Don’t get me wrong–it was a great idea in every way, provided he was willing to self-fund. I’ve known 4 billionaires, and all were–how shall I put this?–frugal with their donations. If Trump was not prepared to spend the money necessary to fund an effective presidential campaign, he should have solicited donations. He could have been the right-wing Bernie. Trump would have barred all pac and superpac funds, and individual donations from anyone associated with Wall Street, the banks, etc. To hinder bundling, he could have limited the amount of any single donation to, say, $100. He would have had big bucks for his efforts. It goes without saying that he would not have hired any of the Beltway bandits who run conservative GOP direct mail.

Trump can still win, but if he doesn’t, this will have been one of the reasons.