UNEXPECTEDLY: GOPe Elites Sucking Up to Donald Trump In Last-Ditch Effort to Stop Ted Cruz

I like Donald Trump and would support him for president if he were the nominee. Even with another northeastern liberal Republican -- Scott Brown, who Trump has floated as a VP candidate -- on the ticket.

But my clear favorite is Ted Cruz, because he's the one Constitutional conservative who actually goes to war for what he believes. In 2013, he single handedly shut down the government in an effort to defund Obamacare (a promise that Mitch McConnell made to voters in Kentucky that he quickly abandoned). He called out his own party's leader on the Senate floor for lying to conservatives. He's meant what he's said and he's said what he meant, something precious few politicians ever do.

What does Donald Trump actually stand for? What do we call the Trump movement? Does it have successors as Cruz appears to be to Reagan?

Given a choice between Cruz and Trump, it would appear the GOP establishment has figured it can work with the Donald. So says the Washington Post and many others:

Republican donors, who had long assumed that the outsider candidates would self-destruct and that voters would rally around someone such as former Florida governor Jeb Bush, are suddenly adjusting their thinking and strategies.

Spencer Zwick, the national finance chairman for Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign, said power brokers and financiers are now trying to cozy up to Trump in various ways, such as reaching out through mutual friends in New York’s business community.

“A lot of donors are trying to figure their way into Trump’s orbit. There is a growing feeling among many that he may be the guy, so people are certainly seeing if they can find a home over there,” he said.

And one of the main voices of the GOPe -- Rupert Murdoch -- agrees:

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch believes Donald Trump's ability to appeal across party lines will lead to victory over Texas Sen. Ted Cruz... "Cruz bets uniting white conservatives/evangelicals enough, Meanwhile Trump appealing across party lines. Surely the winning strategy," Murdoch tweeted Friday night.

The National Review's Rich Lowry also chimes in:

From my convos,GOP estab mood on Trump moving from fear/loathing to resignation/rationalization,ie he'd run better than cruz & slam Hillary

— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) January 13, 2016

As NBC News reported a couple of days ago:

In hypothetical one-on-one match-ups, Trump tops Rubio, 52%-45%, though he loses to Cruz, 51%-43%. And in a three-way race, it’s Trump 40%, Cruz 31%, and Rubio 26%. So the combined outsider/insurgent wing is at 71%, while the establishment wing is at 26%.

Which explains the meltdown Mr. Trump appears to be having on Twitter.

Does Ted Cruz have flaws? Sure. Can you name a human being who doesn't?

Trump attacked first, but not based upon policy differences, instead resorting to the patently idiotic truther-birther issue (right, the son of a female soldier born in Germany can't run for President?) and then claiming Cruz is owned by the banks (pretty funny coming from a guy who owes tens of billions, I'm guessing, to the banksters).

Look, fact is that not too long ago Trump supported an assault weapons ban and a woman's right to have her baby torn limb-from-limb at 40 weeks. He called it "New York values" back then.

By contrast, Cruz has been a staunch Constitutional originalist since his collegiate days.

Cruz has been, if nothing else, unwavering in his willingness to defend the Constitution.

But I can't exactly say with conviction the principles Mr. Trump stands for. What movement does he represent?

What kind of Supreme Court Justices he would name? Would a Trump court further eviscerate the Second Amendment, beyond all of the degradations we currently endure?

The net result is that the GOPe is going to work a deal with someone who is, no doubt, flexible. A dealmaker. A negotiator.

Which means the GOPe will back Trump, not Cruz. Vote accordingly.


Hat tip: BadBlue Real-Time News.