What Republicans must do and must do NOW

[Brittain33]

Who's with me?   

Zero U.S. Senators.

[DemPGH]

I have already issued a clarion call to my fellow Republicans on March 2, 2016, that in order to stop Trump, Rubio and Kasich must drop out of the race and support Cruz.

Given the events  of this past week, my words have been confirmed and have become even much more urgent.

Cruz is on the upswing, Rubio has totally collapsed, Kasich continues to live in a dream world.

Marco Rubio, swallow your pride, withdraw from the race, and endorse Cruz NOW.  The only thing that is going to happen with Rubio if he contests the primary in Florida is that he is going to be humiliated by the Republican voters in Florida by going down to an ignominious  defeat.   

John Kasich, think of the future of your party and the future of your country, you are not going to win Ohio.  Put the nation's interests above your own.  Withdraw from the race NOW and endorse Cruz NOW.

Jeb Bush, now that you have had time to fully realize you are not going to be the nominee, do the right thing and endorse Cruz NOW.  Follow your brother, Neil Bush's lead, and throw your support to Cruz NOW.

Carly Fiorina, thank you for taking this bold step of endorsing Cruz.

The rest should follow your courageous example.

Who's with me?   

   

 

What's really ironic is that Trump embodies the characteristics that you guys claim to revere. But oh, he's told your bosses to eff off, and good for him. I wish someone like him would come along for us.

Bonus points to Trump for how he handles a presser too. Great stuff to watch.   

[Classic Conservative]

Who's with me?   

Zero U.S. Senators.

Well there is techincally one and if you count Mike Lee who half endorsed him, two.

[Penelope]

Why would anyone prefer Cruz to Trump, regardless of ideology?

Literally every negative about Trump, from any angle or perspective imaginable, is either equally true or worse for Cruz.

Trump is literally the best candidate the Republican Party has had in over 30 years. The fact that some losers on this site seem content to piss it all away in favor of a (quite obviously) morally bankrupt and corrupt Senator who has almost no congressional record outside of accusing the President of high treason and filibustering bills is both hilarious and completely unsurprising.

This is the guy who represents everything wrong with Washington today and he is the guy who is going to beat Hillary Clinton? Give me a break.

If you're an establishment republican now supporting Cruz, the only reason you're doing it is out of pure spite because Trump was mean to your masters.

[DavidB.]

Are you aware that Mr. Ted Cruz is not a natural born citizen?  That he is not eligible to become the POTUS or VPOTUS by the very US Constitution that you support?  Please understand that to be a natural born citizen, one has to be born of both citizen parents and cannot be subject to the legal jurisdiction of any other country.  

Are you someone's sock, or just dumb as fock?

[Ebowed]

Ted Cruz is the spawn of Satan, folks.  If I were a Republican I would be hedging my bets on Trump and hoping that his bloviating has been theatrical (a highly risky assumption, granted).  The 'moderates' and 'swing voters' aren't going to go for a literal crazy person who talks about holy wars when he's giving out his invasion wish list.  The 'establishment' Republicans, in their desperation, are overlooking just how unlikable Cruz is.  He is the epitome of dirty tactics, dishonesty and exactly the opposite of 'trustworthy' - which, if you haven't noticed yet, is a theme of this election.

[Maxwell]

Hey man, if you guys really wanna run Senator Joseph McCarthy for President, be my guest.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Why would Cruz be better for your people or your interests than TRUMP?

This is a good question.

Cruz is an extremely intelligent, principled, capable, political leader.

Trump is a self-centered, foul mouthed, megalomaniac, who lashes out when criticized, who does not have the temperament to be President, does not understand how things really work, case in point, a wall on the U.S. Mexico border.  We all know there is no way on this earth this will EVER happen.  His business acumen is not all it is cut out to be.  He appeals to hatred, racism, and bigotry.        

Who are you calling principled? The guy that held up the U.S. government so he could read "Green Eggs & Ham" on TV? Or the guy with a gigantic mural of himself on his office wall? Who are you calling capable? The man who joked about getting Persian sands to glow? Or is the "capable" leader the one who is not liked by a single one of his Senate colleagues--the very people responsible for passing his agenda?

Trump is a lot of things, but I doubt he's worse than Cruz. Republicans have a chance to actually try to shift the debate and tackle Clinton and her ilk on new ground with TRUMP, or they can try to fight the battles that they lost ten years ago with Cruz. Rafael, I'm sure, could be the fantastic leader of an undeveloped, agrarian banana republic, but his ideology is ill-suited for a modernized state after about 1850.

[Bigby]

Why would Cruz be better for your people or your interests than TRUMP?

This is a good question.

Cruz is an extremely intelligent, principled, capable, political leader.

Trump is a self-centered, foul mouthed, megalomaniac, who lashes out when criticized, who does not have the temperament to be President, does not understand how things really work, case in point, a wall on the U.S. Mexico border.  We all know there is no way on this earth this will EVER happen.  His business acumen is not all it is cut out to be.  He appeals to hatred, racism, and bigotry.        

Who are you calling principled? The guy that held up the U.S. government so he could read "Green Eggs & Ham" on TV? Or the guy with a gigantic mural of himself on his office wall? Who are you calling capable? The man who joked about getting Persian sands to glow? Or is the "capable" leader the one who is not liked by a single one of his Senate colleagues--the very people responsible for passing his agenda?

Trump is a lot of things, but I doubt he's worse than Cruz. Republicans have a chance to actually try to shift the debate and tackle Clinton and her ilk on new ground with TRUMP, or they can try to fight the battles that they lost ten years ago with Cruz. Rafael, I'm sure, could be the fantastic leader of an undeveloped, agrarian banana republic, but his ideology is ill-suited for a modernized state after about 1850.

I want to see this.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

He's apparently replaced it these days with some cult painting of Reagan to make him look chic or something:

[rbt48]

A Cruz nomination makes me think of Todd Akin's Senate run in Missouri.  Cruz is similarly conservative and when pressed by reporters, he would make statements equally toxic to those by Akin. 

As a Republican who can't stomach Trump (too much like Hitler or Musselini), I have to hope that Trump comes up short of a majority on the first ballot and then the freed delegates pick Kasich or Rubio.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Amen!!!

Are you aware that Mr. Ted Cruz is not a natural born citizen?  That he is not eligible to become the POTUS or VPOTUS by the very US Constitution that you support?  Please understand that to be a natural born citizen, one has to be born of both citizen parents and cannot be subject to the legal jurisdiction of any other country. 

My friend, you should really do more investigation before making statements like the one you just made.

Yes, Cruz was born in Canada, however, his mother was a U.S. citizen, born in Delaware.  His father was born in Cuba.

Therefore, by virtue of the fact his mother was/is an American citizen, Cruz is totally eligible to become President of the United States.

Also, you are pitting yourself against one of the foremost constitutional scholars in the U.S., Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, who has stated that Cruz is constitutionally eligible to be President, and, by the way, has as well stated that Ted Cruz is one of the smartest students he has ever had at the Harvard Law School.

cruz isn't even a natural-born human being. give it up, winnie.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Cruz is far worse than Trump. At least with Trump, you have a possibility he moves hard to the center, which he will, to win. Cruz will continue to be Cruz and have no chance of winning a general against Hillary.

[pppolitics]

The problem with this strategy is that Cruz is even less likable than Cruz.

[tinman64]

Kasich>Rubio>Cruz>Trump

[Ebowed]

Ted Cruz is the spawn of Satan, folks.  If I were a Republican I would be hedging my bets on Trump and hoping that his bloviating has been theatrical (a highly risky assumption, granted).  The 'moderates' and 'swing voters' aren't going to go for a literal crazy person who talks about holy wars when he's giving out his invasion wish list.  The 'establishment' Republicans, in their desperation, are overlooking just how unlikable Cruz is.  He is the epitome of dirty tactics, dishonesty and exactly the opposite of 'trustworthy' - which, if you haven't noticed yet, is a theme of this election.

I don't like Cruz, but how can he possibly be scarier than Trump?  With Cruz, we know exactly what we would be getting: a hardcore ideologue who aspires to be the anti-FDR and will do everything in his power to revert the role of the federal government to what it was in the 1920's.  I would prefer not to live in that world, but it's a lot more manageable than the substantial risk of Trump going fascist.  How is Cruz's "do whatever you want, as long as you/your family can pay in full" worse than Trump's "I will reign as a strongman and everything else is negotiable" at best or "only white people will have political rights from now on" at worst?  I mean, one of those is clearly more difficult to undo/stop than the other, right?

The entire premise of Cruz being worse rests on his inflexibility.  Cruz is scarier because he seems to genuinely believe this stuff.  I'm not saying I'm looking forward to Trump; I find that prospect terrifying, too.  But pretending that Cruz is some kind of vehicle for racial harmony and anti-bigotry because he hasn't been the focus of a bombastic media circus is just ridiculous.  The "movement conservatives" take an even harder stance against immigration than Trump.  Cruz is talking about throwing out millions of hard working people and banishing them.  Rooting for Ted Cruz because you know what you're getting is like hoping for hemorrhoids.

[Mercenary]

While Kasich cannot win the nomination he can still win Ohio, so it is actually in Cruz's best interest he stays in to prevent Trump from getting those delegates. Not sure about Rubio, he is unlikely to win the state considering he is collapsing and all but even if he withdraws I doubt Cruz has any chance in Florida anyway. Brokered convention is in everyone other than Trump's interest at this point.

[they don't love you like i love you]

I disagree with your assessment, BRTD.  As long as Rubio stays in, the more likely he deprives Cruz of critical wins in WTA states.  Cruz actually does quite well against Trump 1-on-1; Michigan exit polls had him 43-41, with the rest choosing no one.  I think Cruz would easily beat Trump pretty much everywhere west of the Mississippi in a 2-person race, even in California.

There aren't many actual WTA states though. The only big ones are Florida (which may be a lost cause) and Ohio (where Kasich is clearly strongest.)

[m4567]

Some people say Trump will move to the middle during the general, but I think it's too late. Plus, I seriously doubt he will tone down his personality.

[Mallow]

Kasich>Rubio>Cruz>Trump

In terms of having a chance of beating the Dems in November, your above diagram is right on. In terms of having a chance to be the Republican nominee, the diagram is backwards. Go figure.

Point being, it doesn't really matter if it's Trump or Cruz, neither has a reasonable chance to beat Clinton in the general election. I suspect Trump would lose in a bigger landslide, though he may pick up a state or two that doesn't often go R in his best-case scenario. Cruz would just be a straight 2008 or 2012, no surprises.

[MM876]

You're absolutely right from your viewpoint. Cruz is the only one left who can stop Trump.

As a liberal though, I can only take solace in my party's sh**tty primary by laughing that Trump is going to be your nominee. And personally I'd take... ugh... TRUMP over Cruz.

[Meclazine for Israel]

The Republicans face an uphill battle.

I am starting to think the only way to get a Republican President is for Trump to win the nomination.

Then he has simply to run a campaign based on increased voter turnout.

A lot of people already know which way they want to vote.

It is simply a case of getting more Republicans to the voting booth.

Trump has to sell the vision better. Sell the dream.

Once he gets the nomination, his personality wont change, but his message will.

[Mr. Morden]

I disagree with your assessment, BRTD.  As long as Rubio stays in, the more likely he deprives Cruz of critical wins in WTA states.  Cruz actually does quite well against Trump 1-on-1; Michigan exit polls had him 43-41, with the rest choosing no one.  I think Cruz would easily beat Trump pretty much everywhere west of the Mississippi in a 2-person race, even in California.

There aren't many actual WTA states though. The only big ones are Florida (which may be a lost cause) and Ohio (where Kasich is clearly strongest.)

Many of the states left are WTA by congressional district, if not WTA statewide.  The latest polls from ABC and NBC that test a Cruz vs. Trump 2-man race have Cruz winning nationally by double digits.  It's only because of Kasich and Rubio being in the race that Trump is ahead of Cruz nationally.  Sure, New York is the one big case where Cruz would benefit from Kasich and Rubio staying in, because Trump is most likely going to win it regardless, and with four people in the race they might keep him under 50%.  But outside of that, I think Cruz would benefit immensely from Kasich and Rubio dropping out.

[Mr. Morden]

Dude, Cruz is not going to win a majority of delegates either. His route to the nomination is the same as Rubio's, Kasich's, and even Romney's: brokered convention.

If Kasich and Rubio dropped out of the race today, I'd give Cruz at least a decent shot at ultimately catching up to Trump in the popular vote, if not pledged delegates, which would help his cause at the convention, convincing people that he has at least as much of a "mandate" from the voters as Trump.  Trump's only ahead of Cruz 35%-29% in the popular vote so far, and (slightly) less than half the country has voted, so it's hardly impossible.

[HAnnA MArin County]

This whole stop Trump movement by the so-called establishment is so funny. Donald Trump is just saying what Republicans have wanted to say for years but never have had the political courage to do so. From their slew of crazy candidates in 2010 to the birther nonsense to their comments about rape and everything in between, Republicans have created this monster known as Trump, and for them to now be so terrified of a candidate who's openly and unabashedly spouting off their crazy beliefs is astounding to me, especially considering his front runner status since pretty much the day he began his campaign and his dominance in the polls and the record number of voters he's turning out. You'd think the Republican establishment would be thrilled by these fears. Yes, he's using hate and fear to motivate the voters, but it's not as though this is the first time Republicans have resorted to demagoguery aimed at minorities. Furthermore, Republicans are terrified of their own voters. Let that sink in for a while. Any attempts to "unite" and "stop Donald Trump" are going to do nothing but backfire and solidify his supporters' adherence to him. I'm sure Reince Preibus knows this and does NOT want a brokered/contested convention. Even if Trump doesn't clinch the nomination by June, he's most certainly still going to be in the lead and for the RNC to neglect that and nominate someone other than him is going to have dire consequences for the party in the general election.

So I think what Republicans must do now is put on their big boy britches and get ready for a shellacking in
November.