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Cruz nomination would set up a clear choice
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier ^ | May 17, 2015 | Former Rep. Dave Nagle (D-Iowa)

Posted on 05/17/2015 7:31:27 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is running for president. His candidacy should not be overlooked.

Many are not familiar with him, which is not surprising because for most of Iowa it is still very early in the caucus process. But the senator has attributes that may distinguish him from an unusually crowded field of GOP contenders.

First, he went to Harvard. No, I am not writing about Ted Kennedy, I am saying this fellow actually went to not just Harvard, but the Harvard Law School after doing his undergraduate work at Princeton University. He is well educated and very intelligent. For example, he served for a period of time as the solicitor general for the state of Texas, and you do not argue and win cases in front of the United States Supreme Court without being an extraordinarily competent attorney.

He is conservative, very conservative, but I don’t dislike that aspect of him. He is a true reflection of his well-formed political ideology. Those who run for office as liberal or conservative can be divided into two classes: individuals who have thought and carefully arrived at their political opinions and those I would call “lip sync” wonders, whose views are obtained by election opportunity, saying what they think needs to be said and then voting to retain their public position. Ted Cruz is not the latter; he certainly is the former.

Further, he is an excellent debater, having honed his skills from grade school on up through college and then into the practice of law.

For a conservative, his views are fairly standard. He would, among other things, repeal Obamacare, abolish the IRS, obviously cut government spending, strongly support Israel and is decidedly in favor of a strong military for the U.S. In addition, his father is Cuban, which may open a door for the Republican Party to crack into the Hispanic voting bloc.

Can he win the Republican nomination? I don’t know. It is a crowded field, particularly on the right. Cruz is focusing his early attention on tea party members, social conservatives and evangelicals. It’s noted that he has said the problem has been not enough evangelicals have been voting. It would be unrealistic to expect that he moves to court moderates, people he has described as “the mushy middle.”

According to the latest statistics, approximately 40 percent of Iowa Republicans are self-described conservatives, social, religious or libertarian. He will have a fight with Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and a host of others to emerge as their favorite and then will have to confront Jeb Bush in a less friendly atmosphere in New Hampshire, where independents can vote. But he is a new face, he is bright and Iowans have a history of taking the unexpected candidate and propelling that individual into the national spotlight.

But the one real reason I think a Cruz presidential campaign would be good for the country is this: A clear choice.

Most times, after the presidential nominating process is completed, a strange thing happens. The candidate that was the darling of the left or the favorite son of the right suddenly discovers he or she can’t remember what they said in January, it now being September and really they are in their heart simply a moderate, attempting to move the needle on the dial to 51 percent of the vote.

As a nation right now, we are badly divided. Neither party has a clear mandate for their policies. As a result, we don’t move too much one way or the other, but this in fact means we are not moving at all.

We are stuck, with congressional approval ratings at historic lows. Frustration exists with the Iowa Legislature’s inability to find a common ground on educational funding, among other issues. Strange as it may sound, legislative bodies do reflect public opinion and right now, the country is badly divided on the role and size of government, more so federal than state but really both.

Sometimes presidential elections can determine the country’s future. I think 1940 was one such election. Franklin D. Roosevelt had pushed through the reinstatement of the draft by one vote in the House of Representatives, and America commenced preparation for the coming war. Ronald Reagan turning the country to the right in 1980 is another example. But for this to happen, whether we go left or right, depends on the voting public being presented with a clear choice, and Ted Cruz on the Republican side clearly reflects this opportunity.

Now if the Democrats will do the same thing, we will have a real election and real choices, which is, after all, what a representative democracy is supposed to be about.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections; US: Iowa
KEYWORDS: congress; cruzorlose; democrats; gohmert; gop; iowa; republicans; tedcruz; texas
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To: basil
"I’m convinced he’s the real deal! "

I’m convinced he’s the RIGHT deal!

21 posted on 05/17/2015 9:25:05 PM PDT by matthew fuller (God bless and protect Pamela Geller.)
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To: re_nortex

I love and will support Louie Gohmert, and have said so many times here on FR. I would also like to refer you to Ted Poe, another super conservative that I would support for TX Senator.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Poe


22 posted on 05/17/2015 9:37:34 PM PDT by matthew fuller (God bless and protect Pamela Geller.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

bump


23 posted on 05/17/2015 9:40:09 PM PDT by CPT Clay
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To: matthew fuller
Amen! I have long been a fan of Ted Poe and it's not just because he's a member of the church of Christ (where I choose to worship) and went to ACU. There is no daylight between my views and that of Poe, especially his zero rating from the evil NARAL cabal.

Ted Poe


24 posted on 05/17/2015 9:46:52 PM PDT by re_nortex (DP - that's what I like about Texas)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Ted Cruz is the only true Conservative in this race.
Ted Cruz is the only true Conservative in this race.
Ted Cruz is the only true Conservative in this race.
Ted Cruz is the only true Conservative in this race.
Ted Cruz is the only true Conservative in this race.
Ted Cruz is the only true Conservative in this race.

~~Cruz, OR LOSE~~


25 posted on 05/17/2015 10:02:12 PM PDT by Gator113 (~~Cruz, OR LOSE~~ Ted Cruz is the only true Conservative in this race.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Bingo!


26 posted on 05/17/2015 10:55:19 PM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously-you won't live through it anyway-Enjoy Yourself ala Louis Prima)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Fine cept one thing...we need the votes. Bush can win by one vote in Florida and carry the entire state! We need get the vote out or all of this is just wishful thinking. IA is key folks.


27 posted on 05/17/2015 11:38:00 PM PDT by rrrod (at home in Medellin Colombia)
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To: The Final Harvest

A Constitutional Republic to be accurate.


28 posted on 05/18/2015 12:53:05 AM PDT by American Constitutionalist (BeThe Keystone Pipe lik ProjectR : build it already Congre)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Holy crap on a cracker - perfect reasoning from a really unexpected source.

Go Cruz!

29 posted on 05/18/2015 2:38:28 AM PDT by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
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To: Ouderkirk

1. Leading in governance takes guts, determination, and a healthy sense of logic mixed with honesty. It is not an instant grits kind of thing, but he will gain the leadership respect because people will find this of him.

2. How much support did Reagan have with a Democrat Congress? His support came from #1 and also from going over the heads of all the media and Congress combined. It was the voice of the people who swayed what the leadership of governance reacted to.

The key component in this article is leadership, which is very lacking in DC at the moment. True instinctive leadership is very hard to find. Cruz exudes it.


30 posted on 05/18/2015 3:26:21 AM PDT by mazda77
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Rush Limbaugh has been on the radio for many years,he has always let it be known that he is a conservative and that he was not going to quit until everyone agrees with him,now I know it is tongue and cheek,but he has also said a few times that with all that he does,IF the American people vote to go socialist,communist etc. That’s it,that’s the way it is FOLKS.
In my opinion this country is and has been for awhile finished,done, over as I,a 65 year old has BEEN,used to remember it growing up. Not that if there was a complete change in attitude could it be changed again,but if you can see it you are a better man than I am Gunga Din.
Would love to see Ted Cruz given a chance to do that


31 posted on 05/18/2015 3:58:36 AM PDT by ballplayer (hvexx NKK c bmytit II iyijjhihhiyyiyiyi it iyiiy II i hi jiihi ty yhiiyihiijhijjyjiyjiiijyuiiijihyii)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
"WOW" is an UNDERSTATEMENT !

HOW could it get ANY BETTER ?




What You Need To Know About Ted Cruz ( 1:46 )


Take a good long look at where "Establishment Republicans" ALWAYS take us.


32 posted on 05/18/2015 4:21:24 AM PDT by Yosemitest (It's Simple ! Fight, ... or Die !)
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To: Ouderkirk

[Will Cruz have enough support in the congress to actually pass an agenda (i.e. repeal 0bamacare, abolish the IRS, etc.) At this point it doesn’t appear that Ted has too any friends in Congress and him winning the WH (even by double digits) will dislodge the limp-wristed Boehner or McConnell.]

EXAMPLE OF CURZ WORKING WITH BOTH SIDES OF THE ISLE.
“Sen. Cruz Receives Bipartisan Support for NDAA Amendments”
http://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=2327


33 posted on 05/18/2015 4:50:01 AM PDT by stars & stripes forever ( Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Psalm 33:12)
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To: basil; All

I’m somewhat suspect of his motive for writing this article. He is a DemocRAT and former State Rep. If we see many more DemocRATS, or Liberal media, singing the praises of Ted Cruz, that will tell me that the DemocRATS/Liberals want Ted to be the GOP nominee because they think he is an extreme, right-wing whack-o and would be the Pubbie most easily defeated. I welcome their “endorsements” and can’t wait to see the look on their faces when Ted blind-sides them and delivers a “knock-out blow”.


34 posted on 05/18/2015 6:09:40 AM PDT by Din Maker (Gov. Susana Martinez of NM for VP in 2016)
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To: ConservativeMind

How about a republic?


35 posted on 05/18/2015 6:14:07 AM PDT by SuzyQue
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To: The Final Harvest; SuzyQue; ConservativeMind; 2ndDivisionVet; American Constitutionalist

See Post #28. American Constitutionalist is correct: We are a Constitutional Republic. Big difference between that and a “Democracy”.


36 posted on 05/18/2015 6:20:24 AM PDT by Din Maker (Gov. Susana Martinez of NM for VP in 2016)
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To: Ouderkirk
being a skilled debater and attorney doesn’t necessarily mean that he has the requisite skills to lead the nation. So this is a major issue that Cruz is going to have to resolve. Leading the voters is not the same as governing.

Though Ted Cruz was only thirty-two, he persuaded Abbott (former Texas attorney general, current Texas governor) that he was up to job of being the solicitor general. At this position for 6 years he led a team of 4000 people, including 700 lawyers and argued nine cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, more than any other Texas lawyer during this period and more than all but a few lawyers in the country.

37 posted on 05/18/2015 6:26:07 AM PDT by Isara
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To: Din Maker

I’m behind Sen. Cruz all the way. He is one of very few politicians to whom I have made substantial donations.


38 posted on 05/18/2015 7:00:38 AM PDT by basil (2ASisters.org)
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To: re_nortex

I would like to see Mr. Gohmert as our next senator—I think he’s the “real deal” also.


39 posted on 05/18/2015 7:03:10 AM PDT by basil (2ASisters.org)
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To: Din Maker

Yes, I am always alarmed when someone, particularly someone who claims to be conservative, does not know what form of government our Constitution establishes, and does not understand the difference between a democracy and a republic.


40 posted on 05/18/2015 8:26:11 AM PDT by SuzyQue
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