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| Being "Swift Boated": Attacked at his strong point |
The Republican candidates I heard this week in Charleston, S.C. did not describe policies or legislation. They discussed the state of America--miserable economy, weak military, over-regulated, Christianity disrespected, guns under attack. And they said they would fix this.
I did not detect significant differences among the candidates on the goals. Trump wants to make America Great, Cruz wants a strong, prosperous America where traditional values are re-affirmed and re-established. The difference is in the character of the leader. The Cruz message returns to character: Cruz is the consistent proven conservative you can trust to stick to those goals without compromise and deal making, as Cruz would put it.
Cruz is using deal-making as a sophisticated attack on Trump, making the Trump trademark strength into a liability. This is the "swift boat" strategy: turn the opponent's strength into a weakness.
(For the youngsters not reading the news in 2004, let me review the history: The campaign of George Bush, who sat out the Vietnam War in Texas and Alabama, attacked John Kerry, who won medals and 3 Purple Hearts for service under enemy fire in Vietnam. They attacked him for cowardice and not really being all that hurt, getting the Purple Hearts under false pretenses. The result was that the War-Hero-Kerry story got "controversial" while Bush came out looking better. It took an opponent's strength and turned it into a weakness.)
Two weeks ago I predicted this (see the post "Taking Trump Down".). I thought when such an attack came it might be an attack on Trump's smarts or business acumen, saying Trump is not that bright and that his real estate company underperformed him just passively putting his father's business into the SP500 index fund.
The attack came but in a different direction: his deal making. Trump cannot deny or downplay his deal making. It is his trademark. Quite literally, he wrote the book.
Cruz is positing that the difference between himself and Trump is that Trump is a deal maker and that is bad, that it demonstrates that Trump is just another compromiser, just another iteration of the Washington DC sellout. Deal makers deal. Cruz doesn't disagree with that premise, he shouts it loud and clear. Trump is a dealmaker, right!
And as a dealmaker Trump will want to make deals with the Washington establishment, he will compromise and horse trade. And that is the problem, not the solution. People (like Paul Ryan and before him John Boehner) who compromised with Obama. These are people that Republican audiences boo. They aren't perceived as leaders, they are perceived as sellouts. Cruz is different: firm and committed. Meanwhile, Trump cannot be trusted to stay a conservative, because it is his very nature to deal.
Cruz is no deal maker, thank God; he is something way, way better: an utterly clear and consistent. Trust Ted.
The new frame is Trusted Ted vs. Sellout-prone Trump. This is judo. Cruz is using Trump's strength against Trump.
Does this strategy work? Ask President Kerry.
(For the youngsters not reading the news in 2004, let me review the history: The campaign of George Bush, who sat out the Vietnam War in Texas and Alabama, attacked John Kerry, who won medals and 3 Purple Hearts for service under enemy fire in Vietnam. They attacked him for cowardice and not really being all that hurt, getting the Purple Hearts under false pretenses. The result was that the War-Hero-Kerry story got "controversial" while Bush came out looking better. It took an opponent's strength and turned it into a weakness.)
Two weeks ago I predicted this (see the post "Taking Trump Down".). I thought when such an attack came it might be an attack on Trump's smarts or business acumen, saying Trump is not that bright and that his real estate company underperformed him just passively putting his father's business into the SP500 index fund.
The attack came but in a different direction: his deal making. Trump cannot deny or downplay his deal making. It is his trademark. Quite literally, he wrote the book.
Cruz is positing that the difference between himself and Trump is that Trump is a deal maker and that is bad, that it demonstrates that Trump is just another compromiser, just another iteration of the Washington DC sellout. Deal makers deal. Cruz doesn't disagree with that premise, he shouts it loud and clear. Trump is a dealmaker, right!
And as a dealmaker Trump will want to make deals with the Washington establishment, he will compromise and horse trade. And that is the problem, not the solution. People (like Paul Ryan and before him John Boehner) who compromised with Obama. These are people that Republican audiences boo. They aren't perceived as leaders, they are perceived as sellouts. Cruz is different: firm and committed. Meanwhile, Trump cannot be trusted to stay a conservative, because it is his very nature to deal.
Cruz is no deal maker, thank God; he is something way, way better: an utterly clear and consistent. Trust Ted.
The new frame is Trusted Ted vs. Sellout-prone Trump. This is judo. Cruz is using Trump's strength against Trump.
Does this strategy work? Ask President Kerry.
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