The Lone Hispanic Ultra Conservative – Ted Cruz

OPINION

When Ted Cruz was first elected to the United States Senate in 2012, practically all of America’s media outlets went gaga over him.

We quickly learned about the man’s great intellect, having memorized the entire U.S. Constitution which added to his already stellar Ivy League academic performance. That was then, this is now. Today, the Ted Cruz that the country came to admire has evolved into one of the most ultra conservative voices in America. His alignment with conservative causes and organizations has propelled him to national fame.

He’s the darling of conservative groups from Tea Party activists to political active evangelicals. Last week, he addressed the Values Voter Summit where he came first in the summit’s straw poll for president in 2016 for the second consecutive year.

SEE ALSO: Republicans divided over what to make of Ted Cruz 

No doubt, the Republican Party is suffering from an “identity crisis.” Is it the party of Lincoln, or the party of Reaganomics, or is the party of conservatives or moderates or centrists? One group pulls its agenda one way; while the other pulls it another and never the two opposing forces shall meet. Yet, conservatives in today’s world think they can actually promote a person such as Ted Cruz to advance their way of thinking especially within the Hispanic community.

But Ted Cruz for all of his Cuban American upbringing isn’t exactly going out of his way to bring the Hispanic community along, preferring instead to court the mostly White conservatives of this country. And that may be just as well since the Hispanic community overall doesn’t much care for Cruz’s stance on immigration reform.

He prefers securing the border first and foremost and is not in favor of creating a path to citizenship for the millions of persons without legal documents that have been in this country for years.

While Senator Cruz may be popular with conservative groups, his standing with the rest of America’s voters isn’t necessarily a winning proposition. In fact, even members of his own party reject his ideas and political decisions. Yet, he seems bent on making a daily news splash by speaking out against issues popular with the American public.

Take his outcry and comment about this week’s Supreme Court’s decision to let stand rulings that allow same-sex marriage. Before the Supreme Court justices had a chance to clear their desks for the day, Cruz issued a scathing statement about their decision. He called the court’s decision “tragic and indefensible” and said he would introduce a constitutional amendment allowing states to ban gay marriage.

While Senator Ted Cruz may be popular with conservative groups, his standing with the rest of America’s voters isn’t necessarily a winning proposition. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The Republican party is in deep trouble when it comes to luring minority groups to its way of thinking not to mention the millions of gay and lesbians that are part of the new wave of activist voters; political figures such as Ted Cruz don’t help matters. Cruz may be a popular figure within the conservative community of this country but his politics scares many a voter away.

Being cheered on by a small portion of American voters is one thing, getting the rest of America to take him seriously as a presidential candidate is totally another issue.

The demographics in this country are changing dramatically every day and its mind boggling that neither Ted Cruz nor his conservative followers have figured out the necessity of welcoming America’s new voters. Even his reelection to senator from Texas may be up in the air. Either one of the Castro brothers, Joaquin or Julian could decide to run against Ted and this time around the Hispanic voters of Texas won’t be fooled in thinking Cruz is Mexican-American as many were in the last election.

The Hispanic community which is predominantly Mexican-American will, in all likelihood vote for a fellow Mexican-American and one that they believe is looking out for their interest. So if the junior senator from Texas wants to make hay, this may be the time, because after the 2016 presidential election, the demographics will be even more against him and his extreme conservative beliefs.

Hispanics will have increased their numbers but if current trends hold, they will be left or center left in their views. The future of any candidate will not necessarily be as much about a person’s racial/ethnic background as it will be about beliefs.

SEE ALSO: Will his birther issue derail Ted Cruz’s presidential dream?