Ted Cruz limited government constitutional conservative

There is no evidence that Ted Cruz attacked Donald Trump's wife. In a normal election year, this statement would be relatively uncontroversial. After all, it's true. Yes, there was an ad that ran in Utah, suggesting that because she had posed for provocative modeling photos, she was somehow unfit to be first lady. But, no, that ad was not from the Cruz campaign. 

The reason has nothing to do with Trump’s positioning on the issues and the potential coalition that could be assembled around those issues. It has everything to do with Trump as an individual candidate.

Ted Cruz drove home a key difference he sees between himself and Trump. “The central question in this race is trust,” he said in his closing statement. “Examine our records, pray on it and I will be honored if you and your family will come caucus for us on Monday night.”

Trende's theory is that Mitt Romney’s wealth and upper-class demeanor turned off blue-collar conservative voters, and that if the GOP could find a candidate to motivate these voters sufficiently, it could narrow the gap between them and Democrats and offset some of the losses Republicans could suffer due to demographic shifts.

To  many outside observers, the wave of seasoned Republican officials and strategists sounding increasingly comfortable with Donald Trump as the GOP’s presidential nominee is a sign of surrender. In reality, many are trying to salvage the campaign of Sen. Marco Rubio (or any other more mainstream alternative), and are betting that it’s easier to defeat Trump in a one-on-one showdown than Cruz emboldened by a strong showing in Iowa.

Trump’s frequent assessment of governmental incompetence as the cause of America’s sad state should concern conservatives. Few in the conservative movement would share Trump’s assessment that the nation’s disastrous course stems from managerial incompetence. Conservatives largely view Obama, not as a bumbling incompetent, but as a dedicated leftist who uses Alinskyite tactics to subvert the Constitution.

Among the tea partiers, both Cruz and Trump got enthusiastic receptions, so the attack didn’t sit well with many of those at the tea party convention. “He sort of stepped in it,” said Mary Severns, 72, a travel agent from Beaufort, S.C. “There’s a lot of support in this room for Cruz.”

The Texas Republican is going to be talking to a lot of voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada over the next month -- he's embarking on a five-day bus tour in New Hampshire on Monday -- so let's take a look at what he'd get rid of or change.

The good stuff is near the end of this article describing a Ted Cruz rally with a standing-room crowd listening raptly as Senator Jeff Sessions outlined Mr. Cruz’s role in the 2013 fight over immigration reform and rising for several ovations during the candidate’s stump speech.

Ted Cruz had a terrific night. He had a stand-out answer on immigration and wages, and made his own fortune by getting into an argument with John Kasich on bank bailouts, enunciating the anti-bailout position forcefully and repeatedly (although I don’t really believe he wouldn’t bail out a major financial institution in the midst of a financial panic if he were president). He was pointed, eloquent, and, of course, very conservative.

Many of the Republican candidates propose tax reforms that promise to change our system from the bottom up to make it simpler, fairer, and growth-oriented. Of the proposals, Senator Ted Cruz’s holds the most promise. Cruz’s plan would eliminate six categories of taxes: payroll taxes, Obamacare taxes, alternative minimum tax, overseas profit tax, the corporate tax, and the death tax.

Rubio and Cruz, now viewed as the two strongest candidates, ceded no ground, exploiting a much softer debate format in Milwaukee and again showcasing their mastery of the facts and ease under the bright lights.

Republican presidential contender Ted Cruz struck gold with his comments on immigration at Tuesday night’s debate, delivering remarks that resonated well with a Fox News focus group composed of New Hampshire primary voters. “The Democrats are laughing, because if Republicans join Democrats as the party of amnesty, we will lose,” Cruz said.