Posted on 05/20/2016 6:30:35 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Sen. Ted Cruz and his most determined supporters are likely still licking their wounds and mending their broken hearts. Such a sudden end to his primary campaign for president has left marks that will heal but slowly.
Soon, though, Cruz will see that he has come through the hurricane of his first presidential campaign with his prospects enhanced, rather than retarded. We hope that knowledge gives him confidence and patience to reconsider his approach to the job he is returning to, as the junior senator from Texas. That’s the work, after all, that Texas voters singled him out for in 2012.
We’d like to recommend two courses of action as Cruz considers his immediate future, and begins to mull whether — or how soon — he’ll try again to become president.
We don’t offer these suggestions because we, too, mourn his defeat. He was not our candidate. But he is our senator, and we believe he’d gain much if he learned to be a good one. We think these suggestions will make him a stronger, more capable public servant and more attractive candidate no matter how high his ambitions soar.
First, become the second senator Texas needs. Cruz did not arrive in the Senate in 2013 with the goal of being a good senator. His goal, as his fellow Texan Sen. John Cornyn remarked recently, was to run for president, a goal he took further than nearly anyone anticipated. At 45, he may well run again someday. But for now, his focus and his efforts belong to the Senate.
Instead of using his high office as a perch and a platform, he should use it as a tool to pass good bills that help Texans and to block bad ones.
He has a model nearby. Sen. John Cornyn can be as partisan as the next senator, and often his job as deputy leader requires it. But along the way he has steadfastly worked to advance legislation — sometimes compromising and sometimes not — aimed at making life better for people who count on him to help. From criminal justice reform, to advancing the nomination of our ambassador to Mexico, to the Justice for Victims of Sex Trafficking Act, Cornyn has worked hard at being a good legislator.
Cruz should pick his own priorities and then go to work building bipartisan relationships on Capitol Hill so he can pass his own laws. Such a path will require humility. Like it or not, success as a senator will require allies.
Come 2018, he may just be able to offer Texas voters something he’s not yet been able to — a record of achievement, measured in what he has done for Texas and not just what he has done for his ambition.
Secondly, we recognize that Cruz’s ambitions will continue to stretch beyond the Senate. And we suspect he’ll continue to be voice of protest against the White House, no matter who wins November. But we urge him to broaden his appeal beyond the evangelical voters he initially promised would make him president. If he cannot, his path to the White House will never get any easier than it was in 2016. And his influence on history will remain small.
This will require profound introspection. Cruz and his allies may be tempted to see in his near-miss reasons aplenty to continue again in the same vein. But for Donald Trump, they will counsel, this path might have succeeded!
That’s a seductive falsehood. Trump did him favors this time around, clearing out all the better-known GOP rivals early on. Cruz shrewdly stayed on the sidelines, waiting for Trump to implode. That never happened, and by the time he engaged with Trump, it was too late. Trump was too strong and Cruz, having built no bridges beyond the evangelical camp, found himself stranded on his own island.
By broadening his base, and developing a track record in the senate, Cruz can grow in stature between now and the next time he runs for president. But whether he ever wins that higher office, he owes it to Texas to do a better job in the office he already holds.
In floundering, Cruz may have learned how to swim in rough seas.
Myself, I'm ready for my guy Trump to beat Hillary like a baby Harp seal.
I want video.
So 2nd, any candlelight vigils going on right now?
Ted Cruz hasn’t gone away. I hope to see him prominent in national affairs in the near future. And maybe see him groomed to take over when Donald Trump serves out his term(s).
Cruz , if he wants to be future presidential material, had better get behind Trump around June 7th or shortly after.
Now I live in PA, not Texas but if he does not do the above, this is what the rest of the country is going to remember about him:
1) when a crowd of socialists, illegal immigrants and BLM thugs shut down Trumps forum, Cruz stood on the side of the left and blamed Trump for that incident.
2) He literally could not take the heat of the campaign, melting down in a 10 minute diatribe on the last day of his active campaign. A Muskie moment, for those old enough to recall. Not good.
3) After it all he refused to take the olive branch offered. Even though he signed a pledge to get behind the parties choice. Of course he has a few weeks to do this.
If he does not endorse Trump soon (in weeks)prior to the convention, well a cynical person would say he is hoping Trump is not elected so he will have a change in 2020. Not good. It implies he think more of himself than any supposed principle. I do not know about his adopted state, but for ~85% of folks here he would be dead to us in 2020 or beyond if that comes to pass. I suspect that would be true in most of the nation, though I cannot speak for other areas.
Sorry, he will still be an ineligible Cubanadian.
> his prospects enhanced, rather than retarded.
Hahaha. Exactly backwards.
Good point.
1. Congratulate Trump for being the nominee.
2. Unify behind him against the beast.
3. Implore his followers to do likewise.
4. Campaign strenuously for the ticket.
Afterward, he can slowly repair his conservative creds by helping to accomplish the things he holds in common with Trump's platform.
If he can swallow his pride and do those things, he might even get reelected. His future will be bright, he will have learned, he could become a great man, a great senator, and more.
I think it may be best for Trump if Cruz does NOT endorse him until the convention.
As runner-up he gets a primetime speaking slot.
It would have more impact if he did it then, forcefully.
Of course he can’t be critical of Trump in the meantime.
If Ted Cruz becomes a country western song, it will be this one.
Once again, Cruz has shown what a disappointment he can be...he gets out of the presidential race and spends ONE week at his elected position as a US Senator for Texas....Then he takes off again...To Mexico...
IMO, that shows how important he thinks his Senator position is....Not very....
What now? Cruz is skipped at least one key Senate vote to lay on the beach in Mexico. What a fighter. How principled and conservative of him.
Sooner rather than later...
...I think that Ted Cruz is presidential material....
If he can just get past that “whatever it is” that no one can pin down that turned off so many people and made them not vote for him.
Hopefully, he’s taking copious notes from our guy Trump. :)
Further, even his positions are not in the best interest to America; he supports amnesty, NAFTA, and TPP. Just another lawyer who has no executive experience nor understanding of economics or finance.
And #4, no matter what anyone thinks of Trump, he was chosen against all odds with a RECORD number of votes by the PEOPLE.
Trump is not a candidate like Romney, shoved down our throats by rigging the process. Trump will be the nominee despite the shenanigans!
Cruz’ economic policies are disastrous for America.
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