Would Cruz/Palin Be An Unbeatable Ticket?

[Reub]

I've been watching Ted Cruz in the news these past few days and he seems to come off very impressively. He seems very thoughtful and exceedingly eloquent. I'm starting to think that a Cruz/Palin presidential ticket might be quite formidable in the next Presidential election. What do you think?

[Pointedstick]

No. It would be a disastrous ticket. About 40% of people would love them, and the other 60% would run screaming.

Picture a Pelosi/Warren ticket. Same thing. You can't win by only appealing to the base and ignoring independents who dislike extremism. The ranks of those independents grow year by year, so appealing to them becomes more, not less important.

[doodle]

It would certainly provide a lot of material for Saturday night live.

[doodle]

You can't win by only appealing to the base and ignoring independents who dislike extremism. The ranks of those independents grow year by year, so appealing to them becomes more, not less important.

I don't think the republican party has quite learned this lesson yet.

[MediumTex]

If Hillary Clinton has wet dreams, they would probably involve facing a ticket like that in 2016.

Ted Cruz is enjoying his 15 minutes right now, but it won't last.  Take that FWIW from someone who lives in Cruz's home state and has seen a lot more of him than the rest of the country has.

[MediumTex]

i don't know that Cruz isn't just another pandering politician, my hunch is that he is "in it" right now for the exposure and branding more than ideals, Palin is already the cheese-wiz of conservatism,
a horrible combination ticket, it wouldn't get my vote

In 2016, Cruz would have barely been in the Senate for one term, which would make him about as inexperienced as Obama was in 2008.

I say give Cruz another 10 years to develop a record and some experience and maybe think about running in 2024.  He will be in his early 50s then, so he has plenty of time to work up to something like that.

[MediumTex]

If it helps anyone read the tea leaves, John Cornyn (the other Republican Senator from Texas) is distancing himself from Cruz's efforts to filibuster the spending bill unless it de-funds Obamacare.

What does that tell you about the depth of Cruz's support among fellow Republicans (or even fellow Texas Republicans)?

[dualstow]

I think their slogan should be "Smooth Sailin' with Cruz/Palin."

[Tyler]

Meh -- I think Cruz/Palin wouldn't get very far.  Regardless of whether you agree with her, I personally think Palin on a ticket is a total non-starter.  Hillary would have a field day with her.

I'm more inclined to think about who would be a strong VP on a Rand Paul ticket.  Interestingly, Obama's power grabs (Syria, Obamacare delays, NSA, IRS, etc.) have started to make even his own party notice, which could open the door for a more libertarian-leaning message.  Ideas?

[Pointedstick]

I think Rand would make a better VP myself. Still too inexperienced.

[Benko]

. You can't win by only appealing to the base and ignoring independents who dislike "extremism".

Forgetting Palin, this is a super important point to adress:

"extremism"
This is the logic that brought Rs "moderates"  like Romney and those before him and why they keep loosing.  Anyone not a statist (and apparently the republican establishment is included) is extreme. 

Reagan was extreme.  The constitution is extreme.  Anything not progressive is extreme. 

Which does not mean that the media and Dems are not capable of convincing the masses that whatever R candidate will lynch blacks, etc etc.

[Reub]

I think their slogan should be "Smooth Sailin' with Cruz/Palin."

I like the slogan! Personally, I think that Cruz may be more electable than Paul as he appears more eloquent and could attract Latinos. As far as being "radical" I really don't see it. People called Reagan radical also. Middle of the roaders like Romney and McCain don't energize the base and would not offer real change. Even if he loses this Obamacare battle he has advanced his agenda.

LOL! I typed this in without reading Benko's post. I guess that great minds do think alike!

M.T. Has Cruz wronged you in some way? Did he leave a campaign poster on your property once? He wants to defund Obamacare and limit government? Do you oppose these things?

[Pointedstick]

Reagan was extreme.

People called Reagan radical also.

Reagan was elected 33 years ago. Times change. Since 1980, a huge number of latinos have entered the United States and the Gen-Xers and Millenials are a lot more likely to identify as independents and tend to prefer bits of each party's platform. It's a different electorate, and it requires a different playbook than the one that won Reagan the presidency a third of a century ago.

I hear what you're saying about McCain and Romney. It's not enough to be conservative-lite, clearly. What the Republicans need is someone who's conservative in some ways and liberal in other ways. And there are a heck of a lot of issues that don't fit neatly into either party--like copyright reform and student loan forgiveness--that could earn them major brownie points with the under-30 crowd.

[Reub]

PS, you say that latinos are more important to today's electorate and yet you ignore that Cruz is latino. Isn't he?

[Pointedstick]

PS, you say that latinos are more important to today's electorate and yet you ignore that Cruz is latino. Isn't he?

Would the fact that a Democrat happened to be white make you more like to vote for him or her?

[Libertarian666]

Reagan was extreme.

People called Reagan radical also.

Reagan was elected 33 years ago. Times change. Since 1980, a huge number of latinos have entered the United States and the Gen-Xers and Millenials are a lot more likely to identify as independents and tend to prefer bits of each party's platform. It's a different electorate, and it requires a different playbook than the one that won Reagan the presidency a third of a century ago.

I hear what you're saying about McCain and Romney. It's not enough to be conservative-lite, clearly. What the Republicans need is someone who's conservative in some ways and liberal in other ways. And there are a heck of a lot of issues that don't fit neatly into either party--like copyright reform and student loan forgiveness--that could earn them major brownie points with the under-30 crowd.

Like socially liberal and fiscally conservative? Hmm, I think I've heard of something like that before.

I know! It's called "libertism" or something like that!

[Pointedstick]

Like socially liberal and fiscally conservative? Hmm, I think I've heard of something like that before.

I know! It's called "libertism" or something like that!

If only, if only!

[Libertarian666]

Like socially liberal and fiscally conservative? Hmm, I think I've heard of something like that before.

I know! It's called "libertism" or something like that!

If only, if only!

There's a reason that the national Republican party "leaders" did everything in their power, including cheating and physical attacks, to stop Ron Paul's legally earned delegates from being seated at the convention last year. They knew that if he was allowed to speak, he could wreck their scam.

Luckily, they are mostly pretty old and the new R activists have a high proportion of "libertists". I just hope society survives long enough for them to change the system.

[Xan]

You can't win by only appealing to the base and ignoring independents who dislike extremism. The ranks of those independents grow year by year, so appealing to them becomes more, not less important.

I don't think the republican party has quite learned this lesson yet.

Really?  It seems that they keep nominating weak-kneed moderates (McCain, Romney) and bypassing people with principles.  If anything, your take on it would seem to be the exact opposite of reality.

EDIT: I should read all the posts before replying to one!

[MediumTex]

M.T. Has Cruz wronged you in some way? Did he leave a campaign poster on your property once? He wants to defund Obamacare and limit government? Do you oppose these things?

Cruz is an amateurish demagogue who IMHO is simply not electable.

What's the point of a Ross Perot-type of candidate going out there and making a bunch of great points and losing in a race that won't even be close?

If Cruz is as good as he thinks he is, he should build a record and a national audience and run when he has some experience, credentials and accomplishments.  Right now, he has been in Washington for one year and has accomplished ZERO other than getting a lot of media coverage.  I want to see him actually sponsor a piece of legislation that makes the government work more effectively and build enough support to get it enacted into law.  It takes real leadership to do that, while being a gadfly only requires a cynical media.

The Republicans need to understand that candidates like Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann and Ted Cruz are not the answer.  It's not about whether you like or dislike these people, it's just being realistic about the way the world actually works, and you can't just sound bite your way to the White House, especially after eight years of Obama.  In 2016 I think that the American people are going to be craving a known quantity with a long record more than ever.

A 2008 Obama election-type event where a basically unknown and inexperienced candidate happens to get elected to the White House happens once in a generation (if that often), and just because the Democrats got lucky with it once in 2008, it doesn't mean that it will happen again in our lifetimes (and certainly not in 2016).

After the 2008 presidential campaign I told my wife that I had never seen a more un-electable candidate than Mitt Romney, but apparently not everyone felt this way and it was only after the 2012 election that people began to grasp the fact that Romney never really had a chance.  I don't see the point of learning the same lesson again in 2016 with a polarizing candidate like Ted Cruz.

That's all JMHO, of course.

The Republicans need a Ronald Reagan-type candidate who can somehow energize the Republican base while also persuading a lot of Democratic voters that he is looking out for them as well, as Reagan did (it helps to be a former Democrat and union leader, as Reagan was).  The funny thing about Reagan, though, is that the people who ought to have been the most disappointed in him were all of those small government Republicans who must have hated to watch the size of the federal government's budget explode under Reagan, and yet those are the people who seem to love him the most today.

[MediumTex]

The state governors' offices is where the Republicans should be looking for presidential candidates, but they can't keep picking marshmallows like Sarah Palin and Rick Perry; it needs to be legitimate political leaders who can handle a national stage and national media. 

Although I think that Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are both basically duds (but for very different reasons), they were both strong candidates when they ran for President and they each won races that they probably should have lost.

[Reub]

Cruz is speaking in the Senate on CSpan now. I find him impressive, courageous and passionate. He is speaking and making sense in much more than small sound bytes.

And I think that Cruz IS looking out for the average person when he fights valiantly to defund Obamacare. Do you disagree?

So, MT, did Cruz leave a campaign poster on your property?

[doodle]

You can't win by only appealing to the base and ignoring independents who dislike extremism. The ranks of those independents grow year by year, so appealing to them becomes more, not less important.

I don't think the republican party has quite learned this lesson yet.

Really?  It seems that they keep nominating weak-kneed moderates (McCain, Romney) and bypassing people with principles.  If anything, your take on it would seem to be the exact opposite of reality.

EDIT: I should read all the posts before replying to one!

Yes, but in order to get nominated they have to pander to the base which currently is a bunch of wing nuts. By the time they get through the primaries they have to back peddle so much to the center that they look like a flip flopper. The republican party is having an identity crisis IMHO.

[MediumTex]

Cruz is speaking in the Senate on CSpan now. I find him impressive, courageous and passionate. He is speaking and making sense in much more than small sound bytes.

And I think that Cruz IS looking out for the average person when he fights valiantly to defund Obamacare. Do you disagree?

So, MT, did Cruz leave a campaign poster on your property?

No, he just reminds me of Don Quixote.

I wish him the best of luck, though.

[Reub]

So MT, are you a proponent of Obamacare?