Maggie's Farm

I almost can't believe I'm saying this, but I am declaring myself for Ted Cruz, because I have always leaned toward the moderate wing of the Republican Party and have always been first and foremost a foreign affairs conservative. But, the Republican Party is too far away from even minimal effectiveness, even with Congressional majorities, the issues being so aligned closer to conservative values, and the sheer incompetence and thuggishness of the Obama administration so evident and scary. And, Republicans in leadership have been as willing as Democrats to allow the hollowing of our military and degradation of its spirit. The situations in the MidEast and with Russia and China are among the most fearsome that our country has faced and we have frittered away our abilities to counter these threats. At the same time, our domestic strengths have been so weakened and spent into moral and financial near bankruptcy that unless we rebuild domestically we can forget about having a future in dealing with foreign gangsters not to mention the class of gangsters -- the politicians arm-in-arm with Wall Street and megacorporations --who are looting our pockets and self-esteem.

Ted Cruz is not a foreign affairs candidate. If anything, I would expect him to be restrained, both out of traditional conservative restraint and due to concentrating on setting us upright at home. He may be too restrained for my taste but there is something more important right now at stake, the very survival of the United States as the strong beacon of values that light up the world. Meanwhile, I feel confident that Ted Cruz will help rebuild our military strength and combativeness, weakened by social experiments that disregard fighting effectiveness, and will not stand idly by as foreign slime spit at us.

Ted Cruz is a principled Constitutionalist and conservative of the stripe that used to be so common. That's why the hypocrites and sell-outs in the Senate despise him, because compared to his legislative bravery they are revealed as pygmies of pusillanimity. I remember when Barry Goldwater ran for the nomination, how castigated he was by the Republican establishment, who deserted him. He lost by a landslide, but set a standard that Americans could gather around and retake the Republican Party for conservative principle and patriotism that didn't just conveniently wave the flag but who were willing to bleed for it and for what it stands for. That is Ted Cruz. Every generation, we must reassert our standard of principles, or see them bought for a pocket of lucre and allowed to be weakened for the passing comforts of laziness.

Ted Cruz may very well go down to defeat. It is tough to buck the stacked big city states in the electoral college and the sheer wall of hatred spewed by the mainstream media against any Republican -- and most Americans still get their news and views from the mainstream media. So may any other Republican go down to defeat. None of them are inspiring. I am willing to see that happen IF, IF, the Republican candidate sets out a clear standard of conservatism and articulate, knowledgeable defense of the Constitution and decency of values. Of all the candidates, only Ted Cruz has done that and can do that and be counted on to govern that way if elected.

At National Review some of the leading principled conservatives, none of them sycophants of big government-big business, set out their reasoned opposition to Donald Trump. In doing so they actually set out the case for a real, principled, knowledgeable, brave conservative. The only one on the field who lives up to that standard is Ted Cruz.

Sober reflections by Allahpundit.  The NYT quote is worth considering:

[T]he cadre of Republican lobbyists, operatives and elected officials based in Washington are much more unnerved by Mr. Cruz, a go-it-alone, hard-right crusader who campaigns against the political establishment and could curtail their influence and access, building his own Republican machine to essentially replace them…

“We can live with Trump.” ...