As reported by CNN Politics: Nightcap on March 23, 2016:
First it was Lindsey Graham. Then Mitt Romney. Now, Jeb Bush is getting on the Ted Cruz train. Despite anger among Senate Republicans over his past tactics, some members of the GOP establishment are coming around to the Texas senator’s candidacy — out of pragmatism if not enthusiasm.
The big thought: Cruz might struggle in a general election, but at least he’s reliably conservative and, win or lose, wouldn’t doom the party’s chances of holding the House and Senate and undercut many of its deeply held policy objectives. …
The next big contest in the Republican race is April 5 in Wisconsin. Gov. Scott Walker — who still maintains influence in his home state despite a short-lived presidential bid — hinted Wednesday morning in a radio interview on WTMJ that he could endorse Ted Cruz.
Sidebar » Trump responds to flurry of Cruz endorsements
Following is a compilation of the conga-line of high-profile Republican establishment figures jumping on the Cruz bandwagon.
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Jeb Bush Backs Ted Cruz for President
Fox News video added — Not part of CNN report
By Mark Preston and Theodore Schleifer
March 23, 2016
Jeb Bush [link added] endorsed Ted Cruz on Wednesday morning, calling his former rival for the Republican presidential nomination a “principled conservative” and urging fellow Republicans to reject Donald Trump as the next GOP nominee.
“Ted is a consistent, principled conservative who has demonstrated the ability to appeal to voters and win primary contests,” Bush said in a statement provided to CNN. “Washington is broken, and the only way Republicans can hope to win back the White House and put our nation on a better path is to support a nominee who can articulate how conservative policies will help people rise up and reach their full potential.”
Bush’s endorsement of the Texas senator comes one month after he ended his own bid for the GOP presidential nomination — a campaign that failed to gain support in the shadow of Trump’s oversized personality and a fractured field that, at one time, had 17 Republican candidates actively pursuing the White House. During the campaign, Bush did not cloak his contempt for Trump, who he described as a “bully” and “not a conservative.”
On Wednesday, Bush again emphasized his disapproval of Trump, the GOP front-runner, and warned that if the New York businessman secures the Republican nomination, Democrats will win the White House in November.
“For the sake of our party and country, we must move to overcome the divisiveness and vulgarity Donald Trump has brought into the political arena, or we will certainly lose our chance to defeat the Democratic nominee and reverse President Obama’s failed policies,” Bush said in the statement.
Trump responded Wednesday afternoon, using Twitter to dismiss the endorsement to dismiss the Bush endorsement.
“I think having Jeb’s endorsement hurts Lyin’ Ted. Jeb spent more than $150,000,000 and got nothing. I spent a fraction of that and am first,” Trump tweeted. …
Related » Why Donald Trump Beats Jeb Bush: The Personal Electability Index
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Mitt Romney Just Basically Endorsed Ted Cruz
By Aaron Blake
The Fix
March 18, 2016
Mitt Romney [link added] just endorsed Ted Cruz for president of the United States, over Donald Trump [link added] and John Kasich [link added].
No, Romney [link added] didn’t put it in so many words. The “e-wordâ€Â was not uttered in his brief Friday-afternoon Facebook post, and Romney doesn’t say he wants Cruz to be president. But the practical effect is the same.
Here’s the full post:
This week, in the Utah nominating caucus, I will vote for Senator Ted Cruz.
Today, there is a contest between Trumpism and Republicanism. Through the calculated statements of its leader, Trumpism has become associated with racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, vulgarity and, most recently, threats and violence. I am repulsed by each and every one of these.
The only path that remains to nominate a Republican rather than Mr. Trump is to have an open convention. At this stage, the only way we can reach an open convention is for Senator Cruz to be successful in as many of the remaining nominating elections as possible.
I like Governor John Kasich. I have campaigned with him. He has a solid record as governor. I would have voted for him in Ohio. But a vote for Governor Kasich in future contests makes it extremely likely that Trumpism would prevail.
I will vote for Senator Cruz and I encourage others to do so as well, so that we can have an open convention and nominate a Republican.
So the logic here is simple: Vote for Cruz because he’s the only guy who can actually steal delegates from Trump and prevent him from winning before the Republican National Convention. At which point, who knows? Romney only says that the GOP would “nominate a Republican†— not saying whether that Republican is Cruz.
But here’s what’s amazing about all of this: Romney [link added] is just the latest big-name, establishment Republican to come out in support of Cruz — to one degree or another — in recent days. Lindsey Graham also did it. Even Sen. Marco Rubio [link added] of Florida seemed to suggest Cruz is the best option, saying he’s the “only conservative left.â€
These are not full-throated endorsements. These guys would clearly like to have someone more in the mold of Romney or Rubio as the Republican presidential nominee in 2016.
Still, the fact that they are lining up behind Cruz is remarkable. … Cruz is, after all, the guy who is reputed to be despised by the vast majority of his Senate colleagues — Republican and Democrat. …
It’s hard to overstate how universally unloved Cruz is inside the Republican establishment. And yet, here we are, with decidedly establishment Republicans lining up in his corner. …
Read the full report at The Fix
Related » Why Mitt Romney Won’t Win
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Watch Lindsey Graham Go from Hating to Stumping for Ted Cruz
MSNBC video added — Not part of CNN report
Graham: The GOP will probably lose in 2016 (March 24, 2016) — Former 2016 Republican candidate Lindsey Graham joins Morning Joe to discuss why he is now supporting Ted Cruz after coming out strongly against him on the campaign trail, why he thinks the GOP will likely lose in 2016, and why Kasich is the best nominee but has ‘no chance.’ (Duration 10:12)
By Chris Moody
March 18, 2016
It’s that strange time again in American politics when politicians support candidates they have repeatedly said they can’t stand.
For months, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has been warning the nation about Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. But on Thursday, Graham told CNN that not only is he supporting Cruz, he’s fundraising for him. Graham pointed to Donald Trump’s rise as the reason, explaining that Cruz might be the only one to stop him.
“I think he’s the best alternative to beat Donald Trump,” Graham told CNN. “I’m going to help Ted in any way I can.”
It’s a strange position for Graham, who has said all kinds of terrible things about Cruz.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane. …
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Ex-Rival Fiorina Endorses Cruz, ‘Horrified’ by Trump
By Dana Bash and David Wright
January 25, 2016
Former Republican presidential candidate and businesswoman Carly Fiorina [link added] endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at a rally in Miami Wednesday, and confessed to being “horrified” by front-runner Donald Trump. …
The surprise endorsement comes as Cruz tries to consolidate GOP support and challenge front-runner businessman Donald Trump for the Republican nomination. …
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By Dana Bash and David Wright
January 25, 2016
Former Republican presidential candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry is endorsing Ted Cruz for president — and his disdain for Donald Trump appears to have been a driving force.
Perry has come to “hate” Trump more than anything, according to a source familiar with the endorsement process. …
Perry and Cruz have mostly operated in separate orbits in Texas politics. Perry, then governor, endorsed Cruz’s opponent in his bitter 2012 Senate primary, David Dewhurst, and since then Perry has repeatedly spoken out against the perils of electing a first-term senator as president. …
Conservative media star Glenn Beck [link added] also announced he is endorsing Cruz, while a number of Republican establishment figures, including former GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole [link added], have publicly attacked Cruz. …
Related » The Personality Profile of 2016 Presidential Candidate Rick Perry
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Related reports on this site
Projecting the Winner of the 2016 Presidential Election:
The Personal Electability Index (Feb. 29, 2016)
The Personality Profile of 2016 Republican Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz (Sept. 6, 2015)
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The Personality Profile of 2016 Republican Presidential Candidate Scott Walker (July 26, 2015)
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The Personality Profile of 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney (June 2, 2011)
Research assistants Amanda Nusbaum and Feiran Chen presented their summer research project on “The Personality Profile of 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney†at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn.Â
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