Ted Cruz Will Bank on the Base

National Review Online ^ | December 15, 2014 | Eliana Johnson

[Cincinatus' Wife]

To hell with the independents. That’s not usually the animating principle of a presidential campaign, but for Ted Cruz’s, it just might be.

His strategists aren’t planning to make a big play for so-called independent voters in the general election if Cruz wins the Republican nomination. According to several of the senator’s top advisers, Cruz sees a path to victory that relies instead on increasing conservative turnout; attracting votes from groups — including Jews, Hispanics, and Millennials — that have tended to favor Democrats; and, in the words of one Cruz strategist, “not getting killed with independents.”

Twenty-three months from the presidential election, it seems all but a given that the freshman senator, who has been in Congress just two years, will mount a bid for the White House. “He’s looking at the race very seriously,” says a senior adviser, who confirms that Cruz’s campaign headquarters would be based in Houston. Cruz strategists see a way to win both the nomination and the general election. They are assiduously cultivating the party’s top-dollar donors, almost all of whom remain uncommitted. Internally, the senator has shaken up his staff to address problems and to set the stage for a presidential bid. All that’s left, it seems, is an official announcement.

It’s almost conventional wisdom now that presidential candidates woo the party faithful in primary contests and tack to the middle in the general election to attract more-moderate voters. Not Cruz......

[ThePatriotsFlag]

Even the most dimwitted moderate independent voters have figured out the left path is destruction.

---

How dare you call me a dim witted moderate because I'm an independent! I am an independent because I am a staunch conservative and will NOT support the Republican party's left-leaning policies...like you do? If you want my conservative vote, don't throw me in with a bunch of dimwits. Like the writer, you don't have a clue as to where the Republican base went. I know because I went with them. You really should become an Independent and stop supporting the GOPe. Why would any conservative support what the Republicans just did, funding Obamacare and amnesty? If you do not support those things, then you should join the "dim witted" Independent ranks like I did. It's kind of like finding John Gault.

[bert]

BS....... I don’t think that would be the case.

For that to happen, Cruz must first be nominated. Given the governors likely to be running, that is a pretty big if.

Cruz has big advantages though, he has charisma and he has a message. It is going to be very interesting to see if one of the current governors can emerge with adequate charisma to defeat him.

[Servant of the Cross]

It’s almost conventional wisdom now that presidential candidates woo the party faithful in primary contests and tack to the middle in the general election to attract more-moderate voters.

Eliana was quite obviously too young to experience President Reagan. He was not 'conventional' but he most certainly was wise. Conservatism is an idea, a vision, a philosophy that is attractive all by itself to a multitude of people. You don't need 'tack' and pander to groups or interests, whether in the primary or the general. The message is always the same. You passionately and effectively articulate its great principles and the people come to you. I think Senator Cruz gets this very well. His philosophical fusion is the same as President Reagan's.

Conservatism's political power derived from its ideas, not the other way around.

[bert]

When the chips are down, in the booth...... to be relevant, an independent must decide for either the Republican or the Democrat candidate presidential candidate.

Any other course means the independent voter declares himself and his vote irrelevant. That is quite succinctly the way things are presently done in America. That is reality

[ncalburt]

The NRO is the DC K srteet newsletter now.
This is the dC elite taljing point on Cruz.
He can the general ekection but a American hating Kenyan Marxist did some how ? Granted the Chicago voter fraud sysyem going nation wide helped !
As usual ,they push some crap cooked by the traitors Rove and Lobbyists to set up this sorry scare tactic to peddke that awful fool,and traitor Jeb.

[jsanders2001]

And I hope the illegal immigrants vote him into office. Dems forget skin color is thicker than government handouts once they’re across the border. I hope they shove Cruz right up the Prez’s *** insert word or words that would get me banned here ***

[Servant of the Cross]

Do you start drinking when you arise, or are you still hungover?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

From your link:

".....While factions will always exist, leaders of such single ideological perspectives necessarily will be viewed as partisans of that faction and will not be accepted as movement-wide leaders. Only one who internalizes the necessity of both liberty and tradition can make it work. That was Reagan’s secret to success and the only path forward. He was not a carpenter of stools but a synthesizer of Western wisdom, recognized as such by a sufficient number to be granted power. What the conservative movement needs most today is more philosophical debating clubs and less talk about power. If it gets the former right, the latter will follow."

Good stuff! Thank you for linking the article.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Romney won the independent vote. How did that work for him?

Zero won twice by turning out his moonbat base.

[Servant of the Cross]

IMHO, the word "independent" as used by Ms. Johnson (and others here) is intended to define the voting block who are right of the DNC platform but left of the GOP platform.

This excludes those like you who refuse to identify by a Party because they are upset with and will not support the GOP because they are conservative and view the GOP as left-leaning.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

-—My point is that Reagan: 1. rallied the base; 2. attracted a very large number of independent voters; 3. drew in a somewhat smaller number of Democratic voters.-—

He even got the Teamsters’ endorsement.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

-—Once they start to hear the message coming directly from Cruz (rather than being filtered, distorted, lied about, and corrupted by the MSM/DNC/RNC propaganda machine), they will begin to wake up.-—

Bullseye.

[nathanbedford]

Ted Cruz has just demonstrated for those who choose to look that the establishment Republican party has utterly betrayed the faithful who have so recently installed them in power. In the wake of this villainy Ted Cruz has virtually as the only path forward to the White House for him to abandon the establishment Republican party as a drowning man would let go an anchor.

The question is not whether a distinct group of committed conservatives such as are found here on FreeRepublic will abandon Mitch McConnell and John Boehner for a real Ronald Reagan style crusade led by Ted Cruz, the question is whether there will be enough to win. In other words, the rupture between the betrayers in charge of the Republican Party in Congress and The Tea Party base is complete. The problem is, it is unknowable whether there is enough of us to prevail.

Judging from the media coverage it will be very difficult for Ted Cruz to make clear to Republican voters the extent of the betrayal which our Rino opponents have just committed. For example, Bill Bennett's cowardly diffidence during his radio show this morning in even articulating the idea of betrayal indicates the degree to which the media establishment, even further left than Bennett, will simply smother Ted Cruz. We have seen that clearly in the reporting on television and in the press comparing the principled stand of Elizabeth Warren against the self-aggrandizing posturing of Ted Cruz. If we all get a fair hearing from Bill Bennett, we are left with few outlets.

But here's a dilemma for the Republican establishment, if they cannot seal over this rupture will they will have planted the seeds of their own defeat in 2016, which is, of all the global motives animating this crowd, perhaps the least obnoxious. They can plead that they are trying to show the country that they can govern so that they can win in 2016, while all the while we know they are doing the bidding and pocketing the cash of Wall Street and K St. But the point remains, if this rift is not healed, the GOP will likely lose because the base will either run a third-party or stay home.

It is up to us as committed conservatives to demonstrate to the typically unengaged voters in the Republican ranks the degree of this betrayal and the hopelessness of an establishment candidate putting things right. Jeb Bush out, Ted Cruz in, or no support from us. The media will make it very difficult to get this message out. Ted Cruz alone, as good as he is on his feet, cannot do it.

But if the establishment and the rest of the party does not nominate an acceptable conservative for the White House, the Rino is very likely to lose for lack support in the base. It is much less likely that the party will come to understand the affirmative need to put up a true Ronald Reagan conservative such as Ted Cruz.

We are operating as principled players at a very severe disadvantage to the establishment Republicans because we want to prevail men the country and they want to keep their sinecures even at the expense to the country. They are willing to lose this election for their personal advantage and that means they will put up, if possible, another Rino for president.

Our job in this forum to educate is clear.

[Hostage]

Eliana is retarded.

Independents love Ted Cruz. He embodies the whole notion of being an Independent.

In 2012 Independents made up 24% of registered voters. Now it’s catapulted to 42%. Why is that?

Voters have left both republican and democrat parties in droves. Those that have left have registered as Independents.

Ted Cruz will take 2/3’s of Independents in 2016 and win by a landslide.

[Hostage]

Romney won by about only 1%.

The author is retarded and is not in command of the facts.

See post #54.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3237269/posts?page=54#54

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Cincinatus' Wife.

[snip] According to several of the senator's top advisers, Cruz sees a path to victory that relies instead on increasing conservative turnout; attracting votes from groups -- including Jews, Hispanics, and Millennials -- that have tended to favor Democrats; and, in the words of one Cruz strategist, "not getting killed with independents." [/snip]

s/b "in the words of one unnamed purported Cruz strategist". It's probably more accurate to say, not live or die based on whether self-identified independents decide to show up. The base will turn out for him. For the next 18 months expect a lot of online troll activity -- the Demagogic Party pays handsomely for that -- which will center on his supposed ineligibility, and from the Uncle Tacos who lick the butts of their Demwit masters, attacks on his Latino identity. If he's the nominee, expect an avalanche of Hispanic votes for him, and the Demwits have 18 months to try to undermine that. We've already seen the Partisan Media Shills in action, attacking him rather than his positions or his words, and that has gone on for more than a year.

[Walkingfeather]

Unless he is ignoring the independents in order to watch them follow him on their own. Sometimes ignoring will attract those that you want.

[Bigg Red]

Prayers up for a Cruz victory.

[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]

So, for all of you supporting a possible POTUS candidacy by Scott Walker, I have one question for you:

Where has been his leadership on this Omnibus issue, particularly the inclusion of funding for Obama’s Amnesty and Obamacare?

I know where Ted Cruz stands, he’s leading.

Scott Walker, on the other hand, hasn’t said a word about it as far as I know.

If he wants to lead, if he wants to be President, shouldn’t he be leading on the most important issues of the day even if he is a Governor?

He missed a great opportunity to let conservatives know he would lead on the issue of Amnesty by being quiet about how he feels about the issue.