NYT reports:
Ted Cruz Recruits Some Rand Paul Supporters in Iowa
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, whose path to the Republican nomination requires a breakout performance in Iowa, has quickly recruited more than a dozen party leaders for his statewide campaign, who are to be announced in coming days, according to people told of the choices.
Most significantly, Mr. Cruz has peeled away three leaders of the Libertarian faction in the state, known as the Liberty movement, who are the base of Senator Rand Paul’s support in Iowa. They included state Senator Jason Shultz, who endorsed Representative Ron Paul for president in 2012; and two former members of the state Republican Party’s central committee, Joel Kurtinitis and Chad Steenhoek.
“The assumption of lot of people has been that the Liberty movement would roll over and support Senator Paul,’’ Mr. Kurtinitis said. “We’re a movement probably more than anything that’s noted for critical thinking and a rebellious streak.’’
He said Mr. Cruz, who announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday, appealed to three important constituencies in Iowa: evangelical Christians, Libertarians and Tea Party activists. His wife, Kelsey Kurtinitis, a board member of Personhood Iowa, an antiabortion group, is also joining the Cruz campaign, as one of 15 or so volunteer leaders who will most likely take the title of state co-chairman and co-chairwomen, Mr. Kurtinitis said...
Mr. Cruz began reaching out to Mr. Paul’s supporters by meeting with them on earlier visits to Iowa. Some Lberty activists were discouraged by Mr. Paul’s seeming support of Gov. Terry E. Branstad, who purged the Iowa leadership of the party in 2014 of Ron Paul supporters.Rand can not be happy with this. I fear the worst. Rand just hasn't created the principled-excited-dedicated hardcore libertarian base that his father did. This is not surprising given his muddy stance on many issues important to libertarians. By attempting to put his foot in both the libertarian camp and the pro-war Evangelical camp, Rand has a serious problem. He is very vulnerable to those who will take a hard principled stand, regardless of how dangerous the stand is (In Cruz's case warmongering). Further, by playing footsie with the likes of Branstad, he is irritating the libertarian base from another direction.
Recently the former state party chairman, A.J. Spiker, a Paul supporter, predicted that only about 5 percent of Ron Paul’s base from 2012 would fail to support his son, Rand Paul.
But Mr. Kurtinitis, who was one of those pushed off the central committee last year, said the number was probably higher. “Informal polling we’ve done in Liberty Iowa shows Cruz bringing in 25 to 30 percent of Paul’s people,’’ he said.
Expect even more war talk from Rand, he will try to out do the Cruz missiles.
-RW
m the same wing of the party. And if you look at our voting records, you’ll find we’re very, very similar,” Paul said. “I guess what makes us different is probably our approach as to how we would make the party bigger. And I’m a big believer that you should stand on principle and be true to your principles, but I also think that we should take those principles and try to bring in new people with them.”
ReplyDeleteTranslation, Rand sees himself as similar to Cruz except he's done a far better job of expanding the Republican Party by sucking up to Al Sharpton.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/rand-paul-reacts-ted-cruz-2016-announcement-116340.html
If the goal of Rand Paul is to get elected, but the people he's supposed to excite the most are Libertarians who don't vote, then pursuing them makes no sense. They've made themselves irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteSo it does make sense for Rand to have abandon his father's Libertarianism and go where the votes are: pro-war Republicans.
"Cruz missiles". I love that.
ReplyDeleteThis has got to be exciting for Goldman Sachs! Maybe they can move up on the political chain, instead of measly secretaries of treasury, they can get one of theirs to be First Lady.
Politicians make me puke, and I Hate the State, but I am a little worried about this next presidential election. All I can see from any of the candidates is more war, super war, on steroids. It makes me even more worried with the warvangelicals who think voting these gangsters into office to start more wars is some sort of righteous cause of God. We need more Matthew 5, not another president.
Joe, non voting Libertarians have made themselves irrelevant in what way? For the political process? I don't think so. Voting gives the gangsters legitimacy, not voting and giving them consent is the power. Why else would Obama tease with making voting mandatory? Because ALL States have to have the appearance of consent. I don't, I wont, vote. I won't legitimize or sanction the thieves.
ReplyDeleteI will agree with Ettiene de la Boetie, and watch them fall under their own weight.
Sure it might take longer than I want, but I believe my time preference will ultimately succeed.