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How Ted Cruz Could Hurt the Right and Help Chris Christie in 2016
http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/how-ted-cruz-could-hurt-right-and-help-chris-christie-2016I’m on record saying many times that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is too moderate to win the GOP nomination (and he wouldn’t be elected president even if he succeeded.) I’m still confident about that last part, but I’m starting to see Christie’s road to the nomination – and he’s getting a major assist from Sen. Ted Cruz.
Sure, it’s only 2013, and Cruz could be engaged in an elaborate fake-out to make reporters think he’s running for president. All we know for sure is that Cruz wants to look like a 2016 contender, following a trip to Iowa last weekend, to pander to that state’s right-wing caucus base, with one to South Carolina to meet with Christian pastors next week. Wearing a roving microphone and wandering crowds like an infomercial pitchman, Cruz is collecting cellphone numbers and raising money like nobody’s business. He sure looks like he’s running for president, and staking out the social conservative base as early as possible.
And maybe by doing so he’ll scare others out of the race. But for now, it looks like other right-wingers are making moves to run themselves. I wrote yesterday about how Sen. Marco Rubio’s decision to abandon his own immigration reform bill is designed to shore up his right flank for 2016. After joining Cruz’s fauxlibuster and voting to keep government shut down, Rubio is clearly cozying up as close to Cruz as possible.
Meanwhile Rick Santorum, who won the Iowa caucus last year, decided to edge to the middle a little bit on “Meet the Press” Sunday, declaring that Cruz hurt the party with his shutdown histrionics. Now Santorum isn’t quite a Tea Party guy – he voted for too much government when he was in the Senate – but he’s a social conservative favorite and he did finish second to Mitt Romney in the 2012 delegate count. He’s said to be pondering a 2016 run and rebuking Cruz on “Meet the Press” only furthered that story line.
