Shake up: I report directly to Trump, not Lewandowski, says new delegate manager

Source: HotAir
Published: Apr 8, 2016
Author: Allahpundit
Post Date: 2016-04-08 16:36:51 by Tooconservative
Views: 3794

It’s Paul Manafort, who’s now in charge of Trump’s new D.C. office and has taken over the all-important task of wrangling delegates for Trump at state conventions. If you don’t know why him reporting directly to Trump rather than to Lewandowski is significant, read this post for a primer on the power struggle behind the scenes. If you believe Politico, Lewandowski was so eager to defend his turf from Manafort that he fired Trump’s chief organizer in Colorado for defying his orders not to speak to Manafort. One thing I didn’t realize when I wrote that post: Not only are Manafort and Roger Stone pals, they were actually partners at their own lobbying firm for years. Given Stone’s tensions with Lewandowski, having his buddy installed as Trump’s new point man on a contested convention is a major victory for him in the battle for control of the campaign.

The meeting at which Manafort was assigned his new duties was, go figure, contentious.

The expansion was announced a day after a lengthy and, at times, tense meeting that included Mr. Trump, Mr. Manafort and the campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who has been the focus of intense scrutiny after Mr. Trump’s lopsided loss in Wisconsin on Tuesday night, difficulty recruiting allies for some state conventions and Mr. Lewandowski’s recent arrest on battery charges…

The private meeting with Mr. Lewandowski, Mr. Trump and the media-averse Mr. Manafort, at Trump Tower in Manhattan, was described as “slightly contentious” by someone briefed on the gathering who was not authorized to speak publicly. Mr. Manafort urged Mr. Trump to focus on immediate tasks and to retool his approach, another person briefed on the meeting said Within hours, Mr. Trump scrapped a Friday trip to California, which will not vote until June…

Mr. Lewandowski and Michael Glassner, the deputy campaign manager, have been described by people in the campaign as viewing Mr. Manafort, who is working on a volunteer basis, as a threat.

Can Manafort even the playing field with Cruz in the fight for delegates? He’s well regarded but the infrastructure he needs at the state level won’t happen overnight. Three more pro-Cruz delegates were elected in Colorado yesterday with only token, and sometimes weird, opposition from Team Trump:

Addressing the audience, Trump’s new Colorado state director Patrick Davis told supporters to vote for the three pro-Trump delegate candidates on a glossy brochure the campaign distributed…

There was only one problem: Two of the three names weren’t listed on the ballot…

There were, however, three pro-Trump delegates on the ballot who weren’t sanctioned by the campaign. One of them, Cully Marshall, made his case for Trump in a poem.

“He’s our only hope against Hillary, that lying crooked witch,” Marshall said. “He’s going to build that wall and make Hillary El Chapo’s personal…” He trailed off.

Trump has all but given up on the state, canceling a weekend appearance there even though two dozen or so more delegates are yet to be chosen. And the organizational problems aren’t limited to Colorado. Yeesh:

OMG even better – they sent the WA delegate recruitment email to DC list 2 days past the deadline. #ManafortDestiny pic.twitter.com/2yXvScuHjO

— Tim Miller (@Timodc) April 8, 2016

Manafort will need to make future delegate elections more competitive and figure out a way to woo currently unbound delegates to support Trump instead of Cruz. Not all of those unbound delegates are party officials but many are, and Cruz probably has an advantage with them since most will be closer to him ideologically than they will be to Trump. They’ll also prefer Cruz as somewhat more electable than Trump this fall, which is important for congressional races. What’s Manafort prepared to offer them? A photo with Trump giving the thumbs-up won’t do it. I think.

One other problem, although this is more of a concern for Trump and Lewandowski: Go look at Nate Silver’s graphs of Trump’s vote share state by state so far versus the vote share he’s needed to win each one. Anti-Trump votes are consolidating against him, usually but not always in favor of Cruz, which means a higher bar to victory for a guy whose numbers haven’t grown much since the start of the race. The more he struggles on election nights, the more delegates Manafort will need to win for him behind the scenes in order to get him to 1,237. New York will help, but read what Silver says about California. That’s the state that could make or break Trump and Cruz is already within single digits of the lead with two months to go and anti-Trumpers uniting behind him in other states.

Update: A mid-afternoon Friday update from the Denver Post:

BREAKING: @tedcruz adds 3 more delegates to Colorado lead w/ CD5 sweep — now with 10 pledge & 2 committed #copolitics

— John Frank (@ByJohnFrank) April 8, 2016

Poster Comment:

We finally find out more about Manafort. A former partner of Roger Stone and working as a volunteer, reporting directly to Trump.

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#1: nolu chan    To: TooConservative (#0)

We finally find out more about Manafort. A former partner of Roger Stone and working as a volunteer, reporting directly to Trump.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_J._Manafort

Paul J. Manafort is an American lobbyist and political consultant. He was an adviser to the presidential campaigns of Republicans Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, and George W. Bush, and is currently employed by the presidential campaign of Donald Trump, as well as being a senior partner in the firm Davis, Manafort and Freedman.

[...]

Political activities

In 1976, Manafort was the delegate-hunt coordinator for eight states for the President Ford Committee. Between 1978 and 1980, he was the southern coordinator for Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign, and the deputy political director at the Republican National Committee. After Reagan's election in November 1980, he was appointed Associate Director of the Presidential Personnel Office at the White House. In 1981 he was nominated to the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

Manafort was an adviser to the presidential campaigns of George H.W. Bush in 1988, Robert Dole in 1996, George W. Bush, and John McCain. In March 2016 he was hired by the presidential campaign of Donald Trump to lead Trump's "delegate-corralling" efforts.

nolu chan posted on 2016-04-08 16:52:07   Reply   Private Reply

#2: Tooconservative    To: nolu chan (#1)

is currently employed by the presidential campaign of Donald Trump

NYTimes says he's volunteering. I'll believe the Slimes over Wiki this time.

But the Wiki resume doesn't give you a feel for the man himself. I can see he is very much in the mold of Roger Stone. In all likelihood, he is Stone's man inside Trump's campaign.

Tooconservative posted on 2016-04-08 16:57:10   Reply   Private Reply

#3: Hondo68    To: TooConservative (#2)

he is very much in the mold of Roger Stone. In all likelihood, he is Stone's man inside Trump's campaign

You figure that Roger Stone is Trump's brain, like Karl Rove was Bush's brain?

Hondo68 posted on 2016-04-08 17:30:12   Reply   Private Reply

#4: ConservingFreedom    To: TooConservative (#0)

“He’s our only hope against Hillary, that lying crooked witch,” Marshall said. “He’s going to build that wall and make Hillary El Chapo’s personal…” He trailed off.

The Donald will make him Poet Laureate.

ConservingFreedom posted on 2016-04-08 17:34:37   Reply   Private Reply

#5: ConservingFreedom    To: TooConservative (#2)

NYTimes says he's volunteering. I'll believe the Slimes over Wiki this time.

Amusingly, Wikipedia's source on that is also the Slimes: www.nytimes.com/politics/...03/28/donald-trump-hires-paul-manafort-to- lead-delegate-effort/?_r=0

ConservingFreedom posted on 2016-04-08 17:37:46   Reply   Private Reply

#6: misterwhite    To: TooConservative (#0)

The televised debates were oh so important in that they allowed the people to hear the candidates and make an informed decision. How DARE Trump skip one!

Yet Colorado says "Screw the people. They have no voice."

misterwhite posted on 2016-04-08 17:55:11   Reply   Private Reply

#7: Tooconservative    To: hondo68 (#3)

You figure that Roger Stone is Trump's brain, like Karl Rove was Bush's brain?

They have been bosom buddies for years. Stone was always in the background when Trump considered running for prez before, like for the Reform Party nomination.

I think Stone leaving the campaign was a ruse. Lewandowski is the errand boy but Trump gets his real strategy (inasmuch as he listens to anyone) from Stone. Stone has admitted that he still speaks to them by phone regularly.

Stone is so disreputable that I think this is what Trump and Stone came up with to distance Trump from Stone, an infamous figure in American politics for decades.

Tooconservative posted on 2016-04-08 17:56:48   Reply   Private Reply

#8: Tooconservative    To: misterwhite (#6)

Yet Colorado says "Screw the people. They have no voice."

Colorado's GOP is just as free to run their primaries as they please as any other state does. States' rights include the right to organize your parties and select candidates as you see fit. You don't like it? Move to that state and get them to change their rules/laws.

The truth is, you'd have no such bitter comment to make if it was Trump cleaning up all the delegates in Colorado by playing a smart delegate game like Cruz has done. But Trump has a retarded delegate game so you're angry. And that's about all there is to it.

Tooconservative posted on 2016-04-08 18:00:02   Reply   Private Reply

#9: misterwhite    To: TooConservative (#8)

"Colorado's GOP is just as free to run their primaries as they please as any other state does."

I don't have a problem with that. I'm saying that if the state GOP is going to do an end-around the voters, don't tell me how important the debates are.

misterwhite posted on 2016-04-08 18:24:09   Reply   Private Reply

#10: Tooconservative    To: misterwhite (#9)

I don't have a problem with that. I'm saying that if the state GOP is going to do an end-around the voters, don't tell me how important the debates are.

Except that Trump himself knows what a mistake it was to skip the Iowa debate because he was afraid blood might come spurting out of Megyn Kelly again.

That cost him. He might have managed to sink Cruz, then and there. And he missed his chance because of his own vanity.

Tooconservative posted on 2016-04-08 18:29:18   Reply   Private Reply

#11: misterwhite    To: TooConservative (#10)

"That cost him."

One debate cost him Iowa? I don't think so.

I'm surprised you're not claiming he lost Iowa because he's disorganized, didn't have a ground game, doesn't know how to run a campaign, doesn't hire the right people, doesn't understand politics, didn't spend any money in Iowa, and hates women.

Instead, it's because he cancelled one debate. How unlike you.

misterwhite posted on 2016-04-08 18:41:58   Reply   Private Reply

#12: Roscoe    To: misterwhite (#11)

Cruz is just trailing so badly because he's pacing himself. It's like strategery.

Roscoe posted on 2016-04-08 19:47:23   Reply   Private Reply

#13: Tooconservative    To: misterwhite (#11)

I'm surprised you're not claiming he lost Iowa because he's disorganized, didn't have a ground game, doesn't know how to run a campaign, doesn't hire the right people, doesn't understand politics, didn't spend any money in Iowa, and hates women.

Hold on. I am claiming all of those things.

Tooconservative posted on 2016-04-09 01:23:25   Reply   Private Reply

#14: nolu chan    To: Roscoe, misterwhite (#12)

Cruz is just trailing so badly because he's pacing himself.

He has marcomentum.

nolu chan posted on 2016-04-09 01:33:18   Reply   Private Reply

#15: misterwhite    To: TooConservative (#13)

"Hold on. I am claiming all of those things."

You just said that he lost Iowa because his vanity kept him away from the last debate.

misterwhite posted on 2016-04-09 08:31:29   Reply   Private Reply

#16: misterwhite    To: Roscoe (#12)

"Cruz is just trailing so badly because he's pacing himself. It's like strategery."

Had he not won his home state of Texas, he'd already be out of the race.

misterwhite posted on 2016-04-09 08:33:53   Reply   Private Reply

#17: Tooconservative    To: misterwhite (#15)

You just said that he lost Iowa because his vanity kept him away from the last debate.

That doesn't mean the rest of it isn't true as well.

Tooconservative posted on 2016-04-09 08:46:08   Reply   Private Reply

#18: misterwhite    To: TooConservative (#17)

"That doesn't mean the rest of it isn't true as well."

If the rest of it is true then, like Iowa, he would have lost every state.

misterwhite posted on 2016-04-09 08:53:45   Reply   Private Reply

#19: Tooconservative    To: misterwhite (#18)

If the rest of it is true then, like Iowa, he would have lost every state.

Not if he pandered to enough rubes and drew in his cult following from his TV show and the other 16 candidates stayed in way too long (thinking that Trump would self-destruct). This was why Walker dropped out and urged the others to do the same, to avoid the division of the conservative vote so that Trump could slip through.

This is actually typical for GOP primaries. A field of conservatives divide the conservative vote enought that a much more liberal candidate slips through. This would be the case with nominees like McStain and Romney.

Today, as throughout the race, Trump can't break 40% anywhere. Any other GOP nominee in the last century would have locked it up long ago. Today, Trump is struggling to break 50% in his home state. And New York is actually relevant to the GOP nomination.

Tooconservative posted on 2016-04-09 08:58:16   Reply   Private Reply

#20: misterwhite    To: TooConservative (#19)

"Today, Trump is struggling to break 50% in his home state."

I see. Trump needs to break 50% to have any credibility, huh? Even though the only thing he has in common with the state is that he lives in New York City.

Pretty high bar considering that Kasich -- the sitting governor of Ohio -- only got 47%. Considering that Cruz -- the sitting Senator of Texas -- only got 44%.

misterwhite posted on 2016-04-09 09:11:41   Reply   Private Reply

#21: Tooconservative    To: misterwhite (#20)

Even though the only thing he has in common with the state is that he lives in New York City.

Pretty high bar considering that Kasich -- the sitting governor of Ohio -- only got 47%. Considering that Cruz -- the sitting Senator of Texas -- only got 44%.

We'll see if Trump can even do that well.

Past nominees of the GOP were routinely taking 50% or more in state after state by this point in the primaries.

Trump is now locked just under 40% and Trump has offended the rest of the electorate.

Tooconservative posted on 2016-04-09 09:19:07   Reply   Private Reply