They just trust him
by digby
I’ve been saying this for a while. Cruz has some of the most solid conservative bona fides in DC and the hardcores aren’t going to abandon him because the lamestream media says he’s being hypocritical and they sure aren’t going to take Marco “Gang of 8” Rubio’s word for it. Dave Weigel got some voters to talk about it:
Ninety minutes before Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) arrived at the civic center here, 60-year-old Dennis Gantt stood outside and seethed. He had watched the latest Republican presidential debate, then the follow-ups. And he’d watched Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) insult his intelligence.
“I’ve followed Cruz for a long time,” Gantt said. “When the ‘Gang of Eight’ was pushing the immigration bill, I knew he’d introduced that ‘citizenship’ amendment. Sometimes you’ve got to call their bluff, like he said. You play along with them, in the game — up to a point.”
Details of the complex 2013 immigration fight tumbled forth as Gantt defended Cruz. Randy Martin, also 60 and standing in line, overheard something about Fox News’s coverage of the Cruz-Rubio argument, and joined in.
“The one clip they’re not playing is the tape in 2010 of Rubio saying he wouldn’t back amnesty,” said Martin.
“Good point,” said Gantt. “Look, when I saw [Sen. Jeff] Sessions back him up, I knew Cruz was in the right.”
Days of political attacks from Rubio on Cruz’s immigration record had backfired with both men — neither of whom were fully committed to Cruz. Many here in a crowd of more than 1,300 said that Rubio had lost them by criticizing Cruz, and most could cite the conservative sources they used to assuage their doubts: Fox News, the Drudge Report, Breitbart News, Cruz’s own Facebook page.
*The annual fundraiser continues. I hope you’ll consider dropping a little something into the kitty to help keep this blog going for another year.
Happy Hollandaise everyone!
.