RUSH: On the political side, the Republican establishment is all of a sudden starting to feel its oats out there. Have you noticed this? I have a political story here which basically is: “Republican establishment to Trump: You know, no majority, no nomination. If you don’t get 1,237, bud, you’re done. If you don’t get 1,237, you’re outta here.”

That’s what Politico says in a story of supposed Republican establishment guys sending that message to Trump. You have Scott Walker, an early presidential candidate from Wisconsin. He’s the governor, and he has said that he thinks there’s gonna be an open Republican convention. And furthermore, he thinks a contested or open Republican convention would nominate someone not currently running. Any possibility he’s thinking of himself here when he says this? Could well be.

We also have a bunch of Republican establishment types who continue to express their frustration that Trump continues to triumph. One of them is quoted in one of these stories, “You know, I thought Trump would drop. I thought he’d be out by Labor Day, and then it didn’t happen. I thought Trump would be out by Halloween. I thought he’d be out by Thanksgiving. I thought Trump would be out, finished and done with by Christmas. I’m running out of holidays.” So they’re getting…

They’re flexing their muscles on the establishment side here. They’re feeling confident that Trump’s not gonna get the 1,237. Some things happened in Louisiana that end up with Ted Cruz controlling Louisiana, getting some delegates there, despite the fact that Trump won, and I told you… I told you earlier this week. We had it in the New York Times story: A 100-day plan to deny Trump the nomination starts April 5th in Wisconsin. That’s where the establishment plan to take all this away from Trump actually begins.

And, lo and behold, we’ve got polling data out of Wisconsin that shows Cruz is essentially tied with Trump there.

And people weren’t expecting that.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: In other news items, Chris Stirewalt at Fox News: “Cruz Looks to Reset the Race with a Wisconsin Win — Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is out today with a trio of new ads in Wisconsin,” ahead of the April 5th primary. Now, while Cruz is trying to marshal forces to win Wisconsin — and if he did, it would be big. Don’t forget the New York Times story from earlier this week where the Republican establishment is also planning a 100-day strategy to deny Donald Trump the nomination. It starts with the Wisconsin primary on April 5th.

So there are two things going on here simultaneously. Cruz trying to put together a winning plan and strategy for Wisconsin on April 5th and the establishment trying to deny Trump. And not just in Wisconsin, but whatever they can do for the next 100 days. But do not forget, these people don’t want Cruz, either. This is important to remember because Ted Cruz cannot get to 1,237 without winning 80% of the remaining delegates. Not impossible, but very unlikely. Trump has to win, what did I see, 53% of the remaining delegates. Maybe 55. That’s much more likely why the establishment is aiming at Trump.

But I want to make it very clear to everybody, for those of you on the Cruz side, when you see the establishment gearing up to deny Trump, keep in mind, they’re trying to deny Cruz, too. In point of fact, they already think Cruz has been eliminated as a problem, because he can’t get to 1,237, and 1,237 is the number. If nobody gets there, don’t forget, they are disqualified, as far as the establishment powers running the convention think.

Now, Cruz is running three ads in Wisconsin being backed by $350,000 ad buy, according to his campaign. They’re all positive in tone. They’re aimed at softening his image in Wisconsin, where moderate Republicans hold a lot of clout. Stirewalt writes here: “But the kinder tone of the CruzÂ’s closing argument likely has something to do with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has campaigned in the state but lags far behind the other two. But even a distant third-place finish for Kasich might be enough to deliver the delegates and the momentum to Trump.” Another thing for you Cruzers to keep in mind. Kasich is in as a spoiler, and his primary target is Cruz.