Peter Brimelow wrote earlier that all the GOP candidates started out acting like immigration patriots. Kasich eventually reverted:

Kasich: I might be running for president of Croatia if it wasn't for immigration https://t.co/QxqBj6oMmx #GOPDebate https://t.co/wQF3Pwn5ZH — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 11, 2016

But here is Peter's main point:

Cruz promises to cut of federal funds for any Sanctuary City #GOPDebate — VDARE (@vdare) March 11, 2016

Now Rubio is now attacking green cards. Total route on immigration issue here. ABOUT FREAKING TIME! #GOPDebate — VDARE (@vdare) March 11, 2016

I mean rout, not route — VDARE (@vdare) March 11, 2016

It is a total rout—while Trump gets the credit for moving the Overton Window, even if Cruz were to get the nomination, he'd still be committed to not passing Amnesty. What happened to Jeb and Rubio is a lesson that Cruz is too smart to miss. Milton Friedman said that in politics it wasn't necessary to "throw the bums out" if you could make it "politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing."

Another way of saying this is that even if politicians don't see the light, they can feel the heat.

Trump did extremely well in this debate. But immigration restriction did even better.