That is a very perceptive post. What you said about the GOPe is true. Without Trump in the race, odds are overwhelming they’d have found a way to force Jeb onto us. Then they’d do their usual damned-in-hell victory dance, i.e.: ‘you have to vote Jeb or you’ll get Sanders (or whoever).’
Conservatives would have revolted in greater #s than last time, and we’d have gotten yet another Dem. Bye bye USA.
We’ll see how it all plays out. But so far the GOpe is living their worst nightmare, and that’s good by me.
The Dem/GOP Uniparty establishment was all set to run the same old game on us, as they always do, until Trump showed up and derailed the theft of yet another presidential election.
If not for him, The Plan would be proceeding apace, and we'd all be quietly (but fearfully) steeling ourselves for Jeb to 'win' the nomination.
As you said, the GOP-e was probably quite willing to watch as he went down to defeat even worse than Romney and McCain did. All so that they and their friends could continue the wholesale dismantling and auction sale of the greatest nation on earth.
I don't think I can ever adequately thank that unlikely hero, Donald Trump, for stepping in and putting a stop to that treason.