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Conservative legend Thomas Sowell turns on Ted Cruz
The Daily Caller ^ | 2-19-2014 | Jamie Weinstein

Posted on 02/19/2014 4:18:55 PM PST by servo1969

A leading tea party intellectual has turned against the tea party movement’s favorite senator.

Economist Thomas Sowell, who has long been revered among conservatives, has slammed Sen. Ted Cruz in his last two columns, accusing the Texas Republican of being self-serving and comparing him to President Obama.

“Freshman Senator Ted Cruz says many things that need to be said and says them well,” Sowell wrote in his syndicated column Tuesday, before going on to compare Cruz to President Obama. “Moreover, some of these things are what many, if not most, Americans believe wholeheartedly. Yet we need to remember that the same was true of another freshman Senator, just a relatively few years ago, who parlayed his ability to say things that resonated with the voters into two terms in the White House.”

Sowell continued, suggesting Cruz is only looking out for himself.

“Senator Ted Cruz has not yet reached the point where he can make policy, rather than just make political trouble,” Sowell wrote. “But there are already disquieting signs that he is looking out for Ted Cruz — even if that sets back the causes he claims to be serving.”

Sowell seems to have been most recently irked by Cruz’s actions surrounding the Senate vote to increase the debt ceiling. Cruz threatened to filibuster, forcing several Republicans to either vote for cloture or force a fight over the debt ceiling increase. Republican leaders were seeking to avoid such a politically-risky fight and another possible government shutdown in order to focus on the failures of Obamacare heading in to the 2014 midterm elections.

“Senator Cruz’s filibuster last year got the Republicans blamed for shutting down the government — and his threatened filibuster this year forced several Republican Senators to jeopardize their own reelection prospects by voting to impose cloture, to prevent Cruz from repeating his self-serving grandstand play of last year,” Sowell wrote in his Wednesday column. “The Republicans need every vote they can get in the Senate — plus additional votes by defeating some Democrats who are running for the Senate this fall. It can be a very close call. Jeopardizing the reelection of current Republican Senators is an act of utter irresponsibility, a high risk with zero benefits to anyone except Ted Cruz — and the Democrats.”

In his Wednesday column, Sowell also lashed out against the so-called Republican establishment.

“However unjustified Senator Cruz’s actions, the very fact that a freshman Senator can so quickly gain so many supporters, with so much enthusiasm, ought to be a loud warning to the Republican establishment that they have long been a huge disappointment to a wide range of Republican voters and supporters,” he wrote.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; News/Current Events; Philosophy; Politics/Elections; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: cruz; obama; sowell; teaparty; tedcruz; texas; thomassowell
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To: servo1969; All

Sowell’s “problem” can be found in this early quote from his article:

” - - - At this crucial juncture in the history of America, internal battles within the only party that can turn things around are the last thing Americans need. - - - . “

The fact that Sowell placed this statement early in his article reveals that this is one of his key assumptions that he will build on in the rest of his article.

Sowell thus comes across as one who will not support change, no matter how important that change is to the survival of our Republic.

Sowell is a Loyalist, a supporter of the Status Quo, and a great, great anchor to the obsolete RINO Wing of the Republican Party.

To Sowell and the other RINO intellectuals I say: “BRING IT !”


81 posted on 02/19/2014 6:09:10 PM PST by Graewoulf (Democrats' Obamacare Socialist Health Insur. Tax violates U.S. Constitution AND Anti-Trust Law.)
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To: Graewoulf

Sowell has written a lot of great articles pointing out the problems we face, but he now disses the ONLY guy in Congress who wants to do something about it?


82 posted on 02/19/2014 6:11:02 PM PST by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans!)
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To: servo1969

Sent this letter

I’ve always loved reading your work, but you lost me. Answer one question? Tell me how you would stop obama from getting us further and further into debt. When is enough that we do something? $25 trillion? $30? Are we to just give him whatever he wants? The problem is that the rinos won’t confront obama on anything. If they don’t have the courage to hold people accountable ( increasing the debt, IRS scandal, Bengazi, illegally making and changing laws....) then they need to step down and let brave patriots do their jobs. Like you, I have grandchildren who will be slaves of the government trying to pay this off. Don’t you care what you are leaving your grandkids, all children?

Here’s his email address:

schmooze@jewishworldreview.com


83 posted on 02/19/2014 6:14:26 PM PST by Linda Frances (Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.)
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To: McGavin999

I wasn’t talking about Sowell. Read my comments again.


84 posted on 02/19/2014 6:15:52 PM PST by Responsibility2nd (NO LIBS. This Means Liberals and (L)libertarians! Same Thing. NO LIBS!!)
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To: latina4dubya

I agree with you. Watch out for the purity police.


85 posted on 02/19/2014 6:17:17 PM PST by Sivad (NorCal red turf)
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To: servo1969

Well, everybody whiffs once in a while. Nice try, Doc.


86 posted on 02/19/2014 6:20:02 PM PST by Sans-Culotte (Psalm 14:1 ~ The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”)
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To: latina4dubya

When the “differing opinion” helps the liberals, then one may as well be Pelosi in deed as well as in word.


87 posted on 02/19/2014 6:24:54 PM PST by Olog-hai
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To: Sivad

The Dems are all about their ideology being pure. The GOP-e being weak in the face of their resolve is what gets them beaten. Ever heard the saying “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything”?

If the Founding Fathers of this country were ideologically impure (to continue to abuse the idiom), then there would have been no USA.


88 posted on 02/19/2014 6:26:55 PM PST by Olog-hai
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To: GeronL

Sowell is uncomfortable with the idea that Republicans are capable of actually winning, ANYTHING.

Sowell is a dyed in the wool RINO Loyalist whose entire political philosophy is based on the predictable sadness from his precious RINOs losing every time.

To convince Sowell that the RINOs are obsolete, and must become extinct in order for the Republican Party to succeed, is a paradigm shift that RINO intellectuals such as Sowell are incapable of making.

If Sowell does come around, I will be pleasantly, very, very surprised.

The usual case is that Sowell will become defensive, much the way RINO Rep. Peter KIng of NY reacted: lots of “staged rage,” but no admission of complicity with the enemy.


89 posted on 02/19/2014 6:28:31 PM PST by Graewoulf (Democrats' Obamacare Socialist Health Insur. Tax violates U.S. Constitution AND Anti-Trust Law.)
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To: Graewoulf

Ted Cruz is the only one up there acting like a member of the opposition.

They should all be doing that


90 posted on 02/19/2014 6:29:49 PM PST by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans!)
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To: GeronL

Not so.

Senators Lee from Utah and sometimes Rand Paul from Kentucky defend our Constitution.

The field is small,
If Truth be told,
Nary a RINO
Would be so bold.

But support we must,
Those whom we trust,
‘Cause supporting RINOs
Is always a bust!


91 posted on 02/19/2014 6:35:07 PM PST by Graewoulf (Democrats' Obamacare Socialist Health Insur. Tax violates U.S. Constitution AND Anti-Trust Law.)
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To: lewislynn

He may be the one decent guy from Harvard Law.
His wife may be the one decent lady exec at the Vampire Squid.

I’m sure as time goes by we’ll learn more.

At this point I’d be pretty inclined to vote for a GED WalMart guy over all the Ivy League “talent” that has wrecked our country: Roosevelt, Kennedy, Clintons, Bush, Obamas, etc.


92 posted on 02/19/2014 6:41:35 PM PST by nascarnation (I'm hiring Jack Palladino to investigate Baraq's golf scores.)
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To: uncitizen

Well said!!


93 posted on 02/19/2014 6:48:43 PM PST by M-cubed
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To: Responsibility2nd

You are right, I apologize, you were talking about the writer of the article and not Sowell.


94 posted on 02/19/2014 6:55:35 PM PST by McGavin999
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To: Olog-hai

The Founding Fathers were clear and unified on many things
that they did not want. But they were certainty not unified on
every detail on how they were going to get to where they wanted
to go. People gave and took. But don’t mistake that for a willingness
on my part to negotiate with liberals. We have already given too
much. I am talking about working together within the conservative
tent. People like Sowell should be able to voice an opinion w/out
others demanding his conservative card be yanked.


95 posted on 02/19/2014 6:56:27 PM PST by Sivad (NorCal red turf)
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To: lewislynn
they might even drive Volvos.

Now that's downright scary. Chinese cars...he's definitely toast.

96 posted on 02/19/2014 6:57:29 PM PST by nascarnation (I'm hiring Jack Palladino to investigate Baraq's golf scores.)
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To: Sivad

Others should be able to voice their opinions on Sowell’s opinions too. That is part of the freedoms we have in this country


97 posted on 02/19/2014 6:59:55 PM PST by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans!)
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To: House Atreides
I wonder how many of you geniuses actually read the column Sowell wrote. Well, here it is. This is Dr. Thomas freaking Sowell we're talking about here - a better conservative thinker than any 10 of you (or us) put together. Anyone calling him a RINO is either an idiot or a troll.
98 posted on 02/19/2014 7:00:42 PM PST by fr_freak
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To: Sivad

The GOP establishment have abandoned the “conservative tent” by their actions; all I see them do is negotiate with liberals and then go along with them wholeheartedly. Is there really any excuse at all for Boehner’s recent “clean debt ceiling” debacle?

Also, don’t mischaracterize the Founding Fathers. They united around the right things—independence for the USA, a constitution for a moral and religious people, a republican form of government chief among them. And they did not compromise.


99 posted on 02/19/2014 7:01:02 PM PST by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai

A Compromise is an agreement where everybody loses.


100 posted on 02/19/2014 7:03:35 PM PST by Graewoulf (Democrats' Obamacare Socialist Health Insur. Tax violates U.S. Constitution AND Anti-Trust Law.)
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