Seems to me that voting for a constitutional conservative in this race is like voting for a third party candidate - it’s a wasted protest vote that will have little effect on the eventual outcome. And I’m as big of a constitutional conservative as anyone here!
I’ve listened to Rush dream of having a constitutional conservative on a presidential ticket for 20 years now. So naturally Cruz was my pick when this whole thing started. But I always worried about his vote-getting ability in the general.
When the Trump phenomenon exploded onto the scene, the reasons for these nagging doubts about Cruz crystallized and I could see that Trump recognized that the country was not yet ready for a costitutional conservative - especially a Christian conservative.
The pendulum in this country has swung so far to the left that even mainstream Republicans are indistinguishable from democrats. If they mention conservative values at all when they’re at the media microphones, it is only to trash them.
Trump gets this. I think he is a conservative, but he knows that stressing that in this race will only lose him votes. That’s why he’s keeping his platform so frustratingly vague and middle-of-the-road.
Once the Trump phenomenon exposes the self-proclaimed “conservative” RINOs for what they really are, and the real conservatives can start removing them from center stage, real conservative values and their benefits can once again register in the American consciousness.
Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen this election cycle. A vote for Trump is a vote for moving the pendulum back towards the right and exposing the current “conservatives” for what they are - traitors to the cheap labor express.
Ted Cruz should keep his powder dry for 2020.
You’ve articulated what so many think. We recognize Ted’s credentials but have serious doubts as to his ability to navigate a general election in a country that has been radically transformed the last 8 years. The swamp needs to be drained first to lay the groundwork for bringing the pendulum back.
Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen this election cycle. A vote for Trump is a vote for moving the pendulum back towards the right and exposing the current “conservatives” for what they are - traitors to the cheap labor express.
IMO, well put. Cruz might be closer to the purists' beliefs, but Trump ignited a pist off electorate and will pull in votes from across the spectrum - something none of the others have been able to do. Tear down the existing structure first, then the purists can help rebuild.