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Why Ted Cruz Could Win the GOP Nomination. In 2020.
Slate ^ | March 18, 2016 | William Saletan

Posted on 03/19/2016 1:14:20 AM PDT by 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]

(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2020; 2020elections; conservatives; cruz; economy; elections; gope; gopedirtytricks; keephopealive; lol; nationalsecurity; teaparty; trump
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

A Cruz presidency outright ceased to be a possibility the moment Cruz doubled down on his assertion that Trump bore any level of responsibility for the violent Moveon.org rioters.


41 posted on 03/19/2016 4:25:17 AM PDT by MrEdd (Heck? Geewhiz Cripes, thats the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aint going.)
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To: Gaffer

Just need to follow the golden rule, those that control the gold rule.

It’s naive to believe that in acquiring Jeb’s entire finance mgmt team and Neil Bush, Cruz merely hired some bookkeepers.

This Bush-GOP-e now controls income (read donations) and expenses, control that Cruz has ceded to them willingly to stay afloat. Does anyone know who these Bush backroom boys are, their real day jobs?

from Daily Caller,

“...Heidi is not a bit player in the Cruz campaign with those credentials but rather an integral part of the campaign’s fundraising efforts. As reported by CNN last year, “She works the phones the way she worked them when she was at Goldman,” said Chad Sweet, the Cruz campaign’s chairman, who recruited Heidi to work at the giant investment bank.”

So right out of the gate Cruz had a Goldman Sachs agent at the head of the campaign staff. Cruzers can screech and howl all they want, but facts are facts....


42 posted on 03/19/2016 4:26:29 AM PDT by Covenantor (Men are ruled...by liars who refuse them news, and by fools who cannot govern. " Chesterton)
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To: MrEdd

It’s astounding how Trump is never held to answer for anything he has ever done or said - that he is given a blanket pass for all he has advocated for from his front row, media covered elitist seat the 70 years of his existence.

How does something so perverse work in your way of thinking?


43 posted on 03/19/2016 4:33:26 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Gaffer

Do you know what Reagan’s campaign slogan was?

“Make America Great Again”


44 posted on 03/19/2016 4:44:13 AM PDT by stockpirate (We must burn down the republican party, to save it for “We the People” (Palin Trump is the 1st wav)
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To: IrishBrigade

‘the best bet would be the execrable Kasich.’

How is this different from saying McCain was the best bet in ‘08, and Romney in ‘12?


45 posted on 03/19/2016 4:46:02 AM PDT by Fantasywriter (Any attempt to do forensic work using Internet artifacts is fraught with pitfalls. JoeProbono)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

It will be easier in 2020 when he is running as an incumbent.


46 posted on 03/19/2016 4:46:07 AM PDT by kjam22 (America need forgiveness from God..... even if Donald Trump doesn't)
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To: stockpirate

It made sense after the misery index that Carter gave us. Same thing here, too with Obama, but more importantly singularly true in light of the treachery the GOP establishment has perpetrated upon us these last 25-30 years.


47 posted on 03/19/2016 4:46:43 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

No more 1st term Senators. Ted’s breadth of experience is all in the legal field. And he’s brilliant at it. He has never met a payroll, developed a business plan or run much of anything outside the confines of government. He appeals to a limited amount of the voting public and is surrounding himself with some dubious people. I do not see him standing any chance of winning a national election.


48 posted on 03/19/2016 4:55:14 AM PDT by SueRae (An election like no other..)
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To: anton
Ted Cruz is a spoiler....

Not only that, he was a spoiler from the beginning. The GOPe thought Cruz would siphon enough "true conservative" votes to get Jeb the nomination.

What they didn't foresee was a candidate like Trump. Neither the GOPe nor Cruz had a clue how to deal with Trump's ascendency and they still don't. Cruz is still trying to execute his plan to woo the 4 million "true conservatives" who sat it out in 2012. His assumption was that all the people who held their noses and voted for Romney would do the same and vote for Cruz. What Cruz didn't plan for and hasn't adjusted to is Trump (BTW, this is mostly Rush's theory).

Neither Cruz nor the GOPe (and I'm being generous separating the two) have an answer to Trump's success so all they can do is try to cut him down. All that is going to do is prove that Trump is the "true outsider" candidate to those of us who are fed up with the UniParty.

49 posted on 03/19/2016 4:56:33 AM PDT by CapitalistCrusader
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To: 9YearLurker
Cruz appeals to true conservatives, whereas Trump draws in more moderates, independents, Reagan Democrats, those who have never voted before, blacks, Hispanics and Indians.

My wife and I had dinner last night with our neighbors. A police officer and his wife. Both died in the wool Northeastern democrats. They both said they'd vote for Trump over Hitlery and both would have to vote for Hitlery over Cruz.

Anecdotal evidence to be sure, but....

50 posted on 03/19/2016 5:01:59 AM PDT by CapitalistCrusader
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Easy. Unlike all of the other candidates, those who have held national office; nothing Trump has said or done has negatively impacted my life, my children’s life or my grandchildren’s life.

All of the others, including Ted has.


51 posted on 03/19/2016 5:14:03 AM PDT by yuleeyahoo ( Man does not control his own fate. The women in his life do that for him. - Groucho Marx)
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To: Radix

Well, I guess they would have if telephones existed in 1790.

http://harvardlawreview.org/2015/03/on-the-meaning-of-natural-born-citizen/


52 posted on 03/19/2016 5:21:56 AM PDT by flintsilver7 (Honest reporting hasn't caught on in the United States.)
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To: Arthur McGowan

The only bright spot in this scenario is that both Bill and Hillary will be dead of natural causes—if cocaine and syphilis are natural causes—within five years

_______________________________

Promise?


53 posted on 03/19/2016 5:22:20 AM PDT by AC86UT89
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

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

I don’t see how. He’ll still not be a NBC. He’ll still be a liar. Those things can’t change in four years’ time; those things can’t change... ever.


54 posted on 03/19/2016 5:25:49 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam (When Cruz aligns himself with Ayers, Sanders, Soros, and MSM, he's one of them.)
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To: 9YearLurker
Cruz’s best chance is to be Trump’s VP first—and the question is whether he has blown that.

Except that Cruz brings nothing to a Trump/Cruz ticket.

His home state is Texas, ANY Republican will win Texas by a large margin ... no help there.

He has performed miserably in the swing states ... Fla, Va, Mi, Oh, ... he is likely to loose badly in Pa. He brings nothing there ...

I don't see any upside here ...

I would tend to agree with the Cruzers ... his best place would be on the Supreme Court ... but given his standing among his colleagues in the Senate ... lol ... he might not get confirmed.

55 posted on 03/19/2016 5:28:05 AM PDT by dartuser
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To: CapitalistCrusader

All my friends, co-workers and everyone in my family is backing Cruz, except for my mother who is a Trump fan from day one.
She has Alzheimer’s


56 posted on 03/19/2016 5:31:11 AM PDT by texas_mrs
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Nonsense. Kasich simply assists the bosses by siphoning off a few delegates in proportional states voted by the liberals. Cruzbots have fallen for this out of ego or delusion. He has exactly a zero chance of leading Trump in delegates, getting a plurality or becoming the nominee. He is a tool. He should be the most hated of all of the candidates for what he is doing.

Either way, his feet are going to be visible under the bus in Cleveland.


57 posted on 03/19/2016 5:36:05 AM PDT by anton
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To: dartuser

He would have been the perfect answer to all the GOPe disingenuously claiming that Trump isn’t conservative enough by their standards, he would have assured a strong turnout of the base, he would have been a great VP attacker and debater, and he would be seen as countering some of Trump’s perceived weaknesses—such as no experience in DC government, a sometimes shaky understanding of constitutional nuances, and/or Establishment smoothness.

Bringing in another state is usually overemphasized and not as important as contributing to a compelling and complementary ticket overall.


58 posted on 03/19/2016 5:37:55 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Losing 130 delegates or so coming up and Ted is out of contention. After that he is in for spite


59 posted on 03/19/2016 5:40:19 AM PDT by Sybeck1 (Only they can beat Hillary, but for some reason they can't beat him)
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To: CapitalistCrusader

I’m up here in the Northeast, and it is a very true phenomenon. When was the last time the GOP had a candidate likely to win NY? In good shape for NJ? Primed for the full Rustbelt? Only a Reagan landslide was able to deliver those states in the past decades and decades.


60 posted on 03/19/2016 5:42:03 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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