convention — 2012 nominee Mitt Romney or Speaker Paul Ryan, for example — as a figure around whom Trump opponents could rally. " . . . 

Romney? The man we'd scream at on the TV because he was not capable of the emotion we felt at the Petulant President and his scorn for us? TD

Could they be these same people?

Will Liberal Media EVER Report on VIOLENT LEFTIST THUGS at EVERY SINGLE TRUMP EVENT?

Imagine if you will that the photos below are of TEA Partiers, or perhaps conservatives protesting Democrats: what do you think we would see of these people on MSNBC or CNN, et al. on the networks or mainstream media channels? Even Disney would include them in some of their programs! (Think not? One Disney movie had a bullying schoolgirl named Breitbart!) TD

“Bad vibes.” “Scary.” “Tense.” “Physical.” “New level of menace.” “Vicious.”  "Those are the words used by reporters who covered the New Orleans campaign rally by leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Friday evening to describe the leftist anti-Trump protesters who disrupted the rally and the reactions of fed-up Trump supporters." . . .

theGatewayPundit.com.  "This morning in Cadillac, Michigan far left protesters repeatedly interrupted, screamed profanities and were forced out of the Donald Trump rally.

"With thousands of people in attendance at his rallies there are dozens of fascist protesters who sneak in to each event.

"They disrupt, scream profanities, throw punches, roll on the floor, rush the stage. They even turned out the lights at a massive rally in Atlanta." . . . (Emphasis in the original)

. . . "The media hid this from the American public. Just like they do with all of the violent protesters at Trump rallies. You would never have any idea this was going on, day in and day out, if you relied on the liberal mainstream news – including FOX News." . . .

Anybody there wearing pink outfits?

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.