I may not have a crystal ball to see into the future, but it is easy to see one of four different outcomes for the Republican Party in this election season.
First outcome: Trump wins the nomination on the first ballot in Cleveland. Ted Cruz and the #NeverTrump contingent dig in against Trump.
Second outcome: Ted Cruz is able to deny Trump 1,237 on the first ballot, but is also unable to get a majority. A brokered convention ushers in an establishment candidate who is "electable" just like Mitt Romney and John McCain.
Third outcome: Ted Cruz wins the nomination at a contested convention, and Trump takes his supporters and leaves the GOP.
Fourth outcome: Trump wins the nomination with the blessing of Ted Cruz, and the party unites against Hillary in the fall.
Let's explore each of these potential destinies for the GOP.
1) Trump wins despite Cruz & #NeverTrump
The first outcome seems the most likely, although not preferable. If Trump becomes the nominee and Ted Cruz is able to keep 10 percent or more of the furthest right wing of the party dedicated to the #NeverTrump message, Trump will have to make up for the lost conservative base by moderating his message and pulling support from the center and the left.
If Trump were to win without the conservative base, he will owe his win to moderates and leftists who crossed over to vote for him. Conservatives need the next president to court them, not write them off.
If Trump loses because of the #NeverTrump movement on the right, we get Hillary or some leftist who takes her place after her indictment. That would be the end of the republic for sure.
2) The establishment denies both Trump & Cruz 1,237
The second outcome seems the second most likely to occur – Ted Cruz uses the establishment's rules to deny Trump the majority on the first ballot, and the establishment uses the rules to deny Cruz the majority on subsequent ballots. A savior rides in on a white establishment horse and, in the name of electability, a moderate Republican is nominated.
The same thing will happen that occurred when McCain and Romney were chosen by the establishment for us. The GOP loses again, and Hillary ushers in the end of the republic and dooms the United States to the ash heap of history.
3) Cruz wins nomination at contested convention, Trump runs 3rd party
If Ted Cruz is able to execute his plan to keep Trump from winning on the first ballot, and is able to get a majority on a later ballot, there will be a lot of ticked-off Trump supporters. This isn't the 1860s. Social media will provide voters with immediate updates on what is happening at the convention in Cleveland, and the party will be irreparably destroyed.
Trump's supporters will see this as another example of the rigged system that Trump has been running against. Whether or not Trump attempts a third-party run, the party will be torn apart.
In that case, Hillary is all but certain to win the presidency. Obama's third term will commence, and the fundamental transformation of America will continue past the point of no return.
4) Trump & Cruz unite to defeat Hillary
The only possible way I can see the Republican Party getting through this primary intact and defeating Hillary in the fall is for the party to unite behind Trump. The easiest way for that to happen is for Cruz to get behind Trump and direct the #NeverTrumpers to change their message to #NeverHillary.
I still have hope that can happen, although it seems the least likely. Cruz seems set on attempting some sort of tactic at the convention to wrest the nomination away from Trump and from the establishment.
A surprise fifth option could be possible.
5) Ted Cruz is ostracized from the party
If most of the original 17 GOP presidential candidates rally together behind Trump, even with Cruz remaining staunchly anti-Trump, the #NeverTrump movement on the right could become such a minority that it is inconsequential in the election.
Right now, Cruz looks like a selfless warrior seeking to save the republic, but that changes if Trump becomes the nominee. At that point, Cruz risks looking selfish if he continues pushing the #NeverTrump message as Trump turns his focus to defeating Hillary.
It is easy to talk about uniting after the primary, but it will soon be time to put our money where our mouth is. The republic depends on the Republican Party uniting to save it after the primary.