The problem that Rand Paul has is that a flat tax isn't going to solve anything. For my money he's the most consistent and admirably principled candidate running this year but his signature proposal isn't going to fix what's wrong with our economy or our politics. My worry early on was that the man was going to impress enough to become President and then the only thing he was going to be able to get done was the one thing that was likely to make things even worse than they are now.
Hope trump pulls it off. Hope the GOP voters hold firm. Rubio can fuck himself... His tax plan is catered to the ultra rich by getting rid of taxes on capital gains and dividends... While we working normal folks still pay high ordinary rates based on our ordinary income.
looking like cruz is taking iowa edit - fox just called it for cruz rubio almost beat out trump for 2nd
Evangelicals are still strong in Iowa and they had nobody but Cruz to vote for unless they were willing to make a protest vote for Huckabee or Paul. I'm shocked that Trump actually got 25% of the vote in Iowa. That's a huge number for a guy from the northeast who isn't believably religious or an orthodox conservative by GOP standards.
didn't help that Trump screwed up the Bible quote AND not show up for the last debate. I guess he thought the deal was sealed...
Nice to see Trump lose but unfortunate to see Cruz win. Too bad sweet Jesus loving Rubio is right behind them. It is like Brady, Bellichick and Kraft racing to be the nominee. Ugh.
I still think it was a big deal for him. He played everything wrong in the week leading up to the debate and he's still standing in second place. He brought voters out to the caucuses that would not have showed up otherwise. Let's see what New Hampshire brings. I do think he has to win New Hampshire to remain a major factor as a GOP candidate. The folks in SC will like him less than the folks in Iowa did.
It surprises me that Cruz's opponents only talk about his shitty personality. But too many GOP voters actually like people with shitty personalities. They'd be better off attacking his VAT tax proposal as a Trojan Horse. And inflationary.
GOP voters don't like shitty personalities at all. They're more likely to vote for a non-controversial candidate in terms of attitude than Democrats are. That's why we got Bob Dole, G.W Bush, John McCain (not a shitty personality just volatile) and Mitt Romney in a row. The GOP electorate this year includes a lot of people who would not normally vote, disaffected lower class white voters who generally sit at home but they've had enough of getting screwed by the changing economy, loss of manufacturing jobs, continual warfare, bridges falling into rivers, etc. Trump and Cruz are speaking to those voters more effectively than the other GOP candidates. The general abrasiveness of their approaches matches the anger that the disenfranchised white voter class feels at this point. I still think the GOP establishment is going to steal the primaries at the convention, due mainly to the fact that Trump and Cruz will both have enough delegates to get to the convention but not enough to seal the deal and somebody else will swoop in as the brokered candidate at the end. Hillary better get off her ass and really start speaking to the disenfranchised middle American vote or she's going to have a big surprise coming her way, first in the primaries where Sanders is talking to those people directly but not yet very effectively and then in the general.
