Ted Cruz

[Kathianne]

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/ted-cruz-makes-conservative-pitch-southern-swing-n407466


On Southern Swing, Ted Cruz Makes Conservative Pitchby HALLIE JACKSON


FRANKLIN, Tenn. --- Rejecting the conventional wisdom that Republican candidates must move toward the middle to win a general election, Sen. Ted Cruz is betting that his unapologetically conservative campaign will galvanize voters in 2016.


Already, his rallies are drawing standing-room-only crowds in southern states, and his campaign credits grassroots support for a surge in donations over the last few days - pointing to more than $1,000,000 raised since Thursday's primetime debate.


"If we're going to win, the central question I have is how to bring back to the polls the millions of conservatives who've been staying home," said Cruz, during an interview with NBC News on Monday.


Part of the Texas senator's strategy involves targeting a key group of voters: evangelical Christians, where Cruz sees untapped potential.


"In 2012, 54 million evangelicals stayed home," Cruz said, calling them "the largest single block of conservative voters that are not voting right now."


The Pew Research Center estimates that white evangelical Protestants made up about 23 percent of the national electorate in the 2012 presidential contest.


Cruz is running on a strong anti-abortion platform, frequently reminding his supporters of his history defending religious liberties and talking on the campaign trail openly and often about his faith and his father's conversion to evangelicalism.

...

[Kathianne]

Cruz is also speaking about Iran deal and MSNBC is reporting on it. :laugh2:

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/cruz-gets-creative-undermine-us-foreign-policy


Cruz gets creative to undermine U.S. foreign policy<time datetime="08/10/15 04:49 PM" class="article-date-posted" itemprop="datePublished" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-family: NeueHaasGrotesk, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.71429rem; letter-spacing: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; line-height: 1.71429rem; padding-left: 0.07143rem;">08/10/15 04:49 PM</time>—UPDATED <time datetime="08/10/15 05:39 PM" class="article-date-posted" itemprop="dateModified" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-family: NeueHaasGrotesk, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.71429rem; letter-spacing: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; line-height: 1.71429rem; padding-left: 0.07143rem;">08/10/15 05:39 PM </time>By Steve Benen (http://www.msnbc.com/byline/steve-benen)

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) isn’t exactly shy about his opposition to the international nuclear agreement with Iran, but it’s not exactly within his power to derail it. He’s just one far-right senator with limited influence on Capitol Hill.



But over the weekend, it seemed as if the Republican presidential candidate was starting to turn his attention away from federal policymakers altogether. Indeed, as Roll Call reported (http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/ted-cruz-to-states-impose-your-own-iran-sanctions/?dcz=), Cruz is looking to states to help sabotage American foreign policy.



Sen. Ted Cruz said Sunday that doing everything possible to thwart the Iran deal should include states exploring imposing their own sanctions.



The Republican presidential candidate from Texas was asked at a raucous town hall-style forum here about the prospects of states taking action to impose sanctions on the money the Obama administration has agreed to release as part of the deal regarding the country’s nuclear development.


“I think that states should act and lead to do exactly that,” Cruz said during a campaign appearance in Pelham, Alabama. (Note, Alabama is a Super Tuesday primary state, which votes just a week after the Nevada caucuses early next year.)



More so than usual, the far-right Texan seemed willing to hint that this fight wouldn’t turn out well for his like-minded allies. “It’ll be a fight,” Cruz said. “It’s not an open and shut legal argument, but we ought to do everything we can to resist this … Iranian deal.”



I’m inclined to put this in the “bad ideas” category...


I'm shocked by that last line. ;) Although that doesn't sound like the most effective idea. But at least he's engaging in creative thinking.

[Abbey Marie]

Now that's how you make a real proposal to attempt to thwart an awful White House policy.

This man is, excuse the expression, a real bad-ass.

[Gunny]

Now that's how you make a real proposal to attempt to thwart an awful White House policy.

This man is, excuse the expression, a real bad-ass.

Did you just post a dirty word, Abs?:laugh:

[gabosaurus]

This man is, excuse the expression, a real bad-ass.

Take out the word "bad" and I will agree with you. :cool:

[Gunny]

Take out the word "bad" and I will agree with you. :cool:

So what does that make YOUR representatives? I'd replace "bad" with "dumb" in your state.

[gabosaurus]

No one from California is running for President. No one from Texas has a chance to become President.

[Abbey Marie]

Did you just post a dirty word, Abs?:laugh:

As I just said in your rep, those are my "driving words". :laugh2:

[Kathianne]

As I just said in your rep, those are my "driving words". :laugh2:

Lol!

[Gunny]

As I just said in your rep, those are my "driving words". :laugh2:

Bets are off on "driving words". I got a run-on string that'll go for miles. ESPECIALLY if you're "one of those" hogging the fast lane at 10 mph under the speed limit because you can't put your cell phone down long enough to get home.

Trust me. The world will survive without your inconsideration to others because you think no one's on the road but you. Never mind that 3 mile long line of cars behind you and no one's in front of you.

[Kathianne]

"The Devil Is In The Details"

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/249892-cruz-pushes-to-delay-start-of-review-period-on-iran-deal


July 31, 2015, 09:35 amCruz wants delay in Iran review period because of 'side deals'
By Jordain Carney

Sen. Ted Cruz is pushing to delay the start of Congress's 60-day review period for the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran.


The Texas Republican argues the review period should not begin until after the administration hands over "side" deals between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).


Cruz, who is running for president, introduced a resolution on Thursday arguing that President Obama didn't hand over all materials — including the side deals — to Congress. As a result, he said the 60-day clock shouldn't have started to tick.

...

[Kathianne]

Al Hunt, noted liberal has some analysis of Ted Cruz candidacy:

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-08-18/ted-cruz-shouldn-t-be-underestimated-al-hunt-explains-


Underestimating Ted Cruz? Don't.
42 <time class="timestamp" datetime="2015-08-18T20:35:45.941Z" itemprop="datePublished" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.00392157) 1px 1px 1px; font-family: SupriaSans, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; position: relative; letter-spacing: 0.1em; line-height: 25px; color: rgb(170, 170, 182); text-transform: uppercase; display: inline-block; margin-left: 10px;">AUG 18, 2015 4:35 PM EDT
</time>By Albert R. Hunt (http://www.bloombergview.com/contributors/albert-r-hunt)

Ted Cruz is a man with a plan. The Republican presidential candidate, bete noire of his party's establishment, has carefully calculated a path to becoming the right-wing standard-bearer.That makes him the most underestimated candidate in the field.


Cruz is rising in some polls and attracting more attention after the Republican debates in Cleveland on Aug. 6. The chattering class focused more on how well John Kasich, Carly Fiorina, Marco Rubio or Ben Carson did in those encounters, along with the confounding staying power of Donald Trump.


But Cruz, whose political cunning equals his sharp intellect, may have laid the best foundation for advancing in this wide-open race. He touched all the conservative erogenous zones at the Cleveland forum and strategically refuses to say anything negative about Trump, the front-runner in early national polls.

...

[Abbey Marie]

So, in addition to being bad-ass, Cruz is phenomenally intelligent.


Famed Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz ranks Sen. Ted Cruz among the school’s smartest students, adding that the Canada-born Texan can run for president in 2016.
Cruz was a “terrific student,” Dershowitz told The Daily Caller.
...
“He had brilliant insights and he was clearly among the top students, as revealed by his class responses,” Dershowitz added.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/09/dershowitz-tex-cruz-one-of-harvard-laws-smartest-students/#ixzz3jlKU1HGG

[Kathianne]

So, in addition to being bad-ass, Cruz is phenomenally intelligent.
He's wicked smart. Likely on the level of Carter or Clinton, maybe higher.

[Abbey Marie]

He's wicked smart. Likely on the level of Carter or Clinton, maybe higher.
Much higher

[Kathianne]

Much higher
It's always a good idea not to underestimate the enemy. ;) Carter was brilliant, though incapable of managing. Part of the reason he fell into micromanaging and simply wouldn't listen to others that were very bright. It's why his was a failed presidency.

Clinton too was very, very driven and smart. Then there was his ability to laugh at himself and usually stay positive. He was able to cover many of his flaws with his personality. His wife doesn't have that gift. Not by a long shot. He loved crowds, he loved campaigning. Some say the same about Obama, not true. He loves crowds to pontificate before, but really doesn't like the people. It shows. He wants worship; Clinton wanted to talk and grab a burger and beer with them, maybe even more if they didn't agree with him.

Cruz has the brilliance, the question is can he reach out and share the visions he has? Can he find a way to bring it to those that aren't far right? Time will tell. Brilliance alone doesn't equate with leadership, often the opposite. Some of the best presidents weren't 'brilliant' but were great leaders because of a mix of taking great advice from those with knowledge and the ability to inspire the people.

[Abbey Marie]

It's always a good idea not to underestimate the enemy. ;) Carter was brilliant, though incapable of managing. Part of the reason he fell into micromanaging and simply wouldn't listen to others that were very bright. It's why his was a failed presidency.

Clinton too was very, very driven and smart. Then there was his ability to laugh at himself and usually stay positive. He was able to cover many of his flaws with his personality. His wife doesn't have that gift. Not by a long shot. He loved crowds, he loved campaigning. Some say the same about Obama, not true. He loves crowds to pontificate before, but really doesn't like the people. It shows. He wants worship; Clinton wanted to talk and grab a burger and beer with them, maybe even more if they didn't agree with him.

Cruz has the brilliance, the question is can he reach out and share the visions he has? Can he find a way to bring it to those that aren't far right? Time will tell. Brilliance alone doesn't equate with leadership, often the opposite. Some of the best presidents weren't 'brilliant' but were great leaders because of a mix of taking great advice from those with knowledge and the ability to inspire the people.

All true, though I never felt Carter came across as all that intelligent. I was just talking about Cruz's intelligence.

I want to hear much more from him (and others) at the next debate, when there are hopefully better questions asked about his positions, and perhaps even a debate or two between candidates.