Great post.
When donations to FR start declining even more than they did when it went Full Romney after that functional Democrat won the nomination in 2012 -- well, the hard numbers THEN indicated that the majority of FReepers LOATHED Romney and resented even being asked to vote for him; at the time I thought FR represented just hard-core folks like me but in reality, FR represented conservatives across America -- Romney lost.
So far right now, according to my careful count of individual FReeper voices over the past months, a slight majority (not nearly so many as flat rejected/resented Romney in 2012) prefer Cruz, so I am inclined to believe that across America, it is the same -- the majority of conservatives prefer Cruz.
When FR stifles pro-Cruz folks from speaking truth about Trump (as opposed to flat-out falsehoods such as are told about Cruz and which I see posted here on FR often), it is asking for trouble.