Posted on 07/20/2015 7:45:00 AM PDT by VinL
Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz is the only major Republican in the field who isnt jumping all over Donald Trump for his series of provocative comments regarding immigration and John McCains war service. In fact, Cruz even recently went to bat for Trump.
Cruz and Trump had a private meeting together last week at Trumps New York City office, the Daily Mail reports, so its clear that the two are already talking strategy.
Trump has stolen some of Cruzs thunder, and probably some of his vote share, early in this campaign. The latest Suffolk University poll puts Trump at 17 percent, Jeb Bush at 14, Scott Walker at 8, Cruz at 6, and Rubio at 5.
But despite trailing the billionaire by eleven points, Cruz refuses to attack Trump.
When Trump said that McCain might not be a war hero because he got captured (a Chris Rock line) Cruz asserted that McCain was indeed a hero but decided not to hit Trump, like many of his fellow candidates did.
You know I recognize that folks in the press love to see Republican-on-Republican violence, and so you want me to say something bad about Donald Trump, or bad about John McCain or bad about anyone else, Cruz told reporters, according to CNN. Im not going to do it.
When Trump gave an impassioned speech against rapists and criminals coming over the U.S.-Mexico border, sparking boycotts in the process, Cruz said, I salute Donald Trump for focusing on the need to address illegal immigration.
What is Ted Cruzs strategy here? Why is he not attacking Trump?
1 Trump allows Cruz to say things he wants to say without having to say them
Cruz, who led the fight to defund President Obamas executive amnesty action, knows as well as anyone how much crime is being trafficked into America over our southern border. But why not let Donald Trump get the picket signs and the boycotts directed at him? Cruzs firebrand status is a benefit but also a liability in a presidential race. Positioning himself as the second most-vocal and heavily-quoted conservative in the race actually does him a service especially as Trump considers just how many hundreds of millions (and hell need that much) of his own money hes going to spend if he wants to go the distance. If the Hillary Clinton people look to Bernie Sanders as a kind of unofficial voter-mobilization force for Democrats on the left, Cruz could easily use Trump the same way.
2. A Trump-Cruz battle in the primary would be too divisive for November voters
While both candidates have a lot of fans, they also have a lot of detractors. The last thing Cruz and Trump need is a battle of personalities between each other especially when they agree on most issues. Too much Cruz-Trump back-and-forth during the primary, and independents will be turned off by November.
3. Cruzs fundraising allows him to act like the conservative front-runner
Ted Cruzs campaign has raised $14.3 million so far against Jeb Bushs $11.4 million, and his super PACs have netted $37 million to Bushs $103 million. Cruz also has a strong ground game in Iowa, where he is immensely popular with Christian voters and Trump is not (remember: Cruz also spoke and did well at the same Iowa forum where Trumps McCain dig made headlines). Cruz can rightly claim that hes the conservative front-runner in the race against Bush. Rand Paul isnt giving Cruz much fundraising or polling competition on the tea party right, so Cruz needs to just keep raising money, keep setting up his ground apparatus in early states like Iowa and South Carolina, and keep watching Trump steal all the attention away from Scott Walker, who has the lowest public profile of the contenders.
4. Trump can weaken Jeb Bush, Cruzs most formidable foe
The more Trump hammers Bush, calling him an unhappy person and promising Republicans that Bush wont get them to the promised land, the less significant Bushs $103 million in PAC money becomes. Cruz has always known that the road to the nomination goes through Bush. So let Trump weaken Bush
and then wait for Trump to implode.
This analysis is pretty much on the money......I’ve said for weeks that Trumps voters today will become, in many cases, Cruz voters down the line.
Cruz doesn’t attack Trump because he agrees with him. He’s just a more refined version of Trump. It’s as simple as that.
AND if Trump were to flame out for whatever reason, Cruz would be the natural receipient of Trump’s substantial backers.
This POS sought (at globalist Roger Ailes's behest, I'm sure) to tie Cruz to Trump simply because Cruz refused to denounce Trump.
The main reason Ted Cruz won’t attack Trump is obvious.
He hasn’t yet and won’t attack other candidates period.
There’s no need to make a special case for trump.
...... The Republican candidates should be standing by and ready to grab the batons that Trump is tossing in their direction. They need to quit trying to be so politically correct and preventing ruffling a few feathers and take advantage and run with this while they can. Heck ..... If the candidates are in mortal fear of a little feather ruffling ...... What will they do when the actual feather plucking begins?
.... This is a very important historic election. Whoever wins the election will determine what type of America emerges on the other side.
.... This is not a historic time to be timid!
..... Isaiah 58:1 .....
I am a Walker supporter. He has better support and more consistent poll numbers than the rest of the conservative part of our field.
I agree.
He will bow out after hes finished carving and skewering the establishment, and urge his supporters to join Cruz.
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If Trump does drop out before the Primary Season is over, I do NOT thing he will publicly endorse, or urge his supporters to join, Cruz. I like Trump and I hope he stirs the pot as long as he can. But, he’s a smart man and he knows a public endorsement from him could be the Death Knell for another man’s candidacy. He knows where his supporters will go. I say 75% of them go to the Cruz Camp. He doesn’t have to tell them.
“The fact that the media is desperate for Cruz to attack Trump shows how fearful they are of him.”
Fearful of Cruz or Trump?
“I think we might begin to consider .. seriously .. the potential marshal law that could conceiveably called.”
Begin?
I moved 2300 miles to a holler surrounded by armed neighbors ready to defend our homes, state, and nation.
We are ready.
There seem to be a roughly equal number of FReepers who think:
Trump is a Hillary affiliate.
Trump is a Cruz affiliate,
Trump is a Bush affiliate.
It's fun to watch.
I left the hollar in 83, but landed amongst like minded equally armed and ready
Fingers crossed you are right
Awesome!
I hope more and more of us are ready and aware.
Whatever they have planned if happening at an accelerated pace now. Probably timed so Obama doesn’t leave office, like declaring martial law and then declaring himself dictator, like Hitler did
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