While I am an advocate of putting the third party lifeboat in the water so that those of us who will never vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton might have someone to vote for, I think public talk at this time of a third party is detrimental to supporting Ted Cruz.

Further, I do not think it is a coincidence that some prominent establishment Republicans are suddenly having the third party talk. They would rather Trump than Cruz and they know that these discussions distract from helping Ted Cruz.

Ted Cruz has a legitimate but slim path still to 1,237 delegates, has an absolute path to leading in delegates to the convention, and absolutely can stop Donald Trump.

But he cannot do so if we are all suddenly distracted by public conversations about a third party.

The best hope of stopping Donald Trump is rallying around Ted Cruz. Republican party leaders are on the edge of a cliff. The only way to walk back from the edge is to do so. Cruz is a known commodity they may not like, but none can question he will preserve the GOP.