Joan Walsh — Ted Cruz knows exactly what he’s doing

Clearly Ted Cruz is running for president of reactionary, imaginary “real America.” It’s an America that’s dying. On Tuesday the Center for American Progress released fascinating poll data about what Americans think about our multiracial future, and it’s beyond encouraging. Some of it is predictable – white seniors and white conservatives have the most worries about that future; millennials of every race are the most optimistic. Overall, blacks and Latinos are somewhat more concerned about the problem of racial and economic inequality, and more ready for action, than whites and Asians, whose incomes and educational outcomes are higher.

But even among white people there’s a bracing optimism about demographic change and willingness to take measures to reduce racial inequality. In fact, the poll found that Latinos, not whites, are the most concerned about the downside of racial change, based on reaction to a series of eight statements designed to measure concern about it – that such change may lead to a drain on government services, erode our common culture, or cause an increase in anti-white discrimination, to give three examples. And strong majorities of every group, including whites, say they’re willing to invest more in programs that will reduce racial inequality and encourage economic growth. Self-described white conservatives were the only subgroup in the survey that expressed opposition to such spending.

And that’s Ted Cruz’s base. It’s a small base, and a shrinking base, from which to run a presidential campaign. But it’s a base that exerts enormous sway in the GOP primary process....

Ted Cruz is not chastened by national GOP poll numbers. He’s looking at his own. In the latest Pew poll, Tea Party Republicans approved of him 74-8. And despite the complaints of Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, Republicans overall approved of Cruz 56-44. And while Tea Partyers make up 40 percent of self-described Republicans, they make up 49 percent of those who vote in every primary. So right now Cruz has the approval of three-quarters of the majority-voting bloc in the GOP base.

That’s not “America,” except in Cruz’s imagination. Ted Cruz will never be president of the real United States of America, but he’s already president of the one that exists in his mind.

Salon
Ted Cruz knows exactly what he’s doing
Joan Walsh

I would agree that it is unlikely that Ted Cruz will become president of the United States. But however gets the presidential nomination of a major party is positioned to do so by default if the other party and candidate make serious mistakes or the country wants a change in leadership because, say, the economy is doing poorly. This is a major reason that the GOP is obstructing recovery in the hope that the economy will be in recession at the time of the 2016 general election. If Ted Cruz were the nominee in that situation, he could well win by default.

Before the election of Barack Obama as one term US senator, I would have concluded that the nomination of a one term senator was highly unlikely. Now?