New York Times: “But their tense confrontation on Tuesday night was about more than just a clash of worldviews. It was calculated political strategy masked by the language of defense appropriations and classified intelligence programs. The two senators have come to the same realization about the race for the Republican presidential nomination: The surest way to win is with the other gone.”
Cruz Super PACs Poised to Start Spending
Sen. Ted Cruz’s allies “for months have questioned why his friendly super PACs appeared to be stockpiling their cash, running few television ads while his presidential rivals dominated the airwaves,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Now, with the Texan surging in polls, that approach seems to have left him in a strong position.”
“Together, the four primary super PACs backing the senator have spent some $2.2 million, or less than 6% of the $38 million they raised in the first half of the year, according to Federal Election Commission records confirmed by a person familiar with the groups’ finances. That leaves them with more than $30 million to spend as the first nominating contest approaches Feb. 1.”
Cruz Helps to Pay Off Walker’s Debt
Sen. Ted Cruz urged his supporters to help Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s short-lived presidential campaign pay off its remaining debt, The Week reports.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“The second he starts to look like a winner in Washington, he’s going to have a bunch of new friends.”
— GOP lobbyist Ed Rogers, quoted by CNN, on Ted Cruz rising in the polls.
Cruz vs. Rubio Becomes Battle to Watch
“The intensifying feud between GOP presidential candidates Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz will be at the center of Tuesday’s Republican debate in Las Vegas,” The Hill reports.
“Terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., have shifted the national discourse to national security, a strong issue for the hawkish Rubio. He’s been focused in recent weeks on attacking Cruz, who has been doing his best to send a message to conservatives that Rubio is too centrist to be trusted.”
First Read: “While the political world is playing up some of the (minor) jabs between Trump and Cruz, the real action in tomorrow night’s debate might be Rubio vs. Cruz. “
More Audio Leaks of Ted Cruz Coming This Week
An informed source tells Playbook there’s more audio leaking out of New York City fundraising events for Ted Cruz.
“Our little bird says that when addressing Manhattan donors, Cruz strikes a more moderate and inclusive tone on social issues than he does when speaking to Iowa audiences. Some donors say that New York Cruz sounds different than Iowa Cruz. Look for the next audio track on a conservative news site early this week. The leaks are designed to undermine Cruz’s authenticity.”
Brad Phillips: Oops! I have that thing you just denied saying on tape.
Cruz Could Grab More of Trump’s Iowa Support
Joshua Green digs deeper into the new Iowa Poll and finds that Ted Cruz “is poised to draw away even more of Trump’s supporters—and that Trump may have difficulty luring those who currently favor Cruz.”
“Cruz’s strategy of embracing, rather than attacking, Trump—even after Trump makes controversial or offensive statements—appears to have served him well, at least so far. In the new poll, respondents who say they support Trump have an extremely positive view of Cruz: 73% view him favorably, while 18 percent view him unfavorably. Asked to state their second-choice preference, these Trump supporters overwhelming pick Cruz (49%), with Rubio (16%) a distant second. If Trump falters or alienates his current supporters, they appear quite open to supporting Cruz.”
Cruz Campaign Credits Psychological Data
Ted Cruz’s campaign is using “psychographic targeting” to find potential supporters, “an approach that campaign officials believe has helped propel the senator from Texas to the top tier among Republican presidential candidates in many states, including Iowa, where he is in first place, according to two recent polls,” the Washington Post reports.
“It’s also a multimillion-dollar bet that such efforts still matter in an age of pop-culture personalities and social-media messaging… Micro-targeting of voters has been around for well over a decade, but the Cruz operation has deepened the intensity of the effort and the use of psychological data.”
Rubio Slams Cruz as an Isolationist
Sen. Marco Rubio hammered Sen. Ted Cruz “for opposing the U.S. government’s bulk phone data collection and voting against spending bills and defense authorization acts — suggesting Cruz’s voting record is that of an isolationist,” CNN reports.
Said Rubio: “He talks tough on some of these issues. For example, he was going to carpet bomb ISIS. But the only budget he’s ever voted for in his time in the Senate is a budget that cut defense spending by more than Barack Obama proposes we cut it.”
Trump Quote of the Day
“He’s been so nice to me. I mean, I can say anything, and he said, ‘I agree, I agree.’ But I think the time will come to an end pretty soon, it sounds like.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by The Hill, on Sen. Ted Cruz.
Trump Says Cruz Is a ‘Maniac’
With his lead in Iowa vanishing, Donald Trump took aim at Ted Cruz in an interview on Fox News, Politico reports.
Said Trump: “I don’t think he’s qualified to be president… I don’t think he has the right temperament. I don’t think he’s got the right judgment… You look at the way he’s dealt with the Senate, where he goes in there like a — you know, frankly like a little bit of a maniac. You’re never going to get things done that way.”
He added: “Look, I built a phenomenal business. I’m worth many, many billions of dollars. I have some of the greatest assets anywhere in the world. You can’t walk into the Senate, and scream, and call people liars, and not be able to cajole and get along with people. He’ll never get anything done. And that’s the problem with Ted.”
Clinton Campaign Thinks They’ll Face Cruz
“Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta handicapped the GOP race for 90 Democratic donors assembled at a private fundraising event… telling the crowd that he viewed Cruz as the likeliest nominee, followed by Trump, and then Marco Rubio,” Politico reports.
“Podesta’s remarks — which he made sure to say represent his own views, not an official campaign position — came after the real-estate magnate proposed a blanket ban on Muslims entering the United States, and Podesta suggested that the resulting surge of attention being paid to Trump didn’t change his belief that Cruz was the likeliest pick.”
Trump Clears a Path for Cruz
New York Times: “Mr. Trump, in this view, has taken a machete through the brush for Mr. Cruz, allowing him to rise quietly despite his own reputation for bombast, while Mr. Trump absorbs the scrutiny a front-runner attracts and eventually peters out, as Mr. Cruz has wagered.”
“At the same time, in an election season of intense outsider fervor, Mr. Cruz seems to have found, through Mr. Trump, support for his case that his own government experience — railing against leadership in both parties — should be seen as a genuine asset.”
John Dickerson: The coming Trump and Cruz showdown
Trump Bashes Cruz on Ethanol in Iowa
Donald Trump, who had so far avoided attacking rival Ted Cruz, laid into the Texas senator for opposing the Renewable Fuel Standard, the Des Moines Register reports.
“Cruz has opposed the Renewable Fuel Standard, which is widely supported in Iowa, but has favored some subsidies for oil companies — a point Trump tried to drive home to Iowans on Friday.”
Said Trump: “The oil companies give him a lot of money. But I’m with you. I’m self-funding. I have no oil company. I have no special interest.”
Cruz Harvesting Voter Data from Facebook
Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign “is using psychological data based on research spanning tens of millions of Facebook users, harvested largely without their permission, to boost his surging White House run and gain an edge over Donald Trump and other Republican rivals,” the Guardian reports.
“A little-known data company, now embedded within Cruz’s campaign and indirectly financed by his primary billionaire benefactor, paid researchers at Cambridge University to gather detailed psychological profiles about the US electorate using a massive pool of mainly unwitting US Facebook users built with an online survey.”
Cruz Questions Trump’s Judgment
Sen. Ted Cruz raised questions at a private fund-raiser about whether Donald Trump has the “judgment” to be president, the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Cruz has been notable in a field that has grappled with how to handle Mr. Trump for his refusal to publicly criticize his opponent. Mr. Cruz and his team, who covet Mr. Trump’s supporters, are also keenly aware of the searing criticisms that Mr. Trump has lobbed at rivals who went after him. Those attacks have precipitated a decline in some of their standings in the polls.”
Trump Opened the Door for Cruz to Win
Jonathan Chait: “Rubio is the candidate who laid his credibility on the line in order to resolve the party’s immigration problem in 2013. (While he failed, and abandoned his own proposal, pro-reform Republicans have every reason to believe his heart lies with them.) Trump is the candidate whose inflammatory racism would brand the GOP as irrevocably hostile to immigrant communities. Cruz lies in between, not having sponsored major pro-reform legislation, but also having steered clear of crude Trumpist demagoguery (and, like Rubio, having a Cuban-American background to fall back upon).”
“Cruz may find himself best positioned to bridge the gap, and well positioned to win a three-way race divided along these lines. Should Trump falter, pro-Trump border hawks would probably prefer Cruz to Rubio, who tried to shepherd immigration reform through the Senate. And should Rubio falter, Rubio’s supporters would find Cruz a more predictable and disciplined Republican partisan than the erratic Trump.”
The Hill: Nightmare scenario for the GOP Establishment: Trump or Cruz
Cruz Bets on Protracted Primary Fight
Sen. Ted Cruz “is plotting a protracted nomination fight through Southern states that are playing bigger roles than in prior elections,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“It is a region where his antigovernment, evangelical conservative message plays well, and he has quietly been building a far-reaching political organization to take advantage of that.”
“If it works, Mr. Cruz could become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the party’s decision to hold primaries in 12 states — half in the South—on March 1. A strong showing by one candidate could provide a burst of momentum at a key moment in the race.”
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