As Panic Hits GOP Donor Class, Ted Cruz’s Convention Speech Is Vindicated

Source: RedState | August 4, 2016 | streiff

Last three days ago, much of the GOP establishment was pronouncing Ted Cruz’s political career over. The narrative was that Cruz was a disloyal f*** who should have endorsed Cheeto Jesus at the RNC convention:

Ted Cruz’s next presidential campaign is off to a rocky start. The 2016 Republican runner-up, who has made little effort to mask his intention to run again in 2020, believed he was standing on principle — and protecting and promoting his brand — when he refused to endorse Donald Trump in his July 20 address to the GOP convention.

Instead, Cruz’s remarks provoked backlash not only from delegates in Cleveland but also from allies in the conservative movement and top-dollar donors to his campaign. In the week and a half since his speech, some of Cruz’s longtime supporters have excoriated him both in private and in public, blowback that has far exceeded what Cruz and his team anticipated.

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That was before Donald Trump spent a week attacking the parents of a young officer killed in action in Iraq, musing aloud about nuking potential enemies, attacking Paul Ryan, John McCain, and Kelly Ayotte, and encouraging Russia to invade Estonia.

Yesterday the storyline across networks was that the Trump campaign was demoralized and planning an intervention to rein in Trump’s YUGE mouth. GOP establishment figures were talking openly of Trump getting out of the race and the process for selecting an actual certified human to be the GOP candidate. Today, it seems that the donor class is having a huge case of buyer’s remorse.

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And this instant classic

Then there is influential Koch family fundraising network washing their hands of Trump because he stands for nothing:

But Charles Koch bases all of his decisions — whether they’re in business, politics or his personal life — on a set of “guiding principles” that underpin his free market philosophy. He is known to carry the checklist, which includes the words integrity, humility and respect, in his suit jacket pocket.

Koch’s team, led by general counsel Mark Holden, has already met with the Trump campaign and decided there is not enough policy alignment for Koch to support Trump.

The conservative donor wants to get rid of ObamaCare, dramatically reduce the size and scope of government programs including social security, cut regulations, trim down the police state, end the public subsidization of green energy and scrap all government subsidies to corporations.

Koch sees no evidence that either Trump or Clinton would follow through on the Koch agenda. And the billionaire believes that a meeting between himself and Trump would only lead to unwanted media speculation and inevitable disappointment on both sides.

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“I don’t think I’ve had a single person who’s been enthusiastic about Donald Trump based on his position on the issues or his overall experience and qualifications,” the influential North Carolina donor Art Pope said in an interview with The Hill at a resort bar on Sunday night.

Pope won’t give a penny to Trump. And asked how he plans to vote in November, he said, “The election is still three months away, and I may not decide until I walk into the voting booth.”

Chart Westcott, a Texas investor who gave $200,000 to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s super-PAC during the primaries, said, “I may end up voting for him. … But I’m not going to support him financially.

“He just doesn’t align with my principles and my values.”

I think you are going to see the wisdom of Ted Cruz’s position become more apparent every day between now and Election Day. 2020 is a long time away and who knows who our candidate will be but people who say Cruz damaged himself really need to take a deep breath and look at the GOP candidate and decide how they can actively support such a creature.

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  • Consistent #8988

    Consistent #8989

    Woodcutter #8999

    Why is simply sticking to your principles a “high-stakes gamble?”

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