As people were voting yesterday, white Trump supporters attacked a black protestor at a Trump event in Louisville. Story and video here.
I saw a few pundits saying last night that Donald Trump had ‘underperformed’ in the Super Tuesday primaries. That strikes me as laughable unless you’re using some metric that forced him to win every contest to meet some nonsensical expectations game. But the more I thought about last night’s results the more it became clear to me that it was about the worst possible mix of outcomes for Marco Rubio and the even worse for the GOP.
Numerous Republicans and pundits are now predicting a contested GOP convention. Everybody was noting last night that … well, sure Trump is winning most of the primaries but delegates are distributed on a proportional basis so “not Trump” has more delegates than “Trump.” So open convention, baby!
No. In this election, certainly anything – truly anything – is possible. Despite my headline, I would not even say that a contested convention is impossible. But this ‘contested convention’ talk is just a compressed phase of denial, bargaining and anger as GOP stakeholders rush to make sense of what’s happening to them.
CNN Trump surrogate Jeffrey Archer explains to Van Jones that the KKK thing really isn’t a problem because it’s a leftist organization and also Dixiecrats. Watch.
Last night I flagged this poignant moment when Jake Tapper’s interview with Marco Rubio turned into an impromptu grief counseling session. Tapper tried to gently but compassionately edge up to the subject: “I’m wondering if there’s a certain amount of denial that you’re in about this race?” Now Caitlin MacNeal has the video. Watch.
Marco Rubio has now officially won a state: Minnesota, which holds a caucus. The discussion of the win on the cable networks though gives a sense of how much the image of his campaign is calcifying into a metaphor for humiliating defeat. On the cable nets, the announcement was treated with a mix of amused surprise and the sort of fulsome pride grandparents show when a toddler says their first word. That and a lot of ‘finalys!’
Tapper just now to Rubio: “Senator, you keep saying that and he keeps winning states and you’re talking about Virginia and that’s another state that Donald Trump won. I’m wondering if there’s a certain amount of denial that you’re in about this race.”
It looks like Rubio might be able to come in first place in the Minnesota caucus.
On a more serious note, Sanders is looking good in the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses. (Full results in the links to the right.)
This is starting to look like about the worst possible night Marco Rubio could have had. Making it a race in Virginia is definitely something. But Donald Trump has had a night of crushing victories. Just as important, Cruz won his home state of Texas convincingly and Oklahoma. And there are still a few states out. Rubio still might win in Minnesota. But it looks like Cruz has two or possibly three wins and Rubio has none.
His line tonight: “We are seeing in state after state, his number’s coming down, our number’s going up.”
Good luck with that, dude.
I don’t think establishment Republicans have it in them to consolidate around Ted Cruz. He’s just too big a jerk, probably unelectable nationwide. And they hate him. There’s basically zero chance he wins the nomination. But it’s going to be pretty hard for anyone to argue that Cruz has to get out for Rubio after tonight’s results.