Everyone's Having A Hard Time Imagining A President Ted Cruz

Following "Captain Courageous" Sen. "Tailgunner Ted" Cruz's (Texas Tea) announcement that he would seek the Republican nomination for president (in a speech in which he asked the "Liberty" University audience to "imagine" any number of dystopian futurescapes), the punditocracy is giving him an "E" for "extremist."   Daily Kos has a  good summary of the editorial comments here.

Bloomberg has a great counterpoint to the narcissist Cruz claiming to be a "courageous conservative:"

A courageous conservative would dare to tell the Republican Party that the U.S. economy needs the 11 million immigrants who are here illegally, and many more besides; that they aren't going to be deported, and that it would tank the economy if they were; and that it is long past time for Republicans to put forward a comprehensive plan to fix the immigration system. Cruz, the son of a Cuban immigrant, has the background to make this argument, as other conservatives have done. Apparently he lacks the guts.  

A courageous conservative wouldn't be afraid to tell Republican voters that the scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that human activity is contributing to climate change, which is creating serious economic risks, and that ignoring this danger isn't "conservative." Many Republicans are beginning to face this reality, but no thanks to Cruz. He's adopted the party’s new talking point of calling anyone who favors action on climate change an “alarmist.”  

A courageous conservative wouldn't be content to attack Obamacare, but would be brave enough to say what should replace it. Rather than say that the budget should be balanced in 10 years, the brave conservative would say exactly how this should happen, without resorting to gimmicks. A courageous conservative would dispel the myth that the Common Core education standards are an attempt to create a national curriculum, or that the Second Amendment precludes smarter policies to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and other dangerous people. Cruz doesn't dare. 

Jon Stewart also weighed in on Cruz's announcement, including a peculiar grift appeal we noted yesterday:

So let me clarify this a little bit. Students at Liberty University were required to attend a partisan political speech where a small-government conservative who had just promised he would respect privacy rights, told them if they cared about freedom, text your information to a mysterious address that collects your cell phone number for undisclosed purposes.

Demagogues aren't noted for their logic or consistency, as we hope further focus on "Tailgunner Ted" will prove.  But he will serve a useful purpose in that he will likely force the other clowns in the clown car to shift further right to avoid being outflanked with the frothing base.  As perhaps the best representative of the Republican id, Cruz will be out there with his and his party's Crazy for all to see.

BONUS:  Rupert "Aaargh" Murdoch's Wall Street Urinal Journal imagines Cruz getting his ass kicked by Hillary Clinton.  Bwahahahaha.

BONUS II:  Then there's this bouquet from the right-wing National Review's Charles Cook, via TPM:

"….to my skeptical ears, there is always a touch of condescension in the pitch — a small whiff of superciliousness that gives one the unlovely impression that Ted Cruz believes his listeners to be a little bit dim."

 Indeed.  Tailgunner Ted has something there.