Ladies and Gentlemen, the Next President of the United States … by Process of Elimination Part 1: Handicapping Republican Ted Cruz This is the first in a series of reports on the candidates for U.S. President. The series will unfold by process of elimination of candidates, concluding with my forecast for the next president.
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Ladies and Gentlemen, the Next President of the United States … by Process of Elimination
Part 1: Handicapping Republican Ted Cruz
This is the first in a series of reports on the candidates for U.S. President. The series will unfold by process of elimination of candidates, concluding with my forecast for the next president.
April 8, 2015 Vol. VIII, No. 5 3:13 pm
Cruz is Obama-Right; Wrong for 2016
Okay, so who among Washington political elites comes to mind when thinking about the following descriptive facts: 1. His father was born in a foreign country; 2. He is a Harvard Law School graduate; 3. He was the first-of-a-kind head of Harvard Law Review; 4. His wife is a Harvard graduate; 5. He has two daughters; 6. He is an ideological extremist. Who?
The correct answer: Barack Obama and Ted Cruz.
Ted Cruz has a Harvard Law degree just like Obama. Cruz was the first Hispanic head of Harvard Law Review; Obama, the first African-American head of Harvard Law Review. Cruz’s father was born in Cuba; Obama’s father in Kenya. Cruz’s wife is a Harvard graduate (MBA); Obama’s wife is a Harvard graduate (Law). Coincidentally, both couples have two daughters.
Then, add the facts that Obama announced his campaign for president in his mid-40s (he was 45; Cruz is 44), that he, like Cruz, was a first-term U.S. Senator when he announced, and that both are inspirational speakers who espouse anti-establishment solutions to problems.
Obama is a recalcitrant, liberal extremist who prefers to be a lone wolf. Cruz is a recalcitrant, conservative extremist who prefers to be a lone wolf. But, that is where the road forks.
One is a recalcitrant, liberal extremist loner. One a recalcitrant, conservative extremist loner.
In other words, Cruz is Obama-Right. Which is why he is not likely to be president.
American voters are tired of extremism and partisan recalcitrance. Tired of loner politicians with a gift for oratory that fades into uselessness because their words are not accompanied by a gift for collaborative leadership.
Uncompromising, my-way-or-the-highway leaders like Barack Obama and Ted Cruz are likely to be out of vogue during an era when Americans are demanding those who are compelled to get things done, even if it means compromising with the other party, rather than those who are compelled to stick to their beliefs even if nothing gets done.
Ted Cruz’s biggest stumbling block in his campaign for president of the United States is that he actually believes that sticking to your beliefs even if nothing gets done is leadership. That shutting down the federal government rather than hammering out a compromise is defensible.
Are Obama and Cruz Ideological Extremists?
In an era of advocacy journalism (Fox News; New York Times), it is refreshing to have the National Journal. The National Journal is one of only a handful of reliable sources for absolute objective analysis of American politics and politicians.
For over four decades, the National Journal has ranked members of the U.S. Senate from most liberal to most conservative.
In 2007, U.S. Senator Barack Obama from Illinois was ranked #1 “Most Liberal” senator. In the most recent ranking, Ted Cruz is ranked #4 “Most Conservative” senator.
According to the Journal, Cruz is more conservative than 95% of his fellow Senators. Here are a few interesting comparisons:
- Senator Ted Cruz: 4th “Most Conservative”
- Senator Marco Rubio: 17th “Most Conservative”
- Senator Rand Paul: 19th “Most Conservative”
- North Carolina Senator Richard Burr: 27th “Most Conservative”
- Former North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan: 49th “Most Conservative”
Former U.S. Senator Barack Obama from Illinois was ranked #1 “Most Liberal” senator. He is a certifiable ideological extremist. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz from Texas was ranked #4 “Most Conservative” senator. That certifies him as an ideological extremist.
Peggy Noonan, President Reagan’s speech writer, wrote something profoundly sensible in her opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal on February 28, 2015. “What the Republican Party needs in a presidential candidate is not a centrist who can make the sale to conservatives in the primaries; it is a conservative who can win over centrists in the general election.”
Noonan continued, “That means the Republican nominee should be a man or woman who can redefine conservative thinking for current circumstances and produce policies that centrists and independents will find worthy of consideration.”
Ted Cruz, a recalcitrant, conservative extremist loner, is not likely to ever “produce policies that centrists and independents will find worthy of consideration.”
Cruz is Obama-Right. Wrong for 2016.
– End –
Thank You for Reading the John Davis Political Report
John N. Davis
