Bozell: It’s Time To Rally Around Ted Cruz

Breitbart ^ | 24 Dec 2015 | Brent Bozell III

[Isara]

It is time for conservatives to rally around Sen. Ted Cruz.

By now, the reasons should be clear.

...

...Conservatives nationally are seeing that he's the one candidate who is going to return this country to her Constitutional foundations and Judeo-Christian values.

On every issue of crucial importance to conservatives-defunding Planned Parenthood, ending the Obamacare nightmare, reducing the size of government, opposing amnesty-Cruz is not only with conservatives, he's led the fight for conservatives.

...He's done it over and over, fearlessly. It's what leaders do.

...

My friend Richard Viguerie always asks an important question when it comes to a candidate claiming to be a conservative, which they all do because they cannot be elected without conservatives. Does he walk with us? Where was he or she before the campaign? Were they regulars at our meetings and conferences? Were they helping conservative candidates, organizations, causes?

Or are they conveniently "conservatives" now because they need us?

Ted Cruz has been a part of the movement since the start of his career in Texas. No other candidate - none - can say this.

...

But can he win?

There's nothing the Left would like more than to see Donald Trump win the GOP nomination. He cannot, will not defeat Hillary Clinton. She will be our next president, and God help us then.

Only Ted Cruz can defeat Trump; and if he does, he'll defeat Hillary.

The Left knows this reality too. This is why the vicious, personal attacks against Cruz are underway. He's been through this before, and all the establishment-led character assassination attempts in the past have failed. This time they will be more malicious than ever.

...

It's time for every conservative leader to stand and be counted.

It's time for the movement to rally around Ted Cruz, to make him the next president of the United States.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Donald Trump has a massive lead in the polls Cruz is in 2nd place

When the other candidates drop out Cruz gets the bulk of their supporters? Why? Trump s negatives are astronomical because he has insulted the remaining candidates.

This isn t a two man race yet. It s a 13 man race with three lanes, the populist lane (Trump), the conservative lane (Cruz, et. al.), and the RINO lane (Bush, Rubio, Christie, etc.)

Even without the other candidates dropping out, Cruz is leading in IA and tied with Trump in SC.

Finally, Cruz support is spiking up, while Trump s support has remained between 32-39% for five months.

[CatOwner]

When Cruz gets 24/7 bashing like Trump has for several months now, let’s see where his poll numbers go.

[greene66]

Hmm. Two of the incredibly few conservative columnists/pundits left that I still actually hold in high regard for their unwavering consistency over many, many years... Brent Bozell opts for Cruz, and Phyllis Schlafly opts for Trump.

Truthfully, I think Cruz is the better man. But, Trump appears the first one to come along with the actual ability to smash the maddening, decades-old PC paradigm that has kept the nation in a suffocating, ossified strangehold that has fed and bred the march towards degenerate cultural-marxism. That counts for an awful lot. An awful lot.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

When Cruz gets 24/7 bashing like Trump has for several months now, let’s see where his poll numbers go.

He will benefit from the free publicity as much as Trump. They tried to ignore Cruz for as long as possible. Now they will attack him and lose.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

When the other candidates drop out Cruz gets the bulk of their supporters? Why?

You're telling me the miniscule, moderate/squish supporters of Rubio, Graham, Carson, Huckabee, Bush, Kasich, and Fiorina will automatically default to conservative Cruz and that will suddenly give Cruz an insurmountable lead?

Trump's negatives are astronomical because he has insulted the remaining candidates.

And again, how does that hurt Trump when the other candidates don't have the base of support that Trump has? Trump's "negatives" are high among LEFTISTS, Democrats, the media, and GOPe consultants and groupies. They are not "astronomical" among the very people who will vote for him.

This isn t a two man race yet.

It is. The other candidates are irrelevant. It's time for Cruz to cut a deal with Trump and be his VP or get a cushy administration job or appointed to SCOTUS. He is NOT going to win the primaries outright, the path is not there for him.

It s a 13 man race with three lanes, the populist lane (Trump), the conservative lane (Cruz, et. al.), and the RINO lane (Bush, Rubio, Christie, etc.)

The conservative lane is already a part of Trump's populist coalition. It is not a stand-alone lane.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

When the other candidates drop out Cruz gets the bulk of their supporters? Why? Trump s negatives are astronomical because he has insulted the remaining candidates.

Most of Cruz's supporters appear to be people who are wishy washy, not really set on their candidate, while 60 or 70 percent of Trump's numbers are hard numbers. They won't change.

Cruz is intensely vulnerable, and if he won the primary (I doubt it, and I pray he won't), he won't survive the general. People who think Cruz has a chance are fooling themselves and just don't know their candidate's problems.

[Isara]

Trump's Record on Civil-liberty Issue: (from the Conservative Review)

"Trump has an inconsistent record when it comes to civil liberties. He supported the NSA mass surveillance program but did not weigh in on the recently passed reforms. Overall, he has avoided commenting on religious freedom, but says he would be an advocate for Christians. Trump supports an individual’s right to make unlimited campaign contributions, but advocates for an end to soft money in politics. Most concerning is Trump’s belief that the government can use eminent domain powers to seize private property for economic benefit for others."

Trump supports the NSA’s metadata collection program, saying, “I support legislation which allows the NSA to hold the bulk metadata. For oversight, I propose that a court, which is available any time on any day, is created to issue individual rulings on when this metadata can be accessed.” This position was identical to the NSA’s mass surveillance program before being reformed by the USA Freedom Act. (Newsweek) 

Trump has avoided commenting on religious freedom since Indiana passed its Religious Freedom and Restoration Act into law. Instead, he has said that he will be the “greatest representative of the Christians they've had in a long time” if elected president. (Christian Today) (Breitbart)  

Trump believes political soft money should be banned, while individuals should be allowed to make unlimited contributions. "If I were drawing a political cartoon to represent the situation, it would include a very large guy with a huge bag of money. On that bag would be written one word: soft. Soft money is the bane of the current system and we need to get rid of it." (The America We Deserve) 

Trump supported the Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London, giving public authorities the right to seize private land for economic development by private investors. Trump said, “I happen to agree with [the decision] 100 percent.” (National Review)

Trump highlighted his support for prosecuting "hate crimes" against homosexuals in his 2000 book, The America We Deserve. “Hate Crime” is a term used to extend special protections for a specific classes and in essence elevates the importance of these classes above others. For example, murder of homosexual or heterosexual should be viewed equally under the law and punished equally. Creating special classes is a liberal tactic used to divide and segment society.(Google Books)

Trump said that Kim Davis should not have been jailed for refusing to issue gay marriage licenses. He also said that she should allow her deputy clerks to do so, but also said that 30 miles away you can get a license so people should do that. He added, "The decision's been made, and that is the law of the land." (CNN)

Much like his stance on eminent domain, Donald Trump has shown a troubling tendency to want to use the power of government to stifle political speech. When the conservative Club for Growth released an advertisement regarding Trump's changing positions on taxation, Trump responded with a legal letter calling for them to cease and desist the advertisements. A chilling move towards the silencing of political speech. (Politico)

Donald Trump attacked SuperPACs (political action committees) in the third Republican debate. By suggesting they should be outlawed he came out against the First Amendment protection of speech, and echoed progressive talking points. (Time)

[RightGuy]

Rustycod -

In your deluded dreams.

[Isara]

Trump's Record on Health Care and Entitlements: (from the Conservative Review)

Like any good republican, Trump claims to oppose Obamacare, even supporting conservatives’ attempt to defund Obamacare in the fall of 2013. Trump, however, is on record supporting “universal healthcare,” advocating for American adoption of the Canadian healthcare system. This places Trump’s policy inline with the most liberal members of the Democrat Party. Trump has also opposed free-market reforms to Medicare, arguing that growing the economy will solve the problem. To his credit, Trump supports privatizing parts of Social Security, but opposed the recent House GOP budgets citing entitlement reform as the reason for his opposition.

Trump opposes Obamacare, saying, "I will fight to end Obamacare and replace it with something that makes sense for people in business and not bankrupt the country." (USA Today)

Trump has advocated for universal healthcare in a system similar to Canada’s government-run healthcare system. “I’m a conservative on most issues but a liberal on health….We must take care of our own. We must have universal healthcare. Our objective [should be] to make reforms for the moment and, longer term, to find an equivalent of the single-payer plan that is affordable, well-administered, and provides freedom of choice.” (The America We Deserve)

Trump supports transitioning parts of Social Security to private accounts, saying, “Allow every American to dedicate some portion of their payroll taxes to a personal Social Security account that they could own and invest in stocks and bonds… Directing Social Security funds into personal accounts invested in real assets would swell national savings, pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into jobs and the economy. These investments would boost national investment, productivity, wages, and future economic growth.” (The America We Deserve)

Trump has opposed reforms to Social Security and Medicare, arguing that growing the economy will solve the entitlement program’s insolvency, but has not elaborated on his proposal. "I am going to save Social Security without any cuts. I know where to get the money from. Nobody else does." (Twitter)

Trump believes public assistance should be limited, and that religious institutions should carry the burden of caring for the poor and disadvantaged. (2012 Presidential Candidates)

Trump echoed Democrat talking points when referring to Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budgets, arguing that they were too radical. “I’m concerned about doing anything that's going to tinker too much with Medicare. I protect the senior citizens. Senior citizens are protected. They are lifeblood, as far as I’m concerned. I think Paul Ryan is too far out front with the issue. He ought to sit back and relax.” (Today)

Trump opposes reforming Medicare by transitioning to a voucher program, but he has failed to articulate how he would fix the unfunded program. “I don’t think the Republicans should be out on this ledge….I’m studying that situation very closely, and if and when I decide to run ... I’ll have a plan. The seniors have to be cherished. They have to be taken care of.” (Christian Science Monitor)

Trump supported the conservative effort to defund Obamacare, tweeting at Republican lawmakers that “Congress must defund ObamaCare. It is destroying Medicare and breaking promises to our Seniors, including veterans” (Twitter), and “NO GAMES! HOUSE @GOP MUST DEFUND OBAMACARE! IF THEY DON’T, THEN THEY OWN IT!” (Twitter)

In what sounded all too similar to Obamacare, Trump told 60 Minutes that he would replace Obamacare with a plan that "covers all Americans." That the vast majority of Americans would buy their insurance on an open market, and that the government would pay for those that couldn't afford it. (CBS News)

Trump backed off his call for raising the Social Security retirement age to 70. He told 60 minutes that he would instead save Social Security by having "other countries pay for it." (CBS News)

Trump supports work requirements for welfare recipients. (Time to Get Tough)

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

He will benefit from the free publicity as much as Trump.

Trump survives it because of the force of his personality, the fact that he's been around for decades and we all know his faults, and his ability to manipulate the media. Cruz comes off artificial and his problems have no redeeming qualities. Just wait till the media starts showing the video of Rafael Cruz giving a creepy Dominionist sermon, or Cruz receiving hands on "anointing" by weirdos. There is even test video that was leaked from one of Cruz's SuperPacs where the Cruz-family look like a bunch of robots as they beg for money, and have to be coached on how to compliment each other. They even have to rehearse how to pray, taking multiple takes.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Trump’s supporters don’t care about your lists. These are people completely fed up with the status quo and the Ruling Class. They feel that America is getting screwed by bad trade deals, immigration, and a breakdown of law and order while their rights are continuously getting mocked or destroyed.

[JohnBovenmyer]

Most of Cruz's supporters appear to be people who are wishy washy, not really set on their candidate, while 60 or 70 percent of Trump's numbers are hard numbers. They won't change.

Bombast by bombast followers.

[DoughtyOne]

But Brent, I have no idea what You're talking about.

I've been assured Crewz Helmet is in control.

Surely you must know Cruz is winning by now.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

Bombast by bombast followers.

I'm literally repeating numbers I saw from one of the recent polls, possibly even that Quinnipac one which was all sorts of dubious. 60 or 70 percent, if memory serves, are confident about their choice for Donald. Cruz's numbers are nowhere near that good.

[FourPeas]

Ted Cruz as the only conservative who is electable is a no brainer.

It is. It's obvious.

[Duchess47]

What is Cruz going to say when they attack him on his birth, his father’s religion and his wife’s employment. Then throw in his back and forth on issues in the Senate? He will be lost in the minds of the public before he can mount a defense.

[Eddie01]

Boom!

[Wissa]

He will benefit from the free publicity as much as Trump. They tried to ignore Cruz for as long as possible. Now they will attack him and lose.

I doubt it. I think when the attacks come Cruz will look like a typical politician. Constantly trying to nuance his position.

Just like the impression many were left with after he tried to explain his stance with that amendment regarding related to giving legal status to illegal immigrants.

Cruz 05/21/2013 "I don't want immigration reform to fail. I want immigration reform to pass."

But now he says he was just trying to fool people back then.

Looked like he was trying to walk a tightrope. Afraid to lean too far one direction to keep from losing Hispanic support. Afraid to lean too far the other direction to keep from losing the support of conservatives.

[jstaff]

There are lots of timid conservatives around who are just too scared to support Cruz. They scream about wanting a real conservative as a candidate then pick someone who is not because they worry about electability. That is a loser’s game.

How does every one know so well that a conservative can’t be elected when we haven’t nominated one in 30 years?

I hear people say that Cruz is unlikable and I ask “By whom?” The answer is by liberals and rhino’s. That sounds like a selling point to me.

I hear people say “I don’t like his voice.” Really?

I hear people say “He’s never run a successful business.” Ronald Reagan was an actor.

I hear people say “His wife works for Goldman Sachs so he is in their pocket.” So why is he not a mega millionaire from all the evil money they toss around? He surely has had a chance, in all his time in the Senate, to bend some rules at their behest so he could collect some big paydays.

We need to stop being so eager to choose someone that will be acceptable to everyone else and get pushing hard for a Strong Conservative Candidate. I will not slack in this primary because we finally have what we always say we want.

Cruz is the only lifelong, principled, constitutional conservative in this race.

[American in Israel]

Look the new Obama symbol! Instead of being judged on the issues he is judged by hope for change. Because it worked so well last two times.