Ted Cruz’s 2016 plan is somehow both smart and really dumb

The Washington Post's Post Partisan ^ | December 18, 2014 | James Downie

[2ndDivisionVet]

Earlier this week, National Review’s Eliana Johnson reported on how Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) plans to approach the 2016 presidential campaign: “His strategists aren’t planning to make a big play for so-called independent voters in the general election if Cruz wins the Republican nomination,” writes Johnson. “According to several of the senator’s top advisers, Cruz sees a path to victory that relies instead on increasing conservative turnout; attracting votes from groups — including Jews, Hispanics, and Millennials — that have tended to favor Democrats; and, in the words of one Cruz strategist, ‘not getting killed with independents.’”

The plan has gotten plenty of snark from the middle and the left, and much of it is deserved. Cruz’s people seem to think that the senator can make inroads with female voters despite a host of anti-women votes, such voting against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. (The reauthorization had real bipartisan support: Half of Senate Republicans and one-third of House Republicans did vote for it.) They also seem to think that Cruz can do well with Jews because he went to a dinner for the neo-con magazine Commentary, “attended New York City’s Israel Day concert and parade in June — and then raised $100,000 at Abigail’s, a kosher restaurant in Manhattan.” And his pursuit of Hispanics will be made much harder by his die-hard opposition to President Obama’s immigration executive orders, of which more than 70 percent of Hispanics approve.

But Democrats should hope that one of Cruz’s core insights — that focusing on turning out the base is more important than winning independents — won’t catch on with the rest of the GOP. As Cruz’s people point out, the candidate who won independents lost the popular vote in three of the past four presidential elections....

[2ndDivisionVet]

I think James has been peeking at Jennifer Rubin's crib notes.

[Hostage]

Downie, Rubin and Tobin got their marching orders.

[upchuck]

Keep up ping.

[Nextrush]

Smart to Ted, dumb for inside the Beltway RINOstream media.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

And his pursuit of Hispanics will be made much harder by his die-hard opposition to President Obama’s immigration executive orders, of which more than 70 percent of Hispanics approve.

Speaking as a Hispanic, there has never been a draw for me, merely on account of my heritage, to support criminal behavior that other members of my people engage in. I also find that most Hispanics I meet-- who aren't trash, anyway-- also share my opinion.

Then again, I am in Texas, so maybe we're all to the Right of Attila the Hun just because of the climate.

[2ndDivisionVet]

I think Ted is probably laughing his head off. All they did to Sarah Palin was make her world-famous, a millionaires and the go-to conservative woman in North America. She is Madonna to Michele Bachmann’s Cyndi Lauper, if you get my meaning.

[Hostage]

Cubans in Miami would agree with you.

And for white folks, to see white trash fawn over Hillary Clinton and Fauxcahontas is so embarrassing as to make one want to scream.

Don’t worry, Ted will take at least half the Latino vote in 2016 because the bottomline is his father is a class-act Latino and that appeals to a large segment of Latino-American voters.

[Hostage]

It was pretty pathetic how they all tried to push the line about Ted being at fault for those judicial appointments. That was a real stretch and revealed they are emptyheaded out of ideas of what to do about Ted. They can’t do much as he is far too smart for them.

[Georgia Girl 2]

I love it when the WaPo is so worried about Ted Cruz. LOL!

[BobL]

Ted has to go straight to the base...they are the ones that came out in 2014 and they are HIS VOTERS.

What will be interesting to watch is how The Establishment teams with the Democrats to try to win Primaries with cross-over voters, as they did in Mississippi. They will NEVER defeat Cruz with just Republican voters.

[SoConPubbie]

Ted Cruz Ping!

If you want on/off this ping list, please let me know.

Please beware, this is a high-volume ping list!

[TADSLOS]

Please add me to the Ted Cruz Ping List. Thanks.

[onyx]

B T T T ! ! ! ©

[COUNTrecount]

I assume that he is fluent in Spanish, another plus for him.

[alstewartfan]

To think I used to subscribe to National Review, Vet. It’s as if the bad seed Christopher Buckley is running the show now.

[CPT Clay]

Washington Post Echo Chamber

[tbw2]

This is another way Texas is an exception to national trends - more hispanics here are independent of Mexico in terms of their identity, not rushing to instant sympathy to “Mexican brothers”.

[Texicanus]

And his pursuit of Hispanics will be made much harder by his die-hard opposition to President Obama’s immigration executive orders, of which more than 70 percent of Hispanics approve.

And when they find out Obama has lied to them what will they do. Why have some Hispanics been allowed to go to the front of the line while others who have legally applied have to wait and follow the rules.

Everything Obama says is based on lies and deception. He doesn't play by the rules, instead he makes rules that are unconstitutional and will not apply forever. When Obama leaves, they may wish they had stayed in the shadows. In the meantime the Obama's amnesty only allows them to stay and work in the country, not legally vote. Political winds can change and they could be deported at some point in the future and asked to reapply.

Black minorities are beginning to sense Obama's amnesty is not in their best interest. Replacing white privilege with brown privilege gets them nothing, in fact they must share less of the jobs market and the government welfare pie with Obama's benefactors. They have been waiting for justice and all they'll get is more promises. Unless they change politically, Obama and the democratic party owns them and their vote.

All this adds up to a new political change is coming. We are divided into various racial, economic, and social factions fighting among each other. I think Ted Cruz has the intelligence and conservative leadership to unite the these factions and restore our nation.

[Jack Black]

From the Wikipedia article Open Primaries in the United States

States with an open presidential primary

Alabama
Arizona (Semi-closed, with primaries open only to unaffiliated or unrepresented voters)
Arkansas
Georgia
Hawaii (Open primary for state, local, and congressional races; caucus system for presidential races.)
Illinois
Massachusetts (All races' primaries open for "unenrolled"/unaffiliated voters only)
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
New Hampshire
North Carolina
North Dakota
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
Wisconsin

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

This is another way Texas is an exception to national trends - more hispanics here are independent of Mexico in terms of their identity, not rushing to instant sympathy to “Mexican brothers”.

Texas is always the exception, and hopefully we'll get a chance to send our Ted Cruz to the White House to 'Texify' the whole country (at least as far as it is possible to reform non-Texans) .