Why The Establishment Fears Cruz More Than Trump

[libertybele]

Why the Establishment Fears Cruz More Than Trump

Read these two quotes carefully: The first: “Cruz cannot win because the Washington elites despise him.” The second goes: “[T]here are a lot of good candidates – I like nearly all of them… …except Cruz.” Which one of the similar quotes is from a pro-Cruz Super PAC and which is from a former Republican nominee for president?

The first quote is from an ad from Keep the Promise I, a Cruz Super PAC.  The second is from Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican nominee and war hero, who got trounced by Bill Clinton. Both purport to highlight a negative of Senator Cruz, but do they really?

The establishment keeps telling the voters how awful these two candidates are, but that just makes the voters gravitate to them even more.

The answer is hidden in an examination of the conservative insurgency in Massachusetts, of all places.  Five years ago this very week, things were starting to turn around for then-State Senator Scott Brown (R–MA).

Knowing how much of a train wreck RomneyCare had become, the voters of Massachusetts were drawn to Brown’s singular campaign message: “I will be the 41st vote to stop Obamacare.”  Attorney General Martha Coakley’s team misread the electorate and put out ads that in effect said, “If you elect Scott Brown you will stop the president from giving healthcare to millions of Americans.” Two different candidates, same message, and we all know who won that race.

That same dynamic is playing out in the presidential race this year; be it with Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.  The establishment keeps telling the voters how awful these two candidates are, but that just makes the voters gravitate to them even more.

Nowhere is this playing out more clearly than in Iowa where a series of establishment allies are swinging hard at Cruz in advertisements and mailers. All of this comes as Cruz further cements his lead in the state. On Christmas, CNN reported that a collection of five independent groups, aligned with the establishment and Mike Huckabee have begun attacks on Cruz in Iowa.

The attacks are being spearheaded by two people with ties to the establishment: Nick Ryan, who is an establishment activist in Iowa, and Sean Noble, another establishment hack who is backing Rubio.  Mark Levin wrote of Noble’s Alinsky-like tactics back in November.  Regarding Noble’s attacks on Cruz’s vote for the America Freedom Act, Conservative Review’s own Daniel Horowitz said: “Mr. Noble worked for Sen. Jeff Flake who also voted for the Freedom Act.  I guess his boss and all of Rubio’s backers are also weak on national security.”  Noble boasts, on his own website, of his ties to the “elite” of the party. He says “…or nearly 20 years, a pretty elite cast of characters has been doing just that [paying attention to Noble].”

Ryan is a longstanding force in Iowa politics, allied with the moderate Governor Branstad.  On his website, Ryan describes himself as having investments in renewable energy—i.e. ethanol—in Iowa.  Ted Cruz is very much against ethanol mandates.

When you scratch under the hood of the attacks on Cruz, and ask why they are more pointed than the attacks on Trump, a common theme begins to emerge.  That is self-interest.  It can be as plain as someone who has financial stakes in ethanol running ads against an anti-ethanol candidate, or it can be more complex, like with Noble—someone trying to hold onto the power they’ve carved out in the political industrial complex.  Therein lies the real truth of why the attacks are stronger against Cruz than Trump, even though they really aren’t working against either candidate.

Trump is a dealmaker running a campaign as a disrupter to the status quo.  Cruz is a proven disrupter to the status quo. That is a very big difference indeed.

The political industrial complex believes deep down that they can negotiate with the author of The Art of the Deal; they know they will lose the levers of power with Ted Cruz.  You can see it in the voracity and frequency of their attacks.

The establishment consultants and chattering class know they have the most to lose with a Cruz presidency.  What do they lose with a Cruz presidency? The very levers of power by which they enrich themselves: the Republican Party apparatus.

It goes much deeper than Cruz holding the reins of the executive branch. With a President Cruz, the positions of the self-described elite within the GOP power structure are in jeopardy.   As much as the establishment screams electability from the rooftops, deep down they know that Cruz can and will win in 2016 if nominated.  That is an existential threat to business as usual and the ruling class itself.

Rule #1 of the political industrial complex is: maintain power at all cost, even if it means torpedoing an electable conservative like Cruz.  Here is how it would play out badly for them were Cruz the nominee:

Cruz is the larger threat to establishment because, if he wins, they lose all the levers of power. McConnell and his allies would be tossed out of organizations such as the Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, etc...  If history is any guide, the sitting president of a political party has a large leeway in choosing those in key power positions.  That puts the earning potential and power of the current political industrial complex in complete jeopardy.

That is why, come January, the establishment will continue to turn all their guns on Cruz because they would rather Trump win the nomination and lose to Hillary than for Ted Cruz to have a chance of being president.  If that happened they would attempt to blame a Trump loss on the Tea Party, and keep their cushy jobs.  As Cruz inevitably gains on Trump, the establishment will go after Cruz 110%, even if they are currently waging a rhetorical war on Trump.

As the calendar turns to 2016, and the political industrial complex realizes they can’t field a winning candidate on their own, they will increasingly turn their fire on Cruz over Trump.  When they do so, be very aware that it isn’t for the “good of the country” or even because of “electability.”  It pretty much boils down to what they have to do to keep food on their tables and their pockets lined.

A very powerful motivator indeed.

- See more at: https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2015/12/why-the-establishment-fears-cruz-more-than-trump#sthash.h0jjGQk9.dpuf

[txradioguy]

What we are seeing happen within the Republican Party is a war between Reagan Conservatism and RINO mush.  All of the same people in Congress and the MSM who did their level best to prevent Reagan from gaining the nomination are pulling out all the stops to prevent a champion of Conservatism from gaining office yet again.

Cruz is the larger threat to establishment because, if he wins, they lose all the levers of power. McConnell and his allies would be tossed out of organizations such as the Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, etc...  If history is any guide, the sitting president of a political party has a large leeway in choosing those in key power positions.  That puts the earning potential and power of the current political industrial complex in complete jeopardy.

If Cruz wins...expect to see a LOT of RINO's announcing their retirement in hopes of torpedoing Congress in the first mid term election after Cruz becomes President.

Yes...they ARE that petty.

[libertybele]

What we are seeing happen within the Republican Party is a war between Reagan Conservatism and RINO mush.  All of the same people in Congress and the MSM who did their level best to prevent Reagan from gaining the nomination are pulling out all the stops to prevent a champion of Conservatism from gaining office yet again.

If Cruz wins...expect to see a LOT of RINO's announcing their retirement in hopes of torpedoing Congress in the first mid term election after Cruz becomes President.

Yes...they ARE that petty.

I would love to see people like McCain and McConnell retire.  Ok...so we would be facing a lot of 'special elections' cropping up throughout the country and since DEM voter turn out is usually very light, we could seat a lot of unopposed REP candidates in both Houses.  I wouldn't be surprised if TEA candidates are waiting in the wings.  Another win for Americans.

[txradioguy]

I would love to see people like McCain and McConnell retire.  Ok...so we would be facing a lot of 'special elections' cropping up throughout the country and since DEM voter turn out is usually very light, we could seat a lot of unopposed REP candidates in both Houses.  I wouldn't be surprised if TEA candidates are waiting in the wings.  Another win for Americans.

Either that or the Dems pour a lot of special interest money into those special elections to turn them Blue.

[libertybele]

Either that or the Dems pour a lot of special interest money into those special elections to turn them Blue.

This is true.  But at this point ... DEMS still think Hillary is a done deal and I think they will be in such a panic mode they won't know won't know what hit them.  One thing is for sure even if the DEMS try to turn those seats Blue, the existing cartel will be broken up.  Knowing Cruz, he's probably already thought that far ahead.   Right now Cruz needs as many courageous conservative boots on the ground as possible to ensure his win.