Ted Cruz Could Be the Barry Goldwater of 2016 — Except Win!

[DonViejo]

ELSPETH REEVE 780 Views10:07 AM ET

Ted Cruz didn't expect to be thinking about a presidential run just four months after being sworn in as the junior Senator from Texas, The National Review's Robert Costa reports, but "Cruz's rapid ascent and a flurry of entreaties from conservative leaders have stoked [his allies'] interest — and Cruz's." Cruz is a man who clearly has tremendous confidence in his own abilities — he's scolded a fellow senator about the Constitution, he read Shakespeare during an anti-drone filibuster, and just the other day he called his fellow Republican senators "squishes." This has not made him many friends in the Senate, where a rare bipartisan consensus has formed that he's kind of a jerk. But it has won him many, many fans outside the Senate.

"Ted won't be opening an Iowa office anytime soon, but he's listening," a Cruz person told The National Review. Except that Cruz is giving a speech to South Carolina Republicans this week, and on May 29, he'll go where the money is — New York Republicans' annual dinner. Republican activists are tired of moderates. Costa writes:

His supporters argue that he’d be a Barry Goldwater type — a nominee who would rattle the Republican establishment and reconnect the party with its base – but with better electoral results.

This is fascinating. Goldwater didn't rally the Republican base — he created it. At right is the 1964 electoral map, the result of Goldwater's opposition to civil rights laws, and which was the beginning of the base of the GOP shifting to the South. Today, the Republican Party thinks it has to reach out to Latino voters to win the White House. Among activists, one of Cruz's top selling points is that he's opposed to the immigration reform bill pushed by fellow Republican Marco Rubio, which h Rubio himself now admits the bill won't pass in the House, which is much closer to the GOP base than the Senate. At the Conservative Political Action Conference in March, Ann Coulter declared, "I'm now a single-issue voter against amnesty, so [Chris] Christie's off my list... Ted Cruz is still on my list." Former Bush speechwriter David Frum tweeted Wednesday, "do not underestimate the appetite of GOP base for candidate w Spanish surname who opposes immigration deal."

full article
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/05/ted-cruz-2016/64761/

[dballance]

1. He'd Certainly be the Model of Diplomacy When Dealing w/ Other Countries

I can't imagine he'd be able to get through a debate without looking like the asshole he is. That won't play well to the voting public anymore than Romney's 47% comments did.

[sharp_stick]

2. I predict the same outcome

as Barry Goldwater. The people despised Goldwater, I think they'll despise Cruz just as much.

[brooklynite]

4. Even Republicans don't like Cruz...

Goldwater was at least fairly popular in the Senate.

[Dawson Leery]

3. The powerbrokers will not allow it (they want Christie/Rubio/jeb).

If he manages to get past them, he will most likely take the party to a 40 state defeat.

[Parable Arable]

5. Cruz making a run?

I look forward to a lot of laughs when the debates roll around.

[hrmjustin]

8. Welcome to DU my friend!

[tarheelsunc]

6. I hope he runs and resigns his Senate seat. eom

[Arkana]

7. Can't wait for his inevitable flameout.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

9. Ha! That's a good one.

Unlike Goldwater, he wouldn't even get the nomination. It be fun to watch all the Teabaggers waste their money on him though.

[mgcgulfcoast]

10. i prefer him over marco rubicrap

rubicrap is one of those people who will tell a lie and have people believe it. cruz would be easier to beat.

[firenewt]

11. Can't imagine a soft drink for Cruz like the one for Goldwater. Anybody remember AuH2O?

[erpowers]

12. Republicans Talking to Themselves

It seems that Republicans are talking to themselves and either not realizing that fact, or not caring about that fact. If the American Electorate was made up of only Republicans the fact that they like Ted Cruz would be great for the Republican Party. However, the American electorate is made up of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and other political parties. The fact that the Republican Party likes Ted Cruz does not mean he will win a presidential election.

In a presidential election Cruz would most likely have to receive at least some votes from all political parties in order to win. The article does not address the issue of how Ted Cruz would perform in a general election. It seems that the idea of Ted Cruz winning a presidential election comes solely from the fact that certain Republican groups like him. The article shows no evidence that Cruz has many supporters outside of the Republican Party.

[Tx4obama]

13. Cruz was born in Canada, and not on a military base. Therefore is ineligible to run for president :)

Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where his parents, Eleanor Darragh and Rafael Cruz, were working in the oil business. His father was a Cuban immigrant to the United States during the Cuban Revolution. His mother was born and reared in Delaware, in a family of Irish and Italian descent. Cruz's family returned to the U.S. when he was four years old. ... -snip-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cruz

[Bjorn Against]

15. Don't worry, the birthers will be sure to note that Canada is part of North America

And North America is part of America is it not? It may sound dumb, but these are birthers we are talking about, do not be surprised if they attempt this argument.

[Beacool]

14. Ted Cruz, Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, etc.

If any of these people get the nomination, Lord help us all if they were to win.

I'm feeling sick to my stomach.