As a conservative Republican, it is quite rare that I find myself agreeing with Jerry Brown about anything. However, when the liberal California governor and past Democratic presidential contender told NBC’s Chuck Todd on Sunday that Senator Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz (R-Texas) is “absolutely unfit” to be president, I couldn’t help but concur. The news had just broken that the ultraconservative Cruz would declare his candidacy for president the following day, making him the first high-profile candidate from other party to officially enter the 2016 sweepstakes. Gov. Brown’s sentiment about Cruz’s announcement was a common one among Democrats and Republicans alike.
The forty-four-year-old Cruz certainly has the skill set of a natural candidate. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law, he became Texas’s solicitor general less than three weeks after his thirty-second birthday and had argued nine cases before the Supreme Court by the time he turned 38. In 2012, he upset Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the Republican primary for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Cruz has a brilliant mind and a sharp tongue. He is a gifted orator and debater. At first glance, Ted Cruz has all the makings of the perfect presidential candidate.
However much Cruz’s fans love to point all this out, though, it tells only a fraction of the true story. The junior senator from Texas has conducted himself in anything but a presidential manner since joining the senate in January 2013. He quickly became one of the most polarizing voices among Senate Republicans, calling on party leadership to take an ideologically rigid approach to policymaking and to refuse to compromise with the Democrats, who then controlled the Senate. He already had the reputation of a Tea Party purist, and as a candidate he had made some very inflammatory statements, including an accusation in June 2011 that President Obama was conspiring to put an end to America’s status as a free market nation. Cruz’s Senate career took this ideological purity to a new level as he refused to work with the party’s mainstream on anything that he did not fully support. He regularly attacked- and continues to attack- “the mushy middle,” his term for Republicans who do not subscribe to his approach to legislating.
Not surprisingly, Ted Cruz has earned a reputation as an obstructionist for consistently opposing ideas put forward even by those in his own party. He is best known perhaps for his central role in the October 1-16 government shutdown in 2013, when he led a band of Tea Party conservatives who persuaded many congressional Republicans to oppose a continuing resolution to fund the federal government unless Obamacare was repealed. (Spoiler alert: It didn’t work.) Cruz is adamantly opposed to compromise, so he obviously has no substantive legislative accomplishments to tout in his run for the presidency. This past Tuesday night, in fact, when asked by Fox News host Megyn Kelly what he has accomplished in his barely two years as a senator, the best reply Cruz could muster was that he tried “stopping bad things from happening.” The senator continued with this theme, pointing out that he has been a loud voice of opposition to President Obama’s policies, “whether it’s stopping Obamacare or stopping the out-of-control debt or stopping executive amnesty or defending our Constitutional rights or standing with Israel or stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons.” There are two points about this quote that are very striking- and very telling. First of all, virtually every item on Cruz’s laundry list of achievements is about preventing something from happening. Where are the bold new policy ideas that justify his candidacy? What happened to his alternatives to Obama’s failed liberal policies? He doesn’t have any. Cruz’s own account of his record reflects his role as a legislator who stops things from happening instead of making things happen, who obstructs rather than leads.
The second problem with Senator Cruz’s catalog of supposed accomplishments is that every last thing he listed, every single crusade he ever fought as a senator, failed miserably. Obamacare is still going strong, the national debt is growing, the Obama administration continues to abuse the Constitution and grant amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants, the U.S.’s relationship with Israel is deteriorating by the day, and Iran is moving closer to a nuclear weapon. Time and time again, Ted Cruz’s refusal to bend his principles for the sake of compromise has contributed not only to the dysfunction in Washington, but to the defeat of his own goals as well. The evidence is in the numbers. We do not need a president who will merely fight the things he doesn’t like. We need a chief executive who will govern responsibly and also fight for things that he or she does like.
Another problem with Ted Cruz is his utter dearth of credibility as a politician. Being a state’s solicitor general for a few years is great life experience, but it has nothing to do with legislating or governing. The sum total of Mr. Cruz’s congressional experience is barely two years’ worth, and even that short period of time has been marked by some juvenile missteps. For example, this past December Cruz and fellow freshman Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) forced an extended Senate session in order to register their anger over the president’s recent executive action on immigration. The only thing they accomplished was granting Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid more time to push through some of Obama’s more controversial nominees for various federal positions. Cruz also seems to be oblivious to the fact that what he has called the “single most important tax reform,” namely “abolishing the IRS,” is a moronic and immature suggestion. Someone has to collect taxes in this country, and if the IRS is abolished it will just become the job of another department- either an existing agency with no tax-collecting experience or qualifications, or, more likely, a new bureau would have to be created. How exactly this new tax-collecting organization would be better than the IRS is anyone’s guess. The complicated, convoluted tax code is a product of Congress, not the IRS, so that would not change if the IRS was replaced by another agency with a different name. The point is that Sen. Cruz has an awful lot to learn about strategy and policy before he tries to take a step up the political ladder.
The truth is, though, that no matter what Mr. Cruz does he will probably never be presidential material. This is because Ted Cruz is not taken seriously by anyone important- not by the media, not by fellow politicians and not by most voters. He has brought widespread ridicule upon himself by doing such things as reading Green Eggs and Ham on national television during a 21-hour Senate floor speech in 2013 and comparing Republicans who stopped actively fighting Obamacare to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain allowing the Nazis to conquer much of Europe. Along the way he has had Foreign Policy Magazine, far from a liberal publication, slam him as “the human equivalent of one of those flower-squirters that clowns wear on their lapels. ” Arizona Senator John McCain (R), one of the most senior and respected members of the upper chamber, called Cruz a “wacko bird” in 2013. Texas’s junior senator is unlikely to ever be a serious candidate for the presidency, and he has himself to thank. You have to act serious to be taken seriously.
It is interesting to note that many of Cruz’s staunchest detractors, myself included, agree with the senator on almost every policy he holds. Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and the other serious GOP candidates for president in 2016 are all on the same page as Cruz on almost all of the issues that are important to him. It is clearly not Ted Cruz’s political positions that disqualify him from presidential politics; it is his tactics and personality. Any conservative politician with a national profile and political prowess, including those listed above, can be a serious candidate for this nation’s highest office if he or she rejects failed tactics and is willing to compromise when necessary. And it should go without saying that they would be well advised to refrain from reading Dr. Seuss on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
As for Ted Cruz, I do not like him, Sam-I-Am.
Well how is he supposed to accomplish anything with Emperor Obamaa in charge?!
The points in this article are valid and appreciated. What a disappointment Cruz has turned out to be.
I disagree with several points that you make.
Cruz and many other senators and congressman were elected in 2012 for one reason -TO STOP OBAMA AND HIS LIBERAL/SOCIALIST AGENDA. Cruz has been one of the few who have been honest to that end. Most of the others have capitulated to the democrats to the detriment of small business and middle class america.
Obamacare is going strong, the national debt is up, and the labor participation rate is lower than it was before the recession. This is due to the decisions made in Congress by the democratic party, and agreed to by the rebublican party.
You blame Cruz for not accomplishing much. Do you want a president that leaves a legacy of what he accomplished, or do you want a president that can say I stood for my principles- and the goals that the US citizens elected me to accomplish -and fought tooth and nail to keep this country strong. The current president has a long list of accomplishments, few of them positive.
Look at every other senior rebublican member in Congress. Bohener, McConnell etc… their tactics and willingness to compromise when necessary got them to where they are. But are you happy with the decisions they are making? The approval rate for Congress is the lowest its ever been- because there is one party that makes demands, and another that is willing to “compromise” with those demands.
It is time for a president -and any elected official for that matter- that does what the American people elect him/her to do.
You are obviously not a conservative but rather a “moderate” like establishment guy who gives us candidates like Romney Mccain and now you’ll give us Bush so we lose this country forever! I personally love Cruz, he is a real conservative on ALL issues, he’s no half baked guy he’s better than Paul and Rubio as well although they would also be very good. Anyone will be better than the tantrum throwing little kid occupying the white house now.
I have been following this new political posting series. It is well written and easy to follow. I would be very interested in knowing which candidate Mr. Stein does support and why. I’m looking towards a follow-up. (Go Bush?)
I agree with W. I would love to have a President with real values that reflect my own. The ability to compromise is important but with a Republican majority and a conservative President- who needs it. The bottom line is- be true to yourself and your principles.
Pretty accurate read on Ted Cruz in my opinion. The article is easy to read and follow. To add one point, I think the scariest thing about Sen. Cruz is the fact that he clearly failed to understand the moral of the book Green Eggs and Ham.
You seem to be missing the important points. Ted Cruz is the favorite of religious conservatives for many valid reasons. He isn’t afraid to stand up for his beliefs. He engineered the government shutdown of 2013 to defund Obamacare and even if it ultimately failed, he walks the walk. He scares the liberals to death since he believes that the major moral decedance of this country can be reversed and intends to do it! He unapologetically stands with Israel and most telling is that he is the candidate that drives the Democrats the most crazy. He gets my vote!
Mr. Stein: An impressively articulate discourse in the service of a classic viewpoint that got us into the mess we are in. With the exception of the difference in executive experience, the Rockefeller, country-club Republicans said the exact same things about Reagan. Like you, they were wrong. Oh, yes, Reagan was also ridiculed for lighter moments in his life as an actor, such as Bedtime for Bonzo, etc.
The point your are missing is that the dire condition of the country screams out for radical change, conservative change back to the founding principles of this great country. It is the ones who have shown “agreeable” temperament in the Republican party that have sold us down the river by working with Democrats to manage the decline of America to what it is now.
William F. Buckley, Jr.’s founding motto for the National Review back in 1955 was “Standing athwart history, yelling ‘STOP'”. 60 years later, that attitude to the slide into a socialist “paradise” is exactly what is needed. Someone needs to have the guts, as Reagan did, to go against the punditocracy, the political handlers (think Karl Rove), the “moderates” and all the others who just see Washington as this humongous money mill; all they do is decide how it gets whacked up-the part about sending the bill to us, the taxpayers, is already a done deal regardless of party.
“Radical conservative change”: a perfect oxymoron for what is needed. Shrink the government, return more control to the states, cut taxes and regulations, force the government to live within its means, repeal nightmare legislation like ObamaCare, rein in the EPA, the ATF and the Department of Education. Push back against public employee unions, teachers unions, ACORN and AFSCME. No more, “too big to fail” no more corporate crony capitalism. Abolish the IRS and start over with a flat tax; file your taxes on a postcard.
I think your problem, Mr. Stein, is that you have absorbed the current political zeitgeist. A politician has to behave a certain way according to norms that are established by the main stream media and their talking heads. I believe the more Americans hear what Ted Cruz has to say, the more it will appeal to their sense of fairness, to their gritty independent streak, their common sense and, more than anything else, to their innate knowledge that Washington, D.C. is completely, irredeemably out of control and rapidly gobbling up their individual freedom, the birthright of every American.
I don’t agree with what most of your opinion piece says, but I must admit that you say it very well.
The man knows what he is talking about!!!!!!!!
As we can tell from his picture, Yosef Stein is a member of the next generation. And as such, he is interested in the ideas put forth by the policy makers and leaders of our country. With intelligence and forethought, he expresses an educated opinion. When young people like him are involved in the issues, I can have confidence in the country’s future.
Well articulated and on the mark. Thanks for an informative read – please keep writing!
I think you know you’re saying and I hope you continue writing for the Lakewood scoopI want to thank you for all that you do for the lakewood community you really deserve a thank you and I’m here to provide that thank you you really make us all proud of what you stand for and we hope to hear more from you soon