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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
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To: Kaslin

Well, if Trump is so “democrat” in nature as Cruz claims, then Trump will do well campaigning to win democrat votes.

Cruz is much further away from democrats, so he won’t do as well with democrats.


21 posted on 01/13/2016 8:22:29 AM PST by CodeToad (Islam should be banned and treated as a criminal enterprise!)
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To: libbylu

No trashing from me, as I completely agree with you. I don’t trust Trump


22 posted on 01/13/2016 8:22:41 AM PST by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him, and he got them. Now we all have to pay the consequenses)
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To: Kaslin

Hillary might want to make sure she wins the playoff prior to the championship game, from what I hear it’s not a slam dunk.


23 posted on 01/13/2016 8:22:44 AM PST by V_TWIN
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To: Kaslin

Like Rush said; why are they worried about the dems taking Trump in the general when they, the republicans, haven’t been able to take him out in the primary.


24 posted on 01/13/2016 8:22:53 AM PST by Amntn ("The only special interest not being served by our government is the American people" - Donald Trump)
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To: Ted Grant

Looks like any other watch I’ve seen in the mall. BTW let me know when Ted brags about his riches, his Towers, his helicopter...fool.


25 posted on 01/13/2016 8:22:55 AM PST by gwgn02
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To: Kaslin

The Democrats were also eager to run against Ronald Reagan. How did that work out for them?

Trump has very good ideas, but I have my doubts about the man. He seems insecure, lacking in scruples, and vindictive. On the whole I think Ted Cruz is a safer choice to become President, and hopefully carry out Trump’s best ideas.


26 posted on 01/13/2016 8:24:00 AM PST by doug6352
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To: Kaslin

No Ted, it’s you they want. They know Ted won’t hit the Clinton’s like Trump would.


27 posted on 01/13/2016 8:24:45 AM PST by SteveSCH
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To: libbylu

Trump is all about trump, and getting richer.


28 posted on 01/13/2016 8:25:10 AM PST by exnavy (good gun control: two hands, one shot, one kill.)
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To: Steely Tom

That must be why both Obama and Haley aimed their speech against Trump.


29 posted on 01/13/2016 8:25:33 AM PST by DesertRhino ("I want those feeble minded asses overthrown,,,")
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To: exnavy

And Cruz is all about talking and getting nothing done.


30 posted on 01/13/2016 8:29:06 AM PST by patq
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To: yuleeyahoo
Until May of 2014

???

31 posted on 01/13/2016 8:30:07 AM PST by Robert DeLong (u)
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To: Zathras
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.

It's Iowa fer cripes sake. Who has won Iowa in the last 5 primaries for the GOP? How did they end up in the end?

Man, this site is a hoot this time of the election Cycle.

IMHO Trump will be torn to shreds by the Press if he is the Nominee. Anyone that doesn't see that is either blind or forgot the Mitt Romney/ John McCain love affair the Press had in the Primaries for BOTH of them.

32 posted on 01/13/2016 8:30:55 AM PST by VRWCarea51 (The original 1998 version)
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To: Ted Grant
A Breitling watch man? Man of the people.

$3700.00 List. Petty cash for these types. That would be my next ride.

33 posted on 01/13/2016 8:31:52 AM PST by Stentor
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To: Ted Grant

How sad Ted has no concept of money and how to keep it. To spend (and it is possible) 14,000 dollars on a time piece when it would have been far cheaper to buy a Timex shows US he is not serious but another spend, spend, spend kind of guy. I like Cruz but his taste in watch brands is not looked upon kindly. Would I be willing to cast this aside along with the NBC question?


34 posted on 01/13/2016 8:32:06 AM PST by V K Lee (u TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP to TRIUMPH Follow the lead MAKE AMERICA GREAT)
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To: Kenny
When Trump entered the race I was against him. After a while I thought he made sense and that perhaps I could vote for him.

Than he started to blame the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 on President Bush 41 instead of on William Jefferson Clinton were it really belonged. He also claimed that Bill Clinton was the best president this country ever had. His bad mouthing the other republican candidates turned me completely against him and he will not get my vote

35 posted on 01/13/2016 8:32:11 AM PST by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him, and he got them. Now we all have to pay the consequenses)
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To: Amntn
Like Rush said; why are they worried about the dems taking Trump in the general when they, the republicans, haven’t been able to take him out in the primary.

Because we couldn't stop Mittens or McInsane either.

Tell us all again how well that worked out for us?

36 posted on 01/13/2016 8:33:07 AM PST by VRWCarea51 (The original 1998 version)
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To: doug6352

I think you can rest assured with that choice. Trump likes to say Ted is copying him on immigration. Problem is Ted ran on the wall in 2012 senate race.
My bottom line is when DT trashed Scalia.
That is huge red flag for me.


37 posted on 01/13/2016 8:33:43 AM PST by libbylu
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To: Beowulf9

They love him.

He promises them to cancel their student debt, give ‘em free health care, and $15 an hour for flipping burgers.

Its like a day at grandma’s place when you’re 4 — everything you want, plus the added bonus of the old biddy clapping her hands and saying ‘Look at how cute you are!’ when you throw an infantile temper tantrum...


38 posted on 01/13/2016 8:34:16 AM PST by L,TOWM (Is it still too soon to start shooting? [No social transformation without representation])
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To: gwgn02
Looks like any other watch I've seen in the mall.

Does your mall have a Tourneau?

39 posted on 01/13/2016 8:34:26 AM PST by Stentor
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To: Kaslin

Actually, Trump’s taking a beating in the press for blaming Clinton for 911, that Clinton had Bin Laden and let him go.


40 posted on 01/13/2016 8:34:57 AM PST by Kenny (RED)
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