With his double-digit win in South Carolina, Donald Trump is without a doubt the front-runner for the GOP nomination. When Trump declared his candidacy last year, that statement would have been met with gales of laughter. Now the Republican party is facing the grim prospect of a walking comb-over becoming its standard bearer for the highest office in the land.
The departure of Jeb Bush, who began the campaign as if he were an heir apparent and not a candidate, has little immediate impact on the race. Punditry has declared that this is now a three-man race, based on the one-two-three finish in South Carolina: Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. Despite giving an imitation of a mechanical wonder just two weeks ago in New Hampshire, Rubio is now the repository of the party establishment’s hopes of stopping Trump and Cruz.
The problem is that Rubio hasn’t proven that he can win an election. His strategy was to finish third in Iowa, second in New Hampshire and first in South Carolina. He got Iowa right, but finished fifth in New Hampshire and second or third in South Carolina. How adding the pitiful handful of Bush supporters will give him 20 more points at the polls to vault ahead of Trump is impossible to see.
That leaves Cruz and Trump. Cruz has been running a decent campaign, but it’s a bad sign for him that Trump won the evangelical vote in South Carolina. The religious right is supposed to be the core of Cruz’s base. If Cruz’s support among them is wobbly, he doesn’t have much of a chance of winning the nomination.
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On the other hand, everything is looking up for Trump. A three-man race means that Cruz and Rubio can split the non-Trump vote in upcoming primaries, which are in states where Trump is leading in polls in any case.
Believe it or not, that may be the best possible outcome for the LGBT community. Cruz and Rubio have established themselves as homophobes on principle. Trump is all about opportunism. He had pandered mightily to the antigay right in the campaign. What he believes in, besides winning at any cost, is another question. A President Rubio or a President Cruz would be reflexively homophobic. There’s enough uncertainty about Trump that you can’t be quite as sure that he would match the others.
That’s cold comfort, of course. The GOP race is still the equivalent of a choice among Dengue fever, Ziki virus and malaria. None of them is what you’d wish for. It’s all disastrous and potentially fatal to the body politic. But that’s the situation that the Republican party finds itself in. Until the fever breaks and the party comes to its senses, it’s chances of winning national elections will remain slim. Let’s hope that the rest of us don’t get sick in the meantime.
Ole Olsen
the worst joke ive heard this century
Brian Birch
if he is the best you have to offer this country is doomed if he gets in office
Phillip Bernal
Only Log cabin self loathing fucks would “hope” for this fucktard!
Brandon Long
Gay marriage is not the biggest thing I am worried about with Trump… when he triggers World War 3 because of his slippery tongue, we will have insurmountable things to worry about. He will have Mexico below us listed as our enemy, he isn’t even wanted to be allowed to enter England, the Pope doesn’t like him… and the rest of the world and half of the USA (or more) loathes him. A dictator is the last thing we need.
Darren Bowers
He’s a bloody ARSEHOLE & I’m being polite there.
Manny Yoko
/ REALLY ??
jag4313
My partner is Republican and this will be the first year in over 10 years that he will be voting Democrat. He’s not pleased with any of the candidates.
Rico A Saxton
Bob Ashworth
Kasich said he would not reverse gay marriage. He’s probably the best we can hope for.
1EqualityUSA
Just look at the cast of characters the billionaires pushed into the ring. Citizens United backfired onto the GOP political oxen on the Supreme Court. The Republicans are obsolete. They should stay that way for years and years. Cheating will not resuscitate them when their message is in various stages of decomposition. Just like Scalia, we can’t bury them fast enough. The GOP should have a wooden stake driven through its heart and a casket lined with garlic. Enough with these wads.
Dennis Gordon
Very scary
Brad Rowe
Queerty, are you out of your fucking minds?!
Jim Cadena
If the coalition of lgbtq folks, people of color, women and all other progressive folk will only turn up at the polls, we won’t have to settle for this scary, crazy, totally unqualified horror or even a Kasich.
Louie Mars
Vote Democrat.
Chris Heiser
Realitycheck
Hey Queerty, Why no article about Hillary winning Nevada by 6% over Berny ???
A bit of celebration is in order…….
Mandrake
I very much agree with Queerty about Trump, and I think those of you who are aghast that he might become the GOP nominee had better suck it up and deal with the possibility. He is the least anti-gay candidate despite his rhetoric to get votes depending where he’s rallying. He’s also an entertainer so I’m sure he has a good number of gay and lesbian friends… The other homophobic candidates certainly don’t.
He also did not become the international mogul he is by doing it all himself. He obviously knows how to select the best business advisors and committees to help attain his business goals. This encourages me that he’ll do the same for his cabinet and advisory boards. I think he could be the radical political change we need in the WH.
I cannot vote for either Bernie or Hillary. The thought of having her, a pathological liar, and her philandering husband back in the White House nauseates me.
Shaun Throop
STFU with this article.
Kangol
Trump is a global disaster waiting to happen. His tendency towards intemperate remarks, his extreme narcissism and thin-skinnedness, his overt r@cism and misogyny, and his bellicose reactiveness are all VERY severe warning signs. His active pandering to homophobes is also deeply troubling.
Whichever of the two Democrats wins the nomination will get my vote, since they already espouse more liberal versions of any seemingly liberal position he’s broached, and are far more reasonable, thoughtful and psychologically and emotionally mature individuals.
1EqualityUSA
Zika virus = the voting block of the Republicans 18 years from now.
1EqualityUSA
Mandrake, Trump filed for bankruptcy 4 times. Now go back to your comment and read it in a new light.
Hun
Daddy 2016!
https://youtu.be/FUozYwjLxrE
1EqualityUSA
Hun’s mama was bitten by a mosquito.
Kieran
In the run-up to the SC primary, Ted Cruz unleashed a desperate torrent of robo calls against Donald Trump referring to him him as a “New York gay rights advocate”. Cruz was clearly appealing to good old fashioned American homophobia. It’s obvious that the gay community should do all in our power to make sure Trump is the GOP nominee rather than the vicious homophobes in this race like the notorious Canadian anchor baby Ted Cruz or the repugnant “Gang of Eight” anti-gay bigot Marco Amnesty. Ben Carson is dangerous to gays too, but has little support. Kasich unfortunately, has no chance of winning the nomination.
If you don’t want to face the horror of a gay-hating Cruz or Rubio as US President, then you MUST support Donald Trump.
Sameer Nurani
Jimm Wiedeman
Ew. No. No. And no
Larry Richardson
If Trump succeeds THIS NATION IS FINISHED!!!!!
Octavio Roca
Actually, yes. SO VOTE DEMOCRAT!
Bob LaBlah
I am bothered less by Cruz than Rubio. That little idiot is the poster boy for what has happened not only to the GOP but to the country as well. The longer he stays in the race the better he and Cruz are making Trump look. I personally don’t care for Trump as a president but I’ll be damned if I vote for the other two. What Niki Halley saw in him (Rubio) I will never know but at least she didn’t endorse Cruz.
When Bush ran for the nomination back in 2000 the only thing that propelled him was his youth. The GOP was looking for a youthful contender because it was obvious that was what help put Clinton in the white house in 1992. Along with Ross Perot’s third party bid. They (the GOP) were so busy trying to shed their “angry old white guy” image that they wanted anyone who could bring out the vote. They had to know they were getting a fool but went along with him anyway. I praise Trump for mentioning that fact in the Saturday before last debates and the results of that mistake.
If Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders cared about the country both of them would drop out and let Omalley have a chance at it. Hillary is the most uninspiring speaker out of both sides. No one really cares about what she said or wants to say. She is coming off as mechanical and her speech pattern is looking very programmed. Nothing sounds original. And that painted on smile has become sickening to watch. Sanders is sounding more and more like another Lyndon LaRouche which is the last thing that is needed at a time like this.
Realitycheck
@Mandrake: You contradicted yourself twice
A) Trump is a pathological Liar, he changes his position every 5 minutes.
B) You are a Liar and a moron to advertise Trump on a gay web site, infact you are totally out of your dizzy mind!!
Bob LaBlah
@Kieran: “f you don’t want to face the horror of a gay-hating Cruz or Rubio as US President, then you MUST support Donald Trump.”
A high school debate team from the inner city would have Marco Rubio for lunch. His programmed attacks on Obama (whom only his supporters in the crowd cheer about at the debates) and his gay past that he knows there is more to come will soon take their toll. He can’t win with hispanics because they too are talking about his “browning” up his accent when it becomes necessary. He seems to not understand that ONE nuclear submarine packs the firepower of EVERYTHING that was in the U.S. arsenal one hundred years ago. It would take only three Aegis class cruiser to sink the ENTIRE navies of North Korea and Iran. And that just the beginning of taking apart his idiotic attacks on Obama “neglecting the military”. I wonder how he will defend Bush’s inability to get Osama but Obama did. Christy started this little dummy’s cruxifiction and I can’t wait till the next debate for Trump to continue, though at this moment Trump has more to gain with Rubio being in the race because he only takes votes away from Cruz, not Trump.
Trump has become a reality we are all going to have to face. He will be the next president even if he has to run as a third party, which I bet he will and wins. I honestly do think the guy is going to turn things around because he is the ONLY one who speaks out against jobs that pay a living-wage being sent to Mexico where the workers who are in the jobs are still in poverty. What does that tell you as to who is really benefitting from those jobs that are sent down there? Funny how the flow of illegals has increased as well since NAFTA. I have to go with Trump. There is no way I am going democrat unless those two present “leaders” are dumped and some one who is inspiring and can see reality as it is gets offered the chance.
Alistair Wiseman
And the best Democrats can hope for is a serial, pathological liar who may soon be indicted or a senile, old Marxist.
There is a reason Hillary Clinton is the only First Lady in American history to be, on separate occasions, subpoenaed and fingerprinted by the FBI.
martinbakman
The guys seems nutz to me, and I mean that with all due respect.
Cat Hankins
“Best Republican we can hope for” This phrase does not compute.
John Miller
Oh dear god.
Paco
@Hun: who is that Milo guy? He has the type of face you just want to punch for no reason at all.
Realitycheck
@Bob LaBlah:
Bob LaBlah wrote:
>>Trump will be the next president even if he has to run as a third party,
>>which I bet he will and wins.
Actually Bob, that is how Ross Perot killed the republican party and was responsible for Papa Bush not getting re elected.
So it would be great if Trump runs as an independent and break the republican party in two, leaving democratic party with a majority of voters.
AlliterationAddict
@Bob LaBlah: As someone who if actually from Maryland and had eight years of Martin O’Malley, the simple fact is that he shouldn’t be President. There’s definitely a lot of good things that he managed to accomplished, though most of the heavy lifting was done in the General Assembly. I’m not exactly a fan of his replacement, either. But he was a deeply flawed Governor who simply wasn’t qualified to run our State, let alone the entire country.
Mack
@Kieran: Sorry but I choose “NONE OF THE ABOVE” for the Republican Party. None of this are worth a bucket of piss.
Kangol
@Bob LaBlah: The problem is, nobody wanted O’Malley. He was a garden variety liberal who appealed to few Democratic voters. He couldn’t even back up his claims about Baltimore.
If Hillary and Bernie are going to drop out, which ain’t happening, let Elizabeth Warren and Julián Castro take their places.
Bob LaBlah
@Realitycheck: @Kangol: @AlliterationAddict:
I do regret having to say this but Queerty has decided for some reason I am NOT going to be allowed to converse back and forth with you guys. I have tried answering all of you but it won’t let me. There was no profanity nor derogatory comments directed at any of you.
I have a two try limit regardless of topic. After the second try, to hell with it. I am now POSITIVE when it comes to politics on this board I am allowed no more than three comments at best. I have kept track and it is too hard to believe that is a coincidence. Sorry about that. I really do like having an intelligent conversation with people from different parts of the country because it helps to take away the stereotype that gays in certain parts all think the same way. WE DONT, do we?
Maybe next time a software glitch will allow me to respond.
jonjoe
It amuses me no end that most of the gays here have swallowed the anti-Hillary propaganda concorted by the Republicans. From the moment polls showed Hillary beating any Republican candidate, the Republicans have attacked her with Benghazi hearings, “emailgate”, etc. Nevermind that she was cleared of any wrongdoing in the Benghazi affair by a non-partisan panel. Nevermind that Republicans Condeleeza Rice and Colin Powell both used private servers to send and store sensitive information. Because she is a Democrat, she has to be “punished”. Say what you want but the Republicans have succeeded in hoodwinking the country once again. Hillary, like the other politicians are flawed but compared to any Republican candidate for gay people, she is way above them.
Bob LaBlah
@jonjoe: You forgot to add: never mind she wrote a book more or less blaming her boss, Obama. Trust me, that old hillbilly’s stripes haven’t changed at all. She lives physically in New York but Arkansas is still in her heart.
Bob LaBlah
Queerty, I don’t get it. What did I say when I was trying to answer those guys that the comment just blink? As in not post. Well, thanks for letting me respond to jonjoe.
DM Lewis
Sad on that account.
Bob LaBlah
@Realitycheck: By the time Buchannan got thru dissecting Bush before the convention it was obvious Bush was going to need a miracle to win it. Perot was there out of spite with an ax to grind. Bush double crossed him and he vowed to get even. He did, didn’t he?
jbqueernews04
@Mandrake: “Pathological Liar”? – honey, they are ALL lying at this point.
One year into a Trump presidency, and you will be trying desperately to delete these remarks – ain’t gonna work – they’re carved in stone now. And, interestingly, most of his detractors will NOT be gay.
Clinton will be one of the first candidates with a win entirely attributable to the “protest” vote.
Tom'nRichard Wilhein
Actually, I wasn’t hoping for a Republican.
Realitycheck
@Bob LaBlah: Bob, what ever the inner working and reasons I was talking about the end results, if Trump run as independent Trump will take with him a chunk of republican voters,( i am pretty sure he has no appeal with democrats).
And that will translate to an automatic victory for
Democrats, so I am hoping for it as much as I am hoping for Clinton to secure the nomination, because i feel Sanders would not be perceived as a president by the wider american public beyond the hard core democratic platform.
onthemark
Who will be Trump’s VP nominee, I wonder?
All the opponents have pissed him off except maybe, possibly, Kasich.
Nobody discusses this. Trump probably hates thinking about the VP stuff because it reminds him of, you know, his mortality!
1EqualityUSA
This article gives a small glimpse what a Trump presidency would bring to the table.
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/02/21/donald-trump-struggles-to-explain-comments-on-persian-gulf-war-from-2002/?_r=0
CoachS
@onthemark: (In best Trump voice) Vice President? I really really think the best idea is if I clone myself, then I could have Trump times two. It would be YUGE. Imagine that? It would just be fabulous – right? The greatest nation on earth with both President Trump and Vice President Trump. The world wouldn’t know what hit them. It would just be awesome. Next question.
onthemark
@CoachS: LOL.
jimmycurry01
@Phillip Bernal: the article isn’t about the best to hope for as president; it is about the best choice for the GOP nomination. Like it or not, the GOP has to nominate one of these guys. Of the three options, he is indeed the best we can hope for of the given GOP candidates. Are you hoping that Rubio or Cruz gets the nomination, or did you just read the headline and not bother reading the article?
o.codone
@Bob LaBlah: I am not entirely sure but it seems that if you mention the names of another queerty member in the body of your text, it will not post the comment. Take the names out and try again. or try to put in just the persons initials so the guy knows who you’re talking about, just not the name.
o.codone
i just tried 4 times to post a response to Man Drake but nothing worked. IDK what’s going on. This site is not noted for it’s technical sophistication. It’s a shame bc people have a lot to say.
Bob LaBlah
@o.codone: I tried twice to answer you back but can’t . I agree with you and at this point am saying to hell with it. I am sure you get my drift.