In January 2013, Ted Cruz came to the United States Senate with a brilliant idea: just go hard-right on everything, and carve out a niche as the most conservative, most uncompromising guy in Washington DC against a backdrop of weak-willed, hand-wringing establishment Republicans. But he needed to do more than just build up a conservative voting record. He needed to do something big … like shut down the government.
Of course, none of his colleagues (even those with presidential ambitions) had ever tried something like this, because it was just plain crazy. You can’t go up to Washington, alienate everyone in the Senate, anger the entire public by shutting down the government and then go on to the White House. Cruz wasn’t a ‘maniac’ – it was a calculated strategy. But it was still kind of crazy.
Well, here we are. To the fury of just about everyone in the GOP establishment, Cruz is now a contender. They probably hate him even more now, knowing that maybe they’ll have to choose between him and Donald Trump.
But to those who vote in GOP primaries – and this is the really infuriating thing – being disliked by one’s Senate colleagues is a badge of honor. This gives Cruz outside credibility even though he’s an incumbent U.S. Senator. Voters see him as more in the Trump/Carson mold, but without the Trump/Carson “finger on the button” anxiety.
Therefore, I’m interested in seeing what strategy Trump is going to deploy to try to take down the Texas senator. Cruz is like Trump just with some of the rougher edges smoothed out – and he’s still pretty rough, which is what the party wants. I don’t think “maniac” will cut it. I don’t think questioning Cruz’s evangelical bona fides on account of his being Cuban will work either.
More mainstream Republicans, whose chief concern is electability, will be hoping for a Trump/Cruz smackdown where the pair of them tear each other apart, making way for someone like Marco Rubio. But if the last few months of this nomination battle mean anything, the GOP is poised to nominate someone whose anti-establishment credentials are above reproach. The GOP establishment might have to pick their poison.
John Wynne is the “conservative voice” at PoliticsNC, where he also provides polling analysis and commentary on legislative campaigns. When not writing about politics, he enjoys gardening and listening to opera. Contact: johncwynne@gmail.com.
Interesting blogs this week from both Larry Sabato and Stu Rothenburg. two nationally respected election analysts. Both predict that Trump will not win the GOP nomination, although they don’t predict who will. (Rothenberg thinks it will be Rubio or Cruz.) That’s good news to those who believe a Trump nomination would result in a electoral disaster for Republicans and conservatives.
Can’t believe that Cruz (allegedly) would disclose classified information in a public debate. Doesn’t he realize ISIL watches CNN?
And I also can’t believe Chris Christie doesn’t know who the king of Jordon is. King Hussein has been dead since 1999!
I thought the Constitution disqualifies anyone born abroad from running for president. Alexander Hamilton could not run. The republicans have maintained for years that Obama was born in Kenya, and, therefore, is not qualified to be president. Did we annex Canada when I wasn’t paying attention?
It’s not being born abroad that matters, but parenthood; if the mother (and/or maybe father) is an American citizen, she can give birth to an American child anywhere, as John McCain’s mother did. He was born in, I believe, Panama (and not the Canal Zone, which is US Territory); but since she was an American citizen, he was a “legitimate” candidate. Which of course would apply to Obama, too, even if he had been born later, when his mother was in Indonesia. Cruz’s mother was an American citizen (from Delaware) when he was born in Calgary.
I wish the Constitution disqualified anyone who’s batshit crazy, but unfortunately, that prohibition’s not in there, either, so Cruz is still eligible. 🙁
The original prohibition was set up to ensure that only people from the former colonies could be president when they became states; all the founders born in Virginia were, after all, born as British citizens. Hamilton, from the Caribbean, and other founders born in England or Scotland, were not “natives” of the former colonies/future states. Gouverneur Morris (born in NY City) was eligible; Robert Morris (no relation, born in Liverpool) was not.
What the pathetic field of fanatical republican presidential candidates highlights – a field which rightly includes neo-con insider and war criminal Hillary Clinton, is the unchallengeable power the right-wing corporate media wields in shaping this nation’s public opinions and perceptions. This degree of manipulation and control of the public forum by monied interests, and the subsequent dangers it entails, is exactly what the founders of this country attempted to prevent with the ratification of the First Amendment to the US. Constitution, which calls for the establishment of a free and independent press. What is deeply troubling is that the few independent contributors outside the mainstream, who on a local level could help expose this corporate mainstream manipulation for what it truly is, are satisfied to wallow in the extreme ideology of their chosen political affiliations rather than standing on principle and making a true difference for the good of this nation and the world as a whole. Unchecked control of the public forum by rogue elements within any nation’s establishment is how militant fascism takes root, as the radicalization of 1930’s Nazi Germany stands as a reminder to this day.
The Golden GOP ticket for 2016…..Trump/Cruz! Hurrah! Bring it!
You may be right, but it’s too early to predict a Trump or Cruz nomination. Mainstream Republicans, such as Dole, McCain and Romney, have a history of rallying after being behind early. Once the field is willowed down, I expect there will only be one or two “establishment” candidates (Rubio and Christie?) vying for the nomination with Cruz and Trump. But for now, Cruz is the only one who can slow down Trump’s momentum.
I think Jeb Bush could double his polling numbers just by changing his glasses. Someone in the Republican’t Party needs to tell him about Warby Parker. Heavier glasses with more gravitas would give him an edge in competing with Trump’s hair and Cruz’s inverted V eyebrows.
Crazy. Crazier. Craziest.
But which Republican candidate is which?
Does anyone besides me think Cruz looks (and somewhat acts) like Joe McCarthy?
Funny that a guy born in Canada to immigrants ifom Cuba is the Great White Hope of the GOP. Trump made a media killing on the birther controversy, but at least President Obama was born in this country.