Posted on 09/09/2015 8:03:34 AM PDT by conservativejoy
On a recent summer evening following a speech to local Republicans in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Sen. Ted Cruz spoke with National Journal for more than an hour about the 2016 presidential race.
Cruz, known to rarely veer off-message, carefully evaded a series of questions about his friend and political ally Donald Trump. But the Texas senator offered his candid thoughts on the Bush family, the media coverage of his campaign, and the toll a presidential campaign takes on a young family. What follows are excerpts of that conversation, edited for length and clarity.
NJ: You have supported Donald Trump while other Republicans have been attacking him. Your advisers tell me it’s because you view an attack on Trump as an attack on Trump’s supporters. Is that true?
CRUZ: Absolutely. There is an irony that when the Washington establishment attacked Trump, I think they believed they were pronouncing the death knell on his campaign. They don’t understand just how much the American people despise the Washington establishment; his numbers went up 10 points when they attacked him. It was the best favor they could do him.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationaljournal.com ...
They certainly tried tripping Sen Cruz up, a few times, in this interview but he didn’t go for it!
Here’s his comment regarding W. Bush....
NJ: You have resisted attacking your primary opponents. But you’ve taken some shots at other prominent Republicans, like Mitt Romney and Mitch McConnell. Donald Trump has taken a lot of shots at George W. Bush, whom you worked for. Is that fair game? And do you agree with his criticisms?
CRUZ: Absolutely. I think George W. Bush is a good man with good intentions. I spent a number of years working on his campaign and in his administration. And I think a great many of us who did were disappointed at the end of the day that the administration lost sight of some of the principles on which we campaigned to begin with. It’s not a good thing for a Republican president to grow the national debt from $5 trillion to $10 trillion. Nor is it a good thing for a Democratic president to grow the national debt from $10 trillion to $18 trillion. The combination no doubt sparked the rise of the tea party, because it is going to take leaders willing to stand up to the Washington cartel, to the career politicians in both parties, to rein in the out-of-control spending and stop bankrupting our kids and grandkids.
Yep. He still is in charge of the interview. I agreed with his remarks on Bush. Totally different styles, but Trump and Cruz are always in command.
Ping for later.
The thing about Ted Cruz I like best is that he doesn’t have to reherse his positions. He has an honest demeanor and seems quick witted enough to avoid the traps and pitfalls.
It’s so rare in Washington that it feels like exceptional character. Truth is, most normal business men I work with everyday are 85% transparent honesty and 15% strategic cunning. But they don’t lie or deceive as a rule of their own character and reputation.
Go watch the Reagan announcement about the Air Traffic Controlers some time. The contrast between how a real leader presents himself and his direction and just about every other single evil politician today is stunning. Unfortunately, we have become so accustomed to the circular nonsense talk and misinformation, that no one balks at the absurdity of it any more.
I have sat in business negotiations with folks that are too smart by half to engage in business vernacular during negotiations. Mix in some buzwords and organize sentence structure in some legal fashion with just the right touch of obfuscating parcing, and folks argue against nothing with nothing. I call them out on it by repeating what they didn’t say for all at the table to hear. This usually resets the conversation and corners the “genius”. I’d like to see more reporters and politicians do the same.
Ping for later.
I agree completely! What I recognize and appreciate in Ted Cruz is that he’s a man of uncompromising principles, which used to be fairly common in both Democrats and Republicans. One of the most genuine and likeable politicians I ever met was Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. We agreed on almost nothing, but he was an honest man of principle and lived those principles.
Members of both parties now display a very “party-first” mindset, which supersedes their loyalty and responsibility to the country and their constituents. Principles are now very fungible things, but what I find particularly troubling is that, while the parties may differ on the factors that influence their policies, the direction and end result are quite similar, thus, they may take different paths and proceed at different speeds, but somehow manage to arrive at the same destination.
” He has an honest demeanor and seems quick witted enough to avoid the traps and pitfalls.”
Quick witted is Walker, Fiorina, Christie. Sen Cruz is a friggin genius. The only time I ever saw anyone with his intellect and talent , albeit not a politician, was William Buckley. And Bill Buckley would cruelly, dispassionately eviscerate you if you disagreed with him. Sen Cruz’s talent is calling you an ahole and you don’t realize it until your interview is done and you are sitting at home in your underwear scratching your head wondering if that McDonald’s job is still open.
He plays Plants vs. Zombies II, but enough about the Senate.
It's truly an art. It's also fun to watch in action. I recently had to work with an attorney to get some documentation from the federal government for a project. This guy was pure politician in the works. He was 20 something and every phone conference started and ended with his credentials and all the important people he knew. His strategy (for which he was hired)? He said we needed to be "a MAJOR pain in the ass for them". He was going to bug the officials into submission. Toward the end of one strategy meeting (phone conference), I did a recap and was able to work in an insult and have him joyfully agree that I had it right. After all he was going to be the "pain in the ass" for us. I got two calls following that meeting commenting on the genius of my short recap. For a moment, I was Ted Cruz. lol
George W. Bush’s wife was a flaming liberal. She was pro-life.
I’ve never forgotten what W said when talking about his comment “dead or alive” (re bin Laden). W said that HIS WIFE TOLD HIM NOT TO SAY THAT.
Really .. I don’t recall electing her to make those decisions. Anyway, she stole my warrior .. and I’ve always resented it. America needed A WARRIOR .. but his wife intervened.
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