Good summation of the idiocy Ted Cruz ended up oozing when he went down in flames. The author asks something I asked months ago - how someone who couldn't even get half the votes Trump did in republican primaries could possibly be deluded enough to think he could win a general election.
On Sunday, July 31, 2016 at 10:41:07 AM UTC-4, MJ wrote: > > > July 22, 2016 > Elections > > *Kamikaze Cruz *by Nicholas James Pell > > The big news of the day: Ted Cruz declined to endorse Donald Trump. > Instead, he used his RNC address to deliver an extended > passive-aggressive slight > <http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/20/politics/ted-cruz-republican-convention-moment/>. > > Cruz urged delegates to “vote your conscience,” a rather strange phrase > coming from a man who doesn’t appear to have one. > > Two years ago, I wrote about how Ted Cruz was the sleaziest politician > this side of Bill Clinton > <http://takimag.com/article/ted_cruzs_lying_circus_nicholas_james_pell/print#axzz4F8zcpqPK>. > > Last night he vindicated every uncharitable thought I’ve ever had toward > him. His refusal to endorse Trump explicitly violates the terms of the > loyalty pledge specifically designed to hedge Trump in. In short, Cruz > respects the democratic process…at least until he loses. > > Convention attendees weren’t fans of Cruz’s speech. Some had to be physically > restrained from assaulting him > <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3700552/Republican-convention-loudly-boos-Ted-Cruz-refuses-endorse-Donald-Trump-tells-Americans-vote-conscience-cheers-erupted-Trump-hit-jumbotron-unexpectedly.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailus%23ixzz4F0aFBD1p>. > > One site reported that he lost 25% of his Facebook following > <http://prntly.com/2016/07/21/after-career-ending-rnc-speech-ted-cruz-loses-25-of-his-facebook-fans/>. > > His wife, Heidi, was escorted out of the building by security while > attendees yelled, “Goldman Sachs!” at her. Donors openly called Cruz a “ > disgrace <https://twitter.com/DylanByers/status/755953672928960512>” to > his face, and he was forbidden from entering Sheldon Adelson’s suite. The > Donald was his usually low-key and laid-back self, noting that Ted got > booed off the stage and that the whole thing was not a big deal > <https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/755972015249645568>. > > The speech itself was a sort of bizarre inversion of Pat Buchanan’s > culture-war > speech from 1992 > <http://buchanan.org/blog/1992-republican-national-convention-speech-148>. > Cruz neither secured himself as a permanent fixture in the party nor gave > voice to a defeated faction. Instead, he hogged the spotlight, dripping > smug arrogance over the proceedings and mocking the New York delegation > when the whole room began drowning him out with chants of “Say his name” > and “We want Trump.” “I appreciate the enthusiasm of the New York > delegation,” Cruz said, smirking, drawing intensified booing. > > Cruz attempted to use the speech to kick off his 2020 campaign, which he > says he will do whether Trump wins or not > <https://www.yahoo.com/news/rnc-ted-cruz-president-2020-000000680.html>. > So he threw chum to the odd philosophy of “true conservatism,” a strange > civic religion that views America’s founders in quasi-messianic terms. If > you’re interested in the particulars, spend some time poking around The > Blaze, if you can stomach it. Indeed, the speech resembled a sort of litany > from the Evangelical Constitutionalism of Cruzbekistan. Cruz hit on guns, > the Supreme Court, and Obamacare, but also Martin Luther King, the Civil > Rights Act, and even gay rights, all of which are retconned as “true > conservatism.” The word “freedom” appeared 21 times. > > The next day, Cruz gave a speech to the Texas delegation > <https://www.facebook.com/foxokc/videos/10154156478860861/>. He didn’t > walk back his damning with faint praise, but attempted to talk out of both > sides of his mouth, as is his habit. Cruz spoke repeatedly of the > “principles” his movement embodies, saying they were the only way to defeat > Hillary Clinton. How these principleswhich mostly involve losing to > liberals with smug self-satisfactionwill win a general election when they > can’t even win a Republican primary is unclear. But again, none of this > matters, because the point isn’t to win, it’s to allow supporters to pat > themselves on the back for losing with decorum. > > Cruz got down to brass tacks when he said, “I am not in the habit of > supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father.” This might be > easier to believe if Cruz didn’t appear to be the type of person who would > sell his family to organ harvesters if he thought it would further his > career. A fund-raising appeal > <http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/07/21/ted-cruz-fundraises-off-his-donald-trump-convention-snub/> > > went out from what remains of the Cruz campaign almost immediately. > > Not much about Cruz’s speech at the convention was surprising. From the > bland, empty phrases about “freedom” to the incorporation of Martin Luther > King and same-sex marriage into the family of “true conservatism” to the > smug condescension toward convention delegates who had frankly had enough > of him, all of it was par for the course. This is, after all, a man who > launched his national political ambitions by using embattled Arab > Christians as a prop > <http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/09/what-ted-cruz-doesnt-want-to-hear-about-arab-christians-110907> > > to curry favor with that segment of Americans who think Israel should be > the 51st state. > > Cruz firmly believes that a single-term Hillary presidency, and the > Supreme Court justices who would come with it, are a small price to pay for > an open path to the nomination in 2020. That’s not surprising, considering > that his father, Rafael, a dominionist preacher, believes that Ted is > “anointed” to “take control of society.” > <https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2016/01/17/ted-cruzs-father-my-son-anointed-to-take-control-of-society/> > > Back here in the real world, it’s not clear that Ted ever had a path to the > nomination. His peculiar civic religion doesn’t seem to have much pull > among anyone not buying food buckets from Glenn Beck in Greater Deseret. > > This won’t be remembered as Cruz’s tough, principled stand against the > Republican Party’s betrayal of true conservatism. Cruz in 2016 isn’t > Goldwater in 1960 or Reagan in 1976. If Cruz’s speech is remembered at all > two weeks hence, it will be as the last time anyone ever talked about Ted > Cruz, the most spectacular live televised suicide this side of Bud Dwyer. > Already a man with a reputation as not just a loose cannon but a kamikaze > pilot who targets his own side and will say or do absolutely anything, Cruz > must now accept that his political career is over. Look for him blogging at > The Blaze or leading a new (and no doubt lucrative) life as a > televangelist, both tasks he seems far better suited for. > > Good riddance to bad rubbish. > > > > http://takimag.com/article/kamikaze_cruz_nicholas_james_pell/print#axzz4FG92QJwn > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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