@watundah How do you know for sure that people blindly follow him? I made that mistake and I learned that as serious as this election is, I need to find out for myself.
I don't think it's so much as outright blindness, as that Trump hooks many (not all) of his supporters on an emotional level. That then makes them discount intellectual concerns. Many Trump supporters that I have spoken with (including those with phDs) tell me they don't actually believe he will do what he says he will do. "He doesn't actually mean he will do what he says he will do" is a very common refrain, and polls have shown the vast majority of Trump supporters don't actually believe him. This very strange, until it is remembered this is because he has connected with people at an emotional level, not as much an intellectual one.
I am sorry that Ted Cruz did not make it and I am confused as to why not?
Many people are trying to figure this out. Especially now!
Let me be clear about my bias, I am not a Cruz supporter, never planned to vote for him in the general, but I have heavily preferred him over Trump within the GOP and I did vote for him in the primary. I also helped him win my state. I wish he would have won instead of Trump.
My observations:
Cruz is no dummy, he excels in an intellectual arena and analytical means of persuasion. He has argued and won before the Supreme Court numerous times.
He stinks at making emotional appeals. He couldn't even come close to Trump's ability to grab mass appeal on social media or to control the news cycle.
And his own party has been against him from day one. Cruz has also been long hated by his own party, because he rarely compromises. He's frankly not much of a "team" player with the GOP. Or much of anyone. That's why fellow congressmen of his OWN party joke they could murder him on the senate floor and no one would stop anyone. They want team players... That's why they are backing Trump even when they don't like him, even when they fear him, but because they think that back backing him, Trump will play ball with them. They think Trump is someone they can control, and Cruz is hated because they have never been able to control him.
I think Cruz might actually do better in the future when people have realized the Trumpian way of leading is terrible, and they swing the other direction to look for a different style of leadership... But not now. Cruz can't win in this political environment. Cruz isn't popular for the same reasons Trump is somewhat more popular. Standing in front of thousands of people who hate you and boo you is not a popular position. Bending and giving in to the masses is a more popular position.
Also, when we start off a primary season with 17 candidates, who all think the other 16 won't be as good as they would be (a bit egoistical...), it does split the anti-trump vote and tends to let someone without majority appeal win. That's why some other countries with multi-party systems, where it's more than 2-3 people against each other, have run-off elections or processes.
