Just how desperate is the GOP to stop The Donald? The New York Times lays it out in tantalizing detail: rival campaigns are preparing for a brokered convention, Mitch McConnell's girding his caucus for war, and yet there's still a gaping vacuum of leadership.
Marco Rubio's campaign, for instance, has been floating this bulletproof convention strategy:
Speaking to political donors in Manhattan on Wednesday evening, Mr. Rubio’s campaign manager, Terry Sullivan, noted that most delegates are bound to a candidate only on the first ballot. Many of them, moreover, are likely to be party regulars who may not support Mr. Trump over multiple rounds of balloting, he added, according to a person present for Mr. Sullivan’s presentation, which was first reported by CNN.
So Super Tuesday hasn't even happened and they've already gone straight to the brokered convention scenario. Meanwhile, McConnell is turning his troops loose on The Donald—whatever it takes to keep their seats.
Mr. McConnell has begun preparing senators for the prospect of a Trump nomination, assuring them that, if it threatened to harm them in the general election, they could run negative ads about Mr. Trump to create space between him and Republican senators seeking re-election. Mr. McConnell has raised the possibility of treating Mr. Trump’s loss as a given and describing a Republican Senate to voters as a necessary check on a President Hillary Clinton, according to senators at the lunches.
So McConnell's so resigned to a GOP loss in 2016 that he's already positioning the Senate as the primary battleground over the White House.
And then there's the fact that no matter how panicked the GOP is, they still don't have anyone who's leader enough to stop him. Instead, Rubio’s trying to consolidate support.
Mr. Rubio made a tentative overture to Mr. Christie after his withdrawal from the presidential race. He left the governor a voice mail message, seeking Mr. Christie’s support and assuring him that he had a bright future in public service, according to people who have heard Mr. Christie’s characterization of the message. Mr. Christie, 53, took the message as deeply disrespectful and patronizing, questioning why “a 44-year-old” was telling him about his future.
Nice work, Marco! Thus, Trump's big Christie endorsement on Friday.
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