0bama ran as the most liberal Senator and candidate ever, and won by motivating his liberal base against a dispirited conservative base.
Cruz is Turnabout.
I can’t post the links to them from my phone, but folks should look up the PJMedia and Breitbart articles on Catalist and Romney’s botched Orca voter turnout system.
Obama went very hard for his base, targeting ideological supporters who didn’t have a good history of voting. Romney did the traditional tack to the center thing.
Obama’s strategy was much more effective, including cost effective and had the benefit of a software system that worked. Romney’s strategy was much less effective and cost a lot more per-vote. Plus the expensive turnout system collapsed on election day, which Breitbart says resulted in the Romney Campaign suppressing it’s own vote.
Cruz may be looking at this and thinking that he can replicate on the right what Obama did on the Left. Which is a high-risk, high-reward move. Especially given that the Conservative base isn’t as easy to access and doesn’t behave similarly to the Liberal one.