Posted on 08/21/2013 9:09:21 AM PDT by SoConPubbie
He may be a right-wing nut, but the Texas senator can beat a Democrat in a general election. Here's why
There’s been some more buzz this week about Ted Cruz’s presidential prospects. The demagoguing senator took his first trip to Iowa just six months after being sworn in to office, and he’s pretty clearly reaching for the White House. Early reports are that it’s going well. And Rich Yeselson wrote a high-profile (and fascinating) essay arguing that, basically, Cruz is perfectly positioned for reaching the top of the Republican ticket.
The focus of this piece is on Cruz’s general election viability. When it comes to the primary, I’m not going to start handicapping the viable candidates seeking the Republican nomination yet; I’ll only say that I don’t see any reason not to include Cruz in that group, as of now. Viable candidates have conventional credentials and are in the mainstream of their party on questions of public policy. Cruz, from what we know now, qualifies. With four years in elected office by January 2017, he’ll be in a similar boat with Barack Obama (who, granted, had held lower office as well) and Mitt Romney (who at least had four full years before his campaign began). And while Cruz surely is planted at an edge of the Republican mainstream, I don’t see any reason, so far, to believe he’s close to falling off that edge. Whether or not Yeselson is correct that Cruz is a particularly strong candidate, it’s certainly very possible to see him nominated.
But what about the general election? Could he actually win?
What I hear from many liberals about Cruz’s chances are two things. One is just disbelief: Republicans wouldn’t really do something like nominate Cruz, would they? The key is that Ted Cruz isn’t Herman Cain or even Michele Bachmann; he’s a United States senator, and that counts for something (that is, conventional credentials count for something) in presidential elections. So, yes, they really could do something like that.
The other thing I hear, however, is perhaps even more wrong. Some liberals react by actively rooting for Cruz. The theory? The nuttier the nominee, the worse the chances of Republicans retaking the White House. Indeed, in conversation I’ve heard all sorts of justifications: Cruz couldn’t possibly win Florida! Therefore, he couldn’t win the White House!
Don’t listen to it.
“Please provide the relevant section of the US Constitution that proves your point?”
Wow, thanks for illustrating your profound ignorance of our Constitution!
FYI: Article Two, Section One of the COTUS:
>>No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.<<
Yes, I’ll get right on that for you, SoCon.
As soon as you provide proof of your relevance to anything whatsoever in the life of an average working stiff like me.
Barring that, stuff a sock in it, hey?
“So, if he didn’t hide his Canadian birth certificate, what does that say about him?”
It does say he’s honest but it also says to me that I don’t want him as President. All of his other qualifications are fine and exemplary, but I do NOT want to open the door to foreign-born politicians becoming our President.
If it’s acceptable to let someone be President who spent the first four years of his life in Canada then why not have a President who spent the first 20,30, or 40 years of his life in Russia, China, or Saudi Arabia?
Sorry, but Cruz cannot get my vote and that’s not because I’ll support Hillary it’s because she absolutely will sue to kick him off the ballot if he’s nominated.
Just the same as a Republican would do if they could prove the Democrat was born in Canada.
Dude, my apologies.
I thought you were teeing off on me on behalf of MeganC.
I saw your response on the ping list and didn’t bother going back to reread the entire thread.
My fault, I’m sorry for the sharp words.
Wow, thanks for illustrating your profound ignorance of our Constitution!
FYI: Article Two, Section One of the COTUS:
>>No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.<<
No problems.
Regarding lawsuits on this topic, there is an inexhaustible number where every court into which such suits have been offered, they have eventually been tossed for lack of standing. “Who” has standing to sue has not been determined.
Either Ted Cruz or Rand Paul could beat Hillary Clinton or Chris Christie. If either Cruz or Paul is not nominated as the GOP candidate, then I hope he runs as a third-party candidate, and I really believe the country is ripe for the election of a real conservative even if only with a 34 percent plurality.
Not only that, this kind of lawsuit would be a PR disaster for the Democrats, especially if Cruz won the election. I do not see anyone suing over this except maybe some crazy ring-wing nuts. ;-)
Cruz us eligible and if he runs, he has my vote. Don’t really care were he spent his life as a baby.
Obama was the first “black” president
Rafael Edward Cruz would be first Hispanic President
Obama was a Senator for less than 2 years.
Cruz will have been a senator for 4 years.
Obama held office in the Illinois legislature.
Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas.
Cruz was an honors graduate of Princeton University.
Obama has never released a transcript.
Cruz was a law clerk for chief justice William Rehnquist.
Obama never put his law degree to work.
Obama was the editor of the Harvard Law Review and never penned an article.
Cruz attended Harvard Law School, graduating magna cum laude in 1995.[27][1] While at Harvard Law, Cruz was a primary editor of the Harvard Law Review, and executive editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, and a founding editor of the Harvard Latino Law Review.[4] Referring to Cruz’s time as a student at Harvard Law, Professor Alan Dershowitz said, “Cruz was off-the-charts brilliant.”[19][28][29][30][31][32] At Harvard Law, Cruz was a John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics.[33]
Well if you put it that way, I am gonna vote for Cruz!
This was part of Bayard's discussion of qualifications to be President and Presidential eligibility.
Bayard's exposition of the Constitution was read and approved by the Great Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Marshall, by the legendary Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, and by the famous Chancellor James Kent, as well as other legal experts of the early United States.
Look, I don’t really care to parse this with you. Obviously any answer I give you will be up for grabs because Ted Cruz is your guy. Great.
Nominate Ted and lose the election. Have fun with that.
I’m holding out hope that Palin will run.
“Obama never put his law degree to work.”
Sure he did. I hear he used it to cover a hole in the wall in his home office.
We currently have a Kenyan citizen sitting in the Whitehut. Dual Canadian-US citizenship doesn’t sound so bad. :-)
To the left, any republican could win the Nobel prize in medicine for finding a cure for cancer, and be forevermore referred to as nutty. It has to be in the Salon rule book, if they have one.
Ted Cruz 2016 !!!
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.