Please disable your Ad Blocker to better interact with this website.

OpinionPolitics

Cruzing Toward an Early 2016 Presidential Bid

Iowa is the first state in America that casts its vote for president. Senator Ted Cruz (R, TX) appeared at a political event in Ames, Iowa, over the weekend. A hugely successful affair, even though competing with Iowa’s state fair, Senator Cruz was not the only figure of note that participated; also on the program were the likes of Rick Santorum, Representative Steve King and Donald Trump. Unlike the other speakers, however, the reception for Senator Cruz was clearly overwhelming.

According to the Washington Examiner: “… Santorum was a popular speaker…But Santorum’s welcome could not compare to the wildly enthusiastic reception for Cruz.” Bob Vander Plaats, organizer of the event, was an enthusiastic reporter: “The anticipation for and reception of Cruz was over the top … Most walked away talking Cruz!”

Craig Robinson, founder and editor of the Iowa Republican blog, was equally enthusiastic: “While [Santorum] delivered a good speech, he was upstaged by Cruz, who from everything I’ve seen has become the great conservative hope for Iowa conservatives …You could sense the crowd’s anticipation before Cruz spoke. The energy in the room as he spoke was unmatched by any other speaker that day … Cruz has only been to Iowa twice but in the limited time he’s been in the state he’s done everything right.”

Most significant was the summation of Ted Cruz’s appearance by Jamie Johnson, GOP state committeeman and former Rick Santorum supporter in 2012. Slate quotes Johnson, explaining his switch: “When the conservative base of the Republican Party has … their David, it’s obvious who their David is … Ted Cruz is the only guy who fits that bill…”

The New York Times and other MSM outlets covering the event insisted that it is ludicrously premature to discuss a presidential run for 2016 (unless, of course, one is discussing a Democrat). Talk is nevertheless building. This kind of enthusiastic acclaim from the public begs the question, why is Ted Cruz mentioned, if at all, as a very distant sixth consideration for the presidential race in 2016, behind the likes of Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Paul Ryan, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio? The answer depends, entirely, on who is doing the mentioning.

1 2Next page

Marilyn Assenheim

Marilyn Assenheim was born and raised in New York City. She spent a career in healthcare management although she probably should have been a casting director. Or a cowboy. A serious devotee of history and politics, Marilyn currently lives in the NYC metropolitan area.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *