Jeb Bush backs Ted Cruz: what that says about GOP establishment
Jeb Bush endorsed Ted Cruz for president on Wednesday, signaling that he thinks the conservative senator from Texas is the Republican Party鈥檚 last, best hope to stop Donald Trump.
鈥淭ed is a consistent, principled conservative who has demonstrated the ability to appeal to voters and win primary contests, including yesterday鈥檚 Utah caucus,鈥� said Mr. Bush in announcing the decision.
Senator Cruz eagerly accepted Bush鈥檚 backing, saying it shows that he鈥檚 capable of leading a united GOP against likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the fall. Though there鈥檚 that little problem of Mr. Trump鈥檚 wide lead in delegates to overcome first.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e seeing all across the country is that the momentum is with us,鈥� said Cruz in a CNN appearance, glossing over the fact that Trump won the Arizona primary on Tuesday and actually increased his delegate edge overnight.
So what does Bush鈥檚 endorsement of Cruz say about the GOP establishment? After all, the Bush family remains the symbol of the party鈥檚 Old Guard. And Cruz is far from a favorite of that loose collection of lawmakers, lobbyists, donors, and consultants that constitutes the Republican elite.
In fact, Cruz has shaped his political persona has someone in semi-permanent conflict with 鈥淲ashington insiders.鈥� He鈥檚 attacked Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and other top GOP lawmakers as sell-outs and squishes. Many of his Republican colleagues grumbled that Cruz鈥檚 push to shut down the government was a doomed exercise in self-aggrandizement.
In his endorsement announcement Bush said, 鈥淲e must move to overcome the divisiveness and vulgarity Donald Trump has brought into the political arena.鈥�
Hmm. 鈥淒ivisiveness鈥� and 鈥渧ulgarity鈥�? Bush and others formerly attributed those qualities to Ted Cruz, as well.聽
The reason for the change of heart, of course, is that Bush and other establishment figures see Cruz as an interloper 鈥� and Trump as an existential threat.
Trump at the top of the ticket could result in a down-ballot wipeout in the fall, they think. All that work to get Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress would be threatened.
Trump as president might be worse, in the establishment鈥檚 eyes. He would rebrand the GOP in his own populist image, moving it far from the low-tax, small-government orthodoxy that now holds. That鈥檚 why the Club for Growth, famous for forcing GOP candidates to pledge they won鈥檛 raise taxes, on Wednesday, too.
Cruz is the only candidate left with any chance of derailing the Trump train. Ohio Gov. John Kasich may be a better fit for Jeb Bush, ideologically and personally, but he鈥檚 got no path to the nomination. So Cruz it is.聽
But will it be too little, too late? The GOP elite had lots of time to rally around a single alternative to Trump, and it has taken until now, with half the party鈥檚 delegates already allocated, to do so. It鈥檚 possible the populist die is already cast.
