Ted Cruz's Winning Weekend

American Thinker ^ | March 11, 2014 | C. Edmund Wright

[SoConPubbie]

I say this because just minutes after some 750 mostly young CPAC straw voters had given Paul his numerical win and outsized vocal salute, a pair of very significant speeches -- talks that will live on virally for much longer and to far more voters -- changed the entire atmosphere of the weekend. In started in the very hall where Paul’s win was announced, as Sarah Palin electrified the room and conservatives everywhere with a presentation that heaped praise on Cruz and “Cruz control” tactics – while virtually ignoring the junior senator from Kentucky.

This not so subtle pro-Cruz flavoring was not lost on dozens of red-clad Rand Paul supporters, who walked out of the hall during Palin’s speech.  Paul’s supporters had spent the weekend decrying social issues, intervention in the Ukraine, and Cruz’ shutdown filibuster. Palin spent the first few minutes of her talk praising all of the above, using the filibuster as the centerpiece of her thesis and the foundation of her entire talk, even resorting to a Cruzlike use of Dr. Seuss.

Say what you want about Palin and her speeches, but there is no doubt that they are very carefully crafted and have been for years. In the past, she has very clearly laid to rest the notion of third-party fantasies. Saturday night, she made it clear that the direction conservatives should take is Cruz control.

To clarify, this is not to say that Palin has any antipathy towards Paul. It’s clear she thinks very positively of him. It is equally clear that she prefers the tactics and moreover, the emphases of Cruz. She is more worried about ObamaCare than drones and she thinks the filibuster was a move of genius that has been validated

[SoConPubbie]

	"If we must have an enemy at the head of Government, let it be one whom we can oppose, and for whom we are not responsible, who will not involve our party in the disgrace of his foolish and bad measures." - Alexander Hamilton "We don't intend to turn the Republican Party over to the traitors in the battle just ended. We will have no more of those candidates who are pledged to the same goals as our opposition and who seek our support. Turning the Party over to the so-called moderates wouldn’t make any sense at all." -- President Ronald Reagan "A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." - Thomas Paine 1792 "It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." - Samuel Adams "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams

[SoConPubbie]

Ted Cruz Ping!

If you want on/off this ping list, please let me know.

Please beware, this is a high-volume ping list!

[SoConPubbie]

Ping!

[RJS1950]

I’m all for Cruz, especially because he speaks his mind and doesn’t necessarily care what others think.

Now, the real question is how long will he last among the balkanized, single-minded conservatives who still believe that there is one truly perfect conservative Reagan clone out there who will come forward. How long will it take for him to say something that this group or that group will not necessarily like? How long will it take for conservatives to throw him aside when they start taking seriously the nasty lies of the GOPe and Democrat party? When will the first conservative faction declare that he has no fire in the belly when he doesn’t respond aggressively enough to some issue?

I am hoping that things are different this time around but it seems that in the last couple of prez elections that the different conservative interest factions will begin tossing out good candidates for this reason or that reason, leaving the choice to the GOPe.

Pray hard that stupidity doesn’t take the field again and lead the way to a GOPe choice.

[Servant of the Cross]

Nice article! Well done to highlight the two significant speeches of the weekend - Sarah Palin to close out CPAC and Ted Cruz at the Gridiron. Big Winner indeed.

Viva Ted Cruz! A man of principle! May he be the Senate Majority Leader in January, 2015.

[jagusafr]

I only wish he didn’t remind me of Bill Murray in that pic.

[afsnco]

The GOP appears to have made a calculated decision that they’re going to throw “social conservatives” under the bus in the hope of gaining more than they’ll lose. I know I’ve thrown THEM under the bus the past couple of elections, opting for the Constitution Party candidate.

But the GOP is not very bright. At one stroke they’ve removed all differentiation between themselves and the dimmos. Nowadays there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between them.

Cruz speaks his mind now, but if he gets the nomination, how much of what he says now will survive when he tacks left for the general election?

[bigbob]

Good questions. And don’t forget the lunatic fringe with their eligibility arguments...

The good news is, the difference between Cruz and Paul are far smaller than those between the GOP-ordained candidate Romney and the conservative-libertarian challengers (Paul, Gingrich, Santorum, Perry, Bachman et al) in 2012. We would do well with either, or with any other conservative-libertarian candidate (e.g. Palin) who supports smaller government, lower taxes, individual liberty, and a strong national defense.

Only time will tell if the Right is able to coalesce behind a front-runner who is “the most conservative candidate that can win”, or if we will see a repeat of the prolonged internecine warfare and circular firing squad that divided the conservative-libertarian votes in the last Presidential primary season.

At this point in time, the only good news may be that the elite GOP doesn’t yet have a clear front-runner either.

[Mariner]

"At this point in time, the only good news may be that the elite GOP doesn’t yet have a clear front-runner either"

They will.

And I would not be surprised if they pick Romney again...who would then pick Jeb Bush or Christie.

Sure they could try to mix it up and bit and potentially offer a Scott Walker the VP slot, but the GOPe candidate will not surprise anyone and will not be conservative, much less on the libertarian side of conservative.

Like ALL THREE Palin, Paul and Cruz.

[SoConPubbie]

Cruz speaks his mind now, but if he gets the nomination, how much of what he says now will survive when he tacks left for the general election?

Only God and Senator Cruz know the answer to that question.

What we do know, is that some men, like Washington, Jefferson, Reagan, stay true to their ideals.

So far, Senator Cruz is staying the course.

Until he deviates in some grand and stupid manner, he's my guy for POTUS 2016.