Posted on 11/28/2015 7:11:15 AM PST by Isara
In the Texas senator's bid for the White House, his father and wife are the tip of the spear.
To one degree or another, every candidate running for president has enlisted their family in their effort. But none have gone so far as Ted Cruz, whose surging campaign has placed his wife Heidi and father Rafael at the tip of the spear, leading fundraising and organizing efforts as if they were paid staffers.
Neither has a formal title, but as the Texas senator continues to roll out endorsements and assemble a growing network of supporters in the early states and across the South in anticipation of the March 1 primaries, the influence of his wife, on leave from her position as an executive at Goldman Sachs, and his father, a pastor who is a fixture on the evangelical speaking circuit, is becoming stamped across his campaign.
Rafael Cruz has been central to his son's evangelical outreach efforts for months. For many Christian conservatives, the first introduction to the Cruz family was through Rafael, who served as a key bridge between religious leaders and the campaign. Last summer he did a multi-city swing through Iowa churches where he was accompanied by the Cruz campaign's Iowa state director and preached about the importance of getting Christians to vote. His son is rarely the subject of his sermons - but it's implied.
For most of the campaign, Heidi Cruz focused almost singularly on fundraising. But after largely playing a behind the scenes role, she has started ratcheting up her public presence in recent weeks. She joined Twitter this month and has already done solo swings through states including Alabama and Georgia, maintaining a pace that sometimes rivals her husband's, with as many as three stops a day. She has a heavy travel schedule planned through the end of the year.
Just as important, Heidi Cruz has joined Rafael Cruz in quietly courting lawmakers, according to several legislators who are backing Cruz, sometimes forming a one-two Cruz family punch before the senator gets involved.
Bob Vander Plaats, a prominent Iowa social conservative whose Family Leader organization hosted a presidential forum earlier this month, has met at various times with Rafael, Heidi and Ted Cruz as he weighs an endorsement.
"Cruz definitely has made this a family affair," he said, ticking through all the spouses of candidates he hasn't met.
Like other candidates' wives, Heidi Cruz's public mission is, in part, to soften the edges of her husband, who is reviled by many of his Senate colleagues. But her actual portfolio is much broader, encompassing fundraising, strategy and tactics.
The Cruzes met while working on George W. Bush's campaign - and Heidi Cruz held several roles in the Bush administration - so she is as comfortable talking strategy with donors and GOP officials as she is in the more traditional political spousal role of opening up about family life and humanizing her husband.
"She's very sharp in her own right, very impressive," said South Carolina State Rep. Wendy Nanney, who got a call from Heidi Cruz during which the two discussed the Texas senator's record as well as Nanney's own work challenging abortion rights. "It was a great conversation with her, I was very comfortable, and that led into a meeting with him, [and my] being very comfortable and able to talk very openly."
Nanney is now one of Cruz's South Carolina co-chairs.
"Ted and Heidi are the closest Republican equivalent of the political powerhouse couple Bill and Hillary Clinton," said Cruz campaign chair Chad Sweet. "Their marriage was forged in the heat of a presidential campaign and their partnership in American politics has not stopped since. Each is a formidable politico in their own right."
Now, through social media and radio hits, women's lunches and phone calls to key activists, Heidi Cruz is intensifying her public efforts to shore up support for her husband, a mandate that includes showcasing a gentler side to a candidate who is rising in the polls but is sometimes stiff while working a crowd, and has drawn criticism from top Republicans ranging from John Boehner to George W. Bush.
"This election is going to come down to trust," she said in a recent interview with POLITICO. "If you are looking to trust someone, you need to know them, and knowing them is multidimensional...The news media loves to portray Ted as such a serious person, the media tells you he doesn't connect, and when I tell you these things about how well he connects not only with voters but with family, I think it goes against that narrative."
She talks about her husband's fondness for Broadway musicals and his inside jokes with their two young daughters, and in front of women's groups has stressed that he has compassion for single mothers, in part because that was his half-sister's experience.
"I want to show people that Ted can unite this party, that Ted is speaking to common-sense principles that bring us all together," Cruz said. "I also want to show this country that he is incredibly thoughtful, both professionally and personally. This is a man who's never missed a date night, who's never missed a birthday, who loves his girls so much like every father does in this country.
"Not all the public know that yet, and the media loves to paint him as a fiery, outspoken advocate for the extreme right that can never win," continued Cruz, vowing to show that that's not the full picture.
Steve Deace, an influential conservative Iowa radio host who is backing Cruz, had several meetings with the senator, his wife and his father. Deace's wife also had lunch with Heidi Cruz.
"They each have God-given roles and just complement each other very well," said Deace, calling them a "model contemporary Christian couple."
"Ted's got the killer instinct when it comes to pursuing principles," he said. "Heidi's got the killer instinct when it comes to gathering resources to run a successful campaign."
Yet Deace's first connection to the Cruz family was through Rafael Cruz, whom he met in Iowa evangelical circles. That's not an uncommon experience: Eric Woolson, who worked on Christian conservative outreach for Scott Walker in Iowa before the Wisconsin governor dropped out, told POLITICO recently said that he was constantly running up against pastors who were glowing about "how impressed they were with Sen. Cruz's dad, how much work he'd done."
— Took me 10 minutes to track down who Cruz’s four big money donors are what their special interests are. —
And what were the amounts they gave? No names necessary, amounts will do.
Ummmm.... one has, so far. Donald Trump. He makes Teflon look stone age. Being visibly confident no matter what is a huge part of that formula.
Having Cruz under his wing as a running mate might be a huge plus. Donald would be the defensive gun for any unfair (or even semi fair) questions concerning Cruz. Of course this wouldn't really be Donald; it would be the Lord's blessing using Donald. God has a way of upstaging all our preconceived ideas.
Almost anything would beat this dog and pony show we have had to put up with for seven years. Anything that is out from under the puppet strings of Washington politics (and especially Democrat, though GOP is learning how to stink too, never fear).
And yet you support someone whose wife poses nude while you'd lecture Cruz?! LOLOL
Bye.
Won't it be something? For the first time in eight years, I won't have to suppress my gag reflex and run to turn off the TV.
And what were the amounts they gave? No names necessary, amounts will do.
You want no names and no identification of interests?
Just money amounts?
That's exactly your problem.
Perhaps the founders should have put a little more controls on the first amendment, right? There's a reason why they didn't.
How many false Bye’s have you made by now, lol.
You’ll be back. Your obsession guarantees it.
The news that actually comes up on Google is that Melania “once posed nude.” Not the continual practice that you lyingly allege with malice.
Bring us the man or woman without sin.
Damn straight!
This kind of functional family is what truly makes libs’ heads explode.
A neighbor of mine hates that Trump’s kids are productive, smart, and successful. I can’t even tell you how much she hates it. Of course, her two adult kids are losers and depend on Mom and Dad to do everything for them.
He has never been an executive. History itself shows that executives are better presidents.
Family-olatry is something to be politely avoided, though, lest a black sheep show up and we see another Duggaresque scandal.
Shoot, even Mitt Romney had a semi decent family.
Exactly. No nudies floating around, no cringing that he’s “Uncle Joe II”, no hate for Americans or switching positions in order to sell himself. Refreshing!
No nudies... are you SURE.
Duggaresque things have a way of coming to the light at the worst time.
This kind of thing happens when people go around screaming “HE’S A CHRISTIAN” rather than “LOOK AT THE CHRIST HE HAS.”
‘’Do you have any hard evidence of wrongdoing on Mrs. Cruz’s part? Or is it all guilt by association?’’
How about neither of those things? It’s a simple case of conflict of interest. If she has loyalties to her employer, whether on LOA or not, and her husband wants to please his wife, decisions easily could be tainted.
This is a common issue in government and private industry. Conflict of interest can lead to some very bad stuff.
Heres 25 million to Cruz from 3 people alone (an individual and two brothers).
http://wtop.com/politics/2015/07/news-guide-super-pacs-land-wealthy-donors-to-fund-2016-bids/
Lets pretend the two brothers are committed Christians. I can write the brutal media narrative for you:
“Wealthy brothers drive the Cruz campaign into Bible Belt territory”
“Billionaire Christians give millions to keep Cruz on the fundamentalist track”
You can make up many more yourself.
It will be totally unfair and brutally effective.
George Washington and Abe Lincoln weren't great presidents.
The number one qualification for president is of course where a candidate stands on the issues.
This must-have-been-an-executive low-info meme is for people who can't figure out the complicated issues and where the candidates stand on them.
Ted Cruz, as Solicitor General of Texas, led the office of 4,000 employees, including 700 lawyers.
During private practice at Morgan Lewis, Ted Cruz built their appellate practice to be one of the top 20 law firms on National Law Journal's "Appellate Hot List" in 2010.
To be fair, I think she would quit if she became First Lady. It is a situation that needs careful handling. Why should she quit just for the sake of a candidacy that might or might not pan out?
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