Lately, due to an influx of junk calls, I've become wary of answering my cell phone if I do not recognize the number, so a little while ago I missed a call from Catherine and Caroline Cruz. Actually, it was a recorded message that went to my voice mail:
Catherine: "Hello my name is Catherine Cruz."
Caroline: "My name is Caroline Cruz. Our dad, Ted Cruz, is running for president, and our mom just wrote you letter asking for your help. Won't you please read our letter as soon as you get it."
Catherine: "Will you please help my dad."
Caroline: "Make sure to check your mail this week because our mom . . . [the rest is indecipherable].
In unison: "Thank you."
Even though I couldn't quite understand the entire message, the robocall was as cute as the Cruz girls naturally are themselves, but after Senator Cruz's debate performance last night, I am skeptical of the campaign using the cute-kid factor as a fund-raising technique on the morning after the debate, knowing that Heidi Cruz's letter will ultimately be another request to donate more to the campaign. Yesterday, I blogged that Senator Cruz would not be one of the debaters to punch Trump, or any other candidate for that matter. Cruz is a fervent student of Ronald Reagan, whose debate strategy hinged on what he called the 11th Commandment: "Thou shalt never speak ill of a fellow Republican." However, the face of the Republican party has changed, and if Cruz is to continue to see the high polling numbers, he must find a way to command more air time on televised debates and engage more in the process. In addition, when the takeaway of Cruz's performance by political pundits is that Bush bested him over the issue of John Roberts, well . . . that's just depressing.
Cruz had great moments last night, but without reviewing the debate footage, the one that stands out most to me was his answer about which woman should replace Hamilton on the $10 bill. He had the best answer - leave the $10 bill alone and replace Jackson's face on the $20 bill. However, that doesn't come close to Fiorina's passionate plea that Obama and Clinton view the recent, damning videos on Planned Parenthood or Rubio's skillful foreign policy rhetoric.
I am not suggesting he stoop to critical tweets, slapping fellow candidates, but he must find a way to interject his voice more in the debate process. I still believe that Cruz is one of the smartest men on the GOP debate stage and has the unique position of having his past actions of challenging the Republican do-nothing-party, which seems to do nothing more than capitulate to every one of Obama's whims, paint him as the true Conservative choice for 2016.
For those of us engaged in the political banter, even to the point of watching CSPAN live for hours on end, we still believe in a Cruz candidacy. The outsiders, Trump, Carson, and Fiorina, are appealing to the majority who are fed up with the Washington political class. But how certain are we that they will truly act on the conservative principles they espouse? Cruz hangs onto the outer fringe as well because he is not seen as an establishment candidate and has a proven record of fighting for limited government and Conservative Christian values.
I am skeptical of the claims that polling data at this stage of the primary process does not matter. If a candidate doesn't stand out and have memorable moments in early debates, will the dollars continue to flow his or her way? How can any candidate hope to survive the grueling primary process without huge monetary support? Conservatives know Cruz is remarkable, intelligent, and has fought battles in the past. What we need to hear now is more engaged debate rhetoric to match his record and win over those who have previously seen him in a more ambivalent light. Hopefully, Cruz will work on his debate strategy and deliver more for Conservatives to cheer in the next debate:
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
CNBC Republican Debate
Aired On: CNBC
Location: University of Colorado in Boulder
Sponsors: CNBC
Candidates: To be determined
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