Column: Now We Get to Choose

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By Bill Drake
Sentinel Columnist

The Obama Presidency has been a failure. 2015 was the tenth year in a row that real GDP growth came in at under 3 percent, the longest such run in U.S. history (including the Great Depression). Since Obama’s inauguration, the number of U.S. jobs has grown less than 1 percent annually, average real wages have fallen, and inequality has increased. Obama promised that a less-active U.S. foreign policy would calm the Middle East and lead to increased respect for America. His historic election was also expected to ease racial tensions. None of this came to pass. Although voters chose Republicans to control the House in 2010 and the Senate in 2014, many Republicans are ready to rebel against elected officials of their own party. Americans have little confidence in their government. 

This year’s contest for the Republican nomination has been distorted by unprecedented factors. While the initial field of candidates was large and fractured, Donald Trump had extensive early name recognition, thanks to his long-running reality TV show The Apprentice. From the start, the media has devoted massive coverage to Trump compared to other candidates. Many in the media are simultaneously repelled by his ideas and statements but fascinated by his candidacy.

“Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBC Universal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump,” NBC said when they fired him from The Apprentice in August 2015, adding, “At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values.” But the profits are too good for the media to probe very deeply. Trump’s campaign “may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS,” said the chairman of CBS in February. “The money’s rolling in and this is fun… this is going to be a very good year for us.” 

This year’s unusual race combines Presidential failure and unpopularity, Republican rebellion, the large Republican field, the current fad of reality TV, and the unique personality of Trump. Where does all this leave Connecticut Republicans when we vote in our primary next Tuesday, April 26?  At stake are 28 Republican delegates to the convention to be held in Cleveland in late July. Trump currently has 840 delegates, and Ted Cruz has 559;  1,237 are needed to win the nomination. 

Trump is ill prepared. His interest in running for political office seems very shallow and very recent. He gives the impression that he is an amateur who began his presidential campaign as a lark. He doesn’t seem able to assemble a competent political team, nor a policy team. He seems baffled by the nominating process. His political preferences are unclear: he previously contributed to Hillary’s Senate and Presidential campaigns. His policy ideas and budget numbers are incoherent, as Chris Wallace showed in the Fox News debate on March 3. He would be the oldest President in history. He insults women and immigrants. His intent is to provoke a trade war, raising costs for Americans.

To preserve our freedom and prosperity, our gargantuan government needs to shrink. But Trump doesn’t want to make it less powerful. He simply wants a strong man to direct its power. And for Republicans, the most important factor is that nominating Trump will bring us President Hillary. The polls show that Trump would lose badly against her, while Cruz would win. Compared with her, Trump can’t draw a contrast of age, and with his four bankruptcies and shady businesses, he can’t draw a contrast of integrity.

What do we know about Ted Cruz, the other practical choice? He was the nation’s top debater at Princeton in 1992.  (His senior thesis was on the 9th and 10th amendments to the Constitution.) After Harvard Law School, he clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist, a plum job. He was solicitor general of Texas and argued nine cases before the Supreme Court, which is a privilege granted only to the best lawyers. He was elected to the Senate in 2012, winning a primary against a very popular multimillionaire. He would be 46 when inaugurated (Trump would be 70). He’s a measured and serious man.  His commitment to our Constitution and to successful Republican ideas couldn’t be clearer.

As Republicans, our loyalty is to good governing principles: freedom of the individual, strong families, a government that helps but doesn’t harm, free enterprise and free markets. To preserve these principles, Ted Cruz is the right choice.

Bill Drake is a lifelong Republican and resident of Greenwich.

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