[stayathomemom]

Now Rush is saying Cruz’s loss was because the establishment was against Cruz.
Huh? Rush must’ve missed the establishment choosing Cruz over Trump.

I have not been listening, I admit, but here are my thoughts on this, unworthy as they may be:
Cruz was the establishment's last man standing with any chance, like fifth on the list. That's when he finally became their man. I also would say that by virtue of his personality and fame, Trump was able to steal the limelight any time he wanted to. Trump controlling the narrative of the primary season is why Cruz lost.

[MUDDOG]

Not unworthy!

You’re right, Cruz was not the establishment’s first choice (Jeb was). But Rush made it sound like Cruz was their least-favorite, which he wasn’t, since they took him over Trump.

You also touch on a very important point: Trump’s prior public celebrity made it impossible for the MSM and GOPe to paint him the way they wanted to. He already had a public image and the public was interested in him.

[cincinnati65]

As I said from back in September, if you keep engaging Trump on Trump's terms, you're going to lose. That's the mistake all 16 candidates running against Trump made. They all danced to the tune Trump was playing, and they all had to pay the piper in the end.

None of them learned after watching the Jeb debacle. Trump could have been defeated, but every candidate played it wrong. Heck, what was Cruz's strategy for the past two months? "I'm not Donald Trump!"