Ted Cruz 2016

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
101

[quote]thunderbolt23 wrote:

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]magick wrote:

Sorry for saying this (cause I know a couple here voted for Obama for precisely that reason), but I find it rather absurd that so many people bought into Obama’s “I can bring change!” claim.[/quote]

It’s a valid criticism for what I attribute, at least on my part to blatant ignorance.

It was a perfect storm. War weary and in the middle of the worst economic situation since the Depression, in walks a charismatic “outsider” who looks different, has a different sounding name and promises something different, something “better”.

FDR, LBJ, Nixon, Reagan… They all would have lost to Obama in 2008. The world was his to take, and the Democrats don’t tend to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like the Republicans do. [/quote]

Yeah, I hear this from a lot of my friends who were only moderately interested in politics at the time - and it makes sense, I think. He said all the right things - no red state, no blue state, let’s turn the page on partisanship, let’s turn government over to the smart, competent adults to dig us out of these messes - and that had visceral appeal to a lot of people. The Man - or more specifically, the Man’s Marketing - met the Moment.

And, candidly, if Obama was who he advertise himself to be, he could have been a good president. He would have been the Man for the Times. And I think eight years later, America is still waiting and longing for such a person to emerge.
[/quote]

Yup. I’d be helping carve his face on Rushmore right now if he didn’t turn out to be… Almost the very opposite of who he sold himself to be.

The good news it, it woke me up to the harsh reality that very few people are who they say they are, and it is even less likely so if they tell you that is who they are.

102

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

[quote]knee-gro wrote:

[quote]doogie wrote:

Texas loves him.[/quote]

Of course they do, people there aren’t exactly brainiacs.
[/quote]

An Angolan who is an expert on American feels…LOLOLOL

Amazing.[/quote]

Just because American’ts don’t know anything about Angolan politics it does not follow that an Angoloan does not know anyhing about Amercian politics.

Why do people always make this fallacy?

103

[quote]knee-gro wrote:

I could lay down teh truth and explain you how that lil circus cost a shitload of jobs and 24 billion dolla in lost government services, federal and contractor wages etc but you lack the intellectual honesty and moral compass to accept facts and would probably brush it off as an exaggeration.
[/quote]

The government did not shut down. It cost them tons of money because they trued to turn it into a political circus for the idiots armchair-quarterbacking from the depths of CNN and FOX news.

A true shutdown should have added value back to the private sector but that didn’t happen.

105

[quote]pushharder wrote:

I believe Ted Cruz is who he says he is.[/quote]

So did millions who believed in Obama back in 08.

106

[quote]pushharder wrote:

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

The good news it, it woke me up to the harsh reality that very few people are who they say they are, and it is even less likely so if they tell you that is who they are. [/quote]

I believe Ted Cruz is who he says he is.[/quote]

I want to believe, I really do. But like a jaded lover, I’m projecting my previous back stabbings onto others.

Thus far, Justin Amash is about the only Federal Government Politician I don’t instantly distrust, and it’s 100% because he puts the reason for every single vote of his on facebook, whether I agree with it or not, that is integrity.

109

[quote]magick wrote:

[quote]Aragorn wrote:

Agree on all points, but I would take a business leader over a junior Senator…or most Senators for that matter. Businessmen have more large scale executive experience than most all Senators, even if they have far less applicable experience than governors.[/quote]

Yup.

Having newbie senators be a serious contender for office just makes no damned sense at all.

Sorry for saying this (cause I know a couple here voted for Obama for precisely that reason), but I find it rather absurd that so many people bought into Obama’s “I can bring change!” claim.[/quote]

He might have been able to if he hadn’t been a damned petulant egotist. He had so fucking much political capital to work with when he was inaugurated it’s absolutely asinine that he fucked it all up so fast.

What have I said before so many times now? Absolutely zero negotiating and diplomacy skills. It would not have taken much to ride the political capital and make real change happen–of the non-partisan kind–but he was unable to do it.

110

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

Thus far, Justin Amash is about the only Federal Government Politician I don’t instantly distrust, and it’s 100% because he puts the reason for every single vote of his on facebook, whether I agree with it or not, that is integrity. [/quote]

I’ll give you that. That’s stand-up and it’s the type of thing I was hoping for from this administration–I’m sure you’ll recall I was thoroughly againt Obama winning, but once he did I hoped against hope that he would be what he advertised, at least in some small part. As I’ve said elsewhere I can hate a person’s politics without hating them if they’re at least decent people. Had he even a bit of the marketing reflected in his administration he could have vastly improved partisan politics from where it was.

Obviously, it was not to be.

111

I believe Cruz is who he says he is - and he deserves a lot of credit for that.

But he won’t get elected precisely for that reason - and which is precisely why Obama took to great lengths to market himself otherwise.

113

I listened to excepts of Cruz’s speech at Liberty University.

The question is: “What is his ultimate Goal”?

If it’s to win some early Caucuses and Primary battles…I think that he’ll do that.

However; I don’t see him winning even the GOP Nomination, much less the Presidency.

Another point; almost no candidate will be able to deliver what they promise when they are running. The Government has institutions that are too entrenched and things have become far too partisan.

That’s the reality.

What they end up doing is delivering some promised Governmental positions and ambassadorships…and throwing out some chum here and there to their base.

Mufasa

117

[quote]Mufasa wrote:

The question is: “What is his ultimate Goal”?

[/quote]

To be remembered like a Roosevelt?

I mean, outside of narcissism, why the hell else would anyone want arguably the shittest job in the world? Not only WANT the job, but raise a billion dollars to beg for it…

118

[quote]Aragorn wrote:

[quote]magick wrote:

[quote]Aragorn wrote:

Agree on all points, but I would take a business leader over a junior Senator…or most Senators for that matter. Businessmen have more large scale executive experience than most all Senators, even if they have far less applicable experience than governors.[/quote]

Yup.

Having newbie senators be a serious contender for office just makes no damned sense at all.

Sorry for saying this (cause I know a couple here voted for Obama for precisely that reason), but I find it rather absurd that so many people bought into Obama’s “I can bring change!” claim.[/quote]

He might have been able to if he hadn’t been a damned petulant egotist. He had so fucking much political capital to work with when he was inaugurated it’s absolutely asinine that he fucked it all up so fast.

What have I said before so many times now? Absolutely zero negotiating and diplomacy skills. It would not have taken much to ride the political capital and make real change happen–of the non-partisan kind–but he was unable to do it.[/quote]

Completely right. Imagine if Obama - elected with a big majority, control of the House, and a supermajority in the Senate - had focused on stimulus and financial issues, and did so with an eye to passing big, bipartisan legislation? Then, start making his case, piece by piece, of whatever major reforms we wanted to accomplish. He would have earned trust and grown that capital, and likely presided over some version of a second New Deal, which is what he desperately wanted.

Instead, he blew it, and blew it big, and decimated his own party’s power in ways that haven’t been seen in nearly a century.

It became about him, his ideology, and his hubris. That coupled with his inherent limitations as you note - he lacks skills for the job - has basically wasted an entire presidency that could have, on balance, been a decent one.

EDIT: typo fixed.

119

[quote]pushharder wrote:
Those of you who are trumpeting the line, “Well, it’s obvious he can’t win so why is the numbskull even running and why do those who like him even bother boarding his campaign train,” are missing a key point: by being in the limelight his ideology, which in my opinion is spot-on, gets marketed on a national scale.

His ideology needs to be marketed. It’s a good one. “Consumers” need to be exposed to it. If so, many of them will buy it. If enough of them buy it the demand will increase.

Think.[/quote]

There is a huge political advantage of him coming out first. He’s the loudest, the proudest and he’ll take a fist full of the brunt of the smear. Shit latenight and talking heads are already trying to frame him as “the male Palin”.

The collective leftist freak out over Cruz and where he was born is hilarious, and very effective.

He thinks this will play in his favor in the end, his opponents are dancing in the street as the left does their job for them, and the left is freaking out.

It’s awesome.

I’m one that doesn’t think he’ll win, as the electorate in a general is not ready to take any republican serious anymore, and certainly not one that talks the principled talk he does, but it is an entertaining and worth while move on his part.

120

[quote]pushharder wrote:
His ideology needs to be marketed. It’s a good one. “Consumers” need to be exposed to it. If so, many of them will buy it. If enough of them buy it the demand will increase.

Think.[/quote]

How it’s marketed will determine who the consumers are and the resulting demand.

Marketing has never been in the Republican party’s bag.

How would you sell this guy to my mom who voted for Obama because she felt “cheated by the Republican party”?