Chad’s Morning Brief: Ted Cruz Responds to the Senators vs Governors Debate, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul Could Hurt the Republican Senate in 2016, and Other Top Stories
Here is your Morning Brief for April 22, 2015.
Cruz's Perfect Response
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry has tried to convince voters that America already tried the whole "young Senator who gives great speeches" type of candidate for President and it failed. As I brought up on Monday, this argument doesn't work in the Republican Primary. I don't believe our country is where it is at because we elected a young Senator. I believe it's his policies that have put us in the situation we are in and I think many others would agree. According to a report in Bloomberg, Senator Ted Cruz agrees with me and made that a huge point yesterday.
When one audience member asked Cruz what executive experience he could bring to the job, Cruz lambasted the “greybeards” in Washington for coming up with the “senator versus governor” framework in the first place.
“Obama is not a disaster because he was a senator,” said Cruz. “Obama is a disaster because he’s an unmitigated socialist, what he believes is profoundly dangerous, and he’s undermined the Constitution and the role of America in the world.”
According to Cruz, the only reason that pundits were saying the GOP needed to run a governor, not a senator, was that “most of the establishment moderates” in the field were governors. “In 1980, the strong conservative running in the race was Ronald Reagan,” Cruz said. “You didn’t hear ‘we need a governor’ then, because he was a governor. So none of those voices said, ‘We need a governor.’ They said, ‘You know what? We need a former congressman, named George Herbert Walker Bush. Likewise, in 2008, the moderate choice was a senator, John McCain. Go back and look at the TV discussions to find any of these voices going on television, saying ‘we need a governor’ in 2008. Then, the choice of those voices was that candidate, so that argument didn’t get used.”
Wow. What a great answer. Was it meant for Rick Perry? Probably not, but it was a warning shot at Perry that Cruz can and will take him on. It was probably more directed at Jeb Bush than anyone. Still, it is a great answer.
If you are Perry/Walker/Bush, I think the winning arguments are about experience and proof of what your policies have done. Trying to compare Rubio/Cruz/Paul to Obama is not going to work.
Rubio/Paul Presidential Bids Could Hurt the Republican Senate
President bids by Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Rand Paul could impact the chances Republicans have of holding on to the Senate in 2016. According to the Washington Post, Rubio's bid in particular is causing headaches in Florida.
The unresolved issues, which Republicans have been bracing for since the two began angling to run for president, come amid an intense battle for the Senate majority. Democrats need to gain four seats to win back control of the chamber — five if the next president is a Republican, since the vice president casts tiebreaking votes. They are eyeing several pickup opportunities in blue and purple states where Democratic turnout is expected to be high because of the presidential contest.
And now, they’re adding two otherwise GOP-leaning seats to the list.
In Florida, Republicans will have to fill a big gap in the Senate race. Rubio, had he opted to run for another term, would have had some significant advantages due to his incumbency: a well-stocked war chest, high name recognition and a seasoned campaign team.
“Definitely Rubio would have been the strongest candidate Republicans could have had in Florida,” said Republican strategist Tim Baker, who added of national Republican officials’ outlook: “I think they are worried.”
In Kentucky, the state GOP agreed in March to carry out Paul’s plan to hold a presidential caucus in 2016 rather than a primary. The intent was to work around a Kentucky law prohibiting candidates from appearing on the ballot for two offices.
If Rubio gets the nomination that could boost Republican turnout though in Florida helping Republican chances of holding on to that seat. As for Rand Paul, it's really only a worry if he gets the nomination.
Other Must Read Links:
These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard on our KFYO YouTube page after the show and online at kfyo.com.
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