Posted on 03/27/2015 7:19:49 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
This might surprise you, but it appears that key GOP activists and influential party members do not see Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as having much of a shot at becoming the partys 2016 nominee. Now, anyone looking at the early state polls at this stage of the race might say the same thing. Cruz is not polling competitively in Iowa as of today, and hes certainly not over-performing in New Hampshire. But these insiders who responded to a Politico Caucus survey dont think Cruz can win either primary state. Whats more, they do not believe he can prevail against Hillary Clinton if he were to miraculously win the nomination.
The quotes provide to Politico via unnamed but reportedly influential figures within the party are illuminating, and they reflect a conventional wisdom about Cruz that appears accurate: He is a deeply polarizing figure, even among Republicans.
The shutdown made him infamous to most and loved by a vocal few, said a New Hampshire Republican.
His supporters see his fight as a badge of honor, said an Iowa Republican. Undecided caucus-goers will likely see his shutdown strategy as a major blunder.
His fighter mentality will play well with conservative activists and those who listen to talk radio, said an Iowa Republican, but its not like he has scored any real accomplishment on rolling back the Affordable Care Act.Ted Cruz has a legislative record that has no positive accomplishments, said another. He will be in a field with many people that can point to positive accomplishments, either as governors or senators.
He is the reason Democrats can call Republicans the Party of No, said a third Republican.
Sometimes, the conventional wisdom isnt wrong, and Cruzs approach to legislating since he took a seat in the Senate 26 months ago has been confrontational, self-aggrandizing, and alienating to adversaries and allies alike. Just because Cruz is a polarizing figure who fails to appeal to Republicans outside the most deeply conservative elements of the GOP coalition, however, does not mean that this talented orator and capable operator cannot outperform expectations.
In the commentary community, the race for the GOP nomination in 2016 has increasingly come to be characterized by lanes; a moderate lane, a tea party lane, an evangelical lane, a libertarian lane, et cetera. Rarely do these lanes merge. At least, not until the early state primaries are out of the way. For The Washington Posts Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake, Cruz is better positioned than anyone in the field of Republican candidates to dominate multiple lanes.
So, Cruz is, without question, the dominant figure in the Tea Party lane. What that means particularly in the early stages of the primary process in places like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina is that he will likely be able to win, place or show repeatedly, wracking up enough strong-ish performances to keep going even as the Establishment lane and the Social Conservative lane begin to thin out. (Cruz’s ability to raise money, which remains a question, is less important for him than it is for other candidates especially those in the Establishment lane. His people are going to be for him no matter how much or little communicating he does with them.)
And, according to The New York Times, Cruzs strategy is to stay in his tea party lane, so to speak, while building inroads with the social conservative community. He reckons that this is the cycle that the Republican Partys moderate wing, crowded as it is with capable 2016 prospects, will fail to unite behind one candidate in time to muscle the more conservative Republican out of the race.
Mr. Cruzs early entry into the race, according to people briefed on his strategy, is a deliberate effort to recapture the attention of his partys right wing as he seeks to build a coalition of Tea Party conservatives and evangelical Christians to try to cut through a crowded field of Republican contenders.
Does Cruz have the ability to prove all those voices who doubt his staying power wrong? That remains to be seen. The junior Texas senator has his own crowded field of conservative and evangelical candidates to best before he can make the case to the GOP electorate to take a chance on a firebrand in 2016. If the commentary class is right and the GOP insiders are wrong, however, Cruz could be in this race well into the spring of next year, if not longer.
Unnamed sources, huh? Stuff it, whoever this jagoff is!
You should not post your negative BS on sites about Walker if you can’t take criticism about Cruz.
THAT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, is exactly why we have a president Obama...so called Republicans who, if their favorite candidate is not the nominee, will sit on their dead a## and whine that the establishment failed them.
No one in their right mind would say that either McCain of Romney would not have been a better president than the Nairobi village idiot.
Some stayed home because Romney was a Morman (you know how those are)..or because he was not their anointed choice...well, how did that work out for you?????????
These are the same people who thought Dole, McCain and Romney were sure things
No Bush, Shrub or weed or whatever he is!
Wow, way to give up, and only 2 years left...PATHETIC!!
Damn that is tough as I do not like him. I honesty saw Walker as the one man to knock Bush out. In fact, I have not given the GOP any funds in 2015 as I have asked a certain person named Priebus to explain whether my membership dues and other contributions would go to Bush in any portion? I have received NO reply.
Romney is a filthy lying leftist, McCain was insane. I would never vote for idiots like those.
We have a President Obama because the GOP nominates sure Losers on purpose.
Who’s giving up? I’m behind the winning team...team Cruz. You’re pathetic, not me.
And the Air Force caught many cheating on the Tests.
“With an approach like that we’ll never beat the Democrats.”
BINGO!
I can say without a doubt that I will not vote for Jeb no matter what and I believe there are many many others that feel the same. If he gets nominated he will lose and we’ll have another 4-8 years of destruction. If by some chance he managed to win we would still be in for another 4-8 years of destruction.
Cruz is my first pick and Walker was my second but I am questioning that now due to a few different things.
The bottom line for me is amnesty and illegal immigration. I work and live in an area with a huge Hispanic population. The folks that came here legally and followed the rules are typically upstanding contributors to the community. Those here illegally or those that were anchored in by illegals are a completely different breed. Welfare leeches, gang bangers, thieves, rapists, child molesters, etc.. We need control of this crap and we needed it years ago otherwise this country is doomed. There isnt much time and the clock is ticking.
GOP insiders are the reason we are in the position, as a country, that we are in at this moment. Additionally, the GOP insiders are the reason we also have two incompetent idiots who are the leaders (Boehner and McConnell).
Those who do not vote have no business complaining.
Cruz embarrasses them, and rightly so. GOP insiders are elitist pigs at heart. More equal than others. They care not about you or me, our liberty, our rights, our lives. We’re peanut shells on the floor to them.
Actually, when the only choice given is to vote for further destruction then we have every right to complain. It’s like being asked if you’d like the bullet to the stomach or the head. Sure, the stomach will take longer to die but the end result is the same.
So, which will it be for you? The stomach or the head?
Romney is a filthy lying leftist, McCain was insane. I would never vote for idiots like those.
We have a President Obama because the GOP nominates sure Losers on purpose.
Or we have folks who are very confused as Romney is nothing like Obama. Hell, even Carter was better then the SCUM in office.
According to his Glenn Beck interview this week it was 2%
Are these the same ‘GOP Insiders’ who thought Romney, Dole, and McCain COULD win?
Just wondering...
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