Strange bedfellows: Why Trump and Cruz need each other now

Doug Wead ^ | April 2, 2016 | Doug Wead

[faucetman]

“Karl Rove claims that this might happen. Respected pundits speculate about it. “

Good morning gentleman ....., you too Karl.

[mkjessup]

Cruz welcomed the support of snakes, now he's going to get snake bit, and his deluded supporters will twist themselves into every kind of obscene pretzel-like shape trying to explain it away:

[Bobalu]

[mkjessup]

Cruz does not need Trump by my math. He’s on a very plausible path to 1000-1025 delegates which would put him nearly dead even with the Donald. Then the delegates decide and my money is on Ted.

"A fool and their money are soon parted"

Trump supporters who think the GOP are parachute in a 3rd candidate are being overly paranoid. This is a two horse race and, depending on how far Donald is away from 1237 (I think he’ll easily be 150-200 short), it’s likely going to be won by Cruz on the second ballot.

Welcome to FR n00b. Signed up today to post this nonsense?

Go back and tell King Cruz is ain't happenin'.

[don-o]

Cruz is the GOPe...

Hillary sends you her thanks for pushing that nonsense. She has no way to energize her base; but Trump can do that for her.

Of course, Donald and Bill had this planned out from the get go. Sad to see Freepers falling for it.

[catfish1957]

OMG....you got a pic of my dog!!!!!!!!!!

[Just mythoughts]

Hillary sends you her thanks for pushing that nonsense. She has no way to energize her base; but Trump can do that for her. Of course, Donald and Bill had this planned out from the get go. Sad to see Freepers falling for it.

You are welcome bjClinton.

[InterceptPoint]

Trump supporters who think the GOP are parachute in a 3rd candidate are being overly paranoid. This is a two horse race and, depending on how far Donald is away from 1237 (I think he’ll easily be 150-200 short), it’s likely going to be won by Cruz on the second ballot.

Welcome aboard.

I've been making this case here at FR for quite some time now. The normal feedback I get from the Trumpsters and Trumpettes is that Paul Ryan or Phil N D'Blank has a better chance than Cruz. In fact their assumption is that Cruz has ZERO CHANCE of winning if Trump fails to get the nomination. They conclude this based on their postulate of total GOPe control of the convention delegates and the convention rules.

So watch for bricks flying out of your computer screen.

[CapnJack]

Screw Cruz! Vote trump. I hope Cruz gets a conservative to run against him in 2018.

And it is statements like this that will make me write-in or leave blank, the selection for President in November if Trump is the nominee.

For God's sake, a year ago FR praised Cruz for his conservative values and his one man stand against "establishment" bills up for vote in the Senate.

The Republicans/Conservatives had a golden opportunity this year to basically sweep the elections this November, but this primary season has turned out to be the most poisonous one I have ever seen. And the Dems are just sitting back and laughing seeing there prospects of a clean sweep this fall rise exponentially.

[bert]

Once again, you choose self over America

[Lurkinanloomin]

I no longer Trust TED.

Having the Bush team join his team was very revealing

[Luircin]

Give me evidence that what you claim is true.

[InterceptPoint]

Give me evidence that what you claim is true.

I don't have it. But the Trumpsters and Trumpettes don't have any evidence either. The best I can offer you is this article. If this guy is wrong then so am I. But I think he is right.

Rather than ask me to prove that the GOPe cannot control 1237 mostly Trump and Cruz delegates and nominate Mitt Romney or some other Bozo you should prove that they can. I don't think you can do that.

So right it's a tie between two theories: All Powerful GOPe vs All Powerful Trump + Cruz Delegates. Time will tell who is right.

[Popman]

Both Trump and Cruz are flawed people which make them flawed candidates...

The level of vitriol and hate toward Cruz is beyond the pale...

Most of it are outright lies, smears, guilty by association, libel, etc...

If Trump was out of the picture, nearly everyone here would be backing and supporting Cruz, but because Trump tickled your ears, you try and to destroy the man...

Politics is a blood sport and Cruz is taking advantage of Trumps weakness in being a neophyte politician, his team has a lot of catching up to do in regards to how the system works...

The system is the system: you don't like it, change the rules in your state...but don't blame Cruz for knowing how they work because Trump doesn't...

It's been interesting watching the transformation of this site...

I for one still don't understand the blindness of Trump supporters concerning the GOPe...

Your fantasy is he will destroy them, when in reality, he will cozy up to them because at the end of the day, he needs them...if anything to be able to govern...

Something I believe Trump has no idea how to do...(govern)

I'm waiting with great anticipation when you see Trump with all the hated GOPe politicians budding up with them all smiles...

Exploding heads galore...

[Fhios]

There was a time where Ted Cruz could have made a graceful exit and probably had gone on to be a key ally in the Senate for the Trump administration.

That day is long past.

[arl295]

Cruz is not going to be the nominee

Sorry to disappoint you

[jjotto]

I’ll go with the Trump+Cruz delegates.

It sure seems to me that local and state GOP activists have become more conservative over the last few election cycles. Thus the inability of an openly Establishment candidate to get traction.

All the GOP-E braggadocio is predicated on going into the convention with 40+ percent of the delegates. The Establishment will be lucky to get half that many. Even giving them credit for a couple hundred double-agent delegates doesn’t get them close to deciding anything.

[Kegger]

I'm not sure the initial statement is accurate:

Here’s how it works. Rule 40b requires that a candidate must have a plurality of delegates in eight states to be nominated. This is the so called “Ron Paul Rule” put in place by Mitt Romney, John Sununu, Ben Ginsberg and others seeking to block Ron Paul from being nominated in 2012. When Ron Paul actually closed in on a majority in eight states they contested some of his duly elected delegates and threw them off the floor of the RNC. This so saddened the Governor of one of the states involved, seeing these GOP young people disenfranchised, that he protested the action and walked out with these young people.

At present, only two candidates have reached the eight state threshold for the 2016 RNC. Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Under the current rules they are the only candidates who can be nominated. Thus reports today that some will vote for Rubio on the first ballot or that Kasich is surging among delegates is irrelevant. If delegates vote for a candidate that is not nominated, and because of State GOP rules some will do so, they won’t be counted. Thus Sharon Johnson of Arizona voted for Pat Buchanan in 1992 but it did nothing.

---

I show the rule as (which currently only Trump has met):

(b) Each candidate for nomination for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States shall demonstrate the support of a majority of the delegates from each of eight (8) or more states, severally, prior to the presentation of the name of that candidate for nomination. Notwithstanding any other provisions of these rules or any rule of the House of Representatives, to demonstrate the support required of this paragraph a certificate evidencing the affirmative written support of the required number of permanently seated delegates from each of the eight (8) or more states shall have been submitted to the secretary of the convention not later than one (1) hour prior to the placing of the names of candidates for nomination pursuant to this rule and the established order of business.

---

Of course this can all be changed for the 2016 Convention.

[Yorlik803]

Thank you for posting that. You are dead on that a year ago Cruz was the man. Now Trump, with all his blow hard and feel good slogans, stolen the air from the room.
Cruz is the man who has stood against the GOPe. He was called names by the leadership of his own party and now he is painted as a elitist who is part of some evil plan by the CFR, Goldman Sachs and maybe even the Masons to steal the election. Trump is a blow hard who switched sides on positions more times than John Kerry.
Cruz can win.

[AndyJackson]

Cruz is an idiot fraudulent lightweight frat boy cum Harvard lawyer. Just look at his twittering with Amanda Carpenter. This is not a serious and deep mind at work.