Ted Cruz ventures into the lamestream media

Washington Post ^ | March 17, 2015 at 4:14 PM | Hunter Schwarz

[SoConPubbie]

Sen. Ted Cruz has been in New York City this week, sitting down for interviews with outlets that aren't Fox News or conservative talk radio -- the "lamestream media," if you will. It's a circuit that is increasingly less-traveled by conservative favorites like the Texas Republican.

Between his appearances on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" on Monday and "Morning Joe" on Tuesday, he did pretty well. He covered a lot of ground, including same-sex marriage (let the states decide), the 47 Senate Republicans' Iran letter (he'd sign it again), global warming (bogus), taxes (flat tax is the way to go), Obamacare (fighting it was good even though Republicans never ended up repealing it, and it helped them win the Senate).

There was a mix of pro- and anti-Cruz applause on "Late Night," but it was noticeably louder when Meyers zinged him over global warming and repealing Obamacare. And on "Morning Joe," Mika Brzezinski was quite critical of the Iran letter.

It's a preview of what's to come for Cruz. As a potentially potent GOP tea party candidate in 2016, he would be a focal point of the campaign, and his willingness to engage with less-conservative outlets could set him apart from other Republicans. (Think: Mike Huckabee on "The Daily Show.")

Cruz showed he can tailor his message to such audiences. Case in point: his take on income inequality. The issue, a favorite of Democrats, is shaping up to be one of the top in 2016, but Republicans are trying to make their own pitch.

"I've said a lot of times I think the biggest lie in politics is that Republicans are the party of the rich," Cruz said on "Morning Joe." "The truth of the matter is the rich, big business does great with big government. It gets in bed with big government."

Rather than focus on minimum wage and the gender pay gap, Cruz talked

[SoConPubbie]

	"If we must have an enemy at the head of Government, let it be one whom we can oppose, and for whom we are not responsible, who will not involve our party in the disgrace of his foolish and bad measures." - Alexander Hamilton "We don't intend to turn the Republican Party over to the traitors in the battle just ended. We will have no more of those candidates who are pledged to the same goals as our opposition and who seek our support. Turning the Party over to the so-called moderates wouldn’t make any sense at all." -- President Ronald Reagan "A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." - Thomas Paine 1792 "It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." - Samuel Adams "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams

[SoConPubbie]

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[trisham]

I thought that he did great on Seth’s show.

[Nifster]

I stand with Ted

[buckeye49]

He was awesome. They were eating out of his hand at the end

[RitaOK]

I thought it was his best performance!

Joe kept him moving because of the time constraints and that really helped hold him to his fine points, no wondering off into anecdotal experiences, and it made him even better— made him look so ready for the job.

[Slyfox]

Ted Cruz is an expert debater. I can’t wait for him to exercise his pipes.

[CyberAnt]

Well, I heard a video of MorningJoe, and quite frankly, the WP was more than a little wrong about the applause. And, Cruz took Mika apart; I was stunned at how ignorant she was of the Constitution. She kept saying Obama can do what he wants. It was really funny.

However, I will say, Cruz was so polite and a perfect gentleman. He never raised his voice; he just calmly explained the Constitution to her. It left her speechless.

[DallasGal]

Seth is such a twit. As much as I like Ted, I wouldn’t have been able to watch him.