Why isn't Cruz doing better?

[Col. Roosevelt]

You would think he's the kind of "True Conservtive" (tm) that Republicans have been said they want for their nominee. That Cruz epitomizes everything (from a hardcore conservative POV) everything GW Bush, Dole and GHW Bush weren't. So, my question is, why when a real Goldwater/Joe McCarthy conservative comes around, why isn't he polling better with the GOP base?

[Mehmentum]

Be patient, his time will come.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Carson is more genuine to religious conservatives.

Trump is more fun to paleoconservatives (Buchanan and Perot voters).

[yankeesfan]

Be patient, his time will come.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

You would think he's the kind of "True Conservtive" (tm) that Republicans have been said they want for their nominee. That Cruz epitomizes everything (from a hardcore conservative POV) everything GW Bush, Dole and GHW Bush weren't. So, my question is, why when a real Goldwater/Joe McCarthy conservative comes around, why isn't he polling better with the GOP base?

Because Cruz is an unlikeable, one-note asshole who is loathed by his peers?

[Bismarck]

He's an elected official, and thus in the mind of the wonderful Trump and Carson supporters is the enemy.

[weixiaobao]

He's an elected official, and thus in the mind of the wonderful Trump and Carson supporters is the enemy.

Not quite, Cruz is decently popular with Trump and Carson's supporters.  A lot of them want Cruz as VP to their candidates.  Though, that may change if Cruz start to attack Trump.  It is a lose lose situation.  There is no way to wait Trump out, and attack Trump will not help.

[Maxwell]

Be patient, his time will come.

This. Small minds only see what is placed directly in front of them. Cruz is one of only two Republican candidates playing chess. The rest are varying levels of checkers players. Cruz is going for the long game, and his fundraising numbers show he has the funds to continue as long as he wants.

[Torie]

In part, it's because his style if off putting. He's articulate, but seems pre-programmed, without much of a sense of humor, and is far too "hot" a personality for TV. In short, pre-programmed plus perfervid is not a winning combination. Assuming Carson were more facile, and reasonable, about the issues, his style is the winning one, more spontaneous and calm, and clearly with a sense of humor. He's the guy you would want to invite over for dinner.

[Lyin' Steve]

Cruz is the "we like him too" alternative for Trump/Carson voters that the GOP wishes Rubio was.  But they love Trump.
I was at a tea party watch party for the first debate.  The crowd went wild every time Trump spoke, of course.  When Cruz spoke they were like "yeah!" and there was scattered applause.  Rubio just got a polite smattering of golf claps.

[Abraham Reagan]

He's certainly not doing terribly and if one of the major outsiders falls, I could definitely see him being the next choice for those people.

[Publius]

Sorry for the self-promotion (not really), but I wrote extensively on this topic last week: https://presidentialpoliticsblog.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/ted-cruz-sleeper/

I think he's doing just fine!  The primaries aren't held tomorrow.  I'm no fan of his, but I do respect his strategy here.  Plus, the FEC filings shows that he's fundraising really well and spending comparatively less than the leaders.

[Hydera]

Trump is cannibalizing the rightwing populist vote. And as Fuzzy bear pointed out, the evangelicals are converging towards carson.

I think people who thought trump should of went into atmospheric poll support (in primaries it would be 45%+ with the second challenger being far behind) by now with help of capturing a lot of both the Populist-right and Evangelicals. Only realized despite a stronger relationship with each other compared to the moderate and libertarian factions. The right-populist and evangelical vote are not always in lockstep.

the last time the Evangelicals and Populist-right were together was when the populist right went towards George Bush in 2000 because he was more electable, while Alan Keynes was trying desperately to get the Buchanan type voters that instead went towards Bush.

[Slander and/or Libel]

Like others have said, it seems like he's comfortable biding his time, not making enemies of Trump and Carson, in the hopes that one or both of them will collapse and he'll be the one left to pick up the pieces.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Cruz is exactly where he needs to be right now. Averaging around 8-10% or 4th place is just enough to not be branded a loser in the media or get the national spotlight. His fundraising numbers are very impressive and when the field starts to Winnow watch out for him.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Because he sucks.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Cruz is exactly where he needs to be right now. Averaging around 8-10% or 4th place is just enough to not be branded a loser in the media or get the national spotlight. His fundraising numbers are very impressive and when the field starts to Winnow watch out for him.

Cruz's advantage over Rubio is that he's an outsider who's a sitting Senator.

[The Mikado]

Cruz is exactly where he needs to be right now. Averaging around 8-10% or 4th place is just enough to not be branded a loser in the media or get the national spotlight. His fundraising numbers are very impressive and when the field starts to Winnow watch out for him.

Ted Cruz is, in fact, in a pretty good position right now. He has a bunch of cash in the bank, a solid base, he's widely popular with a very combustible segment of the electorate who might move to him en masse if one of the two frontrunners falters (more likely Carson than Trump), but he's low enough that he's not receiving the brunt of anyone's attacks. I'd much rather be in Cruz's position than Bush's or Fiorina's or any of the also-rans. His position is also good because he has native support in Iowa and neither Iowa nor New Hampshire are particularly fertile soil for Marco Rubio so a high Cruz performance in either could easily leave Establishment darling Rubio in an embarrassing 4th in the first contest of the year.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Cruz is exactly where he needs to be right now. Averaging around 8-10% or 4th place is just enough to not be branded a loser in the media or get the national spotlight. His fundraising numbers are very impressive and when the field starts to Winnow watch out for him.

Ted Cruz is, in fact, in a pretty good position right now. He has a bunch of cash in the bank, a solid base, he's widely popular with a very combustible segment of the electorate who might move to him en masse if one of the two frontrunners falters (more likely Carson than Trump), but he's low enough that he's not receiving the brunt of anyone's attacks. I'd much rather be in Cruz's position than Bush's or Fiorina's or any of the also-rans. His position is also good because he has native support in Iowa and neither Iowa nor New Hampshire are particularly fertile soil for Marco Rubio so a high Cruz performance in either could easily leave Establishment darling Rubio in an embarrassing 4th in the first contest of the year.

"could easily leave Establishment darling Rubio in an embarrassing 4th in the first contest of the year" Much like John McCain?

Then Cruz could go on to follow in the footsteps of Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum.

[bobloblaw]

Cruz is a huge supporter of the H1B Visa program. He is proposing to lift the cap from 65k to over 300k. Id never vote him.