Posted on 03/27/2016 6:24:00 PM PDT by cba123
Ted Cruz was naming friends.
Seated for an interview inside a stately Midtown Manhattan library, just south of Trump Tower, the Texas senator leaned forward in his chair, ticking off the unlikely coalition drifting his way.
There was Jeb Bush, who announced his endorsement in a terse predawn news release, and Mitt Romney, who initially said his support applied only to his voting preference in Utah.
Mr. Cruz had swung Mike Lee, his greatest ally in the Senate, nearly a year after his campaign began, and Mark Levin, a conservative radio host who recently made his longstanding admiration on the airwaves official.
(delete of three paragraphs from quoted text, please see full article for full text)
While the Romney and Bush endorsements drew headlines, what has been just as striking is the sound of silence from the vast majority of Republican elected officials and leading donors. Nearly two weeks after Senator Marco Rubio dropped out of the race, there has been no mass rush to Mr. Cruz, even as he appears to be the last line of defense against a Trump nomination.
The decision by so many leading Republicans to remain on the sidelines is all the more notable because it appears inversely proportional to the scale of concern about Mr. Trump. His recent attacks on Mr. Cruz’s wife and soaring unpopularity among women, minorities and college-educated voters have left many in the party more convinced than ever that, with Mr. Trump as their standard-bearer, they are churning toward a political iceberg this fall.
But this fear has not been enough to coax them in Mr. Cruz’s direction.
(full article at link)
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/28/us/politics/ted-cruz-names-friends-but-silence-from-gop-brass-deafens.html?action=click&contentCollection=Asia%20Pacific&module=Trending&version=Full®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“Only the candidates that have won a majority of delegates in at least 8 states (GOP Convention Rule 40)”
It is pretty much a given that Rule 40 will not exist by the time the convention is held. There is a rules meeting, I believe 2 weeks before Cleveland; anything can change.
I think Trump is the only one running who won’t turn around and appoint all of his republican opponents to government positions. I hope I’m right.
http://youtu.be/zwIHJhtTSLg
Rush should have been sent to prison for the oxy and for doctor shopping. Anyone else would have. That’s when he started taking gopE orders.
Leading Republicans may not be supporting him, but Cruz does have the most Republicans supporting him.
For example 40 current House members, and about 350 state legislators.
“he should then try to do so like a man and stop acting like a 5th grade drama queen crybaby.”
The way I see it, Trump is doing it all on his own, no PACS, very little donor dollars. Every talking head and columnists, and the whole of the GOPe fighting him.
Cruz has everybody pushing for him , PACS donating to PACS running ads for him and against Trump. GOPe making love to him (right now anyway). Every anti-Trump voice is to his advantage. Even the MSM is playing their McCain games with him. Cruz would be nothing on his own.
So, I think Trump is doing just fine thank you !!
The delegates will vote whether to change the rules. Unless a majority of Trump’s and Cruz’s delegates vote to expand the list of eligible candidates (and why the hell would any of them want to do so), then Rule 40 will stay as it is.
Like his vote against TPA?
“The delegates will vote whether to change the rules”
Wasn’t sure about that; thanks.
“The delegates will vote whether to change the rules”
Wasn’t sure about that; thanks.
Which in no way alters the fact that so far Trump has received 37% of the votes cast, netting him a total of 48% of the delegates awarded, and that in order to get the nomination Trump has to win at least 53% of the 944 remaining delegates, which is much better than he has done so far in the campaign when there were more candidates splitting the vote and a 37% plurality was enough to win all of the delegates in a winner takes all state.
At that point, Trump would likely form and run under a new party.
Cruz has to know this, which makes me truly question his stated core values. If the ruling class has their pipe dream come true, the ramifications go beyond 2016, as the Republican party itself would cease to exist as a major party.
The likelihood still is Trump will win the nomination regardless of the circus Cruz and his GOPe backers are putting on.
So the solution is to run another guy against Donald, split off enough votes to send it to a second ballot, in which the entire GOP as a block will dump Trump and Cruz, and re-nominate the failed candidate from last time, Romney.
Is that about right?
Because that sure seems to me, to be what is unfolding.
I have had Mambo Number 5 stuck in my head since this story broke.
Now we are into winner take all. If he keeps winning 2/3 of the primaries he should be at least close.
That cannot happen unless either Trump's delegates or Cruz's delegates bail on their candidate and (1) vote to change the eligible candidate rule, and (2) then vote for one of the failed candidates.
Under the current GOP Convention Rules, the only eligible candidates are Trump and Cruz, since they are the only candidates who have won a majority of delegates in more than eight states (Rule 40). There is no reason either Trump's or Cruz's delegates would want to change that, since it would only ensure that their candidate would lose the nomination.
So if neither candidate gets the nomination before the convention, the nomination will come down to whichever candidate can win over most or all of the delegates that were pledged to one of the failed, ineligible candidates.
“48% of the delegates awarded”
It looks like Trump has received 58% of the delegates since and including March 15 primaries
So what does Trump do with Katrina….
Book smarts but no street and certainly no political smarts. Hillary would have a field day against him.
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
Cruz will most likely win Arizona and Wisconsin. Trump will most likely win New York and California. Kasich will get maybe a dozen delegates from the proportional states.
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