I reject your reality and substitute my own... my own Trump reality.
I was not surprised that Cruz won. Evangelicals always win in Iowa. Trump came close.
In the long run, all Cruz really accomplished was to throw a life-line to the Republican establishment, in the form of Rubio. Cruz was always going to be strong in Iowa (and, at a later point, Texas), so his narrow victory isn’t much of a surprise. The net effect is that Rubio and the Republican establishment can breath a huge sigh of relief today, since Iowa voters missed an opportunity to deal them a fatal blow. Hopefully, subsequent states will not follow Iowa’s lead, and can undo the good fortune that Iowa bestowed upon the establishment.
my theory is that the GOPe and the media are beyond pissed that Cruz won and is so popular WITHOUT their respective support or introduction. This election is about the people deciding, not the media, who they like. The media hate that. Afterall, we are just stupid and need to be told what to think. We are telling all the media what we think and they can’t handle it.
The Cruz operation had a tremendous ground game.
#GrassrootsMatter