Bible-toting Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) should have won Mississippi. Ohio Gov. John Kasich should have won nearby Michigan. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) should have finished as a runner-up somewhere, anywhere.

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Instead, Rubio and rest of the GOP field were left watching in horror as Trump crushed all comers at the polls and then used his victory speech to hawk steaks, wine and the most fabulous magazines you will ever read.

So long to Morning in America. Say hello to Tuesday Nights at QVC.

Trump’s big wins in Michigan and Mississippi were not the worst news of the night for the GOP ruling class. Instead, that dubious distinction was saved for the complete collapse of Rubio’s campaign one week before Florida’s crucial primary. For Republican leaders, Rubio’s timing could not have been worse.

Florida’s winner-take-all primary was rigged by the establishment to provide a firewall for Jeb Bush or Rubio back when wise men spoke knowingly of an “establishment lane.” Instead, as with most of the maneuvers masterminded by the Republican National Committee, the Florida firewall now seems to be playing into the hands of the man Beltway Republicans hate the most. And after tonight, the only politician who has any chance of stopping Trump seven days from now is the second-most hated politician in Washington, Ted Cruz.

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