A little more than a month ago, Ted Cruz tweeted: “The Establishment’s only hope: Trump & me in a cage match.”

Today, the cage match is well underway. And as Mr. Cruz implied, it’s exactly the sort of event that could lead to a late shift in the Republican race, much in the same way that John Kerry surged as Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt attacked each other in the weeks ahead of the Democratic Iowa caucuses 12 years ago.

But the establishment-backed candidates aren’t taking advantage. They’re locked in their own cage match.

Their internecine attacks are only the latest example of how the party’s establishment isn’t merely being beaten — it’s failing to take advantage of the strengths that usually allow it to decide the nomination.