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CRUZ or LOSE!Posted on 04/19/2015 8:49:13 PM PDT by VinL
It's no secret that Ted Cruz is running hard to the right as he pursues the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. The strategy is pretty clear: He's pushing to out-conservative the rest of the field. Cruz wants, as he says repeatedly on the campaign trail, to lead a "grassroots army" of "courageous conservatives."
But how would the tea party Texan win over the independents and Democrats needed in the general election?
That's the question Cruz got at a New Hampshire gun range Sunday afternoon from a Cruz fan who had driven up from Massachusetts to express his concerns, in person, about Cruz's crossover appeal.
The senator had a two-part answer, both elements of which are topics of debate.
The first is that "millions of conservatives who showed up in '04…stayed home in '08, and stayed home in even bigger numbers in 2012." (GOP strategist Karl Rove, notably, has disagreed with that analysis in the pages of the Wall Street Journal.) The second is that the bigger the ideological gap between Democrat and Republican – and the bolder the GOP candidate – the more likely the traditional Democratic-leaning voters will actually switch sides in 2016.
We've decided to print Cruz's answer in full because, in it, he describes in detail the unusual intellectual underpinning of his campaign and his strategy:
"Let's talk about how you win an election generally," Cruz began. "You know, what is maddening about politics is there is this group of consultants who keep running national campaigns. They keep losing. And then they keep coming back to Republicans saying support us while we go make the exact same mistakes all over again…
"If you compare 2004, the last race Republicans won, to '08 and '12, by far the biggest difference are the millions of conservatives who showed up in '04, who stayed home in '08, and stayed home in even bigger numbers in 2012. So how do you win? How do you win? I think the key question is how do we bring back those millions of conservatives.
"Now, here's what I called the Washington fallacy, which is what the consultants believe. They look at voters on a spectrum from right to left. And their view is if your opponent is here [he holds one hand up], you want to be infinitesimally to the right [he squeezes his other hand next to the first]. So you capture every marginal voter up until where they are. Now, I understand that theory in the abstract. It's not a crazy theory in the abstract. The problem is we keep trying. And we keep losing. Because every time you do that, millions and millions of people over here [moves his Republican hand to the right] say to heck with this thing.
"The way you win is you draw a line in the sand. You make a clear meaningful distinction why this election matters to you and two things happen. Number one, you turn out millions of [conservative] voters. But number two, and this goes right to your question, it's also how you earn crossover votes.
"You think about it, in the last 50 years, there's one Republican who has a group of Democrats named after him. Reagan Democrats. If the Washington theory were right, you'd have Gerald Ford Democrats [crowd laughs], or Bob Dole Democrats [crowd laughs louder]. They don't exist.
"You think about 1980 – and understand why. In 1980, Ronald Reagan didn't say I'm exactly like Jimmy Carter, except imperceptibly to the right. Reagan drew line in the sand. He said there is a fundamental difference between me and Jimmy Carter...
“Ronald Reagan was palitible (sp) to the left.”
What?! Where was that guy when Reagan was in office. Global Movements still active today were generated to oppose Ronald Reagan and his policies. The left Hated Ronald Reagan more than they hate God Himself! They have a visceral revulsion towards Ronald Reagan that still motivates them decades after he faded from the stage. Even today there is a movement to remove Ronald Reagan from the Washington National Airport. They are Serious about their Hatred for that man. I wouldn’t take anyone serious that figured that Ronald Reagan was ‘palatable’ to the left.
Along the same vein, Ted Cruz is definitely on the right track. If we see a man who, like Ronald Reagan, stands for his principals instead of his consultants. We see a man who’s willing to Fight for the right instead of ‘compromise’ with what is wrong. We see a man who will not give a single inch in the wrong direction, instead make the leftists move. Shut the government down then! And then take to the road to tell the American people what they need to know. Shout it from the rooftops if that is what it takes to overcome the Din of the leftist media megaphones. Maybe that man we can trust a vote for.
I would like to see Ted Cruz Hated by the left like Ronald Reagan is. That would mean he’s getting the job done!
I thought that Reagan was "palatable" to the left in the sense that he was consistent and predictable. Furthermore, Reagan worked with the left to get his budget priorities approved. So it cost him (and us taxpayers) more because the left got their funding, too.
The MSM hated him and still does.
We saw the emotional voters out in force in Pennsylvania last November-- a GOP wave year where even the far left state of Maryland elected a GOP governor because he emotionally connected better with voters.
Meanwhile, more conservative Pennsylvania turned out a colorless but reasonably competent GOP governor and replaced him with a Marxist lunatic (who couldn't even carry his home country) because his folksy ads with school children made a strong emotional connection.
It’s a sad time when the values that made this country the best on earth are considered “right”.
Thank you for another great find! You’re a treasure!
Might as well. You aren’t going to win by being left-lite. Been there done that. Doesn’t work. They are going to make fun of you on SNL no matter what. Convince the public why you are right and the left is wrong, lead them.
You’re welcome!
A lie right out of the gate. Cruz is NOT "running hard to the right". He is not running to the right, hard or otherwise.
He is being true to his conservative principles, as far as I can tell.
No candidate is perfect. But Cruz is damned close as a conservative patriot.
I understand the “experience” concern. However, if he wins, he will force the DC GOP back into a constitutional conservative direction. For me, there’s nothing more important than that for the country’s sake.
There are dems/indies who are, for instance, against Obamacare and/or illegal executive amnesty.
Cruz is saying if you give those dems/indies a choice of Rubio (amnesty) or Bush/Walker (Obamacare)- you’re not giving them a reason to vote against the Dem.
Amen brother!
CRUZ or LOSE!Exactly. Both McCain and Romney tried to be slightly to the right of Obama and got their socks beaten off them.
Cruz gets down in the mucky mire yet stays above the fray.
But we got Rand Paul supporters that say that Ted Cruz is not palitable to the general public and Rand Paul will even be palitable to the left...
That Rand Paul’s and Ted Cruz voting records are basically the same so Rand Paul is the guy that we should support and nominate.
So they say that Rand Paul is more palitable to the left ?
Do they mean the leftist ideology ? Leftist’s values ?
Gender bender pandering ?
Drop support and foreign aid to Israel ?
Ted Cruz is the ONLY conservative of choice in 2016.
Ted Cruz Ping! Hope it works.
If that is the case. Then why did Romney get his ass beat?
Hey D1,
That looks great!
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