When Ted Cruz Said John Roberts Is Undoubtedly A Principled Conservative

Daily Caller ^ | 9/17/2015 | Alex Pappas

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When Ted Cruz Said John Roberts Is *Undoubtedly A Principled Conservative*

During Wednesday*s debate, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said his past support for the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts *was a mistake and I regret that*.

Cruz argued during CNN*s Reagan library debate that former President George W. Bush nominated Roberts *because it was the easier choice* and he wasn*t *willing to spend political capital to put a strong judicial conservative on the court.*

But as critics are pointing out, Cruz, who worked on the Bush campaign and later in the administration as a lawyer, was effusive in his praise of Roberts* nomination in 2005.

*John Roberts should be a quick confirm,* he wrote in the National Review.

*As an individual, John Roberts is undoubtedly a principled conservative, as is the president who appointed him,* Cruz said.

During the debate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush defended his brother’s selection of Roberts, who has angered conservatives for upholding Obamacare, by saying broadly: *I think he is doing a good job.*

*You can rewrite history I guess Ted,* Bush said, *but the simple fact is, you supported him because he had all the criteria that you would have thought would have made a great justice. And I think he is doing a good job.*

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Cruz lacks discernment....

...while his former boss and his brother are busy doing the fake distancing from Cruz necessary for their anti-sovereignty GOPe ruse.

[vette6387]

“Cruz lacks discernment....”

I don’t think so. I think we are seeing Cruz as Cruz. As the pressures of the campaign increase, Cruz is showing us who he really is. The curtain is being drawn aside. we are now seeing his “conservative schtick!”

[clearcarbon]

If you can fool enough of the people enough of the time, you can be confirmed SCOTU Chief Justice.

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You’re right.

[Faith65]

I think you are correct. Add that in with Heidi’s resume and a clearer picture is emerging of who cruz really is.

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It’s sickening.

[wbarmy]

Excuse me, everybody thought John Roberts was the greatest selection for that position possible. There were NO dissenting votes from any conservative leaders.

He fooled everybody. Cruz could no more see into his heart than you or I could. And everything Roberts had did or written pointed to exactly what all the conservatives wanted on the Supreme Court.

I still think they have something on Robert’s kids and/or the adoption and are using it to blackmail him.

[HiTech RedNeck]

He goofed up.

This would be of small concern if he showed an inclination to learn. Nobody’s perfect, everybody can learn.

The suicidally poisonous thing is to pose as some finished icon while still on earth.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I wonder if there was a halo effect from Cruz that precluded a lot of digging. Everybody just believed in St. Ted (and St. Roberts).

But people are not static entities. They change either to worse or better. We’d like to see why and how a future court candidate got where he or she is, and what else that candidate has been involved with and why.

[PghBaldy]

Ann Coulter was against Roberts at the time (2005):

" But unfortunately, other than that that, we don't know much about John Roberts. Stealth nominees have never turned out to be a pleasant surprise for conservatives. Never. Not ever. "

http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2005-07-20.html

I did not trust the guy then either, but have no proof except my own memory.

[grania]

Cruz said GWB chose Roberts because he'd be easier to get nominated

Cruz will say ANYTHING to talk his way out of things? Anyone who follows the campaign knows it was Cruz who advocated for his friend.

Cruz has sunk to another level, for me. Now I'm down to not trusting him because he'll lie about anything, and expect us to accept whatever he says. We don't need another eight years of that attitude.

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Just note that Cruz/Rove/Bush are using their Big Data social media bots to input our FR posts to hone and push their GOPe candidate on us.

Jeb is waiting in the wings so he can implement their results. Rubio is up next.

[Smokin' Joe]

I still think they have something on Robert's kids and/or the adoption and are using it to blackmail him.

Either that or someone made a credible threat of driving him or his family to an obscure park...

[PghBaldy]

(2004) Pat Buchanan seemed concerned too:

Thus, it is not unfair to say George W. Bush has appointed a stealth conservative. He will not legislate from the bench, but there is no evidence he will overturn laws the Warren Court and its progeny legislated from the bench. Yet, as he is clearly a conservative, and no liberal, it is the Left that is fearful, while on the Right there is unease.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1449946/posts

[Smokin' Joe]

Was that before or after Ann said Romney was The guy to have?

[Captainpaintball]

I don ’t think so. I think we are seeing Cruz as Cruz. As the pressures of the campaign increase, Cruz is showing us who he really is. The curtain is being drawn aside. we are now seeing his “conservative schtick !”

May I ask who you think is more conservative than Cruz in this race?

[maddog55]

XXXX will say ANYTHING to talk his way out of things?

Anyone could be inserted into that statement. It’s the nature of the beast.

There is no perfect candidate and I’ve seen folks all over FR that will ignore the obvious about “their” candidate and throw whatever they can out in support of “their” candidate.

I’d like to think somewhere in America there’s far better people that could be President than anyone who’s running. To bad folks couldn’t run for office instead of buying it.

[nathanbedford]

Cruz lacks discernment

The claim that Ted Cruz lacks discernment for supporting the appointment of Chief Justice Roberts is among the most outrageous departures from sanity that we seem to experience on a daily basis from supporters of Donald Trump. Anyone with any knowledge of how the bar operates, how the Supreme Court operates, how judicial clerks operate, how advocates operate, especially advocates before the Supreme Court, would never go near such a statement as, "Cruz lacks discernment" in the context of Cruz' support of the appointment.

There is nothing in Robert's career prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, including his service on the DC court of appeals, which suggests to any knowledgeable observer that Roberts would rule as he did on Obama care. To suggest otherwise is not to indict Ted Cruz but to betray a level of ignorance, or more likely, rank partisan politicking so common among Trump supporters who eagerly ape their hero.

There is one other facet of this episode which deserves remark; it brings credit on Ted Cruz and, once again, highlights the failings of Donald Trump. Ted Cruz admitted he made a mistake, when is the last time Donald Trump ever admitted having made a mistake about anything? To illustrate by way of one among many possible examples from Trump's biography, Donald Trump was warned up and down against his hedonistic investments in Atlantic City which subsequently went bankrupt, but Trump heedlessly persisted.

In contrast, Ted Cruz had absolutely no evidence from which to conclude that the appointment of John Roberts might be a mistake. Nevertheless, Cruz is a big enough man to admit a mistake even when the mistake is not his fault but Donald Trump is so narcissistic that he denies mistakes which are clearly his fault.

[Radix]

Evidently you never read Ann Coulter’s 2005 column which was critical of the Roberts nomination.

http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2005-07-20.html

[grania]

You CANNOT excuse Cruz's recent missteps like the "shaming" letter to mistakes all campaigns make. Cruz seems to not get it that once he decides on something it can be a bad decision.

Lacking that ability to at least step back and make changes instead of dig in when those situations happen isn't indicative of a great leader.