Shut out from a win in Tuesday’s five Republican primaries, Sen. Ted Cruz, at this late date, is undergoing a rebranding effort in his bid to become Donald Trump’s sole competitor.
According to Politico, Cruz strategists are now telling reporters a fairy tale: “We’re part of a center-right coalition. In order for us to win in November, we’ve got to have everyone on board.”
This slippery attempt to turn on a dime is rather breathtaking.
Clearly, Cruz has presented himself as a right-wing ideologue, a crusader for the Religious Right, since arriving in the Senate. He is the most conservative senator on Capitol Hill, with a 100 percent rating from the American Conservative Union. That puts him on the fringe, not anywhere near the middle.
He has denounced those in his party who are willing to compromise on Capitol Hill. But his handlers now seem ready to put him in a compromising position by portraying him as moving to the center and by urging him to cozy up to his GOP enemies, such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and former presidential rival Marco Rubio.
What seems particularly curious is the idea, pushed forcefully by the Cruz camp, that Ohio Gov. John Kasich is an impediment to the #NeverTrump movement. Anti-Trump votes are currently split two ways, between Kasich and Cruz, but no one can argue that in a one-on-one contest Cruz would consolidate all those voters who oppose Trump.
That’s just folly. Who among the GOP leadership believes that moderate Republicans in New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and California won’t stay home when faced with a Cruz vs. Trump matchup, without Kasich as an alternative?
That scenario clearly helps the frontrunner in his bid to pile up delegates and avoid a contested convention. Cruz insists that Kasich bow out, despite Kasich’s big win in Ohio on Tuesday. But what case can be made by the Texas senator to attract Kasich voters when many of the governor’s backers see Cruz as a minimal improvement over a Trump nomination?
Based on his distinct unpopularity in Washington and among many big GOP donors, Politico reports that the senator’s attempt to unite the #NeverTrump forces behind him is unlikely to succeed:
“There’s no question that Sen. Cruz has made a lot of enemies on Capitol Hill through his own actions,” said Brian Walsh, a GOP consultant and former top staffer at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “Obviously there’s a lot of angst about Trump too. If you look at why Republicans lost in 2012, we lost minorities, suburban women, we lost young voters, if you look at those three demographics, it’s hard to say Cruz necessarily fares better than Trump…that’s what many folks are grappling with right now, both are very polarizing candidates.”
Agreed a former Bush donor from Texas, who could still be persuaded to back Cruz: “I’m just leaning towards not doing anything with the presidential. It’s hard for me to get fired up for Ted just because he’s the only other guy standing. He and Trump are not the two best options for our party. If unfortunately that’s the only place we’re going to be—I’m not trying to get behind the lesser of two evils.”
Cruz, who despite a more measured tone toward fellow Republicans shows no sign of shifting on policy, must now convince those Republicans considering staying on the sidelines that if Trump wins the nomination, the entire party will lose in November. Cruz routinely calls Trump a “disaster” who, in his characterization, would hand the election to Hillary Clinton (plenty of moderate Republicans share electability concerns about Cruz).
Photo courtesy of Cruz campaign.