[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
United States News Title: Ted Cruz Names Friends, but Silence From G.O.P. Brass Deafens Seated for an interview inside a stately Midtown Manhattan library, just south of Trump Tower, the Texas senator leaned forward in his chair, ticking off the unlikely coalition drifting his way. There was Jeb Bush, who announced his endorsement in a terse predawn news release, and Mitt Romney, who initially said his support applied only to his voting preference in Utah. Mr. Cruz had swung Mike Lee, his greatest ally in the Senate, nearly a year after his campaign began, and Mark Levin, a conservative radio host who recently made his longstanding admiration on the airwaves official. “They are coming to us,” Mr. Cruz said. “We welcome their support with open arms, but my positions, my policies have not changed.” Nor has Mr. Cruz’s reputation, particularly. As Mr. Cruz seeks to unite the disparate factions of the Republican Party that are bonded only by their dead-set opposition to Donald J. Trump, a high-wire act is required: welcoming the top ranks of the same establishment he has spent years excoriating while not abandoning the hard-line conservatives who like him in part because of his attacks on party leaders. While the Romney and Bush endorsements drew headlines, what has been just as striking is the sound of silence from the vast majority of Republican elected officials and leading donors. Nearly two weeks after Senator Marco Rubio dropped out of the race, there has been no mass rush to Mr. Cruz, even as he appears to be the last line of defense against a Trump nomination. The decision by so many leading Republicans to remain on the sidelines is all the more notable because it appears inversely proportional to the scale of concern about Mr. Trump. His recent attacks on Mr. Cruz’s wife and soaring unpopularity among women, minorities and college-educated voters have left many in the party more convinced than ever that, with Mr. Trump as their standard-bearer, they are churning toward a political iceberg this fall. But this fear has not been enough to coax them in Mr. Cruz’s direction. “They’re afraid of Trump’s voters and they hate Cruz,” explained Senator Lindsey Graham, who has tried to rally his colleagues behind Mr. Cruz. “But if I can swallow my pride, they can, too.” Part of Mr. Cruz’s challenge is that Gov. John Kasich of Ohio remains in the race, providing cover for some Republicans who cannot abide Mr. Trump but cannot bring themselves to support Mr. Cruz. Mr. Graham said he intended to sound out Mr. Kasich’s supporters about whether the governor may be willing to join forces with Mr. Cruz. “A Cruz-Kasich ticket is the best way we can stop Trump,” he said. “It’s time to think big here.” If they will not run together, said Mr. Graham, they at least need to form “an alliance” in which they divvy up states to not drain votes from each other — something neither seems willing to do. “The main thing is we’ve got to get into the convention with Trump under 1,237 delegates.” Yet other top Republican officials are not nearly as dedicated to plotting this or any strategy to deny Mr. Trump a majority before the party gathers in July in Cleveland. Even those who have signaled they are likely to support Mr. Cruz are dragging their feet. Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who has spoken favorably of Mr. Cruz, said he would not announce his choice until closer to his state’s April 5 primary — for “maximum impact.” Mr. Rubio, who praised Mr. Cruz as “the only conservative left in the race” after his exit, has been perhaps the most conspicuous holdout. He is one of the few Republican senators who gets along well with Mr. Cruz, and the two have been in touch since Mr. Rubio withdrew from the race. But Mr. Rubio is likely to run again for president in 2020 should Republicans lose the White House this year, and, in making scores of thank-you calls to donors in recent days, he has been discouraged by some party financiers from supporting Mr. Cruz, according to a Republican strategist briefed on the calls. Without Mr. Rubio’s imprimatur, many of his backers seem disinclined to back Mr. Cruz. Compounding the problem is Mr. Cruz himself. He often portrays this election as akin to 1980, when Ronald Reagan won in a landslide. But he appears to be privately grappling with whether he would be better off playing the 1976 version of Reagan, who carried the banner of unadulterated conservatism against the eventual Republican nominee all the way to the convention, fell short and won four years later. Though Mr. Cruz has adjusted his public tone, calling for party harmony and appealing to “our better angels” in a moment of political discord, senior Republican officials say Mr. Cruz has made little effort to repair relationships, particularly in the Senate. Senator John Cornyn, the second-ranking Republican senator and Mr. Cruz’s fellow Texan, privately lobbied Mr. Cruz to attend a Senate Republican luncheon in the Capitol and soothe feelings, according to a Republican strategist briefed on the request. But after a CNN report in which some Republican senators suggested that Mr. Cruz apologize to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, whom Mr. Cruz called a liar on the Senate floor, Mr. Cruz’s campaign became irritated and backed off a peacemaking lunch. Mr. Cruz and Mr. McConnell have still not spoken, according to an aide to Mr. McConnell. “I’m not sure there’s anything to apologize for,” Jason Johnson, Mr. Cruz’s chief strategist, told reporters recently. Mr. Cruz’s allies argue his reticence to publicly embrace the establishment is understandable given the success of Mr. Trump and Mr. Cruz and the fact that Mr. Cruz’s political brand is premised on anti-Washington fervor and conservative purity. But even Republican senators in states that have yet to vote and should favor Mr. Cruz — such as Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska — have not received overtures, according to aides. When party leaders, including Mr. Lee, the Utah senator, lobbied for a so-called “unity ticket” that would make Mr. Rubio the presumptive running mate for Mr. Cruz, the Cruz campaign demurred. “We don’t really talk to that many Beltway people,” said Jeff Roe, Mr. Cruz’s Houston-based campaign manager, when told the idea of a Cruz-Rubio ticket was setting “the Beltway” ablaze. What could rouse the establishment, and convince leaders that Mr. Trump can be stopped at a convention, is a strong Cruz victory next week in Wisconsin. “If he can pull out Wisconsin, I think Cruz draws more interest,” said Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, a longtime Republican strategist. For now, though, Mr. Cole said most in the establishment wing of the party saw little upside in boosting someone they have little regard for, do not think can win a general election and whose prospects they think will be helped little by their endorsement. “Why stick your name and your neck out there when you don’t think it will make much of a difference?” Mr. Cole said. In the interview, Mr. Cruz noted he has been nothing if not consistent. “With me,” he said, “you know what you’re going to get.” Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: buckeroo (#0)
The decision by so many leading Republicans to remain on the sidelines is all the more notable because it appears inversely proportional to the scale of concern about Mr. Trump. His recent attacks on Mr. Cruz’s wife and soaring unpopularity among women, minorities and college-educated voters have left many in the party more convinced than ever that, with Mr. Trump as their standard-bearer, they are churning toward a political iceberg this fall. But this fear has not been enough to coax them in Mr. Cruz’s direction. “They’re afraid of Trump’s voters and they hate Cruz,” explained Senator Lindsey Graham, who has tried to rally his colleagues behind Mr. Cruz. “But if I can swallow my pride, they can, too.” Part of Mr. Cruz’s challenge is that Gov. John Kasich of Ohio remains in the race, providing cover for some Republicans who cannot abide Mr. Trump but cannot bring themselves to support Mr. Cruz. Mr. Graham said he intended to sound out Mr. Kasich’s supporters about whether the governor may be willing to join forces with Mr. Cruz. “A Cruz-Kasich ticket is the best way we can stop Trump,” he said. “It’s time to think big here.” But they're thinking small. The key words in all of that was "they're afraid of Trump's VOTERS". That's right. On the one hand you have Cruz, an oily, nasty guy. On the other hand you have Trump AND THE PEOPLE. The Republican Establishment liked Trump just fine a year ago, when he was donating lots to politicians, and paid for stuff, and met them and gladhanded them. But now he's using his money and charm to take away THEIR toy - power - and they don't like it. They don't like it, and some like Graham are speaking as though stopping Trump is THE purpose of the GOP. However, enough Republicans have looked at the tidal wave of VOTERS, of crossover Democrats and Independents, at HOW Trump rolled them, and they realize that Trump is formidable, and pretty conservative - radically so on the border - and popular. So, while they worry about being taken over by a billionaire, and they worry that Trump could blow it, they also see all of those new voters that they know will only come out for Trump, and they see that Trump could continue to surprise everybody and roll Hillary over too. And they look at their choice: oily Ted, whom they really despise. Of course they're not going to ally with Ted. They know Ted hates them. Trump doesn't seem to. They can work with Trump - if they submit to him. But Cruz isn't going to COMPROMISING when he has the whip of power over them - he'll whip them and they know it. Also, Cruz will lose to Hillary - they know that too. Cruz will lose, but Trump just might win. They don't see HOW Trump can win, but they don't see how he rolled over Jeb Bush and Walker, Rubio and the rest either. Trump's a phenomenon. Cruz is a boil. Of course they're not going to side with the boil. They're going to close their eyes and roll the dice with Dollar Donald. And come November, they're going to be happy they did.
Is that medical marijuana you are smoking? At least with a doctor's prescription you may have an excuse for being a complete idiot.
I just wish he controlled his daughter and wife better. A man's honor is his women. And his honor is bad. This makes me not want to support him.
Well, if they DON'T roll the dice with Dollar Donald, they'll get Hillary or Bernie, a Democrat Supreme Court, and a swift series of decisions that will do things like effectively end the 2nd Amendment. So it all depends on what you care about.
|
|
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|