Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party, and liberals everywhere won a giant victory on the road to the 2016 election. According to Politico, "Sen. Ted Cruz dominated the presidential straw poll at the Texas GOP convention on Saturday, pulling in 43.4 percent of the votes at the contest in his home state, far ahead of other possible 2016 contenders on the ballot." Cruz was "mobbed" by supporters at his exhibition booth and his speeches at the convention elicited cheers of "Run, Ted, run!" Since Hillary Clinton's approval rating recently hit a six-year low according to Fox News, Democrats needed some good news. With endless Republican political attacks focusing on everything from Benghazi to the release of Sgt. Bergdahl, conservatives have done a good job shaping their narrative of recent events. The ascent of Sen. Cruz, however, might eventually erase all the hard work of Fox News and the mainstream Republican establishment.
Why does GOP enthusiasm for the tea party senator translate into another Clinton in the Oval Office? Even though the former secretary of state's rating sits at a six-year low (49 percent), Politico reported in April that Ted Cruz has one of the lowest favorability numbers of all the possible GOP nominees. It stated, "Ted Cruz is viewed favorably by 23 percent and unfavorably by 31 percent." These numbers aren't the work of the nefarious liberal media. Ted Cruz's 23 percent favorability rating is stated in a Fox News poll.
As for the issues, the Texas senator has viewpoints contrary to the mainstream, and luckily for Democrats, has no qualms whatsoever articulating these views. While the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication states that 97 percent of climate scientists say "global warming is happing and mostly human caused," the Tea Party star has a different scientific analysis. According to CNN, Sen. Cruz had the following observations missed by almost all climate scientists:
"I am always troubled by a theory that fits every perfect situation...It is ironic that he sees a greater threat from your SUV in your driveway than he does from the nation of Iran, with their radical Islamic jihad and - and their stated desire to obliterate, to annihilate Israel. He sees a greater threat from your SUV than he does to Iranian nuclear weapons," Cruz said of Kerry.
Masterfully fitting in radical Islam alongside climate change, Cruz has unique views on a wide range of other topics as well.
Regarding foreign policy, he ignores President Bush's reaction to the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008 (which was essentially the same rhetoric expressed by President Obama) and correlated a lack of strength as the primary reason Putin invaded Ukraine. According to an ABC News article in March, Cruz blamed Obama for the Ukrainian invasion:
"A critical reason for Putin's aggression has been President Obama's weakness...You'd better believe Putin sees in Benghazi four Americans are murdered, the first ambassador killed in service since 1979, and nothing happens," Cruz added, echoing comments by other Republicans like Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "You'd better believe that Putin sees that in Syria, Obama draws a red line and ignores the red line. You'd better believe that Putin sees all over the world."
Apparently if we had sent ground troops to Syria or prevented the Bengahzi attacks, Putin wouldn't have invaded the Ukraine.
As for gay marriage, Cruz introduced an anti-gay marriage bill earlier in the year. His thoughts on marriage equality have the tone of a person out of touch with the Pew Research finding that "68% of Millennials favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally." His words on the subject can be found in a 2013 The Blaze article:
"If you look at other nations that have gone down the road towards gay marriage, that's the next step of where it gets enforced," he said of hate speech regulations that are in place in other countries.
"It gets enforced against Christian pastors who decline to perform gay marriages, who speak out and preach biblical truths on marriage and that has been defined elsewhere as hate speech -- as inconsistent with the enlightened view of government," Cruz added.
Thus far, 16 countries allow same-sex marriage, so perhaps Cruz is referring to one of these nations as going "down the road" toward hate speech regulations. How Cruz correlates gay marriage as a risk to First Amendment rights is a bit of a mystery. As for the religious aspect of gay marriage, the Holy Land of Israel recognizes same-sex marriages performed outside the country.
Regarding the economy, the nation's woes are a direct consequence of Obamacare. In a USA Today op-ed, Cruz explains the following consequences resulted from the ACA:
Moreover, Obamacare is a major jobs killer, especially for those struggling to climb the economic ladder. Workers are seeing their hours cut, and small businesses are unable to hire new employees.
It's common sense to recognize that Obamacare isn't working. We need to repeal it entirely, and instead reform federal law to expand choices and make health plans personal, portable and affordable.
Furthermore, Cruz has stated that, "According to a recent Congressional Budget Office report, under Obamacare, 7 million people will lose their employer-sponsored insurance." This statement is categorizes as "Mostly false," according to Politifact.org. In fact, according to research by Politifact.org, a whopping 3 percent of Ted Cruz's statements are ranked "True." Shockingly, 69 percent of the recent statements articulated by Cruz are either "Mostly False," "False," or "Pants on Fire." One can guess what the words before "Pants on Fire" entail.
Finally, the rise of Ted Cruz should make liberals everywhere very happy. His penchant for being outspoken on issues might bode well regionally and within the GOP, but for a national election it will work to put Hillary Clinton in the White House. If by a snowball's chance-in a region not known for air conditioning-that Cruz wins the presidency, at least liberals can finally have their own chance at a birth certificate controversy.