Posted on 12/21/2015 7:04:07 PM PST by presidio9
As Texas Sen. Ted Cruz continues to rise in the 2016 Republican primary polls — he now leads longtime frontrunner Donald Trump by as many as 10 percentage points in Iowa and has climbed to second place nationally — Democrats have been struggling to contain their excitement.
After all, this Cruz character is so “out there†— or so they’ve been telling themselves — that he once likened his fellow Republicans to Nazi appeaser Neville Chamberlain. He has questioned whether former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, also a Republican, ever “received compensation for giving paid speeches at extreme or radical groups.†At one point he even terrified a 3-year-old girl by informing her that, thanks to President Obama, “your world is on fire.â€
Earlier this month at an event in Cleveland, David Brock, a key Hillary Clinton fundraiser and ally, neatly summed up the conventional wisdom among Democrats.
“[Cruz is] where the id of the conservative base is,†Brock said, explaining why he believes — and, seemingly, hopes — that “Cruz will end up as the nominee.â€
Brock went on to describe Cruz as a “hyperpartisan who has aligned himself with the most extreme elements of the Republican Party†and is “wildly out of touch with American voters.†His conclusion? “There’s an awful lot to talk about with Ted Cruz.â€
You could practically see Brock salivating at the prospect of a Clinton-Cruz faceoff.
The assumption, of course, is that Cruz is too “extreme†to win the general election next November, and that by nominating the junior senator from Texas, the GOP would effectively ensure Clinton’s victory. Democrats are already comparing Cruz to Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, who lost to Lyndon B. Johnson by 434 electoral votes in the 1964 presidential election.
But Brock & Co. should be careful what they wish for. To be sure, Cruz is still a long way from winning the Republican nomination. He’s never run a competitive general-election race. (A single statewide contest in deep-red Texas against a sacrificial lamb of a Democrat doesn’t count.) And he’s been losing to Clinton in pretty much every head-to-head poll released since the summer of 2014.
Yet to assume that Cruz has already boxed himself in — that he is not cunning enough to pivot to general-election mode — is to ignore his entire history as a debater, lawyer, and senator and to gravely underestimate a strategic thinker who, as I demonstrated in a recent profile, is easily the most calculating figure in contemporary American politics.
The truth is, Ted Cruz not only has a plan for transforming himself into a credible general-election candidate. He is already putting his plan into action — as his recent twists and turns over immigration demonstrate.
*****
The first thing to note about Cruz is that there is a reason why he was once the top-ranked collegiate debater in the nation, and why he went on to become the best appellate litigator in Texas. He is exceedingly rational. He is always aware of his audience, his objectives and whatever counterarguments his opponents might make, and he always shapes his strategy accordingly.
“Because parliamentary debate was extemporaneous, you had to move on a dime and defend positions you didn’t necessarily agree with,†says Sacha Zimmerman, a Columbia debater who knew Cruz from the circuit. “He was just as good at defending liberal positions as conservative ones.â€
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Democrats want Cruz because he is a martyr and would be easy to marginalized and beat. If Republicans go with CRUZ, I BET THEY LOSE. There is a reason he is among the also rans. And even if I did not support Trump, I would still reach the same conclusion.
Seems to me that the ‘Rats want Jeb as the nominee.
Of course you would.
Ted on fox now. He is sooo great!! I love the man. These guys are good man in a political competition!! Trump is staying. When Trump is our nominee, They all will come to Trump’s support to defeat hillary and we will defeat hillary !!Then the fun begins!!
Hillary and the Brier Patch
There is nobody I would rather put up against Hillary or any other democrat now living than Ted Cruz.
With that being said, it is worth repeating that the man has never won a competitive election in his life.
Anyone who believes this hog slop needs deserves what we get. Cruz is the only one running who has actually stood up and call these people of both parties for what they are. Its all fine and good to talk against them in a venue full of supporting fans its quite a different thing to stand on the floor of the Senate and call the out as the liars they are.
Has Hillary ever won a competitive race?
Rarely do I agree with the Leftists; on this I do.
What? He ran a grassroots Senate race (his first elected office) and was the overwhelming underdog.
Ted on fox now. He is sooo great!! I love the man. These guys are good man in a political competition!! Trump is staying. When Trump is our nominee, They all will come to Trump’s support to defeat hillary and we will defeat hillary !!Then the fun begins!!
Bingo.
As Texas Sen. Ted Cruz continues to rise in the 2016 Republican primary polls  he now leads longtime frontrunner Donald Trump by as many as 10 percentage points in Iowa and has climbed to second place nationally  Democrats have been struggling to contain their excitement.
Cruz supporters better think long and hard before they throw away their chance to beat the establishment. Picture the race with the media and establishment pushing for Cruz until he manages to split the vote. All the work we've done will have been for nothing, the establishment, Dems & media will win.
Also, ask yourselves if you really think Cruz is the better candidate. He's not really an outsider, been government all his life. Has zero economic experience except reviewing budget bills that have nothing to do with our economic health and everything to do with backroom deals. And though he says the words, radical Islamic terroroism, he disagreed with Trump that we should halt Muslim immigration until we clean up our act.
Think long and hard, this is the most important decision of your life.
Trump is the Democrats’ wet dream of a candidate. They’ll eat him alive in the general.
Equally likely scenario: Trump loses the nomination and runs 3rd party, handing Clinton the election.
The guy is a walking Greek tragedy.
I would love to see him in a debate with Hillary, rattling off all the crimes she's committed against the applicable US Code sections.
Pleeeeze don throw me in that briar patch Mr Fox...
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