I see Trump and Cruz as roughly equal threats to the establishment and the traditional GOP. They are on different paths but those paths are not sanctioned by the party. Carson would also be quite a blow to orthodoxy. So that leaves them with Rubio and Kasich. Rubio is a bit of a maverick compared with Kasich so I imagine they will pull for Kasich as long as they think there’s any chance, while also encouraging Rubio.
Personally, I think Cruz is the better bet. With Trump, there is too much uncertainty as to actual philosophy and while he might rip up the party, he might also fail to deliver on core conservative promises implied. I think that Super Tuesday needs to be a time of sober reflection — which of the non-establishment candidates is really most likely to deliver the sort of fundamental change without also introducing unwanted elements of chaos or disorder?
For me, that question is self-evident. I would even rate Carson ahead of Trump in terms of probability of principled conservative change in America. But this point of view may get drowned out in the stampede to an obvious front runner. Just be sure you know where the front runner is going, in case you don’t want to go along.
Cruz let the cat out of the bag in his post debate interview with Jake Tapper. Cruz said that his "friend" Marco and him are more qualified to be President. He essentially endorsed Rubio over Trump. Cruz also mentioned that he had spoken to Jeb a few days ago saying it was a shame he was not on the stage with him since he was the only one who took on Trump with him.
If we get to a brokered convention Cruz will go with Rubio. Cruz is part of the club. He is not an outsider.
Last night, if you paid attention, you saw Cruz was the establishment, his mask came off last night, we all saw who he really was. And it wasn’t pretty.
That's why they're gonna lose.
The GOPe should have united around a single candidate before Iowa. Jeb was obviously hopeless by December. Back then they had a lot of options. But the Bush family and allies in the GOPe kept putting on the pressure behind the scenes, preventing anyone from bolting and endorsing someone else until after Iowa and New Hampshire. By then there were only two choices left for them, Kasich and Rubio, both weak.
If their agenda is amnesty their best choice was probably Rand Paul, who would have grabbed a lot of the Tea Party vote away from Trump. But his moderately isolationist foreign policy is something the GOPe doesn't want to adopt.
As this has played out it has become obvious that Trump knew something almost no one else knew when there were over a dozen candidates running. Far from the mainstream assertion that this was the strongest field of candidates in decades it was extremely weak.
This is easy to prove. Just try to think of who the GOPe could have united behind to stop Trump. I just tried to argue for Rand Paul and even I don't believe it!
Truth be told, running against these chumps Trump won the day he got in. Only a brokered convention can stop him now.