Posted on 11/27/2015 7:56:40 AM PST by Isara
I have a column up at RollCall today suggesting that the GOP should root for a Ted Cruz vs. Marco Rubio clash. Cruz, skilled at channeling indignation, is a better choice than Trump—if the “populist” lane wants a candidate who can beat Hillary. Likewise, Rubio, who can communicate compassion and optimism, would stand a much better chance in the so-called “establishment” lane than Jeb Bush.
But aside from the fact that Cruz has a better chance of beating Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump, I’m constantly hearing from Republicans who believe he is more cunning and “flexible” than he is an ideologue. The good news it that this might mean he can pivot and run a more centrist General Election campaign in 2016.
The suggestion is that his bluster in the U.S. Senate and on the campaign trail has been the product of a very smart and calculating politician who might eventually move to the center—when that suits his interests. (The fact that Cruz formerly worked in the Bush administration is cited as evidence that at least some of his current image is a reinvention—which suggests he might one day reinvent himself again.)
One smart conservative even recently suggested to me that Ted Cruz is a modern Richard Nixon.
No—nobody is suggesting Cruz is “Nixonian” in the sweaty, paranoid Watergate burglary sense of the term. Instead, the idea is that Cruz might follow Nixon’s path—which was to be an ambitious young conservative in a hurry, who then transformed into a savvy centrist in order to win the White House and govern.
Remember, Nixon was once seen as a hard-core Right-winger. The whole reason Eisenhower selected Nixon as his running mate was to balance the ticket—and keep the GOP’s Taft wing inside the tent. Running against Helen Gahagan Douglas, the anti-Communist Nixon once even famously declared she was “Pink right down to her underwear.” As Ross Douthat recently noted, “Nixon knew how to channel an angry, ‘who's looking out for me?’ populism without letting himself be imprisoned by its excesses.” Sound familiar?
But later, Nixon became a champion of affirmative action, the EPA, and all sorts of liberal policies. It was ironic, which is exactly why the expression “Only Nixon can go to China” exists.
It’s impossible to predict the future, but trust me when I tell you this theory is widely believed and whispered about. There is a real sense that Cruz, having rounded up the support of grassroots conservatives who might propel him to the GOP nomination, could later pivot—and run as a “kinder, gentler” Cruz. He certainly has the credentials, pedigree, and moxie to pull it off. And, frankly, it might not be all bad. As Douthat averred, “there are times, and this might be one of them, when the country needs a little Nixon.”
"Since there's nothing on him at this point-no skeletons in his closet, no allegations of illegality-the left has resorted to doing what they say Cruz does best: Reframe the argument... Watch for this line of argumentation being used by the left in the coming weeks and months as Cruz rises. He's calculating, scheming, obsessed with winning, desirous of power, inhuman, callous, an opportunist, and overly shrewd. They'll try to make Cruz into the most unlikable person since Richard Nixon because it's all they've got. Don't buy into it."
LOL @ The new Nixon.
Is Rodham Clinton the new Tokyo Rose?
Somehow, I don’t see Cruz imposing wage & price controls, like Nixon did.
Mild attack piece? This is a sneaky deal killer. In other words, he is fakin’ it to get the nomination, then we think maybe he will be more like Bush to make us happy.
I admit these columnists and pundits are spending a lot of time being creative in their attempts to drag people down.
LOL
It's Huckelberry. Could be his brother.
JMHO
:-)
More Reagan like. Even RR moved more to the center as time went on. He never lost his core conservatism though.
He demonstrates remarkable "flexibility" on a large number of issues.
Unfortunately, the article says exactly what I believe with the exception of beating Hillary. He cannot do that.
I'm being generous. He mentioned later in his article that "No-nobody is suggesting Cruz is "Nixonian" in the sweaty, paranoid Watergate burglary sense of the term.
Matt Lewis is a propagandist for The Cheap Labor Express.
If it weren’t for his donors, I would harbor no doubts.
Meh, I don’t know.
Trump and Cruz are better than the others. They still don’t attack each other hardly at all. Could be there is strength in numbers. Right now there is two of them and they are going to try and hold the fort down to keep GOPe candidates down at the bottom until we get closer to Iowa.
Who knows?
I’m coming to despise the rhetorical trick of making a statement in the form of a question, as seen so often in headlines these days.
Is Obama Really a Homosexual Muslim Traitor?
Is Joe Biden Naturally Stupid Or Is He The Result of a Lobotomy Gone Bad?
Can Hillary Win the White House If She’s a Lesbian?
Did Climate Change “Experts” Cook the Books to Create Panic?
Will Homosexual “Marriage” Destroy the Family?
Why not just have the guts to make a statement, rather than couching it as a question?
And yes, I appreciate the irony in my question ...
I want to know how the case is being made here that Cruz is the best candidate to beat Hillary?
No real track record on anything yet he can beat Hillary.
Well someone please explain that rationale. I can’t see it.
Cruz has to get support from areas that Trump is already polling well in. I guess we will just see.
In other words they think that Cruz is just like Shrillary?
Must be the guy that drew the short straw to have to work today.
Enough of the Romneys, McCains, Doles and Bushes. It's time we ran somebody that the liberals fear.
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