Posted on 03/05/2016 6:44:16 AM PST by CapitalistCrusader
I was thinking about the republican primary and asking myself, "if conservatism is the answer and Ted Cruz is an exemplar of conservatism, why is he not doing much better at the ballot box so far?" Or, why is Donald Trump doing so much better? In my opinion, Trump is doing better because he is proposing solutions to our country's problems that are derived from common sense thinking.
For example, there are thousands of illegal aliens crossing the border with Mexico on a monthly basis. Trump's solution? Build a wall. This is not a new idea so Trump adds that he'll get Mexico to pay for it. Whether he can actually get Mexico to pay for it is not really relevant to his campaign. Politicians routinely make bold predictions of what they will do once elected and then never deliver. The point is that he mixes the common sense solutions with a degree of bravado that adds an air of the traditional rugged American. This theme of common sense solutions mixed with a little New York moxy has been pattern in his campaign thus far. This is what he has branded "Common Sense Conservatism."
Putting all the name calling aside, Trump and Cruz want to accomplish many of the same goals as POTUS. Secure the border, replace ObamaCare. reduce the size of the federal government, etc. So why is Trump resonating with more voters than Cruz? Because Ted Cruz is an elitist conservative. What is an elitist? An elitist is a person who believes that a society or system should be lead by an elite. Only a "true" conservative is able to select a proper justice for the supreme court. Only a "true" conservative can come up with the right plan to rein in the federal bureaucracy. Only a "true" conservative can fix the health care system. The list goes on and on. His demeanor suggests that only he, a "true" conservative, can properly lead, or is fit to lead our country out of the problems we currently face.
This is why a Ted Cruz campaign rally is reminiscent of a revival meeting. Ted Cruz is an elitist conservative. He is as much an elitist as Mitt Romney, as Jeb Bush, as Mitch McConnell, as Harry Reid, as Nancy Pelosi. He is simply a member of different elitist cabal.
But here's a new flash for Ted Cruz and Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin. Conservatism comes in many flavors, not just the true, doctrinaire, orthodox variety. There are many conservatives out here who are secualr, or gay, or lesbian, or even atheist. And we don't like to be preached to and proselytized.
I am a Trump supporter but I will vote for whomever wins the nomination legitimately. But all you elitists out there, of both the Republican and Conservative variety, should be aware that if you destroy Trump by invective you will be alienating a large swath of voters. If that happens I would expect turnout in the general to reach historic lows and Clinton to be the next POTUS. Is destroying Trump worth it?
In a nutshell: Cruz never had his own TV SHOW. That’s all it is folks. That’s all it is.
I agree Mr. Hill. You make many good points. I loathe the condescension from the political class. The people are not as stupid as they all think. We can make our own choices and don’t need an intermediary to tell us who Trump “really” is.
It’s nothing against Cruz... it’s just that we don’t want another professional politician. We want a citizen this time around, period.
I can explain it in a few words:
15 year old girl watching Ted Cruz on TV: “He’s creepy-looking.”
There you have it.
Ted’s tent preacher theatrics are a turnoff to me too, and I’m Christian. There have been so many “devout” frauds over the years that when a guy shows up on the national scene touting his own piety and moral superiority, my first reaction is to cringe.
I’d vote for Ted if he wins the nomination, but I hope he doesn’t. His lies and sleazy campaign tactics have already done what countless “holier than thou” moral crusaders before him have helped do: make Christians look nutty and hypocritical.
Hypocrites. They have an elitism of their own, and Trump is their man.
And that the only reason Trump wants to become President is so he can be that real estate developer?
Cruz chose a message with a very limited appeal outside the conservative base.
I disagree with you and I’m a Cruz supporter. Trump is saying things out loud and in public that regular Americans have been saying in private for years.
As private citizens our voices are rarely heard and if they are they are dismissed by the entrenched elite. Trump has the bully pulpit.
it’s just that we don’t want another professional politicianBut Trump has demonstrated that is a "better" professional politician than anyone else in the race. His lies and flip-flops are reaching epic proportions.
But we apparently have reached the stage where celebrity is more important than substance, and "Yuge Wall, Woot-Woot, Go Trump!" is as deep as most voters are thinking.
My gut says that Trump will actually DO something—or a lot of somethings.
I fear that Cruz (NOT natural-born CITIZEN BTW—that pesky “Constitutional thingy” again) wil give US PLEBES very good explanations as to why he doesn’t EVEN TRY.
It’s nothing against Cruz... it’s just that we don’t want another professional politician. We want a citizen this time around, period.
... I understand the sentiment, but do you think the Donald is not a politician??? He politics bewteen both parties and the mob in NY. What kind of citizen pockets $32 Million while hosing his investors to the tune of $100 Million in losses in the same time period by being a “successful” casino operator? Not my kind of citizen or presidential candidate.
Yes Ted aimed to be President to put conservative policies in place before he even got to Princeton, but at least he prepared by memorizing the complete Constitution and knows how it should be applied.
just my $0.02, ymmv
Cruz exudes “asshole” from every pore of his being?
Well NOOB, welcome to Free Republic. I see you brought your disdain for “true conservatives” along with you as your bona fides.. “Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges.”
Because some conservatives are doing exactly what the GOPe does: compromising because they “can’t win” otherwise.
I challenge Trump on his words, his deeds and his associations. I don’t insult or name call, but I get a lot of that in response here from his supporters.
Trump runs his campaign on invective. It is his style on Twitter. Calling people bimbo, loser, etc is textbook invective. Cut downs of people and groups in his stump speeches. In his interviews. His staffers use that style while rep erecting him (remember the boob comment?). It permeates his entire campaign.
Projection and a holier than thou condemnation of those who dare to not support him will not garner too many converts from those you have attacked here since Iowa. Maybe winning at all costs in the primary is not looks so small now.
But what do I know, I am just an “idiot Cruzbot Hillary loving establishment hack DU’er paid Cruz poster” who has only been here since 2001.
It is our own damned fault that the "entrenched elite" even exists! We should have been screaming for term limits and anonymous political funding for the past fifty years. Then we'd have public servants who had to go back and live under the laws they pass, instead of wannabe masters who exempt themselves from them and never return to the real world.
wil give US PLEBES very good explanations as to why he doesn’t EVEN TRY.
...don’t you think that’s an unfair assessment when Cruz is the only Senator to really try and stop the 0bamao agenda?
He said he’ll seal the border and the Gang of 8 amnasty would be the law not if not for his fight!
He said he’d get rid of the deadly rules of engagement as CIC
He said he would reverse the illegal Exec Orders on day one
He has done what he told Texans he would do!
ymmv
Newsflash: DT is not about to alienate the Elites that fill his hotels and golf courses, let alone the Elite who FINANCE them.
He ceded the floor to Trump last Summer and Fall.
Trump occupied the best ground and fortified himself on it.
Cruz avoided the scrum for weeks assuming that Trump would dispatch the other, and then implode. By spending a year in Iowa, he would then easily win the state, sop up the Trump supporters, and sweep the south.
Well the keystone of the plan, Trump imploding and his supporters moving to Cruz, didnt happen. So the whole plan collapsed.
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