Today, Ted Cruz received his first endorsement in Senate from Utah Senator, Mike Lee. This will possibly be beneficial to the Cruz Campaign in tonight's Republican debate but will also land a pretty hard punch to the Rubio Campaign. What makes this one endorsement so influential is that, in a domino affect, once one senator pledges his support to Cruz other GOP senators are likely fall in line with him. If this were to happen, it would effectively bring more attention towards Cruz and away from his fellow candidates Trump and Rubio.
“Ted Cruz has been a tireless defender of the Constitution and the founding principles that have made this the greatest country the world has ever known,” Lee said earlier today. Now I don't particularly agree with Senator Cruz's views nor do I support him as a candidate for the presidency, but, as many people would agree, the desperately needs a candidate with a stronger support base to go up against Trump.
What this election is coming down to, as it seems, is this question: Who would you rather have as the Republican candidate? A loud mouth with radical ideology or the other guy? All we can do now is figure out who the other guy is going to be.
What do you guys think? Was this a good move for Senator Lee to make? Was Cruz the right candidate to endorse? Will this be enough to stop the "unstoppable" candidate?
Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ted-cruz-earns-first-senate-endorsement-utah-sen-mike-lee/
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ted-cruz-earns-first-senate-endorsement-utah-sen-mike-lee/
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2016/03/10/mike-lee-becomes-first-us-senator-to-endorse-ted-cruz/
6 comments:
I believe that Cruz would be even more harmful as president than Donald Trump. As often as I disparage the "unstoppable candidate", I truly think that Cruz would be infinitely worse. It's unlikely that our least favorite loud mouth would be able to pass anything while President and even more unlikely (hopefully) that he would be elected to a second term. He is hated by the Republican AND Democratic establishment, therefore the Republican majority congress would never support him and even if the majority party shifts, he won't find support with Democrats either. Cruz, on the other hand, is a "constitutionalist" and an evangelical candidate that has a much more powerful establishment support and would be able to get conservative legislation passed. Though Trump is radical, I think he's radical in an outlandish way, whereas Cruz is pretty right-wing, enough to compromise all those who are moderate or left leaning.
For example, his stances on things like abortion, Obamacare, taxes, and same-sex marriage are completely contrary to my own. As an extremely pro-choice woman, a Cruz presidency would be a detriment to my human rights. He believes that marriage is between a man and a woman and has stated that only the four states implicated in the SCOTUS decision on same-sex marriage have to abide by it. He advocates for a flat tax, which, as we went over in class, is far from the best idea for poor and middle class taxpayers. And, finally, let us not forget that Ted Cruz is the man who shut down our government recently and prompted headlines like "Ted Cruz’s diabolical shutdown strategy: Why the GOP senator wants to watch the world burn". Sure, Trump might be crazy, but I think he's the kind of crazy that would be handled by checks and balances. Cruz may not be.
I'm sorry if this comment is too biased !!
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/ted-cruz-believe-candidate-stands-10-issues/
Naturally, I'm unhappy that anyone would have the gall to endorse Ted Cruz. I understand why Mike Lee- a Constitutionalist- would support Cruz. If nothing else, Cruz has proven himself to be consistent in standing by the Constitution. However, I fear that what Kyle mentioned may come true. That, since one senator endorsed Cruz, others will fall in line. One concern I have about this endorsement is that it seems like it may be the first sign of some patronage, should Cruz eventually get elected: "While Cruz has become a divisive figure within the Republican conference in the Senate, Lee is considered one of his only allies, and at a recent campaign stop Cruz said Lee was "someone I love like a brother" (Jackson/Thorp). Because Lee and Cruz have such a personal relationship, it makes sense to reason that perhaps Lee is only endorsing Cruz to get a White House Staff spot or another position in the future.
As for your launches, Kyle, I must say I would rather have Kasich as President than Trump, Rubio, or Cruz. Now, Kasich is far from liberal, but he's far and away more moderate than any other Republican candidate. Are my hopes here a little unrealistic? Certainly. But I cannot imagine living in a country led by any of those other staunch conservatives. I do not think that Cruz would be the right candidate to endorse for anyone but a Constitutionalist, and I am concerned that this could mean Cruz will end up in the White House.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/ted-cruz-get-first-senate-endorsement-utah-s-mike-lee-n535951
Trump doesn't really scare me that much. He does say a lot of stupid stuff like the wall and the Muslim identification, and in the moment it is scary but objectively it all is fairly absurd. However, Ted Cruz's opinions of most conservative issues, like the LGBT community, are both sincere and extreme, calling the Supreme Court ruling a "crisis." A lot of snippets of what Trump says can be skewed because both liberal and conservative media get ratings by criticizing him, most of his opinions are out in the open. Cruz has gotten minuscule amounts of media coverage about the things hey says and, in my opinion, they are much worse. So no, in my opinion, Cruz is no better the office than Trump, at least Trump is upfront with his radical beliefs. Like raswaglia said, I hope it is not Cruz that stops Trump, but a Marco Rubio or John Kasich.
Senator Ted Cruz faces an almost insurmountable challenge in taking on both Donald Trump, the 2016 campaign "outsider", and the GOP establishment, who has made it clear that Marco Rubio is their man. Before the South Carolina primary, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who you may recognize from the GOP's State of the Union rebuttal, publicly endorsed Marco Rubio. This is one of many endorsements Rubio has received from high ranking members of the Republican party. As no Republican candidate comes close to acquiring a clear majority of delegates, the possibility of a brokered convention is high. If the Republicans cannot settle their nominee in the next primary contests and a brokered convention becomes a reality, Ted Cruz will not supported. In my opinion, it does not matter who endorses Ted Cruz--he is not the GOP's choice nor the outsider, the choice of the American public. He exists in a limbo that neither disadvantages nor aids him.
Kyle,
While I do think that Trump will lead the delegate count come convention time, I'm not convinced he will get the number needed to win the nomination out-right. I think the contested convention scenario is a serious possibility, and it would definitely spell doom for Trump. Cruz has not exactly been the best at making friends in the Republican party, and that's why Senator Lee's support of Cruz could be good for the Cruz cause. Obviously he will need more than one endorsement, but he could begin to garner support from the party. I don't see anyway that Trump's lead in the delegate count can be overcome, but I think that the contested convention option leaves the door open for the other three GOP candidates. I don't think he will "stop Trump," but things could start to get interesting.
From a broader perspective, I think the GOP is in disarray. This is really a year they should get a Republican in office, but they have been unable to field a universally liked and supported candidate. Hillary has to be loving it, and if I were a betting man (which I'm not) I would place a huge wager on Hillary being sworn into office in January of 2017. Her experience can't be denied, and although she is mired in controversy her aptitude for the role can not be questioned.
I have to disagree with one of the points you made, Kyle. I don't think Trump is at all the "radical" candidate, not when juxtaposed with Ted Cruz. Cruz is a hard-line ideologue who wants to institute a flat tax and abolish the IRS. He nearly single-handedly shut down the government with his inane pseudo-filibuster of the budget vote, exemplifying the absurd intransigence with which he opposes everything Obama. I mean, look at how upset John McCain was about Cruz's antics: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuQU1HNXuKw) "Stop, you're wrong, you're crazy."
Doubtless, this is not the first time similar words have been directed towards Cruz. Even Trump agreed that "everyone hates Ted Cruz." Donald Trump, a man who has become an absolute phenomenon for his stance on illegal immigration, has the more progressive of the stances on the issues when compared to Cruz. Trump has often voiced his support for legal immigration; much of Cruz's immigration plan involves limiting it significantly. In his brief time in the senate, he has proven himself implacable, bellicose, and unwilling to compromise. Both Trump and Cruz presidencies would be damaging to America, but Cruz's potentially more so.
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