I do find Cruz's placing so many chips on the Christian Right's square to be an odd tactical move.
He really has no bona fides to win them over. Sure, he's a Southern Baptist, but so is Bill Clinton. He's a Princeton-and-Harvard Man who, as far as I can tell, has never really worn religion on his sleeve during his time in public office. I recall there being an interview he did before running where he said abortion is "not an animating issue for [him]." Then, of course there is the fact that one of his major benefactors is Peter Thiel, a hedonistic anarcho-capitalist and Very Rich Gay who lives in San Francisco.
Maybe he realized that he's set fire to too many things to be anywhere near Establishment (and that's a crowded boat to be in anyway), but you can't be a Tea Party Outsider when you worked in the Bush Administration and your wife works for Goldman Sachs. Maybe cobbling together a Frankenstein out of the various Pat Robertson, Gary Bauer and Mike Huckabee coalitions was the most attractive remaining option.
Well Cruz was "The Tea Party Guy" in the 2012 Republican Primary for US Senate in Texas against David Dewhurst. I'm sure you know that though since you live in Texas!
Funny statement about cobbling coalitions together though!
