The TV newsies have been giving this one a lotta talk. The newsies are saying that the "Establishment" and the rank and file party members are at odds with each other. And that the breach is unfixable.
Well maybe so, maybe not. There is an establishment, it's office holders at all levels, local state and federal, then party officials and workers, and activists. The establishment really cares about winning, they are in it as a day job, they want to keep their jobs, and they don't care about making flashy but risky gestures or embracing ideologies. They want to win.
They know that The Donald will loose, loose big, and take the rest of the Republican party down to defeat. So they are against The Donald. Which puts them at odds with The Donald and his supporters. Just to put the establishment further onto the hot seat, Ted Cruz, the alternative to The Donald, ain't their cup of tea either. Ted is a man of strong ideological principles, he is a forth right Christian, and he is into flashy but risky gestures, such as doing a Federal government shutdown. They fear they cannot cut a deal with Ted, that Ted will stand on principle and refuse to compromise. So far, it looks like the establishment will back Ted, as their only alternative to The Donald and the lesser of two evils. Better a hard to deal with ideologue than a flaming disaster.
And, the party rank and file isn't entirely agin this viewpoint.
The sticky part comes when the nominee gets picked. Trump voters will be upset if The Donald doesn't win, a lotta of other Republicans will be just as upset if The Donald does win the nomination. The challenge to the Republican party, is to soothe all these ruffled feathers and get the offended voters to at least vote for the party, if not get out and electioneer for the party. There are gonna be a lot of ruffled feathers and unhappy voters no matter which way the nomination goes. At a guess, the disappointed Trump people will be easier to soothe than the vast number of Republicans who detest Trump.
One healing gambit that the winner might use, is to offer the vice presidency to the looser.
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