While I think Iowa blew it by not putting Donald Trump out in front during the recent caucus, the first of the primary season, the game is far from over. Cruz may be able to ride some momentum but in actuality he likely blew his wad.  I don’t dislike Cruz.  I think he would make a good president someday, but he does not have what it takes to run the dysfunctional Oval Office in 2016.  Constitutional purists and other Glenn Beck conservatives are smoking crack if they think he does.  A better framework of a more functional government is needed before Cruz could run the White House. 

However, from the Cruz camp a lot of arrogance was exhibited after the senator came out on top of Trump in Iowa.  Cruz had obviously spent a lot of time and resources in Iowa, and it paid off for him, but there are a lot of states left, and he’s a long way from first place in a lot of them.  So arrogance is not the proper response—in fact it’s disingenuous.  If not for Trump, Cruz would be nowhere.  He would have been crushed by the very large foot of the GOP establishment right out of the gate.  It is only because Cruz has been drafting in the wake of Trump that Cruz is now positioned to be a legitimate candidate.  Don’t ever forget that Cruz fans.  You should be licking the testicular fortitude of Donald Trump and thanking him for Cruz’s first victory in Iowa.  While the GOP fought with Trump, Cruz ducked fire and lived long enough to have Trump destroy everyone else.  Trump likes Cruz and purposely sissy slapped him up to this point.  Consider Iowa a gift from Trump. 

A failure to understand these kinds of things is the reason why Glenn Beck has stalled and Freedom Works in general has not been able to advance their position over the last five years.  They did their jobs and have delivered Tea Party presidential candidates to the top three of the primary season, but really only Donald Trump is able to take the freedom movement to the next level.  Trump is an Alex Jones conservative whereas Cruz is a Glenn Beck purist.  One is better at combat, the other is better at crying.  Cruz as president might be able to give nice speeches and appeal to America’s sentimental tradition, but he will be powerless to reform K-Street, and that’s where the real fight is.  It’s nothing against Cruz, but he’s way too nice and ideological to advance that fight to a conclusion in favor of liberty.

I don’t think a lot of people really understand what is at stake and who the real enemy is.  I think they are blinded by ideology and sentiment.  The most important issue of this election season is the $19 trillion dollars in debt that literally just occurred as the Iowa caucus went to a vote.  There are only two legitimate candidates based on the voting results, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.  Of those two only one is able to tackle the complicated and contentious issue of dialing back the national debt—Donald Trump. There is no other option.  That issue is certainly outside of the Ted Cruz wheel house.  If we were talking about issues of Constitutional law or Supreme Court nominees, Ted Cruz would be the guy.  But the first priority is to organize our finances.  Constitutional law will mean nothing if our economy collapses under the weight of overwhelming national debt.  It’s very, very simple. 

Trump would be wise to change-up his message and to focus on issues that Cruz cannot compete with, such as The Donald’s abilities with financing and international trade.   In those areas Trump flourishes and no other candidate can compete.  With a healthy lead in New Hampshire and South Carolina, Trump can only lose ground by getting angry at the media for not respecting his platform and his Iowa results.  He comes out of Iowa with one less delegate—big deal.  If he can maintain his lead after the next two primaries, it won’t even be a competition any longer.  But Trump has to make sure his poll numbers translate into voters—and to do that, he needs to refine his message to the centerpiece of economic Armageddon, which is very real, the national debt.

But as for Cruz, the supporters of him should be bowing at the feet of Trump.   If not for the New York billionaire, there would be no Cruz—and that includes Glenn Beck.  How ungrateful have he and Stu been on their radio show on The Blaze—something that I once very much supported but can now no longer listen to.  Trump paved the way for Cruz and delivered the Washington newcomer with a legitimate win in Iowa, and Beck should be grateful.  When Cruz announced his presidency at Liberty University Beck was very happy, but the senator had no chance then of becoming a front-runner until Trump entered the race and forced people to look at Cruz as a “moderate,” it’s the overton window trick in the favor of Republicans for a change.  Cruz supporters are simply people too chicken to vote for Trump.  He is the soft version of a true outsider candidacy. 

They try to hide their cowardly behavior by declaring that Trump is not a true conservative, or that he had the Clintons at his wedding.  Heck, Glenn Beck worked at CNN, do people want to hold that against him in the same fashion?  What they don’t tell you is that they are just too chicken to support Trump so they lean toward Cruz as an “outside” candidate that still feels to them like a traditional politician.  Cruz is the safe second choice hiding in Trump’s wake as he mows down opposition toward the liberty movement.  Like a NASCAR racer drafting behind a faster stronger car during a race, Cruz has hidden in the aerodynamics of the frontrunner, and now his supporters cheer as if he were always a champion.  No, he was just hiding like a snake in the weeds waiting for opportunity rather than shaping it himself.

Ted  Cruz is like light beer, and a lot of people like light beer.  Trump though is the good stuff.  The issue really comes down to what people want, but with $19 trillion in debt and rising quickly, there isn’t much time to play around.  Ted Cruz just doesn’t cut it for the problems of our times.  He might make people feel good, but he is a light weight.  He could have never survived the primary process without Trump, but Trump could easily survive without Cruz.  And that tells every voter everything they need to know. 

Rich “Cliffhanger” Hoffman

 CLIFFHANGER RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

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