Boston Globe photo.

 

It’s only March, but this year is shaping up like none I’ve ever seen before and I’ll tell you why:  The turnout for Republicans is off the charts so far this year, while Democrat turnout has been in the toilet.

Here are some numbers.  Vote count difference compared to 2008.

Republican Democrat
Iowa 57% -27%
New Hampshire 19% -13%
South Carolina 71% -31%
Nevada 70% -32%
Alabama 51% -27%
Arkansas 89% -26%
Georgia 34% -29%
Massachusetts 23% -7%
Minnesota 79% -13%
Oklahoma 38% -20%
Tennessee 55% -40%
Texas 103% -50%
Virginia 109% -21%

 

Can you spell “Enthusiasm gap”?

In 2012, the number of Republican ballots cast was almost exactly 60M as it was in 2008.  Barack Obama won in 2012 even though almost 4.4% fewer Democrat votes were cast.

The interest in the primary races this year have been quite telling.  Republicans have been turning out in droves to vote, with turnout averaging 61% more than 2008.  Democrat participation, on the other hand, has been in the toilet – down by an average of 23% in states so far from 2008.

If this trend holds to any significant degree, two things are going to happen.

1.  Get used to saying “President Trump”.

and

2.  It’s going to be a bloodbath for Democrats all the way down the ballot.

So, look for Democrats to pull out all the stops in a desperate attempt to get their voters to the polls, because as it stands right now, there’s not a lot of interest on that side of the spectrum.

And frankly, that’s good for gun owners, by and large.

 

58 thoughts on “READING THE TEA LEAVES: Hillary’s in for rough sledding, as are all Democrats in November”
    1. Speak for yourself. I’m a Christian and Trump says he doesn’t need forgiveness from God. Obviously, his narcisstic behavior gets in the way. He calls Planned Parenthood good for women. Guess murdering babies is alright in his Christianity. Sadly, most of his supporters are willing to lay down their principles for a man that talks tough.

    2. You haven’t been paying very close attention. Trump recognizes that PP does some good for women (e.g. birth control) but he said he will defund them if they keep performing abortions.

    3. Sorry, PP exists and is funded by taxpayers for one reason…killing babies. Trump can’t support other “good deeds” of PP. Hyprocrisy!! That’s like being squishy on the KKK…oh yeah, Trump took too long to disavow the KKK. He’s kinda like a good Democrat, follow the money not the morals.

    4. To recap:

      1) He’s pro-life, but no pro-life enough for you, and
      2) He’s anti-racism, but he doesn’t denounce racists quickly enough for you.

      In other words, the fix is in and nothing can change your mind, which makes you just another histrionic shill that can’t think for themselves. I’ll let you figure out what that means for your opinion’s weight.

    5. As with everything else, the only evidence you have that he actually is pro-life is by what he is saying now.
      What was he actually saying before he wanted to be president?

      Bill Clinton and Al Gore were both supposedly pro-life, until they wanted the national office. Since they would never get that via the Democrat party with a pro-life stance, they had to modify their view. Same thing in reverse.

      Yeah, PP does some good for women. Hitler also did some good for Germany, didn’t he?

    6. Who cares about Godwin? The analogy is appropriate.
      Hitler killed millions, but he was great for the infrastructure.
      PP kills millions, but they are “good for women’s health.”

      Doesn’t matter that all kinds of other places take care of women’s health.

  1. Problem is, Trump isn’t necessarily good for gun owners. Sure, he can talk the talk, but has he ever walked the walk? Is he more than just the hot air?

    You’re assuming that just because there has been a huge Repub turnout, that it translates into large numbers of votes for Trump in the general election. Don’t be too quick to assume that. Many Repubs are saying that they won’t be voting if Trump is the candidate. Can you say Romney 2012? Yes, he has the most votes so far, and the most delegates. But, Roughly 67% of the votes have been for someone else.

    If you listened to Levin tonight, he mentioned that most of the states so far have had open primaries, which favor Trump. Most of the ones going forward will have closed primaries, which will favor Cruz. Maybe you should get used to saying President Cruz.

    To all of the conservatives out there who have been waiting a long time for someone who comes close to being another Reagan: Now that we have a person like that in Cruz, if you are not supporting him, why not?

    1. No offense, but Mark Levin is all in for UntrusTED.

      The later primaries are winner take all, too.

      Let’s face it, Cruz is a good conservative, but he is also a pro politician.

      We’re goin’ Trump.

      John has a good point about Republican turnout. The Dems have much to be worried about.

    2. If Cruz is a pro politician, then so was Reagan.
      Trump is a pro blowhard, but that doesn’t keep you from supporting him.

      Levin has not endorsed anyone, but yes, it’s easy to figure out he is for Cruz. Does that make what he said not relevant or true?

      I see Trump as another Ross Perot. He sounds all worried about the country when he wants to run for president, but where was he on all of these issues before he wanted the job? With Perot, once he was out of the race, we barely heard from him again. Why wasn’t he doing whatever he could to help the country, even if it wasn’t as president? Trump would probably do the same.

      By the way- JB, I know GSL is not allowed to endorse candidates, but this seems a little like a covert endorsement. It’s not the first time, either. Am I wrong?

    3. And also, by your standards, once Trump would be elected, he would then be a pro politician as well. Where would that leave us?

    4. Levin is a huckster. Try balancing your listening with some Michael Savage.

      Where do you get the idea that Trump is anti-2A? Have you read his white papers concerning his platform? Have you listened to what he’s said about this issue? Are you familiar with his son?

      Cruz is universally hated on both sides of the aisle in Washington. I like what he seems to stand for and I hope that President Trump appoints him to Scalia’s empty seat, but he has no hope of beating Trump, and he’d fail in the general.

      This is all beside the point, however, as this election is about national sovereignty (close the borders, deport the illegals, slow down legal immigration, stop engaging in world policing, start trading with American workers in mind.) Trump start this conversation, and to date he’s still the only one authentically behind it.

      I don’t want my children to grow up in an America with a giant illegal alien welfare class they have to pay for and defend against, and I’m tired of my paycheck staying flat because the government is ushering in thousands upon thousands of Indian H1Bs to steal white collar jobs.

    5. Levin is for the Constitution. What more do you want?

      Savage? Really? We turn him on once in awhile when we want some entertainment and there is nothing else available. He thinks too much of himself.
      You never really hear his name, other than his radio show. What is he doing to move the country in the right direction?
      Blabbering for a few hours a day doesn’t count for much, if that is all you do.
      Is he advocating for a convention of the states like Levin is? Or is he too busy talking about himself?

    6. And I don’t think I implied Trump is anti 2A. He just does not have enough of a track record to be relied upon, in my opinion.

    7. Savage has been preaching about “borders, language and culture” since the beginning. Levin, on the other hand, spent Super Tuesday begging people to subscribe to his internet TV show.

      Tell me again about who is just in it for themselves and who is actually seeing and discussing the problems facing America.

    8. And the few times I listened to Savage, he was begging people to buy his books. Is that better somehow?

      Seeing and discussing America’s problems and actually trying to do something about them are two very different things.

    9. Fair enough. So tell me what Levin is doing to fix them? Have you heard him mocking the wall? Have you heard him arguing we can’t deport 30 million illegals?

      How is that helping America? Because we can do those things, and we will do those things if Trump gets in.

    10. I’ve heard neither, and I listen to him regularly. Just what is it you are listening to?

      Levin is the biggest promoter of the convention of the states. How many others even mention it?

      It does not matter much who becomes president, if a lot of things don’t get changed by way of states wielding their power through the Constitution, we’re in for more of the same crap from SCOTUS and congress.

    11. As far as deporting illegals, heard just yesterday part of an interview with Trump from 3 1/2 years ago. He was saying that we should not deport illegals who have been here 20 years, and have worked and paid taxes. This was straight from his mouth, no one else. So which are we to believe, Trump of today or Trump from back then? Will he deport them, or does he need more of them for his hotel in Florida, to displace American workers?

  2. I’ll be very happy with either Trump or Cruz.
    The establishment will not accept either one with out a huge fight.

  3. Are we sure that democrats aren’t just crossing the aisle to vote for Trump because they believe he is a beatable candid?

    1. Yep, that would be smart move of a Dem in an open primary to vote for Trump who has the least favorability. At least Cruz has a positive record for our 2A right in Congress and aided in the Supreme Ct Heller case that gave us the foundation for the right to carry. Trump is too willing to make deals with Schumer and Pelosi because “everything is negotiable” and we all know how they feel about gun control. Trumpsters are cool with this because he is good at telling it like it is. Whoopee! Well, I am not putting my livlihood and liberty in the hands of the blowhard negotiator. Haven’t we had enough of that?

  4. It’s Trump’s to lose at this point. I am voting for him.

    None of them are perfect, but Trump has displayed remarkable staying power despite almost everyone trying to rake him out of the racs.

    He can win it all and will, just like REAGAN did. Twice.

    1. Obama won it all twice as well, and where are we now?
      So just because Trump has staying power we should vote for him?
      For that matter, so does Cruz.
      You could also add Hillary and Bernie to that. Want to vote for them because of it?

    2. Not equating them in the manner you might be thinking, just rather the situation.

      Para- I’m for Cruz because he is the most conservative WITH a record of standing for the things that conservatives do.

      Nothing is ever guaranteed when it comes to politics, but the closest you can come to a guarantee is what a person has done in the past.
      Cruz actually refers to the constitution, Trump not so much, if at all. I think too much of what Trump says is just to please those who are listening.
      If Trump ends up the nominee, I’ll vote for him any day over the witch. I just don’t see why we should settle for him when there is someone far superior, and a real conservative.

    3. I hear about this “referring to the Constitution” quite a bit, but what does that mean?

      There’s only one man in the race who isn’t bought and paid for, and it isn’t Cruz.

  5. I am a LEO and I believe everyone should have a gun. But Trump’s stand on guns is the least of our worries. If Hillary becomes the Potus the violent crime in this country will explode, even more than it has. She will give away every piece of this nation to anyone who will keep her in office. She has sided with the deeply flawed BLM movement, and ignored the sky rocketing line of duty deaths of LEOs. She will welcome terrorists into our country like the current idiot in charge. I think America is afraid of what another Democrat will do to our country, I hope they are because they have every reason to be. The threats are here, and it is just a matter of time. Under Hillary, it will be Benghazi all over the US. And welfare and other entitlements will increase from the trillion dollars Obama already hands out. We will not survive nor can we afford Hillary. Trump isn’t perfect, but the alternative is too horrific to imagine. America don’t let this happen. She will strip away all you gun rights and pander to the parasites all in the quest to stay in political life. Let us end it here. Say no to the violence, say no to terrorists, say no to endless welfare, say no to those of who live without accountability or personal responsibility.

    1. You’re right, Trump is not perfect, and nobody is. But, you make it sound like we have to settle for him, even though there is someone far better.
      There are already rumblings about Trump saying he does not really intend to deport all the illegals. What else is he not going to do that he is claiming he will?
      His stand on guns is the least of our worries? Again, why settle for that when you can have someone who would do it all?

    2. There have been many “rumblings” about Trump since he entered, so what’s your point?

    3. The point is that we really don’t know if he will do what he says he will. Too many office seekers say they will do one thing, then do another.
      Cruz has a record of doing what he said he would when he ran for senate. Conservative Review gives him a rating of 97%. Can’t get much better than that.
      I really don’t care if someone were a lifelong politician, IF they were doing what we wanted.
      Why go for Trump just because he is not a politician, when you have someone that you can depend on doing what he says?

    4. KK-

      I’ll bite. How do explain away Cruz’s vote for TPP? How is that in line with “conservative values?”

      Why didn’t Cruz say he wanted a wall and deportation until Trump did?

  6. Trump may not be my first choice, or even my third, but he still meets my top criteria: Not Hillary.

    1. Trump is too big to need God’s blessing or forgiveness. God bless this country because we are in BIG trouble.

  7. I don’t think the democrat numbers accurately reflect the Dead vote. I am unsure why the Dead always vote democrat. Dig Up the Vote?

  8. My first choice has been Kasich followed by Rubio, Cruz and Trump. The one I really don’t care for or trust is already gone that was Chris Christie. That being said I would have voted for Christie if he won the nomination, only because as ad as I see him he would still be better than Hillery. A couple things still worry me in this mess is if there ends up being a “brokered convention” and Trump gets passed over and goes third party. My other concern is people not rallying around the nominee and staying home or voting third party.
    No mater what happens in the democratic race one thing you can count on is the democrats will rally around whoever gets the nomination. This is how they win so often with a terrible canidate and the republicans lose. Too many republicans seem to get pi$$ed if their first pick doesn’t get the nod. They then stay home or vote third party as a protest and the democrats win.
    The last time there was a viable third party was Ross Perot and what he did was take votes away from the republicans and gave us Clinton twice. Speaking of Clinton the wonderful and super popular president let us remember he won two elections each with less than 50% of the popular vote. Jim.

  9. Sorry, don’t trust Trump. Don’t forget how many decades he supported Democrats and their liberal policies. Now all of a sudden he’s flipped. He says what knows fuels the anger. This is just another trophy for him. He lied about Carson and Cruz because they were tough competition. I don’t hear him talking about our Constitutional rights. In fact, he wanted the gov to force Apple to create the software to break into Iphones that would destroy their customers’ trust and privacy. He supports eminent domain. He also knows that he cannot get away with deporting those that have lived here illegally for years so he touts building this wall and Mexico pay for it. Fantasy. All this salivating reminds me of a politician who fooled the country 8 years ago. Folks hear the promises and believe him. Hey I loved the fact that he was flipping off the lefty media, but then he just got too nasty and irrelevant. His liberal history speaks volumes. Only Cruz has fought for us in Congress against the Establishment most often solely and no help from the Repubs we voted for in 2010/14. Both Dems and Repubs hate him because he is for the people and the Constitution not the power of our socialist government.

    1. Mom with a gun and a brain, the whole package!
      Your children are fortunate.

    2. Trump is a very successful businessman. Businessmen pay both sides to hedge bets.

      That doesn’t make him a liberal. Check out an interview he did at the GOP convention in 1988 and get back to us about how liberal he is.

      You sound like an actual rube.

    3. So we should ignore all of the interviews he did since then which showed how liberal he is? I should support someone who says he can work with Pelosi and company?
      He has said a lot of nasty things about other people and politicians recently. Very few of those negative comments have been about Democrats. Actually, he has said nice things about some of them, like he can work with Pelosi and company.
      I don’t want someone who will work with them. I want someone who will work to defeat them and all they stand for.

    4. Bang bang…Not surprised you’d resort to name calling. Typical reaction of a liberal. Trump would be proud. Sounds like I struck a nerve and you don’t have any real sound arguments other than Trump said this and that. His success as a business man does not soundly prove to me that he stands behind what he says. Actions speak louder than words. Trump reflects how people are angry and how he shakes it up, but a mouthpiece doesn’t usually bring results…just a lot of hot air.

    5. Mom With A Gun:

      You are so sorely informed and spoon fed propaganda the name “rube” fits you perfectly. It isn’t name calling, it’s an apt adjective.

      It’s clear you both watch FOX news for all of your information as I can see their talking points in most of your posts. Try branching out a bit.

    6. I got more important things to do than watch FOX. I have a long list of reliable sources, but you must really need a hug and someone to validate your existence.

    7. bang bang must get all of his information from Trump University. I’m sure he’s getting his money’s worth.

  10. Most of the things being said about Trump were said about Reagan in ’76 and ’80.

    Trump is no Reagan, but who’s to say he wouldn’t be a capable POTUS?

    Cruz: I love Ted Cruz’s positions, but he can’t win. He’s too rigid on some things that have had public opinion shift very far left in recent decades and he won’t win independents.

    Rubio: I think most people can see that he’s just a puppet. Somebody’s pulling the strings, we just don’t know exactly who in the RNC has the controls at any given moment.

    Kasich: Doesn’t have the name recognition to draw people to the polls, doesn’t have enough conservative cred to win the Republican base, and doesn’t appeal to enough moderates to dent the Democrat strongholds.

    Trump: Annoys the hell out of a lot of people, but he does draw people in droves, is pulling more people into the GOP, and has an excellent chance of actually winning New York in the general election, which would doom the Dems.

    If the RNC pulls something tricky at the convention though and picks a different nominee even if Trump wins the primaries and has enough delegates, you can go ahead and crown Hillary, because she’ll win and take the Senate with her. We’ll have a Supreme Court consisting of 6 liberals, 2 moderates and 1 conservative, and you can flush the Heller and McDonald decisions down the drain.

    Trump will have advisors, and good ones. People like Jeff Sessions (who Cruz suddenly stopped mentioning) and others will come around. Cruz might make a fantastic Supreme Court justice, which could happen with a Trump presidency and a Republican Senate.

    In other words… don’t panic if Trump wins, it’s not the end of the world and it might turn out to be a good thing.

  11. Just look at the people Trump has donated to ….
    Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi. Is that something a defender of the Second Amendment would do? Talk is cheap, the record of past actions is what matters.

    1. Also remember that he was acting in the best interests of his business at the time. Many companies donate to both parties for expediency, it’s always nice to have a friend on Capitol Hill.

      As President, he’d have a different focus. He’s already said he’ll turn over the business completely to his kids if he’s elected so he can focus on the job of being President.

      (again.. I’m not a big pro-Trump person, but it bugs me when any of the GOP candidates get bashed for no good reason, so I find myself defending him more than the others).

      The entire GOP flushed Reagan’s 11th Commandment down the toilet this year.

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