So much for the Rubio-Cruz alliance

[Lyin' Steve]

Throwing the Romney #neverTrump strategy to the ashes, Cruz risks dramatically increasing the odds of a Trump victory by kneecapping Rubio in Florida.  Make sure Trump wins Florida to force Rubio out of the race and make it a 1-on-1 with Trump.  Of course, Kasich, is still out there, and would be much more formidable with Rubio out of the race.  Will it work?

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/04/politics/ted-cruz-marco-rubio-florida/index.html

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[Ronnie]

I think the assumption that Rubio would drop out if he loses Florida isn't necessarily true.  He may keep running as long as he can continue to get funded, and if his current endorsements don't flock to Cruz/Kasich.

[Mr. Morden]

I think the assumption that Rubio would drop out if he loses Florida isn't necessarily true.

I agree.  He might drop out, but he might not.  It depends in large part on what party elites want him to do, and what he thinks gives him the best chance to set himself up for 2020.

[Why]

If Rubio was looking to 2020 surely he would have dropped out already instead of going forward to the almost certain and humiliating loss in Florida.

[Mr. Morden]

If Rubio was looking to 2020 surely he would have dropped out already instead of going forward to the almost certain and humiliating loss in Florida.

Disagree.  The remaining states on the calendar are more favorable to him than they are to Cruz, so if he stays in the race longer, he has a chance to catch up to Cruz in both the popular vote and delegate count, giving him a better claim to being "next in line" for next time.

[bballrox4717]

It's well known that both Kasich and Rubio are done if they can't win Ohio or Florida. If Cruz can score a knockout punch on both of them, he'll get the one on one match up he wants with the endorsements of Romney and the other #NeverTrump politicians.

[Meclazine for Israel]

It is difficult to see how Rubio will continue. As one punter said, the final states are more favourable to him.

He speaks too quickly and nervously to be a "come from behind" candidate.

One of the things i noticed in the debate is that Trump, Cruz and Kasich can sit in silence and wait their turn despite the fact they are being attacked.

But Marco Rubio could not wait three seconds. He interjects nervously and it showed a lack of maturity.

His fake smiles and tepid responses dont win voters.

A self confident person can take criticism, and wait before responding in a unperturbed manner.

He needs to slow down, stick to his message and come across a little more settled as a candidate.

[Asian Nazi]

Sociopath does sociopathic thing.  New at 11!

[PeteB]

All candidates want to win. Cruz is only behaving rationally from his point of view as he believes he would get establishment support if Rubio was out.

As for Rubio, if he loses FL, the only rationale he has to stay in the race is if one of these two happen:

1. Kasich loses OH and drops out (Rubio would claim someone has to stay against Trump)

2. He wins some other state(s) and claims he is winning and since Trump is (almost) a FL resident, the loss there is no big deal!

[Higgs]

It is difficult to see how Rubio will continue. As one punter said, the final states are more favourable to him.

He speaks too quickly and nervously to be a "come from behind" candidate.

One of the things i noticed in the debate is that Trump, Cruz and Kasich can sit in silence and wait their turn despite the fact they are being attacked.

But Marco Rubio could not wait three seconds. He interjects nervously and it showed a lack of maturity.

His fake smiles and tepid responses dont win voters.

A self confident person can take criticism, and wait before responding in a unperturbed manner.

He needs to slow down, stick to his message and come across a little more settled as a candidate.

Trump can sit in silence and wait his turn, dafuq are you talking about? He interrupts every time he's attacked, it got so bad Cruz had to tell him to count to 10 and breathe.

[Likely Voter]

This seems to rely on Kasich losing Ohio and dropping out. If Rubio loses FL but Kasich drops out then Rubio will likely get enough backing to stay. The Establishment need someone to back.

[Lyin' Steve]

Cruz thinks the establishment will back him if he is the only anti-Trump option left.  But I think they would tell Kasich to stay in the race or even run a write-in campaign for Mitt before they threw their weight behind Cruz.

[Asian Nazi]

The establishment will support TRUMP before Cruz, though many actual Rubio voters would back Cruz.

[Maxwell]

Cruz doesn't owe Rubio anything. Cruz obviously knows the establishment won't put him anywhere near the ticket in a brokered convention, so the only way he even gets close to the nomination is knee capping Rubio in Florida.

[Vosem]

The establishment will support _trump before Cruz

Nah. There was some thought of this happening because of Vichy types in IA, but it's been decisively disproven since then. The establishment prefers real American patriot Ted Cruz.

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Anyway, I suspect that the point of the Cruz effort in FL is to deny _trump votes that would always vote for _trump over Rubio but might consider Cruz otherwise. It's been demonstrated that Cruz is stronger in southern rural areas than Rubio; having a targeted effort in the state could really hurt the _trump effort in the state.

[Asian Nazi]

It's sad/funny to see how TRUMP has managed to destroy the critical thinking abilities of so many of his opponents on this forum.