Posted on 07/15/2020 7:45:46 PM PDT by RandFan
Sen. Ted Cruz said the future of conservatism after President Trump leaves office can be both populist and libertarian.
The Texas Republican weighed on ideological debates among conservatives, saying the future of conservative politics can be a combination of libertarian beliefs and populism during a Tuesday interview with the Washington Examiner about his podcast, The Verdict, co-hosted by conservative commentator Michael Knowles.
"I think properly understood, those concepts are complementary, and they're not antagonistic. So I am a conservative, an unabashed conservative. I'm also a populist. I am deeply a populist," Cruz began. "And I also have deep libertarian principles. Look, if you're protecting liberty, that is the foundation of our country. That is the foundation of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. When it comes to populism, I think the most fundamental and important shifts in the last decade in politics is that Republicans have become the party of the working class."
The idea of conservatism "conserving" libertarian beliefs, or classical liberalism, has recently been challenged by some writers. Sohrab Ahmari, a conservative opinion editor for the New York Post, advocated for a "common good" conservatism in May 2019. In an opinion piece for religious publication First Things, he wrote, "Here is the problem: The movement we are up against prizes autonomy above all, too; indeed, its ultimate aim is to secure for the individual will the widest possible berth to define what is true and good and beautiful, against the authority of tradition."
"There's some people who want to use the word populism to say, 'Well, we should just have socialism.' No, socialism is not populism. That's not good for the workers. Socialism is tyranny of government. Every socialist government across the globe has produced poverty and misery and suffering and death," Cruz said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
This was done to death in 2016.
Legal scholars cleared him when he was running despite being born in Canada. There were papers written about it outlining the case
again
the people who want to be pandered to do not want “freedom”
they want freeshiite
freedom don’t pay my bills or get me stuff i want - hence dems offering ‘free’ money and phones and other shiite
thats what the panderers want
they’ll tell you to your face, phuck your ‘freedom’, thats just you saying words, you want my vote, i want stuff
“I am deeply a populist”.
Like Romney was severely Conservative? Cruz is an opportunist. He never ever uttered a populist word until Donald Trump cleaned his clock in the primaries. And, he subsequently witnessed the loyalty we who voted and will vote again for President Trump are to the Real Deal.
I have been saying for months, our biggest challenge in 2024 will be to weed out the posers, the Johnny Come Lately’s, like Cruz from the Real Deal Trumpians.
You just need to learn how to present a truly conservative agenda.
If the GOP stuck to its platform it would win landslide elections but they don’t listen to activists and SELL OUT to special interests in DC.
Until McConnell/McCarthy/Cheney and the rest of them are gone and real conservatives were in the leadership then they will only continue to lose because they have no idea what their doing or how to present a conservative agenda to voters many of whom are open to the message (independents)
Agree more or less. I think secession offers the only possible peaceful outcome. Think about it....if that coastal strip from DC to Maine were to go their own way along with the Left Coast (though not the interior parts of Washington, Oregon and California) and a couple cities like Chicago and Miami........wouldn’t the rest of us be one helluva lot happier?
They wouldn’t have to whine about conservatives anymore. They’d be free to grab all the guns, implement socialism, adopt a plan to power themselves solely from unicorn farts, defund the police, etc etc. We could call it Libtardia.
The only issue is we would have to have stringent border defenses to prevent the inevitable refugees from fleeing to the remaining US to reinfect us with their idiocy after Libtardia collapsed.
now what you are pointing out is a different thing than what you first started talking about
presenting a comservative platform effectively is a different subject than the current republican party leadership - ie what to do about the uniparty.
the uniparty = entire democrat party + republican leadership
thats a different topic
Likewise populism is usually contrasted with whatever the elite oligarchy currently believes. If the elites believe in cheap imported labor and enough bread and circuses to keep the masses passified, a populist belief might be to restrict immigration and a reduction in government spending. The left has fooled themselves by believing that all populist movements are socialist, demanding wealth be taken from the rich and distributed, thus they had no idea how to characterize the Tea Party of 2009-2016. In fact, populist movements can go both ways simultaneously so you can have one populist group pushing for socialism while another believing the government oligarchy is socialist can be libertarian.
Ted Cruz knows nothing of libertarianism, nationalism and populism.
He is 100% “Conservative Orthodoxy” and a neocon.
its one of the same surely?
The leadership in Congress is the problem.
If someone like Rand was GOP Leader and not McConnell you would see a massive shift and something that would be popular and exciting.
However people like Rand don’t play the game or bribe their way to the top so instead you end up with someone like McConnell who is deeply uninspiring and I believe will cost the GOP the Senate
McCarthy in the House... it’s all the same...
They are a big problem (in my opinion).
The left is punishing, rioting, attacking now because they have almost complete power.
If they were somehow rooted out of power, perhaps thought separation, it would not take long for them to start creeping back in because their methods are so seductive. They want just a little more fairness, just a little more forgiveness for criminals, just a little more money to help the poor. It’s all good, and aren’t you a bad person if you disagree? Don’t you want to hurt the poor and downtrodden?
Once they have embedded themselves into enough positions of power, it is no longer soft entreaties to move a little leftward, it is ridicule, demands, and force. And it’s no longer about helping the unfortunate, it is about tearing down the institutions.
And then we get to where we are now: the eve of the 2nd American revolution — an attempt to destroy traditional American values by force and institute a totalitarian Marxist government. Riots around the country for weeks calling for the destruction of the American system.
Well, that is a long rant.
libs use incrementalism, always under ‘false compromise’ ie the hegelian dialectic
always
you can never compromise with them because it always gets them closer to their goals and agenda.
“The Illinois/Michigan areas can become part of Canada and good riddance to them.”
Well, screw you says this Michigander.
It depends on what he means by libertarian.
Appeal to independents using the GOP platform.
Trump managed to do it.
Congressional leaders are hopeless and where the problem lies.
Liberal-tarianism breeds Rinos.
Absolute nonsense.
Bush-Cheney were not in any sense of the word libertarians yet started wars, bailed out the banks and engaged in massive spending that continues to this day and which Trump has tried to fix but can’t because of traitors in Congress like Cheney’s daughter funnily enough..
That’s actually pre progressive era conservatism.
That’s actually pre progressive era conservatism.
agreed...populism is good at pointing out the real problems that need to be fixed. it will take anything as an answer to that problem if given by someone with a strong forceful personality....motivation not an answer. we need to pat attention to the needs that are shown by this group and be wary because if we don’t have good answers and a good plan they will not fallow and will fallow some one else because it is needs based not principle based.
The Cheney’s are the real RINO’s not small l libertarians ...
This is completely false and unfair characterization in my opinion.
Bush League Republicans are not in any way conservative.. They pose as such to dupe voters.
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