Rand Paul: Cruz’s immigration explanations ‘make you wonder’ if he can be trusted

[wetroof]

Ted Cruz is a posturer. He doesn't have any more charisma than Rand Paul either. But he is more "on message". Sometimes, the things Rand Paul highlights make people uncomfortable, but they should know he is not posturing. I think this is a good attack by Rand - but he is just going to be accused of invective. The new trump - cruz alliance doesn't help matters either..

[PCKY]

The Blaze is already using this to say Rand is siding with Rubio in this fight. Bad move by Rand.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015...-it-both-ways/

The Blaze picked it up but they were just regurgitating the WAPO article.

[ds21089]

At 3:00 he says "There should not be a pathway to citizenship for those who are here illegally". When people argue immigration are they arguing just illegal immigration or all immigration?

[Brett85]

...

[NativeOne]

Just more tone deafness from Rand IMO. This isn't going to help him at all. He should focus on criticizing Rubio. Rand's post on Facebook that had "Rubio missing" was funny. Rand should keep doing stuff like that and keep his focus on criticizing Rubio.

Huh no, on the first and second opinionated statement .. the last one i agree .. do more funny stuff ..

Rand must and foremost has to separate himself, from everybody on that stage at this point .. not later .. NOW ..

[PCKY]

There was an NYT article in June 2013 that indicated Rand and Cruz pretty much had the same plan for the 11 million...numbers slightly different but the same process. At the time Cruz kept quiet and Rand defended his plan. Cruz was trying to get a lift from Rand there but the "hard righters" turned that into amnesty and vilified Paul. That's when Cruz started replying to every query that we had to secure the borders. Even in the debate he deflected Marco Rubio's question / statement about the 11 million.

Still looking for the NYT article, but here is one from Red State from January of this year. Of course the first paragraph almost made me cry...but essentially Cruz supports(ed) a pathway to legal status, which is "hard right" speak for amnesty.
http://www.redstate.com/diary/freedo...ker-are-wrong/

[PCKY]

At 3:00 he says "There should not be a pathway to citizenship for those who are here illegally". When people argue immigration are they arguing just illegal immigration or all immigration?

He was talking about legal status. Technically you can call this "amnesty"....coming out of the shadows, paying big fines, and so forth. It depends on how you define amnesty.

[carlton]

Wow, Greta just destroyed Cruz on this. In light of that interview, where a very agitated Cruz slithered around like an uncomfortable snake and his Bret Baier interview, I think Paul is smart to do this.

[hells_unicorn]

Wow, Greta just destroyed Cruz on this. In light of that interview, where a very agitated Cruz slithered around like an uncomfortable snake and his Bret Baier interview, I think Paul is smart to do this.

Yeah, I'm over visiting the folks and we watched the interview and my father (who is a Cruz/Trump guy) was becoming a bit agitated. I'm hoping that in the coming weeks that Cruz gets hit on this stuff more, he needs to be.

[PCKY]

Greta didn't really grill him either. He pretty much yelled at her.

[carlton]

Greta didn't really grill him either. He pretty much yelled at her.

Greta did the whole prosecutor schtick and it was amazazing

[CPUd]

It's somewhere in this clip:

[PCKY]

Then there's this: http://www.examiner.com/article/ted-...bility-problem

[CPUd]

^^^ LOLOL starting around 10:20 (in my previous post), she starts backing him into a corner. 12:30 he goes into his usual response that Rubio's campaign is lying.

[PCKY]

^^^ LOLOL starting around 10:20 (in my previous post), she starts backing him into a corner. 12:30 he goes into his usual response that Rubio's campaign is lying.

At 4:10 he does a massive flip flop! He's saying he'd deport the 11 million! In 2013 he said legalize/normalize. Wow...

[francisco]

It's somewhere in this clip:

I'm glad that you posted that, (so I know even more what we're dealing with), but now there's 23:35 of my life that I'll never get back.

It was actually painful to watch. Lost respect for Cruz. He's an over-slick, obfuscating snake-oil salesman. Moreover, his style will not get him elected.

[carlton]

I'm glad that you posted that, (so I know even more what we're dealing with), but now there's 23:35 of my life that I'll never get back.

It was actually painful to watch. Lost respect for Cruz. He's an over-slick, obfuscating snake-oil salesman. Moreover, his style will not get him elected.

Knew he was a Bush-ite but it seems he's got some Clinton in him as well

[CPUd]

He comes off as the stereotypical politician, like you would see in the movies, all the while he tells you he is anti-establishment.

[francisco]

Knew he was a Bush-ite but it seems he's got some Clinton in him as well

Plus some good old-fashioned Nixon, for deviousness

[LifeLibertyPursuit]

Rand has been sacrificing his pawns to maneuver/reshape/manipulate the rhetoric and debate. while positioning himself for the checkmate.

While this has been frustrating, he is not done. The Cruz attack will slowly put question in Cruz's supporters. All it takes is one seed of doubt to sprout to a new path. We have still a month and a half to go. Patience is a virtue and Rand has been masterful.

Are y'all prepared for the step before checkmate? Rand's bishop took out their queen for check as his rook lies near for the checkmate.

We all know Trump's foundation is built of sand. The bible tells us that a sand foundation does not last, Matthew 7:24-27. Rand's foundation is of rock and he will prove to be victor as his campaign weathers the storms, unlike Scott Walker, but how does he get to victory.

The key right now is Cruz taking Rubio down as Rand withers Cruz's foundation enough for when Rubio falls Rand will be in striking distance. Rubio in order for him to push ahead in polls he must attack Cruz, not Rand. If he attacks Rand then it shows weakness and that he is trending downward. As Rubio labels Cruz the same as Rand, Rand will be gathering steam. The ball is in motion for Rand to be in the main stage discussions which opens the door for Rand to take third not far behind Cruz.

Rand is now ensuring Cruz is labeled in the same boat as Rubio. Rubio and Cruz will attack each other more in defending their POV as being different which will ultimately backfire on them imo. This allows for Rand to distinguish himself when it comes time for the limelight.

Rand is three steps ahead. The first was to attack Trump at the first debate which encouraged others to follow suit. Rand knew he was going to bottom out first which did happen. As others attacked Trump: Walker dropped out, Bush marginalized, Christie's governor record hits, Kasich crushed by the sound of oil luck, Ben's energy zapped, and Carly got trumped as well to on business record. Each of those candidates are either stalling or trending downward. Rand can survive due to his ground game unlike Bush, Christie, Kasich, and Carly. Rubio and Carson lack strong experience like Rand's ground game structure which swings the favor to Rand.

When Cruz finally gets pinned by his own doing, Rand will strike for the check and then checkmate Trump. Trump is using Cruz as much as Cruz is using Trump. One cannot survive without the other. When times get desperate, one will destroy the other to maintain control of the lead which will be temporary. Rand will be there as the alternative at the end which is when he will surge. By then Trump will not be able to fend off a third slide. Carson pulled even and now is trying to save his campaign. Cruz technically ahead in some key polls will start to slide. The main trend is Trump polls higher after a candidate surge but his base is still not settled on him as much as the polls declare. This sets Rand up nicely when it comes time for a serious candidate to rise as the true alternative.

Checkmate

[givemeliberty2010]

""Without question, Rubio and Cruz have been for amnesty," Paul told The Washington Post in a call with reporters today.

"It’s kind of a silly debate. The amendment Cruz put forward was not intended to be a poison pill. It was for legalization."
....
... ""I think Cruz is being disingenuous and not honestly describing what he did," Paul said. "He’s wanting to have it both ways. I don’t think there’s any contemporary evidence he was putting forward something he didn’t believe in. It makes you wonder whether or not we can take him at face value on other issues." ..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...an-be-trusted/

How does the one statement (Cruz for amnesty) follow from the action of trying to block citizenship for illegal immigrants?

[carlton]

How does the one statement (Cruz for amnesty) follow from the action of trying to block citizenship for illegal immigrants?

It has to do with the GOP un-literal meaning of amnesty, which is basically any legalization, not just citizenship.

[fcreature]

Wow he sounds awfully scripted. The Cruzbots will think that he destroyed Greta though. Hearing him repeat the same phrases over and over was cringy... "washington establishment....", "conservatives are uniting behind me...", "jeff sessions, rush limbaugh" yada yada yada

[TaftFan]

Dammit Rand.

According to Lee and Sessions, Cruz is right. He proposed this in order to demonstrate that the Gang of 8 was all about citizenship, therefore hurting their efforts.

[KingNothing]

I just think he's going to piss off his supporters with this. Why not let others do the attacking?

Telling the truth is not attacking. Voters deserve to know the truth.

[KingNothing]

After watching Cruz's interview with Greta, I think his move on the poison pill was freaking brilliant. Brilliant.

Ugh, I hate saying this, but Cruz positioned himself perfectly here. He did exactly what Rand said, and because he actually did it, Rand probably shouldn't have said anything. Cruz might be a better politician than I thought.

[fcreature]

A lot of people are missing the point here. It's not that he supported the gang of 8's immigration bill. I don't even think Rubio has really accused him of that. The point is that Cruz endorses and supports granting residency to current illegal immigrants living here.

Cruz's amendment offered a way for illegals to gain a legal status - not citizenship. We can all agree on this.

Did you notice how Cruz was given the opportunity 3 or 4 times in this interview to tell us what he would do with current illegal residents? He refused to say other than "enforce the law". You notice how he squirmed when pressed for specifics?

Did you notice his response in the last debate was, "I have no intention of supporting legal residency." Yea, that sounds really convincing.

What about his proposal of increasing the H1-B visa cap by 500%?

Cruz has a consistent record when it comes to this issue. It likely has to do with the demographics in Texas. Cruz is trying to position himself to get the immigration crazy Trump supporters willing to move to him, but I don't think that is going to work. Even if Cruz successfully combats this attack, Trump supporters are going to see this as him being weak on immigration. Which in their eyes, he totally is.

From my point of view, it just goes to show that Cruz is your average politician - willing to lie, spin, and pander to get elected.

In the interview Greta tried really hard to get Cruz on record saying yes or no to some positions. I have a feeling they have some additional information that will be released which will really hurt Cruz's credibility when it comes to this issue. If thats the case Cruz has really shot himself in the foot because he is lying and the only reason he has any support is that people see him as an outsider politician. Once that image gets wiped away Cruz will crumble.

[carlton]

How does the one statement (Cruz for amnesty) follow from the action of trying to block citizenship for illegal immigrants?

After watching Cruz's interview with Greta, I think his move on the poison pill was freaking brilliant. Brilliant.

Ugh, I hate saying this, but Cruz positioned himself perfectly here. He did exactly what Rand said, and because he actually did it, Rand probably shouldn't have said anything. Cruz might be a better politician than I thought.

Not the impression I get. He just seems like another slimy politician to me. Part of the Washington machine.

[nikcers]

Did you notice how Cruz was given the opportunity 3 or 4 times in this interview to tell us what he would do with current illegal residents? He refused to say other than "enforce the law". You notice how he squirmed when pressed for specifics?

Rubio says Cruz supports X it's because he has, Cruz says no Y is my position because he has supported Y too. This is why he got stuck in that feedback loop. He should of just went full retard and answered a completely different question like Trump did.

[CPUd]

This guy is a senior adviser with Team Rubio: