Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Joan Walsh — Ted Cruz knows exactly what he’s doing

Clearly Ted Cruz is running for president of reactionary, imaginary “real America.” It’s an America that’s dying. On Tuesday the Center for American Progress released fascinating poll data about what Americans think about our multiracial future, and it’s beyond encouraging. Some of it is predictable – white seniors and white conservatives have the most worries about that future; millennials of every race are the most optimistic. Overall, blacks and Latinos are somewhat more concerned about the problem of racial and economic inequality, and more ready for action, than whites and Asians, whose incomes and educational outcomes are higher.
But even among white people there’s a bracing optimism about demographic change and willingness to take measures to reduce racial inequality. In fact, the poll found that Latinos, not whites, are the most concerned about the downside of racial change, based on reaction to a series of eight statements designed to measure concern about it – that such change may lead to a drain on government services, erode our common culture, or cause an increase in anti-white discrimination, to give three examples. And strong majorities of every group, including whites, say they’re willing to invest more in programs that will reduce racial inequality and encourage economic growth. Self-described white conservatives were the only subgroup in the survey that expressed opposition to such spending.
And that’s Ted Cruz’s base. It’s a small base, and a shrinking base, from which to run a presidential campaign. But it’s a base that exerts enormous sway in the GOP primary process....
Ted Cruz is not chastened by national GOP poll numbers. He’s looking at his own. In the latest Pew poll, Tea Party Republicans approved of him 74-8. And despite the complaints of Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, Republicans overall approved of Cruz 56-44. And while Tea Partyers make up 40 percent of self-described Republicans, they make up 49 percent of those who vote in every primary. So right now Cruz has the approval of three-quarters of the majority-voting bloc in the GOP base.
That’s not “America,” except in Cruz’s imagination. Ted Cruz will never be president of the real United States of America, but he’s already president of the one that exists in his mind.
Salon
Ted Cruz knows exactly what he’s doing
Joan Walsh

I would agree that it is unlikely that Ted Cruz will become president of the United States. But however gets the presidential nomination of a major party is positioned to do so by default if the other party and candidate make serious mistakes or the country wants a change in leadership because, say, the economy is doing poorly. This is a major reason that the GOP is obstructing recovery in the hope that the economy will be in recession at the time of the 2016 general election. If Ted Cruz were the nominee in that situation, he could well win by default.

Before the election of Barack Obama as one term US senator, I would have concluded that the nomination of a one term senator was highly unlikely. Now?


4 comments:

paul meli said...

Whether or not Cruz could get elected would depend on what "the man behind the curtain" wanted…it appears they wanted (or were OK with) Obama.

He hasn't disappointed them.

There would be a private talk…and then he might drop out. Or not.

Liberals wouldn't vote for him.

Tom Hickey said...

Paul, I don't think that the people behind the curtain are monolithic. There are competing interests. The Libertarian right is backed by different people than the Establishment right. Personality-wise, this in evident in the differences between Jim DeMint and Karl Rove. But the difference is more over strategy and tactics than policy — economic liberalism and fiscal conservatism (small government, low taxes), along with political conservatism (law and order, strong military, American exceptionalism, empire), and social conservatism (traditional values, social hierarchy).

The GOP Establishment is concerned that the Libertarian wing is uncontrollable by them (correct), and that the Libertarian wing risks losing the center, which is needed to win general elections, by running too far right too hard (also correct).

The only way around that would be to rig elections through such tactics as voter suppression, which is underway in many places, especially key states like Texas and Florida.

paul meli said...

"Paul, I don't think that the people behind the curtain are monolithic." - Tom

Tom, true with respect to ideology, but if the comparison is based on money and power I would call it a monolith.

TPTB are focused on holding more and more wealth and power…the means are mere technical details, they don't care a whit about the issues except in how effective they nay be in giving them more power.

If we look back over the past 200 years or so there has been liitle change in over-arching policy regardless of the people involved.

Money and power are held by the elites…the rst of us fight over the scraps and get crushed.

That's the way I see it at least.

Tom Hickey said...

Yes, they jockey with each other for position, e.g, by sector and region. The rest are just cogs in the machine, and if they are not cogs, then they are in the way.