Posted on 03/23/2016 7:19:21 PM PDT by jazusamo
The Republican establishment is sending in the cavalry for Ted Cruz, the latest unexpected twist in a presidential race that has defied all expectations.
Many prominent members of the GOP establishment intensely dislike Cruz. But they now acknowledge that he is the best option — perhaps the only option — to deny Donald Trumptheir party’s nomination.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush jumped on the bandwagon on Wednesday with a surprise endorsement of Cruz, describing the Texas senator as “a consistent, principled conservative” in a Facebook post.
Bush’s admiration for Cruz was noticeably lacking during the Floridian’s own run for the White House, when he mocked the Texan for political expediency. During one town hall meeting in New Hampshire, Bush said that Cruz had believed in immigration reform “until he went into the witness protection program.”
Bush is just the latest establishment figure to throw support to Cruz.
Mitt Romney, the party’s 2012 nominee, urged voters in Utah — a state in which he has deep roots — to support Cruz in caucuses Tuesday night. Though Romney stopped short of a full endorsement of Cruz, he went as far as to record robocalls on the senator’s behalf in which he said that it was “time for Republicans across the spectrum to unite behind Ted.”
Cruz won Utah in a landslide, though he lost the night’s biggest prize, the Arizona primary, to Trump.
Another late entry into the Cruz camp is South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who recently helped raise money for the Texan’s campaign. Less than a month before, Graham had joked that “if you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you.”
The newfound enthusiasm for Cruz looks to some like an admission that desperate times call for desperate measures. But skeptics suggest the effort is doomed for precisely that reason.
“These guys look like all desperation and as if they have really no means, or ability, to speak to the core constituents who are supporting Donald Trump,” said Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee. “At this last minute, it’s, ‘Now we support Ted,’ after you spent the best part of a year telling America how much you hate him.”
“It’s disingenuous,” Steele added. “People aren’t stupid. They see it for what it is.”
Cruz’s chances of winning the nomination outright appear small, as he now trails Trump by 275 delegates. The magic number to clinch the GOP nomination is 1,237.
Cruz currently has 463 delegates to Trump’s 738, according to a New York Times count. That means Cruz would need to win around 90 percent of the remaining 848 delegates in the contests. For Trump, the equivalent figure is just 59 percent.
But some Republicans suggest that if Cruz could get close to Trump’s number — and keep the businessman a significant margin short of 1,237 — there may be a chance of the nomination being wrested away from Trump at the convention.
Conversely, however, if Cruz does not significantly narrow Trump’s advantage, it will be all over, bar the shouting.
“If [Trump] loses, it has to be legitimate,” said Ed Rollins, a Republican strategist who has worked for conservative presidential candidates in recent cycles, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.). “If he comes in 50 or 100 votes short, it’s going to be awful hard to take it off him. But if Cruz got to within 100, that could be different.”
Many insiders are dubious of the idea that the new tide of establishment support for Cruz will catalyze a movement of primary voters toward him. But they note that major fundraising players formerly allied with Bush could now come over to Cruz’s side.
With primaries still to come in large states with expensive media markets, including New York, New Jersey and California, campaign cash will be important. So will having money available right until the last day of voting in the GOP race, June 7.
The establishment shift could have another effect, too. The third candidate who remains in the GOP race, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, has been seeking to position himself as the standard-bearer for establishment hopes. But Kasich’s campaign is ailing badly: He has won only his home state and, on Tuesday night, came in behind Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in Arizona, despite Rubio having ended his campaign almost a week before.
The move by big centrist names toward Cruz is “sending a clear message to Kasich that it is time to get out,” said GOP strategist and Hill contributor Matt Mackowiak. “He is playing spoiler, he has no real path to the nomination. People who would be for him are choosing to be with Cruz because he has a better chance. That is a powerful thing in and of itself.”
Whether it will be powerful enough, however, is an entirely different question. The geographical territory for many of the remaining contests — particularly the large number of Northeastern states that have still to vote — favors Trump. So too does the absence of caucuses from the rest of the calendar, as those contests have been favorable to Cruz.
Looking at the overall picture, some Republicans say it may be too late.
“If they had taken Donald Trump’s candidacy seriously from the beginning — if they had not misread the message that was coming from the voters who were supporting him — perhaps this thing would have played itself out differently,” Steele said.
>>> it’s my contention that Cruz was always the establishment’s “anti-establishment” candidate
I just recently heard that he is hated in the Senate not because he is anti-establishment, but because he is ruthless in his ambition and he jumped for the prize out of turn.
I'm going to make a really wild guess: I'm betting you're a Trump supporter.
Here are the real facts: Two people can win the GOP nomination. The current favorite is Trump. He is ahead and seems to be pulling away from the pack. The second is Ted Cruz.
Trump, IMHO, has one and only one way to win: Collect the 1237 delegates and win this thing outright.
Cruz, IMHO, has two ways to win. The first way is to get the 1237 delegates (a highly unlikely but nevertheless a theoretical possibility.) The second way is to pull delegate votes from Trump, Rubio, Kasich and Carson on a second and subsequent ballots assuming neither Trump or Cruz collect the necessary 1237 delegates.
But couldn't Trump do the same thing? He could but I don't think the delegates that are actually going to show up for this convention would agree. They are much more likely to have an anti-Trump bias than a pro-Trump bias.
Could I be wrong about that? it's possible. Frogs do fall from the sky I'm told. So apparently anything can happen.
Ted Cruz is going to be a great President.
Someone take a look at what the media is doing to Ted Cruz today. Even Fox is portraying the poor Muslims he wants to discriminate against.
There is zero reason to believe Cruz will save the GOP from something Trump causes. This is the most ridiculous behavior by a party I have ever seen.
The world is a shambles does anyone notice the republicans are saying nothing about it?
We are watching a Titanic sinking and the passengers and crew are all selfish narcissists.
>>Well perhaps Trump was wrong...
Perhaps. Maybe we should ask Christie and Newt...Probably not McConnell, McCain or Boehner though lol...
Thanks for the post, that’s a genuine uniparty rogues gallery.
“Bush is just the latest establishment figure to throw support to Cruz”
Some of the Cruz people are denying the that the GOPe are coalescing around Cruz. I have to ask who the face of the GOPe is. Lindsey Graham? Jeb Bush? The list can go on and on.
Cruz has always been part of the establishment, it’s just that the rest despise him. But establishment he indeed is and always has been. He’d be an ambulance chaser if not for GW Bush.
Cruz cannot get the votes to secure the nomination.
Of course they will back him to get to a contested convention.
Let them. I will never be a party of the politburo of the USA.
Here you can see Cruz saying that he wants illegals to come out of the shadows. Anyone think this Cruz is going to build a wall with Jeb, Grahamnesty and the amnesty crowd endorsing and funding Cruz , then anyone thinking that has got to be insane. If we don’t build the wall now the USA is done . ONLY Trump will do that . It’s the issue of population which affects all other issues as Ann Coulter pointed out. Here is Cruz flip flopping, lying, and saying he wants the illegals to come out of the shadows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VckRA4tYFo
Here you can see Cruz saying that he wants illegals to come out of the shadows. Anyone think this Cruz is going to build a wall with Jeb, Grahamnesty and the amnesty crowd endorsing and funding Cruz , then anyone thinking that has got to be insane. If we don’t build the wall now the USA is done . ONLY Trump will do that . It’s the issue of population which affects all other issues as Ann Coulter pointed out. Here is Cruz flip flopping, lying, and saying he wants the illegals to come out of the shadows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VckRA4tYFo
Missouri update -
There are 1700 votes (0.18%) separating these two and the final winner gets 12 more Delegates. The GOP wants to deny Trump the nomination and the SOS of MO wants to run for national office. There is a formula brewing that says they find enough votes lying around that Cruz wins this by a few hundred votes. Worked for Bush in FL in 2000. I took a little shot at .04 for a potential big payout.
He won’t be Prez...we will not vote for him ...even if we did , he would still lose, but that’s what the GOPe wants ...have fun with it !
Don’t forget Senator Sessions or Sheriff Arpaio.
Trump has forced a line that the elected are crossing.
Be Smart.
In an age of lawlessness, one man stands alone...
Cruz just copies what Trump says to remain in the news and get free advertising .This cruz will say anything to , any lie to win. Cruz said he wanted illegals to come out of the shadows. Then when Trump came on the scene now he wants to build a wall too? give me a break this Cruz is a fraud. The Amnesty Crowd is funding Canadian Cruz ,Jeb , Ghramensty etc.
I wouldn’t mind Cruz if he took GOP-e money and then stabbed them in the back, but he’s decided to go full cuck and abandon conservative principles in favor of the GOP-e’s demands.
This election has proven that GOP-e money and endorsements are irrelevant, anyways.
I don't let the media brainwashing, nor the brainwashing from the billions in ads from the world Establishment affect me. I know the truth. It's out there.
I was a Cruz supporter but his angle with the GOPe to stop Trump doesn’t sit well.
The DC Politburo is in panic. They should be because I will never support it.
That is exactly what it is ..I always had that feeling and also had the feeling that McConnell bit his tongue and indulged slimy Teddy as not to upset the Tea Party too much ...
But the uni-party is for gope Canadian Rafael “Ted” Cruz of a Cuban dad who is dominionist preacher who fought alongside Castro.
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