The Cruzifiction of Ted ... J. D. Longstreet

The Cruzifiction of Ted

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

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I don't know Senator Ted Cruz.  Never met the man.  But I have friends and family in the great state of Texas and THEY are thrilled with Cruz's, shall we say ... "zeal."

Last weekend Senator Cruz was met with an eight minute standing ovation at a gathering in Texas.  Eight minutes!   That's a lot of applauding!  A lot, indeed!

 Here in the South, we STILL cherish our "firebrand" politicians.  We love it when they take the fight to the opposition.  We also love it when they take a position right up front and plant their flag and declare their immovability. 

 In the few months Cruz has been in Washington he has become a "thorn in the flesh" to moderates and liberals and socialists and Marxists, and progressives, well, everyone --with the exception of conservatives.

 Shortly after Cruz was elected, I asked friends in Texas if Cruz was for real.  It was still early days and they would commit only to say he APPEARED to be the real thing.  I then opined that if he was, indeed the "Real Thing" he would be crucified by the left and the Mainstream Media, which is, of course, one and the same.

 

 It didn't take long. 

 

Boat rockers are not welcome, it seems, in Congress -- by either side.  Cruz has managed to keep the boat rocking since he had the temerity to stride away from the back benches and insist that Congress and the President follow the dictates of the Constitution.  THAT was unheard of behavior, especially from some pipsqueak southerner with a decided Texas accent.  How dare he insist the Constitution be followed!

 

 And that was from his own political party!  

 Oh, he was also assigned a new nickname courtesy of that old reliable RINO from Arizona, John McCain -- "Wacko Bird." 

 Cruz instantly became the face of the Tea Party in Washington.  Both democrats and Republicans HATE the Tea Party.  Even though the Tea Party is largely responsible for the GOP gaining control of the House of Representatives, The republicans, that is to say, the "establishment republicans" (The blue bloods and the country club set, the moderates, liberals, and progressives within the GOP) took umbrage at the gall of the "Kmart republicans" when they refused to "go along to get along."

Look.  The GOP had better get used to the fact that the party's base loves Ted Cruz.  Every time some pompous stuffed shirt repub takes another cheap shot at Cruz, the base takes it personally. 

 The conservatives in the GOP, that is to say -- the base of the party, is on the verge of a mass migration AWAY from the Republican Party to become either Independent voters, or, to form another political party, a conservative political party.  In either event, the GOP will be relegated to minority status as far into the future as the eye can see -- if it survives at all.

 

 Is Cruz positioning himself to run for President in 2016?  Possibly.  He’s doing and saying all the things pre-candidates do and say.  He’s visiting the early primary and caucus states and such.  But frankly, I’ll be surprised to see him actually make a try for it simply because I do not think Senator Cruz is eligible to be a candidate for President of the US.  He is NOT a natural born citizen of the United States.  Do not delude yourself into thinking the democrats and/or the Mainstream Media will let that pass.  They will crucify Senator Cruz around the clock.  See, there IS a double standard in national politics – one for the democrats and an entirely different standard for republicans.

 Senator Cruz, notwithstanding, the Republican party is leaderless and will remain so as long as the party is split and at war with itself.  

 I have never believed the Republican Party needed a “Big Tent.”   The GOP is not the Democrat Party; at least it WASN’T until recently,  when , for whatever reason, it decided to become democrat-lite.  

 The Democrat Party is not really a party -- per se.  (with respect to its inherent nature) It is more a conglomeration of special interest groups than it is a political party.   That does not work for the GOP’s conservative base. 

Conservatives are seeking a national leader, a champion, if you will.  At the moment, more and more conservatives are turning to Senator Cruz.  Anything that plays havoc with Obama’s plan to destroy the Republican Party -- and crush conservatives -- is just fine with me. 

 © J. D. Longstreet