Free Republic
Browse · Search
GOP Club
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Cruz Is Suddenly a Player, Thanks to Reclusive Backer
Newser ^ | April 11, 2015 | John Johnson

Posted on 04/11/2015 12:35:56 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Millionaire Robert Mercer helps him raise an 'eye-popping' $31M right off the bat.

If other GOP contenders shrugged off Ted Cruz's chances of winning the nomination, it's a safe bet they're reassessing things after four new super PACS announced they'd raised a staggering $31 million to support his new candidacy. "Even in the context of a presidential campaign cycle in which the major party nominees are expected to raise more than $1.5 billion, Cruz’s haul is eye-popping, one that instantly raises the stakes in the Republican fundraising contest," writes Mark Halperin at Bloomberg. The super PACs in question are only a week old, and it's unprecedented to have raised so much so quickly. So who's behind the money? The New York Times identifies the main player as a "reclusive Long Islander" named Robert Mercer.

Mercer began his career at IBM but now runs a hedge fund called Renaissance Technologies, and like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson, he is taking advantage of the Citizens United case that loosened restrictions on wealthy donors. He's "a very low-profile guy, but he’s becoming a bigger and bigger player,” says one campaign finance expert. And his backing of Cruz “sends the message to other donors that Cruz is a serious guy,” which in turn encourages other donors. The Times notes that Mercer's hedge fund is under investigation by the IRS, an agency that Cruz would love to abolish. A previous profile of Mercer at Bloomberg describes him as "one of the most powerful men in Republican politics that nobody is talking about."


TOPICS: New York; Campaign News; Parties
KEYWORDS: donate; donations; donors; fundraising; tedcruz
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-67 next last
To: 9YearLurker

Regarding the first article, if you want me to read propaganda worse than your own, MSNBC on ted Cruz will burn my eyes. You’ll have to do a whole lot better than that.

From the second article, which is two and a half years old, by the way:
“The senators write in the letter that although they understand the urgency and need for immigration reform, they believe the current proposal stalls progress on several issues, such as overhauling the current legal immigration system and delaying the implementation of E-Verify, the electronic employment verification system that is currently only required for companies with federal contracts.”

From the third:

‘“I very much want commonsense immigration reform to pass, but if this bill becomes law as currently written, it will not solve the problem. Instead it will make the problem of illegal immigration worse,” Sen. Cruz said. “We must work together in a bipartisan manner to fix this problem in a way that secures the border, improves legal immigration and respects rule of law so we remain a nation that welcomes and celebrates legal immigrants. I look forward to working with my colleagues on these issues and am confident my proposed amendments will effectively address the current problems with this bill.”

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/03/senator_ted_cruzs_contradictory_position_on_illegal_immigration.html#ixzz3X2Na7Oma
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook

Cruz added that several amendments that would have improved the bill, including three he filed and three filed by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, were rejected. Those proposals include measures that would have increased border security personnel and created metrics to measure border security success, and a proposal to prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving federal, state or local welfare benefits.


41 posted on 04/11/2015 2:11:37 PM PDT by stanne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Hey, as long as everyone knows you’re pro-amnesty, they can take your opinion with that well in mind.


42 posted on 04/11/2015 2:12:57 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: stanne

Yeah, he’s worked to improve bad legislation and he is against Obama’s executive amnesty. But while he’s making noise about all of that, he is for legalizing those who are already here.

He himself doesn’t advocate giving them citizenship, but that’s what they will get, their numbers will triple through chain migration and we’ll have 60 million new, Leftist Latino voters.


43 posted on 04/11/2015 2:14:43 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

I didn’t even get tempted to read the MSNBC, of course.

American Thinker was a barrage of contradictory snippets and pure propaganda.

I’ll bring it to my ninth graders for ran example of how to read through such trash.

Starting with how to pick out the truth among the rubbish quotes and examples, as the journal attempts to remain truthful while slamming a candidate.

And it is an old article too.


44 posted on 04/11/2015 2:15:27 PM PDT by stanne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: 9YearLurker

You are not budging on this.

Try moving ahead then to telling who your candidate is, who is going to deport all illegals, recognizing what an invasion we are witnessing, on getting elected, and who will get elected promising this.

Hint:

It will be someone who states things Cruz has stated, such as, the republican senate has failed to do their job protecting us from illegal immigration.

It’ll be something like that

Or:

on the Mike Gallagher show, just for instance, Cruz talks about how the NYT does his candidacy a huge favor for which he owes the paper, by stating that he is despised by Washington/Senate Elites

It’ll be someone like that


45 posted on 04/11/2015 2:23:04 PM PDT by stanne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 43 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

“You’ve never worked in a presidential campaign, have you?”

Wrong, I have worked on campaigns at several governmental levels, over many decades (including Presidential).

What do you mean by your incorrect accusation, by the way?


46 posted on 04/11/2015 2:26:11 PM PDT by truth_seeker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: stanne

As I’ve posted here previously, Cruz is the best candidate we’ve got at this point.

But I believe it behooves us to push all of the GOP presidential candidates, not just Cruz, to hold more strongly against amnesty.

The GOPe has been effective in not letting anyone into the race who is anti-illegals to a degree that would enable us to sustain a conservative majority. It would be great if someone like Gov. Fallon from Oklahoma would run, but it doesn’t appear as if she will. So we need to at the very least do the best we can to extract anti-legalization promises from the candidates running.


47 posted on 04/11/2015 2:26:48 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: txhurl

“That didn’t discourage me the way you hoped it would.”

No discouragement intended. Just a nudge to see the real, pragmatic aspect of politics.


48 posted on 04/11/2015 2:30:14 PM PDT by truth_seeker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: 9YearLurker

Yes, by all means. Let’s take a gentleman with sincere constitutional knowledge and devotion, superior debating skills, the dignity and smarts to not hotly, failingly debate with a vapid newstwit, who is raising money and understands the issues.

Oy vey! YOU are wasting our time and energy, mr lurker.

Get busy doing something productive. We have a country to save


49 posted on 04/11/2015 2:33:13 PM PDT by stanne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: stanne

For the last time, Cruz is not ‘saving the country’ if he paves the way for 60 million new low-skill, Leftist voters.


50 posted on 04/11/2015 2:38:10 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: 9YearLurker

Well that’s what MSNBC says, anyway


51 posted on 04/11/2015 3:13:30 PM PDT by stanne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: truth_seeker

Your presumption that campaigns weed out donations and only accept them from the purest-of-the-pure.


52 posted on 04/11/2015 3:52:28 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You can help: https://www.tedcruz.org/donate/)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: 9YearLurker; SoConPubbie; txhurl

Don’t act like these recent Paultard sign-ups. You’re better than that.


53 posted on 04/11/2015 3:56:26 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You can help: https://www.tedcruz.org/donate/)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: 9YearLurker
Two things...

so who is your candidate who will deport everybody as your litmus test calls for?

If you cannot name said candidate, or choose not to, please consider becoming a 10-12 year lurker...save us all the joy of this cycle's concern troll

54 posted on 04/11/2015 4:02:36 PM PDT by Axeslinger (Where has my country gone?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Last week: “He can’t win.”

This week: “Oh crap.”

To quote the American poet laureate, Cynthia Lauper, “ money changes everything.”


55 posted on 04/11/2015 4:11:12 PM PDT by St_Thomas_Aquinas ( Isaiah 22:22, Matthew 16:19, Revelation 3:7)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

I’ve been a supporter of yours over the years, 2ndD, but you’re quickly losing me here.


56 posted on 04/11/2015 4:47:39 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: Axeslinger

I wish we had a candidate who wouldn’t legalize 20 million illegals, who would then become 20 citizens, who would multiply to 60 million citizens by chain migration—all a majority Leftist-voting, low-skill, welfare dependents.

I wish such a candidate would jump in. Short of that, the best we can do is to press the candidates we have to sharpen their positions on illegal immigration in a positive way as part of the price for being competitive in the GOP primary.

You can see already that Walker and Cruz are upping their rhetoric about wanting to stem illegal immigration. So far, however, they are still deflecting away from, rather than changing, their pro-legalization/amnesty positions.

That’s understandable, in that the largest GOP donors and major lobbyists such as the Chamber of Commerce are constantly working to influence the GOP to deliver them cheap, imported labor.

But what this country very much needs them to do is to come down on the side of the voters, rather than the donors, and stand firmly against our country’s transformation into North Latin America. All we need is for them to vow to enforce our laws on the issue. Really that’s not asking too much. But the only time we have a real chance to get it is before the primaries, when they are most inclined to listen and respond to those whose votes they want.

In other aspects, Cruz and Walker are the two decent candidates we have, but we need to pit them and all the candidates against each other to come up with a winning, firm, anti-amnesty platform that they will legitimately stand on.


57 posted on 04/11/2015 4:56:22 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 54 | View Replies]

To: 9YearLurker

*20 million citizens*


58 posted on 04/11/2015 4:56:48 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 57 | View Replies]

To: 9YearLurker
There's no reason to attack Ted Cruz on something that no present day viable candidate will do. Presidents Coolidge, Reagan and Eisenhower are gone. The country has changed significantly. No one, and I mean no one except Rep. Tancredo (and he's a virtual non-entity) is going to implement a mass deportation of 40+ million individuals in front of hundreds of thousands of separate TV cameras, reporters, camera phones, bloggers and protestors. You think Ferguson was a big deal, wait for this. If facing reality makes me "pro-amnesty" then I don't know how to argue with you.
59 posted on 04/11/2015 5:04:27 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You can help: https://www.tedcruz.org/donate/)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 56 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Notice the spin the media is trying to put on this...Cruz doesn’t have any mainstream, grassroots support. The only reason why this wacky bird is a contender is because of one guy......wishful thinking. And this story was probably first floated by Republicans.


60 posted on 04/11/2015 5:05:52 PM PDT by DouglasKC
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-67 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
GOP Club
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson