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What Went Wrong for Ted Cruz
Weekly Standard ^ | May 04, 2016 | Fred Barnes

Posted on 05/04/2016 4:56:00 AM PDT by Magnatron

What happened to Ted Cruz? A month ago, he won the Wisconsin primary in a landslide and was poised to combat Donald Trump with a fresh burst of enthusiasm. Now he's out of the race and Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

Things happened in two cycles, some in recent weeks and others that plagued his campaign from the beginning. As Trump said last night, Cruz is tough and smart. But he made big mistakes as a presidential candidate.

(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2016gopprimary; blunders; cruz; cruz2016; cuddlyasaroach; election; miserablefailure; nocharisma; nomination; slimeysleaze; trump
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To: connyankee

Well Bye!

101 posted on 05/04/2016 7:32:16 AM PDT by CJ Wolf ( !)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Did we ever figure out what the message (supposedly from God)”seek my face, not my hand” meant?


102 posted on 05/04/2016 7:36:14 AM PDT by Cecily
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To: richardtavor
I get a sense that he is the candidate that the Democrats have been praying for. They have a ton of unexposed dirt that they will drop on him like a nuclear weapon. He has been covered by a compliant media so far, but only because he was good for their ratings and profit.

I disagree. Trump was probably the most vetted presidential candidate in modern history when he announced last year. His life has been under a microscope since about 1980 and just about every personal and professional detail about him has been printed in tabloids and other publications ad nauseam.

I believe that America has accepted the fact that Donald Trump is a bit of rogue and no altar boy. He's pretty much immune from such things as "bimbo eruptions" or "shady" business practices. He's Donald Trump!

Ironically the Democrats are going to get a taste of what Republicans went through during the 1990s when Bill Clinton was president and everything just bounced right off of him. Time and time again, we thought we had the dirt on Bill Clinton to bring him down and it never worked. When Clinton was caught lying about receiving oral sex from interns at the Oval Office, the Democrats just chuckled about it and essentially told us that "Bill's just being Bill, don't you just love him!" - and his polls went up accordingly.

More serious matters like Whitewater, Travelgate, etc. etc., all just got swept under the rug and anybody wanting to make an issue of it were lumped in with the "vast right-wing conspiracy."

Hopefully our guy (Trump) does not have the amoral and criminal inclinations of the Clintons but if the Left thinks they are going to defeat Trump over some silly sex scandal or questionable business transaction, they are in for a rude surprise. For better or for worse, the American people just don't care about those things anymore with regard to their president. That was established during the Bill Clinton presidency.

103 posted on 05/04/2016 7:44:45 AM PDT by SamAdams76
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To: Cecily

Not wrong to ask for a hand of support and basic sustenance.

Wrong to ask for prosperity in and of itself. This should be a side effect of a blessed relationship. Otherwise it becomes a pride exercise.


104 posted on 05/04/2016 7:44:45 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: SamAdams76

You’re right — the voters are voting for a person at least as much as they are voting for issues.

Donald Trump is the “karma” back to the Democrats to repay Bill Clinton :-)


105 posted on 05/04/2016 7:47:20 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: combat_boots

I agree with your comment on security first to start rectifying the other issues. It fits into Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs. Survival and safety need to be addressed in order to successfully address morality and faith issues.


106 posted on 05/04/2016 7:49:42 AM PDT by Suz in AZ
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To: chajin

“Trump is a once-in-a-generation phenomenon that no one could have prepared for”

That’s it. Emerson might consider Trump a poet. Read Emerson’s essay on the poet.


107 posted on 05/04/2016 7:51:02 AM PDT by cymbeline
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To: JudyinCanada

I agree. It started with Dr. Carson. Being close to Beck didn’t help - he started to look ridiculous. During the ABC debate he acted like a silly frat guy. He lost me with his comments after the Chicago violence. His obsession and lies regarding Trump made him appear delusional and paranoid. His supporters, such as his father, Mark Levine, and George Will did not help. Like you said, listening to Cruz made one cringe.


108 posted on 05/04/2016 8:00:41 AM PDT by Dante3
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To: chajin
Cruz put together what could have been a successful rope-a-dope campaign against Jeb! and the rest of the GOPe, which would have been the most logical campaign to prepare for.

OTOH, Trump is a once-in-a-generation phenomenon that no one could have prepared for. it may well be that the most surprised person about his success in this campaign happens to be The Donald himself, though he would never admit it—only people like Schumer publicly crow when they do better than they thought they would.


This is true. What's funny though is if Trump had fizzled out early, or just given up, I but all the Trumpettes (all former Cruzers) would have been lauding Ted on his delegate strategy and beating the GOPe. Instead of him stealing the election, they would've been ecstatic that he beat them at their own game!
109 posted on 05/04/2016 8:19:33 AM PDT by Svartalfiar
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To: combat_boots

“This election is about our sovereignty and trade”

Exactly! Even Jerry Falwell Jr. (Who endorse Trump) stated that right now Social Issues has to take a back seat because there are more critical issues that must be taken care of first like - Sovereignty of this great nation.


110 posted on 05/04/2016 8:27:20 AM PDT by Patriot Babe
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To: Suz in AZ; Patriot Babe

Thanks.

If we just look in the eyes of people all around us, they often appear to have no idea of the goings on, thinking that everything’s the same and will be. I also see a number of people who are just dumbed down but have no idea.

It’s upsetting. We may have to secure their security and future jobs without their consent or awareness.


111 posted on 05/04/2016 8:30:22 AM PDT by combat_boots (The Lion of Judah cometh. Hallelujah. Gloria Patri, Filio et Spiritui Sancto!)
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To: richardtavor

Cruz is an opportunist, globalist, and a career politician. He used checklist conservatism to dupe so many people. His campaign and his tactics prove it.


112 posted on 05/04/2016 8:32:24 AM PDT by PJBankard
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To: PJBankard
Cruz is an opportunist, globalist, and a career politician. He used checklist conservatism to dupe so many people. His campaign and his tactics prove it..

Well said.

113 posted on 05/04/2016 8:35:01 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: DungeonMaster
Is there evidence of "Seven Mountains Dominionism" being espoused by anyone rather than being a label invented by detractors to slap on people they don't like?

IOW, can someone give me an address -- just one -- of a Dominionist Church?

114 posted on 05/04/2016 8:48:44 AM PDT by ExGeeEye (Mohammed was a war mongering pedophile rapist who started a Satanic death cult. Arrest me, Lynch.)
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To: Sir Napsalot; All

BTW, I didn’t read the details of Cruz speech or his suspension of the campaign.

However, it will be THE smart thing for him to announce TODAY that he fully supports the Republican nominee and urge his supporters to do so likewise.

This may yet SAVE his political career.


115 posted on 05/04/2016 8:51:58 AM PDT by Sir Napsalot (Pravda + Useful Idiots = CCCP; JournOList + Useful Idiots = DopeyChangey!)
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To: Sir Napsalot

However, it will be THE smart thing for him to announce TODAY that he fully supports the Republican nominee and urge his supporters to do so likewise.

******************************************

Don’t hold your breath on that one. The rant from yesterday made it impossible for him to support Trump, and that was the point of it.

Everyone kept saying that it was a sign of desperation, but I saw it different.
He knew he was going to drop out, and he was not going out without saying exactly what he really thought about Trump.


116 posted on 05/04/2016 8:59:36 AM PDT by kara37
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To: kara37

People will dismiss that as ‘heat of the moment’ thing.

That is why I said if Cruz does what I suggested TODAY (or very soon), he may yet salvage his future.


117 posted on 05/04/2016 9:19:10 AM PDT by Sir Napsalot (Pravda + Useful Idiots = CCCP; JournOList + Useful Idiots = DopeyChangey!)
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To: ExGeeEye
IOW, can someone give me an address -- just one -- of a Dominionist Church?

Doctrines don't have associated churches. I don't know if it is a doctrine or a denomination but I suspect it leans toward the former.

118 posted on 05/04/2016 9:26:17 AM PDT by DungeonMaster (the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.)
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To: central_va
Here are the main problems I see in the Cruz campaign autopsy.

He appeared distant and formal. Trump poked fun at his Shakespearean speaking style, but there is some truth to that. He came across as a "great orator" buy not connected to the audience. He wasn't inspiring, and he wasn't a regular guy. What else is there?

While the holier-than-thou campaign themes certainly work with some voters, they alienate many more. His surrogates' rhetoric certainly didn't help. "Anointed" and "fasting" and "embodiment of prophesy" and such turned off half of his core base of supporters. Glenn Beck's ass-hattery did not help. In the age of the internet, people in Maryland know what you say in Utah.

The biggest problem: He didn't recognize the Trump threat until it was too late. Trump recognized the threat that Jeb Bush posed to a Trump candidacy, and he set about immediately destroying him mercilessly. Cruz had to know that he and Trump were "in the same lane" more or less, and eventually the bear would get around to eating him if he didn't strike first.

119 posted on 05/04/2016 9:42:23 AM PDT by TontoKowalski (You can call me "Dick.")
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To: TontoKowalski

You are missing the point. Cruz is part of the Cheap Labor Express Cabal that has corrupted the Republican Party since George the Elder destroyed the Reagan revolution. The Republican Party’s economic stance has always been unpopular since then. It has been to pro Free Trade and pro corporation which is very unpopular. Trump is correcting that.


120 posted on 05/04/2016 9:47:20 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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