Ted Cruz Is the Bizarro Romney: In the Republican primary, that’s a very good thing.

Slate ^ | October 8, 2015 | Jamelle Bouie

[2ndDivisionVet]

When Ted Cruz announced his campaign for president, I said he didn’t have a chance. The Texas senator isn’t just extreme—an ideological outlier with hard-right positions on virtually everything under the sun—but he’s unpopular with other Republican lawmakers. He stepped on the stage as a critic of national GOP leadership and has used his influence with grassroots conservatives to force confrontations like the 2013 government shutdown. Cruz has burned his bridges with powerful party figures like Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—on one occasion, Cruz called McConnell a “liar” on the Senate floor—and is toxic to many of his Senate Republican colleagues.

This isn’t new. Cruz has always been antagonistic toward his party. It’s why I was an immediate skeptic of his campaign. When choosing a nominee for president, political parties want consensus. They nominate people who satisfy all the party’s interests and constituencies. They don’t nominate gadflies like Cruz.

Cruz is still an unlikely choice for nominee. But I was wrong to discount him. Not because he can win, but because—alone among the insurgent Republican candidates for president—he might survive Iowa and New Hampshire to face the establishment, one on one (or one on two). Here’s why.

First, the polls. Every national Republican primary poll has three tiers. At the bottom are niche and vanity candidates who barely make a blip, like Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former New York Gov. George Pataki. At the top, right now, are outsider candidates like Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina, who will fade as we get closer to actual voting. And in the middle, there are the most viable candidates, who will rise as others shrink away or drop out. That final tier now holds three candidates who touch or approach double-digit support: Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, and Ted Cruz....

[Cringing Negativism Network]

We’re supposed to listen to Slate, about what to expect in the GOP elections?

I don’t expect them to know what in the world, they are talking about.

Just saying.

[Lake Living]

Salon and now Slate? Wow! Ted’s stock is definitely rising. Go Ted!

[aquila48]

Slate: “Ted Cruz Is the Bizarro Romney”

Salon: “Ted Cruz, evil genius”

So which is it? The left needs to do a better job of coordinating its message.

[cripplecreek]

This isn’t new. Cruz has always been antagonistic toward his party.

Only because the party is antagonistic toward conservatism and the constitution.

[Lake Living]

Actually, most of what is written in this article (except for the obvious lib digs at Cruz) is merely a compilation of other articles - not much original here, just the lib slant.

[M-cubed]

Cruz is still an unlikely choice for nominee. But I was wrong to discount him. <<<<<

LMAO... Imagine the horror of discovering he was WRONG the 1st time!...Now he doubledowns on being WRONG again!!!!.....These guy actually get paid for their stupidity....Amazing!!!!

[txrefugee]

Why doesn’t Slate concentrate on the Democrat front runners: an old lying crook and an old idiot Socialist?

[cripplecreek]

Ted Cruz has terrified the left for a long time. This is from 2013 talking about 2007 through 2012.

In october 2007 I sat in the media gallery of the united states supreme court and watched the solicitor general of texas argue on behalf of the state that he should have the ability to put to death a mexican national, Jose Medellín, who had been convicted of raping and murdering two teenage girls in houston. He won that argument and he (Medellín) was executed by texas on august 5th , 2008 , despite the objections of the united nations and the international court of justice . at the time, I had no idea who this man arguing on behalf of texas was. but all I could think was holy crap , this guy is good. it was one of his nine times arguing before the supreme court and he was witty, incredibly fast on his feet and clearly had a brilliant legal mind. it is to this day one of the most impressive displays i have ever seen before the court and i have had the good fortune to spend a lot of time there. so you can imagine my horror in 2012 when i tuned into the texas senate race. i hadn't been paying much attention to. and realized that lieutenant governor david dewhurst , the republican establishment candidate, was being prepared by a tea party candidate who was the same guy i saw kick ass in the supreme court in 2007 . i thought that night, night i made that connection, oh, this is trouble. and trouble that man has been. trouble in every direction. as he vies to be the singular voice of the right wing grassroots and as he has very quickly assumed a leadership role in movement.

Is Ted Cruz the most dangerous man on the American right?

[JJ_Folderol]

#TerrifiedOfTed

lol

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Yep! The media are in full attack mode.

[Eddie01]

Jamelle Bouie

sounds Orthadox Jew

[2ndDivisionVet]

Like Sammy Davis?

[mbrfl]

The author describes Cruz as extreme which I suppose he is. His commitment to his conservative principles as well as to common sense are extreme, and extremely rare. The last point is an indictment of our society, not of Cruz.

[Undecided 2012]

I watched the video, is that Rachel Maddow as a transsexual?

The guy looks just like her and thinks icentical.

Come tell me it’s not her.

[cripplecreek]

LOL Maybe Chris Hayes is Maddow’s sister.

[basil]

I’ve been in Cruz’s corner for a long time.

I think he’s the closest to Ronald Reagan that we have seen.

[cpdiii]

on one occasion, Cruz called McConnell a “liar” on the Senate floor

Mitch McConnell is a liar, what else is new?