Posted on 12/28/2015 2:33:48 PM PST by Isara
Read these two quotes carefully: The first: “Cruz cannot win because the Washington elites despise him.” The second goes: “[T]here are a lot of good candidates – I like nearly all of them… …except Cruz.” Which one of the similar quotes is from a pro-Cruz Super PAC and which is from a former Republican nominee for president?
The first quote is from an ad from Keep the Promise I, a Cruz Super PAC. The second is from Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican nominee and war hero, who got trounced by Bill Clinton. Both purport to highlight a negative of Senator Cruz, but do they really?
The answer is hidden in an examination of the conservative insurgency in Massachusetts, of all places. Five years ago this very week, things were starting to turn around for then-State Senator Scott Brown (R–MA).
Knowing how much of a train wreck RomneyCare had become, the voters of Massachusetts were drawn to Brown’s singular campaign message: “I will be the 41st vote to stop Obamacare.” Attorney General Martha Coakley’s team misread the electorate and put out ads that in effect said, “If you elect Scott Brown you will stop the president from giving healthcare to millions of Americans.” Two different candidates, same message, and we all know who won that race.
That same dynamic is playing out in the presidential race this year; be it with Donald Trump or Ted Cruz. The establishment keeps telling the voters how awful these two candidates are, but that just makes the voters gravitate to them even more.
Nowhere is this playing out more clearly than in Iowa where a series of establishment allies are swinging hard at Cruz in advertisements and mailers. All of this comes as Cruz further cements his lead in the state. On Christmas, CNN reported that a collection of five independent groups, aligned with the establishment and Mike Huckabee have begun attacks on Cruz in Iowa.
The attacks are being spearheaded by two people with ties to the establishment: Nick Ryan, who is an establishment activist in Iowa, and Sean Noble, another establishment hack who is backing Rubio. Mark Levin wrote of Noble’s Alinsky-like tactics back in November. Regarding Noble’s attacks on Cruz’s vote for the America Freedom Act, Conservative Review’s own Daniel Horowitz said: “Mr. Noble worked for Sen. Jeff Flake who also voted for the Freedom Act. I guess his boss and all of Rubio’s backers are also weak on national security.” Noble boasts, on his own website, of his ties to the “elite” of the party. He says “…or nearly 20 years, a pretty elite cast of characters has been doing just that [paying attention to Noble].”
Ryan is a longstanding force in Iowa politics, allied with the moderate Governor Branstad. On his website, Ryan describes himself as having investments in renewable energy—i.e. ethanol—in Iowa. Ted Cruz is very much against ethanol mandates.
When you scratch under the hood of the attacks on Cruz, and ask why they are more pointed than the attacks on Trump, a common theme begins to emerge. That is self-interest. It can be as plain as someone who has financial stakes in ethanol running ads against an anti-ethanol candidate, or it can be more complex, like with Noble—someone trying to hold onto the power they’ve carved out in the political industrial complex. Therein lies the real truth of why the attacks are stronger against Cruz than Trump, even though they really aren’t working against either candidate.
Trump is a dealmaker running a campaign as a disrupter to the status quo. Cruz is a proven disrupter to the status quo. That is a very big difference indeed.
The political industrial complex believes deep down that they can negotiate with the author of The Art of the Deal; they know they will lose the levers of power with Ted Cruz. You can see it in the voracity and frequency of their attacks.
The establishment consultants and chattering class know they have the most to lose with a Cruz presidency. What do they lose with a Cruz presidency? The very levers of power by which they enrich themselves: the Republican Party apparatus.
It goes much deeper than Cruz holding the reins of the executive branch. With a President Cruz, the positions of the self-described elite within the GOP power structure are in jeopardy. As much as the establishment screams electability from the rooftops, deep down they know that Cruz can and will win in 2016 if nominated. That is an existential threat to business as usual and the ruling class itself.
Rule #1 of the political industrial complex is: maintain power at all cost, even if it means torpedoing an electable conservative like Cruz. Here is how it would play out badly for them were Cruz the nominee:
Cruz is the larger threat to establishment because, if he wins, they lose all the levers of power. McConnell and his allies would be tossed out of organizations such as the Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, etc... If history is any guide, the sitting president of a political party has a large leeway in choosing those in key power positions. That puts the earning potential and power of the current political industrial complex in complete jeopardy.
That is why, come January, the establishment will continue to turn all their guns on Cruz because they would rather Trump win the nomination and lose to Hillary than for Ted Cruz to have a chance of being president. If that happened they would attempt to blame a Trump loss on the Tea Party, and keep their cushy jobs. As Cruz inevitably gains on Trump, the establishment will go after Cruz 110%, even if they are currently waging a rhetorical war on Trump.
As the calendar turns to 2016, and the political industrial complex realizes they can’t field a winning candidate on their own, they will increasingly turn their fire on Cruz over Trump. When they do so, be very aware that it isn’t for the “good of the country” or even because of “electability.” It pretty much boils down to what they have to do to keep food on their tables and their pockets lined.
A very powerful motivator indeed.
Mmmmhmmm:
"CNNMoney turned to PrivCo, which researches and tracks privately-held companies. According to PrivCo, the Trump Organization has 22,450 employees and brought in $9.5 billion in annual revenue last year."
http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/03/news/economy/donald-trump-jobs-created/
“There was no reason Cruz couldn’t have gotten at least a half-dozen supporters, and a really good leader would have gotten half the GOP caucus.”
Leadership in today’s Congress offers members sex, money, and power to vote for the party. The consequences of not voting the party line are:
1) Being outed on sexual behavior, drug abuse, or other human failings if you have them.
2) Being denied campaign money from wealthy contributors. The kiss of death for most politicians who are not independently wealthy
3) The denial of support for pork projects.
4) The denial of choice committee assignments and leadership posts.
5) A whispering campaign in the media against you.
6) Ostracism by fellow members of the “club”.
All Cruz as a leader had to offer was an opportunity to take a stand in support of the American people and conservative principles.
The reason Cruz couldn’t have gotten at least half a dozen supporters is the same reason Peter denied Jesus in the garden. The majority of the GOP caucus is bought and paid for (sex, money, power) and they fear the consequences of bucking McConnell and the GOPe.
Yes, that is it. I will vote for someone Bob Dole doesn’t like. That seals the deal. Just because Cruz has open-border donors, that doesn’t mean anything compared to Bob Dole’s displeasure with Cruz.
But wait a minute. Who likes Trump? This can be so confusing.
Which, without context, means exactly duke squat.
But carry on.
His “very little” includes arguing and winning more US Supreme Court cases as the youngest ever Solicitor General of Texas than anyone else his age. And his disruptive over achievements at the FTC. His overachieving at Harvard and at literally everything he's ever done. Trump is not even on the same planet as Cruz.
Notice you keep spreading the lie: "without context." Why must you lie so much?
I can think of 9.5 billion, 22 thousand reasons why Trump is not on the same planet as Cruz!
Because making 9.5 billion in revenue for one year must obviously mean Trump's networth is only 4 billion, because Forbes says so!
‘He’s never smoked. Nor has Cruz for that matter, who’s commented that a muscled, tattooed, hip, bare chested poster of him was wrong in one particular, “I don’t smoke.”’
So why is Cruz’ campaign selling enlarged, framed copies of this creepy, disgusting photoshop to raise campaign cash?
Revenue and Net Worth are two different things.
I am not electing TRUMP’s history, all of which is one long street fight in NYC, against some good and some very bad players, in a rough political neighborhood.
The man is a sympathetic. Being “for* immigration is excusable. I’m from TEXAS. We grew up with illegals around here for decades. They are our friends and mostly work for us domestically, or in plants and factories. We don’t want them ship wrecked, back to a place where some have never been.
HOWEVER, full scale invasion by Mexicans and South Americans, in a culture of now drug cartels and human trafficking is NOT what TRUMP supports.
We change when it becomes a whole sale ASSAULT on our country, peppered with criminal elements, killers and become a forever cradle to grave, with real potential for ISIS infiltration! That is the TRUMP of today.
If TRUMP is meant with congressional enemies he will MOST CERTAINLY enjoy the precedent Obama has set, in order to UN-do what Obama has DONE. Count on it.
Don’t talk to me about “true conservative” when electability ACTUALLY matters in the first place, and chutzpah is critical.
TRUMP has it all, thanks.
TRUMP, 2016
Yes I know, but when you’re making 9 billion in annual revenue, suddenly a networth of 10 billion doesn’t seem like a big stretch!
GPH has trouble putting things in their proper context.
creepy, disgusting photoshop ...
Yes it is. Anything for money?
www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2015/06/16/trump-exaggerating-his-net-worth-by-100-in-presidential-bid
www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2015/06/16/trump-exaggerating-his-net-worth-by-100-in-presidential-bid
I suspect it’s worse than that. But the idea that the naked, tattooed prison look and dangling cigarette will be a hit with evangelicals is pretty sad.
By 100 percent huh? So if you have a business that can bring in 9.5 billion in annual revenue-- then, of course, you have to pay the employees (all 22,000 of them), whatever else that is spent-- and this is not including the value of the properties, the golf courses, the advertising revenue, etc etc., how does Forbes figure that Trump is "exaggerating his net worth by 100 percent?"
Could it be... Forbes has an agenda?
TDS is getting worse not merely by the day, but even by the hour.
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