I Choose Ted Cruz!

For Election
2016, I set deliberate metrics in my mind for supporting Republican
Presidential candidates. I wanted to avoid the personal mistakes of Election
2012, whose weak field resulted in a weak frontrunner. I struggled to get
behind that candidate, whom I had disparaged as DOA for months. I resolved
never to disparage or denigrate candidates so that I could vote for them should
my first pick fail..

This
year, the bench of contenders is engaging, encouraging, and refreshing. From
the outset, I had outlined Scott Walker, then Bobby Jindal for my Top Two:
consummate conservative executives who turned their states around, cut the
spending, and enacted far-reaching reforms. Tested leadership experience is
essential. Commanding a state and protecting citizens commands more respect
than directing office staff in the US Senate building.

Then
Walker walked away. Bad consulting doomed his bid, sources suggested, with
excessive spending in multi-state operations. I was holding out for Jindal, who
worked the Iowa precincts, and stunned the media and main street with bold
pronouncements. Jindal never lost his jingle, but the diminished jangle of
campaign donations also forced him to quit. Let’s face it: unless a governor
gets national headlines on a constant basis, and contends with talking heads in
national media markets, he will struggle to gain traction.

So,
who occupies Schaper’s second string of Presidential contenders? Mind you, second
tier does not means second rate. It’s all about the conservative who is the
most electable, and there are a lot of electable conservatives in the GOP
field. The next three for me: Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, then Carly Fiorina.

As
of today, I choose Ted Cruz. In a way, Jindal made it easier for me. He was
lagging in money and polling, so his electability was non-existent. I was
prepared to jump ship. The next day, Jindal dropped out. Besides, I have had a
strong affinity for Cruz for a long time.

Granted, I detailed his drawbacks compared to Walker:

Brilliant
and bombastic, his political theatrics have not proved as effective as Tea Party
fellow Paul, but he can debate to silent defeat the most ardent of liberals.
However, he lacks Walker’s savvy to unity distinct interests within the
Republican Party. Presidential candidates must transition from firing up the
base to winning over quizzical independents and intrigue disaffected Democrats.
Walker worked with colleagues, increased their numbers and influence in
Madison. Cruz as political celebrity is magnetic, but does not draw otherwise
differing political forces. He remains one of the most hated members of the US
Senate.

At
this point, I want a leader, not a compromiser. If he doesn’t wheel and deal
with other US Senators, all the better. Is Cruz incapable of uniting distinct
GOP factions? Cruz’ debate performances changed my perception. Democrats
watching the CNBC firing
squad agreed with Cruz, that the questions were biased, arbitrary, and unfair,
and they tweeted their support on The
View! I do not agree with the jittery naysayers, who claim that Cruz is
too conservative, and cannot win a general election. They said the same thing
about Ronald Reagan, and Cruz is better than Barry Goldwater. Besides, the 1964
champion of liberty was running against a Vice President who replaced a popular
(conservative) president savagely assassinated. No one in the country was going
to switch gears after such tragedy.

Cruz
is more experienced than most primary partisans realize, too. A former clerk
for Chief Justice William Rehnquist, a George W; Bush consultant, and a
successful Texas Solicitor General, Cruz won his Senate seat as the outsider
against an Establishment pick in a year when Obama’s ground game snuffed out
otherwise worthy Republicans across the country. He even stomped on a Democratic
challenger with similar legal credentials, all while picking up 40% of the
Hispanic vote. A team player with broader vision than one race, he discussed the growing need for Republican outreach to
Hispanic communities before
his election win.

Four
years later, US Senator Cruz has shocked the Washington Establishment , as well
as the New York money markets and Los Angeles media machines. He talked for
twenty-two hours against the funding of Obamacare. I watched it, I loved it,
and I wish that it never ended. He has bested the Wall Street-DC phalanx
begging for easy bailouts, crony influence, and corporate welfare. Big Government
hits a brick wall with Cruz, a supporter of individual liberty, limited
government, and constitutional rule. No other candidate has his profile
published on free copies of the United States Constitution, a testimony to
Cruz’ commitment to the rule of law in our political culture.

Further
to his credit as a leader, Cruz announced his Presidential bid first, and
has stayed strong ever since. With the endorsements of Congressman Steve King of Iowa and my favorite rep Dana Rohrabacher of California,
the rising conservative maverick is winning the ground game and top tier
support. He
can out-debate his colleagues, but has stopped
hecklers in their tracks. He shut down a Hollywood mouthpiece Ellen Page at an Iowa state fair. His
masterful debate (hardly an interview) with Jorge Ramos inspired so many.

In
California, moderates and conservatives, former state party chairmen and local
county leaders are lining up with Cruz. He has a well-spring of support much
wider than the press would care for anyone to believe. His numbers are rising in Iowa, South Carolina, and he is one of the top four
in Public Policy Polling. Cruz is developing
campaign organizations in otherwise unthinkable locales like Massachusetts, a
smooth operator planning for the long haul, taking in support along the way,
spending his money wisely for the win. US News and
World Report claimed that
a Cruz candidacy would be a boon for the Democrats (not likely), and National
Review’s Henry Olsen thinks Cruz won’t win,
conservatives leery of Donald Trump’s bombast and Carson’s shaky foreign policy
credentials are eying the junior US Senator from Texas, and like what they see.

For
today, I choose Ted Cruz for President.