Rubio nixes the possibility of a deal with Cruz

Swatting aside suggestions that he partner up with Ted Cruz to stop Donald Trump, Marco Rubio insisted Wednesday he won't consider any deal between candidates.

"First of all, both Ted and I are both running vibrant national campaigns, so the voters are going to have to provide the consolidation — it’s not going to be a deal between candidates," Rubio said while speaking with Fox News. "And that just never happens, and it isn't going to happen now."

Meanwhile, writing at the conservative National Review, Jonah Goldberg holds out hope for just such a partnership:

One possibility would be for Rubio and Cruz to cut a deal... If the two factions — which make up the overwhelming majority of Republican voters — could be unified, it might be enough to stop Trump.

What would the deal look like? A Rubio–Cruz ticket. Cruz won't work at the top of the ticket for the simple reason that too many GOP quislings fear Cruz more than Trump. But a unity ticket — a la Reagan–Bush in 1980 — in the form of Los Hermanos Cubanos might just do the trick. [National Review]

"Maybe there's another way," Goldberg concludes, "but I haven't heard it."