Funny thing is, the first I ever heard about Cruz was in 2012, when Mark Levin started discussing his Senate candidacy on his show. At the time, Cruz was a blank slate as far as I was concerned. Levin made little mention of Cruz’s past when discussing and interviewing him, aside from mentioning that he successfully argued a case in the Supreme Court.
At the time I took Cruz at his word that he was a committed Constitutional, Tea Party Conservative. He talked the talk, but as I think back now, I find it interesting that in his frequent interviews with Mark Levin, his talking points were almost identical to Levin’s, even down to some of the phrases he used. I didn’t think that much about it at the time but it did make an impression.
As I look back on it now, I’m struck by two things. First, Mark Levin’s lack of curiosity about Cruz’s political past, or just as likely, his willful ignorance. Second, is how perfectly in sync Cruz’s messaging was with Levin’s, which now indicates to me, a deliberate strategy on his part, to reinvent himself as a Tea Party Republican. His time spent at Harvard, learning how to effectively present an argument, whether believed or not, served him well.