A practical plan to beat Trump

By Tom Quiner

Here’s where we’re at:

According to the Real Clear Politics average polling data, Donald Trump is favored by 36% of voters while Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio collectively garner 38%. To date, he has won 46% of the delegates.

To win the nomination, a candidate must win a majority of the delegates. A plurality isn’t enough.

Writing in the National Review Online, Georgetown law professor, Randy Barnett, presents a simple and practical plan on how the Trump train can be derailed:

“In the wake of Tuesday’s primary results, however, another and easier path to defeating Trump has arisen; it can be Plan A. It basically relies on the patriotism, good sense, and rational self-interest of two men: Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. The plan is simple: Each candidate publicly pledges to support for president whichever of them has the most delegates to the Republican convention. In return, the winner will make the other one his running mate.

Together, it is reasonable to think they could muster enough delegates to beat Trump at the convention, where you need a majority — not a plurality — of delegates to secure the nomination. If such a deal were announced publicly, Rubio and Cruz could stay positive about each other — while debating their different policy stances and training their joint fire on Trump.”

I much prefer for them to focus their attacks on Mr. Trump, not each other.

Whatever you think of Messrs. Cruz and Rubio, few dispute their conservative credentials. The same can’t be said about Donald Trump.

This is a plan so elegant in its simplicity that I hope Cruz and Rubio carefully consider it.

Time is short.

8 Comments

  1. Diane Klopfenstein on March 3, 2016 at 4:54 pm

    Sent this to the Rubio and Cruz camps!!

    Sent from my iPhone

    >



  2. Oliver on March 3, 2016 at 4:55 pm

    Keep in mind that just because a candidate isn’t supporting Donald now doesn’t mean they’re anti-Donald. When Jeb, Chris, and Carly left, it seems like Trump got most of their votes.



  3. celticjeff on March 3, 2016 at 5:02 pm

    i like it



  4. Shawn Pavlik on March 4, 2016 at 11:27 am

    That makes too much sense, Tom. Politicians would never go for it.



    • quinersdiner on March 4, 2016 at 11:34 am

      I’m afraid Rubio is done. Chances are, he’s going to be trounced in his home state on Tuesday. He would do a service to the fracturing Republican Party to throw his whole-hearted support behind Cruz Tuesday night and try to bring the party together behind a true conservative.



      • Shawn Pavlik on March 4, 2016 at 12:16 pm

        I agree. Ted has shown he can win some states. I was really hoping Marco would win Florida to keep it away from Trump. Hopefully, Kasich will win Ohio, and stay in, confounding Trump in the NE.



  5. oppsey on March 6, 2016 at 1:08 pm

    ha! these guys can’t think out of their establishment box.