Another Tuesday, another election, more disappointment (Ohio and Florida we knew, but what the hell happened to North Carolina, Illinois and Missouri?!). After last night's frustration and disgust with the failings of a Republican electorate as it's duped once again by a con-man, it's understandable why some would say enough or simply "I'm Done." However, it's not quite over yet, but the difficulty level has absolutely increased.Donald Trump is not a conservative, just ask his supporters; he is a populist, centrist, and an iron fisted guy. Trump has moved within the Republican Party to get his populist agenda across. Meanwhile, Ted Cruz, the only conservative candidate, is caught in the middle of Trump and the Establishment and conservatives are being shut out of the process. Conservatives need to get smart and not pretend that either of those camps represents them. They shouldn’t dabble with either side but need to get behind the only conservative candidate in the race. In addition, Donald Trump has the highest disapproval ratings of any candidate. Even Hillary Clinton’s approval ratings are above Trump’s. ~ Mark Levin, 3/15/16
This election is ripe for the return of virtue and principle, yet conservatives find themselves caught in a vice between the aging establishment and a less-old-but-resurrected populism.
Now, while there is still encouragement to keep calm and keep Cruzing...
Cruz is playing a strategic chess game. By competing just enough to force Rubio out, he eliminated his closest and most antagonistic rival for the anti-Trump vote. Kasich's win in Ohio, kept Trump from running the table. Now it's Cruz v Trump. Most polls show that Cruz can consolidate the opposition and dominate Trump head to head.The stark reality is that even Trump risks falling short of the delegate count for the nomination, so the chance of this going to a contested convention has also increased...
Updated delegate count as of Wednesday afternoon:TheHill: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has secured more than half of the delegates needed to win the nomination, but he will need to pick up his pace to clinch 1,237 delegates and avoid a contested convention.
Trump’s strong performance in the Tuesday night primaries will make it tough for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to catch him.
He has secured 621 delegates, according to The Associated Press's projections as of 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, compared to 396 for Cruz and 138 for Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Those three men are now the only active GOP candidates. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) suspended his campaign on Tuesday after losing Florida. He has 167 delegates.It's unlikely that either, Cruz more so than Trump, can reach the magic 1,237 delegates needed, and if that comes to fruition, the Republican Party is definitely set for a contested convention. This could go either way, good or bad. Frankly, I'm not confident in the party or its delegates choosing the conservative path after watching how duped its electorate has been this primary cycle. There's still a chance, but it's difficult not to feel extremely cynical.
About 60 percent of the 2,472 GOP delegates have been awarded, and Trump has won about 47 percent of them.
If he continues to win at that same clip, he’d fall more than 100 delegates short of 1,237, which would set up a contested convention.
That's the result Kasich is hoping for, since the Ohio governor has no chance of getting to 1,237 himself and little realistic chance of overtaking Trump.
Cruz believes he can still take the delegate lead from Trump, but he would have a better chance with Kasich out of the race and only two men to divide up the rest of the delegates.
Even that road would be tough for Cruz, however, who would need a win in Arizona's winner-take-all primary next week as well as a victory in Wisconsin's April 5 contest.
For Trump to get to 1,237, he needs to win more than about 60 percent of the remaining delegates.
And it's easy to get cynical, particularly with the modern media three-ring Barnum & Bailey act, both liberal mainstream press and 'alternative' (conservative) sources, reminiscent of the Roman bread & circuses to be quite honest. The greater disappointment has been with the latter though, where either too many waited too long to coalesce behind the obvious consistent conservative in the race (Cruz), or they utterly abandoned their espoused conservative principles and backed the populist (Trump), who's never displayed a consistent ounce of conservatism.
Related link: Let’s Remember The Cowardly Conservative Leaders Who Betrayed Us For TrumpTo fully understand how and why the “conservative” (I use that term loosely) media willingly enabled this hostile takeover of the Republican Party, you primarily need to comprehend what a fraud the entire industry is. In short, the vast majority of “conservative” media is simply just a business cynically disguised as a cause.
There are of course the exceptions (which I attempt to levitate towards, but can be fooled from time to time); nonetheless, whether mainstream or alternative, here's all the proof you need to understand how a collective media has pushed a Trump nomination all along:
Whether positive, negative or having nothing to do with the state of our disunion, but rather a circus sideshow, Big Media is aiding and abetting the Trumplodytes in foisting the Donald onto the Republican ticket. A perfect setup for failure, because here's the stark FACTS, folks: Trump is not a conservative and will be defeated in an embarrassing fashion in November.
Related links: I Get It, But Tell Me Who You’re ForTheResurgent: In 2008, Republicans lost the presidential election because a weak, establishment candidate won the GOP nomination and “hope and change” swept the nation. People were absolutely enamored with the young charismatic senator from Illinois and as a result, the GOP was soundly defeated.
In 2012, Democrats did not win the election; the Romney campaign simply lost it. Between Romney’s horrific second presidential debate performance, the failed Romney data collection system called ORCA and the failure of the Romney campaign to show Romney’s soft side (as was done on Netflix after the election), President Obama was simply handed a second term.
Notice whose fault the previous 2 losses were not: Conservatives. All of that could change very soon. If consolidation does not begin around Ted Cruz, Trump will be the nominee and he will lose. More importantly than that, conservatives will be blamed. The history books will read “in 2016 conservatives got their gun loving, abortion hating, wall building nominee and were soundly defeated”, thus totally discrediting the Tea Party movement.
The facts are simple. Trump is not a conservative and will be defeated in an embarrassing fashion in November. Because of this, any politician that claims to be conservative and supports Trump must be blacklisted by conservatives. They should be shunned, rejected, mocked and scorned because of the damage they have done. Ban them from CPAC; fail them on conservative scorecards; make them politically radioactive. When President Hillary Clinton gets 3 supreme court nominees, blame the blacklist. When President Hillary Clinton restricts second amendments rights and expands abortion rights, blame the blacklist. When President Hillary Clinton appoints radicals to every federal agency, blame the blacklist. We must purge them from conservative circles to make sure this never happens again. #NeverTrump
Cruz’s Camp Needs to Focus
A Third Party if Necessary and The Defense of a Third Party
So, CONSERVATIVES, keep FIGHTING! There is simply no other choice...because here's the positive of a contested convention:
NR: There is no sugar-coating tonight’s results. Even the one, small bright spot — John Kasich denying Donald Trump Ohio’s delegates — may end up presenting the conservative movement with a classic case of winning a battle but losing the war. Kasich is going to soldier on, doing his dead-level-best to sail into the convention as some sort of kingmaker/power-broker. In the meantime, however, he’ll split the anti-Trump vote even further, allowing Trump to continue to win contest after contest with a plurality of voters. It’s self-serving, it’s vain, and it’s Kasich.No more debates. It's time to #StandWithCruz #DefendTheConstitution #DumpTrump #TrusTED #ChooseCruz #4America!
And while I like and respect Marco Rubio, his futile decision to stay in the race to swing for the fences in Florida certainly cost Ted Cruz victories in both North Carolina and Missouri (at least if Trump’s narrow lead in Missouri holds overnight).
Any normal race would be over. But this is not a normal election. We’ve gone from a race where the political wing of the conservative movement is at stake, to a contest where America finds itself teetering on the edge of political violence not seen since 1968. In such circumstances, patriots simply do not give up, and they especially don’t give up while there are still glimmers of hope.
Trump is presently not on pace to accumulate a majority of delegates before the GOP convention, and he will face one — and perhaps two — losses next week in the Utah caucuses and the Arizona primaries. Mormon Utah will obliterate Trump (serving a heaping helping of humble pie to squishy Evangelicals), and Cruz should be competitive in Arizona. Any victory going forward will increase the chances of a contested convention.
The only defeat that #NeverTrump should acknowledge is final defeat in November, and even then conservatives should immediately plot their comeback. Our crisis cannot compare with the crisis faced by American patriots in 1776, but Thomas Paine’s words resonate still:
These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.Stand now. No matter the odds. There is no other choice.
ADDENDUM: Welcome aboard!
But what of his delegates? Guess we'll find out soon enough.USAConservativeToday: After this super thursday Texas senator and Republican presidential candidate, Cruz will benefit most from Rubio’s exit from the presidential race, according to new Morning Consult polling.
Among 412 Rubio supporters polled, 47 percent support Cruz as a second choice. Morning Consult interviewed 8,732 registered voters from March 11 to 15, including 3,372 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.
Related links: Rubio aide urges support for Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz SLAMS Trump for skipping debate, calls out media for airing a Trump telethon
Ted Cruz's 51% path to first-ballot nomination
