Posted on 03/07/2016 6:24:15 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Ted Cruz's allies are launching an all-out offensive to ensure Marco Rubio loses his home state, an effort that reflects the urgency of Cruz's mission to narrow the field to himself and Donald Trump.
Keep the Promise I, one of four main super PACs supporting the U.S. senator from Texas, released a number of ads Sunday night that target Rubio on his Senate attendance record, support for sugar subsidies and tax proposals. Keep the Promise I has said it intends to compete in the Sunshine State, which holds its winner-take-all primary March 15.
A spokeswoman for the super PAC said it has plans to air some of the commercials in Florida but declined to comment further Monday morning.
The commercials most sharply criticize Rubio for favoring subsidies for the sugar industry, charging him with seeking to protect the interests of his donors. One spot calls Rubio an "errand boy" for the industry, while another says he is guilty of the same kind of "pay-to-play corporate cronyism" that Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton is.
In recent days, Cruz has made clear he plans to "vigorously contest" Florida, potentially keeping Rubio from the first-place finish he likely needs to continue his campaign. Cruz is hoping to stop Trump by forcing a two-man race the Texas senator is confident he can win.
Cruz's campaign has signaled it sees an opening in Florida, opening 10 offices across the state last week and not ruling out travel there surrounding the Republican debate Thursday in Miami. Rubio is scrambling to shore up support at home, where some polls have shown him trailing Trump by as much as 20 points.
The Florida senator's campaign called the super PAC ads hypocritical and expressed confidence Floridians would pick Rubio over Cruz.
"Considering Senator Cruz's weak record on defense, tax plan that will lead to higher prices for seniors, and political rise fueled by undisclosed corporate loans, these ads are the Gold Standard of hypocrisy," Rubio spokesman Joe Pounder said in a statement. "Floridians know Marco is the only candidate who can beat Hillary Clinton and usher in a new American Century with a stronger economy and national defense."
Keep the Promise I has been largely funded by an initial donation of $11 million from New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Mercer. The super PAC has since spent over $7.5 million in support of Cruz, and it had $2.7 million cash on hand at the end of January.
Keep the Promise I was not the only pro-Cruz outside group Monday seeking a piece of the action in Florida. Make DC Listen, a political action committee supporting Cruz, was rallying supporters with the possibility that the Texas senator could pull off an upset in the Sunshine State and "turn the race upside down."
"One of the single biggest ways to stop Trump at this point in the race is for Ted Cruz to win Florida," John Drogin, the head of the PAC, said in an email to backers, calling a vote for Rubio "a vote for Trump."
Yeah, that addition of the Bush campaign finance team over to the Cruz team really says he’s an outsider! And isn’t it strange that Romney and Cruz use almost identical talking points?
I’m sure that’s all a coincidence.
Not.
The Cruz campaign believes it can win a majority of the delegates going forward, in a two man race.
The evangelicals went for Trump in the South. The Northeast might actually be worse for Trump at this point. The thinking is that the remaining states, given a choice between Trump or Cruz, will vote Cruz in a two man race. Maine is the operative example.
Split Ohio to Kasich and Florida to Trump and that forces Rubio out. Then, Cruz looks better in a virtual two man race going forward. It’s worth losing Florida to Trump to shake off Rubio bleeding votes in winner take all going forward.
Cruz won his Senate seat in a nine person primary where a party hack was the overwhelming favorite. His strategy then, same as now, was to work it to a two man race, and then be the contrast. It worked then. If Cruz can knock out Rubio, the strategy could work here two. At least, it’s consistent. Regardless if he wins, if he works it to a two man race, his strategy is a success in that that’s his best window to win.
When you understand that Cruz’ strategy from day one is to work it to a two man race, then you understand why he was content to run in Trumps wake for months, and why he’s hitting Rubio now in Florida. It makes sense when you examine the strategy being used.
That’s why Cruz will risk tossing Florida to Trump if it gets rid of Rubio.
My only question to that strategy is if Kasich wins MI and OH, then he’s got traction and it’s still a 3 man race.
Hope Rubio stays in. Two birds with one stone.
he Cruz campaign believes it can win a majority of the delegates going forward, in a two man race.
The evangelicals went for Trump in the South. The Northeast might actually be worse for Trump at this point. The thinking is that the remaining states, given a choice between Trump or Cruz, will vote Cruz in a two man race. Maine is the operative example.
Split Ohio to Kasich and Florida to Trump and that forces Rubio out. Then, Cruz looks better in a virtual two man race going forward. It’s worth losing Florida to Trump to shake off Rubio bleeding votes in winner take all going forward.
Cruz won his Senate seat in a nine person primary where a party hack was the overwhelming favorite. His strategy then, same as now, was to work it to a two man race, and then be the contrast. It worked then. If Cruz can knock out Rubio, the strategy could work here two. At least, it’s consistent. Regardless if he wins, if he works it to a two man race, his strategy is a success in that that’s his best window to win.
When you understand that Cruz’ strategy from day one is to work it to a two man race, then you understand why he was content to run in Trumps wake for months, and why he’s hitting Rubio now in Florida. It makes sense when you examine the strategy being used.
That’s why Cruz will risk tossing Florida to Trump if it gets rid of Rubio.
My only question to that strategy is if Kasich wins MI and OH, then he’s got traction and it’s still a 3 man race.
8,000 votes (allegedly) in a state of 1 million do not make a race.
The GOP will never allow Cruz to get 1237 delegates. If he gets close they will rerun Rubio. Cruz’s increased support is entirely anti-Trump. That will melt away the minute there is another option and it is clear Trump won’t reach 1237. At this point Cruz is doing the bidding of the GOP and peeling away conservative support from Trump. Cruz’s talking points mesh with Mitt Romney and he is not longer campaigning against Rubio.
This is at time for choosing. Right now Ted Cruz stands with Mitt Romney. United we stand, divided we fall.
Don’t call Cruz a fake conservative. He might might be a big fat, Goldman Sachs globalist, whose wife worked with the CFR to fashion the North American Union where we would lose our sovereignty like the nations of Europe did to the EU, but at least he holds rallies in churches where he prays.
We disagree.
Cruz is both anti-establishment and consistently conservative.
Trump is a question mark to me. I appreciate him clearing the field, especially taking out Jeb!
At the end of the day, are we looking for a wrench to ruin the machinery, or a conservative cog in the control panel?
Trump is a wrench, to be sure. Cruz is a conservative.
But. You can’t argue about cogs to people looking for a wrench. That’s the disconnect of this whole election season.
What happened to “Cruz follows the ‘original intent’ of the Constitution”. That use to be his claim to fame.... Nobody but nobody is calling Cruz that any longer. What happened? There was a time when Conservatives rejected whole hog the notion of a VAT tax... but now it is considered ‘consistent conservatism’?
Some people are born to deceive and some people are born to be deceived.
This is nonsense. If Trump wins Florida and Ohio, the race is pretty much over.
One scenario that people are not talking about enough is that once a candidate drops out, all his delegates become unpledged, they are free to vote for anyone they want on the first vote.
So say we have a scenario where Trump has 1100 delegates votes, Cruz has 1000 delegates, and Rubio/Kasich/rest of the field has 350 delegates, but they have dropped out before the convention. Those 350 are free to vote for anyone on the first ballot, if they break 250 to Cruz and 100 to Trump, that would push Cruz over the edge.
Currently the non-Trump/Cruz field have 208 delegates.
Cruz senses weakness in Rubio and Trump and intends to win FL. That would probably give Cruz the delgate lead.
“It’s worth losing Florida to Trump to shake off Rubio bleeding votes in winner take all going forward.”
Cruz truly intends to win FL and take it to the barn. To cause a Rubio loss in FL Cruz need do nothing.
I realize this anecdotal,but here it is anyway.
I voted today in Florida early voting. I voted Rubio. There was a slow and steady flow of voters. What I noticed was that the voters were all pretty
much like me ...old! I’m 76 and I did n’t see anybody younger than about 65.
I spoke with quite a few of the others and we were almost all going Rubio!
Lets say it was about 70% Rubio.
Like I said it’s anecdotal so make what you will of it.
Cruz knows he can't win Florida After last night he might as well quit
Cruz is a distant third in FL. Cruz is wasting GOPe money here, but that’s okay by me.
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