THESE are ghastly times for thoughtful Republicans. If Donald Trump is their presidential nominee in November’s general election, they increasingly fear that the businessman will lead them to a defeat of epic, Napoleon-in-Russia proportions, after laying waste to their support among women, suburbanites, non-whites and those dismayed by thuggish violence. A growing number have decided that the remaining candidate with the best chance of halting Mr Trump’s march to the nomination is Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who has duly picked up endorsements from such former rivals as Jeb Bush, the ex-governor of Florida, and, most recently, Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, whose state holds its presidential primary election on April 5th. But Mr Cruz is an unctuous ideologue whose entire pitch to date has been aimed at the most conservative third of the country, all but ensuring that—if he somehow became his party’s candidate—he would lead them to a merely conventional sort of November defeat.
A remarkable chance has been given to Mr Cruz by colleagues who never imagined they would need him so badly. Handed the battle-flag of the Stop Trump movement, he could...Continue reading
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