“They cannot get past Trump’s lack of ideology, his past, his personality.”
This is actually a very accurate summary of what ails the GOP primary this year. Cruz is an imperfect candidate and Trump is an unknown candidate.
Kasich is just the northern version of JEB! He is not part of my calculus.
I am one who just can’t get past the very things you cite. Trump, it seems to me, is like the Affordable Care Act as Nancy Pelosi assured us: “We’ll have to pass it to see what is in it.” We would have to elect him to see what he is. I am not comfortable with that, and not optimistic..
That said, would I vote for Trump to stop Hillary? Yes, of course, to do otherwise is just stupid. What we would get with Hillary is not in doubt ... Obama’s third term. But I would vote for Trump in the general with many, many doubts. I don’t like him. I don’t trust him. I think he will be an easy target for Hillary’s goons. He is an even less able debater than she. I do not see him winning the general.
So, Trumpsters, get angry with me, if you must. But your anger won’t do much good. People with whom you do not already agree will not be persuaded by anger. They will only be persuaded by well-reasoned rational argument. And the only one who can do that is Trump himself. Trump must define his ideology. He must explain his past. And he must show himself to be of the right demeanor to be president. Failing that, I see no good outcome with Trump as the nominee.