Posted on 04/06/2016 10:18:56 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The following is a column by Scott Rasmussen.
Despite the fact that they are currently bitter opponents, there are a lot of reasons to believe Donald Trump and Ted Cruz could end up working together in the fall campaign.
The basic reason is simple -- it's in each of their best interests to do so. In fact, we already see examples of pragmatism drawing them together. Both Trump and Cruz are calling for Ohio Governor John Kasich to get out of the race.
Additionally, both Trump and Cruz have a shared interest in keeping the Republican Establishment from stealing the nomination. In every primary other than Kasich's home state, outsider candidates have demolished the insiders. It's clear that GOP voters are rejecting the status quo and that reality is driving support for both the frontrunners.
A lot of Republican insiders are hoping for a scenario that will allow a divided convention to ignore both Trump and Cruz to select someone like 2012 nominee Mitt Romney or House Speaker Paul Ryan. Neither would be eligible under the current convention rules, but those rules can be changed at the convention itself.
That effort by the establishment to change the rules gives Trump and Cruz another reason to work together. They will work to insure that their delegates block any such change. Such an effort will protect the voter preferences and restrict the choice to the two men who came out on top during the primary season.
There's been a lot of talk about the fact that neither Trump nor Cruz will have enough pledged delegates to win a majority on the first ballot. That's true, but there will also be hundreds of unpledged delegates who get to vote. That's more than the number of delegates awarded by any single state. Given several weeks of deal making time before the convention, it's quite possible to imagine a first ballot victory for either Trump or Cruz.
Because Cruz has a better organization, he would be heavily favored to win if a second ballot is required. But since Trump is a great deal maker, anything is possible.
So, based upon the recently heated rhetoric, you might expect that whoever loses the convention to storm off with their voters and split the party. But that's not the only possibility. It may not even be the most likely scenario. Even after all the votes are tallied at the convention, there would still be reasons for the two men to work together.
That's because it would be in the best interests of the second place finisher to support the winner. That's what happened at the last contested Republican convention in 1976. President Gerald Ford narrowly edged out Ronald Reagan. Reagan's concession speech was gracious and he worked hard on behalf of Ford all the way until election day.
When Ford lost to Jimmy Carter, Reagan was well positioned for another campaign. Just four years later he took office and became the most significant president of the past half-century. If either of them lose at the convention, both Trump and Cruz will have powerful incentives to follow Reagan's example.
I know it's hard to envision at the moment, but it's quite possible that the Republicans will come out of the convention as a united party committed to defeating the presumed Democratic nominee -- Hillary Clinton. Despite all the rhetoric, both Trump and Cruz will find it is in their interest to unify rather than divide the party.
Rudy Guliano may be working on something like that..
Bundle this!!!
Mitch McConnell: Why no, the Senate won’t pass a resolution affirming Cruz’s eligibility like it did for McCain
I think Rudy can smell trouble, he has an ego almost as big as Cruz. Why would he want to babysit Cruz/
For Victory against the Dhimmirats and Her Heinous..
Since Cruz get orders from the GOPe now, I have serious doubts they care if Hillry wins. Cruz has eligibility problems that Hillry is NOT going to ignore this go round. AND IF does have zipper problems, he is better off heading back to Texas ASAP.
Trump and Cruz are fundamentally different. Working together would be worse than JFK/LBJ or Reagan/GeorgeI
Never. That would be like Ted Cruz working with Satan.
Apparently, none of the republicans want to work with Cruz either or can stand him. Doesn’t sound like if he would be elected any of his own party would work with him. Wonder how that would work out? He’ll get nothing done because they won’t support him.
So is Bill Clinton....
When the Nazi card gets old the Satan card always works.
I have said no repeatedly. There is too much bad blood.
If it does, however, it would require the delusional St. Ted to face the reality that not only will he not get the delegates on ANY ballot, but that the GOPe will never permit him to win. If he gets to that point, it’s possible he could approach Trump.
But he better think fast. Trump could just as easily take that sweaty little man, Little Marco.
It is amazing to think that we went from a can’t-lose election just a few months ago, to a can’t-win election now.
The constant name-calling has been childish, but the fans have rallied around it. I don’t know that it extends a lot beyond this website, but I am sure it does at least a little bit. The polarization of the 2 candidates needs to soften, and it has to start somewhere.
Why not here, and why not now.
No matter which of the 2 we support, we do agree that it has to be one of the two. Some folks in either camp have posted things here that will make it hard to support the other guy, but it has to happen. Big picture, the nomination isn’t near as important as the presidency, and it seems we have lost sight of that fact.
After all, if it weren't for Trump, we'd be going into the convention looking at a Bush/Rubio ticket.
Why would Trump want to work with a liar and someone who parrots him?
That is exactly the problem. Ted has pledged to work with Donald, to get him elected if he is the nominee, but Donald is endlessly making personal attacks on Ted. If Donald would just be civil he would get the nomination and the endorsements to win it all.
For power? You betcha....!
Trump president should make him a Supreme Court Justice. If he was the Vice President he would loyal as Kennedy or as a bag of trick like Nixon.
1237 - 171 = 1066
I wouldn't at all be surprise if/when Trump gets to 1066+ delegates that he announces that Marco Rubio has agreed to be on the ticket as the VP candidate. Think big. (as opposed to small hands)
If Cruz, somehow, gets 1066+ delegates ... who knows?
I noticed a lot of suggestions of Rubio as VP ended up as thread-enders, lol.
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