Todd M. Siebert: Dump on Trump night! Debate means war on GOP kingpin

Thursday, 25 February 2016

Dump on Trump night! Debate means war on GOP kingpin

GOP presidential candidates Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio (Photo: Twitter)

Can the mighty Trump train be derailed?

That’s the big question Thursday evening, as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio appear in Houston, Texas, at a high-stakes debate that could be their last real shot as stopping the GOP kingpin from steamrolling his way to the Republican nomination.

“If Rubio and Cruz can’t lock horns with Donald Trump and best him Thursday night in the political gong show we call a debate, then it’s not going to happen,” warned the National Review’s Mark Antonio Wright. “If these guys can’t sense the urgency of the moment and rise to the challenge by bringing down Trump, they have no business asking for conservatives’ votes or leading America in a dark and dangerous moment on the world stage.”

If Trump manages to survive tonight’s debate and win most or all of the Super Tuesday states, Wright warns – the GOP race is over.

Will Cruz and Rubio unleash their killer instinct and flatten Trump Thursday evening, or will the scrappy billionaire fight off their attacks and forge ahead for more decisive wins on the road to the GOP nomination and the White House?

Trump, Rubio, Cruz, Ben Carson and John Kasich are facing off in the debate hosted by CNN, Telemundo and Salem Radio that began at 8:30 p.m. EST. The event, broadcast in English and Spanish, is being held at the University of Houston’s Moores Opera Center.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer is moderating, and Telemundo’s Maria Celeste Arraras, Salem talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt and CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash are asking questions of the candidates. CNN is airing the debate and livestreaming it at Go.CNN.com.

What do YOU think? Who won the Texas GOP debate? Sound off in today’s WND poll

The event comes two days after Trump emerged victorious from the Nevada caucuses Tuesday with 45.9 percent of the vote. Rubio came in second at 23.9 percent and Cruz third at 21.4 percent. Carson and Kasich received 4.8 percent and 3.6 percent respectively.

March 1 marks Super Tuesday, a group of 12 Democrat and Republican primaries and caucuses that includes the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia.

GOP presidential candidates John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Ben Carson (Photo: Twitter)

Rubio v. Cruz?

Rubio, who plays to the establishment Republican donors and supporters, may choose to focus his fire on Cruz. If Rubio can turn the bid for the GOP nomination into a two-man race, he’s betting he will inherit Cruz’s supporters once the Texas senator is out of the game. Rubio, who is being clobbered by Trump in polls conducted in his home state of Florida, believes his best shot at stopping Trump lies in putting the squeeze on Cruz.

Cruz, on the other hand, has faced an onslaught of attacks from both Trump and Rubio in recent weeks, accusing him of using deceptive campaign tactics. And Cruz is ready to fight back.

Cruz’s campaign promised a fight tonight, telling CNN, “We are not taking it on the chin anymore.”

“He’s got to beat back the narrative that he and his campaign are masters of the dirty trick,” longtime Republican debate coach Brett O’Donnell told Politico.

After Cruz won the Iowa caucuses, he endured three third-place finishes. If he doesn’t perform well on Super Tuesday, which includes his home state of Texas, he may lose any opportunity to recover. So Thursday’s debate represents his last shot to strengthen his position heading into the primaries.

The 12 Super Tuesday states offer 595 Republican delegates. Currently, Trump has 82 delegates. Cruz and Rubio have 17 and 16 respectively. Kasich and Carson have 6 and 4.