The Republican clown car of 2016 will soon have its first occupant.
It has been apparent ever since he masterminded the Republican Government Shutdown of 2013, but the National Journal reports that Ted Cruz will announce his candidacy before the end of the year.
According to sources close to the Texas senator, Cruz could be preparing for an end-of-year announcement and is now dedicating considerable time and effort to cultivating a foreign-policy foundation that might help his candidacy stand out in what is guaranteed to be a crowded field.
“At this point it’s 90/10 he’s in,” one Cruz adviser said. “And honestly, 90 is lowballing it.”
And what will Cruz base his campaign on?
According to the Journal, Cruz will base his campaign on being the anti-Rand Paul.
This is very amusing to me because virtually everyone in the race, Republican or Democrat, will be the anti-Rand Paul. Even Rand Paul will be the anti-Rand Paul.
If Cruz bases his campaign on being the anti-isolationist candidate while simultaneously attacking President Obama and Hillary Clinton for being soft on foreign policy, I think it would be accurate to say that Cruz will run as a Bush-era Neo-Con.
I don’t think Americans want to go back to that. And let’s not forget what that entails because it’s not just about using greater force, it’s also about a hostile diplomatic environment where saber-rattling comes first.
There is no doubt in my mind that a neo-conservative administration would have launched a war with Iran years ago if they had been in charge.