[upchuck]

Instead of wading through Paul Bedard's interpretation of Kondik's article, why not go read the genuine article here.

Mr. Kondik is not nearly as positive as Mr. Bedard. This is best summarized in Kondik's closing paragraph:

Ted Cruz is riding high in some Republican/Tea Party circles precisely because he aggravates many high-ranking members of his own party. But his icy relationship with those party leaders might cause him problems if and when he decides to run for president. A recent history of party endorsements shows that they can be an indicator of who wins presidential nominations, and someone other than Cruz — someone who has not burned so many bridges with other prominent members of his party — is likely to attract that establishment support during the run-up to the Iowa caucuses two years from now.

[SoConPubbie]

Mr. Kondik is not nearly as positive as Mr. Bedard. This is best summarized in Kondik's closing paragraph:

Why do I care about the negative opining's of any of the chattering class?

The truth is, as borne out by President Reagan, fidelity to Conservative Principle sells. It wins massive victories.

On the other hand, those who go all mushy-mouthed and abandon their principles or who never had any principles in the first place, George H. Bush, John McCain, Bob Dole, Mitt Romney, and lately, Rand Paul, provide, in stark relief, the negative results of such cowardly behavior.