CNN reports:

Ted Cruz on Thursday strongly defended his refusal to endorse Donald Trump during his Republican National Convention speech, saying he's not "in the habit" of backing politicians who attack his family.

I enjoyed this relaxed, insightful interview between these two friends -- one in politics, the other in radio. Listen here.

Jeva Lange writes at The Week:

Hold on to your tinfoil hats -- Donald Trump just accused Ted Cruz's father of possibly having a hand in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

The comment was made during Trump's phone-in to Fox and Friends on Tuesday, when the Republican frontrunner was asked about Cruz's father, Rafael Cruz, who has been actively imploring evangelical voters to support his son.

"You look at so many of the ministers that are backing me, and they're backing me more so than they're backing Cruz, and I'm winning the evangelical vote. It's disgraceful that his father can go out and do that," Trump ranted.

"Then things get weird," Lange writes.

"Trump goes on to claim that Rafael Cruz is an unidentified man in an August 1963 photograph with JFK-assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, where the pair is seen handing out pro-Castro pamphlets in New Orleans," Lange recounts.

"However, the theory that the mystery man in the photograph is Rafael Cruz was first floated by the dubious tabloid National Enquirer, and has since been dismissed as 'another garbage story in a tabloid full of garbage' by Cruz's campaign," Lange writes.

"Experts on the JFK assassination also agree there is no evidence at all to corroborate Rafael Cruz's affiliation with Oswald in any way," Lange notes.

"Not everyone is convinced, apparently," Lange writes. 

"Nobody talks about it . . . What [Rafael Castro] was doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death -- before the shooting. It's horrible," Trump said, according to Lange.

The story concludes with video from Fox and Friends; Trump makes his assassination comments around the 5:10 mark.

Ted Cruz says, "I don't know John Boehner, " and "He and I have never worked together."

By "don't know," Cruz does not mean never having met Boehner. Rather, as Cruz said to Meygan Kelly, "I've probably met him 2,3,4 times in my life. I'd be surprized if we said 50 words to each other. And everything we've ever said has been empty pleasantries like 'Good to see you, Mr. Speaker'."

Here Cruz is drawing a reasonable distinction between knowledge of a person that is infrequent and very casual in nature, and knowledge of a person that is beyond causal and not infrequent. A possible example of the deeper knowledge could be Boehner's (as he claims) being a golfing and "texting buddy" of Donald Trump. Most of us would agree that there are very differnent levels of knowing people -- such that one would not say of a person infrequently related to that you in fact "know" that person. This, clearly, is what Cruz is asserting. To meet does not equal to know.

To counter this, political opponents have noted that John Boehner claims that Cruz was once Boehner's lawyer. Cruz says, Boehner and I "have not worked together" and yet Boehner says: "Ted Cruz used to be my attorney." Boehner said this to Jay Leno on the Tonight Show in January 2014, according to the WPost.

According to some political observers, Boehner's assertion is supposed to help nail Cruz as a liar.

A couple of points here. I would suppose that very many of us have hired out lawyers for professional services. In certain circumstances we could therefore say truly: "I have met the said lawyer." And yet we could also say we do not really know the lawyer in any kind of depth. We could honestly say this about any number of other people we might have hired for professional services.

Secondly, the natural inference from hearing a statement like "Ted Cruz used to be my attorney" is that Boenher and Cruz worked together directly and therefore had direct knowledge of each other in this context.

It turns out however, that Cruz may not at all have been Boehner's attorney in this manner. Instead, Cruz is on record as being part of a legal team, in which younger Cruz was a "junior associate," and his "involvement ... didn’t extend beyond assisting with briefs and attending meetings with Boehner’s staff" -- that is, not with Boehner. This is according to a Cruz Campaign statement quoted in the Daily Mail.

According to the Cruz campaign, Cruz "doesn’t remember even meeting Boehner" when the Texas senator was supposedly the Speaker's lawyer. "Much less" does Cruz recall "ever having had a substantive conversation with him."

As I read and analyze the record, Cruz seems to have acquitted himself both honestly and well. If anyone might have left the wrong impression, that person may be John Boehner, whose statement, "Ted Cruz used to be my attorney" seems to rather overstate what in fact was the case.

For more from Ted Cruz on this, see this Press Conference video from Cruz in Indiana, uploaded on Youtube April 28 (he begins addressing specifically Boehner's comments at the 13:15 mark).

AP reports:

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is giving Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) boost in his push to stop Donald Trump’s march to the Republican presidential nomination.

Pence will endorse Cruz on Friday afternoon, for the state's primary Tuesday. That's according to a Republican official with direct knowledge of the endorsement who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to share the news before the announcement.

Read more.

Thus the D.C. Establishment hates Cruz but is "texting buddies" with Trump.

Of the two GOP presidential hopefuls, therefore, which one is more likely to smite the heart of darkness on Capitol Hill?

The possibility of Donald Trump reaching the "magic number of 1,237 and win the nomination without a contested convention all comes down to next week's primary in Indiana and the big California primary on June 7," Daniel Horowitz writes at Conservative Review.

"If Cruz wins Indiana next week, he will be well on his way to blocking the path for Trump to clinch the nomination outright."

Read more.

Ed O'Keefe writes at the Washington Post:

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is close to ensuring that Donald Trump cannot win the GOP nomination on a second ballot at the party's July convention in Cleveland, scooping up scores of delegates who have pledged to vote for him instead of the front-runner if given the chance.

The push by Cruz means that it is more essential than ever for Trump to clinch the nomination by winning a majority of delegates to avoid a contested and drawn-out convention fight, which Trump seems almost certain to lose.

The GOP race now rests on two cliffhangers: Can Trump lock up the nomination before Cleveland? And if not, can Cruz cobble together enough delegates to win a second convention vote if Trump fails in the first?

Read more.

Loren Gutentag reports at Newsmax:

Although Republican front-runner Donald Trump had announced his plans earlier this week to visit California and attend a press conference on Friday at his golf club in Rancho Palos Verdes, the Los Angeles Times reports the trip has now been canceled amid mounting questions on whether he can capture the presidential nomination without a contested party convention this summer in Cleveland.

"Mr. Trump has rescheduled his California trip and will be campaigning in New York," said Hope Hicks, Trump's spokeswoman. "He looks forward to returning to California in the weeks ahead."

"According to the LA Times, the change in plan comes as Trump and his advisers are trying to regroup after a devastating loss to Sen. Ted Cruz in Wisconsin," Newsmax reports.

Sandy Fitzgerald reports at Newsmax:

Two polls released over the weekend for the Wisconsin primary election show Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the lead over Donald Trump heading into Tuesday's vote.

According to a CBS/YouGov poll released on Sunday, Cruz came out over Trump by 43 percent to 37 percent, and in a  Loras College poll out on Saturday, Cruz took the lead by 38-31 percent.

Click to read more.

The U.K. Guardian has video of remarks by Ted Cruz in response to a National Enquirer story alleging that Cruz has had affairs with five different women.

Here is a transcript of what Cruz stated (as captured on video and available at the Guardian):

It is a story that quoted one source on the record -- Roger Stone, Donald Trump's chief political advisor.

Jim Hoft at the Gateway Pundit states that he contacted one of Cruz's supposed mistresses, and here is her reply:

It's ridiculous. Anyone with half a brain knows it's false . . . I don’t think the article is true. I can't see Cruz being like that . . . All I know is it's not me. There's a reason they don't use my name. They know it's BS.

The Washington Post reports that it "has not been able to confirm any of the allegations made by the Enquirer."

Meanwhile, a poll by the Washington Free Beacon shows Cruz extending his lead over Trump to 4.8% in Wisconsin.

In addition, a Fox News poll show Cruz surging against Trump nationally -- with Cruz at 38% and Trump at 41%, a statistical tie "within the poll's 5-point margin of error."

"Senate leaders are very close to rallying around Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz in order to stop rival Donald Trump, according to one former Senate aide," Tre Goins-Phillips reports at the Blaze.

"John Hart, former communications director for Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn (R) and editor-in-chief of news site Opportunity Lives, told Glenn Beck Wednesday that he has spoken with several former colleagues on Capitol Hill and current Senate aides who have told him Congressional leaders 'are really close to rallying behind' Cruz, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)," the Blaze reports.

Politico reports:

Former Speaker John Boehner said Paul Ryan should be the Republican nominee for president if the party fails to choose a candidate on the first ballot.

"If we don't have a nominee who can win on the first ballot, I'm for none of the above," Boehner said at the Futures Industry Association conference [in Boca Raton, Florida]. "They all had a chance to win. None of them won. So I'm for none of the above. I'm for Paul Ryan to be our nominee."

"Wading into the GOP nominating battle for the first time since leaving office last fall, Boehner said that 'anybody can be nominated' at the convention in Cleveland this summer," Politico reports.

"Boehner, who now splits his time between Florida, Ohio and D.C., had long whispered to friends that he believes Ryan could be the party's political savior if it came to that," Politico states. "But Boehner never said it publicly until now."

Boehner wasnt' done. "In the same question-and-answer session here, Boehner referred to Ted Cruz as "Lucifer," Politico reports.

Comment: Boehner's comments express the muck and mire that characterizes establishment GOP politics -- which is alienated not just from its own contemporary grassroots base but is also alienated from the enduring American mainstream.

This muck and mire needs to be replaced by a politics of conviction rooted in the rules of freedom. For more on those foundational rules, see the Declaration of Indepedence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

Hat Tip: Conservative Review

Speaking on Hannity last night, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich sees no "path for anybody else" other than Donald Trump or Ted Cruz after today's GOP Super Tuesday II, featuring primaries in Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida.

Pollster Scott Rasmussen writes:

Doing the math for the Trump campaign's magic number today shows that the front-runner still has a lot of work to do.

"Everything up until now has been a warm-up for the real action," Rasmussen states.

"Trump and Cruz will face each other in roughly two dozen primaries and caucuses between March 15 and June 7. That competition will select the Republican nominee."

David Rutz reports at the Washington Free Beacon:

Carly Fiorina, the only woman who ran for the 2016 Republican nomination, endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) on Wednesday in a surprise appearance in Miami, Florida.

Fiorina praised Cruz as a "leader and a reformer," and as a true "constitutional conservative" who had the best chance to beat frontrunner Donald Trump, saying "it is time to unite" behind him. She relayed a story that she went to vote in the Virginia primary earlier this month and, even though she saw her own name, she checked the box for Cruz.

"Part of her reason, she said, was that Cruz bucked the 'status quo' as a senator in Washington," Rutz reports.

"He's willing to take on the status quo in Washington, D.C., whether it's replacing the IRS or finally fixing the Veterans Administration so our veterans get the care that they deserve, or finally fixing our immigration problems," Fiorina said in her speech, which can be seen on Youtube.

"I can tell you from personal experience," she said, "in order to lead, you must challenge the status quo, and when you challenge the status quo, guess what. You do more than ruffle feathers. You make enemies. It is part of it. It is the price of leadership."

As Rutz reports, "Fiorina added she was 'horrified' by the prospect of Trump winning the nomination, but party leaders would not be able to lead the fight against him."

"We’re going to have to beat Donald Trump at the ballot box, and the only guy who can beat Donald Trump is Ted Cruz," Fiorina told the rally.

Fiorina also made the case that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton "are two sides of the same coin."

And that coin is an "incompetent and corrupt" establishment coin.

Therefore, neither Trump nor Clinton are going to "reform the system," because "they are the system," Fiorina said.

"Hillary Clinton has made millions of dollars selling access and influence from the inside, and Donald Trump has made billions of dollars" operating from outside-in, "buying people like Hillary Clinton."

In short: "They are the system. They will not reform it."

As she concluded, Fiorina said, "There are big differences between progressives and conservatives. And we need to remember those differences as you head to the ballot box on Tuesday. . . .

"We, as conservatives, we know that no one of us is any better than any other one of us.

"We know that each of us is gifted by God. We know that all of us want to live lives of dignity and purpose and meaning.

"And we know that our values, our principles, our policies work better to lift people up regardless of their circumstances.

"It is progressives who believe that some are smarter than others, some are better than others, so it's okay if some decide for others and choose for others. That is not who we are.

"So my fellow conservatives, my fellow Republicans, you have a very important job on Tuesday. And I say to you: It is time.

"It is time to take our party back. It is time to take our government back. It is time to take our country back.

"And so, it is time now to unite behnd the one man who can beat Donald Trump, who can beat Hillary Clinton, who can beat the D.C. cartel. It is time to unite behind Ted Cruz."

"Cruz and Fiorina embraced on the stage after her speech, which was enthusiastically received," Rutz reports.

"Trump won Michigan, Mississippi and Hawaii on Tuesday, while Cruz took Idaho, making the GOP fight look increasingly like a two-man race. Trump leads the delegate count with 458, with Cruz in second at 359. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the other two remaining candidates, are well behind," Rutz concludes.

Watch on Youtube the Fiorina endorsement of Ted Cruz.

Daniel Horowitz writes:

Ted Cruz won this debate so handily that even the members of the media, who have largely ignored him throughout this debate, admitted he broke through the pack.

Cruz dismembered Donald Trump and made the case that he is the only consistent conservative who has the temperament to be president.

Also, unlike Rubio, Cruz did it with a sense of seriousness and sobriety instead of getting into the gutter with Trump.

Read more.

"They'll throw the establishment over, and you'll find Donald Trump and Ted Cruz running, probably with Trump as president and Cruz as vice president," pollster Matt Towery predicts on Newsmax TV.

We now know the GOP Establishment's game plan, writes Steve McCann at American Thinker:

The Republican Establishment has finally exposed their game plan for the 2016 presidential nominating process. Go all out for Rubio, destroy Cruz’s character and set up a one on one between Trump and Rubio. 

If Rubio cannot win the nomination outright, then make certain that the entire process ends up in a brokered convention. They are convinced that Trump, as he appears to have a ceiling of around 35-40% among Republican voters, easily can be defeated by another candidate. 

The question is who, and their overwhelming answer is Rubio, as the donor class is opening up their wallets and the endorsements of establishment politicians are flowing.

 But that game plan, even if successful, may not end well for the GOP.

"Marco Rubio is the epitome of the perfect candidate of the Ruling Class," McCann writes, "as he will perpetuate their strangle hold on the levers of power and will insure that their standard of living and status will not be threatened."

Is Trump a viable alternative? Perhaps not.

McCann writes, "I do not support Trump for various reasons having to do primarily with his unbridled narcissism as well as not being able to fully trust who he is, as he has been and still is on both sides of the political spectrum on virtually every issue.” 

McCann concludes with a warning that GOP Washington elites will surely ignore, based on their previous performance.

"If the Establishment succeeds in foisting Marco Rubio on the Republican electorate at the expense of both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz," McCann writes, "the Republican Party will end up on the ash heap of history. There will be a political earthquake."

Mike Flynn reports at Breitbart.com:

A new NBC/Marist poll finds Donald Trump with a 13-point lead in New Hampshire, down 6 points from the middle of January. With the state voting Tuesday, Trump has 30 percent support, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) with 17 percent and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) with 15 percent.

Trump's support is unchanged from two earlier NBC polls of the Granite State, going back to the beginning of January. Trump's lead has shrunk as both Rubio and Cruz have gained support in the past two weeks.

Rubio has gained 6 points since mid-January, while Cruz has gone up 3 points. Rubio's support is still fluid, however, as 13 percent of his supporters say they could still change their mind. Only 6 percent of Trump and Cruz supporters say they might change their mind.

"John Kasich and Jeb Bush round out the top five in New Hampshire, with 11 and 10 percent respectively," Breitbart reports. "Their support is also unchanged from the middle of January."

"Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay told Newsmax TV on Tuesday that the Iowa caucuses were a referendum on New York values -- and conservatives across the board rejected Donald Trump for Ted Cruz as a result, leading the Texas senator to victory," Todd Beamon reports at Newsmax.

"'Cruz did a great service to everybody when he talked about New York values,' DeLay told The Steve Malzberg Show in an interview," according to Newsmax. "It was 78 percent of the people that voted last night didn't vote for Donald Trump," DeLay said, Newsmax reports.

"That's onerous for Donald Trump," DeLay also said, accordiing to Newsmax. "I'm sure he is regrouping and firing people and throwing chairs out his Trump Tower window right now because he didn't get what he expected -- or at least what he told the American people."

Watch here.

Cathy Burke reports at Newsmax:

Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz are racing down to to the wire in a "too close to call" contest in Iowa for the GOP presidential nomination, with the real estate billionaire at 31 percent support and Texas lawmaker at 29 percent, a new poll shows.

The Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday shows Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at a distant 13 percent and the rest of the Republican field straggling behind in single digits with just six days left until the state's pivotal caucus voting.

Gov. Jeb Bush languishes at 4 percent, according to Newsmax.

Sandy Fitzgerald reports at Newsmax:

Ted Cruz is still refusing to slam his GOP rival Donald Trump over his plans to ban Muslims from entering the country, but told Fox News on Wednesday that a bill he introduced on Tuesday to place a moratorium on Syrian refugees will better help protect Americans from Islamic extremists coming into the United States from countries where the Islamic State holds power.

Sandy Fitzgerald reports at Newsmax:

Ted Cruz has edged into a virtual tie in Iowa with GOP front-runner Donald Trump in a new Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday.

Trump retains a narrow lead of 25 percent of the vote, followed by Cruz with 23 percent, doubling his support from four weeks ago. The difference falls within the poll's 4 percent margin of error.

Here are the results:

Donald Trump: 25%

Ted Cruz: 23%

Ben Carson: 18%

Marco Rubio: 13%

Rand Paul: 5%

Jeb Bush: 4%

Carly Fiorina: 3%

Chris Christie: 2%

Mike Huckabee: 2%

Rick Santorum: 2%

John Kasich: 1%

Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki: 0%

CNN reports:

Ted Cruz challenged President Barack Obama on Wednesday to a debate on Syrian refugees and said that if the president is going to insult him, he should do it to his face.

"I would encourage you, Mr. President, if you want to insult me, come back and insult me to my face," Cruz said of Obama, who is in the Philippines.

"'Let's have a debate on Syrian refugees right now,' he added.

"'We can do it anywhere you want. I'd prefer it in the United States and not overseas where you're making the insults. It's easy to toss a cheap insult when no one can respond'."

"Republican presidential contender Ted Cruz struck gold with his comments on immigration at Tuesday night's debate, delivering remarks that resonated well with a Fox News focus group composed of New Hampshire primary voters," Oliver Darcy reports at The Blaze.

I transcribed his remarks, and here is what Cruz said:

What was said was right. The Democrats are laughing. Because if Republicans join Democrats as the party of amnesty, we will lose.

And, you know, I understand that when the mainstream media covers immigration, it doesn't often see it as an economic issue.

But I can tell you for millions of Americans at home watching this, it is a very personal economic issue.

And I will say the politics of it would be very, very different if a bunch of lawyers or bankers were crossing the Rio Grande.

Or if a bunch of people with journalism degrees were coming over and driving down the wages in the press.

Then we would see stories about the economic calamity that is befalling our nation.

And I will say, for those of us who believe people ought to come to this country legally, and we should enforce the law, we're tired of being told it's anti-immigrant.

It's offensive.

I am the son of an immigrant who came legally from Cuba to seek the American Dream. And we can embrace legal immigration while believing in the rule of law.

And I would note, try going illegally to another country. Try going to China or Japan. Try going to Mexico. See what they do.

Every sovereign nation secures its borders.

And it is not compassionate to say we're not going to enforce the laws, and we're going to drive down the wages for millions of hard-working men and women.

"That is abandoning the working man," Cruz said.

You can watch these remarks by Cruz on this Youtube video, beginning at the 1:01 mark.

In this video clip of Sean Hannity discussing with Ted Cruz last night's CNBC debate debacle (see "Corrupt Media: CNBC Bias Loses the Republican Debate"), Cruz makes the case that a GOP presidential primary debate would be better served with Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and Rush Limbaugh as moderators.

"In my view, Republican primary debates ought to be moderated by people who would vote in a primary," the Texas senator says to Hannity in the above-mentioned clip.

"How about a debate moderated by Sean Hannity and Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh?" Cruz says.

"I'm in," Hannity replies. "And I think I can speak for the other three. They're in as well."

My view: A Hannity-Levin-Limbaugh moderated debate would be a blockbuster ratings event and a highly productive, informative evening. I'm in, too. Let's do it.

Todd Beamon reports at Newsmax:

Twenty-six Republicans, led by presidential candidate Ted Cruz and Rep. Louie Gohmert, have called on the Smithsonian Institution to immediately remove a bust of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, saying that honoring her "is an outrage."

"Ms. Sanger was an avowed advocate of eugenics and the extermination of groups of people she deemed as 'undesirables," the GOP legislators said in a letter sent Friday to Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery.

"Sanger's bust is part of the gallery's 'Struggle for Justice' exhibit at the Smithsonian," Newsmax reports.

"Specifically, Ms. Sanger singled out African Americans, among other minority groups, as deserving to be subjected to such horrific and inhumane treatment," the letter states, according to Newsmax.

"Honoring a figure who promoted such hatred and deep-seated racism is not only contrary to the values that the exhibit is purporting to promote, but also deeply antithetical to the very values most Americans hold dear," the letter states, Newsmax reports.

Among other things, Cruz of Texas said: "If there's one principle that history has taught us, it is that if someone tells you they want to kill you, believe them."

Read the news story and watch the video here.

Related
NYT Caves, Places Ted Cruz's Book A Time for Truth on Bestseller List
Romney-Style Republican Won't Win White House in 2016

Todd Starnes reports at FoxNews.com:

President Obama and Jeb Bush have drawn the ire of Sen. Ted Cruz after they attacked Gov. Mike Huckabee for his comments about the Iran nuclear deal. 

Huckabee said the president's Iran policy would "take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven."

"The president bristled at what he called a 'ridiculous' comment," Starnes writes. "The particular comments of Mr. Huckabee are just part of a general pattern we've seen that would be considered ridiculous if it weren't so sad," Obama said, according to Starnes.

Obama also expressed his displeasure with Sen. Ted Cruz. "We've had a sitting senator call John Kerry Pontius Pilate. We've had a sitting senator, who also happens to be running for president, suggest that I'm the leading state sponsor of terrorism. These are leaders in the Republican Party."

Cruz stood his ground and "rebuffed the president's slap," saying it was "particularly sad today that President Obama chose to engage in gutter politics -- attacking Mike Huckabee by name, attacking me -- both of us for standing up against this catastrophic deal -- rather than defending [his position on] the merits," Starnes reports.

"Cruz told me he 'emphatically' stands by Huckabee and his comments," Starnes writes.

Huckabee "is exactly right to highlight the threat that the Obama nuclear deal poses to the nation of Israel. It is a sad day when the president of the United States cannot or will not see this truth," Cruz said, according to Starnes.

In addition to Obama, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush also "lashed out at Huckabee's assessment of the Obama Administration's deal with Iran -- calling it 'just wrong'," Starnes writes.

"'I think we need to tone down the rhetoric, for sure,' Bush said at a campaign stop in Florida," according to Starnes. "The use of that kind of language is just wrong," Bush is quoted as saying.

Bush said, "This is not the way we're going to win elections, and that's not how we're going to solve problems," Starnes reports.

"Cruz took exception to Bush's attack on the former Arkansas governor," Starnes reports. This is "not a question of rhetoric," Cruz countered, according to Starnes. "It's a question of speaking the truth."

Far better, in Cruz's estimation, to "direct your fire to the real threats facing America -- including the threat of an Iran-led by radical theocratic zealots who chant 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel'," Cruz advised Bush, according to Starnes.

In a related development, Cruz has invited Obama to "debate the substance of the Iran deal . . . at any time and any place" of Obama's choosing. Perhaps Jeb Bush could help Obama prepare for such a debate.

"Let's do it in front of the American people any time in the next 60 days," Cruz said (see video).

Related
War Is Here: Jihad in Chattanooga
New York Times Caves, Places Ted Cruz's Book A Time for Truth on Bestseller List 

Katie McHugh reports at Breitbart.com:

The New York Times acknowledged Wednesday that Sen. Ted Cruz's book, A Time For Truth, belongs on its bestseller list and gave it a no. 7 ranking in nonfiction, after snubbing it and accusing the Cruz campaign of making "strategic bulk purchases."

HarperCollins sent an inquiring email to The New York Times last week after the book's impressive sales were ignored by the paper.

"We have uniform standards that we apply to our best seller list, which includes an analysis of book sales that goes beyond simply the number of books sold," spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said, according to Politico. "This book didn’t meet that standard this week."

But the Cruz campaign smelled something rotten in New York and "furiously attacked the New York Times for their deliberate omission," Breitbart reports.

"The Times is presumably embarrassed by having their obvious partisan bias called out. But their response -- alleging 'strategic bulk purchases' -- is a blatant falsehood. The evidence is directly to the contrary. In leveling this false charge, the Times has tried to impugn the integrity of Senator Cruz and of his publisher HarperCollins," Rick Tyler of the Cruz campaign is quoted as telling Politico.

Amazon is apparently none too pleased, as well. "An Amazon spokeswoman said that A Time For Truth was a bestselling book," Breitbart reports, and that the online giant "found no evidence of 'unusual bulk purchase activity'."

"Cruz's book currently ranks as the number-one bestselling book in 'Political Conservatism & Liberalism' on Amazon," according to Breitbart. As of this writing, A Time for Truth continues to hold that no. 1 spot.

As of yesterday, the New York Times has "backed down . . . without apology while maintaining they did nothing wrong," Breitbart reports.

"This week's NYT best seller list was arrived at using the same process as last week's -- and the week before that. That process involves a careful analysis of data, and is not influenced in any way by the content of a book, or by pressure from publishers or book sellers," Times spokeswoman Murphy is quoted as telling The Hill via email, according to Breitbart.

Unfortunately, there is no way to verify the truthfulness of the Times' claim to innocence, for the newspaper conducts its deliberations in secret.

"Our approach serves Times readers by authenticating broadly popular books through the confidential reporting of a wide range of retailers. In order to avoid compromising that process, we do not disclose who reports sales to us," Murphy is quoted as saying.

So when it comes to verifying the NYTimes' bestseller list, there's no need to think, ask for evidence, or think critically about the newspaper's results. Just believe. Blindly.

If the Times says it, you're supposed to "believe" it, and that settles it.

Or maybe not.

Let us just say: That simplistic approach to life -- in matters big or small, deep and wide, is not recommended. Far better to adopt and practice the principle of "test everything."

Meanwhile, we encourage secular fideists not to revel in their various "faith" constructs. And maybe it's time to buy A Time for Truth.

"Subtle," says Breitbart in its mainpage headline.

"Promotes assassination," states Patrick Dollard in a Tweet reproduced at The Blaze.

"A day after actress Rose McGowan posted to her Twitter account a damning, made-up quote attributed to Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, the former Charmed star issued an apology -- sort of," Dave Urbanski writes at The Blaze.

As reprinted in The Blaze, McGowan's interactions are profane and stereotypical. I suppose that passes for coolness in some subcultures.

Have you noticed? "Revolution" and "pushing boundaries" is fine with some in Hollywood, so long as your "revolution" is their "revolution" and your "outside the box" is their "outside the box."

But is that revolution? Or is it group think?

And is that really freedom of thought? Or is it fear of thinking for yourself?

It seems more like a recipe for being utterly, boringly "conservative."

I am one of those who pushes for creativity and excellence in all of life, including life in Tinseltown.

But that's the thing about rebellious excellence. It doesn't give in to peer pressure. Even if it comes out of Hollywood.

Meanwhile, Rose McGowan is a human being, and underneath her hatred and anger is probably a lot of hurt. That is understandable, but so is the love that challenges and corrects false information.    

Also of Interest
Fireproof: Reel Rebel Upsets Tinseltown Stereotypes, by J. Richard Pearcey

"Sen. Ted Cruz told reporters on Thursday that ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos is a 'partisan Democrat' who is 'actively supporting' former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign," Matthew Boyle reports for Breitbart news.

"Of course not," Cruz said Thursday when he was "asked if Stephanopoulos should be hosting any debates in 2016," Boyle reports.

"Debates should not be moderated by partisan Democrats who are actively supporting one of the candidates," Cruz said, according to Boyle.

"Cruz said he envisions shifting the tracking and collection of federal taxes to 'some much smaller division' of the Treasury Department," the Washington Examiner reports. "The senator said that replacing the current, complex tax code with a simple flat tax would eliminate most of the work the IRS needs to do, making the agency obsolete and 'irrelevant'."'

During a recent appearance on the Hannity show, Sen. Cruz gave his sense of tomorrow's big midterm election:

I've been on the road the last six weeks all over the country. I've been in Kansas. I've been in Georgia. I've been in Iowa. I've been in Colorado. Tonight, I'm here in Florida. I'm headed to Alaska day after tomorrow.

What I'm seeing on the ground is a lot of excitement, a lot of enthusiasm. I think we are on the verge of an historic election night next Tuesday. I think Republicans are going to retake the U.S. Senate. I think we're going to retire Harry Reid as majority leader.

And I'll tell you, Sean, at this point, it all comes down to turnout.  It all comes down to if conservatives show up and vote, and if we get our friends and family and others to show up and vote, we're going to retake the Senate, and I think that's exactly what's going to happen.

Watch the entire interview and read the transcript here. 

"If Republicans run another candidate in the mold of a Bob Dole or a John McCain or a Mitt Romney, we will end up with the same result, which is millions of people will stay home on Election Day," Cruz said on CNBC today, according to Newsmax. "And if we run another candidate like that, Hillary Clinton will be president."

"The Texas Republican, a favorite of Tea Party supporters," also said "that the party needs to find a conservative candidate who can galvanize voters -- someone like former President Ronald Reagan," Newsmax reports.

Erick Erickson writes at Red State:

Ted Cruz showed just how powerful he is in his home state [Tuesday] night. Cruz endorsed 5 candidates. Four of the five won outright and the fifth is the heavy favorite going into a runoff.

"Cruz is showing his ability to not just get himself across the finish line, but get other Republicans through their own primaries," Erickson concludes. "Ted Cruz needs to stretch his legs in Republican primaries outside Texas."

Read more here.

Related
Ted Cruz: I'd "Love to Debate" Rove on Obamacare Defunding -- Video 
Homosex Activist to Ted Cruz Staffer: "May Your Children All Die"

Patrick Howley reports:

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz received an eight-minute standing ovation upon his return to Texas this past weekend, despite an extended, hostile campaign from Democrats and the mainstream media to portray him as a dangerous extremist.

"After two months in Washington, it’s great to be back in America," Cruz said Saturday to approximately 750 people at an appearance in a San Antonio hotel ballroom, enjoying an eight-minute standing ovation for his dogged efforts to defund or delay Obamacare in the recent continuing-resolution budget fight.

Cruz also criticized members of his own Senate caucus for "failing to stand with House Republicans against the train wreck that is Obamacare."

Related
Ted Cruz: I'd "Love to Debate" Rove on Obamacare Defunding -- Video 
Kentucky-Bribed "Statesman": Mitch McConnell Unmasked 
Mark Levin: "Eric Cantor Is Going to War" With Conservatives
"I Am the Poor" Says Obamacare "Has Raped My Future"

Becket Adams reports at The Blaze:

[Sen. Ted] Cruz has taken a lot of criticism for his part in a failed attempt to defund Obamacare by tying it to a bill to keep the government funded. The gambit resulted in a 16-day partial shutdown of the government and ended with the GOP basically conceding defeat to the Democrats.

Many top Republicans said at the outset of the “defund” strategy that they didn’t think it would work -- and told that to Cruz in no uncertain terms.

Cruz, for his part, has responded by placing the blame for the failure of the “defund” strategy on his colleagues, going so far as to accuse certain Republicans of “bombing our own troops.”

In short, Cruz doesn’t believe the “defund” strategy was wrong; Senate Republicans were just unwilling to fight.

“I will say that the reason this deal, the lousy deal was reached last night, is because, unfortunately, Senate Republicans made the choice not to support House Republicans,” Cruz told ABC. “I wish Senate Republicans had united, I tried to do everything I could to urge Senate Republicans to come together and stand with House Republicans.” 

Drew Zahn reports at WND:

When a speechwriter for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, took to Twitter to tout her boss’ recent work, a California Democrat Party official blasted back, wishing death and "debilitating diseases" upon her children.

Amanda Carpenter [photo], a speechwriter and senior communications adviser to Cruz, tweeted out Friday morning, "GOP beat gun control, changed Obama’s mind on Syria, is holding the line on amnesty. We can defund Obamacare, too!"

But Allan Brauer [photo], who works as the communications chair for the Democratic Party of Sacramento County in California, fired back a shocking reply, "@amandacarpenter May your children all die from debilitating, painful and incurable diseases."

"It wasn’t the first time, however, that Brauer, a longtime activist in the homosexuality movement who co-chaired the University of Chicago’s Lesbian/Gay Student Organization in the 1970s, has used Twitter as an outlet for scathing, personal attacks," WND reports.

Related
House Defunds Obamacare, Keeps Federal Government Open
"Gay" Human Rights Commissioner to Evangelical Pastor: You and Your Family "Deserve to Burn in Hell"
Bricks of Tolerance: "Gay" Hate Vandalizes Church, Threatens More Violence 
Son of Lesbian in Paris: Meet the "Gay" Police State

A Bloomberg news story at Newsmax reports:

The U.S. House voted to finance the federal government through mid-December and choke off funding for President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, setting up a showdown with the Senate and the White House. . . .

The Senate is expected to start considering the legislation on Sept. 23 with [a] goal of finishing by Sept. 26.

From the Washington Times: 

"The American people don’t want the government shut down, and they don’t want Obamacare," said House Speaker John A. Boehner, who rallied with fellow Republicans after the vote in a show of unity that seemed designed to quell speculation about a rebellion within the House Republican Conference.

Meanwhile, a Democrat offers death wishes to the children of a Cruz staffer: "Allan Brauer, the communications chair for the Democratic Party of Sacramento, Calif., told [Amanda Carpenter] an aide to Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Tex.), on Friday that he hoped her children 'die from debilitating, painful and incurable diseases'." After additional vicious Tweets, Brauer apologized.

Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the House vote is a "waste of time."

GOP Sen. Ted Cruz released a statement: "The fight to save America from Obamacare is just beginning -- it may well go back and forth from the House and Senate several times -- and a united Republican front means that Harry Reid and the President cannot ignore the American people."

Tony Lee writes at Breitbart:

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said on Fox News's "Hannity" Tuesday that he "would love to debate" Republican strategist Karl Rove on defunding Obamacare.

Cruz insisted that the federal government has never rolled back a massive government program like Obamacare once fully implemented. He also said that the Obama administration wants to get Americans "addicted" to the Obamacare subsidies and "hooked to the sugar." . . .

Cruz then said conservatives then needed to win the argument by asking, "Why is President Obama threatening to shut down the entire federal government to force Obamacare down our threats?"

Rove had been on the "Hannity" show "earlier and said that Republicans should not threaten to defund Obamacare during the next round of budget negotiations because it was a losing strategy," Lee writes.

"I'm pretty sure you lose 100% of the battles that you begin surrendering," Cruz responded.

Here is video of Cruz on "Hannity."

Related
IRS: Obamacare for Thee but Not for Me 
Obamacare Will Share Personal Health Info With Federal, State Agencies

Yes, it's early but: Bruce Walker at American Thinker explains why freshman senator from Texas Ted Cruz "could become the most important political leader of the 21st century."

Related
Ready to Cruz in 2016? 
How the New Resistance Can Win the Culture War