Why Ted Cruz Could Win the GOP Nomination. In 2020.

Slate ^ | March 18, 2016 | William Saletan

[Cincinatus' Wife]

[SNIP]

The argument against Cruz is that he’s obnoxious.His colleagues don’t like him,and exit polls show he doesn’t do nearly as well among moderate and somewhat conservative voters as he does among hardcore conservatives....That’s why,when my colleague Jamelle Bouie was betting on Cruz,I put my money on Rubio...I stand refuted.Cruz hasn’t overcome the Trump wave,but he has proved that in an angry party,his organization,discipline,and message can beat a broadly appealing rival.

Republicans who vote for Trump in 2016,only to see him abandoned by elements of their party and defeated in the general election,would be at least as angry in 2020.The notion that his loss would teach them not to support Cruz has two glaring flaws.One flaw is that the desertion of Trump by the GOP establishment,or at least part of it,would confound the equation.A Trump rout wouldn’t prove that Republicans are better off nominating a candidate like George W. Bush,because the right would be able to point to a difference between 2000 and 2016:the establishment’s betrayal of Trump.

The other problem is that Cruz isn’t Trump.Trump’s conservatism is visceral and stylistic....Cruz’s conservatism is ideological.He cares about tax cuts,deregulation,and social-issue litmus tests...If Trump loses the general election,they won’t conclude that their brand of conservatism has been refuted.They’ll conclude,with some justice,that their brand of conservatism hasn’t been tried.

Cruz has been making this argument for months. In speeches, debates,interviews,and ads,he has painted Trump as a donor to liberals,a socialist on health care,and a squish on Planned Parenthood. Presumably,Cruz will hammer these differences all the way to the convention.And then,if Trump loses the election,Cruz will take up where he left off.He’ll raise more money,build out his field organization,and lock up support in the Tea Party and on the religious right.He’ll tell hardline Republican audiences what they want to hear:that Trump lost because he wasn’t a “consistent conservative.”..

[SNIP]

[Arthur McGowan]

Can’t promise anything—but have you looked at them in photos recently. (And of course I don’t mean the photos the media keeps recycling endlessley from 20 years ago.)

[Gene Eric]

>> “It’s a republic!”

Too often I’m clarifying homework assignments that grant “democracy” the benefits and virtues of our republic.

So in keeping with my offense theme, public education also sucks ass — at least to a significant degree.