Posted on 02/19/2016 6:44:32 AM PST by Kaslin
As a supporter of Ted Cruz I have had many supporters of other candidates tell me that he would not be electable in the general election. I disagree.
Yes, Cruz is caricatured in social media and elsewhere as unlikable and as one who doesn't play well with others. He's too extreme and we need someone who can draw independents to win, and, once elected, unite us in bipartisan action. He just isn't as handsome as Rubio, they say.
Yet I have seen polls showing that Cruz is the most well-liked candidate among Republican voters, so you can't always rely on anecdotal evidence -- or expert commentary. The reason is that we all have a tendency to project our own feelings on to the general population.
How could Cruz get legislation through Congress if so many of his Senate colleagues don't like him now, ask the critics. We can't afford any more gridlock.
Well, one reason Cruz is unpopular among many of his colleagues is that he honored his campaign promises to stand up to President Obama and resist his wasteful, unreasonable budgets. Establishment members of Congress and pundits have preemptively declared defeat before each budget discussion. Their cookie-cutter analysis concluded that no matter how outrageous Obama's demands, Republicans would lose the PR battle because they are perceived as the party of less government.
Plus, critics maintained, the Republicans never had enough votes to filibuster or override a veto, so any strong resistance was foolish and would just make them look worse to the people and cause them to lose the next election. "Just wait until we regain power; then we'll be tough."
When Cruz, among very few others, listened to his constituents instead of the defeatists in his own party and proceeded to fight, he was castigated as a grandstander and manipulator who was placing himself above the party and the nation. I remember arguing with many of these people at the time that it is very important that Republicans take strong stands against Obama.
You see, I didn't believe Cruz was quixotic. I didn't view these budget battles solely in the short term. Rather, I had the long view in mind. I think there is some chance we even could have prevailed if Republicans had unanimously united in opposition to Obama's reckless budget submissions, but I was certain that if we didn't fiercely resist him and publicly make our case in the process, we would face serious consequences with the electorate that had twice resoundingly rejected Obama's agenda in the off-year congressional elections.
I have said before that the establishment gave birth to Donald Trump by surrendering to Obama too quickly and not vigorously opposing him. Indeed, I believe the Republicans' failure to join Cruz in these budget battles was a contributing factor. Their calculus about that always-looming next election should now be seen as folly. The grass roots simply didn't believe the GOP was fighting for them, and now we are all paying for it.
The grass roots believed that even conservative Republicans were too feckless or ineffective to oppose Obama's agenda, and many are overreacting and choosing Trump. They don't seem too concerned about whether he is a reliably consistent conservative, or about his record of supporting many liberal causes.
How ironic that Ted Cruz is being punished by people because few of his colleagues would stand with him against the establishment. He has, with his actions, demonstrated himself to be a far sharper thorn in the establishment's side than Trump and his rhetoric. Cruz is the guy that stood up to the establishment from the inside and proved he could not be pressured by his peers to go along to get along. Isn't that what the grass roots have been craving all these years?
It's also ironic that Trump is reputed to be the person who stands up to the establishment and get things done. But he is the one who has boasted in this campaign about his willingness to work with the establishment.
Ted Cruz is remarkably brilliant and has proved more than any politician in modern times that he will do in office precisely what he promises to do in the campaign. This isn't expedient rhetoric; it's his proven track record.
Concerning electability, Cruz, in a general election campaign, would articulate conservatism with a flair we haven't seen in a presidential campaign since Ronald Reagan. I have always believed that if conservative ideas are clearly and unapologetically communicated they will energize the base and attract millions of others. These are positive, optimistic, and contagious ideas that for decades haven't been presented clearly, without dilution, and with utterly authentic conviction.
Ted Cruz believes he can reignite the old Reagan coalition and lead us to victory. I firmly believe it too. And if he wins with such an unambiguous message, he will have the clearest of mandates to pursue his agenda with a Congress elected along with him.
Republicans and conservatives must not overreact and throw the hay out with the pitchforks, when we can have the real deal with Ted Cruz, who will steer America back on the right course, first reversing Obama's destructive agenda and then implementing conservative principles to restore America's glory.
This really isn't that complicated. Cruz is the conservative candidate conservatives have longed for, and it would be tragic if we squander what could be our last opportunity.
We’ve seen what happens when ideology and blind ambition are valued more than experience. Besides, he can’t even convince his brother that Rubio isn’t a “full-throated conservative”.
Will vote for Cruz in the General Election. Voting tomorrow for DJT for perhaps the only time I will have the opportunity.
Ted Cruz joins the establishment
He was sent to Washington to fight Obama, not to advocate for more power.
Let’s take a look at South Caroline voter demographic tabulations after their primary and extrapolate who would be most ‘electable’ on the national plain.
Rush and Levin have said nothing but great things about Cruz and his being a true conservative. And as for why Cruz isn’t attacking jeb as another freeper asked, he is not leading or even in the top 3 in SC polls. Plain and simple. You go after the leader the most.
“” Voting tomorrow for DJT for perhaps the only time I will have the opportunity. And that’s an opportunity this Constitutional conservative doesn’t want to miss.””””
I’ve never had the chance to vote for a New York liberal, either.
What happens to Cruz if he places 3rd or even 4th tomorrow?
every cruz supporter will back trump if he wins the nomination... I am sure of it
In many respects they are working Hegel's dialectical materialism that is the foundation of Marx and Engles political philosophy. They see the world of republicans and democrats as the thesis and Trump as the antithesis and they hope by electing Trump a new and better synthesis will improve their lives. Many here have compared Trump to a wrecking ball, an instrument of destruction not of precision. They hope to remove the thesis to make room for the synthesis, but what would they put in place of a robust conservative rule? A virtual monarch seems to be the consensus and that is an antithesis to our founding.
Conservative philosophy sees the unchangeable virtues of liberty and justice as the goals of government. When those higher virtues are manifest then prosperity and the general equity of society will improve. It is not a battle of evolving ideals but the constant pursuit of the highest ideals.
Trump's rise is the result of failed republican opposition to socialism and ironically the socialism taught in the public schools. The electorate seem to hold the philosophy that underpins socialism but do not like the policies of socialists. It is the dialectic philosophy that makes Sanders and Trump front-runners. What is not clearly understood is that as the new philosophy is implemented the old one of liberty and justice is displaced and may not return for a very long time.
Yea..they are just children. Not thoughtful and mature like us.
We don't need their kind anyway. Insult them until they come around.
BTTT
Appears his lower lip stuck to his upper arcades.
x2
Yes.
Exactly!
Contrary to that notion, lots of Cruz supporters here (such as I) have expressed a willingness and intention to support the nominee no matter who it is, as have many Trump supporters. Trump is my 2nd choice for the general (just barely), but what does that even mean, as I'd vote for ANY Republican nominee over a dumb Dim?
If Trump is unabashedly pro-America, how could he support all those America hating liberals for all those years?
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