Posted on 06/30/2016 12:30:48 PM PDT by Sybeck1
For his own sake and the country's, the conservative stalwart should stand behind Trump
Aside from saying on Monday that he isn’t bothered one way or the other about being given a speaking slot at the GOP convention, Ted Cruz has been noticeably absent from the public eye since exiting the 2016 contest. One would think that a committed constitutionalist like Cruz would be doing everything he can to prevent Hillary Clinton from becoming president. But even if Cruz isn’t willing to stand side-by-side with Trump to that end, he should at least be willing to do so for his own self-interest.
The fact is that while Cruz may worry that associating with Trump could damage his doctrinaire conservative brand in the eyes of ideological die-hards and those evangelicals hitherto resistant to Trump’s apparent charms, the alternative should Clinton win — being cast as one of those who stood by and did nothing as Clinton waltzed into the White House — could be much worse.
If Cruz’s authentic conservative brand is hurt by association with Trump, it will be hurt just as much — if not more — by association with the Jonah Goldbergs and the Bill Kristols of the world.
There’s also the basic fact of human nature that no one likes a sore loser, and being seen as one can be a significant handicap in the political world. Hillary Clinton’s belated though relatively graceful acquiescence to Obama’s nomination in 2008 likely secured her position as secretary of state, while Richard Nixon’s embittered exit from the 1962 California gubernatorial election almost cost him his entire political career.
Blaming biased media coverage in large part for his loss to Democratic Gov. Pat Brown, Nixon lashed out at reporters. “You don’t have Nixon to kick around any more, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference,” he said.
Indeed, were it not for an outrageously biased anti-Nixon documentary which aired on ABC the week after the election — so biased in fact that it managed to garner Nixon national sympathy — his political career would likely have been over.
But Nixon is that rare exception that proves the political rule, and if enough of the conservative base considers even for a moment that Cruz’s refusal to stand publicly with Trump against Clinton was motivated by ill feeling toward Trump, he may lose a significant amount of credibility.
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PoliZette The Case for a Cruz-Trump Coalition The ugly battle between the populist front-runners provides Rubio an opening to win it all Cruz could also be of great help to Trump's electoral efforts. If Trump loses, it will likely be largely the result of a concerted and biased media campaign, as was the case for Mitt Romney in 2012. But as he proved during the GOP primaries, Cruz is one of the most effective critics of media bias, far more so than Trump, who often appears personal and petty.
Moreover, forming a new relationship with Trump could also be strategically advantageous for Cruz. That Cruz is massively unpopular among his fellow senators on both sides of the aisle is a well known fact. "I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life," former GOP Speaker of the House John Boehner said.
Lindsey Graham famously noted that if "you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you." Indeed, to call Cruz unpopular may be an understatement. If Trump should win in November, a repaired, working relationship with the business mogul would offer Cruz a level of clout in the Senate — which for him is otherwise unattainable.
Regardless of any desire Cruz may have to run again in 2020, he should get involved in the 2016 contest now. The potential benefits — both for himself and the country — seem to far outweigh the potential disadvantages.
IF YOU LIKE THIS, READThe Hypocrites Have Left the Building
I agree. We would have used nukes, but we may not have invaded at all, leaving a lot of radioactive Germans, but no one in control.
Ready Teddy is hoofin' it hard babe!!
Explain to me how Ted Cruz was "our only hope". Ted Cruz couldn't even attract enough primary voters to come close to winning the GOP primary. And you're trying to tell me he was our only hope in the general?
Cruz is too conservative for the general electorate. He's electable in conservative Texas but the rest of the country is not Texas. He's dislikable as a candidate, just as much as he is disliked by his fellow senators and congressmen. Except for a few, they all hate him and wouldn't work with him if he was the last guy on earth. Their words, not mine.
He comes across as too preachy and arrogantly condescending to the average person. Trump is the opposite. He knows how to connect to those average people. Cruz had his chance but lost. I believe he is making himself look even smaller and dishonest by no honoring his written commitment to support the eventual GOP nominee. He's coming across, as do all these loser politicians, as having a mouth full of sour grapes.
Whether Trump wins or loses, Cruz for sure won't win. So take your marbles and go home. Why don't you leave now before anyone notices? Nothing worse than a crybaby having to explain it to everyone.
The twins are so angry and in a rage over Trump winning and their Cruz losing, that I told them both that they had experienced a modern day Millerites "Great Disappointment". They had to look it up but their heads exploded even more when they found out what the reference was to.
We are no longer friends after 50 years of being so. All over Cruz losing to Trump. Jumped the shark comes to mind.
You are better off.
Even after saying that, Lindsay went on to endorse Cruz during the primaries.
Cruz has basically become another Mitt Romney or Jeb Bush working on behalf of the RNC and the Neoconservatives. I've come to think he's even worse than that, because at least Romney doesn't go around pretending to be some sort of Holy Man.
Of all the latest mass culture fads, I can think of few things that disgust me more than people taking “selfies” at every opportunity. I once asked the 20-something daughter of a friend of mine how many she takes a day, she said between 50 and 100. I doubt she’s atypical.
Pretty strong words there, are you honestly suggesting hillary would be better for the nation than Trump?
How did this guy sneak in? I’m tired of being called silly names because cruz supporters are ‘hurt’.
Well, I agree that Cruz isn’t a real GOPe insider in my opinion. I was, however, a little disturbed when he seemed perfectly happy to join forces with them against Trump before the WI primary. It made me wonder if he’d really fight the establishment when he didn’t think it would be advantageous to his political future.
Also true and I hope Cruz has learned from his mistakes. He was pretty good lately at the Senate Judiciary Committee hammering down Jeh Johnson. Sounds like he’s ready to get back to work. We need every non-GOPe Senator we can get!
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