The Bare Naked Truth about the GOP and 2016

From J. Robert Smith:

Here’s the dilemma — and it’s a big one. Electing a Democrat president in 2016 would be bad for the nation, very bad. Conservatives agree. Establishment Republicans do too, in important regards, at least. To avert further troubles domestically and dangers overseas, the Mayflower truck that unloads stuff at the White House in January 2017 needs to be for a Republican.

But to get a Republican in the White House, the GOP needs to nominate a candidate favored by the grassroots. Too narrow? Well, trends in survey research show that anti-establishment sentiment is intense among GOP grassroots voters — and not going away. Very simply — and this is the hard reality — the grassroots — or a big portion — aren’t going to turn out to vote for an establishment Republican (short of an existing or looming crisis).

This from Craig Robinson, who runs TheIowaRepublican.com. From a report in the Centre Daily Times dated September 1:

Robinson found “the establishment is toxic,” and noted that in the Register poll, candidates who have never held public office, Trump, Carson and former business executive Carly Fiorina, totaled 46 percent. Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and John Kasich, the governor of Ohio, totaled 14 percent.

Robinson pointed out that Iowa is a caucus state, meaning that turnout operations are critical. Organization is a big part of the Iowa ball game, and that gives Jeb or others a chance to upset expectations. Or not. Trump, most notably, is working there.

Per CNN, Trump is “organizing, organizing, organizing.” From an August 31 CNN report:

One sign the campaign is serious about their strategy in the Hawkeye State: The Trump campaign hired top Iowa strategist Sam Clovis, once proclaimed as a “conservative icon,” away from the Perry campaign. Clovis, who was Rick Perry’s Iowa co-chairman, will serve as national co-chair and senior policy adviser.

Trump or no Trump, the grassroots rebellion isn’t disappearing. The intensity of distrust for the establishment by the grassroots makes bridging differences improbable — that is, in ways beneficial to an establishment nominee.

Read more: American Thinker

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