“.........Should Ted Cruz win the general election, and the odds are in his favor, he will join Mike Lee, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Pat Toomey, and Ron Johnson as yet another Senator who owed his nomination more to Jim DeMint than the Republican leaders in Congress.
Already, as the sun rises this morning, there is a great game of co-opting happening. Republican leaders and conservative establishmentarians are already whispering that Ted is a “reasonable” and “smart” conservative. “He won’t be like Jim DeMint.”
Ted Cruz established himself by being like Jim DeMint. He better remember that as the great fellating of his ego by Washington insiders begins. The Republicans in Washington aim to co-opt him, to pacify him, and to make him an ally in preservation of the status quo. They will use conservative editorialists, fundraisers, and others to do the dirty work. They will try to surround him with staff who can “tame” him and “show him the ropes.” They will push conservative think tankers on him who know the game and where their real allegiance is. They will try to undermine him while building him up.
Washington insiders always try to bring outsiders to the inside. Jim DeMint remains a hero to the antiestablishment crowd because that crowd knows he won’t be bought off. Ted Cruz will, we can all hope and expect, be a Texas version of Jim DeMint, and not just another go along to get along Republican on the way past $16 trillion in debt.......”