A first round vote where nobody gets 1237 is essentially a ball game going into overtime. The first candidate to get 1237 is the nominee, period. If Trump does not get to 1237 on round 1, he does not own the outcome of vote 2 or any other vote. Neither does Cruz.
While we go thru primaries and caucuses, we’ll see if anybody gets over 1237. I’ll support Trump if he does, to the hilt. But, once we get to Cleveland, it’s just the same ongoing game. Trump may get it, Cruz may get it. I doubt anybody else will, as the majority of delegates in control of things support one or the other.
The notion that some smokey GOPe will install some rino in round 3+ does not fly. At least in 2016.
That's a terrible analogy. A ballgame where one side has 3 and another 12 does not go into overtime.
It's a game for which there is no analogy that I can think of. It's played to a certain number of points, like volleyball or tennis. But it is possible not to get enough points to win. Imagine volleyball where you are playing against 2 teams and have to get to 21. You get 10 against on and 8 against another. You have 18. Meanwhile the other guys have 12 and 4 points. So in this hypothetical game, you have to play again, but you also get to start with most of your points from the first game, and can trade favors with the scorekeepers to try to get more points so you can get 21. You can also try to get some points from the guys behind you.
It's insane, and no game in the world is played like that. If the horse trading leads to the guy with 12 getting the win, are the spectators going to leave thinking that guy is the winner? Will they be satisfied and maybe become fans? I don't think so.
If Cruz fights to the bitter end in the hope that he can deny Trump a majority and then take the nomination for himself (even though he will have at best 700 or so delegates at the convention) then everyone on earth, even the GOPe, will hate Ted Cruz and he will go down to a monumental defeat. If his treachery results in the GOPe getting Ryan the nomination, the end result will be just as bad.
As I wrote in post 148 above, the only thing Ted Cruz is doing by staying in the race is making a Hillary presidency more likely. Even if we hold our noses and vote for the Republican, as JimRob advises, it will be a useless gesture. There are too many people who won't, like with Romney, only even more pissed off this time.
Fact is also, if Trump can't force a hostile takeover by conservatives and patriotic Americans of the Republican party, no one earth can. It can't be done if he fails.