Advanced Calculus: The John Kasich Math & Saving the GOP Brand.

[Silhouette]

70% do not like what Kasich represents. Cruzers and Trumpkins don't like each other, but kacich unites them in loathing.

People who vote for Trump or the Canadian don't "loathe" Kasich. You must be a schill for Trump. Only he would make such an outlandishly untruthful statement and expect it to stick. Hating Kasich would be like hating Abe Lincoln. The guy actually reminds me a lot of Abe Lincoln from what I've read about his bio...unwavering...quietly uncompromising, main goal to unite the country..like a bull, nose to the ground plowing forward.

 

[TyroneSlothrop]

Cruz turns to RNC rule to keep Kasich from nabbing nomination
Source: MSN News

Sen. Ted Cruz is making the case that GOP presidential rival John Kasich and his pesky campaign cannot win the party nomination unless he has top showings in eight states -- an argument that could help Cruz in the upcoming Wisconsin primary and the GOP White House race.

Cruz in recent interviews has repeatedly cited a Republican National Committee rule that states candidates can be nominated only if they've won the total delegate majority in eight or more states, as reported first by The Washington Post.

* * *
Cruz on Wednesday told conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt: "It was the Washington establishment that put this rule in place. So now when the Washington establishment candidates are losing, they want to change the rules to try to parachute in some candidate who hasn't earned the votes of the people. That is nothing short of crazy." Hewitt was following up on Cruz’s comments on a CNN “Town Hall” in which he said Kasich being on the ballot was “against the rules” and “If no one has 1,237 (delegates), you have to have won at least eight states."

Karl Rove, a senior Bush White House adviser, said Thursday on Hewitt’s show that Cruz has “misinterpreted” the so-called 40b rule. Rove acknowledge the rule was indeed written just before the 2012 convention to keep Paul, who has just roughly 5 percent of the vote, from getting a “full blown” nomination process.


Read more: Cruz turns to RNC rule to keep Kasich from nabbing nomination

 

[TyroneSlothrop]

Neither Trump nor Cruz is going to accept Kasich parachuting in to the Nomination at the last minute when he has only won one primary [ in his home state]...It is going to be a a death match Convention ...

 

[SwimExpert]

Cruz turns to RNC rule to keep Kasich from nabbing nomination
Source: MSN News

Sen. Ted Cruz is making the case that GOP presidential rival John Kasich and his pesky campaign cannot win the party nomination unless he has top showings in eight states -- an argument that could help Cruz in the upcoming Wisconsin primary and the GOP White House race.

Cruz in recent interviews has repeatedly cited a Republican National Committee rule that states candidates can be nominated only if they've won the total delegate majority in eight or more states, as reported first by The Washington Post.

* * *
Cruz on Wednesday told conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt: "It was the Washington establishment that put this rule in place. So now when the Washington establishment candidates are losing, they want to change the rules to try to parachute in some candidate who hasn't earned the votes of the people. That is nothing short of crazy." Hewitt was following up on Cruz’s comments on a CNN “Town Hall” in which he said Kasich being on the ballot was “against the rules” and “If no one has 1,237 (delegates), you have to have won at least eight states."

Karl Rove, a senior Bush White House adviser, said Thursday on Hewitt’s show that Cruz has “misinterpreted” the so-called 40b rule. Rove acknowledge the rule was indeed written just before the 2012 convention to keep Paul, who has just roughly 5 percent of the vote, from getting a “full blown” nomination process.


Read more: Cruz turns to RNC rule to keep Kasich from nabbing nomination

Cruz is:

1 - Just saying this in hopes that he can sway some uninformed Kasich voters.

OR

2 - An idiot.

 

[TyroneSlothrop]

Cruz turns to RNC rule to keep Kasich from nabbing nomination
Source: MSN News

Sen. Ted Cruz is making the case that GOP presidential rival John Kasich and his pesky campaign cannot win the party nomination unless he has top showings in eight states -- an argument that could help Cruz in the upcoming Wisconsin primary and the GOP White House race.

Cruz in recent interviews has repeatedly cited a Republican National Committee rule that states candidates can be nominated only if they've won the total delegate majority in eight or more states, as reported first by The Washington Post.

* * *
Cruz on Wednesday told conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt: "It was the Washington establishment that put this rule in place. So now when the Washington establishment candidates are losing, they want to change the rules to try to parachute in some candidate who hasn't earned the votes of the people. That is nothing short of crazy." Hewitt was following up on Cruz’s comments on a CNN “Town Hall” in which he said Kasich being on the ballot was “against the rules” and “If no one has 1,237 (delegates), you have to have won at least eight states."

Karl Rove, a senior Bush White House adviser, said Thursday on Hewitt’s show that Cruz has “misinterpreted” the so-called 40b rule. Rove acknowledge the rule was indeed written just before the 2012 convention to keep Paul, who has just roughly 5 percent of the vote, from getting a “full blown” nomination process.


Read more: Cruz turns to RNC rule to keep Kasich from nabbing nomination

Cruz is:

1 - Just saying this in hopes that he can sway some uninformed Kasich voters.

OR

2 - An idiot.

I do not really know anything about the internal details of GOP Selection Rules...Rove and Cruz who ought to know those details seem to differ... I myself do not know...

 

[Silhouette]

Sen. Ted Cruz is making the case that GOP presidential rival John Kasich and his pesky campaign cannot win the party nomination unless he has top showings in eight states -- an argument that could help Cruz in the upcoming Wisconsin primary and the GOP White House race.

That stupid Canadian is in for a rude wake-up call. And so is the GOP if they make the mistake of letting him throw his weight around.. That birth certificate of his is going to be very embarrassing for the GOP

 

[Flopper]

I would think such a personality disorder would make him very unpredictable and erratic. Yes, I know Trump considers that his secret weapon, the opposition can never figure out how he might respond. Now that may work in business negotiations where money talks, but in high stakes political negotiation where the lives of million of people and possibly the fate each nation hangs in the balance, each leader must be able to anticipate the reactions of the other as well as the reactions of political forces driving the other leader...
.

You bring up a good point. If Tiny Hands suffers from NPD (actually it's always the people around them who suffer), he can't anticipate the reactions or feelings or drives or motivations, indeed any marker at all of another person that makes them separate or unique from him. That's one of the hallmarks of the disease. NPDers see the world and the people in it as all extensions of his own will or as potential admirers. It doesn't matter what admirers think when their only function as far as an NPDer is concerned is to bask in his greatness. So armed with a complete vacuum of being able to put himself in other people's shoes (since other people really don't exist in the mind of an NPD), it is impossible for them to anticipate any unique state of mind another person might possess. And even if they could, it's highly offensive to them that they would be asked to acknowledge another at all as mattering.

I forget where I read it but I found something funny that an NPD researcher said. He said that if you want to cause smoke to come out of an NPDer's ears, ask them a simple question. Ask them while you're discussing a topic, "how do you think I feel about that?". It sends them reeling because they CAN'T answer the question.

Another great psychological trick is to ask them to discard their perennial need to be admired. Once I asked a person with NPD who professed themselves sympathetic to the poor (needed to be admired in contrast to their miserable lives) to do an exercise. I said for them to walk up to a complete stranger, someone in a public spot that looked absolutely on the down and outs, who needed cash and was hurting. The task was for the narso to hand the stranger a $20, without looking into their eyes or having any facial expression at all (no recognition for the act on any level), and then turn briskly on her heels and walk away without looking back. The narso woman fought hard against the task. She went on and on about "why would I do such a thing without at least getting some type of acknowledgment?!" "That's "sick!" she exclaimed. On and on and on. I calmly retorted that it wasn't the end of the world and if she could succeed she could show me that she didn't have the need to be admired. She refused on the spot and not without a great addition of emotional spew, finally hurling insults at me, predictably, and demanding an audience we were having the conversation in front of do a version of verbally stoning me to death...lol..

The point being that they all seem to function with the same hard and fast symptoms. Remember when Tiny Hands had the gal come to the podium and then he offered her a job on the spot? It was theater. At once he would be admired for being generous and in contrast to her poor miserable little life, he would seem even grander. They all function the same. And you're right, the prospect of one running the country makes Obama look like a success story on par with Abraham Lincoln. I'm not joking when I say that the earth might become the 2nd asteroid belt in our solar system if Tiny Hands isn't properly admired or appears to be second fiddle in substance to another world leader. Remember, he's not taking nukes off the table!..

Interest, hopefully Republicans will wake up. Even nominating a person like Trump sends a terrible message .

Casting insults rather than crafting policy is not what a president does and shouldn't he the basis of a candidate's campaign. The discussion should be about real solutions for American's problems and debates that explore the candidates views and proposals in depth. Trump's success shows that a candidate does not need any experience or knowledge. He doesn't even need realist proposals. He just needs a sharp tongue and the ability to capture media attention with radical and often conflicting statements that keep him in the headlines every day.

The presidency is much more than a soapbox for pontificating opinions and attacking enemies. The president becomes head of the establishment, the person that will defend it to the nation and the world. It's rather hard to see Trump in this position.

 

[BuckToothMoron]

The solution to the perfect storm of democrats winning this Fall by GOP foolishness is to seed the clouds early and control the time of the rains. The GOP could rightly declare "the last man standing" after serious violations of requirements of candidates have been done by Tiny Hands and his current nemesis "The Waxen Puppet". There have to be rules of conduct of which if a candidate sinks below, the party has a right and a duty to save its brand by disqualifying said candidate(s). Who would be left standing of course is the sober, experienced and qualified candidate John Kasich.

The GOP needs to stop saying "Kasich just can't win, the math isn't on his side" and start talking about Ted Cruz's Canadian birth certificate and how those who used to support Cruz (with their "anyone but Trump vote) should now go to Kasich. THEN there would be enough abandoned delegates and amassed delegates for the RNC to force a vote at the convention for the best man to beat Hillary in the Fall.

And the polls show clearly and consistently that this man is John Kasich. Anything less would tarnish the GOP brand so harshly that it would cease to exist. John Kasich would re-establish and strengthen the brand in everyone's eyes and re-adjust the political equilibrium so vital between the two sides of the aisle.

Of course John Kasich is NOT the Cheney/Rove pick. Because anyone with eyes can see he'd tell them to fuck off if their nefarious plans might hurt the US as a whole. So this, and no other thing, is the cause of "the obvious angst in the GOP". There really is no angst. 99.999999999% of the establishment know that Kasich would save the party and win this Fall. it's just that .000000001% named "Dick Cheney and homies" that there seems to be this big uproar on the right.

But how much more will the entire republican party sacrafice for this evil .000000001% of their ranks? (Assuming a 5-time draft-dodger, gay marriage promoter, raised by democrats, Obama-praiser can be considered "GOP establishment"..). Want to talk about hurting the brand and where all the Trumpsters came from? There you go.. If the GOP could scrape off that one, huge festering barnacle off its collective butt, they'd find that all their dreams would come true..

I have only been on this forum a few days, and yours is the first post I have enjoyed reading. Thank you for the well formulated thoughts.

You make an outstanding case for Jk being the GOP choice to save the reeling GOP. I will concede that your strategy is as good as any I have heard.

However some of us conservatives don't feel well represented by the current GOP, and hence are not concerned with saving it. Bear in mind, as conservatives we have nearly survived 8 years of BO. We are agitated and ready to battle. We fell in line when GOP canidates promised a repeal of Obamacare 2 years ago and gave them the majority. We listened to the GOP leaders express outrage while beating their collective chest as BO stepped around, over and through them with executive orders. The reality is, those who will vote for Trump have lost faith in the Republican Party. In many eyes they are impotent

And now we are being told that we should have read the fine print on the primary ballot. The part that says if a canidate doesn't get 1237 delegates then the "great" GOP leadership will pick the nominee. These guys have been bullied by BO the last 8 years, and now they want to bully the voting conservative. I am not voting for Trump, I am voting against a failing Republican Party. Yea, I feel disenfranchised.

Smaller, less intrusive government along with personable responsibility are conservative ideas, and the GOP as it is currently constituted doesn't do an adequate job of defending let alone advancing those ideas.

 

[Silhouette]

I have only been on this forum a few days, and yours is the first post I have enjoyed reading. Thank you for the well formulated thoughts.

You make an outstanding case for Jk being the GOP choice to save the reeling GOP. I will concede that your strategy is as good as any I have heard.

However some of us conservatives don't feel well represented by the current GOP, and hence are not concerned with saving it...
I am voting against a failing Republican Party. Yea, I feel disenfranchised....

So your problem with John Kasich would be.....? The establishment doesn't like him. He balanced the budget in Congress while we had Bill Clinton. Remember the financial boon of the Clinton years? He is the sane anti-establishment choice. Tiny Hands is the insane anti-establishment choice. And you realize of course that if you vote against the GOP, you're voting FOR another 4-8 years of BO right? And who wants 4-8 more years of BO? (Hillary vowed to continue the stinky legacy.) Time to put on some deoderant...lol..

 

[BuckToothMoron]

I have only been on this forum a few days, and yours is the first post I have enjoyed reading. Thank you for the well formulated thoughts.

You make an outstanding case for Jk being the GOP choice to save the reeling GOP. I will concede that your strategy is as good as any I have heard.

However some of us conservatives don't feel well represented by the current GOP, and hence are not concerned with saving it...
I am voting against a failing Republican Party. Yea, I feel disenfranchised....

So your problem with John Kasich would be.....? The establishment doesn't like him. He balanced the budget in Congress while we had Bill Clinton. Remember the financial boon of the Clinton years? He is the sane anti-establishment choice. Tiny Hands is the insane anti-establishment choice. And you realize of course that if you vote against the GOP, you're voting FOR another 4-8 years of BO right? And who wants 4-8 more years of BO? (Hillary vowed to continue the stinky legacy.) Time to put on some deoderant...lol..

 

[BuckToothMoron]

Sure, JK is not their first choice but he is one of them, he talks there language, and frankly I think he will be lead around by the nose by them. He doesn't inspire me to believe in the GOP.

But you are right, not following the party line appears to be perilous. However Hillary is not having the spring coronation she anticipated. Bernie is causing her fits with the young idealistic voters et al. Besides the committed socialist voters he has, many of those young voters can be swayed to vote Trump. There is also a block of Dems who just hate Hillary. They could just tear up the ballot.

I thought Trump would be a footnote at this point like Ross Peirot. The establishment GOP has underestimated Trump and the level of discontent among many conservatives. They feel their power being ripped from their hands by a spoiled reality TV star. They don't do a good job of selling their brand when they minimize the primary process. Collectively, we don't like being told who will or won't be our canidate.

Bottom line, I'd take my chance voting for Trump at the risk of getting HC. For what it's worth, my first choice was Carly. The GOP wasted too much capital promoting Jeb and then Rubio. They seem so pathetic.

 

[Silhouette]

Bottom line, I'd take my chance voting for Trump at the risk of getting HC. For what it's worth, my first choice was Carly. The GOP wasted too much capital promoting Jeb and then Rubio. They seem so pathetic.

Agreed on Jeb and Rubio. But your clinging to Trump despite Kasich's fitness and assurance of beating Hillary is...illogical...and so I must conclude you are a democrat hellbent on squashing a Kasich run because you know it would mean a GOP victory.

Have a good day.

 

[Flopper]

Sure, JK is not their first choice but he is one of them, he talks there language, and frankly I think he will be lead around by the nose by them. He doesn't inspire me to believe in the GOP.

But you are right, not following the party line appears to be perilous. However Hillary is not having the spring coronation she anticipated. Bernie is causing her fits with the young idealistic voters et al. Besides the committed socialist voters he has, many of those young voters can be swayed to vote Trump. There is also a block of Dems who just hate Hillary. They could just tear up the ballot.

I thought Trump would be a footnote at this point like Ross Peirot. The establishment GOP has underestimated Trump and the level of discontent among many conservatives. They feel their power being ripped from their hands by a spoiled reality TV star. They don't do a good job of selling their brand when they minimize the primary process. Collectively, we don't like being told who will or won't be our canidate.

Bottom line, I'd take my chance voting for Trump at the risk of getting HC. For what it's worth, my first choice was Carly. The GOP wasted too much capital promoting Jeb and then Rubio. They seem so pathetic.

Kasich is the only Republican candidate that could actually stand up to Hillary in a real debate. I said real debate, not the ridiculous primary shouting contests that are called debates.

 

[BuckToothMoron]

Neither Trump nor Cruz is going to accept Kasich parachuting in to the Nomination at the last minute when he has only won one primary [ in his home state]...It is going to be a a death match Convention ...

You make a lot of sense. One could argue at this point, anybody besides Trump or Cruz as the nominee would do severe damage to the party. Trumpsters are going to be irate if their guy goes in with the most delegates and they hand the nomination to anybody else. The Cruz faithful will keep echoing only he can defeat Hillary. It's a potential train wreck and I want a seat next to the track.

 

[Skylar]

Bottom line, I'd take my chance voting for Trump at the risk of getting HC. For what it's worth, my first choice was Carly. The GOP wasted too much capital promoting Jeb and then Rubio. They seem so pathetic.

Agreed on Jeb and Rubio. But your clinging to Trump despite Kasich's fitness and assurance of beating Hillary is...illogical...and so I must conclude you are a democrat hellbent on squashing a Kasich run because you know it would mean a GOP victory.

Have a good day.

Kasich isn't assured to beat Hillary. Remember, if you give the nomination to Kasich, with the fewest votes and delegates.....instead of Trump with the most votes and delegates, you lose millions upon millions of Trump voters. Roughly 13,000,000 or so.

The odds of Republicans winning with that kind of a deficit is the number that comes right after zero.

 

[BuckToothMoron]

Bottom line, I'd take my chance voting for Trump at the risk of getting HC. For what it's worth, my first choice was Carly. The GOP wasted too much capital promoting Jeb and then Rubio. They seem so pathetic.

Agreed on Jeb and Rubio. But your clinging to Trump despite Kasich's fitness and assurance of beating Hillary is...illogical...and so I must conclude you are a democrat hellbent on squashing a Kasich run because you know it would mean a GOP victory.

Have a good day.

Kasich isn't assured to beat Hillary. Remember, if you give the nomination to Kasich, with the fewest votes and delegates.....instead of Trump with the most votes and delegates, you lose millions upon millions of Trump voters. Roughly 13,000,000 or so.

The odds of Republicans winning with that kind of a deficit is the number that comes right after zero.

I agree! The GOP insiders need to lick their wounds and get over it. They are being punished. If the most important thing is beating Hillary, then Give your Mia culpa and try to put a coalition together already.

 

[Skylar]

Bottom line, I'd take my chance voting for Trump at the risk of getting HC. For what it's worth, my first choice was Carly. The GOP wasted too much capital promoting Jeb and then Rubio. They seem so pathetic.

Agreed on Jeb and Rubio. But your clinging to Trump despite Kasich's fitness and assurance of beating Hillary is...illogical...and so I must conclude you are a democrat hellbent on squashing a Kasich run because you know it would mean a GOP victory.

Have a good day.

Kasich isn't assured to beat Hillary. Remember, if you give the nomination to Kasich, with the fewest votes and delegates.....instead of Trump with the most votes and delegates, you lose millions upon millions of Trump voters. Roughly 13,000,000 or so.

The odds of Republicans winning with that kind of a deficit is the number that comes right after zero.

I agree! The GOP insiders need to lick their wounds and get over it. They are being punished. If the most important thing is beating Hillary, then Give your Mia culpa and try to put a coalition together already.

If they run Trump, they're fucked as well. With 1 in 4 GOP voters indicating they will vote for Hillary instead of Trump, you lose about the same amount of voters. Only Hillary gains them instead.

Worse, Trump has one of the highest unfavorability ratings of any candidate, ever. Currently at around 65%. With 54% indicating they will never vote Trump.

The GOP is fucked either way. The only question is if they want to take the hit early or later. I predict they'll take it erarlier. As they can repudiate Trump and his positions and try and control their own brand. It will split the party, but that's happening anyway. The only question is if that occurs before or after Trump stains the GOP brand for the next decade.

 

[BuckToothMoron]

Bottom line, I'd take my chance voting for Trump at the risk of getting HC. For what it's worth, my first choice was Carly. The GOP wasted too much capital promoting Jeb and then Rubio. They seem so pathetic.

Agreed on Jeb and Rubio. But your clinging to Trump despite Kasich's fitness and assurance of beating Hillary is...illogical...and so I must conclude you are a democrat hellbent on squashing a Kasich run because you know it would mean a GOP victory.

Have a good day.

My conservative voting record is intact sir. The GOP insiders are losing control and they better wake up and face it. Seriously, I am on your side.

 

[BuckToothMoron]

Bottom line, I'd take my chance voting for Trump at the risk of getting HC. For what it's worth, my first choice was Carly. The GOP wasted too much capital promoting Jeb and then Rubio. They seem so pathetic.

Agreed on Jeb and Rubio. But your clinging to Trump despite Kasich's fitness and assurance of beating Hillary is...illogical...and so I must conclude you are a democrat hellbent on squashing a Kasich run because you know it would mean a GOP victory.

Have a good day.

Kasich isn't assured to beat Hillary. Remember, if you give the nomination to Kasich, with the fewest votes and delegates.....instead of Trump with the most votes and delegates, you lose millions upon millions of Trump voters. Roughly 13,000,000 or so.

The odds of Republicans winning with that kind of a deficit is the number that comes right after zero.

I agree! The GOP insiders need to lick their wounds and get over it. They are being punished. If the most important thing is beating Hillary, then Give your Mia culpa and try to put a coalition together already.

If they run Trump, they're fucked as well. With 1 in 4 GOP voters indicating they will vote for Hillary instead of Trump, you lose about the same amount of voters. Only Hillary gains them instead.

Worse, Trump has one of the highest unfavorability ratings of any candidate, ever. Currently at around 65%. With 54% indicating they will never vote Trump.

The GOP is fucked either way. The only question is if they want to take the hit early or later. I predict they'll take it erarlier. As they can repudiate Trump and his positions and try and control their own brand. It will split the party, but that's happening anyway. The only question is if that occurs before or after Trump stains the GOP brand for the next decade.

Not sure who is staining, or has stained the brand more, Trump or the insiders. There's plenty of stain to go around though.

Trumps negatives are a problem, but Hillary carries pretty high negatives too. Guess what, there is plenty of negative to go around too.

I won't even try to predict what happens in the fall. It's like predicting the winner of the super bowl in September. I thought Trump would be back firing B rated celebrities by now. With All the rumblings from the FBI, Hillary could still take a serious body shot.

My dream is to see Hilary walking out of a federal building in handcuffs while Bill covers her head with his coat before they drive off in a black FBI sedan. Gives me chills to think about.

 

[Skylar]

Bottom line, I'd take my chance voting for Trump at the risk of getting HC. For what it's worth, my first choice was Carly. The GOP wasted too much capital promoting Jeb and then Rubio. They seem so pathetic.

Agreed on Jeb and Rubio. But your clinging to Trump despite Kasich's fitness and assurance of beating Hillary is...illogical...and so I must conclude you are a democrat hellbent on squashing a Kasich run because you know it would mean a GOP victory.

Have a good day.

Kasich isn't assured to beat Hillary. Remember, if you give the nomination to Kasich, with the fewest votes and delegates.....instead of Trump with the most votes and delegates, you lose millions upon millions of Trump voters. Roughly 13,000,000 or so.

The odds of Republicans winning with that kind of a deficit is the number that comes right after zero.

I agree! The GOP insiders need to lick their wounds and get over it. They are being punished. If the most important thing is beating Hillary, then Give your Mia culpa and try to put a coalition together already.

If they run Trump, they're fucked as well. With 1 in 4 GOP voters indicating they will vote for Hillary instead of Trump, you lose about the same amount of voters. Only Hillary gains them instead.

Worse, Trump has one of the highest unfavorability ratings of any candidate, ever. Currently at around 65%. With 54% indicating they will never vote Trump.

The GOP is fucked either way. The only question is if they want to take the hit early or later. I predict they'll take it erarlier. As they can repudiate Trump and his positions and try and control their own brand. It will split the party, but that's happening anyway. The only question is if that occurs before or after Trump stains the GOP brand for the next decade.

Not sure who is staining, or has stained the brand more, Trump or the insiders. There's plenty of stain to go around though.

With the general electorate and independents? Trump.

Whether you agree or don't, the GOP establishment will feel it to be so. And they'll want to define their own message, platform and brand. If they have a brokered convention, the party splits and at a very emotional point. So its going to hurt more in the short term. They lose the general election and probably the senate.

But they get to control their own message.

If they nominate Trump, they're stuck with every stupid thing Trump has ever said. From Birtherism to nuking Europe because its a 'big place', to Muslims being barred from the US to the "Mexicans are Rapists', to Trump's creepy fixation on Megan Kelly.......the republicans undo pretty much all of their outreach for the last decade. And it will take about that long again to get back to where they were before Trump came along.

The advantage of that approach is that while losing control of their own message, they can keep the party together for a little while longer. And might be able to split it on more amicable, less emotional circumstances.

My prediction (and you're right on the futility of such this far out....consider it my best guess at this point),......the GOP goes with a brokered convention and nominates Ryan.

Trumps negatives are a problem, but Hillary carries pretty high negatives too. Guess what, there is plenty of negative to go around too.

Oh, Hillary is the weakest candidate that the Democrats have run in my lifetime. And yet Trump is worse still. That's quite an accomplishment. About 7% of Democrats would defect to Trump to flee Hillary. About 25% of republicans would defect to Hillary to flee Trump.