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What a Ted Cruz victory would mean (1 Viewer)

Joe T

Joe T

Footballguy
Thought this was interesting about the bid to be the Republican nominee for US Senator in the state of Texas.

What a Ted Cruz victory would mean

Posted by Sean Sullivan

Eighteen months ago, Ted Cruz was a starry-eyed Texas Republican with long-shot hopes of becoming a United States senator. On Tuesday, the former state solicitor general looks headed to an unlikely runoff victory over Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, win that would defy the power of the state’s GOP establishment.

A Cruz win would not only be a major rebuke of the well-known (and VERY well financed) Dewhurst, but it would also arguably be the most significant statewide upset of the 2012 cycle to date. (Yes, we’re talking about the same cycle in which a sitting senator was dislodged in Indiana and a little-known state legislator won the GOP Senate nomination in Nebraska.)

There are three key reasons for this.

For starters, Dewhurst didn’t implode. He raised heaps of money and added millions from his own checkbook. He began with a huge name identification advantage, was backed by Gov. Rick Perry, and enlisted the help of David Carney, one of the sharpest political minds in Texas. And he was the beneficiary of a super PAC headed by Rob Johnson, another top Texas GOP hand.

By contrast, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) ran a lackluster operation which was slow to respond to a lingering story about his out-of-state residency and plagued by a record that enraged conservatives. In Nebraska, frontrunning GOP Attorney General Jon Bruning was beleaguered by ethics questions and gaffe-prone behavior. The errors both men made opened them up to upstart challengers. Dewhurst didn’t make those same sort of mistakes.

Both Bruning and Lugar were also dogged by charges of being insufficiently conservative. Dewhurst was too, but those assaults were less fair. Bruning supported confirming Eric Holder as Attorney General while Lugar’s work across the aisle won him (toxic) praise from Democrats. But Dewhurst showed no signs he’d be anything but a reliable Republican vote in the Senate.

So how did Cruz stay competitive and even climb into what looks like the driver’s seat? He leveraged national acclaim from conservatives like Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and George Will into strong local tea party support, winning an impressive 34 percent of the primary vote and forcing a runoff against Dewhurst, who took 45 percent in the late May election.

And he’s proving to be a great closer. He outraised Dewhurst more than 3-1 during the first third of the month, spurred Sarah Palin and DeMint to stump in the state for him last Friday and never lost the confidence of the anti-tax Club For Growth, which has spent $5.5 million on independent expenditures to help him win.

But don’t write Dewhurst off just yet in a race strategists on both sides expect to be close. An internal poll showed him holding a slight lead last week. A review of ad spending during the final week reveals that Dewhurst and his allies outspent Cruz and his supporters by nearly $1.3 million on TV. And early voting – which was good to Dewhurst in the primary – was robust in the runoff.

“I think the turnout is going to be higher than what most people are projecting,” said Dewhurst spokesman Matt Hirsch.

Still, it’s difficult to overlook the signs Dewhurst is in trouble. The super PAC supporting him released a harsh TV ad last week smacking of desperation that tried to tie Cruz to the suicide of a young man. Meanwhile, like Dewhurst, Cruz has also released polling showing him ahead; both sides agree that Dewhurst’s double-digit lead is long gone.

“The momentum and enthusiasm really seems to be with Ted Cruz,” said Rice University political scientist Mark Jones.

A Cruz victory would suggest that Republican voters aren’t just rejecting inadequately conservative candidates and longtime incumbents. The sufficiently conservative who are tied the establishment — a word becoming more and more toxic in politics — are also at risk.

A Tuesday win by Cruz would mean just about every candidate left in a GOP primary who is challenging a frontrunner tied in ANY way to the establishment will do everything they can to compare their candidacy to Cruz’s.
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Link to articleETA: the runoff election ends today.

 
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I disagree completely that he ran a good operation. I'm still not sure that Dew really wants the job. He should have put this thing away without a runoff. He's never been a dynamic speaker, and I would guess that he irritated some of the faithful with his tendency to show up late and leave early at speaking engagements (at lrast in my experience as an audience member). I just don't think he did anything to build brand loyalty among any constituency the way Cruz has.

 
1) Ted Cruz Believes George Soros Leads A United Nations Conspiracy To Eliminate Golf: In 1992, President George H.W. Bush joined the leaders of 177 other nations in endorsing a non-binding UN document known as Agenda 21. This twenty year-old document largely speaks at a very high level of generality about reducing poverty and building sustainable living environments. Nevertheless, Cruz published an article on his campaign website claiming that this non-binding document is actually a nefarious plot to “abolish ‘unsustainable’ environments, including golf courses, grazing pastures, and paved roads.” To top it off, Cruz lays the blame for this global anti-golf conspiracy at the feet of a well-known Tea Party boogieman — “The originator of this grand scheme is George Soros.”
Click to expand...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/07/31/619461/five-things-to-know-about-gop-senate-candidate-ted-cruz/
 
'urbanhack said:
1) Ted Cruz Believes George Soros Leads A United Nations Conspiracy To Eliminate Golf: In 1992, President George H.W. Bush joined the leaders of 177 other nations in endorsing a non-binding UN document known as Agenda 21. This twenty year-old document largely speaks at a very high level of generality about reducing poverty and building sustainable living environments. Nevertheless, Cruz published an article on his campaign website claiming that this non-binding document is actually a nefarious plot to “abolish ‘unsustainable’ environments, including golf courses, grazing pastures, and paved roads.” To top it off, Cruz lays the blame for this global anti-golf conspiracy at the feet of a well-known Tea Party boogieman — “The originator of this grand scheme is George Soros.”
Click to expand...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/07/31/619461/five-things-to-know-about-gop-senate-candidate-ted-cruz/
Click to expand...
I tell ya...country clubs and cemeteries are the biggest wasters of prime real estate. Dead people? They don't need to be buried nowadays. Ecology right? Ask Wang. He'll tell you.
 
'urbanhack said:
1) Ted Cruz Believes George Soros Leads A United Nations Conspiracy To Eliminate Golf: In 1992, President George H.W. Bush joined the leaders of 177 other nations in endorsing a non-binding UN document known as Agenda 21. This twenty year-old document largely speaks at a very high level of generality about reducing poverty and building sustainable living environments. Nevertheless, Cruz published an article on his campaign website claiming that this non-binding document is actually a nefarious plot to “abolish ‘unsustainable’ environments, including golf courses, grazing pastures, and paved roads.” To top it off, Cruz lays the blame for this global anti-golf conspiracy at the feet of a well-known Tea Party boogieman — “The originator of this grand scheme is George Soros.”
Click to expand...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/07/31/619461/five-things-to-know-about-gop-senate-candidate-ted-cruz/
Click to expand...
When I want straight, hard hitting news without unbiased spin, it's thinkprogress every time
 
'NJDawgPound said:
'urbanhack said:
1) Ted Cruz Believes George Soros Leads A United Nations Conspiracy To Eliminate Golf: In 1992, President George H.W. Bush joined the leaders of 177 other nations in endorsing a non-binding UN document known as Agenda 21. This twenty year-old document largely speaks at a very high level of generality about reducing poverty and building sustainable living environments. Nevertheless, Cruz published an article on his campaign website claiming that this non-binding document is actually a nefarious plot to “abolish ‘unsustainable’ environments, including golf courses, grazing pastures, and paved roads.” To top it off, Cruz lays the blame for this global anti-golf conspiracy at the feet of a well-known Tea Party boogieman — “The originator of this grand scheme is George Soros.”
Click to expand...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/07/31/619461/five-things-to-know-about-gop-senate-candidate-ted-cruz/
Click to expand...
When I want straight, hard hitting news without unbiased spin, it's thinkprogress every time
Click to expand...
And this is the type of guy that will rag on "Faux News" regularly.
 
'dickey moe said:
'NJDawgPound said:
'urbanhack said:
1) Ted Cruz Believes George Soros Leads A United Nations Conspiracy To Eliminate Golf: In 1992, President George H.W. Bush joined the leaders of 177 other nations in endorsing a non-binding UN document known as Agenda 21. This twenty year-old document largely speaks at a very high level of generality about reducing poverty and building sustainable living environments. Nevertheless, Cruz published an article on his campaign website claiming that this non-binding document is actually a nefarious plot to “abolish ‘unsustainable’ environments, including golf courses, grazing pastures, and paved roads.” To top it off, Cruz lays the blame for this global anti-golf conspiracy at the feet of a well-known Tea Party boogieman — “The originator of this grand scheme is George Soros.”
Click to expand...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/07/31/619461/five-things-to-know-about-gop-senate-candidate-ted-cruz/
Click to expand...
When I want straight, hard hitting news without unbiased spin, it's thinkprogress every time
Click to expand...
And this is the type of guy that will rag on "Faux News" regularly.
Click to expand...
link?And I really don't care about this guy, I just thought it was a funny story that he actually thinks someone wants to shut down all the golf courses. :coffee:
 
'DiStefano said:
Another Hispanic. La reconquista continues.Only, this one's not a leftist, and loves the USA.
Click to expand...
Link? Where he is the only one who loves the USA? You want to make a silly statement, then have some facts to back it up. please!Everyone that runs for office in this country loves the USA.. you may not agree with the politics, but if they are putting out their lives to be voted on then they love this great county.
 
'urbanhack said:
'dickey moe said:
'NJDawgPound said:
'urbanhack said:
1) Ted Cruz Believes George Soros Leads A United Nations Conspiracy To Eliminate Golf: In 1992, President George H.W. Bush joined the leaders of 177 other nations in endorsing a non-binding UN document known as Agenda 21. This twenty year-old document largely speaks at a very high level of generality about reducing poverty and building sustainable living environments. Nevertheless, Cruz published an article on his campaign website claiming that this non-binding document is actually a nefarious plot to “abolish ‘unsustainable’ environments, including golf courses, grazing pastures, and paved roads.” To top it off, Cruz lays the blame for this global anti-golf conspiracy at the feet of a well-known Tea Party boogieman — “The originator of this grand scheme is George Soros.”
Click to expand...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/07/31/619461/five-things-to-know-about-gop-senate-candidate-ted-cruz/
Click to expand...
When I want straight, hard hitting news without unbiased spin, it's thinkprogress every time
Click to expand...
And this is the type of guy that will rag on "Faux News" regularly.
Click to expand...
link?And I really don't care about this guy, I just thought it was a funny story that he actually thinks someone wants to shut down all the golf courses. :coffee:
Click to expand...
I'm willing to give you a pass there because the way you worded it is kinda :lol: .
 
'killface said:
'timschochet said:
'Joe T said:
A lot of sour grapes in here.
Click to expand...
Not whining, just sad. Like most Tea Party victories, it represents the triumph of ignorance.
Click to expand...
:goodposting: :goodposting: :goodposting: :goodposting:
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Look at where we are. Millions unemployed, credit rating downgrade, out of control spending leading to mountains and mountains of debt. A monster healthcare initiative that is going to need to be funded by asking people to pay more taxes in a shaky economy when the govenment can't even run Social Security. The Tea Party is not the problem, kids.
 
'NJDawgPound said:
'killface said:
'timschochet said:
'Joe T said:
A lot of sour grapes in here.
Click to expand...
Not whining, just sad. Like most Tea Party victories, it represents the triumph of ignorance.
Click to expand...
:goodposting: :goodposting: :goodposting: :goodposting:
Click to expand...
Look at where we are. Millions unemployed, credit rating downgrade, out of control spending leading to mountains and mountains of debt. A monster healthcare initiative that is going to need to be funded by asking people to pay more taxes in a shaky economy when the govenment can't even run Social Security. The Tea Party is not the problem, kids.
Click to expand...
The tea party is comprised of some of the most ignorant people in the country.
 
'Joe T said:
Word is Cruz is creating a pretty big wake so far in the Senate. :goodposting:
Click to expand...
Cruz was just recently announced as the keynote speaker for the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). He's definitely rising quickly in those circles.
 
'ffldrew said:
'Jewell said:
'Joe T said:
Word is Cruz is creating a pretty big wake so far in the Senate. :goodposting:
Click to expand...
Cruz was just recently announced as the keynote speaker for the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). He's definitely rising quickly in those circles.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure he is a Canuck - so the Senate is as far as he can go
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He was born in Canada, but his parents were U.S. citizens, so I think he can be President.
 
'fatguyinalittlecoat said:
'ffldrew said:
'Jewell said:
'Joe T said:
Word is Cruz is creating a pretty big wake so far in the Senate.

:goodposting:
Click to expand...
Cruz was just recently announced as the keynote speaker for the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). He's definitely rising quickly in those circles.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure he is a Canuck - so the Senate is as far as he can go
Click to expand...
He was born in Canada, but his parents were U.S. citizens, so I think he can be President.
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Not sure how this works out - but his father was not a US citizen at the time he was born in Calgary - from Wikipedia
Cruz was born and spent the first four years of his life in Calgary before his parents returned to Houston. His father was jailed and tortured by the Fulgencio Batista regime and fought for Fidel Castro in the Cuban Revolution[39] but "didn't know Castro was a Communist" and later became a staunch critic of Castro when "the rebel leader took control and began seizing private property and suppressing dissent."[40] Rafael Cruz moved to Austin in 1957 to study at the University of Texas. He spoke no English and had $100 sewn into his underwear.[41] The elder Cruz worked his way through school as a dishwasher making 50 cents an hour. Cruz's father today is a pastor in North Dallas and became a U.S. citizen in 2005. Cruz’s mother, who was from Delaware, was the first person in her family to attend college. She earned a degree in mathematics from Rice University in Houston in the 1950s, working summers at Foley’s and Shell. Cruz has said, "I'm Cuban, Irish, and Italian, and yet somehow I ended up Southern Baptist."[42]
Click to expand...


I thought I had read somewhere that he was not eligible - but I could be wrong

 
Cruz, like Ron Johnson, is an abject fool without any qualifications: just part of the dumbing-down of America. Johnson will hopefully get tossed in 2016 but Cruz will be around a for a while until TX finally goes blue.

 
'Aerial Assault said:
Cruz, like Ron Johnson, is an abject fool without any qualifications: just part of the dumbing-down of America. Johnson will hopefully get tossed in 2016 but Cruz will be around a for a while until TX finally goes blue.
Click to expand...
What do you consider proper qualifications to become a Senator?The following seems like it would give a Senator a good base for understanding various political/social issues and the law surrounding them.

Cruz served as a law clerk to William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States, and J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Cruz has authored more than 80 United States Supreme Court briefs and presented 43 oral arguments, including nine before the United States Supreme Court.

 
'Jewell said:
'Aerial Assault said:
Cruz, like Ron Johnson, is an abject fool without any qualifications: just part of the dumbing-down of America. Johnson will hopefully get tossed in 2016 but Cruz will be around a for a while until TX finally goes blue.
Click to expand...
What do you consider proper qualifications to become a Senator?The following seems like it would give a Senator a good base for understanding various political/social issues and the law surrounding them.

Cruz served as a law clerk to William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States, and J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Cruz has authored more than 80 United States Supreme Court briefs and presented 43 oral arguments, including nine before the United States Supreme Court.
Click to expand...
Depends what the standard is. He is more qualified than Johnson (or Rand Paul). But clerking for Rehnquist, working for Morgan Lewis, and arguing a bunch of SCOTUS cases as Texas' solicitor general isn't really as big of a deal as you're making it out to be. Particularly since Cruz did not exactly excel in any of those positions. But, yeah, better than Johnson, I'll admit.

 
'Aerial Assault said:
But clerking for Rehnquist, working for Morgan Lewis, and arguing a bunch of SCOTUS cases as Texas' solicitor general isn't really as big of a deal as you're making it out to be.
Click to expand...
:confused: Those are some pretty impressive credentials. I'm not a fan of Cruz but criticizing this stuff probably isn't your best argument.
 
For someone as young as he is, it's really not that impressive, because he hasn't spent much time at any particular position and is mostly a dilettante. Sure, he had the grades to clerk for Rehnquist, but he (and Luttig) hired mostly on ideology anyway. Then he was propelled into the solicitor general position because Texas Republicans (like FL Republicans with Rubio) needed to manufacture a Latino all-star. He's not a surpassing legal genius by any stretch.

 
'greenroom said:
'DiStefano said:
Another Hispanic. La reconquista continues.

Only, this one's not a leftist, and loves the USA.
Click to expand...
Link? Where he is the only one who loves the USA? You want to make a silly statement, then have some facts to back it up. please!Everyone that runs for office in this country loves the USA.. you may not agree with the politics, but if they are putting out their lives to be voted on then they love this great county.
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And money, don't forget money.
 
Looks like we've gone from "an abject fool without any qualifications" to "not a surpassing legal genius."

 
'bigbottom said:
Looks like we've gone from "an abject fool without any qualifications" to "not a surpassing legal genius."
Click to expand...
Nope, no walkback. His comments about the socialists and communists on the Harvard law faculty were embarrassingly stupid, even leaving aside the question of why he wanted to attend such a radical institution in the first place. He has one of those resumes that puts sparkles in the eyes of people who are impressed by Morgan Lewis. In Houston. In a state with a true two-party system, he would never have been elected. He's a fool.
 
'Aerial Assault said:
'bigbottom said:
Looks like we've gone from "an abject fool without any qualifications" to "not a surpassing legal genius."
Click to expand...
Nope, no walkback. His comments about the socialists and communists on the Harvard law faculty were embarrassingly stupid, even leaving aside the question of why he wanted to attend such a radical institution in the first place. He has one of those resumes that puts sparkles in the eyes of people who are impressed by Morgan Lewis. In Houston. In a state with a true two-party system, he would never have been elected. He's a fool.
Click to expand...
:lmao:So now you're criticizing his qualifications to be the Senator from Texas by saying that he's from Texas.
 
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'bigbottom said:
'Aerial Assault said:
'bigbottom said:
Looks like we've gone from "an abject fool without any qualifications" to "not a surpassing legal genius."
Click to expand...
Nope, no walkback. His comments about the socialists and communists on the Harvard law faculty were embarrassingly stupid, even leaving aside the question of why he wanted to attend such a radical institution in the first place. He has one of those resumes that puts sparkles in the eyes of people who are impressed by Morgan Lewis. In Houston. In a state with a true two-party system, he would never have been elected. He's a fool.
Click to expand...
:lmao:So now you're criticizing his qualifications to be the Senator from Texas by saying that he's from Texas.
Click to expand...
:no: Oh, unless you're saying that Texas deserves clowns as its U.S. Senators. That train I can get on board.
 
'Aerial Assault said:
For someone as young as he is, it's really not that impressive, because he hasn't spent much time at any particular position and is mostly a dilettante. Sure, he had the grades to clerk for Rehnquist, but he (and Luttig) hired mostly on ideology anyway. Then he was propelled into the solicitor general position because Texas Republicans (like FL Republicans with Rubio) needed to manufacture a Latino all-star. He's not a surpassing legal genius by any stretch.
Click to expand...
:lmao:
 
'Aerial Assault said:
Lotsa rollies in here, not much substance. Standard FFA political thread, I guess. :shrug:
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"abject fool without qualifications":Harvard educatedSCOTUS clerkLots of legal publicationsSolicitor GeneralSenatorAll by age 42. The intelligent idiocy that permeates this board sometimes is mind boggling.
 
I have some insight here.My good friend (the one who writes movies that I've discussed here before) was Cruz's freshman roommate at Princeton. He says unabashedly that Cruz is the single biggest ###hole walking the Earth today. I remember talking to him when I was a senior in HS and he was a frosh at Princeton and him telling me that he was loving school except that his roommate was a total ##### that he hated from day 1. He said the guy was the single most insufferable, pompous, self-serving jerk he's ever had the displeasure of knowing. He recently used the words "awful, awful human being" to describe him.So there's that.

 
Princeton and Harvard Law grad? Yeah, whatever.

Clerked on the Fourth Circuit? Sure, he had good grades. Whatevs.

Clerked for Chief Justice Rehnquist? No big woop. He hires based on ideology, not merit.

Solicitor General of Texas? Conservative version of affirmative action in action there.

Private practice for an international firm where he led the firm's U.S. Supreme Court and appellate litigation practice? Pshaw! His home office was in Houston for Pete's sake.

And he's done all this at a relatively young age? Only because he keeps failing upwards!

What about his posts at the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, not to mention teaching Supreme Court litigation for five years at UT Law? Not backpedaling! No qualifications whatsoever!

Attack him for being a fool, or for his crazy stances. But belittling his credentials and qualifications as if they are they are meaningless is not particularly effective.

 
'Evilgrin 72 said:
I have some insight here.My good friend (the one who writes movies that I've discussed here before) was Cruz's freshman roommate at Princeton. He says unabashedly that Cruz is the single biggest ###hole walking the Earth today. I remember talking to him when I was a senior in HS and he was a frosh at Princeton and him telling me that he was loving school except that his roommate was a total ##### that he hated from day 1. He said the guy was the single most insufferable, pompous, self-serving jerk he's ever had the displeasure of knowing. He recently used the words "awful, awful human being" to describe him.So there's that.
Click to expand...
Perfect fit for Congress, then.
 
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