The Clown Show Starts With the Biggest Clown- Cruz is In -Fun Begins

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[h=1]'We did it': Marco Rubio claims third place in Iowa as a victory after coming within an ace of overtaking Trump [/h]

• Marco Rubio's bronze medal out of Iowa was enough for the establishment Republican to claim victory and move on
• Rubio will leave Iowa with the same number of delegates as second-place finisher Donald Trump and just one fewer than winner Ted Cruz
• 'We did it,' an email sent out to Marco Rubio's supporters bragged

By NIKKI SCHWAB, U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN DES MOINES, IOWA



PUBLISHED: 06:21, 2 February 2016 | UPDATED: 07:07, 2 February 2016



Marco Rubio's bronze medal moment in the Iowa caucuses was enough for his campaign to claim a win.
'So this is the moment they said would never happen,' Rubio, who had been averaging third-place for at least a month, told supporters tonight at his victory party at the Marriott in downtown Des Moines.
The campaign also sent out an email to supporters saying, 'we did it,' starting the fundraising ask with the phrase, 'what a night!'



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Sen. Marco Rubio called third-place a victory and packed up and moved on to New Hampshire tonight after the Iowa caucuses

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The Florida senator, who was polling in third-place for weeks, will walk away from the Hawkeye state with the same number of delegates as Donald Trump, who finished behind Sen. Ted Cruz

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Marco Rubio's campaign sent out a fundraising email shortly after the results are in ecstatically saying 'we did it' and 'What a night!'


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And what a night it was for Rubio's rival Ted Cruz, who bested Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses, while Rubio was in nipping distance of The Donald's heels.
Out of Iowa, Rubio and Trump will each receive seven delegates, while Cruz will get eight.
Rubio portrayed himself as a political underdog who wasn't given a chance because he was too much of a fresh face for Republican politics.
'For months they told us because we didn't have the right endorsements or the right political connections, we had no chance,' he said.
''They told me that we have no chance because my hair wasn't gray enough and my boots were too high,' he continued, getting laughs from the audience for bringing up his infamous heeled boots that he hinted he might wear again if he did well in Iowa, which he did.
'They told me I needed to wait my turn, that I needed to wait in line,' Rubio said.
At that, a supporter suggested that wasn't true.
'This is your turn,' a woman shouted loudly from the audience.
'But tonight, tonight here in Iowa, the people of this great state have sent a very clear message,' Rubio said. 'After seven years of Barack Obama, we are not waiting any longer to take our country back.'

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Marco Rubio brought along all four of his kids. Here he lifts son Anthony to new heights as he makes a jokes in his victory speech about those tall boots her wore recently that created a stir

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The Kids Are Alright: Marco Rubio brought his family along with him as he stopped at caucuses tonight before arriving at his party held at the Marriott in downtown Des Moines




Rubio used most of his speech to hit a trio of Democrats – Obama, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders – while giving a hat tip to Cruz.
'I want to congratulate my friend senator Ted Cruz,' Rubio said. 'He worked really hard here in Iowa. And he earned his victory tonight.'
He also complimented former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who pulled out of the presidential race – after winning the Iowa caucuses in 2008 – for not having enough support.
Earlier tonight, Rubio visited a handful of caucus sites around Des Moines to make a personal pitch to voters.
In Clive, Rubio arrived at the front-end of the caucus and chatted with attendees, making jokes about his lousy Miami Dolphins, introducing kids at the caucus site to his own and complaining about the chapped lips he received from yakking too much on the campaign trail.
His campaign signs outnumbered those for the other candidates around the room.
'I am grateful to you, Iowa, you believed in me when others didn't think this night would be possible,' Rubio said. 'When perhaps we were lost in the daily narrative, when some suggested that it was perhaps time to step aside, you believed in me.'
'You walked with us, you made the calls and knocked on doors' Rubio continued.
'You made a huge difference tonight,' he said.

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[superbeets]

[h=1]The casualties of Iowa: Democratic outsider Martin O'Malley suspends his campaign after receiving ZERO support at caucus, while Mike Huckabee pulls out of Republican race[/h]

• The former governors of Maryland and Arkansas suspended their campaigns after underperforming in their party's respective caucuses
• Martin O'Malley didn't meet the necessary threshold to get any delegates out of tonight's race in Iowa
• Mike Huckabee, the winner of the Republican Iowa caucuses eight years ago, decided he didn't receive enough support to go on

By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN DES MOINES and NIKKI SCHWAB, U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN DES MOINES, IOWA and ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 03:07, 2 February 2016 | UPDATED: 07:27, 2 February 2016




Martin O'Malley, the former governor of Maryland is suspending his White House bid after receiving no support in Iowa.
Republican contender Mike Huckabee also suspended his campaign this evening after he underperformed in his party's contest.
'It's time to officially suspend the campaign, but not because of the votes,' Huckabee told supporters tonight. 'It's because of illness – obviously the voters are sick of me and I need to acknowledge that.'
O'Malley made a veiled swipe at Republican Donald Trump, who was bested by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz tonight, in a thank you note to supporters.
'We must hold strong for Latinos and Muslims and everyone defending us against the demagogues,' O'Malley wrote.



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Martin O'Malley, the former governor of Maryland is suspending his White House bid after receiving no support in Iowa. The Democrat is seen here at his campaign headquarters during a happier time in the day

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Bowing out gracefully: O'Malley thanks a supporter as he announced the suspension of his campaign

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Martin O'Malley finished with less than one per cent of the vote behind Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders

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Mike Huckabee, who won the Iowa caucus in 2008, managed to earn only two per cent of the vote


.Huckabee managed to earn only two percent of the vote tonight as it was called for Ted Cruz. The 2008 winner of the Iowa caucus, he had a previously established network in the state.
It wasn't enough in a crowded field that began with 17 and dwindled down to a dozen by caucus time.
As news networks began to call the race for Cruz, Huckabee said on Twitter, 'I am officially suspending my campaign. Thank you for all your loyal support. #ImWithHuck'
He joined the race last May, with an announcement in the hometown he shares with former President Bill Clinton. But Huckabee became just one candidate in the group that included many political newcomers.
He joined the race last May, with an announcement in the hometown he shares with former President Bill Clinton. But Huckabee became just one candidate in a crowded field that included many political newcomers.
O'Malley began the day with roughly two percent support in national polls and was looking to collect four percent in Iowa.
But the way Iowa Democrats tabulate their caucus results prohibits any candidate receiving less than 15 percent from being considered 'viable.'

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Mike Huckabee won Iowa in 2008 and tried to recapture the magic eight years later, but conservative Ted Cruz was the big winner of the night

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Martin O'Malley needed to make a threshold of 15 percent at each caucus to proceed, but didn't have enough support so his fans ended up caucusing for Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders



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Their supporters must choose another candidate before the caucus process can proceed, or boost their numbers beyond the threshold.
At once precinct in Des Moines, O'Malley needed 31 voters to stay in it, and attracted just seven.
His supporters stayed strong for several minutes, but ultimately conceded and peeled off to other candidates, primarily Clinton.
Several said they came in with a second choice in mind. One was uncommitted and split with his wife, who broke for Sanders, and went to Clinton. Another woman couldn't be persuaded by a Clinton backer and eventually got up and left.
Thus, at that caucus site, like nearly all the others in Iowa, O'Malley received no delegates and his percentage of the vote dropped to zero.
Final votes across the state hadn't come in when O'Malley decided to toss in the towel. At that time Hillary Clinton had a marginal lead of one percent over Senator Bernie Sanders.
An ex-governor who spent two terms at the helm in Maryland after serving as mayor of the state's major city, Baltimore.
His campaign for president never took off, but O'Malley pushed ahead anyway through the Iowa caucus.
He campaigned as a can-do chief executive who had pushed through key parts of the Democratic agenda in Maryland, including gun control, support for gay marriage and an increase in the minimum wage.
A veteran of Colorado Sen. Gary Hart's presidential campaigns in the 1980s, O'Malley sought to portray himself as a fresh face for a party searching for new ideas. He launched some of the toughest critiques of the race, accusing Clinton of being on 'three sides' of the gun control debate and offering 'weak tea when it came to policing Wall Street.
But the ex-governor struggled to raise money and was mired in single-digit polls for months, despite an active operation in Iowa and New Hampshire. His campaign was forced to accept federal matching funds in the fall and he failed to become Clinton's chief alternative as Sanders tapped into the party's liberal base.
Along the way, O'Malley's campaign dealt with poor timing and some bad breaks. His campaign kickoff was complicated by riots in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, bringing fresh scrutiny of O'Malley's law enforcement record as the city's mayor.
He entered the race after Sanders, who quickly generated massive crowds around the country and a loyal following in the early states. Sanders' appeal with liberals - and his online fundraising machine - gave O'Malley little room to become the face of the party's smaller anti-Clinton wing.
At a forum in Arizona last July, O'Malley's appearance was disrupted by Black Lives Matters' activists and he told the crowd, 'Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter,' drawing heckles from the crowd. He later apologized, saying he meant to say that 'we're all in this together."
O'Malley was critical of the Democratic National Committee's decision to hold only six presidential debates - including four before the Iowa caucuses - and repeatedly argued that party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was limiting the debates to benefit Clinton.
He performed well in the televised debates but it never amounted to a marked boost in poll numbers or fundraising. In the first debate, when he told Clinton a no-fly zone in Syria would be a mistake, she retorted that she was "very pleased" he had endorsed her 2008 presidential campaign, effectively neutralizing his attack.
Maryland's top lawmakers, including Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, sided with Clinton and O'Malley won the endorsement of just one member of Congress - Rep. Eric Swallwell of California.
Even his personal ties weren't persuasive. Mikulski backed Clinton again even though O'Malley had been an aide on the senator's 1986 campaign and his mother worked as a receptionist in Mikulski's office for years. Mikulski often said simply, 'I'm a Hillary person.'


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[superbeets]

[h=1]'Sticker Kid' steals Hillary's thunder: Clinton upstaged during Iowa 'victory' speech by animated college student who dances with face full of campaign stickers[/h]

• Hillary Clinton was upstaged by a college student during her 'victory' speech in Iowa on Monday night
• Peter Clinkscales, a student at Drake University, danced and made animated faces while covered in campaign stickers
• He quickly earned the nickname 'Sticker Kid'
• 'I saw that a presidential candidate was going to be at my university so I decided I should go see that presidential candidate at my university,' he said of attending the rally

By CHRIS SPARGO FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 06:09, 2 February 2016 | UPDATED: 06:09, 2 February 2016



Hillary Clinton was not just battling Bernie Sanders in Iowa on Monday, but also a new and unlikely opponent - Sticker Kid.
Peter Clinkscales, a student at Drake University, is still undecided as to who he will vote for in the upcoming election, but seeing that Clinton was going to appear at his college on Monday decided to stop by and spend her entire speech making exaggerated facial movement while covered in stickers.
In the end, his antics managed to draw attention away from Clinton as she delivered her 'victory' speech because the young man could be seen right over her shoulder the entire time.
He also did a little bit of dancing at the end of Clinton's remarks.


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Hillary Clinton was upstaged by a college student during her 'victory' speech in Iowa on Monday night

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Peter Clinkscales, a student at Drake University, danced and made animated faces while covered in campaign stickers

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He quickly earned the nickname 'Sticker Kid'

In an interview with Mashable after Clinton;'s speech, Clinkscales said; 'I saw that a presidential candidate was going to be at my university so I decided I should go see that presidential candidate at my university.'
He then added he and a friend originally had another plan for the evening, explaining; 'We thought it would be a great idea if we brought two saxophones here to the rally for Hillary Clinton so he could play one and he could play one.'
When they learned those instruments would not be allowed inside the rally however, they went with stickers, animated expressions and dancing - which managed to do the trick.
Clinkscales later wrote on Twitter; 'Lol I trended on Twitter #bucketlist #stickerboy #stickerkid'

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'I saw that a presidential candidate was going to be at my university so I decided I should go see that presidential candidate at my university,' he said of attending the rally

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Clinton was having a difficult night all around on Monday despite declaring herself victorious in Iowa in a race that is still too close to call.
'As I stand here tonight, breathing a big sigh of relief - thank you, Iowa!' Clinton said at the beginning of her remarks Monday night.
'I want you to know I will keep doing my entire life, I will keep standing up for you I will keep fighting for you.'
Sanders on the other hand called the results a 'virtual tie' in his speech on Monday evening.
He told his supporters; 'I want to be clear with you about what this really means. Tonight’s result is a victory for our political revolution. We have proved that when people come together, anything is possible.'
Sanders then said that if his campaign wins in New Hampshire - as is expected by many poundits at this point - 'we’ll have all the momentum.'
He closed by saying; 'Victory is within our reach. But winning will require the active participation of millions of Americans in every community across the country — nothing less than a political revolution.'

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PUMPED UP: Heidi Cruz shows her happiness at her husband's victory, which upset pollsters

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FAMILY AFFAIR: Ted Cruz's mother Eleanor and his father Rafael were both on stage to celebrate

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VICTORY: Ted Cruz supporter Josh Kent celebrated at the Texas senator's victory party after he was declared the winner of the Iowa caucuses on Monday night

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DONALD-KILLER: Cruz finished the night with 6,000 more votes in Iowa than Trump, capitalizing on a strong get-out-the-vote ground game



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[HacheMan]

It's sad that so many Latinos don't know a thing about Cruz but will vote for him merely because of his last name, just like many African-Americans did with Obama, and many old white ppl/fogeys will for Hillary.

Any of the 3 above could be the coming of the 3rd antichrist & ppl would vote for them just because they have the same skin color & ethnicity as themselves...

 

[The Guesser]

It's sad that so many Latinos don't know a thing about Cruz but will vote for him merely because of his last name, just like many African-Americans did with Obama, and many old white ppl/fogeys will for Hillary.

Any of the 3 above could be the coming of the 3rd antichrist & ppl would vote for them just because they have the same skin color & ethnicity as themselves...

Cruz would get less than 20% of the Latino vote in the General, and he didn't get many among Iowa R's. Rubio, OTOH, would get a decent share of the Latino vote.

 

[HacheMan]

Cruz would get less than 20% of the Latino vote in the General, and he didn't get many among Iowa R's. Rubio, OTOH, would get a decent share of the Latino vote.

Thanks for clarifying.

But I'm sure you get my point Guesser

I don't even know what to say anymore if voters help Cruz or Rubio win this election. Especially Rubio who I've heard much of here in Florida & he is a complete idiot (no offense to those who support them)

 

[superbeets]

• SHARE PICTURE

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Record-breaking: The Iowa caucus turnout set new records with more than 170,000 GOP voters participating

 

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Sen. Ted Cruz’s attack on Donald Trump's "New York values" helped secure him a victory in the Iowa caucuses Monday, the Texas Republican told ABC News Monday evening.
"As I travel the country here in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, everyone knows what New York values are," Cruz told ABC News White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl minutes after delivering his victory speech. "It's the values of the elite liberals that have done enormous damage to New York and they're a bunch of cops and firemen and hardworking men and women in the great state of New York who are fed up with the out-of-touch values of Manhattan.
"This is a center-right country. The values of this country are reasonable, common sense. Their Judeo-Christian values are the reason our campaign is resonating and resonating among Reagan Democrats in particular is because getting back to the principles that built America and those principles bring us together."


Cruz maintained he would not "insult" the real estate mogul-turned-presidential candidate, but instead was willing to point out how they differ on policy matters.
"I will praise Donald Trump. He's bold, I think he's brash, I'm glad he's running. He's energized a lot of people," Cruz said. "Now, I'm willing to draw differences on policy. Policy is fair game."
The Texas senator basked in his win over Trump in Iowa, calling it "an incredible victory for the grassroots."
"This victory was won friend to friend, neighbor to neighbor, Iowan to Iowan. That’s exactly the approach we are taking now to New Hampshire, South Carolina, to Nevada," he said.


Recent first-place GOP finishers in the Iowa caucuses have not fared well further along in the nominating contest. The two previous Republican Iowa caucus winners – Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Rick Santorum in 2012 - failed to clinch the Republican presidential nomination.
But Cruz said he’s different, pointing to his fundraising prowess and organizational capacity as examples for how he could win the nomination.
"Both of them came out of Iowa broke. They did not have a national infrastructure, they didn't have the team in place to be able to compete effectively enough to win the primary," Cruz said. "We're in a markedly different situation.
"We're running a national campaign. And if conservatives continue to unite I believe we're going to win this nomination and win the general election in November," he added.
Asked whether he’s going to win the New Hampshire primary, Cruz said, "That's up to the people of New Hampshire. We're going to compete for every vote in that state and I hope to earn those votes and earn their trust."

 

[superbeets]

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Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 9 minutes ago


My experience in Iowa was a great one. I started out with all of the experts saying I couldn't do well there and ended up in 2nd place. Nice
863 retweets 2,580 likes
Reply Retweet 863
Like 2.6K

 

[Dave007inVegas]

For all of the Cruz supporters, may I suggest you don’t start sucking each others dicks just yet.

 

[SheriffJoe]

For all of the Cruz supporters, may I suggest you don’t start sucking each others dicks just yet.

I think Cruz is the first winning presidential candidate in Iowa who openly opposed ethanol subsidies. Very impressive - to take a principled stand you know will be unpopular in a particular state (and yet he still won).

Cruz has almost as much money as all the other candidates COMBINED with a ground game that is second to none. He will be one of the last men standing, maybe the very last one as the GOP nominee.

IA was Trump's muligan, NH will be Cruz's. SC is where the real fun begins.

 

[Dave007inVegas]

I think Cruz is the first winning presidential candidate in Iowa who openly opposed ethanol subsidies. Very impressive - to take a principled stand you know will be unpopular in a particular state (and yet he still won).

Cruz has almost as much money as all the other candidates COMBINED with a ground game that is second to none. He will be one of the last men standing, maybe the very last one as the GOP nominee.

IA was Trump's muligan, NH will be Cruz's. SC is where the real fun begins.

It has been 16 years since Republican caucus-goers in Iowa have accurately picked the eventual GOP nominee for president. In other words, not once in this entire century has Iowa picked the winner for Republicans.


And when it comes to delegates it’s Cruz 8, Trump 7 and Rubio 7. That’s pretty much a dead heat.


I’ll wait until Super Tuesday before I get excited. Much ado about nothing so far.

 

[SheriffJoe]

It has been 16 years since Republican caucus-goers in Iowa have accurately picked the eventual GOP nominee for president. In other words, not once in this entire century has Iowa picked the winner for Republicans.


And when it comes to delegates it’s Cruz 8, Trump 7 and Rubio 7. That’s pretty much a dead heat.


I’ll wait until Super Tuesday before I get excited. Much ado about nothing so far.

Your forgot Bush 1 and Paul 1 k:

 

[Dave007inVegas]

Your forgot Bush 1 and Paul 1 k:

I didn’t forget. I just didn’t mention them because both are irrelevant.

 

[superbeets]

Donald Trump roared back to his bombastic best last night, vowing once again to 'beat the s**t' out of ISIS if he was made president.
The Republican candidate appeared to have fallen flat after his second-place finish to Ted Cruz in the first primary of election.
But he returned to his sabre-rattling self at a rally in Milford, New Hampshire, last night, promising to be strongest defender of the country if America came under attack from terrorists.
He said: 'If we are attacked, somebody attacks us, wouldn't you rather have Trump as president if we're attacked? We'll beat the s**t out of them.'