The Cruz-Kasich Alliance
Was this inevitable . . . or is it long-overdue? The presidential campaigns of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich announced late Sunday that they were coordinating their efforts in three upcoming primary states in an extraordinary attempt to prevent Republican front-runner Donald Trump from clinching the GOP nomination before this summer's convention. In a pair of simultaneously released statements, the campaigns announced that Kasich would pull out of Indiana to give Cruz "a clear path" ahead of that state's winner-take-all primary May 3, while the Cruz campaign will "clear the path" for Kasich in Oregon, which votes May 17, and New Mexico, which votes June 7. "Having Donald Trump at the top of the ticket in November would be a sure disaster for Republicans," Cruz's campaign manager, Jeff Roe, said. "To ensure that we nominate a Republican who can unify the Republican Party and win in November, our campaign will focus its time and resources in Indiana and in turn clear the path for Gov. Kasich to compete in Oregon and New Mexico, and we would hope that allies of both campaigns would follow our lead." Mike Huckabee, always good for a statement that is dumb, declares, "Cruz, Kasich join forces to stop Trump. I wish they wanted to stop Hillary and much as they did the Republican who is beating both of them." First, do you think Ted Cruz doesn't want to beat Hillary? Do you think John Kasich doesn't want to beat Hillary? Do you think that either one of them is a secret Democrat, rooting for Hillary when no one is looking? Even Kasich, who is insufferable for citing the Bible as justification for his expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare, is pro-life, pushed to curb collective bargaining for public employees, is pro–Second Amendment, and trimmed the number of state-government employees. For whatever beefs we conservatives have with him, he's a giant step to the right of Hillary Clinton. Secondly, watch any Cruz or Kasich speech. Cruz, in particular, hits Hillary. Kasich may attempt to be as soft and cuddly as a Care Bear, but even he points to the numerous polls that show him beating Clinton handily. Thirdly, this "I wish they wanted to beat general-election opponent as much as they want to beat primary opponent" argument is BS because you can't win the general election until you win the primary. Lord knows Trump spent a good portion of this primary slamming everybody around him; he's still hitting "Lyin' Ted," "Little Marco," "Low Energy Jeb." Did this mean Trump didn't want to win the general election? Or did it simply mean that Trump wanted to ensure he won the primary, so he could then turn more of his attention and criticism to his likely Democratic opponent? Johnny Manziel, Victim John Branch, pro-football columnist for the New York Times: The N.F.L. draft -- our coverage of it and our appetite for it -- is a cultural phenomenon. But it also shows, as much as any sporting "event" in this country does, how fans and leagues -- and even the players themselves in this age of social media -- are willing to dehumanize the games they love, turning people into products and lives into entertainment. Name a form of popular culture that does not turn people into products and lives into entertainment. Obviously, Hollywood does. Likewise theater and dance. (You want to talk about long-term negative health effects? Let's talk about professional ballet.) Music, in all its forms. (Has this guy never seen any episode of Behind the Music?) Maybe novels? Eh, even then, there's a certain amount of marketing of the persona of the author -- J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, John Grisham. The art world? Ask Warhol. Branch's exhibit A for this dehumanization is the rise and fall and subsequent widespread mockery is . . . former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel: Manziel is the latest example, playing out in real time as another draft approaches. To read online comments and social media posts about Manziel's troubles -- arrests, parties, rehabilitation -- is to explore the underbelly of fandom, dismissive and cruel. Schadenfreude is the flip side of reverence, and perhaps a stronger attraction. When are we allowed to be mad at a guy for taking one of life's golden opportunities and throwing it away? Here's a young man who forgot the lesson of every afterschool special, who ignored every warning, dismissed every pep talk from a coach or teammate, tuned out every bit of criticism, no matter how valid . . . . Everyone around him, it seemed, warned him that his heavy-drinking, hard-partying lifestyle was jeopardizing his career, his health, and perhaps his life -- his parents, his coaches, this teammates. He ignored them all, and seemed to demonstrate less impulse control over time, not more. The vast majority of NFL players manage to go through their careers without ever getting in trouble with law enforcement. Why was it so hard for Manziel? If, as Branch contends, it's cruel to mock Manziel, is it fair to mock anyone? From Branch's column, it's easy to forget . . . Johnny Manziel has been indicted by a Dallas grand jury on a misdemeanor assault with bodily injury charge, sources told KRLD-AM in Dallas Sunday night. Prosecutors presented the case to the grand jury on Thursday. Manziel faces up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. The charge stems from an altercation Manziel had in February with his ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley, who obtained a protective order against him shortly thereafter. The indictment came despite a civil settlement being reached between Manziel and Crowley, according to KRLD-AM. In a sworn affidavit, Crowley said Manziel hit her and threatened to kill them both. Her lawyer said he struck her so hard she suffered hearing loss. Why are NFL fans the villains here? For what it's worth, in two years, he was a pretty disappointing player: In 15 total games he had eight starts, a 2-6 record, 57 percent completions, 1,675 yards, seven touchdowns, seven interceptions, 6.5 yards per attempt, 111.7 yards per game passing. He also ran 46 times for 259 yards and one touchdown. Branch, the Times' football columnist, tries to shame his readers for enjoying reading about the draft, caring about which players their team drafts, and apparently not thinking about them as human beings enough: The results of those measurements, along with those from various other tryouts, are mixed with rumor and speculation to create "mock" drafts. Players are plotted over seven rounds of the coming draft, as if it is important, or possible, for anyone to know whom the Denver Broncos might select with the 253rd pick . . . Knowing what we know about things like concussions and addiction; the possibility of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E.; and the likelihood of a shortened life expectancy, you might think that we have moved past viewing football players as interchangeable parts to be haggled or numbers to be calculated. You know, I think the world has bigger problems than pro-football fans being insufficiently humanitarian in their assessment of their team's needs at outside linebacker. I mean, they never found those schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram. Can we please stop telling football fans that they're the problem? All they do is pay money and ask for some escape from their troubles for a few hours. Thinking about whether the offensive line can hold together is more fun and diverting than thinking about paying the mortgage, whether that rattle in the car's engine is going to be a problem, or the traffic. Fans did not make Johnny Manziel go out and party. You're not Johnny Manziel's problem, NFL fans. Johnny Manziel's problem is staring back at him in the mirror. ADDENDA: Thanks to everyone who listened to the pop-culture podcast last week; we must be doing something right because traffic is up.  | 
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