For many conservatives, there is starting to be a common view that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are the top choices.  Jeb Bush is too salsa, Scott Walker is too Elmer Fudd, and Ben Carson's amnesty-loving ways  are anathema.  What does that leave us with?

On immigration, based on the current, stated positions of the candidates, Donald Trump is by far the best candidate.  He's the only candidate talking about deportation.  Most recently he said it could be done in 1.5-2 years, which is not the typical "beyond the horizon" 10 years most candidates give in answer to any problem.  He wants to eliminate birthright citizenship.  And he wants to build a wall.  The only ambiguity in his position is that he wants to invite the "good ones" back after they have been deported, which leaves it unclear how many that will be and leaves some doubt as to whether the "good ones" will be required to leave at all.  Still, all and all, he is by far the best on immigration, based on his current positions.

Ted Cruz is the second best candidate on immigration and border security.  He too supports building a physical border wall against Mexico.  His position on birthright seems to be that he doesn't think it can be changed short of a constitutional amendment, which is impractical, while Trump seems to think it can be fixed legislatively.  He has said nothing about deportation of illegals.  And Cruz has been silent on the issue of what is to be done with the illegals here, which clearly says to me that some of them, at least, will be allowed to stay once the border is secure.

But Ted Cruz is the best candidate on all the other issues.  He is a constitutional conservative.  He wants to repeal Obamacare and replace it with free-market choice, opposes the ethanol subsidy, led the fight against regulating the internet, opposed raising the debt ceiling, led the fight against partial-birth abortion and funding for family planning, and more.  He has solid, pro-free market, pro-constitutional instincts on most issues.

Donald Trump is a big question mark on all these issues.  When asked about repealing Obamacare, for example, he said:

Speaking with CNN, Trump said that the Affordable Care Act has “gotta go” and that he would repeal the law and replace it with “something terrific."

That's his answer to most questions, that his solutions will be "maaaarvelous."  His answers to many questions sound uncomfortably like the late Joan Rivers judging dresses at the Oscars.  He has a history of supporting government-run health care and other liberal issues.  What he will do as president on these other issues is a great mystery, since at present he largely talks only about immigration and how low-energy Jeb Bush is (both of which he's right about).

And then there is the question of whether the candidates will do what they say.  Ted Cruz has a history of pushing the issues he supports today; Donald Trump has a record of supporting the opposite.  So supporting Trump based on immigration is riskier because there is less of a guarantee that he will deliver what he promises.

Still, if Trump delivers on what he promises, he will be far, far superior to Cruz on immigration.  The exit question, for you, is does that make voting for him worth it, given the big question marks of his positions on all the other issues?

This article was written by Ed Straker, senior writer of NewsMachete.com, the conservative news site.