After the damage inflicted by the juvenile tone of this election set by Trump (yes Trump started it) I am not sure that the wounds will heal merely by Trump getting the necessary 1237 votes before the Convention. In my opinion (and apparently it is an opinion that has gotten more than one poster zotted) a brokered convention would have been the best way to get unity in the party.
The party right now is fractured and the anti-establishment crowd is dancing in the streets and mocking the losers.
FWIW, Cruz has always been anti-establishment and Trump has always been a dues paying member of the establishment. But Trump poised himself as the pinnacle of antiestablismentarianism and ran on it using a campaign that appealed to the baser instincts of people who were fed up with the GOP and their leadership.
When you examine the actual positions taken by Trump on several key issues he does not come across as anything close to a Constitutional Conservative. Instead he comes across simply as an antiestablishmentarian who thinks he can solve all the ills of the country with a pen and a phone without any regard to whether or not such actions would be Constitutional or not.
IOW, like it or not, Donald Trump will likely rule as a populist tyrant. I can only hope that he will pick Constitutional Conservatives for important positions within the administration who can rein him in and keep him from being a power mad demagogue. He ran a top-down campaign and he has run a top down business enterprise. He will likely be a top down president.
Our founders did not envision the power that has been granted to a single man when they drafted the Constitution, nor did they envision that a president would be elected by popular demand. But that is where we are now and we will have to deal with it.
Presidential power is likely to continue to grow over the next few decades and unless Congress can reign it in, we will eventually be ruled by a dictator. Maybe a tyrant and maybe a benevolent dictator, but we are headed towards that end. And Congress (including Ted Cruz BTW) has at every turn surrendered its powers to rein in the president and given him authority that was never envisioned by the founders.
Of all the candidates in this race, I believe that Ted Cruz was the one candidate who truly had a deep understanding of the role of the president and the intent of the founders in regard to that office. His campaign got sidetracked by a number of things which suggest that he probably would not have been a very effective president at this time anyway. He lost his focus when the going got tough. He became a reactionary to the situation rather than a leader. His teaming up with Glenn Beck was an example of extremely poor leadership. He should have known better and should have investigated Glenn Beck before hitching his wagon to that horse.
All I can say about Trump is that he cannot possibly be as bad for this country as Hillary. But that doesn’t mean I have any illusion that he is going to be good for the country. We are in a post constitutional era and I was hoping that we would get a candidate who understood the constitution and was willing to fight to restore it. I don’t believe Trump is that man.
Maybe if he is elected he will choose not to run for a second term and we can all work to get a candidate who will understand and restore our Constitutional Republic. But I’m not going to hold my breath. I don’t think such a person could ever get elected by popular vote. Face it. The “people” don’t give a damn about the constitution. They want their government to be their master and to give them everything they want for free. They want the government to take from the rich and give to the poor. They always have. They always will.
There's a stubbornness in the man that I think might just make him the one to dig in his heels and stand up for the America of the greatest generation.
I also think he's a capitalist. No matter what anyone else believes about him...liberal, moderate, conservative...I'm absolutely certain he's a capitalist. A man works, he benefits from his labor.
I expect him to do things to benefit capitalism, and that certainly is not one-worldism. That benefits statism.
In my opinion, most of what you wrote is frustration because Cruz got beat...badly. Deal with it. He’s not all that great of a candidate. His principles are, but you have to be able to get people to want to vote for you and believe in you, and clearly, the majority, regardless of how many people Cruz claims are voting against Trump, more are voting for Trump than him.
I will concede you’re right on the “people” understanding the need to return to Constitutional principles. However, it has taken many, many years to get to where we are in relation to where we should be with the Constitution, it will take many, many years to get back, if it is even possible to that degree. All societies move left over time...it is replete through history. The difference being some move left faster than others. Perhaps the best we can hope for is to stop the runaway train we’re on away from the Constitution and slowly swing the pendulum the other way.
“nor did they envision that a president would be elected by popular demand.”
How exactly did our founders envision the POTUS would be elected?
“Cruz has always been anti-establishment”
Because nothing screams outsider like hiring the entire Bush staff and ex criminal brother Neil to work for your campaign. LOL!