GOP on Cruz control

{mosads}In the GOP lineup, Cruz now leads Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), 20 percent to 17 percent, as New Jersey Gov Chris Christie takes 14 percent, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has 11 percent, and Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.) tie at 10 percent. 

The PPP pollsters concluded that Cruz is now “viewed more broadly as the leader of the Republican Party,” with numbers that crush Senate and House GOP leaders Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Speaker John Boehner (Ohio). Cruz’s numbers with “very conservative” primary voters are double those of Paul’s, a whopping 34 percent to 17 percent. 

Many commenters and callers have slammed my assertion that Cruz snookered the grass roots by raising money, building an email list and his profile by pushing to defund ObamaCare when he knew it couldn’t be done. He knew it would take supermajorities of two-thirds in the House and Senate to override a presidential veto, but never mentioned it. He knew it wasn’t true to tell visitors to his website, DontfundObamaCare.com, that “Republicans in Congress can stop ObamaCare if they refuse to fund it.” But that’s what it says, while encouraging donations. 

If Republicans are worried about Cruz as a potential GOP nominee in 2016, they better get going before the primaries are stuck on Cruz control.

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