Patterico's Pontifications

3/17/2016

Kasich to Play Spoiler for Trump’s VP Slot?

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:11 am



Check out this pair of tweets I wrote back on March 5, wayyyyy back when Marco Rubio was still in the race and had starry eyes about winning Florida:

That’s starting to look rather prescient, isn’t it? People are starting to wake up to the possibility:

Oddly enough, John Kasich, who has whined about not getting enough time in debates (even though he interrupts everybody and talks past the buzzer every single time), has rejected the notion of participating in the Salt Lake City Fox News debate now that Trump has backed out. (Recall that the last Fox News debate was devastating for Trump.) Hmmmm. This both legitimizes Trump’s decision and deprives Ted Cruz of a chance to use the time to embarrass Trump. Hmmmm.

And Kasich is making ad buys in Utah, where Cruz is certain to win . . . but the only question is whether Cruz can gain a majority and sweep the delegates. Hmmmm.

And, in case you weren’t aware: as of Tuesday, Kasich has been mathematically eliminated from clinching the nomination. If he takes 100% of the remaining delegates, he still falls short of 1237.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Put it all together and the conclusion is obvious.

If that’s not enough, there are other reasons to despair, if that’s the path you choose. I’ve taken a look at the upcoming primary map, and a big part of the problem is that there are a lot of states with a large proportion of people likely to vote in a stupid manner. I’m looking to Arizona next Tuesday. Trump is outpolling Cruz, but Cruz tends to outperform his polls. If Cruz can take Arizona, I think he’s got a chance. If he can’t, I’ll continue to advocate Cruz and hope . . . but frankly, I’ll probably prepare myself for the worst.

Bottom line: with Kasich continuing to play spoiler, it’s going to take a surprising event for Cruz to overtake Trump. And even if he does, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Kasich throw his support to Trump instead of Cruz. Oh yeah, I said it. Mark it down.

Trump/Kasich is your likely ticket this year.

But it won’t be mine.

Happy Birthday to My Dad

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 6:00 am



As I have done every March 17 since I started this blog, I am wishing my Dad a Happy Birthday.

It is a tradition to note my previous similar posts on this special day.

He would have been 91 today. I’ll be celebrating by popping open a bottle of Knappogue Castle Irish whiskey.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!


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