Posted on 12/25/2015 1:04:28 PM PST by Isara
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| 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."
But, but, NOBODY likes Dorkbama the Muslim.
Not even Muzzies.
Not to mention the lying Wench of the West.
This accusation is totally false. David Panton is Ted Cruz's close friend. Ted Cruz is his son's godfather. David Panton was Ted Cruz's best man at his wedding to Heidi Cruz. Panton is an active supporter of one of SuperPacs for Ted Cruz.
This story reminds me of some stories during the era of Democrat momentum as the Watergate scandal reached its zenith. There was a buzz about articles covering the crucially important subject that Richard Nixon’s dog did not like him.
Nixon was not conservative, had many faults, but the piling-on reached absurd proportions.
IF they did like him, we would not. We are looking for a man who does not belong to the GOP club of elitists.
Cruz is one of the two anti establishement candidates.
He is the one I choose to trust.
Obviously he abandoned that practice when he joined the Senate.
His colleagues don’t like him because of us, in that he’s straight conservative - no bs - fighting for what he believes.
‘Tis true.
“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.”
So a dumb ass like Obama would make you very happy ???
ALTURA
“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.”
Why waist your time on an idiot disruptor. We will be seeing a growing number of these goobers as the early elections get closer and closer
Something about this guy .... I am wary."
He's spoken about those days and written about them in his book. He readily admits that he was arrogant when he got to college and needed taking down a peg or two. He says that's exactly what occurred, and that being introduced to humility benefited him.
How many of us haven't changed since we were college age?
LOL
Its certainly not a bad thing to want to hang out with smart people. There’s no better way to become smarter than to be around people who intellectually challenge us.
Yeah, those “concerns” make more sense when you look at the posting history...slobbering over “the Donald”, while trying to paint Cruz as a hated manipulator.
LOL, the irony.
How much are they paying you to spew out this kind of garbage on Ted Cruz threads as a relentless troll?
A story that was pushed by far left outfits like Salon.com and has been taken apart and debunked long ago. But hey don't let that stop the Trumpbot bottom feeders from pushing it anyway.
This voter is doing all she can to make sure he becomes our next President!
Vote Cruz and vote against corruption and constitutional contempt!
Being disliked by RINOs and Dems is a HUGE PLUS for me. Go Cruz!! Screw the establishment. Recapture the government and make it work for Americans, not the big money special interests, radical leftist minority groups, and commies.
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