"Ted Cruz is Still Not Here to Make Friends"
Ted Cruz is Still Not Here to Make Friends
by Jamelle Bouie at the Daily Beast
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/26/ted-cruz-is-still-not-here-to-make-friends.html
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With that said, its worth noting the extent to which Cruz reflects the GOP base. According to recent data from the Pew Research Center, Tea Party Republicans dont see the GOP as especially conservative, despite its hard right turn44 percent of Republicans and Republican leaners who agree with the Tea Party say that the GOP is conservative or very conservative. Indeed, just 28 percent of Republicans overall say that the party does a good job of standing up for its traditional positions.
To outside observers, this is ludicrous. Between its crusade against the Affordable Care Act, its cuts to social services (like food stamps), and its continued push for lower taxes and regulation, the GOP seems as conservative as ever.
But this, it seems, isnt enough. The conservative base doesnt want representation as much as it wants to hand defeats to Barack Obama, even ifin the case of the debt ceilingthey cause massive shocks to the global economy.
Which leaves Republican leaders in the same spot theyve been for years. Beholden to a base that, like a capricious autocrat, will turn against them at the slightest provocation.
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