It's been a fascinating journey from the first Republican debate to the last before Super Tuesday. We have watched the candidate numbers dwindle, the rhetoric become increasingly vitriolic and the public either cheer or scratch their heads. Republican politics have been turned upside down. No one seemed prepared for the unexpected - the staying power of the now frontrunner, Donald Trump.

Being unprepared in politics can bear treacherous consequences. Could the Republican party have been so tone-deaf to its voters in the period leading up to the campaign that they didn't pick up on the strong internal divisions that were forming? Apparently so. They are now paying the price, as is the rest of the country who has been listening.

The rise of Donald Trump's candidacy will be viewed in history books as the result of a period in our country when the split between the haves and have nots finally reached a boiling point. Trump is seizing the moment and capitalizing on the split. He tests his often divisive words and thoughts on the fly while whipping up frenzied crowds that validate his behavior. I believe a part of him is as surprised at his success as many others are, despite all his bravado. 

The Republican debates this year have provided vehicles for the candidates to show too little real political dialogue and too much hit and run word splash. Television has helped turn them into near Roman spectacles drawing millions of viewers, and giving Trump a home TV turf advantage. His reality show persona puts him totally at ease when performing in front of a camera, an audience, or both.

The obvious question now focuses on the future of Trump's candidacy. Last night's debate was the first time his dirty laundry began to be hung out to the public, and he took hits when being attacked. As prepared as he should have been, he sometimes appeared unprepared for a taste of his own medicine dished out by a newly aggressive Senator Marco Rubio.

Rubio took off his mantle of faltering under the heat of Trump’s continual put-downs, and came loaded with information ammunition. The kind that should have come out in the debates and campaign long ago. He went after Trump’s business practices, hiring of illegal immigrants to work on his construction sites, hiring foreigners instead of locals at his Palm Beach resort and the Trump University financial mess. It's all been there without being up for debate - until now.

Trump admitted in the post-debate spin room that his outrageous behavior, although he didn't use that word, has worked for him and gotten him to this point. Republicans have to ask themselves if that is what they want to continue rewarding.