Tuesday, May 03, 2016

The Implosion of Ted Cruz


I find the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency to be frightening.  That said, Ted Cruz in the White House is just as frightening given his loathsomeness and bigotry - and willingness to utterly prostitute himself to the Christofascists in the GOP base as underscored by his ongoing anti-transgender lies.  In deed, Lindsey Graham described the choice between Trump and Cruz as akin to deciding whether to be killed by a gunshot or poisoning.  Now, with Indiana voters going to the polls today, it appears that Cruz has begun to implode.  A column in the Washington Post looks at "Lucifer's" decline.  Here are excerpts:
In a case of exceptionally bad timing, Fiorina hitched herself to Cruz at precisely the moment his candidacy began to implode, as polls showed him fading in must-win Indiana before Tuesday’s vote. Fiorina’s previous criticism of Cruz and her checkered record at HP were again in the news.
It’s not Fiorina’s fault that news broke just after her “nomination” was announced that former House speaker John Boehner, still a popular figure in nearby Ohio, had called Cruz “Lucifer in the flesh” and a “miserable son of a bitch.” Nor was it Fiorina’s fault that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Friday gave Cruz such a tepid endorsement — he said that he “will be voting for Ted Cruz” but that “I particularly want to commend Donald Trump” — that Pence attempted a do-over in the form of an op-ed in the Indianapolis Star.
But if Fiorina picked investments the way she picked her candidate, you can see why HP stopped requiring her services. She bought Cruz at the peak, when polls showed him close in Indiana. But an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll Sunday found Trump up 15 points.
And now Cruz and Fiorina have to explain all those things she used to say about him: that “Cruz is just like any other politician”; that “there’s no honor in charging a hill that you know you can’t take, only casualties, although Ted Cruz maybe got name recognition and money”; and that it was “odd that Senator Ted Cruz did not renounce his dual Canadian citizenship until 2014.”
Cruz now also has to defend Fiorina’s record at HP, where she let go thousands and sent jobs to India and China. “Will the Cruz-Fiorina team do the same thing to Indiana that she did to Hewlett-Packard?” Fox News’s Chris Wallace asked Cruz on Sunday.
Fiorina was not standing at his shoulder later Monday, when he waded bravely into a group of Trump supporters outside his event. Cruz bravely tried to engage them in calm discussion. “Donald Trump is deceiving you. He is playing you for a chump,” Cruz said.
The Trump supporters taunted Cruz: “Do the math. . . . Time to drop out. . . . You are the problem, politician. . . . Where’s your Goldman Sachs jacket? . . . Lyin’ like you always do. . . . Are you Canadian?” America, one said, would be a better country “without you.”
If Cruz hadn’t established himself as a singularly unlikable candidate, one could almost have felt sorry for him in that moment. He needed urgently for Fiorina to sing more Ethel Merman . . . 

2 comments:

BJohnM said...

I agree that I cringe at the thought of a Trump Presidency, and I'm afraid he could beat Hillary, but I don't think that Cruz is "just as bad." I think he's far worse.

Cruz was raised by his father (a fighter for Fidel Castro and the communist regime in Cuba) to believe he is ordained by God to lead one of the 7 mountains (the mountain of government) under the 7 Mountains version of Dominionism. Dominionists believe that Christian should take over society, but the particular offshoot of that, 7 Mountains is so extreme that even other Dominionists distance themselves and disavow the 7 Mountains leaders.

I did some research on this topic, and it is pretty damned scary. The basic belief is there are 7 Mountains of society, Government, Entertainment, Education, etc. The idea is that each of the 7 Mountains is to be overtaken by a Christian leader, all of this being a precursor to the second coming, which in their belief system, is preceded by Armageddon. Here are quotes from writings of some of the leaders of this cult:

"This includes the need to govern apolitically, as well as to embrace spiritual warfare techniques that neutralize the control of our adversary...The Mountain of Government, or politics, is a mountain that the Lord is beginning to position his children to invade and take...the individuals in power allow themselves to be puppets (i.e. servants) of the theocracy (God’s rule and reign)...t first it may seem like totalitarianism, as the Lord will destroy the antichrist spirit now dominating the world with “the sword of His mouth” and will shatter many nations like pottery...The kingdom will start out necessarily authoritative in many ways, or in many areas"

Now think about this. Ted Cruz believes he is ordained by God to control the Mountain of Government, part of initiating the eventual second coming. As President, this guy, who believes he is to have an impact on the "last days," would have his finger on the nuclear trigger. This is a Hollywood Horror story script in real life.

There's more at http://wp.me/piyp0-247 if you're interested. But this is why I believe Ted Cruz is far worse an idea that even Donald Trump.

Michael-in-Norfolk said...

You are correct that the Christian Dominionists are a very scary group - basically a Christian version of the Taliban or ISSIS. And, yes, Ted Cruz is nuts and we do not need him in the White House - or the U.S. Senate either.