National Politics - 2016

Marco Rubio Floated The "Ben Carson Quit" Story, Too?

TED CRUZ BACKERS POINT THE FINGER OF BLAME AT ESTABLISHMENT “REPUBLICAN … ” BUT DO THEIR ALLEGATIONS HOLD UP? It looks like the presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz wasn’t the only organization up to no good in early-voting Iowa this week.  Speculation is now swirling that third-place finisher…

TED CRUZ BACKERS POINT THE FINGER OF BLAME AT ESTABLISHMENT “REPUBLICAN … ” BUT DO THEIR ALLEGATIONS HOLD UP?

It looks like the presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz wasn’t the only organization up to no good in early-voting Iowa this week.  Speculation is now swirling that third-place finisher U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida was also involved in spreading false “reports” that fourth-place finisher Ben Carson was dropping out of the race.

These reports are believed to have artificially suppressed Carson’s support and boosted the performance of his rivals – notably the evangelical voters being courted by Cruz and Rubio.

“Conservative” radio host Rush Limbaugh even advanced the theory of Rubio’s involvement, saying Cruz was being unfairly attacked over the Carson flap because he was faring better than Rubio in the polls.

“Cruz is the frontrunner!” Limbaugh said. “They don’t think they can go after him on the issues.”

Interesting …

We’re not discounting Rubio’s involvement in pushing the false “Carson is quitting” narrative.  It seems eminently plausible to us – and there’s some evidence to suggest his supporters were involved.  But as much as we can’t stand this Obamatrade-loving establishment politician, there’s very little to suggest Rubio’s operatives were deeply involved in spreading of this rumor – whereas the evidence against Cruz’s campaign is incontrovertible.  In fact Cruz has already apologized to Carson for his campaign’s role in the dust-up – although he did attempt to (disingenuously, in our book) pin the blame for the whole thing exclusively on the media – namely CNN.

CNN obviously isn’t innocent here. Just as the Iowa caucuses were getting underway, the network sent out a tweet that seemed to imply Carson might be exiting the race …

Because candidates never “quit” anymore – they “suspend their campaigns” – it’s understandable how many would (and did) view this as a sign Carson was in fact bugging out.

But Cruz backers couldn’t leave well enough alone …

To those reports, Cruz’s team added – in an official email, no less – what appears to be a completely fabricated claim that Carson was planning on “making a big announcement next week.” The email further instructed recipients to “inform any Carson caucus goers of this news and urge them to caucus for Ted Cruz.”

One Cruz precinct captain did just that … only to be rebuked by Carson’s wife, Candy Carson.

Cruz’s national co-chairman U.S. Rep. Steve King took the story a step further – tweeting that “Carson looks like he is out” and that “Iowans need to know before they vote. Most will go to Cruz, I hope.”

And while there is some evidence of Rubio backers pushing the narrative …

Conrad-Close-Tweet-1

… those instances appear to be isolated, not part of a strategic push originating at the highest levels of the campaign.

Look, we like Cruz. Always have. Had it not been our intention to drive a stake completely through the heart of the utterly worthless “Republican” party, we probably would have endorsed his candidacy instead of backing the populist crusade of Donald Trump.

Oh, and we’ve long-believed Carson – whose campaign has been in meltdown mode in recent weeks – should drop out of the race.

But Carson’s lack of long-term viability is precisely what made this rumor so plausible …

Bottom line? Cruz can explain away his campaign’s behavior … and pin the blame for it on the press and on rival candidates … but at the end of the day such deflection doesn’t sit well with us. This is a guy who has put his Christian faith front-and-center as part of an effort to court evangelical voters. In other words, he ought to be holding himself to a much higher standard of conduct.

UPDATE: To say Cruz supporters here in early-voting South Carolina are unhappy with criticism of their candidate on this subject, yeah … that would be an understatement.

cruz cheated

***

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36 comments

enpassant February 4, 2016 at 1:33 pm

Hopefully the international community is witnessing how Democracy is really practice here.

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9" February 4, 2016 at 1:36 pm

Rubio’s too much like a male cheerleader to be president..

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Rocky Verdad February 4, 2016 at 3:43 pm

In high heeled boots.

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9" February 4, 2016 at 4:08 pm

the whole damn world’s gone gay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPR108kwNo4

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shifty henry February 4, 2016 at 4:11 pm

Maybe he can buy Paul’s plaid shirts …

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9" February 4, 2016 at 5:42 pm

Paul is so weird.Reminds too much of Johnny Rotten to begin thinking about his politics..

shifty henry February 4, 2016 at 4:18 pm

One day Rubio was home alone when the lady next door came over. “Marco, she said, would you please do me a favor and take off my blouse for me?” Marco’s face got a little red but he obliged her. “Now Marco would you please take off my skirt for me?” Once again Marco
obliged her. “Ok, Marco take off my panties and bra.”

Marco took the last two items off and tossed them aside his face now burning. She looked Marco in the eyes and said, “And don’t let me catch you wearing my clothes again!”

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Rah Rah February 4, 2016 at 6:09 pm

GWB was a male cheerleader, so you’re absolutely right!

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9" February 4, 2016 at 6:44 pm

forgot.he kinda messed up,didn’t he

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Curt February 4, 2016 at 1:47 pm

Maybe Trump was right about hispanics being crooks. At least as to the ones running in the Republican primary.

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Bad Apples February 4, 2016 at 2:43 pm

Just immigrant and anchor baby hispanics.

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Curt February 4, 2016 at 1:48 pm

Ok, Cruz is a lying, cheating Canadian born POS.

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Sic Semper Tyrannis February 4, 2016 at 1:50 pm

Yesterday on abc a few posters were talking about a Rubio/Haley ticket. Thought about you Thumper.

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flip February 4, 2016 at 2:14 pm

God help us all.

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Bible Thumper February 4, 2016 at 7:46 pm

How nice.

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Jackie Chiles February 4, 2016 at 1:54 pm

Saying Carson is quitting seems to be like saying night is coming. It’s common sense.

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TroubleBaby February 4, 2016 at 1:58 pm

The timing is germane though…

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The Colonel (R) February 4, 2016 at 2:26 pm

Oh, so Carson is like the “dark” hunh, yeah right, a darky hunh? You have a problem with darkies in power hunh you racist cracker motherf… – oh, wait, what oh, never mind…

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Good Dr February 4, 2016 at 6:10 pm

Carson said racism is over.

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CorruptionInColumbia February 4, 2016 at 7:56 pm

Gotta give Carson credit in that he just blames a dishonest honkster instead of playing the “racism card”.

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Ben Carson Unplugged February 4, 2016 at 10:09 pm

Shut the fuck up, you racist redneck bitch before I lobotomize you stupid ass!

Ben Carson Unplugged February 4, 2016 at 10:11 pm

And I won’t use no anesthesia, either. Punk ass bitch Cocksucker!

Susan Wood February 5, 2016 at 7:09 pm

This has nothing to do with race, and you know that. It’s about competence, getting all the facts, and considering what you would do if you were a competent campaign staffer.

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The Colonel (R) February 5, 2016 at 8:57 pm

See, that was what passes for humor in my strange little mind. I was just playing off the “night is coming” comment and want really commenting on anything, think Rosanne Rosanna Danna. Just screwing around here, nothing to see, keep moving…

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shifty henry February 5, 2016 at 10:00 pm

Yep, it’s always something.

Rubes February 4, 2016 at 2:42 pm

How stupid are the people voting in GOP primaries?
This is hilarious!

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Fat retards holding signs February 4, 2016 at 3:05 pm

I’d say the gentleman holding the Rubio sign is a good representation of Rubio supporters.

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erneba February 4, 2016 at 3:06 pm

All this is interesting and people should try to avoid mistakes, but I bet it won’t be the last controversy in this campaign.
Of course, all the competitors are anxious to get a leg up over the competition, but you you should be held accountable if your enthusiasm leads to mistakes. The Republican party in this case must be self-regulating since no state or Federal laws are applicable.

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RogueElephant February 4, 2016 at 5:54 pm

WOW. It’s beginning to look like there is only one way to Make America Great Again.

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CorruptionInColumbia February 4, 2016 at 7:57 pm

Yep!

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CorruptioninColumbia February 4, 2016 at 10:06 pm

Nope!

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Soft Sigh from Hell February 4, 2016 at 7:51 pm

SC would be more Rube-io Country

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Susan Wood February 5, 2016 at 7:11 pm

And what has Rubio accomplished? NOTHING. Is that who you want to be the boss of your nation? Would you work for someone who had done nothing?

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Susan Wood February 5, 2016 at 7:08 pm

Once again, the reporters on this article are totally ignoring the fact that Carson lost major financial support from Iowa and NH on Sunday/Monday. If you add this to Carson’s own statements about going home “for a change of clothes,” an irrational excuse, any good campaign staffer could infer that Carson was getting out. Let’s get all the facts out to the public, please.

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Hank February 6, 2016 at 2:22 pm

Bull shit!!! Cruz and Rubio knew exactly what they were doing. They were trying to steal Carson votes and they were willing to lie and cheat to get them. This is an early revelation of their Character. This is why we don’t want either of those lying cheating assholes near the White House.

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