Timothy Egan:
In temperament and judgment, this is now Trump’s party. And take him at his word: His supporters will riot, as he predicted this week, if he doesn’t get his way. Sane Republicans, perhaps a third of the party, have no choice but to plot an honorable discharge. The exit polls in Ohio found that 42 percent of Republicans said they would consider a third-party candidate. They can also support Hillary Clinton, or sit this one out. But they cannot show up in Cleveland and have their principles paved over by Trump’s bullies.Eugene Robinson:
In his primary-night appearances at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, Trump has begun calling for party unity. He may get it, or at least an approximation. Some establishment Republicans will decide it’s better to let Trump suffer a crushing loss and rebuild the party afterward, rather than tear it apart at the convention.Molly Ball:
That would be an abdication of responsibility. Great political parties do not nominate for president someone who so glaringly lacks the knowledge and temperament to be the leader of the free world. But here we are.
Henry Barbour, a Republican committeeman and consultant from Mississippi, also couldn’t say what he would do when November came. “I don’t think Trump is any sort of a leader for our party or our country,” he said. “I find him highly divisive, highly embarrassing, often wrong, and unrepentant.” Barbour considered himself a party stalwart and had previously said he’d support the GOP nominee, whoever that was. But now he said he could no longer make such a promise.Charles P. Pierce:
“He just seems to have this natural tendency to want to divide, to slap people down who disagree with him, and it makes me very nervous for him to be the commander in chief,” he said. “That’s a very serious thing, and I don’t know that he has the temperament for it.”
The notion of a Third Way candidate in Cleveland is patently absurd. For one thing, the threat of a Trump uprising is not an idle one, especially if he shows up with north of 1000 delegates. Second, what makes them think that Cruz will get out of the way for, say, Paul Ryan or, worse, Willard Romney? Even if you accept the notion that He, Trump is not the perfect manifestation of the conservative prion disease afflicting the Republicans, and I don't for a moment accept that, you cannot deny that Cruz is an even more perfect product of the Party's madness. After all, he will show up with a boatload of votes fairly won over the previous seven months, a legitimate claim to be the party's second choice, and his profound belief that the Deity has marked him to lead this nation to Canaan. Who's going to tell him he's wrong? Quin Hillyer? And is there any doubt that both He, Trump and the Tailgunner are greasy enough to enter into an ad hoc alliance to blow the whole thing sky high if they don't get what they want?As long time observers of Republican politics, we bear no illusions that there's a silent majority, or even plurality, of party leaders -- much less base -- who will make a moral decision not to back Rump in the general election. Rationalizations have already been made (see Christie, "Krispycreme," and Ben "Benny the Knife" Carson) for abandoning purported "principles" as the Rump train departs the station. A few (very few) elected officials have announced that they would not vote for Rump (Sen. Sasse of Nebraska and Gov. Baker of Massachusetts come to mind).
We are sure of one thing: were Rump polling even with Hillary Clinton, the vast majority of Republicans would find any moral objections to Rump paling by comparison to their political tribal instincts to support the candidate with the "R" next to his name.
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