The Rough Math Facing Ted Cruz

San Diego Union-Triune ^ | April 2, 2015 | George Will

[x]

A number of factors contributed to Goldwater's defeat in 1964--Goldwater's reluctance to run, strife within his campaign team, the refusal of the Rockefeller wing of the party to actively support him, etc. The election was hardly a repudiation of conservatism.

Huh? Victories and defeats in politics aren't permanent. You can be crushed in one election and win the next by a landslide, but the 1964 election was about as crushing repudiation of Goldwater's conservatism as you could get.

Maybe there's something wrong with the concepts involved. McGovern was definitively repudiated in 1972. McGovernism won in 1974 and 1976. The GOP was repudiated in 2006 and 2008, but came back to win in 2010 and 2014.

Parties and ideologies survive electoral defeats, but you've got to acknowledge the defeats when they come along.

[Gritty]

What killed Goldwater's bid was the assassination of Kennedy. That happened in November, just prior to the campaigns getting under way. After that, Goldwater never had a chance.

It had nothing to do with "conservatism". It had everything to do with the revulsion of Kennedy being murdered. Goldwater strongly opposing Kennedy while he was alive so the revulsion carried over to the campaign. He was also strongly opposed by the Liberal wing of the GOP even after he won the nomination.

[Taxman]

I have been agitating for a “High Noon” showdown between a LIEberal and a TRUE conservative my entire adult life.

In 2016, we conservatives MUST KICK a lot of LIEberal/Socialist/Marxist/Fascist ass in the Presidential, Senatorial and Congressional elections!

But to get to the General Election, we must prevail in the Primary Elections. To do that, we will have to KICK a lot of GOPe and RINO ass!

Best we start now!

PS Anybody have any ideas about how to unseat Chuckie Schumer?