One of the five is Sen Cruz’ principled stance on ethanol subsidies.
There was an episode of the West Wing during the Presidential primary where democrat rock star and ultimate nominee Matt Santos is advised, against his better judgment, to endorse the subsidies. He grudgingly does, but the episode is about selling your soul to get elected. And then. The GOP nominee Arnold Vinick comes out and looks the ethanol crowd in the eye and says he has a record opposing the subsidies and he’d be a hypocrite to flip flop now, and he’s not a hypocrite: he’s sticking to his guns.
This episode was designed to make Vinick (Alan Alda) more personable and to show that Santos (Jimmy Smits) could learn something even from his opposing party nominee. It was an episode designed to show that the democrat could learn from his mistakes (endorsing ethanol against his better judgment).
I know it’s fiction. But. THIS is how progressives told a story about principles in a Presidential race. When truth matches fiction: “that guy doesn’t have a chance because his base of support is limited”.
Most people don’t vote ideological lines. That’s why Obama was elected twice. Enough people saw him as a likeable guy. People don’t vote for timidity. A republican candidate raising a bold flag will have support that transcends ideology. That is both the dems and the GOPe’s worst nightmare.
Well said.
West Wing Season 6 Episode 13: “King Corn”
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/TheWestWingS06E13KingCorn
“Vinick: I know what you want to hear. Telling people what they want to hear is the easiest thing you can do in politics. That’s not why I’m here. That’s not why I’m running for president. Now I know that the ethanol subsidies have been good for some of you. But mostly, it’s a windfall for huge conglomerates. I’m embarrassed by it, and I think you should be, too.”
It’s an interesting parallel especially since it’s a progressive storyteller’s play on principles.