It looks as though Mitt Romney’s ride to the rescue may be too little too late. Despite the establishment and it’s pocket media having thrown everything AND the kitchen sink at Donald Trump the insurgent billionaire rolled on Tuesday. With a win in Hawaii’s caucuses Trump won three out of the four states voting including all-important Michigan, a blue collar bellwether. Trump can now deliver a mortal blow to the gobsmacked establishment next Tuesday.

The Washington Post picks through the rubble in the story “As Trump rolls again, opposition has one week to stop him”:

The Republican presidential campaign has entered what could be the most critical week of the primary season, with the party elites almost out of time to deny the GOP nomination to New York billionaire Donald Trump short of a potentially bloody fight at the national convention in July.

Trump’s easy victories in Michigan and Mississippi demonstrated appeal from the Deep South to the industrial Midwest that continued his impressive winning string and added to his lead in delegates. While not unexpected, his margins — especially in Michigan — were bigger than his rivals had hoped they would be.

So far his opponents have won only scattered victories by comparison but nothing that amounts to critical mass in the stop-Trump movement. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has done better than Ohio Gov. John Kasich or Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, but none has yet emerged as strong enough alone to stop him, though Cruz may be best positioned to fill that role.

After Tuesday, the stop-Trump movement’s short-term strategy rests on two candidates and two states: Kasich in Ohio and Rubio in Florida. But Tuesday showed there are no sure things ahead.

Kasich has yet to win a contest and was looking for a clear and strong finish in Michigan to give him a boost. Instead he finished well behind Trump in Michigan and was in a fight with Cruz for second.

Meanwhile, Tuesday continued Rubio’s sudden and rapid descent. A few weeks ago, he was the establishment favorite, the man seen as best positioned to challenge Trump through the spring. Today he is a battered candidate.

In Michigan, Rubio was scratching to reach double digits in the popular vote. That was impressive, compared with his showing in Mississippi, where he was mired in single digits, along with Kasich. In that state, as Trump romped, Cruz lapped the other two and finished second.

No doubt last night was a bag over the head kick in the crotch to Trump haters, especially those that are reliant on their salaries and commissions from the existing system and as the WAPO points out – there is only one week left to stop Trump short of at a brokered convention. It’s hard to imagine the smears and hit jobs on Trump being worse than they were last week but it’s coming.