Indiana’s Republican primary is not merely the Cruz campaign’s last chance to stop the Trump juggernaut, it will also determine the ultimate fate of Obamacare. If Trump wins Indiana tomorrow, he will almost certainly win the Republican presidential nomination only to lose the general election to Hillary Clinton, who is committed to preserving the unpopular law. Even if Trump manages to eke out a win in November, he will probably be hobbled by a Democrat-controlled Senate that will kill any Obamacare repeal bill. A vote for Trump in the Hoosier State tomorrow, in other words, is a vote for Obamacare.
And the Donald’s chances of winning Indiana are high, according to the polls and respectedanalysts. Moreover, the Hoosier state has an “open” primary that allows Democrats and ostensible independents to influence the outcome of the Republican race. Trump has typically done well in such contests by preaching what John Tabin described in this space a couple of months ago as “a brand of populism that is repellant to much of the Republican base.” This has caused deep divisions within the GOP, spawning movements like #NeverTrump, but it will help the Donald move closer to a first ballot win in Cleveland.
Winning the GOP nomination, however, isn’t the same thing as winning the general election. And virtually no one with actual political expertise believes Trump has a chance of beating Mrs. Clinton in November. Politico reports that, in a series of discussions with GOP strategists, “More than three-quarters of GOP insiders expect Clinton to best the Republican front-runner in a general-election contest in their respective states.” The story continues as follows: “In three of the biggest swing states — Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida — Republicans were particularly downbeat about the prospect of a Trump-Clinton contest.”
The Donald’s loyalists dismiss such opinions by attributing them to “the GOP establishment,” but Trump has far bigger problems than a few disgruntled insiders. In addition to being the most unpopular presidential candidate in decades, he is viewed askance by key demographic groups without whose support no candidate can win. A recent Gallup survey found the following: “Donald Trump's image among U.S. women tilts strongly negative, with 70% of women holding an unfavorable opinion and 23% a favorable opinion of the Republican front-runner.” Women make up more than half of the electorate — election over.
Which brings us back to Obamacare. Trump can’t repeal the perversely titled “Affordable Care Act” or anything else if he can’t get elected president. And when he loses in a landslide to Hillary Clinton, she will claim a mandate to expand President Obama’s “signature domestic achievement.” In other words, she will make the already intrusive and dysfunctional health “reform” law even worse. Her vision for building on Obamacare’s “successes” involves a soviet-style regulatory regimen that would dictate how insurance companies, drug manufacturers, and care providers operate and what they charge their customers.
And the Donald’s chances of winning Indiana are high, according to the polls and respectedanalysts. Moreover, the Hoosier state has an “open” primary that allows Democrats and ostensible independents to influence the outcome of the Republican race. Trump has typically done well in such contests by preaching what John Tabin described in this space a couple of months ago as “a brand of populism that is repellant to much of the Republican base.” This has caused deep divisions within the GOP, spawning movements like #NeverTrump, but it will help the Donald move closer to a first ballot win in Cleveland.
Winning the GOP nomination, however, isn’t the same thing as winning the general election. And virtually no one with actual political expertise believes Trump has a chance of beating Mrs. Clinton in November. Politico reports that, in a series of discussions with GOP strategists, “More than three-quarters of GOP insiders expect Clinton to best the Republican front-runner in a general-election contest in their respective states.” The story continues as follows: “In three of the biggest swing states — Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida — Republicans were particularly downbeat about the prospect of a Trump-Clinton contest.”
The Donald’s loyalists dismiss such opinions by attributing them to “the GOP establishment,” but Trump has far bigger problems than a few disgruntled insiders. In addition to being the most unpopular presidential candidate in decades, he is viewed askance by key demographic groups without whose support no candidate can win. A recent Gallup survey found the following: “Donald Trump's image among U.S. women tilts strongly negative, with 70% of women holding an unfavorable opinion and 23% a favorable opinion of the Republican front-runner.” Women make up more than half of the electorate — election over.
Which brings us back to Obamacare. Trump can’t repeal the perversely titled “Affordable Care Act” or anything else if he can’t get elected president. And when he loses in a landslide to Hillary Clinton, she will claim a mandate to expand President Obama’s “signature domestic achievement.” In other words, she will make the already intrusive and dysfunctional health “reform” law even worse. Her vision for building on Obamacare’s “successes” involves a soviet-style regulatory regimen that would dictate how insurance companies, drug manufacturers, and care providers operate and what they charge their customers.
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