Listen, if Trump gets the nomination, I will support him. Cruz? Not so much. — John Feehery (@JohnFeehery) January 7, 2016

It is more than an open secret that the Republican Establishment so hates Ted Cruz that they are more and more openly rooting for Donald Trump to win Iowa.

I just got today’s Hotline from National Journal. It is behind a pay wall, but it is worth noting their top story confirms what I have been seeing and hearing. Josh Kraushaar writes,

It’s the $64,000 question for establishment-minded Republicans: Would they rather see Ted Cruz or Donald Trump win the Iowa caucuses, assuming none of the more moderate candidates prevail? In an informal survey of senior GOP strategists, the clear winner was Trump. Their arguments were reasoned but underscored: a) how they’re still underestimating Trump; and b) how much they personally hate Cruz to the point where emotion is trumping strategy.

The Establishment thinking is that if Trump beats Cruz in Iowa, they can then beat Trump with Rubio, Bush, or Christie.

But that is horse manure and if they were not all incompetent morons they would know it. These guys have not made a dent in Trump’s popularity. The only guys who has is named Ted Cruz, and he has done it by being humorous and kind to Trump.

If Trump beats Cruz in Iowa, the man still does not bleed. That makes him stronger and more and more locks Trump in as a viable contender. It makes it more likely that Cruz’s coalition breaks to Trump and sustains Trump, who can also pick up blue collar voters in northern states and the Rust Belt to sustain his candidacy.

The truth is this: the establishment wing of the Republican Party would rather Hillary Clinton win than Ted Cruz win. If Ted Cruz wins, a good number of the establishment staff would be on the unemployment line, shut out of jobs in the White House that they covet.

Ted Cruz could use this all in an advertising campaign. The establishment hates him so much they’re rooting for Trump and Hillary. The very guys who lament that the Trump nomination would be the death of the GOP, would rather see Trump win Iowa than Cruz.

It should not be amazing. It should be predictable. But still — the hate these guys have for Cruz is unending. And why? Because he dared stand up to them.