I wholeheartedly Trump had touched a nerve in voters who are tired of the same old thing; Liberals and RINO's who keep lining their own pockets, and I applaud him for doing so. However, don't for a moment think he doesn't have his own interests are heart. He's clearly changed sides on issues fairly recently. Trump only had 2 things in his toolbox: bluster and insult. Watch every debate - when he's actually challenged, he doesn't debate the issue, he insults the other person - every time. He even managed to insult EVERYBODY including the audience this last debate. His insult thrown at Cruz in his closing was CHILDISH. I have a hard time respecting a man who filed bankruptcy 4-6 times, while living the lifestyle of the Rich and Famous, which in my mind is STEALING. He (and his fans) can say "He just used the law", but the truth is he convinced other people to invest in his failed ventures, then walked about clean and left them hanging. He tried to use eminent domain to feather his own pockets, and Bush nailed him on it.
Trump's ego is his biggest asset, and it's also his biggest weakness. And it's DANGEROUS. What's he gonna do when he's POTUS and someone (SCOTUS, Both sides of Congress, or the Press) legitimately challenges him? Insult them? Refuse to show up? What I fear about Trump is what I have always feared (justifiably) with Obama...when he doesn't get his way, he tried to circumvent it with EO...you don't think Trump would do the same or worse? Not that I might like what Trump used EO's for, but it's dangerous in a constitutional republic for too much power to reside in the executive branch; it's the breeding ground for a TYRANT. He thinks his crap don't stink so badly, he'll issue decrees because he's so convinced he's so right...
I actually think our founding fathers split the powers on purpose, so that a lot of things don't get done easily, the only time things get done easily is when there is a clear danger that everyone recognizes regardless of affiliation. In this, they were geniuses.
Cruz has PROVEN he doesn't give a crap about pandering to EITHER party. If he could be bought, you would have seen it in IA on the Ethanol subsidies issue. This was clearly a difficult stance for him to take as it's a big deal in IA; even the GOV said "anyone but Cruz" but after Cruz said he didn't believe in subsidies for anybody, the people resoundingly accepted his argument and he won IA. Go watch his Senate hearing on CSPAN. He's brilliant. His background is clean and his story is all about the American Dream. He's got a photogenic memory; he was the national debate champion. He had the guts to publicly call Mitch McConnell a liar when McConnell flat out lied to him. He's the REAL DEAL. Maybe the only REAL DEAL since Reagan.
Sat night, you heard all the candidates squeal about how they were against draft registration for women, yet all of them extolled having women in ground combat jobs - totally pandering. Except Cruz. You can't have it both ways; if you are going to let women compete for direct ground combat jobs, you HAVE to open their eligibility for the draft. What Cruz later said was that women (rightfully) should not be in ground combat MOS's AND should not have to register for the draft - which is the right answer.