6242

He’s better than 47% of them, that’s for sure.

6243

If what you are saying is true then it’s no worse than doing nothing at all, since you are essentially just conceding the party to him.

But the reality is that his supporters are still just a minority of the GOP, so yielding there party to them is silly.

6244

I don’t agree that it’s better than nothing. This makes the party look desperate and out of control. I think that’s a totally fair takeaway, but I doubt that’s the intent of the message. The GOP is showing their hand, and it’s not impressive. Anyone on the fence now has it confirmed that the GOP has no power over Trump. That he is truly not controlled by The Establishment. That’s a notch in his favor for many people.

6245

But again, of what you are saying is true then they actually have lost control of the party anyway, so it’s again no worse than doing nothing. It’s merely confirming reality, which will confirm itself regardless of what they do.

And there is no doubt that trump is not aligned with the GOP as a whole. No one is on the fence about this.

6246

Maybe. I just think it makes them look really weak and Trump much stronger. I’m not at all a Trump supporter, (I think I’ve made that pretty clear) but this is a big win for him.

6247

The plan of ignoring him and hoping he’d go away already failed.

6248

Oh, I’m not saying to ignore him. I think they absolutely should do something, but it would involve getting the GOP leaders (HAHAHAHA) to actually cooperate (HAHAHAHA) on a focused plan that starts with them all throwing their support behind one candidate.

Romney didn’t even do that here. He just left it at “anyone but this guy” which is as useful as the Brewster’s Millions plan.

6249

Nothing would be better. Now they are backed in to a corner. If Trump wins, what do you tell your party? “Vote for the guy that 7 months ago we said was a liar and charlatan”, “Vote for the other lady” or “Just don’t vote”? If they kept their mouths shut, that could at least have pushed to keep the party united as a voting block. Now it’s no longer a rift, it’s a full on secessionist movement.

6250

I think the GOP leadership anticipates that Trump will get the nomination and then lose in the general.

If so, the goal is to limit collateral damage. Trump can’t be allowed to ruin the chances of other GOP nominees. That means they need to be able to speak out against him, when necessary. But who is going to fire the first shot in the coming civil war? Post-convention Rubio and Cruz would be seen as sore losers.

Enter Saint Romney.

So when the media asks Senator Mark Kirk in October whether he is betraying the GOP by attacking Trump, he can say “I’m not a traitor, I’m just supporting Mitt Romney.”

6251

Has there ever been a Democrat or Republican presidential nominee that is chosen by the convention but essentially gets no party support in the general election? To the Googles!

6252

Note that a brokered convention is not necessarily a totally bogus one. If let us say that somehow Cruz gets 30% and Rubio gets 30% it’s sort of legitimate for one to give the other their 30% to beat Trump’s 40%. What would be weird would be for Cruz and Rubio both to give their delegates to Romney or someone like that.

But right now it looks like there will be no brokering because Trump will get more than 50% anyway. Still, there’s plenty of time left to go.

6253

Not really, Romney’s suggestion actually could work.

Given the current delegate selection process, this means that I would vote for Marco Rubio in Florida, for John Kasich in Ohio, and for Ted Cruz or whichever one of the other two contenders has the best chance of beating Mr. Drumpf in a given state.

Bill Kristol proposed a similar thing.

A more detailed proposal was put forth in National Review

In the wake of Tuesday’s primary results, however, another and easier path to defeating Drumpf has arisen; it can be Plan A. It basically relies on the patriotism, good sense, and rational self-interest of two men: Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. The plan is simple: Each candidate publicly pledges to support for president whichever of them has the most delegates to the Republican convention. In return, the winner will make the other one his running mate.

Together, it is reasonable to think they could muster enough delegates to beat Drumpf at the convention, where you need a majority — not a plurality — of delegates to secure the nomination. If such a deal were announced publicly, Rubio and Cruz could stay positive about each other — while debating their different policy stances and training their joint fire on Drumpf.

Now a ticket with two first term senators is far from ideal, but the alternative is awful.

6254

Hmm - 1824, perhaps?

6255

Paul Ryan has chimed in.

Summary: “I’m not going to say anything bad about the guy until we’re in the general election. If he doesn’t hold up his side of the Conservative bargain, I’ll sound the alarm”.

6256

So it’s doomed, then.

6257

70 foreign policy experts condemn Trump’s ideas on foreign policy, and say they won’t work with him.

6258

Mr Trump has revealed his ACA “Obamacare” replacement proposal.

https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/healthcare-reform

Most of it is pretty reasonable and well thought out…until you get past the 7-point plan. After that it dovetails in to “kick out those damn foreigners, stop allowing people to get visa and get everyone a job” as a solution to reduce the number of people on Medicare.

Still, it’s better than I’ve seen from most other Republicans who are attempting to get rid of Obamacare. It’s only a one-pager, but it’s a direction at least.

6259

There are at least 60 million Americans with preexisting conditions. Some of them have coverage under Obamacare. If Trumpcare became law, there’s no guarantee they’d get to keep it. It’s a pretty big crack to slip through.
…
Campaign proposals do not have to be fully fleshed-out legislative text. There is certainly space for ideas to develop in the course of an election and an administration.

But as it’s written, Trump’s proposal doesn’t fulfill his promises, and it doesn’t set him apart from the rest of the Republican field. Trump has suggested, in debate after debate, that he will break with the Republican field and make sure every American can afford coverage. As of now, that’s a lie. His plan would leave millions uninsured, and it suggests Trump’s platform is much more conventionally Republican than the candidate lets on.

Another reason why GOP will line up behind Trump once he wins the nomination.

6260

Is there any easy way around WashPo pay wall.

6261

Try opening the link in an incognito window?