What is Ted Cruz's Strategy?

[Higgs]

Can Mods ban for this kind of hackishness?

Are you talking to me? What are you even talking about?

I'm the least hackish there is. I support Hillary and Jeb in fact. If I were really hackish, I would have supported Sanders, Cruz, Santorum and Trump in fact. Well flash light, I don't. So how can you label me hackish in fact, when I am almost the opposite?

Your childish rambling about Cruz having a low IQ and being dumber than most of the GOP field, despite having no evidence, screams you're a hack.

[eric82oslo]

Eric, your views are clearly tainted with partisanship. I don't go around saying that Ron Paul is the smartest guy ever and Hillary's an idiot. The reality is that you have to be a smart person to get into politics.

Cruz may disagree with you politically. While we disagree socially, economically his views are close to mine; I don't think Obamacare is good, it's an overreach of the federal government. To me, the role of government isn't to provide basic needs, but protect the people from objective crimes and ensure their rights, and nothing else. You can disagree with me on that, and that's fine. Most people do. Two smart people can completely see political issues differently, especially if one is from Scandinavia and the other is from Texas (two places that share very little in either ideology or climate).

Also, stating your IQ and then saying stupid stuff just makes you look worse. My IQ is higher than 130, but that hasn't stopped me from doing a boatload of idiotic things. I think I'm just good at taking IQ tests. If a goober like George W. Bush can convince people to elect him as president with an IQ about 20 points lower than mine, and I can't even win internet arguments with regularity, IQ tests must mean very little.

Of course, I agree with you about all of this. So maybe Cruz's official Mensa IQ is decent then, but every other IQ measure of his (being them EQ, charisma, media savvy or strategic knowledge) is absolutely down the drain then. I think most people could agree with that at least. For me personally, IQ is something greater than just your Mensa IQ score, but I can easily accept that to the rest of the society it is not.

[dudeabides]

He probably has the greatest intellectual strength in the GOP field, yet his campaign seems to have no clear strategy. He hasn't had a laser focus on Iowa and South Carolina, which seems to be what he should be doing. He isn't polling particularly well, even after being the first to announce. The only thing he seems to be doing well in is fundraising.

He isn't that bright first of all. Secondly, it's to run to the right but everyone knows he'd lose a general election and therefore won't be supporting him in the primaries.

[Torie]

Cruz has a high IQ and is well educated. To suggest otherwise is just silly. Guess what? That does not necessarily mean that you have a 1) good temperament, or 2) good judgement, or 2) that you are not a cynical opportunist. As a lawyer, I find Cruz's comments on legal matters as suggesting an issue with number 3.  To put it another way, I find Cruz to be light years away from Paul Ryan in these three categories. They matter, and they matter a lot, at least to me.

[eric82oslo]

Can Mods ban for this kind of hackishness?

Are you talking to me? What are you even talking about?

I'm the least hackish there is. I support Hillary and Jeb in fact. If I were really hackish, I would have supported Sanders, Cruz, Santorum and Trump in fact. Well flash light, I don't. So how can you label me hackish in fact, when I am almost the opposite?

Your childish rambling about Cruz having a low IQ and being dumber than most of the GOP field, despite having no evidence, screams you're a hack.

Btw, I never said "low IQ", I said less than stellar/presidential IQ. An IQ of say 115 isn't particularily low to me, perhaps to you it is.

[Classic Conservative]

And you're the one who sounds like an American right now.

What's this even supposed to mean?

Cruz would have been cruzified in every other country in the world if he did the same actions.

If you recall, his government shutdown antics didn't work out to well for him. Also "every other country" is a bit of a stretch. Western Europe and North America aren't the entire world.

 

Apparently you're cheering for Cruz cause he seriously hurt the US and world economy for months and thus made it easier for Sanders to win over Obama's pick Hillary in the end.

*facepalm*

By what measure am I "cheering for Cruz"? All because I don't have my head so far up my ass  I think anyone who disagree with me is a dummy head even in light of evidence to the contrary?

Well, Ted Cruz is not very smart. Sure, he's smarter than some GOP candidates like Carly Fiorina and perhaps Rick Santorum, yet that doesn't actually tell us much. The vast majority of GOP candidates are smarter than him, whether you like it or not. Perhaps even Ben Carson, though he's an incredible dumb as well, he can actually prove to be incredibly smart in certain fields, in a very stark contrast to Cruz.

Question, is dumb a word in Swedish for smart? Ben Carson is a world renowned neurosurgeon who graduated from John Hopkins, so shut the f**k up, you don't know a thing about American Politics, Ted Cruz is much smarter than you and he is a debater than you. He actually has an award for debating named after him at Princeton for being a world class debater, do you?

[Famous Mortimer]

Nah, Ben Carson is definitely an idiot. He may be smart about brain surgery but I've met plenty of doctors who are idiots outside their specific field.

[eric82oslo]

And you're the one who sounds like an American right now.

What's this even supposed to mean?

Cruz would have been cruzified in every other country in the world if he did the same actions.

If you recall, his government shutdown antics didn't work out to well for him. Also "every other country" is a bit of a stretch. Western Europe and North America aren't the entire world.

 

Apparently you're cheering for Cruz cause he seriously hurt the US and world economy for months and thus made it easier for Sanders to win over Obama's pick Hillary in the end.

*facepalm*

By what measure am I "cheering for Cruz"? All because I don't have my head so far up my ass  I think anyone who disagree with me is a dummy head even in light of evidence to the contrary?

Well, Ted Cruz is not very smart. Sure, he's smarter than some GOP candidates like Carly Fiorina and perhaps Rick Santorum, yet that doesn't actually tell us much. The vast majority of GOP candidates are smarter than him, whether you like it or not. Perhaps even Ben Carson, though he's an incredible dumb as well, he can actually prove to be incredibly smart in certain fields, in a very stark contrast to Cruz.

Question, is dumb a word in Swedish for smart? Ben Carson is a world renowned neurosurgeon who graduated from John Hopkins, so shut the f**k up, you don't know a thing about American Politics, Ted Cruz is much smarter than you and he is a debater than you. He actually has an award for debating named after him at Princeton for being a world class debater, do you?

LOL. I said specifically in my post that Carson is extremely smart in a certain (medical) field, yet that that doesn't necessarily have to imply that he is equally extremely smart in all other fields of life. The fact that he compares gays with bestiality tells me that either he is playing the Trump card or he knows absolutely nothing about science outside of his narrow medical field. You can disagree with me all that you want.

[Classic Conservative]

And you're the one who sounds like an American right now.

What's this even supposed to mean?

Cruz would have been cruzified in every other country in the world if he did the same actions.

If you recall, his government shutdown antics didn't work out to well for him. Also "every other country" is a bit of a stretch. Western Europe and North America aren't the entire world.

 

Apparently you're cheering for Cruz cause he seriously hurt the US and world economy for months and thus made it easier for Sanders to win over Obama's pick Hillary in the end.

*facepalm*

By what measure am I "cheering for Cruz"? All because I don't have my head so far up my ass  I think anyone who disagree with me is a dummy head even in light of evidence to the contrary?

Well, Ted Cruz is not very smart. Sure, he's smarter than some GOP candidates like Carly Fiorina and perhaps Rick Santorum, yet that doesn't actually tell us much. The vast majority of GOP candidates are smarter than him, whether you like it or not. Perhaps even Ben Carson, though he's an incredible dumb as well, he can actually prove to be incredibly smart in certain fields, in a very stark contrast to Cruz.

Question, is dumb a word in Swedish for smart? Ben Carson is a world renowned neurosurgeon who graduated from John Hopkins, so shut the f**k up, you don't know a thing about American Politics, Ted Cruz is much smarter than you and he is a debater than you. He actually has an award for debating named after him at Princeton for being a world class debater, do you?

LOL. I said specifically in my post that Carson is extremely smart in a certain (medical) field, yet that that doesn't necessarily have to imply that he is equally extremely smart in all other fields of life. The fact that he compares gays with bestiality tells me that either he is playing the Trump card or he knows ansolutely nothing about science outsite of his narrow medical field. You can disagree with me all that you want.

I agree that his marriage comment was completely uncalled for.

[Leinad]

Secondly, it's to run to the right but everyone knows he'd lose a general election and therefore won't be supporting him in the primaries.

But would he? Romney, McCain, and Dole all were more moderate, and lost. Dubya technically lost in 2000. The last time a Republican who wasn't the incumbent President or VP won a general election was Ronald Reagan's landslide win in 1980--and Reagan was a conservative.

Lots of swing-voters aren't Republican vs. Democrat moderates, but rather conservatives or liberals where they'll swing between Lesser-Of-Two-Evils vs. 3rd party/not voting. And I also think that lots of Republican vs. Democrat swing-voters don't always support moderates over non-moderates--"Reagan Democrats" is a thing, "Romney Democrats" isn't a thing.

I think that the best candidate will have the best chance of winning. Someone who can both energize the apathetic base and win the R vs. D swing voters. This is true for both parties. Is Cruz that guy? Probably not. But I don't think it's, say, a moderate named--of all things--Bush.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Cruz is going to be the Tea Party go-to guy, and it's working.  Donald Trump has managed to make Cruz look moderate and Presidential (with a big assist from the media). 

Cruz's chances look better all the time.  He's more acceptable to the hawkish wing of the GOP than, say, Rand Paul, and he's really won a whole slew of conservatives over.  He may be the #1 choice of more Republicans than anyone other than Rand Paul if you measured voters' hearts; folks who are for Bush, Christie, Kasich, etc. are all folks who are being practical, marrying the girl who they are told will be good for them, rather than the one who dresses scandalously, but with whom you have everything in common, even if bringing her home to Mom will be awkward. 

[eric82oslo]

You can all say that Rand Paul's tax plan is gonna be the single worst one in history. But personally, I think that Ted Cruz's one will be even more worse and hurtful, that is, if he's ever gonna release one.

To be honest, Rand's tax plan hit me right in the heart as I really believed in this guy. Still, he's one of the saner on almost all policy positions. So he's still in my top 4-5 top tier.

[Mehmentum]

You can all say that Rand Paul's tax plan is gonna be the single worst one in history. But personally, I think that Ted Cruz's one will be even more worse and hurtful, that is, if he's ever gonna release one.

To be honest, Rand's tax plan hit me right in the heart as I really believed in this guy. Still, he's one of the saner on almost all policy positions. So he's still in my top 4-5 top tier.

Paul's probably the best Republican on foreign policy, but one of  the worst on economics.  The thing is, if he did become president, he'd pursue his foreign policy while congress would water down his economic policy.

[eric82oslo]

You can all say that Rand Paul's tax plan is gonna be the single worst one in history. But personally, I think that Ted Cruz's one will be even more worse and hurtful, that is, if he's ever gonna release one.

To be honest, Rand's tax plan hit me right in the heart as I really believed in this guy. Still, he's one of the saner on almost all policy positions. So he's still in my top 4-5 top tier.

Paul's probably the best Republican on foreign policy, but one of  the worst on economics.  The thing is, if he did become president, he'd pursue his foreign policy while congress would water down his economic policy.

I agree with this.

[oeoyeleye]

When I started this thread I didn't intend for it to go this direction. Anyway, you don't become a Supreme Court clerk to the Chief Justice of the United States by not being incredibly intelligent. He is smart, both in a cerebral, academic sense and a political strategy sense. Which is why I wonder what he's doing in this race. He hasn't been the conservative firebrand we all know and don't love or campaigned much in early states he could've been a front runner in. For someone who was one of the most talked about republicans in 2013/2014, he hasn't made that much of a splash this year at all. He's letting other people in the field take on the role I thought he'd be taking. Of all the people to get drowned out in this huge field, I didn't think Cruz would be one of them.

[oeoyeleye]

Also, IQ does not matter. Period.

[turbulentred]

Hey hey everyone Ted Cruz is not dumb, he went to Harvard. He has a plan a very good one. It's to toss out tons of meat and launch his own branded Sarah Palin-esque website, Fox News Show, Memorbilia and super cool book tour.

[YaBoyNY]

This thread is hilarious. You have Low IQ democrats calling Cruz stupid. LOL.

The average Democrat has a higher IQ than the average Republican. This is objective.

Prove me wrong.

[oeoyeleye]

Aren't we past the point of comparing people based on an outdated test that was invented for French schoolchildren?

[yankeesfan]

Ted Cruz stays on message, is ideologically consistent, and will not make any gaffes during the campaign. He's shown that he can fundraise and win a contested election as a grassroots underdog.  He'll show very well in the debates, while all of the rest of the conservatives (Walker, Paul, etc.) fall apart.  If you remember the last election, each Republican candidate spent time as the favorite, and each made a great misstep.  By the end, Cruz will stand alone among the conservative wing of his party, against the establishment candidate (likely Jeb).  

Who wins that match-up is anyone's guess, but I bet they're the last 2 legitimate candidates left standing.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Ted Cruz stays on message, is ideologically consistent, and will not make any gaffes during the campaign. He's shown that he can fundraise and win a contested election as a grassroots underdog.  He'll show very well in the debates, while all of the rest of the conservatives (Walker, Paul, etc.) fall apart.  If you remember the last election, each Republican candidate spent time as the favorite, and each made a great misstep.  By the end, Cruz will stand alone among the conservative wing of his party, against the establishment candidate (likely Jeb).  

Who wins that match-up is anyone's guess, but I bet they're the last 2 legitimate candidates left standing.

This is very true.  Cruz, however extreme folks may find his views or tactics to be, is VERY message-disciplined, and he doesn't give fodder to his enemies.  He WILL show well in debates; he'll never be an "Oops" like Rick Perry, or a phony like the 2012 version of Mitt Romney.  

If it comes down to just Cruz and Jeb, it's not impossible that Cruz prevails.  If Jeb appears unelectable, the establishment GOP may be willing to cede the nomination to Cruz and let the GOP get this out of their system.  Personally, I think Cruz is more likely to beat Hillary than Jeb because Cruz can shake up the race to win.  Jeb really can't, and losing 50-48 isn't much better than losing 55-43 at a certain level.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

You can all say that Rand Paul's tax plan is gonna be the single worst one in history. But personally, I think that Ted Cruz's one will be even more worse and hurtful, that is, if he's ever gonna release one.

To be honest, Rand's tax plan hit me right in the heart as I really believed in this guy. Still, he's one of the saner on almost all policy positions. So he's still in my top 4-5 top tier.

Paul's probably the best Republican on foreign policy, but one of  the worst on economics. The thing is, if he did become president, he'd pursue his foreign policy while congress would water down his economic policy.

Because he doesn't want to end up like Greece?

The non-Paul Republicans and Democrats support joining a large, mismanaged currency union and then coast by not paying taxes for a few decades? News to me. If we got a euro every time a right-wing moron inanely compares their country's finances with the saga of Greece, I think we could entirely wipe out the Greek debt.

I think, though Cruz is an intelligent guy, he's playing a risky game (as St Yanis would say "GAME THEORYYY!!!" Maybe Yanis took inspirations from the Republicans, thinking about it). Though Obamacare is not exactly hyper popular, Cruz's brinkmanship did not go down well with general voters as a whole. I'm against the inane "WE JUST NEED MODERATES TO WIN THE MAGICAL IMAGINARY SWING VOTERS" thesis as much as the next guy (bury it next to "fiscally conservative but socially liberal" IMO), but the public as a whole are (wisely) not enamoured with overly political shenanigans in Washington.

(Eric, bless, you're a nice guy; but I have to admit you redefine hackery sometimes)

[Kingpoleon]

Secondly, it's to run to the right but everyone knows he'd lose a general election and therefore won't be supporting him in the primaries.

But would he? Romney, McCain, and Dole all were more moderate, and lost. Dubya technically lost in 2000. The last time a Republican who wasn't the incumbent President or VP won a general election was Ronald Reagan's landslide win in 1980--and Reagan was a conservative.

Lots of swing-voters aren't Republican vs. Democrat moderates, but rather conservatives or liberals where they'll swing between Lesser-Of-Two-Evils vs. 3rd party/not voting. And I also think that lots of Republican vs. Democrat swing-voters don't always support moderates over non-moderates--"Reagan Democrats" is a thing, "Romney Democrats" isn't a thing.

I think that the best candidate will have the best chance of winning. Someone who can both energize the apathetic base and win the R vs. D swing voters. This is true for both parties. Is Cruz that guy? Probably not. But I don't think it's, say, a moderate named--of all things--Bush.

Kasich Democrats number 420,000/1,920,000 of his voters in 2014. In Ohio.

[Xing]

I wouldn't call Cruz an idiot, but I've yet to see evidence that he's especially intelligent.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Then why does he always talk like a teenager in every single interview he's ever given? Maybe he just plays stupid then? To me it's much more than a play though. I have absolutely no doubt that his IQ is even much lower than George W. Bush's. People say W's IQ is 125, well then Cruz's can definitely not be higher than 110-115, which explains why he always communicates like an obnoxious teenager. Obama's & Hillary's are both between 140 and 150.

Because you don't like or agree with Cruz and think he talks like a teenager when he actually does not.  Meanwhile, you like and agree with Obama and Hillary and therefore think they are smart.

Objectively, Ted Cruz is one of the smartest candidates on either side of the race right now.  I doubt his IQ is low or even just slightly above average.  Persons with low or average IQs don't graduate at the top of their class from Harvard Law School or clerk for the Supreme Court.

So, instead of being a moron, he's just campaigning as a convincing imitation of one?