Five Reasons Ted Cruz Picked Carly Fiorina For VP

Carl Jackson / Townhall Columnist

 

Can you imagine a Carly Fiorina vs Elizabeth Warren debate?

Former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina was a good choice for Sen. Cruz's vice presidential pick, if for no other reason than to steal Trump's thunder after a five state sweep across the Northeast Tuesday night. Not to mention his subsequent foreign policy speech on Wednesday that was totally drowned out by the announcement of a Cruz-Fiorina ticket. Having said that, only time will tell if she was the best choice.

Strategically speaking, Ted Cruz has been a step behind GOP frontrunner Donald Trump's messaging and media campaign. The Texas senator would've been wise to announce his VP pick Sunday evening, rather than the alliance he formed with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who agreed -at least for a couple of hrs, to back out of the Indiana primary, while Cruz agreed to back out of the New Mexico and Oregon primaries to benefit the Kasich campaign. This alliance played right into Trump's narrative that the establishment was colluding against him. The strategy backfired and likely cost Cruz delegates in Pennsylvania. So why choose Fiorina now, and will it matter? Here are the reasons why it could:

1) Female box checked: Is this political? Of course it is, and who cares? When you're running for office, trying to get an advantage over your opponent is no different than a store clerk trying to out-work his or her peer to get a promotion. I hate gender politics! But, if you're going to play them, Carly is the right choice. She's been a successful business woman, and a devoted wife and mother. No doubt she'll appeal to a broader constituency than Ted Cruz can.

Donald Trump Isn't the 'Presumptive Nominee' -- Not Yet, Anyway

Michael Barone / Townhall Columnist

Donald Trump has declared himself, after following up his New York win April 19 with victories in five other Northeastern states Tuesday, the "presumptive nominee" of the Republican Party. Is it a done deal?

 

Not quite. Trump's 40 percent of total primary votes so far have yielded him 48 percent of pledged delegates -- not exactly the unfair system he's been decrying. He must win about 56 percent of those yet to be chosen to get to the 1,237 majority necessary for the nomination.

There are signs in the Northeastern primary results that he may get there. For the first time, he significantly outperformed his poll showings. For the first time, he got more than 50 percent of the vote (he came closest earlier in Massachusetts, with 49 percent).

But turnout in these primaries hovered around just 10 percent of eligible voters, lower than in any other state but Louisiana. That's partly because registered Republicans are scarce on the ground in the Northeast: 37 percent of registered voters in Pennsylvania, between 21 and 29 percent in the other closed primary states. Not coincidentally, none except Pennsylvania has come close to voting for a Republican presidential nominee in recent years.

FBI arrests brother of San Bernardino jihad murderer and 2 others
By Robert Spencer/ Jihad Watch

 

Marquez got the killers their rifles and attended the same mosque that they attended. This was a jihad terror cell that appears to have been attempting to expand its ranks via marriage fraud. “FBI arrests brother of San Bernardino terrorist and 2 others on marriage fraud charges,” by Richard Winton and James Queally, Los Angeles […]
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National Intelligence Director Clapper: Islamic State Exploiting Migrant Crisis In Europe

Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs

What was his first clue? They’ve been exploiting it for months. Back in February 2015, the Islamic State vowed to flood Europe with 500,000 refugees. Only now he is waking up to the crisis? And what is he doing about it? Has he persuaded Obama not to bring the “refugees” here in massive numbers? Of course not.

And Obama is plotting with the UN to bring a quarter of a million of these soldiers to the USA.

“National Intelligence Director Clapper: Islamic State Exploiting Migrant Crisis In Europe,” by Charlie Spiering, Breitbart, April 25, 2016:

National Intelligence Director James Clapper says Islamic State training camps currently exist in European countries and that terrorists are exploiting the migrant crisis...

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To All My Blog Followers

I am finally home after the recent death of my mom. I will start back to blogging slowly and will be back in full operational mode by early next week or sooner. Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts, and words of kindness during this most difficult time...it will not be forgotten.

Diane Sori