Erickson: Talking into the Echo Chamber and Liking What he Hears
This article by Erick Erickson is an example of someone who has spent so much time talking into an echo chamber that he’s now decided that he really likes the sound of that voice. The long and the short of it is that Rubio “is awesome,” but seems to be “cratering” at the moment, so he should just drop out, and instead be Ted Cruz’s running mate! Because the same stuff that made his presidential campaign so awesome will be a sure-fire winner when teamed up with Ted!
The odds of Rubio winning Florida in seven days is not guaranteed. Momentum goes in the direction of winners and Marco Rubio is decidedly not a winner right now. But he is awesome. And he will be an awesome former political star with no political future if the present trajectory continues….
We know in the stand alone races, Cruz beats Trump. We know that…any person to stand for nomination for President has to have won the majority of delegates in eight states. Cruz has won three with that criteria and would have won more but for Rubio in the race….
So instead, Rubio drops out and Cruz publicly declares Rubio is his running mate. They barnstorm the nation today with Rubio throwing the punches at Trump and Cruz talking about their vision for the future. They crisscross Florida raising voter awareness that voters need to vote for Cruz. They go to Missouri, North Carolina, etc.
Here’s a wake-up call for Erick Erickson: Rubio isn’t merely a has-been. He’s a never was at this point. He’s been a dead man walking ever since Christie savaged him in that New Hampshire debate, and the pathetic embrace of the establishment has kept his campaign on life-support while simultaneously being the kiss of death for him this political cycle (and possibly future ones as well.) In my opinion, Erickson’s article says more about Erickson than anything else; he’s spent the last month trying to spin Rubio as the great savior of the GOP. Now that reality is intruding, he’s trying to salvage something.
As someone with a great deal of sympathy for Ted Cruz (and an occasional contributor to his campaign,) I can’t imagine what Rubio gives Cruz that someone else (e.g., Kasich?) couldn’t do better. Whatever success Cruz has enjoyed in the last few weeks has come because he has kept his distance from the advice and support of establishment types such as Erickson.
Finally, naming a VP at this point smacks of a desperation move. It’s dumb. Historically, the last time someone tried to name a VP while the nomination was still in contention was Ronald Reagan…in 1976. (Spoiler alert: he lost.)
Cruz may still lose anyway, but he isn’t dumb.
Seriously, after watching how the election has gone so far, how could Erickson possibly think that an alliance with Rubio is the key for any candidate’s success?
Of course, Erickson isn’t the only one. Jen Rubin (who last week authored an article talking about how Cruz had the tougher path forward than Rubio!) and Dan McLaughlin are now calling for the same thing.
Gee, guys, I wonder how the GOP got to this point?
