The lemming-like behavior of so many conservatives to run after the 'man of action' with his populist pandering and no principles other than 'everything is a deal' is a sign of the movement's intellectual bankruptcy. Trump should have been publicly denounced long before this, as some of us have been on this forum.

Hello Eudaimonia,
Wow! All guns blazing! They really don't like him... Well, duh... He is no conservative. He is a populist. He is ring leader of the circus. Of course the circus is at least entertaining in a pleasant way. Fireworks indeed.
The story is always the same; it only depends on whose Ox is being gored.
A benevolent dictator is still a dictator; though living under one may feel like relief after years of being trampled under foot. The least statist candidates will be largely ignored by the media, and the electorate, who cry out foolishly for the government to come to the rescue... Einstein's definition of insanity comes to mind...
But alas, we all must do with what we have...
Regards,
O.A.

Sanity on Trump. Bravo National Review.
Now, how about sanity on the never ending betrayal by the GOP against conservatives, and the obvious solution: libertarianism.

So, one wonders if things had gone according to schedule and that stalwart conservative Jeb Bush were the candidate would they still line up such an impressive argument?

While there are many things I don't like about Trump he seems to be the one the insider statists of both parties like the least -- which certainly is attractive.