Just for curiosity I actually read the WSJ article.
It’s a transparent hit piece by Rove, with two nuggets buried between the lines.
1. If Trump wins in Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina it’s all over. Republicans should vote “strategically” to make sure this does not happen.
This is actually good news. If Rove is right about wins next Tuesday, then maybe Rove will finish melting down and we’ll be rid of him. If he remains semi-coherent, it will be interesting to see his next move.
2. The best line of attack Rove can come up with is that Trump has lower poll numbers against Hillary than his opponents.
This point is particularly disingenuous. Trump is under the heaviest sustained attack by his own party and nearly the entire media in political history. Trump’s primary opponents are getting kid glove treatment compared to what Trump is getting.
Comparing poll results with candidates who are not under attack is meaningless and Rove knows it. Anyone with half a brain can see through this.
An unspoken risk is cheating. Rumors abound about voting irregularities, including machine manipulation, and the GOPe is certainly willing to “do whatever it takes”. To the extent they can, this is certainly part of the plan as well.
Rove’s final line of defense is the convention, even if it looks like Trump has enough votes to win on the first ballot. He can change the rules, challenge seating of various delegations, etc. It ain’t over till it’s over.
Between now and November, one of two things is going to happen:
1. Hillary will be indicted, in which case it is over.
2. Hillary will NOT be indicted, in which case non-elite voters of every political stripe are going to be outraged. If FBI agents publicly walk out in protest, this will be a round-the-clock news story that will drag her down across the map.