Trump is making a mistake when he takes this tack. It makes him look unprincipled. Which he is.
Cruz stated in private before a group of donors that he did not trust Trump with nuclear weapons. Did that make Cruz look unprincipled?
Candidates attack each other every election cycle. Cruz is the first one I know of who shall not be criticized.
The Donald is not taking a “tack”. This is to stir continued interest in the various facets of the Trump-Cruz dialogue.
Did Ted Cruz “flip-flop” as alleged? Not exactly. The corn-based ethanol mandate has until 2022 to run, and the reality is, not going to be overturned before then. Supposedly, cellulosic feedstocks will be the replacement coming on line, assuming the technical problems shall be solved by then.
There are endless pros and cons for the use of ethanol as an ingredient for motor fuel. The CHEAP way to greatly expand the use of ethanol is to import the excess production from Brazil, at an unsubsidized price. Another alternative is to MAKE the ethanol from a fraction of natural gas, ethylene, catalytically combined with water vapor.
C3H4 + H2O (in presence of catalyst) ——> C2H5OH.
Most of the industrial ethanol is produced by this process.
Personally, I would much prefer to convert all motor vehicle fuel to Compressed Natural Gas, using swap-out filled tanks for the near-empty tank, and altering the engine design to run on CNG or other bottled pressurized LPG fractions (ethane, propane, butane).
Diesels can run perfectly well on CNG, as well as spark-ignition engines. The technology is well proven and has been in use for decades.
Big mistake #3012. Trump implosion to follow.
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>> “ It makes him look unprincipled. Which he is.” <<
Trump has watched the Clintons, and the Obamas being unprincipled and get away with it, and thinks he can use the same raincoat.