His Republican opponents can’t get to the right of Trump on any of these issues—and they can’t constructively debate him—because he has barely thought through the details. This drives other Republicans crazy, in the same way that Ronald Reagan’s seemingly fanciful call for a Strategic Defense Initiative—dubbed “Star Wars” in the press—drove his opponents crazy.
.. Since arriving in the Senate, in 2011, Rubio has gradually become one of the most hawkish members of the Republican Party. His policies now align closely with the chamber’s leading Wilsonians, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who have long argued that the United States should spread democracy in the Middle East, sometimes at the barrel of a gun
.. While Rubio is an uber-hawk, Cruz is now his party’s leading skeptic of American interventions; he’s not as firm as Rand Paul, but he’s become much more prominent. On Tuesday, Cruz outlined in some detail his case against the interventionism of the Rubio-McCain-Graham wing, saying that Egypt and Libya were better off with the secular dictators that previously ruled those countries, and—more surprisingly—that Bashar al-Assad, who is responsible for hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, should remain in power. “If we topple Assad, the result will be ISIS will take over Syria, and it will worsen U.S. national security interests,” he said. “Instead of being a Woodrow Wilson democracy promoter, we ought to hunt down our enemies and kill ISIS rather than creating opportunities for ISIS to take control of new countries.”
Ted Cruz’s Not-So-Secret Weapon: His Wife
Mrs. Cruz brings political talents to the table that could prove helpful in the 2016 election season. Her Goldman Sachs ties make her a “not-so-secret weapon” in terms of fundraising, per Representative Kevin Brady (R., Texas).
.. which has already paid dividends for her husband; he received $65,000 from Goldman Sachs employees and the company PAC when he ran for Senate
Inside the Secret Meeting Where Conservative Leaders Pledged Allegiance to Ted Cruz
Cruz this week surged to the top of several polls in conservative-friendly Iowa, and a string of soon-to-come endorsements should only help to cement that standing. A decision was made before the vote that members would roll out their endorsements individually rather than issuing a collective statement. This approach, they decided, would help create a perception that the conservative movement was uniting behind a candidate organically while dispelling images of political horse-trading occurring inside smoke-filled rooms.
.. Cruz blew the audience away
.. And Rubio, whom many had discounted entirely because of his immigration-reform advocacy, was surprisingly effective, leading some in the room to reconsider their dismissiveness of his candidacy.
.. Dobson, in particular, had been warning the group since summer that Rubio’s participation in the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” bill revealed him to be a weak-minded puppet of the political establishment.
Like a Slick Lawyer, Cruz Parsed His Words on the Question of Amnesty
Coming from anybody in public life, this duplicity would be disappointing. But from Ted Cruz, the self-styled anti-politician, it is disastrous. This is the sort of slimy behavior that we expect from Bill Clinton or Harry Reid, not from the straight-talking, Churchillian foe of all that is unholy about Washington, D.C. There is a time for parsing the difference between “legalization” and “citizenship,” and for debating the strength of “intend to” versus “will never.” But primary season is not it. Now is the summer of strong promises and bold visions. The negotiating can come later.
Unfortunately, indulging in clever linguistic games is rather a hobby of Cruz’s.