I don’t put much stock in any polls that aren’t actual cast ballots. Online polls are at best measurements of enthusiasm. Fringe candidates are regularly outsized in online polls.
That said, your argument is electability. Fair enough, I never considered Cruz a shoe in or easy winner for the general. An anti-American marxist with no executive experience has won the last two Presidential elections, so the idea that any Republican has a good chance at the general is nonsense. Its all uphill.
Trump is no exception. His negatives are huge. He is a ripe target on issues across the board. He cannot self-fund his general campaign and he has no fundraising mechanisms in place. Lord only knows where the money comes from for his run. Once the nominee, the media fascination will be over and the 24/7 negative stories will begin, along with negative commentary coming from sitcom characters to sportscasters. Mocking anyone who would support Trump will be the new late night mantra.
Trump is doing better than the others, but he has had a contentious run for the nomination that has alienated over half the party—hardly an indicator that he will do well picking up votes for the general. He takes opportunities like yesterday to rub salt in those wounds and I think a lot of his general election strategy is shaping up to be triangulating against conservatives. I’m not seeing a happy family dance any time soon.
It didn’t have to be like this. We didn’t have to burn down the house. Every single candidate on the stage was a better choice than Hillary, and here we are with nothing but damaged goods and Kasich the slime ball, who is just as likely as not to walk away with the nomination.
I am not nearly as pessimistic as you. 20% more Republicans turned out for the primaries so far than Democrats which is nearly unheard of. When has that happened before? Not in my lifetime... Trump has over 50% more delegates and millions more votes than Cruz, by the time the convention gets here Trump will have several million more votes than Cruz.
As far as Trump’s “negatives”... if nearly $500 million dollars had been spent on negative advertising against Cruz, he would already be a distant memory. When the negative ads targeting Trump mostly from his own side taper off the negatives will taper off as well. Cruz just spent the last three weeks doing nothing but speaking negatively about Trump now including this ridiculous public restroom argument.
Cruz has lost; he never was a viable candidate, if the GOP leadership hadn’t decided to use him as a tool against Trump he would have run out of money and been gone before Wisconsin. It is long past time for him to start working toward party unity. The fact that he is not now that he has been mathematically eliminated shows only that he cares more for himself than the country. But he has never been a team player so I am not going to hold my breath.
I don’t have any illusions that there is even the slightest chance that you will change your disharmonious melody either. None of your arguments seem sincere, you continue to parrot the talking point of the day from the Cruz team. Who knows what it will be tomorrow. It is like that when you have lost your moral compass. But chin up, the tide is strong and it will carry you along with it.