Cruz: "Make the sand glow in the Middle East" and "move US embassy to Jerusalem."

[Ddawg]

For all the folks that are worried whether Trump could beat Hillary in November, the latest "Rasmussen Reports" poll found in a head to head:
Trump 41%
Hillary 39%

Very close. But, Trump is showing what he has all along - his unconventional style breaks all the rules and he is resilient.

Also, in the poll, Trump does 2x as well among Dem voters as Hillary does amongst the GOP voters.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_ ... clinton_39

[jvquarterback]

Trump's latest talking points about the middle east have included using nuclear bombs and sending troops to take away the oil. Not sure how that's getting out of the absurdity of the middle east.

Oh and that he doesn't need any advisors on the middle east because he understands the situation there better than anyone else on earth.

I feel like you haven't listened to the context in which Trump has said these things. Re: nuclear bombs Trump has said, just like every Republican candidate has ever said, that "nothing is off the table." This stance is no different from what Cruz, Clinton, or Kasich would say given the same question.

The second part about the oil is a critique of US strategy in the middle east in general. Trump says we should never have gone there, and the reason we did is for oil. If you want to stop ISIS you cut their funding by bombing, or otherwise taking the oil reserves in their possession. But the Saudis and the Israelis don't want that. If you listen to Cruz or Clinton we should train more moderate rebels and give ISIS another $2B worth of weapons while leaving their revenues intact. Trump explains how taking/destroying ISIS oil reserves disables ISIS, which would likely only be temporary and the better solution is to simply pull out of the middle east and let the Saudis and Israelis fend for themselves.

If you put US interests first (rather than the Saudis and Israelis), Trump's plan is better than what Clinton and Cruz propose, though by no means ideal.

[SpiffCoug]

How can The Donald's plan be better than Cruz's when they essentially have all of the same positions?

[IowaCougar]

I think that if Trump does end up winning the nomination, he will be at risk of becoming the first nominee to lose every state in the general election. The real issue there will be he will probably pull down many good GOP senatorial and congressional candidates with him. It will be the biggest debacle in history. That is my fear.

[hawkwing]

2nd Amendment lover? Don't vote for Trump. He will take your guns faster than Hillary will.

Check out @realDonaldTrump's Tweet:

[jvquarterback]

How can The Donald's plan be better than Cruz's when they essentially have all of the same positions?

I guess you don't read what I write any more than you listen to what Trump says. I've repeatedly written that the only difference is in foreign and military policy. Trump is for America while Cruz is for Israel and Saudi Arabia.

[Ddawg]

2nd Amendment lover? Don't vote for Trump. He will take your guns faster than Hillary will.

Check out @realDonaldTrump's Tweet:

I certainly hope Trump does not continue to hold that same view - now. I hope, for real, he has evolved and "seen the light." He says he is a CCW permit guy. The 2nd Amendment to me is right up there with the 1st Amendment and a sacrosanct, foundational right.

[snoscythe]

2nd Amendment lover? Don't vote for Trump. He will take your guns faster than Hillary will.

Check out @realDonaldTrump's Tweet:

I certainly hope Trump does not continue to hold that same view - now. I hope, for real, he has evolved and "seen the light." He says he is a CCW permit guy. The 2nd Amendment to me is right up there with the 1st Amendment and a sacrosanct, foundational right.

He's taken two different stances on the gun control issue (among many others). Why would anyone believe what he is saying now, when he is soliciting votes and angling for the Presidency over what he said in the past when he was not seeking political office? Which statements more accurately portray how he really feels? What he said in the past when he was asked for his opinion, or what he says now when he is shilling for GOP votes?

In his book he published in 2000, he volunteered his support for the "assault weapons" ban and a 72-hour waiting period for any firearm purchase.

http://2012.candidate-comparison.org/?c ... un-Control
http://www.people.com/article/donald-tr ... un-control

[hawkwing]

Exactly, people like Trump will say anything if they think it will benefit them. The trick is to find their statements when they didn't feel they had anything to gain, that is the truth.