Posted on 04/16/2012 4:24:38 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
Many Republicans view Ted Cruz as the Texas version of Marco Rubio, the Hispanic U.S. senator from Florida whose conservative philosophy and strong oratory skills helped make him a national tea party force seemingly overnight.
But unlike Rubio, who served several years in the Florida Statehouse before winning his Senate seat, Cruz has never appeared on a ballot. The son of a Cuban immigrant got most of his seasoning for next month's Senate primary by arguing in front of the state Supreme Court as the longest-serving Texas solicitor general.
Cruz systematically argues his case to voters as if standing in front of a jury. He jokes about politicians being "blood-sucking parasites" and proof that "invertebrates can walk upright."
"I confess, I'm a TV yeller," Cruz says, laughing about how he reacts to television news. But the joke reinforces his self-image as a conservative fighter, which happens to be what polls say Texas Republicans want.
To tea party leaders, and he has been endorsed by several in his race against Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Cruz has the conservative background to match the rhetoric. The self-professed child of the Reagan revolution made college money in the 1980s by reciting the Constitution from memory to Houston-area Rotary Clubs and giving speeches advocating free-market economics.
Cruz brags about how his Cuban father fought with rebels supporting Fidel Castro against dictator Fulgencio Batista in the 1950s, before Castro announced that he was a communist. Rafael Cruz fled the country and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, then moved to Canada to work in the oil fields near Alberta, where Ted Cruz was born. The family eventually moved to Houston, and his father became a U.S. citizen in 2005.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
Yeah, you posted “comparisons,” not “implications.” Right. Let me try to post some “comparisons” as well:
“Ted Cruz fought the Obama Administration before the U.S. Supreme Court, while David Dewhurst did Obama’s bidding by making sure that TSA agents continued to grope passengers at Texas airports.”
“Ted Cruz’s father has been a stalwart opponent of Communism for more than five decades, while David Dewhurst’s father fought on the same side as Soviet Communist troops during the 1940s and never spoke out against the Communist takeover of Cuba.”
“Ted Cruz’s father took an oath renouncing his Cuban citizenship and adopting U.S. citizenship, while David Dewhurst’s father never took an oath renouncing Soviet citizenship.”
“Ted Cruz and his family worked to pay for his education, while David Dewhurst mooched off of taxpayers for his schooling.”
“Ted Cruz’s father supports his son’s Senate campaign, but David Dewhurst’s father has not spoken out in favor of his son’s candidacy.”
Those are just “facts,” with no implications, except in your mind.
I won’t call you red, but I will say you don’t know what you are talking about when it comes to your assessment of who is in the minority, and whether or not Lt. Governor Dewhurst is a “hack”. He most certainly is not that.
Sure, except the first one. The Senate passed the TSA bill in the Special Session. They were very successful with many other laws during the regular and special session - when every lobbyist in Austin kept saying that nothing would happen other than the budget and redistricting.
You don’t have anything to support your attacks - other than the comments about what Dewhurst’s dead father didn’t do?
Who the bleep cares? What is Cruz's father running for? This is like that idiotic argument I heard someone make that Rick Santorum's grandpa was a commie.
This is a good question: What nationality is Ted Cruz?
This a lame question. Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother. I could at least understand you getting your panties in a bunch if was running for President but he's not.
And Ngat, sorry why don't you read the comments on this thread. Freepers are for Cruz and against the Cornyn Clone (at best!) Dewhurst, citizen legislator my hind. You and Hocndoc and maybe one other poster on this thread aren't. That's the dictionary definition of a minority. So you better come up with a different line than "you're mistaken" if you can't bring yourself to accept that obvious assertion. And what the hell are you doing asking Auh2oRepublican why he is "attacking Dewhurst" when you are attacking Cruz (with the Goldman sachs and Soros crap "not that there's anything wrong with that"). It's called politics, Mitt Romney didn't invent it. The difference is that Dewhurst deserves to be attacked like any other weak Republican and not one argument against Cruz made on this thread is anything but a bunch of horsecrap nonsense.
Again, you have nothing to back up your attacks on Lt. Governor Dewhurst. Nothing but groundless assertions.
And do see Cruz as a guy with a great future in the conservative movement if he will prove himself. He is just trying for too much, too soon. Just exactly like why Santorum flamed out.
And many times I have seen posters jump on the bandwagon of some unproven, appealing candidate, while just assuming the worst about a guy who has actually walked the conservative walk.
And who are you to call me on “attacking” Cruz, calling it “horsecrap nonsense” when all I did was ask if it is true what I heard that Cruz is a Princeton grad and Harvard Lawyer, if his spouse is a Goldman-Sachs VP, and if his Law Firm numbers George Soros as one of its clients?
I would think some people would be proud of all that. If true, why deny it? If it is not true, why then it surely is “horsecrap nonsense.” Is it true, or isn’t it?
Uh huh, you and your 1 or 2 buddies have fun. This is a conservative forum. Why don’t you shill for Dewhurst on the Hannity forum or some other such place where you can find less politically intelligent folks who will agree with you.
That’s what I thought.
Your have NO answers to the reality of what was brought up.
No answers to the questioning of why you have made false accusations against Lt. Governor Dewhurst.
As far as your idiotic theory that Dewhurst supporters are in the minority in the Republican primary, you shall see May 29 how wrong you are.
As far as your idiotic theory that Dewhurst supporters are in the minority
Republican primary voters AT LARGE are not necessarily politically savvy, they may very well fall for Dewhurst's act. I'm talking people HERE at FR who are for the most part more intelligent than average. You and 1 other guy are the only ones shilling for Dewhurst that I've seen. And don't expect us conservatives to let your bull go unanswered. If you don't like it, tough, you're the small minority.
Impy, it appears that you care very much. I was just curious, because it seems as though Cruz only tells a bit of the story.
Your comments about Dewhurst are just statements of opinion, nothing but pure emotion.
There is no evidence that Dewhurst is not conservative and the success of the 82nd Legislature is evidence of his leadership. Did you watch him in 2003 when the Dem Senators ran away to New Mexico? He was unyielding.
What is your definition of citizen legislator? Dewhurst served in the Air Force, then the CIA, then started a very successful business. After turning 50, he ran for Land Commissioner, then for Lt. Governor. Now, he’s running for State Senator - and probably won’t serve more than one term.
#1, Although Gingrich is preferable to Willard, he’s not the answer, either (and frankly, he’s also too old). Perry has been a sad embarrassment from the get-go (better than Willard, though, but so is a turdpile, so that’s not saying much). You just seem to have this nasty habit of being a shill for establishment phonies that aren’t a dime’s worth of difference from the Democrats.
It’s bad enough Texas (and my state of TN) has 4 establishment RINOs “representing” it in the Senate, but rather than have someone who can move at least 1 of those seats in a different direction, you want yet another senile phony who is more of the same (and wants to use the Senate as a retirement home — and he ain’t gonna give it up after a single term after spending all that money, he’s gonna stay into his 80s or until he goes belly-up). It’s that kind of crap is why we’re losing this country via the same “bipartisan” cabal proliferating big government.
Too much, too soon, what ? These guys aren't in their 20s or early 30s (Santorum running for President 22 YEARS after he first ran and won for federal office is "too soon" ? Seriously, are you nuts ?). How do you think installing ANOTHER senile establishment tool like Dewhurst (another Rovian maneuver, epic disaster) is good for the Conservative movement ? We need aggressive, unapologetic younger people moving this government and this country in a different direction. Or would you prefer we turn into Greece (or worse) ? That's where we're going, and fast.
I know you are a conservative, and I wish you had not made up your mind already that future Senator Dewhurst, and I, are not.
In my opinion, Ted Cruz is probably a good conservative too. Some of us just think we already have enough Harvard Lawyers in the United States Senate already.
One Romney characteristic is to go negative on your opposition instantly, without regard for the facts. I isuued nothing but facts and reason for choosing one conservative over another good conservative in this primary race.
I would gladly put the political astuteness of the voters in this years’ primary race in Texas up against posters nationwide on this forum who think they can figure out who the more conservative candidate is based on a media report trying to associate one of the candidates with tea-party voters. If you really wanted to ascertain who the tea-party conservative in this primary race is, you might just decide it is Craig James!
It seems like my “too much, too soon” assertion was too much for you to not get your dander up over!
And what seemed self-evident to me, you have the completely opposite take on.
This demands that I explain my reasoning and respond to your questions.
“Too much, too soon, what ?”
Yes, I would prefer to vote for a senatorial candidate that actually has a record as a legislator, a record of running for elective office, and more time residing in Texas and more experience living and working in Texas, before he goes back to Washington to write (or oppose) laws, which reflect the interests of the people and the State of Texas in the United States Senate.
These guys aren’t in their 20s or early 30s (Santorum running for President 22 YEARS after he first ran and won for federal office is “too soon” ? Seriously, are you nuts ?).
Ted Cruz is only 41. For the majority of that time 15 years between high school graduation and 2003 he would have lived in Princeton, New Jersey, & Cambridge, Massachusetts as a student and in Washington, D.C. as a Federal Government Lawyer, after which he may have lived in Austin TX, for 5 years or so, then been based in Houston for a couple of years after joining the Morgan Lewis Law Firm. Yes, I would like my Senator to have at least solid 10 years of experience living and working in Texas in the private sector and involvement in local and statewide politics so I can get some understanding of what policies he would write law to effect. That is not nuts, it is prudent.
“How do you think installing ANOTHER senile establishment tool like Dewhurst (another Rovian maneuver, epic disaster) is good for the Conservative movement ?”
None of those allegations about David Dewhurst are true, in fact; they are ridiculous.
“We need aggressive, unapologetic younger people moving this government and this country in a different direction. Or would you prefer we turn into Greece (or worse) ?”
David Dewhurst has a proven record and the proven ability to effect policies that lead to fiscal sanity and production and efficiency in both government and private business, a proven record that is far more extensive than that of Cruz. Dewhurst is the very guy you would want to look to and support if your worry is that “we turn into Greece”.
Regarding Santorum running for President 22 YEARS after he first ran and won for federal office being “too soon”, I absolutely stand by that statement. Santorum has all the history of a classic career politician with his eye on Washington from a very young age, but no real private sector or real local ties that would build a local or staewide political base that would sustain a lifetime Senatorial career, much less a presidential run.
In other words, you want an older career politician as Dewhurst is. If we were still operating under the pre-17th Amendment (thank heavens we are not), you'd probably get your wish.
"Ted Cruz is only 41. For the majority of that time 15 years between high school graduation and 2003 he would have lived in Princeton, New Jersey, & Cambridge, Massachusetts as a student and in Washington, D.C. as a Federal Government Lawyer, after which he may have lived in Austin TX, for 5 years or so, then been based in Houston for a couple of years after joining the Morgan Lewis Law Firm. Yes, I would like my Senator to have at least solid 10 years of experience living and working in Texas in the private sector and involvement in local and statewide politics so I can get some understanding of what policies he would write law to effect. That is not nuts, it is prudent."
The inferrence here by you and hocndoc is that Ted Cruz is a left-winger. Y'know, I've got two Senators that meet the criteria you want in a Senator. Both are RINOs. I'd rather have a hard-charging Conservative who just met residency requirements for my state than have a guy proudly proclaiming his "lifelong roots" who is nothing but another establishment politician. Dewhurst himself proudly proclaims himself a Bushie. That means a self-admitted establishment RINO. Watching the Bush family prostrate themselves before King Willard, Zero's Caucasian twin, reminds me of why we need no more of those in DC.
"None of those allegations about David Dewhurst are true, in fact; they are ridiculous."
Whom is Karl Rove backing ?
"David Dewhurst has a proven record and the proven ability to effect policies that lead to fiscal sanity and production and efficiency in both government and private business, a proven record that is far more extensive than that of Cruz. Dewhurst is the very guy you would want to look to and support if your worry is that “we turn into Greece”."
Another establishment RINO looking to use the U.S. Senate as his retirement home. Using his extensive wealth to mislead the primary voters and buy office. Just like Willard, just like Corker & Lamar! Alexander. When will Conservatives have representation for a change ? Of the unbought variety ?
"Regarding Santorum running for President 22 YEARS after he first ran and won for federal office being “too soon”, I absolutely stand by that statement. Santorum has all the history of a classic career politician with his eye on Washington from a very young age, but no real private sector or real local ties that would build a local or staewide political base that would sustain a lifetime Senatorial career, much less a presidential run."
Since Santorum was defeated for the Senate, he is no longer a "career politician." Whether he intended to be one or not, it is apparent that is what Dewhurst became in middle age (no less a sin). Going into his 14th year in statewide office, where many a so-called Conservative have long since curdled. Emperor Perry being a premier example of that, and a poster boy for term limits. As for Santorum's Presidential aspirations, he was what rose when the party establishment either kept out or forced out those who should've run in order to promote the execrable Willard, a man for whom isn't worthy to hold the heralded office of dogcatcher nor is any more a "severely Conservative" Republican than Joseph Robinette Biden.
Erick Erickson pretty much demolished the notion of David Dewhurst being anything but a Conservative...
“David DewCrist.” Now, that’s gonna leave a mark.
Forgive my misspeaking...
Erick Erickson pretty much demolished the notion of David Dewhurst claims to being a Conservative...
“David DewCrist.” Now, that’s gonna leave a mark.
All your ravings against Lt. Governor Dewhurst, calling him a career politician - untrue -, bought - untrue, trying to tie him to Rove, the Bushes, Alexander, Corker, Willard, using that incredibly clever Dewcrist thing - OK that’s how the game of politics is being played these days.
But falsely accusing his supporters of saying Ted Cruz is a left-winger when we actually think Cruz is one of the best young assets the conservative movement has, and hope he will continue to grow and gain experience before trying for such high office, - that is pretty much over the top.
Be happy in your conservative efforts!
Your patronizing of Cruz included, your response confirms the validity of the allegations against Dewhurst.
BTW, I didn’t say Dewhurst was bought — I said he is the one doing the buying. Not that the morality of either is much to crow about.
To add in conclusion, I’d much prefer a two-party system where Dewhurst/Bush/Perry/KBH/Lamar/Rove/Willard, et al, are in one party while Conservatives are in another and stop with the farce of claiming we’re all on the same side. We don’t need two Democrat parties. One big government-Socialist party is more than enough.
Happy to conclude the exchange here, but I can’t let that accusation of being patronizing slide - it is in no way patronizing to genuinely hope for the best in the future for a younger conservative whose first try at elective office happens to be for a U.S. Senate seat.
It is also just wrong to exclude Dewhurst and Perry from your circle of acceptable conservatives.
Yes, the tent can get so big it includes non-conservatives, and that is too big a tent, but neither can we have a tent so small even Field Marshal Rommel could not get in!
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