By Growltiger* 

Who knew before Toto pulled back the curtain, that the fearsome wizard of Oz with his big, green, floating head and booming senatorial voice was just a snake-oil salesman pulling levers on a machine?

Until this primary season, most voters assumed they choose their party's nominee. But as the old song goes, "that ain't necessarily so". Not that we're not being forewarned. As the machinations to deny Donald Trump the nomination increase, the political establishment which stands to lose money, power and influence, keeps telling us it is the delegates who choose the nominee, not the voters. And this, dear readers is how we ended up with two Bushes, one Dole, a McCain and a Mitt.

On the first ballot, delegates pretty much vote for the candidate who has won the most votes in their state or county. Since Mr. Trump has scored victories in Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Hawaii, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island and Delaware, those who stand to lose if he wins become increasingly determined to prevent him from winning on the first ballot. If that happens, then delegates choose the nominee. And this, dear readers, is how we'll end up with another Bush or a Cruz, a Rubio, a Kasich, a Romney or a Ryan.  

Sometimes delegates don't even bother supporting the candidate who won their state or county. As in Louisiana where Senator Ted Cruz's "ground game" snagged him more delegates than Mr. Trump who won the state.

To some that might seem as unlikely as it is unfair to the voters, but as the Canadian-born, priestly Princeton prince who, like President Obama, has had his college records sealed so voters won't know what's in them, claims, it's Mr. Trump's fault for not having a better "ground game".

Senator Cruz's "ground game" likewise got him delegates he didn't win in a county in western Virginia. Mr. Trump won the county (and the state), but Mr. Cruz's "ground game" got the delegates.

What is a "ground game"?

Growltiger isn't sure, but apparently only Senator Cruz has one. From what the cool cat has managed to find out, neither Governor Kasich nor Mr. Trump has managed to snag any of Senator Cruz's delegates.    

Senator Cruz's "ground game" worked even better in Iowa. There the night before the caucus, the first-term senator's campaign called Dr. Ben Carson's supporters and informed them the mild-mannered neurosurgeon had dropped out of the race.

That was after the campaign had mailed out an official looking document to voters declaring they'd committed "voting violations".

"You are receiving this election notice because of low expected voter turnout in your area," the mailer stated. "Your individual voting history as well as your neighbors' are public record. Their scores are published below, and many of them will see your score as well. CAUCUS ON MONDAY TO IMPROVE YOUR SCORE and please encourage your neighbors to caucus as well. A follow-up notice may be issued following Monday's caucuses." (1)

This, apparently, is a "ground game". (Growltiger urges her readers to read this link).

Senator Cruz later apologized to Dr. Carson, but by then he'd bagged enough Iowa delegates to score a win there, and the good doctor was on his way out of the race.

Senator Cruz's "ground game" also worked in the second largest county in Missouri. (Trump won that County by a large margin and the state of Missouri by a narrow margin). Delegates who weren't well versed in "ground games" were asked to sign a paper which they were told would simply allow them to be delegates at the District and State Conventions. No mention was made of who they would be delegates for (According to testimony given by a long time loyal Republican activist at a subsequent protest hearing held at the State Capitol...Ed.).

In order to provide a majority for Cruz at the caucus, those names were then added to the Cruz delegate slate by the Cruz surrogates who collected them in the first place. Other presented slates were arbitrarily disallowed by the hand-picked caucus Credentials Committee. As a result of this maneuvering (politely referred to as a "ground game") only Cruz delegates from this very large county will be allowed to vote at the District and State conventions. By the rules the first vote may go to Trump, but any vote after that will be cast by these Trojan Horse delegates for Cruz...or whomever the party establishment dictates.

The "ground games" above pale, however, when compared to the senator's "ground game" in Colorado where Senator Cruz received all of the state's delegates without the state's political leaders bothering the voters about voting.(As this is being written, Coloradans have raised such a stink that there is some question as to whether the establishment are going to let Coloradans vote after all).

None of this is illegal as the sanctimonious senator from Texas and the secular establishment who now support him remind us.

Senator Cruz, who specializes in winning caucuses where "ground game" is important (Maine, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska) bases his candidacy on the fact that he is the only candidate who has defeated Mr. Trump. This is partly true as Senator Cruz won primaries in Texas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Utah (2). But Senator Cruz has only a passing acquaintance with the truth, so overlooks the fact that Governor Kasich won Ohio with Mr. Trump placing second and Senator Cruz a distant third and Senator Marco Rubio (who has since left the race) defeating both Mr. Trump and Senator Cruz in Minnesota.  

But Senator Cruz's "ground game" is moot if Mr. Trump wins the nomination on the first ballot, and that is the basis for the Senaor's sudden, shotgun wedding to Governor Kasich the day before Mr. Trump scored blow-out victories in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Delaware. In an effort to deny Mr. Trump the votes/delegates Mr. Trump needs to win the nomination on the first ballot, Senator Cruz and Governor Kasich--neither of whom has a path to first ballot victory-- divvied up  the children: Senator Cruz gets Indiana and Oregon and Washington go to the Guv. Poor little New Mexico got put in foster care.

In business this is called collusion (3), and people go to jail for it. In politics, it's business as usual.

But as the Indiana polls tightened, Senator Cruz, who mathematically has no chance of winning the nomination outside of a contested convention, married a second time by announcing he had chosen his running mate in the female person of Carly Fiorina, hoping one supposes to snag women the way his "ground game" snags delegates.

Just picture it, dear readers. Four months of listening to Senator Cruz's sermonizing and pontificating and Ms. Fiorina hectoring and lecturing.

Even Hillary isn't THAT scary!

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(1)Voting Violation

(2)In Wisconsin, Mr. Trump went up against the triumvirate of Ryan, Priebus and Walker. In Utah, the night before the election, the Cruz campaign released a photograph of a naked Mrs. Trump, taken when she was a professional model. Full disclosure, Growltiger considers neither a legitimate win.

(3)col·lu·sion

noun