Cruz, Trump split four states in setback for Republican establishment

[Lodestar]

Source: Reuters

Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz split victories in four nominating contests with front-runner Donald Trump on Saturday, bolstering Cruz's argument that he represents the party's best chance to stop the brash New York billionaire.

The results were a repudiation of a Republican establishment that has bristled at the prospect of either Cruz or Trump winning the party's nomination and has largely lined up behind U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who was shut out in all four contests.

"I think it's time that he dropped out of the race," Trump said of Rubio after the contests. "I want Ted one on one."

Cruz won Kansas and Maine on Saturday, while Trump won the bigger states of Louisiana and Kentucky, holding onto his lead in the race for the Republican nomination for the Nov. 8 presidential election, even though Cruz captured more delegates on Saturday.

The next big contest, and a crucial one, will be Tuesday's primary in the industrial state of Michigan. Republicans in three other states, Mississippi, Idaho and Hawaii, also will vote on Tuesday. Puerto Rico Republicans will vote on Sunday.

In the Democratic race, front-runner Hillary Clinton won in Louisiana, and her rival Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, won in Kansas and Nebraska, in results that did not substantially change Clinton's big delegate lead.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-idUSMTZSAPEC35KC0N3F

[FarPoint]

1. We need a Trump majority to prevail...

GOP chaos is way overdue. That said, I would not want to be in Cleveland for their Convention.

[geomon666]

2. I think a continued split would be better.

Let Trump run as an independent.

[Recursion]

3. Or, even better, Cruz

As of now GOP people are explicitly saying a conservative will run on an independent ticket if Trump gets the nom.

[pscot]

10. Looking forward to a 3-way race

among Trump, Cruz and Bernie.

[gelsdorf]

8. Cleveland police have requested 2000 sets of riot gear

for the Convention

http://www.cleveland.com/rnc-2016/index.ssf/2016/03/cleveland_seeking_to_buy_riot.html

[CanonRay]

4. Let them chew each other up for a few more months

let the GOP elite pee their pants for a while longer...

[saltpoint]

5. The Republican establishment

is in the same circumstance as Custer found himself at the Little Big Horn -- toward the battle's final moments.

They brought it on themselves. Everything the GOP establishment has done involved providing Trump with the polarizing rationale to build his wall. Since Nixon the Republicans have sent up lizard-brained candidates, territorial racist anti-Education anti-Science bigoted ignoramus Bible-humping greedhogs, hacks, and hatemongers, almost to a person.

Jon Huntsman being a rare exception, but still too conservative for most of us.

If you spend decades pandering to the lowest common denominator, you get what you pay for.

And delivery is imminent.

[underpants]

6. Hat tip

[fullautohotdog]

7. Let them burn it all down...

The more money they waste now, the less they'll have for November

[keithbvadu2]

9. Rafael Cruz does not want to lead or govern.

Rafael wants to RULE.

[potone]

11. This is it.

That is exactly what he wants, and why I find him more frightening than Trump.