March 19, 2016

Republican leaders opposed to Trump are unleashing 100-day campaign beginning with the Wisconsin primary.

The NYT reports.

I'm glad to see that Wisconsin looks important, but I don't understand what these people think they can do. Spend a lot of money on ads? Ads don't seem to be working.

Here's Frank Luntz making that point — the ads don't work — and showing an ad:



And here's an ad that came out recently that seemed to enthuse some people (whether it works within the range of those who might vote for Trump is another matter):

71 comments:

Michael K said...

Circular firing squad reloads.

traditionalguy said...

The donor dough is burning a hole in their pockets.There is 100 days left to bill a commission for ad buys before Trump is in charge. This crisis cannot be wasted.Now go out there and win one for the GOP PAC administrators.

Gahrie said...

They should be spending the money running ads for Cruz instead....but they can't bring themselves to support Cruz....

Big Mike said...

Gahrie beat me to it. Kay-sick has been mathematically eliminated from a first ballot nomination and only Cruz is left between Trump and 1237 delegates. Support Ted Cruz or make your peace with Donald Trump while you still can. Those are the choices.

rcocean said...

Who is going to be offended by trump using 4 letter words? 80 year old Mormons? This a country that might put Mr. Hillary Clinton back in the white house so he can do some more Lewinskys.

As for Trump's "war on Women" - most of the comments in the ad had me smiling. Trump has no record of sexual discrimination in his companies that I'm aware of. He also has good relationships with his wife(s) and kids.

rcocean said...

Is anyone creeped out by Frank Luntz? The guy always has an unhealthy, perv air about him.

PB said...

The more the Democrats do this sort of stuff, the more support Trump gets.

The more the anti-Trump protesters go about spewing their anger and hate, the more support Trump gets.

Anonymous said...

This will be an expensive circle jerk.

chickelit said...

Gahrie said...They should be spending the money running ads for Cruz instead....but they can't bring themselves to support Cruz....

Which supports the notion that the GOPe and the DNC have a lot in common. Didn't JEB! already announce that he was voting for Hillary! if Trump gets the nomination? Perhaps JEB! does want Hillary! most of all.

MayBee said...

The ad about what Donald Trump says about women doesn't move me at all. He says things about men, too. I don't find either presidential, but am I supposed to think we women can't be criticized in equal measure to men?

rcocean said...

"Among the recruits under discussion are Tom Coburn, a former Oklahoma senator who has told associates that he would be open to running, and Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who was suggested as a possible third-party candidate at a meeting of conservative activists on Thursday in Washington."

Coburn and Perry should just be honest and start a "Republicans for Hillary" committee.

Beldar said...

Perry is campaigning in Arizona with Cruz. He certainly paid attention to the just concluded GOP primary in which Ted Cruz doubled Texas previous turnout record (which he had himself set in 2012), drawing over a million primary votes from Texans who are well pleased with how Cruz has done since we sent him to Washington.

So that ain't gonna be happening.

Fabi said...

The only way for the GOPe to stop Trump is to come out with ads that claim he has their complete support. Say that they've adopted his attitude and positions. The presented ad will have the same result as the idiot highway protestors: increased votes for DJT. That and continuously emptied coffers for the establishment. Ha!

chickelit said...

Regarding Trump's alleged sexism...recall that first FOX debate co-anchored by Megyn Kelly. I recall that Trump appeared taken aback when Kelly charged him with calling women pigs. Trump attempted to be humorous - saying "I only meant Rosie O'Donnell." But of course Kelly's line of reasoning (the trial attorney in her) was that Trump was capable of calling any woman a pig. I don't think that one flies. To get at the question from Trump's point of view, you'd really have to delve into the sordid back and forth between Trump and Rosie O'Donnell. Who insulted whom first at the very beginning? I'm not prepared to do that. I do know from years of casual observation that O'Donnell has a certain porcine character. I bet many men would concur. I'd also bet that many women bought Kelly's argument that Trump is able and willing to call any woman a pig. Thus we have a fine example of her journalistic advocacy.

Fabi said...

I'm not sure that I'd jump up and down about a sitting US Senator receiving only 44% of the vote in his home state, Beldar, but I'm pleased that he won.

Ann Althouse said...

I assume a comparable ad could be made with men quoting thngs Trump has said about men. There's an argument that the anti-woman statements are evidence of equal treatment, and that those who are trying to use those statements to attack Trump are themselves stereotyping women as fragile and unsuited to the arena of politics.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Is it just me, or does that add spell Quotes wrong?!?

Unknown said...

I watched the Phoenix and NYC protests today. I also watched the Phoenix and Tucson rallies. Both sides of the power structure are afraid, very afraid. They should be. I've been following politics for all of my life and I've not seen such disharmony. Who is funding the demonstrators? It's not Trump that makes me like him, it's his enemies exposing themselves for what they are that make me like him. Like it or not, Trump is a real thing.

traditionalguy said...
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traditionalguy said...

Hillary proves women are perfectly suited to the arena of Criminal Politics.

Fabi said...

Trump is absolutely an equal opportunity jerk! Can't take that away from the guy. lol

Anonymous said...

That ad made me laugh! Ugly women against Trump!

Sydney said...

@Ignorance is Bliss- Yes! I found te misspelling jarring and distracting.

pm317 said...

That ad was silly. The vague and nebulous war on women was so much better. When they start quoting actual snippets, it makes you want to ask, what was the context.

mccullough said...

The GOP, like the Dems, has ignored blue collar folks for 25 years. Obama picked Biden to smooth over the bitter clingers comments and to shore up some support among blue collar whites that supported Hillary in the 2008 primaries. Hillary is getting almost no support among blue collar whites this time. Many are voting for Trump and some for Sanders.

There are more blue collar whites in the GOP but they never really fit in there. Taxes cuts fo my he rich that pay for themselves and generate benefits that trickle down to the rest was never an appeal to them. They are law and order types who believe in working for a living and being patriotic. They are nationalists, unlike the Dems and GOP who are globalists. These silly ads aren't going to sway them. It's just more PC bullshit from the elite. Nationalism v globalism; elites v workers; law and order v social decay. These are the big ticket themes. Whining about misogyny is a Dem elite tactic. Not going to sway many GOP primary voters. If you're in to PC bullshit like this, you are already a progressive.

Levi Starks said...

Nothing scares the 2 party system more than the credible threat that it might actually become a 2 party system.

Lewis Wetzel said...

The ability of GOP leadership to choose winners in presidential elections is not without question.

Lewis Wetzel said...

This is pathetic. They are bringing out back benchers? They are going to need a rock star to knock out Trump, and if they don't knock him out, they might as well vote for Hillary themselves.

John Henry said...

It's not Trump that makes me like him, it's his enemies exposing themselves for what they are that make me like him. Like it or not, Trump is a real thing.


Amen, Steven and damn well told.

There is very little I like about Trump other than the fact that he is promising to burn that sucker to the ground. He is promising to destroy both parties.

I know, promises are cheap and he may not keep them.

Nobody else will even hint that they might tear it all down.

Every day I am more impressed by Donald's enemies.

Amanda and others can sit here and quote polls all day long showing that Hilary beats him. If that is really true, why are the Demmies so scared shitless of him?

It also depends on Hilary being the candidate. That is not a sure thing yet. She does not look healthy. She has already had one stroke. She may be under indictment in a month or three. She has to get the nomination and last til November.

John Henry

Jimmy said...

In line today at Whole Foods. Lady in in front of line was upset and vocal about her EBT card not working. I casually mentioned that it was Bush's fault. She smirked. Then I said after Trump is elected, everyone on EBT will be selectively starved to death.
It took about 10 seconds for everyone in line at both registers to have a collective melt down about Trump. Honestly, it was lovely to watch. In better times, those folks would have saved all that hatred for someone worthy of it, you know, like ISIS. Trust me when I say that Hillary and Bernie supporters I've encountered think the Donald is Satan and more dangerous than global warming.
Trump may not become president, but he is certainly pissing off all the right people now.

The GOPe and the Dems just can't understand what is happening. All the old tactics don't work, in fact, they just increase support for Trump. It might literally drive some of these hothouse flowers insane.

I used to enjoy reactions to me bringing up the name of Bush in a conversation. The reaction to Trump is much more enjoyable.

John Henry said...

Jim,

I love your story about the EBT card

I just spent 3 days in Juarez leading a SMED workshop. My wife and daughter each told me about a dozen times "WHATEVER YOU DO DON"T MENTION DONALD TRUMP!!!"

They both know that I am something of a fan and am also fairly outspoken.

I am also not stupid and did not mention him.

Speaking of a wall, anyone ever seen the wall between El Paso and Juarez? I was staying in El Paso and a company shuttle would take us back and forth. We just barely paused crossing into Mexico. Crossing back took an hour each night. Not for checking ID, that took about a minute. Once we got to the booth. It was a long slow line.

John Henry

cubanbob said...

Jim you should have told that woman that the Horrible Don will make her get a job to support her food habit.

Big Mike said...

I'll second what Stephen wrote, and add that "We love him for the enemies he has made" was a successful slogan for Grover Cleveland.

cubanbob said...

So I'm supposed to vote for a woman who chief success was tamping down bimbo eruptions and is still married to a rapist?

Funny now that Trump is the Emmanuel Goldstein where is all of the outrage about money in politics and the PACs and Citizens United?

Jimmy said...

I have an Israeli friend, well actually 4, who are in the process of becoming American Citizens. It is expensive and time consuming to do it legally.
They don't understand American elections. What does Trump stand for, why is no one debating policy? I tell them its an American thing. Been happening well before Lincoln was portrayed as a monkey and an illiterate fool, not just by the NYT but by his own cabinet.

Trump may be, if elected, our best or worst president. But right now he is a bomb thrower. And man is he good at it. Not to many misses, lots and lots of direct hits.
It is a revolution, and hopefully his actions, directly or indirectly,will end the careers of lots of the establishment and the bureaucracy.

Both Trump and Cruz are aiming for nothing less than a complete change in how things are done in DC. Whether or not they can actually do it, who knows. but at this point being polite and such is a waste of time. More bombs please.

Hillary is a rather sad and unhealthy old women. Bernie, well, he doesn't have a clue. Too simple to be evil, and just smart enough to get into real trouble. But both of them depend entirely on the Government becoming much much larger.

mikeyes said...

GOP rules already disqualify any delegate who supported a non GOP candidate without permission from the party. Just change Rule 40 to say the same thing about a nominee for President or Vice President. Problem solved.

Bay Area Guy said...

The GOP "Stop Trump" crowd is a bit clueless and far too late. They should be embracing Trump, if the primary objective is to defeat Hillary.

Do it for Scalia!

Lewis Wetzel said...


Jim said . . .
Trump may be, if elected, our best or worst president. But right now he is a bomb thrower. And man is he good at it. Not to many misses, lots and lots of direct hits.

Yep. Trump is the revolutionary in this election. What the Hell would the socialist Sanders do if he got elected? Increase the EITC by 10%? Increase the marginal tax rate on incomes above $500k by 3%? Increase the capital gains tax a little? End the carried interest deduction? Increase the time it takes for a business to depreciate capital equipment?
And that is only if the Dems pick up 14 seats November, and even then only if Schumer cooperates.

Etienne said...
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Douglas B. Levene said...

I don't know what will persuade uncommitted voters not to vote for little Donny. I'm glad they are trying although it's not going to make a difference. If Donny has a plurality but not a majority, and the convention nominates someone else, his delegates are going to riot and he'll run third party. If Donny gets a majority and is nominated, the #NeverTrump forces are unlikely to riot but they will walk out. In either case, the GOP is toast, at least at the presidential level and maybe down ticket, too. I do not see any way this can be avoided, and as a #NeverTrump guy, I am OK with these alternatives.

Lewis Wetzel said...

"coupe said...
The interesting thing about the video with the lesbians in it (oh, well I assume they are lesbians), was that they were all so unattractive."
Oh, they might be not be lesbians. They might work at the post office.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

Where did "unleashing" come from? Ctrl+F shows it not present anywhere in the linked NYT article, which has instead "...preparing a 100 day campaign...".

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

TRUE: The contortions of so many GOP Political Elite to avoid support of Cruz, a principled limited government guy with a large popular following, besmirches themselves and beclowns the Party.

Cruz, for his part, would do well to show some space between himself and "Evangelicals." The typical working, tax paying voter is more Libertarian (fiscally conservative, socially liberal) than "Religious Right Wing."

Anonymous said...

At the rate this is going, the stop-Trump effort is going to wake up November 9 to the reality that the old rules no longer apply. The fact that Trump is not only still in this race but the GOP front-runner as we head into Spring should already be a 5-alarm warning that defeating him is going to take a new approach - and even then I'm not sure it would work because the basic anti-status quo appeal of his candidacy has no other outlet among the remaining major party choices. I still think a candidacy like Trump's is a long shot in the general election...unless events work in his favor. A major terrorist attack or high-profile wrong-doing by illegals (see Framingham) are both highly unpredictable events that could put him over the top.

While I sympathize with the stop Trump campaign, this is now the third primary cycle in a row in which the Republican base is likely to end up with a candidate it detests heading the ticket because there were too many candidates splitting the vote and as usual, the base didn't unite behind a single candidate. Waiting for the second coming of Reagan, this is a party that has utterly failed to find a successor to George W. Bush despite having now been on the clock for that task for some 16 years.

gadfly said...

rcocean said...

Trump has no record of sexual discrimination in his companies that I'm aware of. He also has good relationships with his wife(s) and kids.

Lots of stuff out there to read. Barbara Res who was in charge of building Trump Towers said in a NY Post piece:

By the late 1980s, Trump had taken to decorating his office with beautiful women. The receptionists and his assistants looked like models. When he had a meeting, only the most beautiful secretaries were allowed to greet the guests or serve coffee. Does that make him a sexist? He certainly hired not-so-attractive females, he just hid them when people were around. Trump was, again, only giving the people what they want. Being gorgeous was just a BFOQ (bona fide occupational qualification) for working the front office.

He leered at attractive female employees. Yet I would call him more of a womanizer than a sexist, sort of like Bill Clinton. Trump says he loves women and I suspect he does, in his own way. But his public denigration of women and his association with objectifying activities like Playboy and pageants have the overall effect of blunting any assertion that he is not sexist, regardless of how many women Trump has hired.

As for his wives, Trump cheated on all of them and when he has appeared in public with them, they do not speak. That has made them decorations for the glory of Donald. It cannot be easy to live with a narcissist.

Vanity Fair says Donald's formal agreement with Ivana included $200,000 a year and $250,000 for each child - now that is true love.

traditionalguy said...

US NOX must be a brand for Noxious US advertizing.

But yon Never Trump crowd need not worry Trump. He has their solemn pledge promised they will support the Nominee like he was required to pledge and promise to them back when Fox was gunning for him on day one.

And they are honorable men.

pellehDin said...

They can always use the same tactics they tried before: occupy the Statehouse. Or rather, mobilize children and union workers to do it for them.

HT said...

Well as Luntz says himself in the piece, the ads will turn off general election independents so maybe they're being run with an eye towards them, sowing the seeds now. In which case, they are not irrelevant.

tim in vermont said...

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to

HT said...

"Men are better than women, but a good woman is better than 10 men." DT

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/15/us/trump-barbara-res-amanpour/

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

I rarely watch videos, here or elsewhere; sorry. But I do think it's funny that I had to do a triple take at the woman in the screenshot above. She looks like a man in a wig.

Being gorgeous was just a BFOQ (bona fide occupational qualification) for working the front office.

Are there ugly, overweight women working in any corporate front offices in New York?

What about the bro culture in tech?

Anyone who works in marketing and sales on a national level knows there is a huge subculture of what my husband and I jokingly call 'hookers and blow.' Afterparties during conferences almost always feature scantily clad 'hostesses' walking around handing out swag and drinks and flirting. There are hotel rooms upstairs; or sometimes these parties are on someone's yacht which has plenty of private nooks. Getting dudes drunk, high and laid results in deals closed and money made. Women endure these parties too; my husband is usually at a table with them and the other family men waiting until they can politely leave. Is this kind of thing sexist? Is it Trump's fault? Or is it just corporate culture?

Paco Wové said...

"I had to do a triple take at the woman ... She looks like a man in a wig"

Exactly my thoughts. Or a guy undergoing a sex change.

Anonymous said...

@Misplaced Pants

That woman in the screenshot is particularly bad-looking (cheesy hair-extensions for starters), but all the women in the ad above are homely. Even the one young woman has enormous thighs. I don't get it: People like to watch attractive people and don't like to watch unattractive people. Even if you want to pitch to older women, you can find good-looking older models and actresses. Is this ad shooting for the Hillary single-woman demographic? That demographic is already locked in for Hillary.

Lucien said...

I was taken aback by the fact that there were not more Asian and Latina speakers in the ad, and no Native Americans or Pacific Islanders. Then I realized that they all seemed to be cis-gendered!

I was so traumatized by this that I retreated to my safe space.

Daniel Jackson said...

What's the problem? I believe it was our current president who referred to the running mate of his opponent as a pig: "you can put lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig."

The American political scene has become a circus of bad losers.

virgil xenophon said...

I Have Misplaced My Pants, above is on to something. OF COURSE Trumps "persona" is derived from nothing but "corporate culture." But of course the MSM has to remain silent on this aspect of "The Donald's" personality and cultural attitudes else someone holds a mirror up to their own corporate faces. Hearing them opine about his "cultural vulgarity" without mentioning a syllable about modern American corporate culture as a breeding ground for such attitudes (ever been to a major auto show where scantily clad young "debutantes" are used to showcase each auto?) is the height of hypocrisy. For them even to complain about such things as if to intimate that they, themselves (and by extension the rest of society--especially all the "right people"--read "the left.") are all full of the very intellectual "gravitas" and multicultural "worldliness" that Trump supposedly lacks and ethically pure as the driven snow to boot takes a Lake Superior-sized vessel full of unmitigated gall..

virgil xenophon said...

"That demographic is already locked in for Hillary."


blogstupidgirl ain't so stupid..

tim in vermont said...

I worked in a building that also housed offices for a small cable channel. It was always a nice ride when the elevator stopped at their floor. Don't look for the networks to investigate that aspect.

Guildofcannonballs said...

"Feminism was established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream." -- Rush Limbaugh
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rushlimbau131573.html

bgates said...

I assume a comparable ad could be made with men quoting things Trump has said about men.

Trump has said those things about women in the same sense that Obama has called Muslims the "common enemy" who he intends to "degrade and destroy".

tim in vermont said...

Bgates, I saw what you did there.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

McArthur summed up the history of military failure in two words: "Too late."

Fabi said...

I watched the ad again this morning and am still confused about its intended audience. These types of out-of-context emotional appeals work on the hysterical and incoherent women who are already going to vote for the proprietress of the "nuts and sluts" defense. Maybe I only hang around alpha women (Thank Goddess!) but I can't see this tripe being effective. Short of that, I can't see this moving a woman to hop on for Cruz Control. Let the GOPe pussies continue to waste their donors' money -- it's a win-win.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

If "Trump hires attractive young women for his public-facing offices" is supposed to demonstrate sexism then DC is in a lot of trouble. Anyone been there lately? High heels and tight skirts all around.
Shut down DC; do it for feminism!

rcocean said...

Gadfly: whoever wrote that article needs to get out my more. In my experience, the number of good looking employees rises exponentially the closer you get to the Corporate HQ and the CEO.

Unknown said...

Gahrie is onto something interesting. Makes me convinced that the plan is a contested convention being thrown to Ryan.

Sammy Finkelman said...

What they should do is create a web site, and advertise, as to what the polls are. They shouldn't make too many arguments about the candidates - their target audience is people who already don't like Trump and don't like Cruz. (If they liked Cruz, or thought the people did, they would just go out and endorse him.)

I think the people behind this actually are in favor of Cruz, or they've bought his argument that he is the only viable alternative to Trump.

Sammy Finkelman said...

This is going to be what their ads say in Wisconsin: Trump is bad, for such and such a stupid and limited reason - you know they won't really make the case against Trump.

If they wnat to make the case against Trump, just run footage of Bernie Sanders lambasting Trump, leaving out any reasons that are not applicable to Republican voters, and saying you are not oincluding everything.

And then the ads will say: IF YOU DON'T LIKE DONALD TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT, YOU HAVE NO CHOICE YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO VOTE FOR TED CRUZ!! TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT!. CRUZ IS YOUR ONLY CHOICE.

I'm sure that will go over very well with the electorate. *sarc

OK, the ads won't read quite that way, but that's the message they will try to get across.

What they should do is advise people how to vote strategically to get a deadlocked, or open, convention, even in areas the ads are not running. (They may run on the Internet, or YOUTUBE, and the ads shhuld encourage copying.)

The ads should be full of information as to how delegates are apportioned, and where Kasich can get them and where he cannot. They could also mention the possibility of Paul Ryan getting the nomination, in spite of himself, just like he became Speaker of the House in spite of himself (but only lightly, and throwing in some other names too, but not Romney.)

Anything else, they are mostly wasting their money.

eddie willers said...

And they are honorable men

As was Brutus.

tim in vermont said...

Is that George Will in drag?

laura said...

couldn't watch it all, but my reaction leaned more towards the women having absolutely no sense of humor rather than anger at trump.