Posted on 09/29/2015 7:22:54 AM PDT by Isara
For months, the presidential campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) has quietly been courting libertarian-leaning supporters -- people who once supported Ron Paul and ostensibly would have been inclined to back his son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in the 2016 race.
On Tuesday, Cruz released a video showing eight former Ron Paul liberty movement supporters -- a number of them from Iowa -- who are now backing Cruz. The campaign announced that former Congressman Bob Barr will chair a Liberty Leaders for Cruz" coalition comprised of libertarian-leaning Republicans.
As Paul's campaign has floundered and Cruz remains in the middle of the pack, Cruz's campaign has made the case to Paul supporters that the Texas Republican can remain in the race for a long time -- and that while he does, he will espouse libertarian principles. At rallies this summer, Cruz has evoked the Fourth Amendment, railed against the Fed and talked about his efforts to end the bulk government collection of metadata.
In the video, Cruz's supporters talk about how both Pauls endorsed Cruz's 2012 Senate run and said they believe he has held positions consistent with the liberty movement, including a reluctance to send boots on the ground to Syria and support for Rand Paul's bill calling for an audit of the Fed.
"He's really picked up the mantle of Ron Paul in many ways," Joel Kurtinitis, the founder of Liberty Iowa and Ron Paul's 2012 regional director, says in the video.
Cruz's team has compared the GOP presidential campaign to an NCAA basketball bracket, with the field divided into conservative, evangelical, libertarian and establishment voters. Cruz's team has been doggedly pursuing conservatives and evangelicals, holding a religious liberty rally in Iowa last month and taking the lead in a fight over funding Planned Parenthood.
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(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I’ll give Rand Paul credit for not quite having the ego of his Dad. Rand, at least, has come to realize he has zero chance of being elected president but can still be a reasonably decent U.S. Senator.
Actually Libertarians should be right at home with de-funding PP. It is one of the most egregious example of corrupt DC crony capitalism currently on display to the public. PP may be “not for profit” but it certainly making it manger class rich off tax payers dollars.
I think his dad knew he had zero chance, but if he ran every four years, he’d rake in plenty of donations.
By being a conservative for all seasons, Cruz is the natural leader who will attract most supporters of each other candidate as they drop out.
I’m seeing a fair number of young libertarians turning to Cruz now as it become apparent that Paul has little chance. A lot of them appear to be black college students.
They like the strong 10th amendment/constitutionalist streak in Ted Cruz and his smart and restrained stance on war fighting seems to be a big seller. As you noted, opposition to crony capitalism is another issue that attracts them to Cruz.
Ted Cruz is speaking in Kalamazoo Michigan on the 5th which is kind of interesting. Kzoo is like Ann Arbor’s liberal baby sister.
Actually Libertarians should be right at home with de-funding PP. It is one of the most egregious example of corrupt DC crony capitalism currently on display to the public. PP may be “not for profit” but it certainly making it manger class rich off tax payers dollars.So when it comes to PP the only thing Libertarians are concerned with is the crony capitalism side of it? Interesting.
I see Cruz as a VP. I just don’t see the leadership qualities yet. He makes good speeches, but in order to lead - one has to have followers. Yes, he has his followers in the electorate, but he isn’t making any inroads in Congress - sure he is thwarted at every turn, but so is Trump and Trump steam rolls over his critics. JMO.
Rand made himself look foolish running for President this soon in his career. In the Senate, he has been a mixed bag, off the mark some of the time, on the mark in a lot of other cases (like many libertarians). The bottom line is that Rand Paul simply doesn't have the experience or credentials to seek the Presidency (conservatives don't usually give inexperienced upstarts a free ride as liberals did for newly-minted Senator Obama, and rightly so). Most of his "accomplishments" so far have been giving speeches and filibustering. It's good to have a libertarian voice or two in the Senate, but let's see what he accomplishes first.
I almost hate to say it, but Ted Cruz's junior Senator status may also be one thing holding him back from having his candidacy the mass following it deserves. He just hasn't built the name-recognition and reputation outside the world of political junkies like us yet.
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More at Conservative Review: https://www.conservativereview.com/2016-presidential-candidates
No it isn’t the only thing but that reason is right in line with their ideological outlook
What surprises me in regards to Mr. Trump is in regards to the free market.
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