I wouldn’t say that the GOP is falling in love with Sen. Ted Cruz, but maybe it’s falling in like.
In arguably the most improbable political season of our lifetime, this fact has to rank high on the list of things no one could have seen coming. If they gave out a report card for first-term senators, Cruz would get an F for “plays well with others.” Party leaders believed his 2013 gambit to shut down the government over Obamacare was a disaster for everyone but Cruz, and have harbored a not-so-secret disdain for him since.
But that’s all over now — or at least for now.
Like Perseus pulling Medusa’s head out of a sack to petrify his enemies, Cruz has been able to dangle the prospect of a President Trump to strike fear in the hearts of even his biggest detractors. …
… Although there is no coherent ideological agenda implied by the term “anti-establishment,” it is a recognizable attitude. Trump and Cruz have very different philosophies (for starters, Cruz has one). But they are both avatars of the anti-establishment mood, a mood that will be well represented on the convention floor. …
The most likely scenario is that should Trump lose on the first ballot, Cruz will win on the second or third. In fact, some see a path where Cruz cobbles together his delegates, unbound delegates and, say, Marco Rubio’s delegates and wins on the first ballot. He’s that good at working the system. …
… There’s some irony here, of course. Cruz spent years building his reputation as the guy who wants to tear down the system, and now it’s the system, not necessarily the voters, that may put him over the top.
Nervous Republicans should find this reassuring. Yes, in a normal year, failure to win a majority of votes in the primaries would present a serious PR problem. But this isn’t a normal year. Meanwhile, Cruz is demonstrating, yet again, his ability to do what is required to win. That’s a skill set that will be much needed come the fall.
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Oh, definitely — and among my more moderate GOP friends as well. Not all Republicans are social conservatives — perhaps a majority are not these days — so Cruz would need to reach beyond his natural base of evangelicals in a general election.
I still have reservations about his ability to do that successfully, but perhaps I underestimate him.
General elections often, by necessity, look different than primaries — for both parties
Karen, The liberals are scared of Cruz because he is a conservative. Trump is the least conservative of all the Republicans. The only reason Trump scares the liberals is that he is a lunatic. Most liberals would prefer a megalomaniac to a true conservative.
Donald Trump and the Fox News host Megyn Kelly met at Trump Tower on Wednesday morning.
Neither person has shared details about what happened yet. But Trump’s intense dislike of Kelly — whom he has called unfair, overrated and even “crazy” — has been one of the subplots of his run for president.
So was the face-to-face chat a precursor to a Kelly-Trump interview in the future?
Fox said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that Kelly will discuss “the results” of the meeting on her prime time program Wednesday night.
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Wandering Views 
Drudge has lost his moorings (such as they ever were). 🙂 All Trump, all the time. Sigh.
Meanwhile, from Jonah Goldberg:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0412-goldberg-cruz-best-bet-20160412-column.html
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I wouldn’t say that the GOP is falling in love with Sen. Ted Cruz, but maybe it’s falling in like.
In arguably the most improbable political season of our lifetime, this fact has to rank high on the list of things no one could have seen coming. If they gave out a report card for first-term senators, Cruz would get an F for “plays well with others.” Party leaders believed his 2013 gambit to shut down the government over Obamacare was a disaster for everyone but Cruz, and have harbored a not-so-secret disdain for him since.
But that’s all over now — or at least for now.
Like Perseus pulling Medusa’s head out of a sack to petrify his enemies, Cruz has been able to dangle the prospect of a President Trump to strike fear in the hearts of even his biggest detractors. …
… Although there is no coherent ideological agenda implied by the term “anti-establishment,” it is a recognizable attitude. Trump and Cruz have very different philosophies (for starters, Cruz has one). But they are both avatars of the anti-establishment mood, a mood that will be well represented on the convention floor. …
The most likely scenario is that should Trump lose on the first ballot, Cruz will win on the second or third. In fact, some see a path where Cruz cobbles together his delegates, unbound delegates and, say, Marco Rubio’s delegates and wins on the first ballot. He’s that good at working the system. …
… There’s some irony here, of course. Cruz spent years building his reputation as the guy who wants to tear down the system, and now it’s the system, not necessarily the voters, that may put him over the top.
Nervous Republicans should find this reassuring. Yes, in a normal year, failure to win a majority of votes in the primaries would present a serious PR problem. But this isn’t a normal year. Meanwhile, Cruz is demonstrating, yet again, his ability to do what is required to win. That’s a skill set that will be much needed come the fall.
_______________________________________________
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Donna – Among your liberal friends, have you seen the attitude (as I’ve seen on Facebook) that Cruz is scarier than Trump?
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Oh, definitely — and among my more moderate GOP friends as well. Not all Republicans are social conservatives — perhaps a majority are not these days — so Cruz would need to reach beyond his natural base of evangelicals in a general election.
I still have reservations about his ability to do that successfully, but perhaps I underestimate him.
General elections often, by necessity, look different than primaries — for both parties
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http://www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com/2016/04/cruz-citizenship-case-could-go-to-court-in-new-jersey/
The other concern is the eligibility issue, of course, which will surely be challenged
This is a political year filled with angst and uncertainty
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http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/bernie-sanders-supporters-democrats-221842
Again, on both sides that’s the case
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😦
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/half-of-all-people-could-be-carrying-gay-genes-a6982381.html
If there’s something to this, & even if there isn’t, we’re going to be hearing this touted as “proof”.
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Karen, The liberals are scared of Cruz because he is a conservative. Trump is the least conservative of all the Republicans. The only reason Trump scares the liberals is that he is a lunatic. Most liberals would prefer a megalomaniac to a true conservative.
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http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/13/media/megyn-kelly-donald-trump-meet/index.html
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Donald Trump and the Fox News host Megyn Kelly met at Trump Tower on Wednesday morning.
Neither person has shared details about what happened yet. But Trump’s intense dislike of Kelly — whom he has called unfair, overrated and even “crazy” — has been one of the subplots of his run for president.
So was the face-to-face chat a precursor to a Kelly-Trump interview in the future?
Fox said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that Kelly will discuss “the results” of the meeting on her prime time program Wednesday night.
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Had a chance to listen part of the town hall with Cruz & his wife on CNN on the radio driving home and he did well from what I heard (his wife also).
Those kinds of settings help humanize him, they help him escape that more robotic persona that has earned him his less than warm image.
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