CHICAGO – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz won 31 percent of Chicago Republicans' support Thursday night in a straw poll after the GOP Debate.
Picking up in the wake of the "New York values" feud that made its way into a heated discussion between Cruz and businessman Donald Trump, Chicago GOP Chairman Chris Cleveland tossed a little fuel onto the fire with a comment exclusive to Illinois Review:
"Last night, Ted Cruz said that not many conservatives come out of Manhattan. They sure do come out of Chicago," Cleveland, who also serves as co-chairman of Illinois' Cruz campaign, said.
Onto the report by IR citizen journalist Mark Weyermuller -
Last night the Chicago Young Republicans held their debate watch party at the Old Crow, a tavern on Kinzie Street in the River North neighborhood. It ended up being a standing room only crowd watching on 20 televisions while munching on beef brisket sliders and drinking speciality beers.
Jeff Haim (CYR President) gave a warm up speech from a balcony asking people to cheer and boo in true tavern debate tradition. He was joined by Chicago GOP chairman Chris Cleveland. The event was co-hosted by the Chicago Republicans Women's Network and the Chicago Northside Republicans. The event was also attended by students including several from the DePaul College Republicans.
The Chicago Northside Republicans are a new group, an extension of the Chicago GOP. The CNRs are responsible for building grassroots support on north-side of Chicago. It is co-chaired by Paul Laliberte and Christopher Grozev. They are sourcing volunteers and fielding qualified candidates for a number of offices, and increasing the footprint of the Chicago GOP on the north-side.
The breakdown of the CYR presidential straw poll which was held during the debate at Old Crow. It is not necessarily an indication of who won or lost the debate but more of the preference of the people attending.
- Ted Cruz 31.9%
- Marco Rubio 26.4%
- Donald Trump 16.7%
- Rand Paul 9.7%
- John Kasich 8.3%
- Chris Christie 1.9%
- Ben Carson 1.9%
- Rick Santorum 1.9%
- Carly Fiorina 1.9%
- Jeb Bush 0%
- Mike Huckabee 0%
Some details include Rand Paul coming in fourth while not attending either debate last night. The 1.9% represents those receiving just one vote. Also notable is Huckabee and Bush receiving zero votes. 72 attendees participated in the straw poll.
Other upcoming CYR events include a viewing of a new film: "13 hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, at the AMC River East 21 Theater (322 East Illinois Street, Chicago) Sunday, January 17 at 11:30 a.m. Purchase tickets on your own through Fandango ($6.37 each). Meet in the lobby at 11:00 a.m.
Earlier in the week, President Obama gave his annual State of the Union address leaving one chair empty as a symbol of victims of so call "gun violence." Many people question this term as an attacked on the Second Amendment (the right to keep and bear arms) and often consider it "people violence."
We set up four empty chairs at our house for the four victims of the attack on our embassy on 9-11-2012. The film "13 Hours" surely will be a major film that will bring the attention back to President Obama and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's actions or lack of actions back in the headlines.
We need a governor with executive abilities, not some loud mouth senator.
Sorry cannot support Cruz. Values and integrity cannot be picked up and set aside for convenience. It is never ok to engage in disgraceful, juvenile, shouting matches. It is never ok to “borrow” the ideas and statements of other without getting permission or giving credit. It is newer ok to “stretch” the truth or engage in, using political spin, and “half-truth” in order to mislead or misrepresent people or issues. It may be “common” practice among lawyers, but that does not make it right. Our nation is in real trouble. We do not have time for ego building, chest thumping politics. If we have any hope of restoring our nation and preserving freedom and hope for the next generation we need to be unified. We need a President who sees people not parties. We need a president more interested in solving problems then scoring points. We need a president with time tested wisdom, common sense and self-control. Good ideas and wonderful policy are useless without the ability to unify people and inspire them to make the hard choices and engage in the hard work necessary to implement them. We need wisdom, maturity, and common sense. We need a president who understands hard work and has a history of success and integrity. The time for superficial is over. We cannot afford to grade on a curve. Politics as usual will not do. We must choose wisely.
Cruz is the best the GOP has to offer. Donald Trump is Barack Obama 2.0 – he is so vague in everything he says that the listeners hear what they want to hear. We really have no idea how he will deal with the major issues of the day because all we know is that America is now bad, messed up, going downhill, a disaster – and that he’ll fix it all without telling us how.
It’s ludicrous and embarrassing that educated, thoughtful people are falling for his carnival show. What a travesty!