By Paul Gable
After sweeping five presidential primaries in big fashion last night, I think Donald Trump can tell the fat lady to start warming up her voice.
After six straight overwhelming primary wins, Trump has at least entered the home stretch to the Republican presidential nomination while rivals John Kasich and Ted Cruz are fading fast.
Cruz certainly demonstrated to Republican delegates to the national convention why he shouldn’t be the party’s choice with one second place finish and four thirds.
Cruz had a new excuse yesterday for his poor showings – It’s the media’s fault. Coming from a man who’s often wrong, but never in doubt, such a statement is not unexpected even though his ‘Stop Trump’ attempts have been covered in the media much more than his results deserve.
The media has been kind to Cruz in this primary season, but he falls back on the old, worn out Republican refrain of it’s the media’s fault.
Cruz was in Indiana yesterday campaigning among the voters he predicts will be the stoppers to Trump’s nomination run.
Outside his own state of Texas, Indiana is a state that could buy into Cruz’s nonsense. After all, it’s only two years ago that Republican voters chose Richard Mourdock over long-time incumbent Richard Luger in a primary for the Republican nomination for the Senate.
Mourdock went on to snatch defeat from almost certain victory in this red state with the brilliant statement ‘if a woman becomes pregnant through an act of rape, It’s God’s Will.’
But, Cruz probably blew any chance to win over Hoosier voters last night in the Hoosier Gym (the gym where the movie “Hoosiers” was filmed) when he referred to the “basketball ring” instead of a hoop or a rim in the most basketball crazy state in the nation. Talk about clueless.
Kasich should be ashamed of himself for even thinking of joining is some type of collusion with Cruz to ‘Stop Trump’ from gaining the nomination.
On the Democratic side of the primaries, Hillary Clinton, with four out of five wins last night, can introduce the fat lady to Bernie Sanders.
Sanders has had a good run in the primaries, giving Clinton more problems than anyone thought possible just a few months ago, but, I think even Yogi Berra would agree it’s over.
Does the support given Sanders throughout the primaries indicate weakness on the part of Hillary’s candidacy?
I believe it does, but not because of Benghazi, her husband Bill, Whitewater or any of the other conspiracy theories still being spun by the few Republicans who support Cruz.
The voters in this country are mad at both parties. They don’t want politics as usual anymore.
Trump has been called outrageous on the campaign trail, but he matches the outrage voters are feeling throughout the country.
That is why Trump has been able to remain in first place while Rubio and Bush fell away and Cruz and Kasich are fading fast. It is why Clinton has had so much difficulty putting Sanders away.
And if the Republican Party insiders are perceived to steal the nomination from Trump, the obvious choice of the primary voters, they won’t have to worry about November. It will be over in July.
I predict there will be a few more surprises before this primary season is over, but not enough to keep Trump vs. Clinton being the battle this coming fall.
Some years from now we may look back on 2016 as a watershed year in presidential elections. Or we may come to the conclusion that paraphrasing the words of a Republican politico in 1920 apply best – ‘Ain’t no first raters here.’
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