There's a reason why Cruz is minimized: candidates without establishment support don't win, though they can derail. Rubio has the potential for establishment support. Cruz would be given the Gingrich treatment if need be. The "somewhat conservatives" would go with Jeb. Henry Olsen's "The Republican battlefield" is masterful on this stuff IMO.
Freshman Senators in the minority party don't rally their body against the will of leadership to shut down the federal government. Ted Cruz did.
There's something special about him. Throw convention out the window. Most people who get ignored by the establishment are jokes like Robertson or Buchanan or people with major skeletons in their closet like Gingrich. He's out of the mainstream, but
he knows what he's doing.He will raise money. He will drum up grassroots support. He will agenda set to his opponents and he will dominate airtime in debates.
Sleep on him at your own peril.
