Today is primary day in Indiana and it is a pretty big deal. Normally we are so far down the path to the nomination that it is sewn up tight when it gets to us but not this year. The airwaves are full of unpleasant ads, the candidates are in town and the largely one-sided showdown between Trump and Cruz comes to a head here. It reminds me of being in New Hampshire where the candidates and media congregate at the beginning of the process rather than the end.
While I am voting for Cruz I also recognize that he has thus far failed to really seize the opportunity. He isn't very photogenic and the lack of support from the GOP, or even outright hostility from tools like John Boehner, hasn't helped. Many have claimed that Cruz is *too* conservative and now probably will get the least conservative Republican nominee in my lifetime. Should Mr. Trump get the requisite 1237 votes, he should be the nominee no matter how distasteful that notion is. Really, given the reality of 8 years of President Obama being pompous, hectoring and sneering at the little people and anyone who doesn't kiss his ring, and the prospect of Hillary Clinton screeching for four more years, Trump is not that terrible of a choice. That says a lot about how bad the last 8 years and the prospect of years of Hillary really is. Anyone who thinks that Hillary wins in a landslide if Trump is her opponent is delusional, Trump's "message" resonates with a lot of people in the critical Midwestern states.
We also have some tight contests for state and local offices and those ads are pretty much all accusing the other guy of being a closet liberal and their guy being the real conservative. In the area we live winning the GOP primary is essentially winning the general election so this is important for those aspirants.
I kind of look forward to slipping back into political irrelevance as a deep red state that is locked up for the most part in the general election...
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