Posted on 01/19/2016 8:11:46 AM PST by AuntB
Maybe Ted Cruz isn't the smartest guy on the planet after all. For months, as the crafty Texas Senator surged in the polls, voters were told that Cruz is the most intellectual candidate in the race, the best debater - someone the renowned law professor Alan Dershowitz called "off the charts brilliant."
His every move has been judged a Machiavellian masterstroke, as he drafted behind Donald Trump, sucking up his energy and lurking behind to suck up his fans, stoking Iowans' fears about immigration and ISIS, presenting himself as a "consistent conservative" in a pond of flip-floppers. Most importantly, calculating just the right moment to end the bromance with The Donald.
But suddenly, Cruz is on the defensive. It turns out he missed a few beats, such as properly reporting loans received from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup - those Big Bad Banks - four years ago that financed his 2012 campaign. This was not a casual oversight. The lapse is not only a violation of the law; it also destroys a significant part of the Cruz narrative. You know, the part where he says to his lovely wife, "Sweetheart, I'd like us to liquidate our entire net worth, liquid net worth, and put it into the campaign," and she says 'Absolutely,' with no hesitation, as he told The New York Times.
It's a great tale - they sink their fortune into his improbable campaign for the Senate - and miraculously vault Rafael (his real name) into that esteemed chamber, which he then set about turning on its head. Too bad it's not true.
That's not the only story Ted Cruz is revising. Donald Trump has adroitly alerted voters to Cruz' Canadian birthplace, which was not a secret to the political cognoscenti but came as a thunderbolt to those enamored with his anti-immigrant agenda. Most likely, Cruz qualifies as a "natural born citizen" and is eligible to run for president. But, the issue has never been adjudicated. Trump has cleverly suggested that for the good of the party, and his own wellbeing, Cruz should get a ruling on the matter from the courts. That, of course, would only give the issue greater legitimacy, not to mention bog down Cruz' campaign.
The problem for Cruz is that this birther issue has ushered in a great deal of scrutiny, which has been about as pleasant as a tick bite. It turns out that the names of both Ted Cruz' parents appear on a 1970 list of Calgary electors for Canada's federal election of July 8, 1974. Inclusion on that document suggests Canadian citizenship, but the campaign has denied that the senator's mother was ever a Canadian citizen. His father, originally a Cuban citizen, did indeed become a Canadian citizen while living up north.
Breibart explains, "Under U.S. law, Cruz would have inherited his citizenship at birth in 1970 from his mother, provided she remained a U.S. citizen. She likely would have retained her U.S. citizenship even if she had become a naturalized Canadian citizen, though Canadian law required naturalized citizens formally to renounce all foreign allegiances until 1973."
Further investigation has turned up a discrepancy contained in Cruz' memoire, A Time for Truth. Voters are about to learn that Cruz may have sanitized his mother's history. In his book, Cruz says that Eleanor Darragh's first marriage to Texan Alan Wilson ended because of her agony at having lost a son to crib death. However, records indicate that the baby died in 1966 in England, where she lived at the time. Wilson claims they were divorced around 1963 and that he was not the father of the infant.
For Cruz, who wowed attendees of the Value Voters Conference in 2014 by pressing the importance of marriage and who is trying to lock up Evangelical voters in Iowa, this could get sticky. People will wonder: did Cruz intentionally polish up his mother's history? Or did his mother misrepresent her past to her young son?
Curiously, Darragh used her first husband's last name - Wilson - on Ted Cruz' birth certificate in 1970. Why she did so is unclear. She had married Rafael Cruz in 1969. Perhaps she wanted to be sure that her son would be assured of American citizenship, and used Wilson's name to avoid uncertainty. Whatever the reason, it is odd since that was not her name at the time of his birth.
Given the conflicting narratives and timelines, the confusion over Cruz being a "natural born citizen" is understandable. Other issues challenging Cruz are not confusing - such as his absurd posturing as a Washington "outsider." Cruz is a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School, clerked for a Supreme Court judge, became a high-priced corporate lawyer for several years representing the kinds of corporations he now decries, worked on the George W. Bush presidential campaign, has served in the U.S. Senate, and is married to a woman who until recently was a Goldman Sachs Managing Director. That's about as "insider" a background as you can have.
Ted Cruz is a political phenomenon - a junior senator who made a name for himself being disruptive and disrespectful of our political institutions, who has campaigned on being disliked, and who has most recently gone out of his way to insult millions of Americans.
Bottom line: it took Ted Cruz to make Donald Trump seem acceptable. Cruz is a phony. At least The Donald is authentic.
” Other issues challenging Cruz are not confusing - such as his absurd posturing as a Washington “outsider.” Cruz is a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School, clerked for a Supreme Court judge, became a high-priced corporate lawyer for several years representing the kinds of corporations he now decries, worked on the George W. Bush presidential campaign, has served in the U.S. Senate, and is married to a woman who until recently was a Goldman Sachs Managing Director. That’s about as “insider” a background as you can have. “
Bookmark...Thanks B
“anti-immigrant agenda”
Anyone not differentiating “anti-immigrant” from “anti-illegal-immigrant” does not hold a valid opinion on the subject.
As I outlined on another thread, Cruz makes too many “mistakes” and those “mistakes” are DEADLY!
“Liz Peek spent over 20 years on Wall Street, primarily as a top-ranked research analyst specializing in oilfield companies.”
So, Ted is not in Big Oil’s pocket?
“As I outlined on another thread, Cruz makes too many “mistakes†and those “mistakes†are DEADLY!’
Would that be like Trump supporting the Clintons after B Clinton gave the Chinese the missile tech necessary to target the US with nukes?
How about Trump supporting the Clintons after B Clinton gave the Iranians the blueprints for a nuclear triggering device so their nukes would work?
How about Trump praising Obama as a unifier?
I don’t know about you but that’s what I call deadly mistakes.
A conservative is always an outsider until the culture is changed.
Thou shall not malign the anointed one!
The hyenas will be along shortly to make my point.
Trump may be FOS.
Cruz IS FOS.
I’ll go with “maybe”
The illegal/legal immigration situation disqualities Cruz right out of the gate.
Cruz is a politician and as such grubs for money, misstates facts and has so many vices that they are too numerous to list. However, he would be infinitely preferable to Hillary Clinton who is so degenerate as to be beyond redemption. We must learn the Doctrine of Relative Filth which teaches when caught between two bad persons, behaviors, acts, conditions or events one chooses the least bad. Kiddies we no longer have Washington’s, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and Lincoln. They have all gone away.
“Curiously, Darragh used her first husband’s last name - Wilson - on Ted Cruz’ birth certificate in 1970. Why she did so is unclear. She had married Rafael Cruz in 1969. Perhaps she wanted to be sure that her son would be assured of American citizenship, and used Wilson’s name to avoid uncertainty. Whatever the reason, it is odd since that was not her name at the time of his birth. “
For a “smart guy”, “off the chart brilliant”, he has a had a series of foolish errors. Just saying.
Woe is me! I like them both - and would want to see them as a team. One w/o the other would never be considered an impossibility, and if that were to happen there would be serious thoughts as to the direction taken. This country is in need of someone unafraid to take on the serious issues we face. Trump is that leader. The NBC questions, among other issues, has forced me to step back a bit from Cruz in order to take a second opportunity to look closely once again.
Thanks for posting.
He has been a Democrat, he's a republican, has always given to campaigns, supported people running for different offices, no matter where they were from, what party they were from...
He has a very high dollar successful business, has 4 children that are very successful in their own rights, has a beautiful family, and brought his children up in the world for all to see, and that family has a lot of class...something we haven't seen for almost 8 years now...what an image it is going to be to see class back in our Home again and to the World...
Trump has built his American Dream, has talked to people about how to be successful, do something you love and don't look back, is an Author on how to become the best you can be...
Whether he lives in New York, California, or Idaho, the man has principles that we all should follow, he didn't get to where he is by being stupid...
And now he wants to share with the American people the American dream, Make America Great Again, no we won't be billionaires like he is, but if we can get back to the hard work, of having jobs, taking care of OUR people, respecting and taking care of our Vets and Wounded Warriors who have given up so much to keep our Freedom, then I say: Let's Roll!!!
This is why my 100% support goes to this man, because I was born on American soil, in America and am an American!!!
“The illegal/legal immigration situation disqualities Cruz right out of the gate.”
Of course Trump’s touchback amnesty doesn’t disqualify him.
Got it. Makes perfect sense.
Have yourself another glass of Browndo, you earned it with that deep thought.
“Of course Trump’s touchback amnesty doesn’t disqualify him.”
Correct, because it isn’t. It only is for dim-witted people that can’t see shrewdness for what it is, like you.
If it’s not touchback amnesty what is it?
Thank you for posting Aunt B.
I would challenge Cruz supporters to take a second look at Cruz with an open mind.
I use to support Cruz but when I started really evaluating his votes and his explanations, his history with the Bush administration, the fact that he did not renounce his Canadian citizenship until he was running for president, the fact that he still does not seem open to discussing it, the fact that he started running for president after only months in the senate, and his courting the very people he opposes for funding made me change my mind.
I realized that my initial support for him was based on what I heard about him here on FR and all of the good things others said about him. I supported him without even checking things out for myself.
So I challenge all of his supporters to take a second look and make sure you are supporting him for real reasons and not just what others say about him.
Cruz is unqualified on illegal and legal amnesty ALONE. We may be too far gone already, but if there is a fighting chance to reverse this trend, Trump will have to be the one to do it. On every other issue, like trade, debt, and the economy, Trump has no equal in talent.
Good post, Amntn.
MUST READ http://www.libertyconservatives.com/ted-cruzs-biggest-flip-flops/
Hat tip to Kabar
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