And the Balkanization of the Republican voter base continues.
The longer there’s no clear leader for the nomination, the more ossified the supporters of the various candidates are going to get. Comity has all but disappeared from US society, so if two or three candidates roll in to the convention, it won’t be a spirited debate over the merits of each, but rather a shouting match, each side adamant that they are the only “true” side. The result will still be one eventual nominee, but the supporters of the nominee’s rivals will be embittered and resentful. I believe they will be reluctant to rally behind someone they don’t consider to be the “right” candidate.
The end result could then go a couple of ways. One, and the most likely, is that a significant chunk of the failed candidates’ supporters will stay home on election day, their own disappointment overshadowing the need to get the Zer0 out of the White House. Two, one or more of the failed campaigns will go third-party, either through their own belief in their momentum, or through a draft movement by their supporters. That will significantly split the GOP vote, even more so than the Clinton election. Back then, Perot almost certainly got at least a few of the more conservative Democrats to vote for him, as he had no real political baggage prior to his campaign. This time around, the third party would be a failed republican, and likely one of the more conservative ones. Thus, they will draw exclusively from within GOP voter ranks, and will only lessen the impact of the Republican side of the election.
Either way, Soetoro is almost certainly headed for a second term. Hope you’re ready.
Better to have it out on the floor of the GOP Convention hall in Tampa, than to have our grandchildren fight and die for their liberty in the streets.