Trump Wins Nevada Caucuses By Wide Margin

The panic in the GOP establishment must now be moving to open hysteria as the new fuhrer of the party, Donald Trump, walks away from the Nevada caucuses with more than a 20% lead over his nearest Rival, Marco Rubio, a/k/a Marcobot. With 45.9% of the vote, the new fuhrer - who has again made statements condoning violence against protesters who oppose him - underscores the reality that the GOP of today is akin to a rabid dog.  Marcobot and Ted Cruz combined barely surpass Trumps support.  What is perhaps most frightening about those voting for Trump is that the man has yet to provide any real details on what his regime would do other than to offer sound bites and demagoguery.  The New York Times looks at Trumps victory and the loss of sanity in the GOP.  Here are highlights:

Donald J. Trump was declared the winner of the Nevada caucuses on Tuesday night, according to The Associated Press, gaining a third consecutive victory in an early-voting state and strengthening his position in the Republican presidential race before the wave of Super Tuesday elections on March 1.

Mr. Trump was seen as a favorite going into the contest, and his victory serves as a setback for his chief competitors, Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, who must now try to break Mr. Trump’s winning streak in the larger states that vote in the coming weeks..

In early returns, Mr. Trump held a lead of about 20 percentage points over his nearest challenger, Mr. Rubio, with Mr. Cruz trailing in third place. Turnout in Nevada was reported to be high compared with previous caucuses. . . . He won over independent voters in New Hampshire and evangelicals in South Carolina, and prevailed in Nevada, where Mormon voters and rural activists wield influence.

Mr. Trump said in his victory speech that he expected to consolidate his grip on the Republican Party as more of his competitors left the race. He said he would compete hard in his rivals’ home states, and projected optimism that he could lock down the nomination quickly.

This latest triumph may only encourage Mr. Trump in the brash campaign style that has alienated many Republican officials and mainstream voters. In the two days leading up to the Nevada caucuses, Mr. Trump called Mr. Cruz a liar and threatened to deliver vicious attacks on Mr. Rubio as well.

At a rally in Las Vegas on Monday evening, Mr. Trump ridiculed a protester in his audience and told supporters that he would have liked to “punch him in the face.”

“We’re seeing a backlash in the United States that we’ve never seen before,” said Neville Cramer, 65, a Trump supporter from Las Vegas.

The results are likely to reinforce the sense among national Republican leaders that only direct confrontation can block Mr. Trump from claiming the party’s nomination, because none of the party’s most powerful voting blocs seems likely to thwart him on its own.  Mr. Trump’s success in Nevada is also likely to increase the pressure on his opponents to somehow join forces against a common enemy.

Mr. Cruz has intensified his hawkish comments on immigration to compete with Mr. Trump, and has argued that only a conservative running well to the right of Mr. Trump can challenge him effectively.

Mr. Rubio, on the other hand, has sought to unite Republican leaders behind his bid, casting himself as the only candidate capable both of defeating Mr. Trump and winning a difficult general election race. 

For more than 20 years the leadership of the Republican Party welcomed extremists and religious fanatics into the party by voting them onto local city and county committees.  Now, the party and nation are paying the price of such short sighted tactics.  The cancer has metastasized and short of killing the patient, I don't know how it can be defeated.