Introducing Sen. Ted Cruz, the man who may knock Trump sideways

Today we introduce readers to US Republican presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, one of the most controversial figures in the GOP, who has brought his candidacy to within potential sprinting distance of his party's primary nomination, but only if he and his supporters run flat out for the remainder of the race.

Not a wilting flower to begin with Ted Cruz has hung on tenaciously (amid a year that has seen the ascendancy of the most unlikely of GOP candidates, businessman Donald J. Trump) and last week Cruz brought home his relevancy by winning the important Wisconsin primary, showing that Trump is, indeed, beatable.

But there are problems. Throughout his career, Cruz has been the subject of much criticism for his Congressional conduct. Cruz has attacked many of his party colleagues, particularly earning notoriety for calling Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel a "liar" on the Senate floor, an unsupported charge and way outside the norm for behavior in the upper house of Congress.

Though Cruz is estranged, however, from colleagues and from what is loosely termed the GOP "establishment," this group of party leaders are increasingly adamant about finding an alternative to Trump, who is widely viewed as toxically unelectable in the fall, and Ted Cruz is becoming the most viable option.

That he seems constantly spoiling for a fight is the trait that is suddenly coming in valuable, though Cruz's ultimate appeal to the majority of Americans is also in question. In the short term, if he can trounce Trump in the primary campaign, then the party elite will be happy.

Cruz signaled recently that he is in search of common ground with establishment leaders, though there are differences: "Nobody wants to elect a hectoring scold. I am not here running to be pastor in chief, I'm running to be commander in chief, which is a very, very different job."

The view is that Trump will not only lose his own campaign in the general election, but in an important political year he will cause incumbent GOP House and Senate members running to lose their seats -- indeed the Senate might lose its majority Republican status. Even worse, Trump will so tarnish the party with his wayward braggadocio that the GOP will have problems for years to come.

Cruz's conservative message will hew closer to the party's overall pitch to Americans. And, the senator has proven a tough, disciplined campaigner, who has an organized campaign. What is looming if the primary vote totals for the gentlemen are close, is what is known as a "contested" convention, where there is several rounds of balloting at the convention to choose the nominee.

Following are some basic biographical, political and policy details on the Senator: Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (born December 22, 1970) is the son of an American mother and a Cuban émigré father who left after the island nation fell under communist dictatorship. Cruz attended religious schools and his parents ultimately divorced after a trouble marriage.

Cruz graduated from Princeton University in 1992, and from Harvard Law School in 1995. He held a variety of state and national legal positions, as well as doing private legal work, and was a campaign aide for Texas Governor George W. Bush during "W's" successful presidential run.

According to the Washington rumor mill, the campaign milieu among Bush loyalist did not warm to the young lawyer such that he was never appointed to any senior administration or White House post. It has been said Bush and those close to him simply found Cruz too "grating" personally. Ted Cruz is the high IQ "nerd" with sharp elbows, who at the time just didn't make it to the high-school prom, metaphorically speaking.

However, Cruz did continue to fight his way into Republican politics and after serving as a congressman ran what was described by The Washington Post as "the biggest upset of 2012 ... a true grassroots victory against very long odds." in his campaign to become the junior senator from Texas.

The type of ultra-conservative backers he had and the kind of message he preached in his Senate run are what have come to define him. Cruz began campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination in March 2015, with a base of support coming mainly from social conservatives, though he has had some crossover appeal to the libertarian factions of his party for his strong anti-government stance.

His appeal to the right-wing and evangelical Christian voters of the party have thus far won him nine states and 514 delegates compared with 19 states and 740 delegates for Trump in the primary.

Regarding his congressional record and policies, Cruz has earned close to a top 100 voting record from the anti-tax groups the Club for Growth and the National Taxpayers Union. He is in favor of a flat-tax reform designed to downsize the government but which some economic analyst say would add trillions to the national debt, even if government spending were cut in half. Cruz's proposed economic plans based on trickle down policies have also been called into question, as these policies have been tested and found wanting during the Reagan administration. He also has suggested the returning the now antique gold standard for backing of the U.S. currency.

Similar to all GOP candidates, Cruz has been vocal for an increase of US military strength, (which is already fairly strong,) and has suggested such sustained bombing in Syria and Iraq that, "I don't know if sand can glow in the dark, but we're going to find out!"

Cruz has loudly promoted his endorsement by the Gun Owners of American, a gun-rights group whose primary policy is a "no compromise" position that would remove what few restrictions to gun rules that exist. Ownership of military weapons such as assault rifles are currently banned and there is a one-week check at gun stores to ensure that purchasers have no criminal record.

The senator has refuted the existence of man-made climate change, rejects same-sex marriage, has suggested abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and has assiduously worked to repeal "every blessed word of Obamacare."

His opposition to the Affordable Health Care Act was embodied in his 21-hour talkathon on the Senate floor (a near record breaker), and his budgetary vote delaying efforts that torpedoed ongoing budget negotiations and led to a controversial 16-day shutdown of the federal government. In the end, Obama did not cave to the shutdown, and the GOP ended with a bruised reputation on behalf of the Texan and his allies.

Cruz has articulated views of America being a "Christian" nation and also suggested that police and security forces "patrol and secure" neighborhoods populated by Muslims.

Whether he believes what preaches is another matter.

In a recent op-ed column in The New York Times, editor Ross Douthat notes:
"His cynicism can be repellent, his message discipline exhausting, and his Reagan-vintage policy proposals induce a mild despair. But in the drama of this insane campaign, he has actually earned his position, and if his doggedness wins the Republican nomination on the second (convention) ballot it will be one of the most fascinating triumphs in recent political history."

So there you have it, true believer or dogged, opportunistic, outsider campaigner, perhaps both are true, but it's a bet the Cruz will go down or up, fighting.
Source: Al-Nahar