Rush Limbaugh said today that nationalism and populism have overtaken conservatism in terms of appeal. 

I would add that until Donald Trump's candidacy, neither nationalism nor populism were political choices. Both had been demonized into oblivion.

I would also add that since the heyday of William F. Buckley, Jr., conservatism has been synonomous with internationalism, which overrides nationalism, and has nothing to do with populism.

It is for this reason I suspect that many Americans who love Donald Trump will be voting for the first time. 

And it is for this reason I suspect that many of them would never vote for a Ted Cruz, because, no matter where he ends up in terms of political positioning, he, too, springs from the internationalist camp when it comes to immigration and economics, trade and borders: the existential issues that Donald Trump has made this presidentiail primary about. 

Think H1B visas, TPP, Syrian refugees: At first, Sen. Cruz supported all of these Rorschach causes, later to follow Donald Trump's lead in opposing them.

From globalist reflexes to nationalist positioning: There is a pattern here.

(To be cont'd...)