Posted on 11/21/2015 12:42:02 PM PST by VinL
Ted Cruz gets no respect.
At least no respect in keeping with the impressiveness of the campaign he's built and his increasing odds of winning the Republican nomination.
The press and the political class are beginning to catch on to Cruz's strength, and there has been more talk of a prospective Cruz-Marco Rubio race, but his coverage and his buzz have been lagging indicators.. and they are still lagging.
After the GOP debate in Milwaukee, a Politico survey of Republican insiders had as many respondents saying Cruz won (6 percent) as Ben Carson and John Kasich (6 percent each). This is extraordinary.
Cruz tends to be an afterthought in the Sunday show chatter and on TV generally.
The Atlantic tracks candidate mentions on cable TV. In the past 100 days, Cruz ranks ninth among all candidates from both parties, well behind Chris Christie and just above Kasich, both of whom are throwing Hail Marys for the nomination.
A Washington Post analysis looked at the cable TV coverage devoted to each candidate compared with his or her position in the polls. It found that Cruz got 60 percent less coverage than you’d expect from July through October.
Donald Trump, as you might expect, gets more coverage than warranted by his polling. So does Jeb Bush. It's as though the media haven't been able to adjust coverage of the former Florida governor to account for his diminished stature in the race.
The indications of the strength of Cruz's operation and the shrewdness of his positioning are mounting.
He had more cash on hand at the end of the third quarter than any other Republican. He has major super PAC backing.
He assessed the anti-establishment mood in the party more accurately than any of the other traditional candidates.
He reacted to the rise of Trump very deftly for his purposes. He has seen a couple of key potential competitors, Scott Walker and Rand Paul, hit a wall or badly underperform.
He has a discernible ideological and geographic base.
He has, relatedly, a path to the nomination that is simple and intuitive (win Iowa, consolidate the right and beat an establishment that might be too fractured and unpopular to prevail).
He lights up pretty much every conservative audience he addresses. He is an excellent debater, and he doesn’t make tactical or rhetorical mistakes.
And yet he doesn’t really get his due. Why?
The political press corps made up its mind about him — too divisive — as soon as he showed up in Washington and has never gotten over its dismissiveness about his campaign.
The appeal of Cruz’s conservative populism is lost on most reporters and political insiders, who have a natural reflex to roll their eyes at the message and the messenger.
Cruz is not as interesting as Trump and Carson, and he doesn’t feature in any personal drama like the Bush-Rubio mentor-mentee showdown.
Finally, he is graded on a bit of a curve. He routinely performs so well at Republican cattle calls that his standing ovations tend to get discounted.
Cruz is hardly a cinch. Trump and Carson are significant obstacles in Iowa. His theory that he will inherit Trump and Carson’s support if the outsiders deflate is too simplistic. So is his schematic of the race as coming down to two candidates, one representing conservatives (him) and someone representing moderates.
Nonetheless, it should be obvious that Cruz is a serious threat for the nomination.
Be warned, and get over it.
Please overlook Cruzs delusions....he needs help....
he's intoxicated by the fumes of Donald's private jet.
Are you a Trump supporter?
Not exactly. It's very revealing what some, out of desperation or whatever, will stoop to in effort convince others X candidate is a "Front-runner" when they're far from it.
So it does have some entertainment value and provides some insight into the world of desperate thinking.
The sad part is, the "stooping" is just poking holes in the delusions of Freepers who have been fooled by Cruz's deceptive use of language before conservative audiences, then very different claims to the MSM.
Actually it simply alienates voters that you need. It can also incite flame wars that FR doesn’t need. It’s also childish but if you’re bored, carry on.
Yes, we should all elect our next President based on the fact that they may have a private plane. Heck, let’s just elect John Travolta He has a private plane.
And you think being a pita will change anyone’s mind? It doesn’t. Hubris is never pretty.
From Lowery, head anti-Trump pimp in Benson/Goldberg/Geraghty cabal.
He absolutely doesn’t mean any of it, if you followed his previous sniping at Cruz, but now Cruz is the last straw they have to derail Trump until they can revive their boy Rubio.
“Yet Ted rolls on...things are getting interesting!”
See the five day rolling Reuters poll? He’s not even in double digits. He’s just above Jeb.
Yes, he’s conservative. Yes, he’s Christian. Yes, he’s very bright. Yes, the sun rises and sets over him. But he does not have broad appeal outside of FR. In order to win the GENERAL election, not the Iowa caucus, he has to connect and appeal to wide swath of voters, some not conservative, some not overly religious, but all dam* worried about where we’re headed as a country. Trump had 10,000 people last week at an event in Massachusetts....he had “tens of thousands” at an event today. He’s appealing to a much broader audience with a Put America First message. He’s the first one to hit on illegal immigration...trade....now on to 2nd Amendment and keep unvetted refugees out. He’s steps ahead of the media, his detractors and the other candidates. What’s Cruz’s message? How is it different or better than Trump?
Trump is leading the next closest challenger now by 10 points nationally (I know, there are some state polls that show a variety of ratings, but the vast majority are all trending Trump big)...and unless Trump absolutely goes off the rails.this is Trump’s to lose. Cruz would be an outstanding 2nd term Senator, VP (maybe), AG in a Trump admin, or on the SCOTUS.
Rich Lowery, Guy Benson, Jim Geraghty, Jona Goldberg, and Charles Cooke would not allow Cruz anywhere near the White House if they have their way. But before they cut Cruz off at the knees, they have to eliminate the real threat, and, yes, the real front-runner, Trump.
LOL
(Cute little kid!)
Yup! She is! LOL
If you can deal with flame wars and heated arguments, I’d say you’re in the wrong place. Maybe come back after the election over.
Anyway, I’m now bored of the Cruz “Front-runner” thread.
Cheers...
Er... “can’t”
You have a good night! :-)
TPA was good for us, TPP is bad yet wouldn’t have one without the other. I don’t buy he was misled, he’s too damn smart for that.
I hope I’m wrong but I see him going after Trump soon. Hope not or he will come off my short list, period.
I knew what you meant. No problem.
That goes to show you how shallow some Trump supporters are.
They probably drool in awe over his gold bathroom fixtures, too, not understanding they're the upscale version of velvet Elvis paintings.
Palin (who I love) and Bernie Sanders (who I don’t like), have had huge crowds come to see them. This is not a barometer as to who can win an election, especially this far out in the election cycle. Yes, McCain, did no favors to himself, but, as you recall, Palin’s rally’s were right before the end. My point being, big crowds don’t necessarily mean ballot box results.
Dang,I didn’t know there was an upscale version of a velvet Elvis,do it still work wit my black lite?
My current Elvis gotten a little smooth,and you know some fuzz balls,here and abouts.
Can you be sending me a link,where I could be a purchasing this new Elvis?
Thanks
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