By Sharon Jones
Queue the trumpet playing Taps. The funeral may as well start now. The longest period of the Republican Party not having a candidate capture the delegates needed for the nomination continues with the most likely outcome being that the goal of 1237 delegates goes unrealized. There has not been a Republican convention without a nominee since 1976.
In any case, national polling shows that neither Trump or Cruz currently stands a chance at beating Hilary Clinton. All of the polls averaged show Trump losing by 10 points. Cruz is a better contender at an average 4-point loss, but his poll numbers have a high degree of variance. It is safe to say that Cruz couldn't maintain even just a four point in the general election with the reveal of his extreme religious ideals and tax plan.
Either way it doesn't matter. Neither will be the candidate if the Republican National Convention has anything to say about it. No matter who is, a win is almost impossible and now it comes down to saving face and pulling disparate voters back together. The presidential candidate of choice has to be a sacrificial lamb that can mitigate the bleed over into Congressional races. Anyone respectable at this point is needed to bridge the gap between Trump and Cruz supporters.
Triage is the word that should be used by Republicans at this point. The loss of the nomination for Donald Trump, despite being the delegate leader and having won the most states, will be trumpeted by him as unfair and corrupt. That his campaign has failed miserably on the ground of swaying delegates as of late, will be irrelevant. On Saturday, the Trump Campaign started to say that voters will stay away from the polls because of a “rigged” system.
The big question then becomes, what does the man who sues everyone do? What the impact on the voters will be, is another. Will Trump supporters stay home in order to punish a GOP they see as corrupt or will they swallow their pride and vote in order to avoid a complete drubbing of the Republican Party?
Should he choose to branch off into a third party because of inability to swallow his pride, all hell breaks loose.
A previous article by zenruption was in regards to the opinions of Trump and Cruz supporters and how they would vote if the other candidate won the nomination. The result was anything but good for the GOP with some even saying they would vote for Hilary Clinton or a third party.
If another candidate is introduced, could it be any better? The only saving grace is that state candidates might be willing to affiliate with that candidate. Currently, state Republican organizations are seeing a crisis of how to distance their House and Senate candidates from either of two candidates that could be nothing short of toxic to their campaigns. They have to be willing to portray themselves as not carrying the positions that have been so disenfranchising to women and minority voters. A hard task indeed. That some state candidates with more extreme views will choose affiliation with one of the Toxic Crew, would create further voter confusion and disparity.
The zen perspective for the GOP would be to just let go and accept. Can the GOP even be zen to begin with? That seems impossible.
zenrupt
Sharon Jones is a zenruption contributor to our politics and life sections. We love tossing ideas and scenarios around with her over drinks. She thinks we are weird but does politely listen. Thank you Sharon. Our egos are fragile.