Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, reiterated Tuesday that he believes the GOP has a track record of failure when the party nominates a presidential candidate from the “mushy middle.”
“There are a lot of folks in Washington who argue that the way Republicans should win is that they should nominate a candidate from the mushy middle,” Mr. Cruz said on “Fox and Friends.” “Someone who is right in the middle, who’s near the Democrats so there’s not much distinction. … We’ve tried that.”
“Every single time we do that, whether it’s Gerald Ford, whether it’s Bob Dole, whether it’s John McCain, whether it’s Mitt Romney, the result over and over is we lose,” he continued. “I very much agree with Ronald Reagan who said the way Republicans win is we paint in bold colors, not pale pastels — pale pastels is a path to losing.”
Mr. Romney recently told donors he’s thinking about another run at the White House in 2016. Mr. Cruz, who is weighing his own presidential run, got some recent criticism from another potential contender, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who reportedly likened Mr. Cruz to a “bomb thrower” with little experience.
Mr. Cruz said there may be people who throw attacks and that Mr. Santorum is a “good man” and is entitled to express his views.
He said he thinks people are going to assess who’s “standing up and leading.”
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“Look at the great issues of the day, look at the great challenges, whether it is bringing back jobs and growth and economic opportunity, whether it’s defending our constitutional liberties or whether it is restoring America’s leadership in the world, and I think Republicans are [going to] nominate someone who will stand up and lead, who will give bold voice and action to the values that built this country,” Mr. Cruz said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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