Given that your assertion about Cruz is unsubstantiated speculation, I wouldn't be so quick to call foul. The insinuation in your statement was that because of your allegations against Cruz, Trump is the logical alternative. If he is guilty of the same infidelity you charge in Cruz, he is no better an alternative. I am pointing out not only that you must substantiate your position, but that you must go further and give evidence Trump is not the same.

"The Trump appeal is that he is the only non-establishment candidate and we the people ar disgusted with the establishment."

I agree with you that the voting public is disgusted with the political establishment. Where I suspect we differ is in the inclusion of Cruz as a member of the Establishment. As a first-term politician who has repeatedly filibustered even his own party's legislation, I don't know of too many people who consider Cruz an "establishment" Republican. That he is one of the most hated in Washington, D.C. (according to his polling in the Presidential Primaries in D.C.) tells me he is just as much an outsider as Trump, and I would argue that his performance in the Primaries to this point is more evidence of that.

What I am concerned about is a repeat of a mob mentality who is so sick of the political establishment that they are willing to vote anyone into power based on fiery rhetoric without substance. If we do not learn from the past, my fear is that we are doomed to repeat it.

Oh, I don't suggest that the polls are the end-all and be-all, I just point out that those who believe that Trump can beat Hillary have only their own hope to back them up. Things are likely to change between now and November, I agree.

There are two tests left for the eventual nominee. One is the one-on-one debates. Romney destroyed Obama in the first debate and gained an instant five percentage point lead. Then he inexplicably disappeared in the second and third debates and ended up losing the election. The Republican nominee can't afford a misstep in the debates. Unfortunately for "The Donald", he doesn't debate well. He doesn't have the off-the-cuff one-liners like Rubio or the eidetic memory of Cruz and his temperament works more against him than for him. If Trump is to beat Hillary in a face-to-face matchup, he's going to need some quality coaching to do it because as the number of participants in the debates have dwindled, so has Trump's ability to bluster his way through. Skipping the next debate is a huge experiential mistake IMO. He isn't going to get that luxury in the Generals and quite frankly makes him look like a three-year-old throwing a temper tantrum.

The second is going to be name recognition and association. For all Hillary's negative associations, she's outdone by "The Donald". And he already has 100% name recognition, which means that people have already made their initial impressions of him and he is going to be hard-pressed to change their minds about him. It's going to take a Herculean effort in the Press (which are unreservedly anti-Republican) to alter peoples' perceptions. I don't think it's going to happen.

Oh, I agree. I just hope that the outrage leads to better descision-making - not more of the mob mentality which threatens the greatest Republic this world has ever known.

That is not the issue and the fallacy of the false alternative. The Trump appeal is that he is the only non-establishment candidate and we the people ar disgusted with the establishment.

Galt is not running, and if he were, I would bet he would have more than a few detractors here at the Gulch.

Will a Trump-led Republican Party end up being worse? That’s certainly possible, but it would be pretty hard to accomplish such a feat given that the current party is guided by a collection of some of the biggest fools and frauds on the planet. In any event, life is full of risks, so why not give it a try before it’s too late? And keep in mind that right now millions of people are in a risk-taking mood.

Re: The Polls
Reagan trailed Carter by 15 points in March 1980. He beat Carter by 10 points that November.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/...

I wonder about the polls. We wont know for awhile, if ever. I think there are the results of the polls, and then there are the results of the voting in the quiet of the voting booth where political correctness fades away. People are very disgusted and angry with the power grabs, cronyism, and back room deals of our government, and the quiet of the voting booth is the place to get even, hopefully.

I bet his employees dont think so !!! Maybe he will do a few things for the country too.

It would be great to see Hillary out of the race one way or another- FOR GOOD. In that case, I would re-evaluate my choice for president.
I agree Hillary isnt going away soon- she has too many powerful friends to keep her out of jail. In the meantime, if Trump can win over her, it gets rid of one really evil nasty candidate. He just wont do the statist nightmare that you envision, and certainly not without the unanimous consent of the congress.

Gotcha. Thanks.

I indicated I thought Gary Johnson would be a good choice, but has no chance of winning over Hillary this time around, no matter how many of us voted for him in the gulch.

I never argued that government should be in business. I agree with you that it shouldn't. However, that only undermines the claim that a good businessman is going to be able to translate that success into politics and government.

As to which candidate will win the general election, polls right now have Donald Trump losing by more than five points to Hillary Clinton - despite her email scandals and general untrustworthiness. Cruz wins. So I'm not seeing the basis for the argument you make that Donald wins vs Hillary other than wishful thinking.

"We are riding on the downhill part of the intellectual roller coaster in a country which is run by the 50.1% mob"

An accurate observation which is perhaps the scariest part.

I was responding to term2's omission, blarman.
I expect a brokered convention. The GOP leadership only allows candidates they can control to represent the party. The voters have no choice unless they vote for a third party candidate.

I definitely fear what Hillary will do to the country. I feared what Obama was going to do, and he has done it. I look at Trump as a roadblock more than a champion of freedom. Hillary would make stupid and dangerous decisions, as Obama did.

Voting for Cruz or Gary Johnson just wouldnt do anything positive this time around. Neither can overtake Hillary.

Voting out of fear is not bad if fear is the correct response to what is happening.

Herb..........I concur...........

Ah, the Looter Monarch superpower. Just what we need.

I actually think Gary Johnson would make a good president. I just dont think he has a snowball's chance in hell of getting elected IN THIS UPCOMING ELECTION.

Elections are a comparison by their very nature. I didn't include Johnson because the article focused on Trump and the conversation turned to a comparison between him and Cruz. We both know Johnson isn't competing for a spot on the Republican ticket. The other unfortunate reality is that Johnson has less of a chance at election than that of there being a brokered convention.

ACtually, there is global warming/cooling that goes on all the time through history. From an engineering point of view, few thermodynamic systems like the earth would stay perfectly stable on their own- there would be competing forces to warm and cool resulting in oscillations.

As to whether human activity really makes that much difference, I really dont know, but tend to think that other forces are much larger.

I would think your comments on Trump were based on reality if you also did the same analysis on Hillary or Sanders. Trump is a LOT better than either of them, and has the only chance I see of beating Hillary in November.

"Trump is what Rand hated most an unprincipled pragmatist whim worshiper whose only whim is himself."

Agree 100%.

I supported Perot as well - and mainly because of his business acumen.

In a couple of weeks, we'll get to see if Cruz can bridge the gap. Arizona in particular looks to be the make-or-break contest as it is a winner-take-all contest (and they have been willing to re-elect John McCain time after time). If Trump wins Arizona, it will be very tough for him not to get to the required delegate count necessary to avoid the convention. Whatever happens, I do not support anyone other than Cruz or Trump getting the nomination at this point.

The failures of government when it tries to run businesses (which is mostly what it wants to do now- Obamacare, the many alphabeet agencies like FAA, TSA, etc, etc. Government should stay OUT of running businesses completely. It cant even run a DMV in Nevada or California for example. Politicians get the government into businesses to increase their power, and they have the wrong mindset to be successful.
I would challenge you to find a government run business that is successful in terms of being efficient. Its going to be a very small number. Politicians are in government for power basically in my experience. They are in it for the lofty reasons they tell us. Could there be an exception or two- probably- but not a lot.

Except for the religiosity, I think Cruz has "principles" which I would basically agree with. However, "principles" such as those are really unpopular and are considered boring these days (unfortunately). That makes him unable to win against hillary, who offers the socialism that is popular today.

I appreciate your desire to have someone as president who has constitutional principles, I really do. But, in this culture and at this time, John Galt would not run nor would come anywhere close to winning. We are riding on the downhill part of the intellectual roller coaster in a country which is run by the 50.1% mob,
On #1- I dont think any of the repub candidates would make any difference at this point going fwd 4 yrs.
#2- Both candidates are for the second amendment now and going fwd.
#3- BOTH get negative ratings for their views on Apple, Snowden, and Manning
#4- They both want Obamacare OUT, but they both want something else IN that involves government. I doubt that Obamacare can be dismantled now anyway- its changed too many things and would be disruptive.
#4b- Eminent domain has been passed on by the SCOTUS and not much will change on that in the next 4 yrs no matter who is in there.
#5- There are a lot of executive actions that must be removed too. I am not sure either one of them would be more successful than the other on this point. Theres talk, and then theres action.
#6- I like the getting rid of the IRS, but as a business person I do NOT like a VAT (very complicated). So I give both of them some + and -. Doubt getting rid of IRS would pass congress, and if a VAT passed there would just be another bureaucracy to administer it. I like Trump;s lowering of corporate taxes.
#7- I think Trump has a right to not like some women, just as he doesnt like some men. But, he has LOTS of very good women working for him as well as men. He does know how to pick em.

"You can cut a deal with Trump."
Only if it benefits Trump's personal goals of power and wealth. He can't be trusted with the power of the presidency.
(Yes, the best solution is to cut that power by 99.9%. Then Trump or Hillary or Cruz or fill-in-the-blank-statist could splash in the DC bathtub but wouldn't affect anything of consequence.)

Cruz was the one that inserted a poison pill into the bill being forwarded by Rubio and the Gang of Eight to grant amnesty to illegals. It came up in the debate just before Florida (in passing) and the one before that as well.

Current polling, unfortunately, doesn't support the notion that in a Trump v Hillary contest that Trump prevails. Cruz (and Rubio prior to his exit) both win.

If you believe the polls.

To me, the underlying thing is not what he has said on the campaign trail, it's the thirty years of successful (with a few failures) business. The type of large projects that he has been able to get built demonstrate executive accomplishment -- and it is an executive position after all.

Plus in his books and the 14 years of "the Apprentice" a fair amount of his philosophy has come out.

To a significant degree I agree with you, I am more confident in Cruz's positions, I'm more confident in Trump's ability to execute. And, I do have a weakness for the businessman outsider -- I supported Perot.