Rubio once again came in second again. As one pundit said Rubio might be everyone’s second choice but at some point he needs to be the first choice. Rubio continues to insist he’s the only alternative to Trump. However, if you look at the delegate count (which is what really counts), Rubio is tied with Cruz at 17.
Trump is way ahead with 81 delegates. That doesn’t seem like a huge lead but it really is. Trump will continue to pile up delegates with the upcoming Super Tuesday contests. The way it is right now it is very possible he will win most of them. That will mean Trump will have a UUGE lead in delegates. The thinking is once the primaries go to winner take all contests, the other candidates will be able to make headway on Trump. But by then it might be too late to stop him.
There is all sorts of consternation going on in the Republican ranks. The main theme is that time seems to be running out to stop Trump. From he Post:
Donald Trump has taken firm control of the race for the Republican presidential nomination with his third straight victory, in Nevada. To deny him that role, strategists say, his leading rivals must quickly change the trajectory of the race and then dig in for what could be a long battle that could go all the way to the GOP convention in Cleveland.The success of the Trump candidacy is due in no small part to the actions by the Republican Party establishment. They putting winning above all else. They thought they could use the Tea Party and other angry voters to gain back both the House and Senate.
Strategists who have been through past nomination battles say that Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich collectively have until March 15 to turn the race away from the New York billionaire. Each has a must-win test looming in his home state between now and then. But those victories alone might not be sufficient to block Trump’s path.
“The reality is that, until the field starts to narrow, it’s going to be very, very hard to take him out,” said Katie Packer, deputy campaign manager for Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign and the leader of an anti-Trump super PAC. “I think people need to step up and start taking on Trump. Front-runners don’t just stumble. People trip them.”
They succeeded in doing that by making all sorts of promises and playing to the fears that people had. They allowed the birther movement and all the other absurd things said about Obama to go forward without being challenged. You know he’s a Muslim. Because again all that mattered was winning and getting back in power. They said they would repeal Obamacare. When they knew full well there was no way that was going to happen but made the promise anyway because all that mattered to them was gaining power.
The Republican establishment thought the Republican voters wouldn’t notice this. That there promises were never converted into actions. Well they finally did. They decided to not believe the lies of the Republican establishment any more (and frankly who could blame them). And they began to flock to Trump.
The things Trump said and says are outrageous. But there was very little criticism of Trump on these. A half-hearted attempt by Speaker Ryan saying that’s not what the Republican Party stands for. Then in the same breath saying that if Trump was the nominee, Ryan would support him. Yes the other candidates did say that what Trump said was over the top. But they never truly challenged him.
It appears in all likelihood, unless there is a major shake up, that Trump is on the way to winning the Republican nomination. Yes, there are many more primary contests to go. But in the majority of them Trump is ahead.
The Republican establishment must be so proud of themselves for what they have helped to unleash. All in the name of winning and gaining power instead of what is best for the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment