Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Cruz: You Realize Democrats Are 'Very Eager' to Run Against Trump, Right?
Townhall.com ^ | January 13, 2016 | Guy Benson

Posted on 01/13/2016 8:10:07 AM PST by Kaslin

Of course they are. I've spoken to some of them. They're mostly keeping their powder dry for the moment, but they're so ecstatic over the Trump phenomenon that they're practically prepared to don "Make America Great Again!" hats throughout primary season.  For what it's worth, they also say they see Cruz as another easy demonization mark ("extreme" conservative, "Senator Shutdown," etc.), but they seem less smug about that assessment as Hillary stumbles and polls like this become the norm.  Why the Trump "enthusiasm" among professional Democrats? Because they know that a match-up against Trump would virtually guarantee that their team retains the White House, even with a wheezing corrupt liar as their standard-bearer. Trump's fundamentals are atrocious among the broader electorate; his loose canon schtick obviously doesn't wear well with most voters -- who'd be...highly susceptible to the tsunami of negativity Democrats' billion-dollar attack machine would unleash against him if he's nominated.  Trump is an opposition researcher's dream come true. The teflon effect goes down the tubes in a general election setting. The good news for the celebrity billionaire is that he enjoys universal name recognition. The bad news is that his political brand is horrifically bad, especially among moderate, female, young, and Hispanic voters, among whom Republicans must improve in order to win. Plus, one can't help but wonder if some Democrats may privately be pondering whether Trump will resort back to embracing the liberalism he's espoused for most of his adult life just as soon as leading certain voters around by the nose is no longer in his immediate interests.  All of this is obvious to conservatives who've consistently opposed Trump's candidacy.  What's newsworthy is that Ted Cruz is now advancing this line of argument:

.@tedcruz also suggested Democrats are "very eager" to support Trump because they want to run against him in the general election.— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) January 12, 2016


What seems to have finally -- finally! -- forced the Cruz to abandon the "we're besties!" routine is Trump's relentless, intentional amplification of the birtherism narrative, the premise of which is that the Texas Senator is ineligible for the presidency because he was born in Canada.  For reasons that we have outlined over and over and over again, this is incorrect.  Based on a commonsense reading of the constitution (US citizens who've never been naturalized are by definition natural born) and explicit federal law, Cruz can be president.  This should be a non-issue, tortured re-definitions of what "naturalization" means notwithstanding.  Trump pretends he's merely asking questions for Cruz's own good, and says that he'd "hate" to see this become a problem for Cruz.  Hey, people are talking about it, Trump shrugs with a twinkle in his eye, before warning that the controversy could lead to lawsuits and uncertainty.  And by "people" he means "Donald Trump" --  in tweets, on television, and in speeches.  Behold, a charming vignette from a recent Trump rally in Nevada:

Ted Cruz has a real cloud hanging over his head," Trump said. "So the question is: Is Ted Cruz, is he a natural-born citizen?" The crowd again shouted, "No!" "I just heard this: He was a citizen of Canada for a long time," Trump said, referring to Cruz having citizenship in the United States and Canada until recently. "He was a citizen of the United States, I believe, and Canada simultaneously. How do you, how -- what's going on here? So, he's got to straighten these things out." Trump questioned why Cruz didn't revoke his Canadian citizenship years ago, especially when he became a U.S. senator. "Does he get a pass from that?" Trump asked. The crowd again answered, "No!"

But he'd surely hate for any of this to damage his dear, dear friend, you must understand.  Cruz is punching back harder than usual because there's some evidence that this story is hurting him, among his own voters, and among the Trump base he hopes to inherit if and when the real estate mogul fades. Today's new Des Moines Register poll indicates this is less of a potent issue than PPP does, but Cruz's standing has eroded by seven points since the last survey. Yesterday afternoon, Cruz lobbed initial salvos at Trump on this, including floating the idea that Democrats would love to face Trump in the general (message: he'll lose to Hillary), and hitting Trump for citing a liberal law professor to advance this storyline (message: Trump's a say-anything non-conservative).  Then there were the additional indications that a high-octane Trump/Cruz "cage match" the latter candidate has long attempted to avoid might be coming soon, via RealClearPolitics:

Although Ted Cruz has insisted he will not personally attack Donald Trump as the race for the Republican nomination heats up, supporters of the Texas senator appear to be weighing how best to target Trump in Iowa, where Cruz holds a narrow lead. A message-testing phone call in Iowa on Monday floated seven distinct lines of attack against the national frontrunner, asking whether each one would make the listener more or less likely to support him.

Among the criticisms tested were messages about Trump's past support for abortion and single-payer healthcare (which he still defends), as well as a line "[depicting] Trump as 'a New York liberal pretending to have conservative values.'" RCP couldn't confirm for sure that these calls were sponsored by Team Cruz, despite several context clues. Well, how's this for confirmation?

Ted Cruz Says Trump “Embodies New York Values” https://t.co/nz3oVjj3yX— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) January 12, 2016

In NH @tedcruz takes direct shot at #Trump.Warns voters-be weary of any "NY billionaire" or "influence peddler" tied to Clinton @ABCPolitics— Tom Llamas (@TomLlamasABC) January 13, 2016

Welcome to the fight against Trump, Cruz supporters https://t.co/hnnqjwoO29— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) January 12, 2016


Oh, it's on. And Thursday's Fox Business Network debate in South Carolina could be rather memorable indeed.  I'll leave you with this Iowa anecdote that may warm the hearts of anti-Trump Republicans everywhere -- presented with the requisite caveat that rival campaigns underestimate The Donald at their peril:

At Trump event in Cedar Falls; Trump staffer asked crowd how many had definitely decided to caucus for Trump. Only about 5% of hands go up.— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) January 12, 2016


UPDATE - This escalated quickly, via last night's Hugh Hewitt Show

Sen Cruz on Trump and nuclear triad, 'Understand not just based on Sunday Shows' #glovesoff https://t.co/NqcOFNCCHe— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) January 13, 2016





TOPICS: Culture/Society; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: cruz; elections; immigration; trump; trumpwasright
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-115 next last

1 posted on 01/13/2016 8:10:07 AM PST by Kaslin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Yeah, that’s why Hillary has announced that she will not be responding to him.


2 posted on 01/13/2016 8:11:23 AM PST by Steely Tom (Vote GOP: A Slower Handbasket)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

This is a good sign, actually. Cruz is wasting his powder on ineffective attacks. Most people have seen how the media treats Trump and how Trump has beaten them into submission.


3 posted on 01/13/2016 8:11:58 AM PST by Greetings_Puny_Humans (I mostly come out at night... mostly.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Ha, they’re equally eager to run against Cruz - at which point his purported citizenship will be a huge black cloud looming over the campaign


4 posted on 01/13/2016 8:12:09 AM PST by turducken
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Because they know that each of the Dem canididates will have their rearends handed to them by Trump.


5 posted on 01/13/2016 8:13:08 AM PST by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

A Breitling watch man? Man of the people.


6 posted on 01/13/2016 8:14:56 AM PST by Ted Grant
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: turducken

They will make a big deal out of his holding Canadian citizenship until May of 2014.


7 posted on 01/13/2016 8:15:00 AM PST by yuleeyahoo ( Man does not control his own fate. The women in his life do that for him. - Groucho Marx)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

They should be careful what they wish for.


8 posted on 01/13/2016 8:16:01 AM PST by steve8714 (Evidently Breitbart.com has changed their name to "not responding".)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

And yet, the head of the DNC came out and said Cruz is eligible to run.

As have many LIBERAL pundits.

...Causing me to wonder if THE CABAL (yes I watch Blacklist) has put out an order to support Cruz.


9 posted on 01/13/2016 8:16:04 AM PST by RummyChick
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Before Trump entered the race, I was all in for Cruz. But he sounds like the media with this line, that the Dems really really want to run against Trump.


10 posted on 01/13/2016 8:16:10 AM PST by Kenny (RED)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ted Grant

A Quartz movement, no less.


11 posted on 01/13/2016 8:16:12 AM PST by Ted Grant
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

I just read Hillary’s numbers are dropping nationwide.

Yeah. Not likely they’d be anxious to run with that just fact alone. I wonder how the youth of America feels about voting for an old duffer like Sanders.


12 posted on 01/13/2016 8:16:41 AM PST by Beowulf9
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Meh. Unscientific data is bad data, even if it does make me feel better. :(.

Those 95% who didn’t raise their hands about caucusing might not have heard the question or might have misunderstood the request.


13 posted on 01/13/2016 8:17:13 AM PST by brothers4thID ("We've had way too many Republicans whose #1 virtue is "I get along great with Democrats".")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Iowa is starting to cause Cruz to loose his prospective.
I’m not sure now if Cruz is going even going to take Texas in Primary.


14 posted on 01/13/2016 8:18:11 AM PST by Zathras
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: turducken

Hillary seems to have come out of her cave and is doing more appearances and interviews.

Interestingly, the interviews are not the puff ball questions she expects.

She’s on the defensive. FBI investigation expanding, Bills bimbos back in the news, rolling out Chelsea to attack Sanders.


15 posted on 01/13/2016 8:18:15 AM PST by Col Frank Slade
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

“Sen Cruz on Trump and nuclear triad, ‘Understand not just based on Sunday Shows”

I will give Cruz this much, he is definitely book smart. He has been collecting a government paycheck most of his life and understands the workings of government better than Trump. As far as getting anything accomplished in real life (e.g. creating jobs, executive experience) he has achieved nothing. Should Trump ask Cruz about building codes or project financing or meeting payroll?


16 posted on 01/13/2016 8:19:20 AM PST by patq
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

.... Plus, one can’t help but wonder if some Democrats may privately be pondering whether Trump will resort back to embracing the liberalism he’s espoused for most of his adult life just as soon as leading certain voters around by the nose is no longer in his immediate interests. All of this is obvious to conservatives who’ve consistently opposed Trump’s candidacy.
See — I am not alone in believing DT would and could well go back to full lefty mode.
With his obvious but trumpee defended lies one wonders.
Proceed with your usual Trump/Alinsky model of trashing me. I see through it.


17 posted on 01/13/2016 8:19:39 AM PST by libbylu
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: brothers4thID

This is fabricated nonsense.


18 posted on 01/13/2016 8:19:47 AM PST by WENDLE (Trump is not bought . He is no puppet.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Lol, I don’t think any attack will work against Trump - he’s been in the public eye for decades. PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THEY’RE GETTING.


19 posted on 01/13/2016 8:20:37 AM PST by struggle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
Yeah the Dems love to run against Trump. He is the easiest to beat. Does anyone believe that crap? The opposition is telling us who they would like to run against? And we believe them?

I remember when the NYT amd the Dems claimed McCain was the strongest candidate for the GOP. McCain lost by 10 million votes. He was in fact the worst candidate the GOP could have nominated.

20 posted on 01/13/2016 8:20:59 AM PST by kabar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-115 next last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson