“Those who aim at great deeds must also suffer greatly.â€
– Plutarch
Many of us in the liberty movement saw the handwriting on the wall some time ago, as far as the Rand Paul campaign was concerned. He came in a distant fifth in Iowa, a state many thought he would win a year ago. Â His polling looked bleak in the other early states, and he was short on resources.
He likely could have gone on, but instead, suspended his campaign Wednesday morning. He’ll focus on securing re-election to the Senate, which he should easily accomplish. This turn of events has caused many of us in the liberty movement to despair, and even question the viability of the movement itself.
This must stop.
What, did some of us think this would be easy? That the neoconservatives, the authoritarians, the entrenched interests, and all the rest who stand in our way inside the Republican Party, would simply step aside? This sort of wishful thinking is all too common among those of us in the liberty movement.
The reality is that it took over a century for the state to grow as it has, and for our liberties to be endangered the way they are now, and we won’t reverse that in a single campaign, a single election cycle, or even over the course of one pro-liberty presidential administration. We have a long fight ahead of us, and only over the past few years has it seemed as if we can begin to turn the tide. The sooner we realize this, the better our chances of making an actual impact. Our adversaries understand the value of incremental progress. So must we.
To that end, we must take Senator Paul’s defeat in stride, assess our options, and recommit to the fight, supporting the best possible outcome for the advancement of liberty.
We cannot simply throw up our hands, take our ball, and go home. To do so would validate every criticism the establishment makes about liberty Republicans. That we’re not really Republicans. That we don’t understand the value of coalitions in politics. That we’re children who pitch a screaming fit the moment we don’t get exactly what we want. This will not do.
In service of that principle, I believe wholeheartedly that liberty Republicans must work to elect Senator Ted Cruz, of Texas, the next President of the United States.
Along with Senator Mike Lee, he’s stood with Rand more than anyone else in the Senate. True, he’s not perfect, but he’s very good, and we can’t let the proverbial perfect be the enemy of the good.
He’s the only candidate still in the race who subscribes to an originalist interpretation of the Constitution. He’s the only candidate in the race who stands firmly against warrantless surveillance. He’s made some unwise comments about ‘making sand glow’ and ‘carpet bombing,’ but for the most part, he rejects the ridiculous neoconservative foreign policy agenda. He’s with us on privacy and data security.
However socially conservative he might be, he understands federalism, and would leave such issues largely in the hands of the states. He’d eliminate the odious TSA, along with a host of other superfluous federal departments and agencies. He understands the desperate need for sweeping criminal justice reform. Ted Cruz is our staunch ally most of the time.
Case in point: The USA Freedom Act. While it was much weaker than the original bill, it still ended warrantless government access to phone metadata, which was the major problem. That data is still collected by phone companies, and no bill yet seriously contemplated would stop that. Yet, many liberty activists are angry because he supported that version of the USA Freedom Act. That bill was the epitome of an incremental victory for liberty. We should thank him for supporting it.
The man just rolled into Iowa and beat the ethanol lobby in its backyard, winning Iowa with flying colors. The significance of that cannot be overstated.
Yes, he missed the latest vote in the Senate to audit the Federal Reserve, but that bill had vanishingly small chances of getting the 60 votes need to invoke cloture, and exactly ZERO chance of getting the 67 votes needed to override the inevitable Obama veto. Yet liberty Republicans skewered Cruz for missing the vote! Where was he? Winning, apparently. He knows we need a pro-liberty President if such a thing is to become law.
Once one compares Senator Cruz to the competition, the choice becomes even more clear.
I won’t spill a lot of ink here dealing with Donald Trump, as it’s been done elsewhere to great effect. Suffice it to say he’s a horrible demagogue with a long history of supporting Democratic candidates and policies, and for all the world seems like the bastard political child of Silvio Berlusconi and Benito Mussolini, with a dusting of liberal Yankee jackass for good measure. No. Just no.
Marco Rubio embraces the neoconservative “Invade The World/Invite The World†policy panoply with both arms and grinning enthusiasm. So on foreign policy and immigration, he’s a fresh-faced rerun of George W. Bush. No, thank you.
Rubio, Trump, Chris Christie, ¡Jeb! Bush, and to a lesser extent, John Kasich (who is the worst of the lot other than Trump), brag about how we need get back to violating the Fourth Amendment rights of Americans to stop terrorism. All are on board, to varying degrees, with perpetual entanglement in the Middle East.
Ben Carson, while a fine man, suffers upon close examination, and has looked feckless and inconsistent in debates and on the campaign trail. His campaign is fading, and with good reason.
Carly Fiorina will be a strong surrogate for whoever our nominee is, but her moment in the sun in this race has passed. Jim Gilmore is somehow still running, effectively as a fundraiser for Boyd Marcus. He was never a real factor.
For the first time since at least 1980, we have a chance to elect a President who will actually try and make a dent in the growing leviathan state, and strike a blow for liberty. We can win! Let’s prove the doubters wrong. Let’s join the rest of the wider conservative movement, defeat the establishment catspaw candidates, and WIN.
Cruz for liberty. Cruz for President.
30 comments
Cruz and Rubio are too cozy with the open borders crowd. They’re professional politicians, and I never expect a Republican Senator to win the White House in my life time. My family has been here in Virginia since 1635. If we don’t stop this insane influx of immigrants (particularly illegal (but legal immigration should be slowed to a trickle, as well)), demographic shifts will create an electorate alienated from American values. Period.
Because of that, and many more reasons, I am enthusiastically supporting Donald J. Trump. He represents the law and order values that are sorely lacking in this presidential race.
Trump was for open boarders right up until he started running. Cruz has never been for open boarders. That is why Numbers USA gives Cruz the best rating on immigration and ranks Trump second.
By the way, my family got to the states in 1635 as well. What ship did yours come on?
Great piece Robert! Spot on!
Sorry, I’ll be voting for the next best candidate in this primary. And that’s Bernie Sanders. Because if Hillery isn’t knocked out before the general, then this election cycle will be all over with. So go ahead and vote for the Wall Street Canadian, but you won’t see me voting for him.
I am in full agreement! NO candidate can be perfect for every voter, every time. It is not humanly possible – not even Reagan managed that! But Ted Cruz is our best shot at tuning this country back on a true Constitutionally guided path!
Agreed.
Robert Kenyon, Thanks so much for your supporting Ted Cruz now that Rand Paul is out of the running. I agree that no one is perfect, but as you say, Ted Cruz is the best choice of the remaining candidates. I used to be a Democrat, changed to Republican when Obama ran for President. I never believed a word he said. Since being a Republican, I have seen very little cohesiveness and working together as a team in the Republican Party. So much infighting and backbiting, it just does’t make any sense if you are on the same side to act as if you want to lose. I have considered leaving the Republican party because before there wasn’t much difference than what I saw in the Democratic party. But this election has changed my mind. I would happily vote for a Republican candidate and pray sincerely that he would win the Presidency. Make the United States proud and we could be proud of him. Defend and protect the Constitution, restore faith in the Rule of Law, bring those who have harmed our citizens and our country to justice and make them account for their destruction. Your willingness as a Liberty Republican to work together to have an electable candidate is commendable and I feel the same. We have to work together if we are going to win this.
This is one of the best articles I’ve read in a long time, and I read a lot of articles. And the comments are unreal. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to news sites, blog sites, social media posts…. and the comments are just insane…. but not here. You guys are calm, rational, level headed.
It really is refreshing to see that this face of the American people still exists. Where we can all just sit down and talk. It gives me hope.
Just to let you know, if you use the hashtag at the bottom of the comment, you will get a response like you wouldn’t believe. They are very active on Twitter.
#CruzCrew
Rand Paul was the liberty candidate in this presidential race. Ted Cruz is a watered down version who would be nothing without the Pauls.
Honestly, I find it offensive to check this blog tonight only to find two different appeals to give away my vote to Cruz. For months I’ve seen almost nothing written here that had anything positive to say about Rand. It has been popularity (Cruz) over principle (Paul) consistently for months now. I couldn’t even find a recap of the last debate – a debate in which Rand Paul shined.
It’s pretty evident that few around here liked Paul, so quit insulting my intelligence and save your breath.
katsrva: Paul and Cruz both stand by their principles. Rand Paul will still have a role to play in the Senate since he is going back to run for reelection. Cruz differs from Paul on some of the issues, but has stood with Paul on several issues that matter.
Cruz and Paul are very similar on civil liberties, and on constitutional limitations on federal powers. Perhaps they differ most on foreign policy, and on the willingness to project power overseas. Yes Cruz wants to defeat ISIS, because he sees ISIS an not only a threat to the region and our allies, but also a threat terrorist threat to our homeland. What Cruz does NOT advocate is nation-building in places that have no history of self rule.
If you sit out this race, or write-in Rand Paul as a protest vote, then you are admitting that this country is doomed to continue to drift for the next 4 to 8 years without your input. You need to vote for a viable candidate this election cycle if you want to make a difference. If not a vote for Cruz, then who DO you advocate, and why. We’ll vote along with you if you make your case.
I know Paul will be a force in the Senate. In fact, I can’t wait to watch him raise hell in his second term and grind this whole thing to a halt.
Regarding Cruz, the nail in the coffin for me was skipping the audit the Fed vote. His excuse of ‘well, it wasn’t going to pass anyway’ was pathetic. That mindset is why conservative America is so pissed at their representatives in Congress. He sounded just like Rubio with that excuse! How about he shows up and does the job Texas taxpayers pay him to do regardless?!
And I already think the country is screwed, frankly. If we spend millions carpet bombing the ME and making the sand glow, will terrorists just disappear? Is that what you think? Don’t you think the migrant crisis will go from bad to worse? Because I do. I think what Cruz is proposing is total folly and will solve nothing. Suddenly he wants to throw good money after bad. This is money we simply don’t have and he knows it. We are 19 trillion dollars in the hole, for goodness’ sake! Principles? Yeah, right.
In the primary I’m voting my conscious. In the general I’ll vote for the R nominee. But the country is screwed regardless.
What bullmanure! Canadian Cubano Cruz is for Liberty like fish are for bicycles–not even close, even if he actually was a jus soli citizen in the first place. (Look it up; it’s about what being natural-born really means.)
Gary Johnson 2016. A real candidate for Liberty.
Tannim: Voting for a non-viable candidate is just the same as staying home, except that it makes you feel better. Trump or Hillary/Sanders will trample our civil liberties, and tax and spend our children’s future away, but you will feel self satisfied that you stood by your principles. It’s absolutely pointless.
So Tannim should give up his principles to vote for Cruz, because Cruz stands up for his principles? Which principles is that?
It s thinking like this, my game y way or I take my ball and go home, that had us suffering under the Kenyan Muslim now in our WH. Grow up and learn to work with the best available candidate or pull the blankets over your head as America becomes the new third world country!
The idea of having republicans shove themselves on liberty activists and then try to shame us for not wanting you is just absurd. Go back to the elephant farm and roll around in your own dookie … Stop smearing it on us!! If the best a lower tier republican can hope for is to ride libertarian grassroots coattails to power then we are more effective than people give us credit for. Let the political marketplace compete for our votes … I for one am not going to stop fighting for liberty until it actually produces one that’s offering what I want. I will not be shamed into buying a bag of elephant dookie with a generic freedom sticker on it. I want the real thing.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders thank you for your support.
The Liberty movement has a real chance to gain a prominent place in this election if they consolidate behind Cruz, and he will happily acknowledge it. Many prominent leaders have already joined the campaign. Hope the rest will do so in a loud and noticeable way!
Actually, the Liberty Movement will never be allowed prominence in the Republican Party … If the past 12 years haven’t shown that, respectfully, … well, as they used to say … “Uncle” … Imagine if all this wasted .. and it was wasted effort had been invested in the Libertarian Party. Look at the votes … Liberty Candidates are actually regressing …
Po Taxpayer: So what do you propose to do for this election cycle. Vote for Hillary/Sanders? Stay home and watch Hillary/Sanders win, but without your active help? Stay home and watch Trump acquire the US for his own purposes as his own piggy bank? Or vote for someone who has stood with Rand Paul on multiple occasions, and who will continue to work for limiting government?
If you won’t vote at all, then why should I even listen to what you have to say? Anyone can stay home and pout. How is that staying true to your cause? :-/
Liberty Republicans should NOT fall in line behind Cruz. He will throw his principles to the wind as soon as the fruit of power ripens to his liking.
And what is our alternative? 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.
Ummm .. you could do the logical, and leave the GOP, which has been an abusive spouse for the last 12 years … and, errr … actually support a Libertarian Candidate? Oh thats right, that’s a waste of a vote ..
Newsflash … the last twelve years have been a complete waste .. if you supported the GOP
Ted Cruz seems to be the only one in the Republican party that is unwelcome.
First, awaken to reality, and see that the neoliberal and neoconservative agendas are eerily similar.
One side panders to the worst of the American working class while pushing legislation for corporate America, the other panders to the hopes and needs of the educated middle class while pushing legislation for corporate America.
Second… Well, from here your options are quite limited. You can only really stay true to your principles and continue to support reform with an understanding that reform takes time, and that what shape you hope to see our government take will be pit against that of your left-leaning fellow Americans who are struggling with the same problem you are.
[…] Originally posted at The Bull Elephant. […]
Thank you for your logical level headed approach to those Rand Paul supporters. I look forward to working with you to build a coalition to save our Republic.
As someone who strongly supported Rand’s bid for the presidency and even donated roughly $30 to his campaign, I wholeheartedly agree with Robert here. It’s time for the liberty movement to get behind the next best candidate when it comes to standing up for the Constitution, protecting our 4th Amendment rights, defending Federalism, and advocating for a rational and sane foreign policy. Rand Paul clearly led the field in each of these regards, but Ted Cruz is certainly the next best candidate by a long shot.
Let us not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. There is much to be apprehensive about when it comes to examining Ted Cruz’s record with the liberty movement, but I will support any man who takes to the Senate floor to defend a filibusterer by Rand Paul. Marco Rubio cannot say that, Ted Cruz can.
Under “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” Ted Cruz it is. While clearly not Rand, he is the closest to him by a long shot.
“Donald Trump…seems like the bastard political child of Silvio Berlusconi and Benito Mussolini, with a dusting of liberal Yankee jackass for good measure.” That’s just poetic, precise, and well said.
This is what I’ve been saying. It’s why Rand was always my second choice behind Cruz: they are way closer to each other than to the other candidates. Rubik’s NSA stance scares me; Trump’s candidacy scares me.