[nathanbedford]

We are reassured that Donald Trump is incorruptible because he doesn't need anyone's money. This even though he admits he paid money to politicians to corrupt them, that is to get favors and cooperation.

Which GOP candidate has actually addressed “tyranny and corruption” as an issue - and has a track record of exposing it?

Ted Cruz.

Cruz has stood up in the Senate all night long virtually alone against the Republican establishment and the media to defend us against tyranny. What has Donald Trump actually done except fund ethical "corruption" and profit from it?

We haven’t had a nominee that reflects conservative values in a few decades. Please articulate the merits of that strategy?

I see no merits and that strategy and that is why I support Ted Cruz who more than any other candidate reflects conservative values as demonstrated when he frequently risked his position and his popularity by publicly opposing the Republican establishment. I fail to see how Donald Trump reflects conservative values by virtue of his biography or by virtue of his public statements. The man is a kaleidoscope of shifting positions. If immigration is a dealbreaker, how about trumps position on abortion? If opposing political parties is critical, how about Trump' S membership in the Democrat party and voting for Democrats and funding Democrats? What about trumps desire to raise taxes? The list goes on. I simply do not understand how Trump reflects conservative values.

If you want to argue that Trump has a stronger position on immigration and amnesty than Cruz, I think you are probably right but Trump's position is not without its flaws. The whole position is incoherent, removing everybody than bringing in the "terrific" ones-without defining "terrific." The discrepancies between Trump's public utterances and his written immigration paper. I approve of Trump's position on H1B much more than Cruz' which is wrong. My support of Cruz is made on balance. Trump is wrong or has been wrong on so many issues that the differences on immigration are outweighed.

Why would you reject Trump who has at least some positions that offer a possibility of some reform of government and political parties when he leads in the polls?

Because it is too early for the polls to be dispositive. Moreover, Trump still has problems with unfavorability and acceptability among independents and Democrats which go to his electability. If another conservative is more conservative than Trump and will eventually surpass him in polls of conservatives, he is to be preferred. If at the end of the primary process, Trump is ahead, so be it but we are not there yet.

As to reform of the political parties, I agree that Trump will attack the Republican establishment but so will Cruz. Cruz has already done so where he could and when it counted. The man is not perfect, he was wrong on trade and wrong on the Iran deal and I have already noted that I think he is wrong on H1B. But he has not been wrong nearly so much as has Trump.

I like Cruz as much as anyone. Right now he is mere abstraction as a viable candidate though. To claim otherwise is delusion. (Emphasis supplied).

I have emphasized the words, "right now" because it is not "right now" that we are picking a viable candidate.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

See my post on Ted Cruz. As for Cruz’s accomplishments— he’s made a lot of noise, but actually he has not accomplished very much even there. But it’s my fear of what he really wants to accomplish with immigration that is the biggest problem of all.

[RFEngineer]

“Cruz has stood up in the Senate all night long virtually alone against the Republican establishment and the media to defend us against tyranny. What has Donald Trump actually done except fund ethical “corruption” and profit from it?”

I like Cruz. He’s polling so low, he’s in danger of becoming irrelevant. So now what? I do have an issue with Cruz for voting for “pre-ratification” of the Iran deal - he DIDN’T stand up for tyranny there - and contributed to this extra-Constitutional nonsense, that endangers America.

So we’ve got conflicts. So what?

“I fail to see how Donald Trump reflects conservative values by virtue of his biography or by virtue of his public statements. “

I’m not holding him out as a paragon of conservatism. Then again, there aren’t any in GOP leadership and no GOP leadership on conservative issues. Trump fights back, and he supports the single issue (Illegal immigration) that I think is most important. I don’t care if Trumps position on illegal immigration is “conservative” or not. I’m pretty sure all the supposed “conservatives” are “nuanced” on illegal immigration. They are wrong, Trump is right, and if I get an opportunity to vote for him in the primaries, I will, and if he keeps his stated position, I’ll vote for him for President - WHATEVER party he runs under.

Do you understand? “conservatives” are all “nuanced” on a whole host of issues. I don’t care. I’m voting for the SINGLE issue I think is important. That he approximates conservatism on other issues is fine, but I don’t care. There is no issue that I am aware that his position makes him an abhorrent candidate to vote for.

“Because it is too early for the polls to be dispositive”

BS. You find them dispositive enough to reject him. Why reject him? If he’s the candidate, I’ll vote for him. He’s in the lead, so it’s not a stretch to assume he COULD be the GOP candidate. At this point, Cruz is so far behind, it isn’t a stretch to question whether he’ll be a factor. If Cruz is the nominee, I’ll vote for him - but I’d like it better if his position on illegal immigration were closer to Trumps.

“I have emphasized the words, “right now” because it is not “right now” that we are picking a viable candidate.”

Yeah, Lindsay Graham isn’t viable right now either. Neither is Jim Gilmore, or George Pataki. Those guys are his polling peers right now.

Trump is in the lead. It’s not everything at this point, but it’s not nothing either, as you seem to suggest.