MUST WATCH! Ted Cruz, his wife and his two daughters answer questions on CNN with Anderson Cooper

So in effect your argument boils down to this: Trump supporters are Neanderthals and Cruz supporters are intellectuals. And Trump is leading a cult whereas Cruz is championing a cause. So, we have the base plebeians versus the noble patricians.

I will grant you that Cruz is by far the more eloquent of the two. He is a politician and a lawyer after all, and words and debating are their stock in trade. He should be good at it.

Trump is bombastic and instinctively has a visceral reaction to things. No argument there. But he is a businessman and results matter in the world of business, not words. I think many people want someone who is committed to action and turning the country around and just don’t think that a wordsmith will be able to do it. And those millions of people are not all plebeians.

I think you would agree that the country is in a terrible mess right now. And many of the problems facing us are even of an existential nature (ISIS, an invasion of illegal immigrants, an unsustainable level of debt, serious foreign threats, etc.). If there’s one thing we need going forward is a man of action. I think people sense that in Trump. That said, I personally think Trump needs to be more clear about what he intends to do as president.

Cruz the ambitious politician showed his true colors when he criticized the actions of Trump’s campaign manager for his supposed abusive treatment of a female news reporter. Turns out that what she claims never happened and a judge has dismissed the bogus charges. Cruz has not apologized for his self-serving exploitation of this “incident” and its unlikely that he ever will. Where is his intellectual honesty? Maybe a small thing, but still very telling about the man’s character.

We have already had a professional politician as president for the last seven years. He too is an eloquent talker.

Turns out that what she claims never happened and a judge has dismissed the bogus charges.

I haven't read up on this a great deal, but from what I saw today on the news what you've stated is entirely incorrect. The police had probable cause to make the arrest, and the prosecutors office determined they couldn't make a case - ie, no reasonable likelihood of getting a conviction. I don't recall anyone in law enforcement or the prosecutors office saying it didn't happen. Far from it. The prosecutor simply determined there wasn't enough to make a case.

As to intellectual honesty... This is the part that is so amazing for me to watch. You nit pick at Cruz over this Fields issue, yet ignore the fact that the guy you are supporting has demonstrated NO intellectual honesty on any policy matter whatsoever. Trump flip flips, changes positions as needed and basically says whatever he happens to think is necessary at the time to further his campaign. There is zero conservative track record where it comes to Donald. What the heck good is a man of action if he isn't even a conservative. Isn't that why we are here? To support conservatives and conservatism? And yet so many of you will support Trump, a guy who has insulted, bullied, and trashed his way through the primaries and has actually DONATED to HIllary (and 100k more for the corrupt Clinton foundation) - the very person he claims to want to beat. Not only that he has given gobs of money to Pelosi, Schumer, Reid, etc, etc. And this you believe is intellectually honest?

I just............I dunno, this is the disconnect I see. No other candidate in the history of FR would have gotten that kind of pass. None. That is what I mean about gut level support. For whatever reason, you and many others will support Trump no matter the complete lack of intellectual honesty. I am convinced that if Trump came out tomorrow and reversed his position, even on major issues, that almost 100% of his supporters would remain loyal to him. And THAT is what I mean about supporting the man rather than policies. And it is precisely for that reason that the 2 camps, Trump and Cruz supporters, are talking past one another. How does a logical, intellectual person debate someone who supports a person (in this case Trump) so completely that, as Donald himself has said at least twice, could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and wouldn't lose voters. Even Trump knows his supporters are attached to him so strongly that he can say or do just about anything and not lose that allegiance.

I get the sense that you don’t see any shortcomings at all with Cruz. A little myopia there perhaps, not unlike what you accuse Trump supporters of.

It may not be enough for you but the Assistant State’s Attorney Adrienne Ellis told reporters there were no photos of bruising on Michelle Fields’ phone. And there was no video evidence of abuse whatsoever. But if you want to take her side and agree with lawyer Cruz and presume that he’s guilty then fine. We can agree to disagree. But then again I guess I’m just up to your vast intellectual prowess and political perspicacity.

For someone who is perceived as being so intellectual and brilliant, I’m genuinely surprised that Cruz hasn’t yet figured out that the GOPe will disgard him like a spent cigarette butt. There is absolutely no way they will ever allow someone who couldn’t get along with anyone in Washington DC to become president.

I get the sense that you don’t see any shortcomings at all with Cruz. A little myopia there perhaps, not unlike what you accuse Trump supporters of.

No, that is just the thing. I CAN and DO discuss the shortcomings of Cruz. I always thought he was the most "pure" conservative, but he has serious likability issues and comes across as if he has been running for President since the day he emerged from the birth canal. There is no doubt that Cruz, conservative as he may be, would have trouble beating a pretty terrible Hillary Clinton candidate. Cruz was my first choice in that I agree with almost all his positions and conservative track record, but I had also hoped an accomplished governor like Walker would do better and perhaps be an realistic alternative if Cruz didn't catch on. But it didn't work out that way. The problem is I think Trump would get utterly destroyed in a general election. I see no path to victory for Donald, none.

I rarely find a Trump supporter who can discuss, rationally and without emotion, the pluses and minuses of their candidate. Perhaps you can, but most I run into can not. They are just too emotionally invested in him.

Look, Cruz has his supporters and in theory a lot of the #NeverTrump people and he can't even really break away from Kasich let alone consistently beat Trump in most of the polling I've seen. I am more than happy to discuss those things rationally. But again, I almost never find a Trump supporter who can do the same. What I find is that almost all the Trump followers I know and come across are just wed to him so completely that they get quite angry if you challenge him at all. It is almost as if they feel Trump is so obviously the right choice and anyone who disagrees is an unpatriotic heretic.

It may surprise you but I do have a lot of concerns about Mr. Trump. One major one is that he has no idea how difficult, complex and frustrating it is to try to get anything done in Washington. The world of politics is vastly different from the world of business. I’m not convinced he see’s just how much of a challenge this is going to be. He makes things sound way too easy and that really concerns me. And I’m not sure he has yet grasped many of the complexities he’s going to have to deal with. At least there’s not much evidence of that to date. I could list other concerns but that’s my biggest one.

One issue he does seem to fully grasp however is the significance and importance of unchecked immigration. I see this as an existential issue facing the country. Our culture and social fabric are being pushed to the brink by the invasion of illegals. Mr. Trump seems to have the strongest convictions about fixing this massive problem. He may not be able to fix every aspect of it, but he’s not afraid to tackle it head on.

He also eschews political correctness and, unlike most politicians, is not afraid to speak openly about his views. Again, PC is another issue that is eroding our society in very corrosive ways. It is paralyzing our country and we need a breath of fresh air.

Yes, Trump’s supporters can be emotional and defensive. But many Cruz supporters are also in denial about their candidate. In my opinion, he can’t beat Hillary. But if he did, I would be much happier to have him as president than her, that’s for sure.

Well, that worked out to be a reasonable discussion in the end.

The things you mention that you most like about Trump are also the things I do like about him - immigration, a rejection of political correctness and I will add an ability to reject media narratives.

My concern is that Trump is not what he says he is. I look at his track record and I guess I just see someone saying whatever he thinks he has to say at this moment in time. Additionally there are just too many areas he is more in agreement with Sanders than in tune with conservative ideas. Rebuilding our infrastructure for one. That is simply code for massive stimulus programs. Didn’t we oppose that when Obama was pushing it? Now suddenly it’s a good idea? Protectionism rather than reforming OUR laws to make us more competitive is another. I also don’t like this view he has that our armed forces are some sort of mercenary army that people should be paying for. It is almost as if he has no idea history, how we arrived at protecting some of these nations, why we do it, what we gain from it. It just strikes me that he is looking at everything as a static, zero sum, tit for tat. That just isn’t how the world works. It also concerns me that Trump seems to have an affinity for people like Putin. I really do think he admires the strong man type and that is not the kind of leader I believe our democratic republic needs. And the list goes on.

I do applaud some of what Trump says and does, I just wish I could believe any of it. I really do think that most Trump and Cruz people are talking past each other. We seem to have been able to bridge that gap pretty easily, but I just feel that way with most Trump people. And to be fair, I guess a lot of Trump people view Cruz supporters the same way. I do think it is fair to say though that the two sides really are, for the most part anyway, talking past each other to such an extent that I wonder how they will ever reconcile. I suppose most will, I hope so anyway, but this is a pretty deep divide we are dealing with right now.

Anyway, cheers and thanks for your comments. You make some good points and I will keep an eye out for your posts in the future.

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