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.
The Wall
Illegal immigration
Muslims
You need more?
"We stopped the Gang of Eight bill. Ted Cruz led the fight against the establishment would be living under amnesty right now if Cruz had not succeeded." - Rush Limbaugh.
"It was that close to being passed ... and I think I can say this with integrity. Without the vigorous opposition of Ted Cruz, this bill likely would have passed." - Sen. Jeff Sessions
Thanks for the post. Most of the Trump people haven’t the ears to hear it. That are not looking for the most conservative candidate but for the biggest bully. I am afraid in the end the bully weapon will be turned on them.
“[T]here are a lot of good candidates - I like nearly all of them......except Cruz.” - Bob Dole
I was with Cruz from the beginning but if I had any doubts they would have been wiped out by this one statement from this political loser.
Cruz it or lose it.
Well, a Kasich guy actually convinced me of that when he said, “You know, at some point if you want to be a leader you have to get others to follow.” Then I thought about that filibuster. 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.
Very good article, and it’s one of the reasons WHY I support Cruz! Proven conservative fighter!!
I can imagine your excitement today;
OK, THIS is the time someone will believe the Cruz is the master of Free Markets, after all he has studied, debated them, and talked about them, for years.
Trump, on the other hand, has only lived them for a handful of decades, and his livelihood and wealth are only the result of his father’s money and his good fortune (spit). Only a fool would think he has more than a fuzzy inkling of how Free Markets work. (spit).
Oh, and don’t forget, refusing to say that you are going to deport the illegals is the same as repeatedly shouting that they must be deported. I mean, walls, deportations, blech, that’s nothing compared to finding a way to allow the illegals to stay.
Thank God America is awakening.
Trump has been ringing the bell for a while now, and people are stirring.
Yeah because Kasich is a bastion of conservative leadership..not!
The currency should be persuasion, at least in a Constitutional Republic. The GOPe and sadly most of the voters have surrendered persuasion for current, trendy popularity. They go right to OCD over the poll numbers then position themselves where they think they can sell their candidate product
We’re doomed.
ah, come on. I LOVE ted and he is first, but NO ONE was going to say what he said about illegals or the Clintons or weiner or the press or a million other people.
he has been Great for the country in waking it up.
now go Cruz!
ps: he has made Cruz much more acceptable based on his positions, since many are alike.
illegal immigration
sanctuary cities
Islamic immigration
gun rights
trade deals that hurt our nation
bringing jobs home
elimination the Department of Education
eliminating Obamacare
I’m sure there are more issues that he has stood fast on.
How do we get people off Welfare? First, we get everyone back to work. Then we start weening the Welfare class off their generational dependency.
Determine who can work. Then start making their checks and benefits 1/36th less each month. In 36 months, they are off Welfare.
When may we expect to see that juvenile ‘thumbs down’ list spammed to all of your future threads?
For someone who claims that the ‘RATS fear Cruz the most, you sure spend a lot o’ time trashing Trump.
And Karl Rove thanks you for it.
We went to a remote hotel for the weekend, and while away from all distractions, I -- to my own surprise -- came to this same conclusion.
The problem is the party. We elected a Republican House. Nothing happened. Then we elected a Republican Senate. Nothing happened. The destructive agenda of the radical anti-Americans continued.
The only one who has successfully stood up for anything right has been Trump. Cruz would face the same opposition in Congress and the Senate that has hindered him so far, and they would likely continue to hinder much that he would want to do as President.
I also think that Donald Trump's age at 69 is a huge advantage to Cruz's mere 45 years. There was a nation or Greek city-state that wouldn't select a leader under 80 years old.
Also, being a politician Cruz is in some way part of the system. Granted he's the best proponent for change, but someone above the system, empowered by his own wealth and success, can take a better point of view.
LOL!
Conservative Review meets Deep Throat, here.
TRUMP, 2016
If a leader is only a leader if he wins every argument, than there has never been a human leader in the history of mankind, including his highness Sir Trump.
“I’m not so eager to make someone the most powerful person in the world who has no public service record”
Hell that is EXACTLY what we need. Previous public service experience is a huge disqualifier in my mind given that everyone elected previously has had it and has been an abject failure.
And yet all they talk about is Trump.
He follows The Constitution more closely than any politician in my lifetime!
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