For the last few days, we've been told that Ted Cruz exposed himself as a charlatan by appearing to go wobbly on Obamacare defunding, that the GOP leadership is now going to show him who's boss, that no one in the GOP likes him. The Cruz moment we're told, is over.
Well, Cruz may have alienated every Beltway insider -- but remember that nobody in the real world likes Beltway insiders. He's being criticized by the likes of Karl Rove and David Brooks and fellow members of Congress, but nobody likes those people. Certainly nobody in the GOP crazy base likes those people, or will side with them against someone who seems more extremely right-wing.
Now, Cruz may have seemed to falter for a moment, but notice who's defending him now: the crazy woman the crazy base still loves, Sarah Palin. She's with him 100%, as we learn from this post carrying her byline at Breitbart:
... Following the will of the people is apparently a novel idea in D.C. these days. Just ask Senator Ted Cruz and his liberty-loving posse on Capitol Hill who have led the charge to defund Obama's train wreck.The insiders don't know, but the crazy base understands. To the crazy baseheads, Cruz is still a hero.
Those of us who hang in there supporting a major political party with our energy, time, and contributions would like to believe that that party would praise principled conservatives like Ted Cruz and Mike Lee for following through on campaign promises. We'd like to believe that the GOP establishment would applaud the way these bold leaders have rallied the grassroots to their cause. But, no, such praise would require a commensurate level of guts and leadership, and the permanent political class in D.C. is nothing if not gutless and rudderless.
We're now, once again, subjected to the "anonymous sources" backstabbing game. The Capitol Hill cowards are rushing to anonymously denounce Senator Cruz to any reporter with a pad and pen.
Welcome to our world, Ted. The same people have been denouncing conservatives like me for years (right after they ask for help fundraising for themselves or endorsing the latest candidate they've suckered into paying their exorbitant consulting fees). We can compare shiv marks next time we meet, my friend....
Oh, and the Palin post is gleefully quoted at Twitchy. In the GOP civil war, if you've got Palin, the Breitbarniks, and Michelle Malkin on your side, that's a pretty solid rebel stronghold.
Even if -- perhaps especially if -- Cruz fails to round up 41 votes to prevent the continuing resolution from going forward in the Senate, he'll be seen as a hero to the base, while those who failed to join him will be regarded as traitors. I know that Fox is throwing in its lot with the Rovians and is not giving Cruz's efforts prominent play -- here's a Fox story titled "Capitol Hill Report Warns Shutdown Could Pose Risks to National Security" -- but I think Fox is going to have to get on board with Cruz or risk alienating its audience.
Cruz's poor standing with party bigwigs probably means he'll never be the GOP presidential nominee, but I think he's still doing a bang-up job of being a hero to the base. He'll be just fine.
