Ted Cruz is a good talker, but can he win a General Election?

To my knowledge Donald Trump has never said Ted Cruz is not eligible to be President of the United States. He has said repeatedly there is a question and someone would most likely file a lawsuit challenging Cruz’s eligibility. It turns out once again Donald Trump was right.

An attorney in Houston, Texas has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Canadian-born senator's eligibility to be president. Newton Schwartz asked the Supreme Court to decide if Cruz's birth to an American mother and Cuban father while they lived in Calgary, Canada violates the Constitution's "natural born citizen" requirement.

Ted Cruz argues that because his mother is American, he became a U.S. citizen at birth. But the Supreme Court hasn't previously considered the eligibility question. Until recently, Cruz held dual citizenships in Canada and the United States. He renounced his Canadian citizenship to run for President of the United States. I have always questioned the loyalty of a man who wanted to be a U.S. Senator, but did not want to give up his Canadian citizenship to do so.  I never understood why my fellow Texans elected a man Senator who was not sure if he wanted to be a citizen of the United States or Canada.

The issue could harm Cruz. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken from January 7 to January 14, a quarter of Republicans, along with a quarter of independents and voters in general, said they believed Cruz is unqualified. Only 47 percent of respondents said that Cruz is qualified and 26 percent said they weren’t sure.  The matter needs to be settled before the General Election.

The Tea Party Republican from Texas has continued to seek out a spot at center stage in politics by being divisive. His enemies characterize him as power-hungry and self-righteous. I do not consider myself an enemy of Ted Cruz, but from all I know of the man I think his enemies have defined him well, but I would add to it ruthlessly ambitious. I also believe he would be another power hungry, self-righteous, ruthlessly ambitious clone of President Obama.

Ted Cruz brags that his three years at Harvard Law School, from 1992 to 1995, sharpened his political vision and trained him for his intense sparring with liberals. Sparring has become his signature style as a national politician. I think one of the main problems with our government today is there has been too much sparring between conservatives and liberals in Washington and not enough discussion of what is good for the American people.

 Ted Cruz says he has mellowed since his days at Harvard, but frankly if he has he must have been a monster at Harvard.  Ted Cruz’s father was happy his son was going to Harvard and said Harvard was a place that would allow his conservative son to preach to the liberal elite. It is obvious Ted Cruz and his father has an ‘us vs them’ attitude so Ted Cruz came by his naturally. I do not want a President or any politician preaching to me. I have had eight years of a President preaching he knows what is better for me than I do.

Ted Cruz claims that after working on George W. Bush's 2000 campaign then being passed over for a senior position with the new administration was "a crushing blow."  That is not true. Cruz was offered a job as White House associate counsel, but he rejected it. Cruz thought the job was beneath him and that he should have had a more senior role of deputy White House counsel. The incident is an example of how his personal ambition rubs colleagues the wrong way. If Cruz would have taken the position instead of letting his pride stand in his way the position would have better qualified him to be President. Later Ted Cruz acknowledged his refusal to take the position was a mistake and said, "I was far too cocky for my own good." His stint in the Senate tells me that he is still too cocky for his own good.

When Ted Cruz mocked what he called Donald Trump's "New York values," in the debate the other night, some New Yorkers have taken it very personally and I don’t blame them. The Daily News hit the streets with a big front-page illustration of the Statue of Liberty giving Cruz the finger. The headline: "DROP DEAD, TED." New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, took to the airwaves to denounce the Texas senator and demanded an apology for comments he called "obnoxious on every level." During the debate, moderator Maria Bartiromo asked Cruz to explain his comments on "New York values." Cruz replied, “You know, I think most people know exactly what New York values are.” Bartiromo said, "I am from New York. I don't."

Cruz was playing to the Iowa voters, but it may have just cost him the New York Republican voters. It should! Representative Steve King, a conservative Iowa Republican who supports Cruz, suggested on CNN that Cruz's remark may have backfired, saying, "It would have been better on the part of Ted Cruz not to have had that exchange." One New Yorker, Wall Street hedge fund mogul Robert Mercer, contributed $11 million last April to a super PAC that supports Cruz. Cruz doesn’t have any problems bashing New Yorkers, but he certainly will take money from Wall Street.  New York has 29 Republican Electoral Votes to Iowa’s 6.

I don’t believe Cruz can win in a general election. Americans don’t typically elect politicians who are seen as polarizing to become president, but I must confess 2012 with Obama’s second win contradicts that statement. Goldwater was a hardcore conservative who was also seen as polarizing, and he got destroyed in a general election.  I see Cruz as being a Goldwater Republican. I just cannot imagine over 50% of the country coming together and voting for Ted Cruz to be our next president.

Americans look for someone who will unite the country, not divide it even further. That’s why they voted for Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Bush, and Obama. Obama ran as one who would unite and the media pushed that narrative. He was perceived that way by many Americans, who didn’t know the details of his past, or the radical policies he supported in the past. LET US NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE AGAIN - know who you are voting for!

How would Ted Cruz work with Congress to get bills passed when he admits that most politicians in both parties of Congress can’t stand him? Cruz has always said both parties in DC are like a cartel who only care about staying in power, but if he’s elected president, he is going to have to find a way to work with that cartel.

+++Ted Cruz proved who he was and what he was at the Republican Convention.  Republican's should be proud of the fact they found him out before they elected him their candidate for President in 2016.  Win or lose in November I am thankful Cruz is not on the ticket and I hope his political career is over.