Running Up the Score

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Dr. Malcolm Cross

The Republicans and Democrats have each held two contests for the selection of delegates to their national conventions:  Their Iowa caucuses and their New Hampshire primaries.  President Trump has won all four contests.

In Iowa, President Trump won the popular vote with 31,464, with only 426 votes going to former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld.  He thus earned 39 delegates to Weld’s 1.

In New Hampshire, President Trump won the popular vote with 192,696, to Governor Weld’s 13,769, and thereby earned all 22 of New Hampshire’s delegates.

The results of the Republican contests were not considered sufficiently newsworthy for the media to report, yet they are significant.  They reflect one of the President’s greatest assets going into the general election—a united and enthusiastic Republican Party.  Indeed, the turnout for the President in New Hampshire is the greatest earned by any incumbent President since Reagan.

For the Democrats, the story is different.  In Iowa, Senator Bernie Sanders won the popular vote (45,842, or 26.5%) and 12 delegates, while former Mayor Pete Buttigieg came in second in the popular vote (43, 274, or 25.1%), but earned 13 delegates.  Senator Elizabeth Warren came in a distant third, with 34934 votes for 8 delegates.  Former Vice President Joe Biden won 23,630 votes for 6 delegates, and Senator Amy Kobacher won 21,121 votes for 1 delegate. 

In New Hampshire, Sanders won the popular vote over Buttigieg, 76,352 to 72,443.  Each won 9 delegates.  Klobuchar, won 6 delegates with a popular vote of 58,774.  Neither Warren nor Biden, both of whom distantly trailed Klobuchar, won any delegates.

So how did Trump benefit from the results in the Democrats’ Iowa and New Hampshire?

The real news coming out of Iowa was the chaos and confusion into which the Iowa vote counting and reporting sank.  The fiasco, fairly or unfairly, reflected gross disorganization and incompetence within the Democratic Party.  Normally, the more disorganization and incompetence one party shows, the more support the opposition party gains.  The contrast between the Democrats and the Republicans in Iowa will not be lost on the voters, to the advantage of the GOP.

And the fact that Sanders won the popular vote in both Iowa and New Hampshire increases the chances he will emerge as the Democrats’ presidential nominee this summer.  As is customary for winners in the early contests for convention delegates, he may well start gaining momentum as he attracts more supporters and their money.  For example, polling shows he is now favored to win the Texas Democratic primary.   This is especially good news for Trump since of all the Democrats still in the race for their party’s presidential nomination, Sanders is the most radical, and therefore the easiest for the President to defeat this fall.

Indeed, the possibility of Sanders’s nomination, followed by Trump’s subsequent victory, is already leading many Democrats and their supporters in the mainstream media to look hopefully to Senator Klobuchar or even former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg for rescue, the theory being that either candidate is more moderate than Sanders and more experienced and credible than Buttigieg.  But before either Klobuchar or Bloomberg can come to the rescue, they must start winning.  Klobuchar must start doing better than placing third, and Bloomberg, who has not yet been in any contest at all, must start showing his vote-getting capacity.

It’s still too early to be 100% certain about the outcome of our presidential nomination and election contests.  But with a united Republican Party and an economy still going strong, and a Democratic party with the potential to sink into chaos or nominate a radical, the race for the White House is increasingly becoming Trump’s to lose.


Malcolm L. Cross has lived in Stephenville and taught politics and government at Tarleton since 1987. His political and civic activities include service on the Stephenville City Council (2000-2014) and on the Erath County Republican Executive Committee (1990 to the present).  He was Mayor Pro Tem of Stephenville from 2008 to 2014.  He is a member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and the Stephenville Rotary Club, and does volunteer work for the Boy Scouts of America. Views expressed in this column are his and do not reflect those of The Flash as a whole.

12 Comments

  1. https://www.alternet.org/2020/02/trump-spiritual-adviser-tells-followers-to-skip-paying-monthly-electric-bills-so-they-can-send-her-church-more-cash/?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=3758

    Trump ‘spiritual adviser’ tells followers to skip paying monthly electric bills so they can send her church more cash

    Written by Brad Reed / Raw Story February 17, 2020

    Paula White, a prosperity gospel minister who serves as President Donald Trump’s “spiritual adviser,” apparently believes her followers should live in the dark to help keep the lights on at her church.

    A lengthy report on White by Mother Jones reveals that the Trump-loving preacher recently told followers at her Supernatural Ministry School in Miami that they could secure God’s favor by sending her church as much money as possible — even if that meant skipping their monthly electric bills.

    In particular, White said that followers who send their money to Florida Power and Light (FPL) every month instead of giving it to her church are treating the electric company better than they treat God.

    “Instead of writing [that check] to the house of God as I’m instructed to, then what I’m saying spiritually is, ‘FPL, I have now established a spiritual law that put you first,’” White explained to her flock. “So, FPL, save my family, FPL, deliver my drug addicted son. FPL, kill this cancer that doctors say is in my body.”

    White, who opened the National Day of Prayer Event at the White House in 2017 and who has just landed an official job at the White House, has drawn criticism from many Christians over the years, including her business in which she sells believers “resurrection seeds” that will grant them eternal life for the low price of just $1,144.

  2. Dr. Cross Iowa voter calculations weren’t a fiasco not the reporting of it’s tabulation reporting a fiasco. Now if you want to tell me the “media” branded it or labeled it a “fiasco”. Remember the first women that were ALLOWED to vote and did had voter counting in a manual sense and tabulated and reported at even a slower rate than Iowa.

    If it delights you in cherry-picking things from the television that fit you motive to slam democrats then that is a decision of conscience.

    If it’s your decision to support Mary and Fred Trump’s son Donald for re-election that is your right.

    It’s your right to chose to worship or not worship where you want to.

    And it is my right to tell you that I will never support a man that turns his back on the children as Mary and Donald Trump has nor will I abandon the children in trying to make adults that global warming. Mr. Cross I know that global warming is real and advancing at a disturbing rate because men pursuing more have taken the speed limit signs down by removing the EPA regulations. A record stock market is not a reason for me to celebrate. If corporate tax reduced from 37.5% to 15% that is no miracle it is men seeking more and more simply fooled women with lies and controlled thinking and even sparked anger among neighbors.

    I heard people of lower incomes angrily attacking verbally those on food stamps. What they don’t know and won’t hear from those that started the food stamp anger is how the government spent 50% more on Corporate subsidies than they did on food stamps and hospital assistance.

    https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/12/trump-climate-timeline/

    Tell all the many sides you want to from all the manipulative angels you choose to. That’s your right.

    It’s been 54 years since I sat in meetings with Hugh Wolfe and our partner Dr. Nikolas Goddard discussing global warming. Cummings Diesel held worldwide rights to the Filteron that High had signed a license agreement with them. The Filteron had been acquired by Ecological Science Harold Koenig President out of Miami, Florida and Hugh and Dr. Goddard flew to Chicago to meet with scientist from (HUMBLE-EXXONMOBILE) Standard Oil of Indiana. Hugh told me yes we had legal protection for them to look at Dr. Goddard’s science. The Standard Oil of Indiana test determined “they” said the Filteron emission was “Ozone”.and Dr. Goddard went understandably into a battle with Hugh. It was his belief that Hugh took $5.2 mil from Standard Oil. Hugh bragged to me later he salvaged the company my making offshore drilling rig Portable toilets. He also told me back when he was writing letters to the Paper in town he had gotten a College .Doctorate Degree before he got a High School diploma. It was at the time when Granbury High School was about to open their new high school where it is today. Also Hugh gave the land to them for they airport. Hugh and the Leonard Brothers got the inside track on the land around Granbury long before De Cordova dam was public from Senator Lloyd Bentsen. And the Doctorate degree was an honor from the London College of Applied Science for the Filteron which Hugh told me was inside the Space Shuttle. It cleansing of impurities in minute particles was amazing.

    All this hull-a-bloo about Rex Tillerson being Wayne Tracker is true. They were discussing and admitted knowing as early as 1974 of global warming and they knew before because Dr. Goddard told them. I asked Hugh at the Stephenville Dairy Queen once what had to Dr Behrens the Dr. Hugh brought into hlp salvage his Filteron and Hugh said he was with Lone Star Gas.

    Dr. Goddard returned to Hungary with the Filteron in tow. Wayne Tracker and Exxon were discussing Dr. Goddard’s Science. Hugh Wolfe sad the Filteron was on the space shuttle I didn’t. But I know polymer plant emission are out of control.

    And I know these jobs are not needing and harmful indicator. for children on tricycles.But the men of more are having their way as the Trump record DOW rises.

    http://www.ibew.org/media-center/Articles/19Daily/1908/19808_Cracking

    I don’t have to be on Mary and Fred Trump’s son Donnie’s side. They spent $428 million hoping he’d stop lying. Instead of going to elite groomed high schools say like Mueller went to they sent him to a Military School where may wealthy parents sent the boys hoping for some obedience and structure would enter there existence. It didn’t work for their son Donald J.

    There are infants, pre-schoolers, and on up short of college. I’ll be on the young peoples sides. Hugh Wolfe wished he could have back the chance to NOT tell his Father to advertise and he said as much to the Empire-Tribune saying it was a mistake because it enable great assets but it split and brutally damaged his family. And believe me he dearly wished he had that time back before the plane to Chicago to meet with Standard Oil of Indiana. I KNOW! I don’t know anything like I’ve been asked about silver dimes buried in his walls or gold because I wasn’t interested in those things about Hugh.

  3. He Mr. Cross is the man you support latest actions along with his friend in Saudi Arabia.

    https://www.alternet.org/2020/02/un-condemns-shocking-us-backed-saudi-coalition-bombing-that-killed-31-yemeni-civilians/?utm_source=push_notifications

    https://www.alternet.org/2020/02/un-condemns-shocking-us-backed-saudi-coalition-bombing-that-killed-31-yemeni-civilians/?utm_source=push_notifications

    Written by Jake Johnson / Common Dreams February 18, 2020
    The United Nations and humanitarian aid groups condemned the U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition for carrying out airstrikes Saturday that killed 31 civilians and wounded dozens more, including women and children, in Yemen’s Al-Jawf province.

    “We share our deep condolences with the families of those killed and we pray for the speedy recovery of everyone who has been injured in these terrible strikes,” Lise Grande, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said in a statement. “So many people are being killed in Yemen—it’s a tragedy and it’s unjustified. Under international humanitarian law parties which resort to force are obligated to protect civilians.”

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    “Five years into this conflict and belligerents are still failing to uphold this responsibility,” added Grande. “It’s shocking.”

    Xavier Joubert, director of aid group Save the Children Yemen, demanded an investigation into the airstrikes and said nations providing the weaponry for such attacks must share the blame. The United States is the largest supplier of weapons to the Saudi regime, whose years-long assault on Yemen has helped create the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

    “The war shows no signs of slowing down. Yemen is a hellish place for children,” said Joubert. “The reports of today indicate that once more explosive weapons make no distinction between fighters and civilians. This latest attack must be urgently and independently investigated, and perpetrators held to account.”

    “We call on all parties to the conflict to adhere to international laws and standards, and to protect children on the ground,” Joubert continued. “Those who continue to sell arms to the warring parties must realize that by supplying weapons for this war, they contribute to making atrocities like today’s all too common.”

    The Saudi airstrikes came after Houthi rebels claimed to have shot down a Saudi Tornado jet Friday in Al-Jawf province.

    Following its bombing campaign Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition issued a statement acknowledging the “possibility of collateral damage”—a common euphemism for civilian deaths.

    Al Jazeera English

    @AJEnglish
    At least 31 people have been killed in deadly airstrikes in Yemen.

    The Saudi-UAE-led coalition acknowledged the “possibility of collateral damage” to civilians.

    Embedded video
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    8:43 AM – Feb 16, 2020
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    Eighty percent of Yemen’s population—over 24 million people—are in dire need of humanitarian aid and 14 million are on the brink of famine, according to the United Nations.

    In a 2018 report, Save the Children estimated that 85,000 Yemeni children under the age of five have died from malnutrition since 2015 as the Saudi-led coalition has bombed the country—often hitting schools and hospitals—and restricted the flow of food and medicine.

    Last April, as Common Dreams reported, U.S. President Donald Trump vetoed a measure that would have ended American military support for the Saudi-led assault on Yemen.

    Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who helped lead the push for the Yemen War Powers Resolution in the House of Representatives last year, warned at the time that Trump’s veto would risk “the lives of millions of Yemeni civilians to famine, deadly airstrikes, and the war crimes of the Saudi regime.”

    I don’t believe in Henry Kissinger and Jesus wouldn’t either. And China proved
    Kissinger wrong by feeding their billion plus while we didn’t do it with our 250 million of the day.

  4. https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/icymi/icymi-skinny-sardines-pangolins-revenge-mandatory-coal-more?suppress=true&utm_source=greenlife&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

    Illustration by Peter Arkle

    Due to warmer ocean temperatures, Atlantic sardines weigh half as much as they did a decade ago.

    January 2020 was the hottest January on record.

    The temperature in Antarctica hits 69ºF, a record. Scientists who collected the data call it “incredible and abnormal.”

    An iceberg twice the size of Washington, DC, calves off a glacier in Antarctica.

    President Trump’s budget proposal for the coming fiscal year would cut the EPA by 26.5 percent, the Interior Department by 8 percent, energy efficiency research at the Department of Energy by 74 percent, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund by 97 percent.

    Two years after Trump dramatically reduced the sizes of the Grand Staircase—Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments, the Interior Department finalizes plans to open the formerly protected wildlands to grazing, mining, and oil and gas development.

    Oil production from federally managed lands and offshore areas in 2019 topped 1 billion barrels. The Trump administration has leased 9.9 million acres for oil and gas production, the greenhouse gases from which could equal half the annual emissions of China.

    Oil giant BP says that it will become a “net-zero emission” company by 2050, including the emissions caused by the burning of its fuels.

    In a tweet, Trump reverses course on opening the deeply unpopular Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility in Nevada. Trump has mentioned Nevada as a state he believes he can win in November.

    The Justice Department drops its antitrust inquiry against BMW, Ford, Honda, and Volkswagen for siding with California in its dispute with the Trump administration over emissions standards.

    Pangolins, the critically endangered scaly mammals that are much sought-after in China for their meat and scales, are a possible host to the coronavirus sweeping the country.

    OR-54, a radio-collared female wolf who had wandered more than 7,000 miles in Northern California and Oregon, is found dead in Shasta County, California.

    The Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service will continue to charge ranchers who graze cattle on public land $1.35 a month for a cow-and-calf pair, the same rate the agencies charged almost 50 years ago. The comparable fee for grazing cattle on private land is $23.40.

    DuPont, a chemical company that uses and produces the toxic chemicals known as PFAS, buys four companies that can remove PFAS from water.

    The amount of food wasted in US cities could be drastically reduced by increasing the number of grocery stores, because when people have to travel long distances to shop, they often buy more perishable food than they can use.

    Republican legislators in Wyoming want to require state utilities to produce electricity from coal, oil, and gas rather than wind and solar.

  5. Hey Doc, te Justice Department or Barr abandoned the Deuetsch Bank Trump loans investigation. The only place Trump could get money cause no American banks would talk to him. It turns our Russian Banks were guaranteeing Deutsch Banks loans to Trump…these guys are all in with Russian’s

    https://www.alternet.org/2020/02/heres-how-the-gop-shot-itself-in-the-foot-with-handling-of-trumps-impeachment-conservative-columnist/?utm_source=push_notifications

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