There is a lot of bad weather covering many states today. That may portend well for Hillary and bad for the Donald. I get the feeling that Trump supporters are of the wrestlemania variety and will lose interest shortly after shouting “USA, USA, USA!!!”. Cruz has a good chance here in Texas. So does Carson.

Kevin,

When I say Trump might still self-destruct I don’t mean with his base. He could have sex with a muskrat on national TV and they wouldn’t care as long as he was shouting “Deport all Muslims” as he molested it.

I’m hoping the many independents who typically don’t pay much attention to politics until the general election if then will wake up to the horror of his vitriol and race baiting to vastly outnumber the ‘silent majority’ of Archie Bunkers getting a tingle up their legs over the same. If this can happen the Trump train will derail outside of the White House.

The good news about Trump is the more his campaign teeters, the more he stresses, the more irrational his behavior will become feeding his own demise like a destructive hurricane feeding on itself. We’ve just got to reach – hopefully – that tipping point.

This election reminds me of the stock market. You know a scary correction is coming some day, you just don’t know when. We’ve always known the rage building up fed by right-wing hate radio and Fox News had a good chance of reaching a tipping point and seize control of the Republican Party in a national election. 2016 is that year. Pray for the sake of America it is an epic fail.

In Virginia primaries you must declare publicly at the poll whether you intend to vote in the Republican or Democratic primary. My precinct is the heart of Tea Party county (Brat is my Congressman, sigh). So I was waiting for sirens to go off, a spotlight to focus on me, and guns to be drawn in the long line behind me when I asked the clerk to blow the thick layer of dust off the Democratic folder for a ballot. ;^)

All kidding aside, the only campaign presence at my poll was Trump. The Democrats have long written me and my neighbors off. This is my sad look.

While hardly crazy busy, my poll was doing a brisk business at 6 a.m. with about a 5-10 minute wait which is busy by primary standards. It’ll be an interesting night. Virginia is a swing state so keep an eye on us. It’ll tell you a lot of the voters’ mood.

I agree again. Cruz was never a national candidate or a serious one even on a more local level. His candidacy was always intended to give him a high-paying media job where he could opine about the issues of the day without ever having to actually do anything. He learned all too well from Limbaugh and the other media shouters.

I no longer think Trump will self-destruct. He’ll get to the general election and hit the wall when he tries to repeatedly make personal attacks against Hillary Clinton. In order to actually win a general election, he’ll need to actually be presidential, which is something he’s never been capable of before. And if Trump actually prevails somehow, this will tell us two important things. The first is a pessimistic outlook for how the populace can handle anything remotely important. The second is that we could well find ourselves on a serious war footing for the first time in decades, given that Trump would be incapable of handling simple foreign policy without insulting and alienating even our allies.

Guys, Cruz isn’t a national candidate. It’s an opinion I formed before the primaries started and I’ve never wavered.

At some point I’m still I’m still holding out Trump will self-destruct. Maybe it’s a good thing he breezes through the primaries because if his sell by date comes facing Hillary all the better.

I agree.

The most current polls shown at 538 show Cruz at 35 or 33 percent while Trump sits at 32 percent – essentially negating any advantage Cruz thought he had. Between that debatable victory and the certain losses he will face everywhere else, Cruz is looking at a serious re-evaluation tomorrow night. He had counted on WINNING South Carolina outright and using Texas as his bulwark across the South. Instead, he’s locked in a distant 3rd place, way behind where he’d need to be to make any headway. The only other state where Cruz looks to do any better than a distant 3rd is Arkansas. His campaign is thankfully over. The only question is when he will bow his head and admit he lost.

You’re absolutely right that Ted Cruz has competition in Texas who will happily be sharpening their attacks for the 2018 primary when he will likely be removed from the Senate roster permanently. Cruz has known this was coming, but he’d hoped he would have the luxury of bidding for a multi-million dollar hosting gig at Fox News. Instead, he’ll have to hope for some generosity on the lecture circuit and a very small stipend for contributing to Glenn Beck’s short-lived network.

@ Kevin: The real test for Cruz will be his finish in Texas. If he can’t be really competitive in his home state, he’d do well to consider dropping his run on Wednesday.

For Cruz, anything less than a win in Texas will be seen as a serious blow. BUT, it all depends on how the rest of the field develops. If Cruz wins by double digits, he could carry on for a bit longer—but that largely depends on how the 2nd and 3rd place finishers end up. For instance, Cruz wins with 38% while tRump and Rubio end up with 28% and 25%, that could be seen as a “close call.” If Cruz gets 40% and tRump and Rubio are kept below 25% each, that could be a “solid win.”

But, Cruz could conceivably survive with a 2nd place finish, as long as he’s no more than 5% below the winner (and at least 10% above the 3rd place guy). Let’s say tRump pulls it off with 40%; as long as Cruz gets 35% and Rubio is held below 20%, Cruz’s 2nd place finish might be seen as a disappointment but not a devastating blow. But, if tRump gets 45% and Cruz finishes with 35% (even if Rubio winds up with less than 20%), Cruz would do well spending Wednesday reconsidering (I was going to write “soul-searching,” but one needs a soul for that).

Of course, Cruz could absorb a “devastating” 2nd place in Texas *IF*he gets a not too distant 2nd place in the rest of the Southern States and isn’t completely shut out in any state. He’s really lucky that the GOP has largely abandoned the “winner take all” method for delegates. It’s this reason that he can come out of Super Tuesday without having to consider dropping out (unless, of course, Texas voters decide they’ve had enough—this could turn into a possible referendum on a Cruz re-election campaign if he doesn’t get the GOP Presidential nomination; a seriously bad showing will likely have some potential competition sharpening their knives to take on Cruz’s Senate seat in 2018).

Super Tuesday here in Virginia tomorrow. No more debates for me so Teddy I could care less if you embarrass yourself at another debate or not.

I’ll be at my polling place shortly after it opens at 6 a.m. So sorry, Teddy, I won’t be voting for you but thanks for the robo calls anyway.

The local news is referring to Donald Trump as the “Klanidate.” I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Seriously? A frontrunner like Trump in 2016? General Bedford Forrest called from the grave and wants his hood back. 😯

Marco Rubio thanks for visiting here in Midlothian. Sorry I couldn’t accept your invitation for a face to face but I was busy picking lint from my navel. Priorities.

Oh, I’ll be the one wearing a clothspin on my nose and a bag over my head at the polls. Yeah, its Hillary for me. That’s enough of a Bern for me.

Cheers!

I just wonder whether Cruz will drop out after he loses big tomorrow. That would obviate the whole problem.