Posted on 01/12/2016 6:44:53 AM PST by conservativejoy
Two weeks ago I wrote that the GOP establishment fears Ted Cruz more than Donald Trump. What has transpired over the last two weeks has proven that hypothesis. Here's what I wrote then:
Cruz is the larger threat to establishment because, if he wins, they lose all the levers of power. McConnell and his allies would be tossed out of organizations such as the Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, etc... If history is any guide, the sitting president of a political party has a large leeway in choosing those in key power positions. That puts the earning potential and power of the current political industrial complex in complete jeopardy.
That is why, come January, the establishment will continue to turn all their guns on Cruz because they would rather Trump win the nomination and lose to Hillary than for Ted Cruz to have a chance of being president. If that happened they would attempt to blame a Trump loss on the Tea Party, and keep their cushy jobs. As Cruz inevitably gains on Trump, the establishment will go after Cruz 110%, even if they are currently waging a rhetorical war on Trump.
Two weeks later and the GOP establishment still fears Ted Cruz more than Donald Trump.
The establishment's deeds are more than backing up their off the record answers.
In fact, the establishment's actions are proving the case.
The National Journal's Josh Kraushaar recently asked senior GOP strategists who they would rather win the Iowa caucuses. Here's what Kraushaar had to say:
It's the $64,000 question for establishment-minded Republicans: Would they rather see Ted Cruz or Donald Trump win the Iowa caucuses, assuming none of the more moderate candidates prevail?
In an informal survey of senior GOP strategists, the clear winner was Trump. Their arguments were reasoned but underscored: a) how they're still underestimating Trump; and b) how much they personally hate Cruz to the point where emotion is trumping strategy.
But conservatives did not need an informal survey of the establishment to learn this. The establishment's deeds are more than backing up their off the record answers to the National Journal.
Lindsey Graham, who unceremoniously just left the presidential campaign trail, took to talking down Cruz's chances against Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton.
"Ted's smart, but I think that Hillary Clinton would do a number on him," Graham told Fox News radio host Brian Kilmeade on Friday.
Graham, who dropped his own presidential bid late last month, has said that challenging Cruz - as well as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) - was one of the main reasons he launched his campaign in the first place. He has called Cruz an extremist for being willing to shut down the federal government, and he has criticized Cruz's foreign policy approach.
Unable to stop Cruz with his own campaign, Graham is now warning that someone else would be able to stop him.
It's not just sitting Senators who are saying that Cruz would have trouble. Some long time staff of Republican congressional leadership go further than that. Take this tweet from John Feehery, who touts "15 years of working for House GOP leaders," in his twitter profile.
To get a sense where Feehery stands in the current fight between the establishment and conservatives, take a look at his opus on the subject. His take on CR's Editor-in-Chief Mark Levin is particularly enlightening, saying: "a former Reagan Administration official, Levin is a dark, malevolent force on the radio." It is helpful to remember that Feehery runs a K-Street public affairs firm, and his earning potential is tied to the establishment staying in power.
It's not just the national establishment that fears Cruz more than Trump; the state level establishments want in on the game as well. Here's what's going on in Iowa.
Governor Terry Branstad's son Eric, runs the pro-Ethanol America's Renewable Future. Branstad is an establishment Republican that often is at odds with conservatives in his state. Branstad the younger has taken to calling Cruz, "dangerous†for Iowa's economy, because Cruz has "sponsored three bills to repeal the RFS." He added that Donald Trump has "sat down" at the table with ethanol leaders. Here's Branstad's latest ad.
Branstad's father piled on just this week when he called into question Cruz's ability to run for the presidency, Politico reported:
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad believes the question of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's eligibility in the presidential race is "fair game."
"When you run for president of the United States, any question is fair game. So let the people decide," Branstad told reporters on Monday during a weekly press briefing, according to The Des Moines Register.
Gov. Branstad joined a chorus of establishment voices saying that the matter of Cruz's citizenship is "fair game." These voices include a frequent Cruz critic, the Panamanian born Arizona Senator John McCain.
The most surprising member of the establishment to give legitimacy to Cruz birtherism is none other than the Chairman of the Republican National Committee - it doesn't get more establishment than that - Reince Priebus. Time magazine reported that when asked about whether or not citizenship claims regarding Ted Cruz were fair game, Priebus said.
Listen, I don't get involved. I'm not going to get in the middle of all these candidate issues. It's a bad place for me to be. I'll let all these folks argue about this stuff, and I'm going to stay out of it.
Leon H. Wolf at Red State explained the absurdity of Priebus' statement best, "This is absolutely inexcusable. I get that Priebus does not want to get in the middle of a discussion over whose tax plan is best, or over whether one candidate is being truthful about another candidate or not. These are all battles that Reince is absolutely right to stay out of."
Wolf continued, "But there is absolutely no excuse not to say, unequivocally and forcefully, that the guy who is in second place right now in the polls is eligible to take the office if elected. Especially for such an open and shut constitutional case like this."
The facts are in. Be it neo-birtherism, a fear of an end to crony-capitalism, or plain fear for their continued employment, the establishment really is more scared of Ted Cruz than Donald Trump. You can tell by their actions.
Thank you. It is meant to be all encompassing. There is, however, only one person running for President that ascends to be a prophet in absentia.
Editorial establishment eyewash.
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