I noticed some buzz as the Texan of the Year nominations drifted in - that as some readers suggested Ted Cruz, there were skeptical reactions along the lines of "What has he really done?"
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Really? This calls for a broader canvass of conservatives, so I'll start.
Not all Texans need to agree with Cruz - shoot, not even all conservatives agree with him, and some Republicans hate his guts. But that's my point. Cruz has become the definition of the kind of bold conservatism that is energizing some and terrifying others.
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If we are known by our enemies, in Cruz's case,...and Republicans who got away with calling themselves conservative until Cruz raised the bar.
He has raised it in his three-year Senate career and in his seven-month presidential campaign by holding feet over the fire - the feet of Democrats who have helped Barack Obama change America's fabric (and not for the better), and the feet of Republicans who promised to do something about it and scarcely tried.
That strain of Republicans, exemplified by extinct House Speaker John Boehner, his failed, hand-picked successor Kevin McCarthy, and their lukewarm Senate counterpart Mitch McConnell, has been outed most notably by Cruz, who has properly shamed them for consistently caving on core conservative values. That has earned him scorn on Capitol Hill, and the profound devotion of millions of conservatives who say it's about time.
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...but there is a reason he would be Hillary Clinton's worst nightmare on a debate stage. His focus and passion on the emerging favored themes of consistent and unapologetic conservatism are without peer, inside Texas or outside.
The political story of the year is a Republican Party being reshaped by stronger conservative voices, and voters yearning for elected officials no longer satisfied with insufficient efforts to re-establish those values.
Cruz is the foremost example of both.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
