Posted on 01/08/2016 12:27:17 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Senator Ted Cruz is the most interesting candidate in the US presidential race right now. As a darling of the Tea Party, in 2012, he swept into the Senate, representing Texas, having campaigned on deeply conservative principles and policies. At the time, many dismissed him as a rabble-rouser who would wind up as a less successful version of George W Bush. Now, not only is he leading in the polls in Iowa, but he has also beat out senator Marco Rubio as the dark horse of the race thus far.
Cruz has been criticised for having some of the most conservative views in the contest. Though his conservatism is rooted in a strict interpretation of the US constitution - not the modern populism that has propelled candidates like former senator Rick Santorum and former governor Mike Huckabee to call for heavy defence spending and further government interference - his extreme views on abortion and the death penalty have many questioning if he can appeal to moderate Republicans, let alone independents.
Despite these views, however, Cruz has found support in some of the most unlikely places. Alan Dershowitz, the famous liberal law professor at Harvard, said of Cruz: "One of the sharpest students I had... I've had 10,000 students over my 50 years at Harvard... he has to qualify among the brightest."
During his career, Cruz has worked as both a law clerk to Supreme Court justice William Rehnquist, as well as the solicitor general of Texas; a job which led him to argue several cases in front of the Supreme Court himself. His experience easily pegs him as the most knowledgeable candidate on state and individual rights, a helpful title to hold when vying for conservative votes.
With a few obvious exceptions - including his anti-immigration stance and support for building a wall at the Mexican border - many of Cruz's policy proposals adopt progressive conservatism, meaning they rest more on evidence than ideology. He strays from the pack when the facts are clear, evidenced just this week when, according to the Wall Street Journal, he became "the first leading presidential candidate to oppose the federal Renewable Fuel Standard" - a farming handout that is protected heavily by the agricultural lobby.
When the TV debates kicked off, many thought Rubio was the one to watch: moderate, charismatic, with both "grassroots" and "establishment" likability. But Cruz has come out far ahead in Iowa and, if the polls are to be believed, he will be determined the winner in that state's caucus in just a matter of weeks.
My bet is that Rubio still has a small edge on Cruz to secure the Republican nomination. While the Iowa caucuses play a pivotal role for under-performing candidates, for whom it is the last chance to stay in the race, its voters are very socially conservative and have failed to choose the candidate that resonates most with the rest of the party in recent years.
But this is still anyone's race, and Cruz's prospects are looking up. If he wins Iowa, the feat will deliver a crushing blow to Donald Trump and potentially trigger the billionaire's downfall. Trump's main pull is that he's a "winner" - when he's not winning anymore, his campaign will inevitably decline.
When it does, someone will reap the lost votes. Six months ago, Cruz seemed like an after-thought; today, he may be peaking at just the right moment.
This gal was interviewed...said she didn't know who she was going to vote for she just wanted to see Trump because she loved watching the Apprentice.
Now this gal was totally beside herself at meeting a celebrity...
That gif on top is from the crazy Iowa rally where he acted like he was drunk.
Jonah Goldberg just said that watching Trump is like watching a monkey run around loose in NORAD, lol.
Obama Voters, what’s popular now is what they will vote for.
Libarachi reincarnated ?
I saw a reporter today say she had covered both Trump and Cruz campaigns.
She prefers following the Cruz campaign because they don’t try to control everything she writes.
Cruz doesn’t have anything to hide and he isn’t an egomaniac.
bump
Trumps going to have to up his game ......the advantage he has is also he’s in his comfort zone of “entertaining” his supporters by repetition and buzz words and quoting what ever news story he’s read to “share”m specifically the polls. .....All this to retain his “fan” supporters will not be sufficient to obtain the ‘additional supporters’ he will need to actually win.
Obama’s actually responded to Cruz’s ad.....says he’s not out to take peoples guns! HAHA!
The choice of word language is a dead give away....
A win in Iowa is not the key, of course. However, the possibility of a Cruz win in Iowa has made Trump go a little crazy.
An ultimate egoist, Trump cannot stand the thought of anyone gaining on him anywhere, anytime. Thus, Trump’s innocent and helpful attempt to call attention to the possibility that Cruz might not be eligible.
I’m okay with Trump... I believe he stands for the right things now and may very well follow through. He would be better than Hillary or Biden for sure
I don’t trust him like I trust Cruz though.
....”Trump, has demonstrated that he fails the standard for national leadership with his loose mouth.”......
That cannot be stated enough.....and what makes him dangerous as some have stated. His great NEED for attention, no matter what he has to do or say to obtain that, will create a storm of emotions within him when if he doesn’t maintain the popularity he’s accustomed to having. ......
I understand that at his rally’s now if those coming in the doors aren’t for Trump they don’t get in at all now. That speaks volumes...especially when he said...”these are MY people here and we Love each other.”........his focus is absolutely to retain his supporters and fears they will “Abandon” him .....He also said he was “Protecting” them when in fact HE’s protecting his emotions.
All that is directly related to his personality traits....which early on some had mentioned we’d see playing out...and they are.
Cruz recently referenced these attacks would be coming hard and strong.....but we knew they would as well....
Heck even Axelrod, of all people, chimed in how delighted and fun it was to see Trump go after Cruz on the birther issue.
Trump’s carrying Hillary’s water on the birther issue....and he’ll be carrying more of the Liberal “Bait” they’re going to throw his way. ...that’s Trumps weak spot...he’s wide open for the campaigns that feed him because he doesn’t check his facts...doesn’t pay attention to his resources and he shows this without apology.
amen to that!
.....”Trump is the candidate of continued cultural degradation “.....
Yes!.....but not surprising after what we saw with Obama as well. I can’t tell you the number of people I spoke with about Obama, so many facts they didn’t know about....and even after they could not deny them they voted for him anyway!
Trump voters are also caught up in the same “wave” Trump uses.....however I will say....One of the lessons of elections past is that ‘bomb-throwing candidates’ who are fun and disruptive when they are first in the race become easily ignored when they fall behind.
I don’t know what you mean about Cruz failing the major test on abortion but I do know you... or at least I remember you.
No one could meet your standards. I’m just glad JC isn’t running... he couldn’t either.
Thanks for bringing up that ticket thing. I went on the thread with the worshippers and none of them seemed to think it was as odd as I thought it was.
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.