Someone slap a photo of Mike Pence on a milk carton.
The Indiana governor may not have been abducted but hes certainly missing in action on the central question facing the Republican Party: Are you with Trump or against him?
Pence is hardly alone on the sidelines of course. But the crowd of wet-fingered politicians trying to determine which way the wind is blowing doesnt matter. Pence does. If Donald Trump loses the May 3 Indiana primary it is all but certain he will fall short of the 1237 delegates necessary to win the nomination on the first ballot. Indiana is now the Gates of Vienna for stopping the Trumpian takeover of the GOP.
Thats why Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz have struck an admittedly awkward and somewhat unsightly deal to coordinate their campaigns to keep Trump from winning there. Kasich is dropping out of the Indiana race and Cruz will clear a path for Kasich in New Mexico and Oregon. Kasich almost immediately stumbled trying to stick to the deal but it remains as close to a united front against the longtime Democrat turned Republican pretender as were going to get.
And where is Pence longtime proponent of conservative courage? In his bunker insisting that hes for anybody but Hillary and Bernie Sanders.
To be fair Pence is in a pickle because hes up for re-election in 2016 and the beleaguered Hoosier thinks he cant afford to alienate any Republican voters. Boo hoo.
If current general-election poll results are even remotely accurate Trump would go down to a defeat of biblical proportions in November. His standing with women is so low he even puts automatic Republican states such as Mississippi and Utah into play. Hes wildly unpopular with young voters -- 17 percent have a favorable view of him in the latest Harvard Public Opinion Project poll. Only 37 of young Republicans view him favorably.
Trumps new de facto campaign manager Paul Manafort recently told fellow Republican insiders not to worry. All of this can be overcome because Trumps vulnerabilities merely reflect personality problems while Clintons reflect character issues. Fixing personality negatives is a lot easier than fixing character negatives Manafort said. You cant change somebodys character but you can change the way somebody presents himself.
Lets say its possible that personality and character arent synonymous in the minds of voters. But the notion that Trump -- a litigious thrice-married confessed adulterer with a history of hawking snake-oil products among other sketchy business practices -- has no character issues must have Clintons opposition research team spit-taking lattes out their noses.
Trump says he can start acting presidential with a flip of a switch but does anyone who is not besotted with Trump Kool-Aid think this is actually possible?
Pence is surely aware of Trumps unfavorables. But what he may not have considered is that if Trump loses the general election in a landslide the recriminations will be ferocious. The postmortems will undoubtedly focus on who had a chance to stop Trump when it was possible. Among the first in the dock: the Hamlet of the Hoosiers.
Most conservatives in Indiana have rallied to Cruzs banners already. Curt Smith the president of the Indiana Family Institute told the Washington Examiner that Pence would lock in his base by endorsing Cruz and it would give Cruz a big advantage because the Pence campaign is well-organized on the ground. Scott Walker the governor of Wisconsin helped deliver Cruzs blowout victory there last month. Its unlikely hell regret that decision down the road.
Then of course theres the case for supporting Cruz on the merits.
As Ive been saying for months the Republican primary season will end in tears no matter what. If Trump is the nominee many conservatives will stay home or vote for a third-party candidate. If hes not the nominee many of Trumps supporters will stay home. So why not fall back on principle and pick a side?
Pence has spent his career cultivating a reputation as a principled full-spectrum conservative with a populists disdain for D.C. Beltway games. In other words he is entirely simpatico with Cruz ideologically. With Kasich out in Indiana Pence can no longer claim that voters dont face a stark choice. Its time for him to show that he has the courage of his convictions.
Someone slap a photo of Mike Pence on a milk carton.
The Indiana governor may not have been abducted but hes certainly missing in action on the central question facing the Republican Party: Are you with Trump or against him?
Pence is hardly alone on the sidelines of course. But the crowd of wet-fingered politicians trying to determine which way the wind is blowing doesnt matter. Pence does. If Donald Trump loses the May 3 Indiana primary it is all but certain he will fall short of the 1237 delegates necessary to win the nomination on the first ballot. Indiana is now the Gates of Vienna for stopping the Trumpian takeover of the GOP.
Thats why Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz have struck an admittedly awkward and somewhat unsightly deal to coordinate their campaigns to keep Trump from winning there. Kasich is dropping out of the Indiana race and Cruz will clear a path for Kasich in New Mexico and Oregon. Kasich almost immediately stumbled trying to stick to the deal but it remains as close to a united front against the longtime Democrat turned Republican pretender as were going to get.
And where is Pence longtime proponent of conservative courage? In his bunker insisting that hes for anybody but Hillary and Bernie Sanders.
To be fair Pence is in a pickle because hes up for re-election in 2016 and the beleaguered Hoosier thinks he cant afford to alienate any Republican voters. Boo hoo.
If current general-election poll results are even remotely accurate Trump would go down to a defeat of biblical proportions in November. His standing with women is so low he even puts automatic Republican states such as Mississippi and Utah into play. Hes wildly unpopular with young voters -- 17 percent have a favorable view of him in the latest Harvard Public Opinion Project poll. Only 37 of young Republicans view him favorably.
Trumps new de facto campaign manager Paul Manafort recently told fellow Republican insiders not to worry. All of this can be overcome because Trumps vulnerabilities merely reflect personality problems while Clintons reflect character issues. Fixing personality negatives is a lot easier than fixing character negatives Manafort said. You cant change somebodys character but you can change the way somebody presents himself.
Lets say its possible that personality and character arent synonymous in the minds of voters. But the notion that Trump -- a litigious thrice-married confessed adulterer with a history of hawking snake-oil products among other sketchy business practices -- has no character issues must have Clintons opposition research team spit-taking lattes out their noses.
Trump says he can start acting presidential with a flip of a switch but does anyone who is not besotted with Trump Kool-Aid think this is actually possible?
Pence is surely aware of Trumps unfavorables. But what he may not have considered is that if Trump loses the general election in a landslide the recriminations will be ferocious. The postmortems will undoubtedly focus on who had a chance to stop Trump when it was possible. Among the first in the dock: the Hamlet of the Hoosiers.
Most conservatives in Indiana have rallied to Cruzs banners already. Curt Smith the president of the Indiana Family Institute told the Washington Examiner that Pence would lock in his base by endorsing Cruz and it would give Cruz a big advantage because the Pence campaign is well-organized on the ground. Scott Walker the governor of Wisconsin helped deliver Cruzs blowout victory there last month. Its unlikely hell regret that decision down the road.
Then of course theres the case for supporting Cruz on the merits.
As Ive been saying for months the Republican primary season will end in tears no matter what. If Trump is the nominee many conservatives will stay home or vote for a third-party candidate. If hes not the nominee many of Trumps supporters will stay home. So why not fall back on principle and pick a side?
Pence has spent his career cultivating a reputation as a principled full-spectrum conservative with a populists disdain for D.C. Beltway games. In other words he is entirely simpatico with Cruz ideologically. With Kasich out in Indiana Pence can no longer claim that voters dont face a stark choice. Its time for him to show that he has the courage of his convictions.
