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Mike Pence Saved the Republican Party After That Cruz Disaster
Ted Cruz essentially gave a career-ending speech at the GOP convention on Wednesday night.
Cruz’s speech was a slap in the face to GOP nominee Donald Trump. This whole business about “vote your conscience” — that’s a wonderful-sounding phrase. But we all know what he meant: Don’t vote for Donald Trump.
I was in the convention hall and the crowd’s reaction was unbelievable. It started out as a few hands waving in the air and some booing and then it just grew and grew throughout the entire convention hall. And then boom! It was absolute bedlam.
I’ve been to most of the GOP conventions since 1980, and I’ve never seen anything like it. These people stood on their feet and booed. These are Republicans! They don’t do this.
They don’t know how to stand up and boo! And yet, Cruz so divided them and worked them into such a frenzy that it happened.
Cruz tried to pass it off as just the New York delegation acting up. But that is wrong. The whole hall was in an uproar. You couldn’t even hear the last two paragraphs of Cruz’s speech because the booing had reached such a crescendo!
Cruz left an absolute disaster in his wake when he finished that speech. Everyone was dispirited — as you might expect.
And then came Trump running mate Mike Pence.
Pence delivered a terrific speech. He touched on all the major themes – the economy, shaking up Washington and Trump being an outsider. He talked about how Trump understands that middle class wage earners have been hurt – they haven’t had a raise in 15 years. That’s something that Cruz, in all of his years of political experience, still doesn’t understand!
Really, in the space of about 10 or 12 minutes, Mike Pence turned a demoralized, dispirited, depressed, negative convention into an upbeat, optimistic, united convention. He hit all the right notes and had a lot of optimism in his speech. The Cruz disaster, that had left the convention hall spinning just moments before, was suddenly swept away.
The entire hall started applauding Pence. Then they started cheering for Pence. And they got on their feet and cheered for Pence. Amazing.
Trump couldn’t have made a better choice. Mike Pence single-handedly pulled that convention back together and united them with an optimistic message. He gave great support to Donald Trump and the ticket. He basically snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. He turned destruction into positive hope.
I’ve never seen anything like that.
Ted Cruz will never politically recover from this. His delegation from Texas wanted him to play ball with Trump — and he wouldn’t. He was freelancing in that speech. And that is why his political career is over. He’s finished.
But Donald Trump and Mike Pence are just beginning.
We have to wait and see what Trump does tonight in his speech — it could make or break his presidential campaign. I personally hope that he puts a lot of focus on optimistic, positive changes for America. I want to see a lot of growth in that speech. I want to hear him talk about lowering taxes and curbing regulations.
But here’s what I want to see most of all: a follow-through from what Pence started. One of Pence’s messages on Wednesday night was that we, meaning the ticket, can turn this nation around. It’s an American malaise right now — from the economy, to civil unrest, violence and the threat of terrorism. And that is what Trump must prove to the nation and the world — that he can turn it around. He’s got to convince them.
It’s kind of like Reagan redux. Ronald Reagan was able to do this. He proved that he could do the job. That’s what Trump needs to do.
That’s huge. That’s more important than any policy detail.
That’s the spirit that Pence started on Wednesday night. Let’s hope Trump does the same.
Published in General
I think Ted Cruz also drew a line in the sand. He talked about limited government, rule of law, and Constitutional conservatism. Now we’ve seen what the Trump Republican Party has on offer (I personally recommend @exJon Twitter feed from last night for a great explanation).
There is now a clear choice on what we stand for. I know my answer.
It showed up on Special Report last night on the All Stars. I get the podcast–unfortunately Fox didn’t post the video. Reagan said “We must go forth from here united, determined that what a great general said a few years ago is true: ‘There is no substitute for victory, Mr. President'”. It’s also covered in some detail in Craig Shirley’s excellent book on Reagan’s 1976 campaign: Reagan’s Revolution. The controversy is over the fact that Reagan never used the words “I endorse Gerald Ford”. However it was clear to me at the time that Reagan was telling his supporters to swallow their hurt and vote for Ford. Which I did. Red State has a good summary of the controversy.
Take a dump with Trump.
Yup.
Seawriter
Ok, and, again, here’s what Cruz said:
How exactly is this some sort of cause for outrage? According to Donald Trump and his acolytes, simply because, like Reagan, Cruz did not bow down and give a specific endorsement. Ford accepted the speech gracefully and the two were at peace for the rest of the campaign.
What we’re seeing in response is trumped up hyperbole. It is a premeditated campaign to destroy Ted Cruz’s political career.
Uh, a person who is working directly with the campaign and the candidate. Larry Kudlow for example.
Reagan did not endorse Ford according to Reagan staff member Mark Levin:
https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2016/07/the-fact-is-reagan-did-not-endorse-ford-at-1976-convention
Well, it is highly unlikely that I am that. I am something, though. It’s probably one of these things, but which one may perhaps best be left to the judgment of others:
I support him now more than ever.
No, they ain’t got me yet!
Trump is the disaster. My respect for Cruz has grown greatly.
So to be a ‘good’ Trumpette’ you must agree with the Donald’s aggrieved status as being wronged by everyone, even when the comments are using his own words.
He hurls insulting epithets at every individual who doesn’t ‘kiss the ring’ and everybody is just supposed to get over it now?
Why?
Disliking Hillary doesn’t excuse the Donald, and pointing invective at Ted changes nothing other than distracting from the Donald’s infantile behavior and egoistic narcissism.
When you thought that the worst feckless narcissist possible was already occupying the White house we are offered an egomaniac and a megalomaniac? And they both spend full time reinforcing and proving those traits… and Ted Cruz is the ‘bad guy’?
C’mon Larry, please.
So, the fact that you automatically knew he was talking about Trump when he encouraged people to vote their conscience and uphold the Constitution, and meant “not vote for Trump” that doesn’t speak volumes, all of them bad, about you, Mr. Kudlow? No? Didn’t think you’d think so.
The man bragged he could win without Republicans and without conservatives. OK. Go for it. And his supporters can drag the man across the finish without me.
If “Vote your conscience” offends you, perhaps your conscience is trying to tell you something.
Spare me.
Everyone- Trump, Cruz, the delegates at the convention and the public at large- knew full well that Cruz was using the phrase vote your conscience in the same way the nevertrump fringe had been doing, in yet another attempt to stop Trump from becoming president, likely to further his own sociopathic ambition to become president. As Peggy Noonan wrote, what a jerk.
That’s why the delegates started booing, and why Sheldon Adelson wouldn’t let him in his suite.
What if they knew it wrong?
Cruz chose the path of pettiness? Does pettiness bother you? Have you seen this? Because when it comes to pettiness, I’m not sure this guy isn’t in a league of his own.
http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/07/22/trump-cruz-jfk-response.cnn
or this
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/07/22/trump-buries-bitter-rival-cruz-in-farewell-to-cleveland.html
Seriously, peggy noonan has little credibility with me after her splashy support for Barack Obama.
Instant Credibility: Just kiss Donald Trump’s backside.
Don’t blame me. I’m not a fan of Bandwagon Peggy, but I didn’t write that.
But they won’t, for essentially the same reason they were afraid to challenge Obama. Pick on the first black/woman president? That’s racist/sexist!
They will, however, have no compunction in smacking down Trump if (when…) they think he’s gone too far. That alone makes Trump by far the less dangerous of the two.
Im not so sure about that. Why would they have the guts to smack down someone who’s proved that he’s more than willing to use those who oppose him for target practice and sic his supporters on them.
Absolutely–that is why Trump must be elected. He does not have any “special” category that can be used to keep Congress (as cowardly as they are) from calling him to account. The “First Woman President” may not be as untouchable as “The First Black President” but it can still be used to neuter any push back by Congress.
He is of the special category “Republican”, which the George W. Bush presidency has shown is sufficient to avoid being called to account if the same party controls Congress. Unless Medicare Part D and its glorious Donut Hole are somehow conservative innovations in healthcare.
Because the Democrats will gleefully join in, bolstering the limp-noodle-spine Republicans who will view it as an opportunity to be seen as bipartisan.