huh.
*puts on political hat*
I'm going to preface this by saying that I can't stand Ted Cruz, I am vehemently against pretty much everything he stands for, and the thought of a (gah) President Cruz makes me want to consider where best I could emigrate.
But. Here's the thing. He has virtually no chance at winning the nomination, let alone the election. Even for the Republican party, he's too far to the right. His own party hates him--McCain once called him "a whack job"--and he's not going to get the big donors that, say, Jeb Bush is already locking up. (Let's not talk about Jeb Bush right now.) Outside his small, fanatic group of followers known as the Tea Party, he's not going to play well. Plus there's the whole "Born in Canada" thing but because it's the Republican party I'm willing to bet he gets a pass.
But if he's got any sense of political instincts, he's got to know he can't win. He has to realize he's got a long shot at best and will never get the nomination--and even, if by some miracle, he did get the nomination he'd never win the general. He's too polarizing and he'd alienate half the electorate.
(If I turn out to be wrong I will be weeping so much California will not need water restrictions.)
So why is he running? Why is he going for it? Is he trying to pull the conversation to the right, or pull the Republican nominee to the right? Is he hoping for a Cabinet or VP nod? (I'm guessing those are unlikely, since his own party can't stand him.) What is going on in that peabrain of his? Does he honestly, truly, believe he has a chance to win?
If he does, my impression of his political instincts has just taken a complete nosedive. Don't get me wrong--as I stated above, I despise the man and his political beliefs and would love nothing better than to see him deported to Canada (sorry, Canucks). But I thought a US Senator would have a better sense of reality than this.
(On the other hand, Cruz wants to repeal federal legislation that DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST. He wants to repeal the "federally legislated Common Core standards". Which a) aren't federal, they were developed by the states and b) aren't actually legislation on the federal level at all. There is no legislation tying future funding to adoption of Common Core standards. There was, I believe, Race to the Top funding dependent on those standards but most of that money's already been spent. Leaving aside issues with Common Core, he's an idiot for not doing the research first.)
This entry was originally posted at http://blueraccoon.dreamwidth.org/1325846.html. Please comment there. |
comments
I'm going to preface this by saying that I can't stand Ted Cruz, I am vehemently against pretty much everything he stands for, and the thought of a (gah) President Cruz makes me want to consider where best I could emigrate.
But. Here's the thing. He has virtually no chance at winning the nomination, let alone the election. Even for the Republican party, he's too far to the right. His own party hates him--McCain once called him "a whack job"--and he's not going to get the big donors that, say, Jeb Bush is already locking up. (Let's not talk about Jeb Bush right now.) Outside his small, fanatic group of followers known as the Tea Party, he's not going to play well. Plus there's the whole "Born in Canada" thing but because it's the Republican party I'm willing to bet he gets a pass.
But if he's got any sense of political instincts, he's got to know he can't win. He has to realize he's got a long shot at best and will never get the nomination--and even, if by some miracle, he did get the nomination he'd never win the general. He's too polarizing and he'd alienate half the electorate.
(If I turn out to be wrong I will be weeping so much California will not need water restrictions.)
So why is he running? Why is he going for it? Is he trying to pull the conversation to the right, or pull the Republican nominee to the right? Is he hoping for a Cabinet or VP nod? (I'm guessing those are unlikely, since his own party can't stand him.) What is going on in that peabrain of his? Does he honestly, truly, believe he has a chance to win?
If he does, my impression of his political instincts has just taken a complete nosedive. Don't get me wrong--as I stated above, I despise the man and his political beliefs and would love nothing better than to see him deported to Canada (sorry, Canucks). But I thought a US Senator would have a better sense of reality than this.
(On the other hand, Cruz wants to repeal federal legislation that DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST. He wants to repeal the "federally legislated Common Core standards". Which a) aren't federal, they were developed by the states and b) aren't actually legislation on the federal level at all. There is no legislation tying future funding to adoption of Common Core standards. There was, I believe, Race to the Top funding dependent on those standards but most of that money's already been spent. Leaving aside issues with Common Core, he's an idiot for not doing the research first.)
This entry was originally posted at http://blueraccoon.dreamwidth.org/1325846.html. Please comment there. |
comments