Posted on 12/25/2015 1:04:28 PM PST by Isara
|
| Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz speaks at a campaign stop at a Pizza Ranch restaurant in Newton, Iowa November 29, 2015. REUTERS/Mark Kauzlarich |
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee - Four hours before Ted Cruz was expected to arrive at Farragut High School, Tammy Purcell exclaimed cheerily, "I want to make sure I get in there. I want to give him this birthday cupcake," she said, explaining why she was the first person in line to see Cruz. She had come at 6 a.m., wielding a cupcake in one hand and a sign reading "Happy Birthday Ted" in the other as she waited outside in the damp fog that had enveloped the school.
Purcell was just one of many supporters who habitually line up outside the schools and civic centers hours before the doors open in order to get a good seat. And that's not lost on the senator, almost always lingers afterwards to show his appreciation.
Forty minutes after Cruz finished giving his stump speech in the high school auditorium in Knoxville, he was still there working what remained of the crowd. "We got two minutes so we're going to a couple more pictures then we got to go!" Cruz's young body man Bruce Redden told the people left. Two minutes passed as the senator continues to pose with supporters who were still lined up. Redden raises his hand to summon him, and Cruz without missing a beat interjected, "I tell you what -- we're going to do a group picture."
Cruz, who has focused much of his campaign on winning over Iowa Republicans, has seen his polling tick up, and lately he's been looking beyond Iowa to the southern states, which will hold primaries in the days and weeks immediately after the early February contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.
That expanded effort - and the desire to hold onto the feel of retail politicking - is a more difficult endeavor because the crowds coming to see Cruz have surged in concert with his rising poll numbers in early states and nationally. Well over a thousand people showed up for rallies in Birmingham and Mobile, Alabama over the weekend.
Cruz's desire to work the crowd also creates some scheduling challenges. Campaign press secretary Catherine Frazier estimates that Cruz spends anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour after events meeting voters. Combined with the large crowds, this meant that the campaign could only realistically fit in two events a day during the "Take Off with Ted" tour through the Southern states, despite having a private jet.
"It's positive for our campaign in that it's an experience they'll have for a lifetime," campaign manager Jeff Roe said.
Cruz seems comfortable with the open dislike of nearly all of his Senate colleagues (something that he celebrates on the campaign trail). He's said as much -- in one debate, when asked to tell the audience about a weakness, he said, "If you want someone to grab a beer with, I may not be that guy. But if you want someone to drive you home, I will get the job done and I will get you home." It turns out, in fact, that the voters who turn out for his events like him plenty.
"I have done a few campaigns over the years, and know a few candidates. I have never seen anybody that adores the people that come to his events like he does," said Roe, who suggested it would have been easy for the candidate to take it easy over the holiday, "It's his birthday. It's very close to Christmas. It'd be very easy for him to take a couple of days make some fundraising crowds and hang out and here we are. It's because he loves people to interact, he love to hear their stories, and I think it makes him a better candidate frankly. That's not something you can teach. There's no strategy to this."
It's something that the people who come to see the Senator find endearing. "I can't believe he's still here right now," exclaimed Clyde Cummins of Kodak, Tennessee as he worked his way up to greet Cruz, "but that's the kind of guy I think he is."
The article headline made me wonder if this was an ugly hit piece against Cruz, but the article was very positive for Cruz.
I bet he will. He certainly has a champion in you!
Gossip without a link. I have seen no evidence and frankly would not care.
I only trust Ted. He is the only presidential candidate I have trusted since Reagan.
As far as the general public goes, McConnell is the most hated Senator.
I’ve just wanted a really good, solid Constitutional conservative candidate for so long, you know? And here we are. presented with not only that, but a fighter...and a smart one. I don’t want to blow this opportunity.
Grover Cleveland - 1884
The poster was referring to the North American Union which never was adopted. I don’t know how much Heidi had to do with the concept, but I do know that her involvement in CFR was not something she initiated, but was required by her employer on a term basis. She did not renew her membership when that term expired.
Heidi Cruz will make a wonderful First Lady. She is super smart and an All American Beauty.
Thanks for info.
The family joy shines through even in pics. They will be an awesome first family.
Have seen Heidi in a couple of interviews, glad I did.
They don’t like Trump either. For both men that is a badge of honor.
Judge a man by the enemies he makes.
Been reading about him. Apparently in college he only wanted to hang out with people whose IQ he thought was high enough.
Something about this guy .... I am wary.
If a truth teller like Cruz isn’t like by most of his colleagues, what does that say about them?
Exactly!
The people who rubber-stamp O’s decrees don’t like Cruz. They don’t like Trump either.
This is the best endorsement either man could hope for.
Same reason Palin was hated so much. She got into power and a lot of powerful politicians were held under scrutiny, and a few spent hard time, even in her own party.
Justice is loved only by the innocent.
You couldn’t have better enemies.
I saw your posts on other threads claiming that his debate team partners didn’t like him.
Please document that information before you post it again. It’s the right thing to do.
Headline writers are almost always different people than those who write the stories.
The editor wrote the title.
If I were Ted Cruz, I would have done the same thing in college.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.