What has been the worst decision/action on the GOP primary side this year?

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Literally these were on my head so I thought I'd put them on there, feel free to add your own.

[This account no longer in use.]

The foolish guaca bowle merchant. Everything he ended up doing throughout the campaign.

[Xing]

Acting like Trump could never win, and then only trying to stop him after it was far too late.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

The foolish guaca bowle merchant. Everything he ended up doing throughout the campaign.

Gotta feel bad for the dude though, TRUMP utterly humiliated him and emasculated him

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Write-In: Rather than leaping in behind the actual establishment favorite, John Kasich, who earned the title by placing second in NH, the establishment money forces catapulting themselves behind "Republican Obama (Rubio)" for racial reasons and perhaps an ideological quirk or two with Kasich. Once they realized Rubio was going nowhere, they had left Kasich on fumes for so long that he was utterly useless outside of Ohio (and Manhattan).

Beyond that, the major candidates either ignoring TRUMP or forming bromances with him until January for Cruz and February for the rest was really stupid. Throw CruzCarly in there as well.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Letting self-absorbed clowns like Trump, Carson, and Huckabee on their debate stage.

[Derpist]

The foolish guaca bowle merchant. Everything he ended up doing throughout the campaign.

[IceSpear]

Write-In: Rather than leaping in behind the actual establishment favorite, John Kasich, who earned the title by placing second in NH, the establishment money forces catapulting themselves behind "Republican Obama (Rubio)" for racial reasons and perhaps an ideological quirk or two with Kasich. Once they realized Rubio was going nowhere, they had left Kasich on fumes for so long that he was utterly useless outside of Ohio (and Manhattan).

Beyond that, the major candidates either ignoring TRUMP or forming bromances with him until January for Cruz and February for the rest was really stupid. Throw CruzCarly in there as well.

Welcome to the Hilldawg train.

[Negusa Nagast 🚀]

Of what was provided:

i. Not calling out/defining Trump early. Cruz and Rubio literally ignored (or sometimes mildly supported) Trump on the debate stage

ii. Not coalescing. To be fair, there was no clear person to collapse upon. Rubio was too much of a greenhorn, Kasich is too weird (despite LOLfric's obession of him), Cruz too factional, Carson a clear con artist, Bush emasculated, etc. etc.

If Rubio hadn't been a moron and you know, actually developed a ground game and made a clear effort to win a state (Iowa or South Carolina) and executed upon it, he would've had a glide path to the nomination.

[Darthpi – Anti-Florida Activist]

Of what was provided:

i. Not calling out/defining Trump early. Cruz and Rubio literally ignored (or sometimes mildly supported) Trump on the debate stage

ii. Not coalescing. To be fair, there was no clear person to collapse upon. Rubio was too much of a greenhorn, Kasich is too weird (despite LOLfric's obession of him), Cruz too factional, Carson a clear con artist, Bush emasculated, etc. etc.

If Rubio hadn't been a moron and you know, actually developed a ground game and made a clear effort to win a state (Iowa or South Carolina) and executed upon it, he would've had a glide path to the nomination.

Rubio never being able to pick an early state that he could actually win was one of the most incomprehensible decisions of any candidate in this entire race, and it was patently obvious to anyone who had seen the 2008 Giuliani campaign that it was likely to end disastrously for him.

[pppolitics]

Hoping to avoid a repeat of the messy fight for the Republican nomination in 2012, the party drew up a calendar and delegate-selection rules intended to allow a front-runner to wrap things up quickly.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Rubio should have focused on Iowa or SC intently. If he had spent more time in Iowa and SC he could have easily won one or the other or both.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Write-In: Allowing Chris Christie onto the debate stage on February 6th

Without that, Marco Rubio places 2nd in NH, completes the 3-2-1 strategy in SC, and has a cakewalk to the nomination.

[Indy Texas]

Thinking they could just get a handful of rich guys to write million dollar checks and everything would sort itself out.

When you can be considered a serious candidate by winning the backing of a handful of people who can donate millions of dollars to you, without having to actually go out and prove you can connect with actual voters, there's a huge margin for error.

And when the party apparatus itself has been made relatively cash poor since big donors would rather put their money in super PACs, a collective action problem arises. That happened to a lesser extent in 2012 with Sheldon Adelson and various other billionaires dumping money into ads hammering Romney to create an opening for their own preferred candidates (Gingrich and Santorum) who didn't have a chance in hell of winning.

Say what you will about campaign finance and Citizens United and all that, but the Republican Party probably wishes that those 17 candidates had to go out and get $2,700 donations from thousands of people. It would have eliminated the empty suits before the process had even began.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Write-In: Allowing Chris Christie onto the debate stage on February 6th

Without that, Marco Rubio places 2nd in NH, completes the 3-2-1 strategy in SC, and has a cakewalk to the nomination.

Maybe not the whole cakewalk thing. The fact is that Rubio was never going to win in some of those southern ST contests (and yes, Cruz would have stayed in the race.). So you basically get a more even three way contest. And this is assuming Rubio doesn't make some drastic mistake in one of the later debates. Remember - one slight change in history can really alter things in extremely weird ways.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Putting all the establishment money into Jeb Bush's campaign

[Indy Texas]

Putting all the establishment money into Jeb Bush's campaign

Wouldn't be so much of a problem except that the Establishment's conception of what the GOP should be is basically the British Conservatives - across-the-board austerity, tax cuts for the super-rich and deregulation of banking and finance, while largely ignoring social/cultural issues or immigration. Jeb! was a fine candidate for that, but that agenda falls flat among actual GOP voters.

[Wisconsin+17]

Cruz winning Iowa. After that the conservatives should have rallied behind him, especially the Rubio supporters.

Not having Crubio cost Cruz super Tuesday. Reality is that it's amazing this went on as long as it did given the super Tuesday results.

Trump still is a worthless nominee in the general election though.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Putting all the establishment money into Jeb Bush's campaign

Wouldn't be so much of a problem except that the Establishment's conception of what the GOP should be is basically the British Conservatives - across-the-board austerity, tax cuts for the super-rich and deregulation of banking and finance, while largely ignoring social/cultural issues or immigration. Jeb! was a fine candidate for that, but that agenda falls flat among actual GOP voters.

Jeb had the Bush name , and was terrible campaigner

[Vosem]

Of these, "all the candidates ignoring Trump early on", but the real answer is the $100 million that Bush received in January 2015. Bush was never, ever going to be the 2016 candidate -- not even because of the Bush name, but simply because he wasn't a talented enough politician. Luring in Romney, or adopting a wait-and-see approach, would both have been much better tactics.

[Doimper]

Everything.

This whole thing was like seeing a clown car get t-boned by a truck.

[Derpist]

Putting all the establishment money into Jeb Bush's campaign

Wouldn't be so much of a problem except that the Establishment's conception of what the GOP should be is basically the British Conservatives - across-the-board austerity, tax cuts for the super-rich and deregulation of banking and finance, while largely ignoring social/cultural issues or immigration. Jeb! was a fine candidate for that, but that agenda falls flat among actual GOP voters.

[Meclazine for Israel]

If Rubio hadn't been a moron and you know, actually developed a ground game and made a clear effort to win a state (Iowa or South Carolina) and executed upon it, he would've had a glide path to the nomination.

People keep saying Rubio had a path. Since when?

Rubios campaign was a cross between a David Lynch film and a socially inept robot.

Interesting in his own mind, yet incapable of atracting people on a scale necessary to win the nomination.

[Classic Conservative]

Rubio not dropping out after New Hampshire, and then Cruz could've won Super Tuesday and Trump wouldn't be the nominee.

[ElectionsGuy]

Acting like Trump could never win, and then only trying to stop him after it was far too late.