“Fifth, Christie’s endorsement of Trump creates a put-up-or-shut-up moment for Republican Party leaders, movers and shakers, and major donors who must either unify in force behind Rubio almost immediately or find a late-entering candidate for a last-ditch stand.
My guess is that there are two possible outcomes to the fear and loathing of Trump that now grips members of the GOP establishment, who will now watch the March 1 balloting with intense fear.
If Rubio does better on March 1, there will be a powerful surge of establishment unity behind his candidacy and huge pressure on Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) to withdraw and support Rubio. If Rubio does poorly on March 1, there will be chaos, panic and bedlam throughout the GOP establishment, which could well turn to 2012 nominee Mitt Romney with a huge and sudden draft movement in a last-ditch attempt to save the party from Trump.”
Completely delusional. The GOPe has no practical choice but to accept Trump as their nominee. Any attempt to circumvent the will of their voters will result in the complete destruction of the party, and they know it.
I think you are missing the larger point about the republican party. At its core, it is truly a minority (meaning few members) party. In the minds of many, being conservative means being one of the “few people in the country who think that way.” The party as a whole seems ok with that. Its why they are so comfortable playing “lets all just get along politics” in Washington rather than being a true majority or opposition party. I think party elders would be happy to purge all the non-traditional members from the party even if it costs the party big losses in membership as well as losing the white house. I don’t think the GOPe is worried about the destruction of the party as you phrased it. I think the GOPe would look at it as a necessary culling of the non-maintstream republican voters.