http://ow.ly/i/b8jYs
Posted on 06/03/2015 4:03:05 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
I haven’t exactly been the friendliest conservative writer toward Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
In 2013, I repeatedly mocked his gambit to defund Obamacare. In one instance, I argued that if opposing this quixotic attention-seeking effort made one a supporter of Barack Obama and his agenda, then by the same logic anyone who votes to appropriate money to fund Obama’s salary supports the President’s agenda as well.
In a second instance, I laid out how Cruz’s defunding movement could succeed in six easy steps, which included Joe Biden getting hit by a meteor and President Obama getting drafted by the Chicago Bulls. (Hasn’t happened yet.)
More straightforwardly, in print and on television, I accused Cruz of deceiving his followers into believing that the defunding push succeed — if only his fellow Republican colleagues were as ideologically pure as him. After Cruz declared his candidacy for president in March, I argued that the Texas senator was more like Barack Obama than Ronald Reagan.
But despite my consistent skepticism of Cruz, there is a case to be made for the merit of his presidential candidacy. The case goes a little something like this: In the age of Obamic overreach, the Republican Party needs a candidate who refuses to compromise, because any compromise will only continue the leftward lurch of our economy and our culture.
“I prefer guys who don’t concede ground,” conservative columnist Mark Steyn told me last year when I asked him about the potential 2016 contenders. “One thing I rather like about Ted Cruz is he actually steps a little further away and says, ‘no, no, no, you’ve come this far with me, just come a little further, come a little further.’ Which I think is necessary now.”
Say what you will about Cruz, he certainly has a debater’s ability to stake out a position and refuse to move from it. At a time when many conservatives believe that the Obama administration has moved the country far to the left, such a stand can be appealing to conservatives who think the debate must begin to shift sharply rightward.
Cruz also deserves credit for standing on principle and not pandering to constituencies most candidates routinely bend to. In March, for instance, he was the most pronounced of the 2016 contenders at the Iowa Ag Summit in telling Iowa’s powerful ethanol industry that he opposes the Renewable Fuel Standard, a hobby-horse of theirs and a major issue in Iowa, which (in case you haven’t heard) holds a rather important caucus. The other potential GOP candidates either told the summit that they supported that standard or that they theoretically opposed it on free market grounds, but wouldn’t rush end it.
Then there’s Cruz’ foreign policy. I recently sat down with him to flesh out exactly what kind of commander-in-chief he would be. He's hardly a Rand Paul-style non-interventionist, but he’s also not a big believer that the American military is particularly good at nation building or implanting democracies abroad. He has managed to carve out a niche philosophy that is hawkish in some areas, like in dealing with Iran’s nuclear program, but restrained in others where he feels there is no compelling U.S. interest to intervene, like in Syria. Whether you agree with him or not, his foreign policy worldview is certainly serious.
None of this is to say Cruz is a great candidate for Republicans. He has often acted as a demagogue in the Senate. If he did somehow manage to win the GOP nomination, he would likely get crushed in the general election.
But even those who have been critical of Cruz should be willing to concede that his candidacy has a compelling narrative.
Keep an eye out for the interview with Ted Cruz tonight on WLNS. (Michigan) I’m guessing there will probably be video at some point tonight.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3296448/posts
“We are going to DESTROY THEM. We are going to make it so if you join ISIS, you are signing your death certificate!” -Ted Cruz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=59&v=oUrkucrcCTI
in one GE poll, he was only five points behind pantsuit. He could make that up in one debate. The majority support gay marriage because they haven’t heard (a very easy to make) sensible argument against this and other nonsense. who to do it better than him?
Then search is malfunctioning because it’s been about 7 or 8 years since I didn’t search before posting.
I am for Ted Cruz and screw the static and the ground noise ....
If Cruz gets support from Koch Bros. or Adelson in addition to the nice cash raising launch of his campaign, Ted can cut thru the noise.
Looking at the field Cruz has several key groups for him.
DITTO FOR ME!!
According to the writer, Sen. Cruz might lose….as opposed to Pres. McCain and Pres. Romney. Give us someone to vote FOR this time, please!
“If he did somehow manage to win the GOP nomination, he would likely get crushed in the general election”
The contrast of clarity between him and any other Dim would be so stark that I think enough Independents would go for him over any Dimwit.
Just like that former California governor and washed-up actor back in 1980? What was his name again?
“If he did somehow manage to win the GOP nomination, he would likely get crushed in the general election. “
At his first debate for the Tx senate seat he was a nobody ... by the last debate he was leading the pack.
Jeb is dead....
Cruz or LOSE...
Ronald Reagan vs Walter Mondale
Electoral vote 525 ——— 13
States carried 49 ——— 1 + DC
Popular vote 54,455,472——— 37,577,352
Percentage 58.8% ———40.6%
Nice to see some people are starting to GET IT regarding Cruz. He has tens of millions of potential voters that will either sit it out or even vote Dem if the candidates appear alike (for more goodies).
It is THOSE VOTERS (mostly white) that led to the Republican SWEEP of the South in 2014 - there was NO COMPROMISING with Dems...they ran as conservatives, and surprisingly they nearly split the Hispanic vote right down the middle. The Dems are now so far out in left field, that we can win if we simply give the other 70% of the country something to vote for.
It’s a hanging curve ball...if we have the guts to swing at it.
(more on my “About” page)
Love what he says about everything but cant accept his position on outsourcing and H1B1s. His wife’s Goldman Sachs connection is troubling too.
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