It�s easy to understand why U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is spending part of the week off the Senate gives itself for Presidents Day in Florida engaging in Republican politics. It�s less easy to understand, said Lynn University political scientist Robert Watson, why Florida Republicans are hosting Cruz.
Cruz, a leader in the tea party movement, is easily one of the most controversial figures in the party, disliked by many moderate Republicans and parts of the party establishment.
On Thursday he did three events with the Sarasota Republican Party. Friday night he keynotes the Palm Beach County Republican Party�s annual Lincoln Day dinner.
�It does raise eyebrows,� Watson said. �The question is why the Palm Beach County Republican Party would want him to keynote such a high profile and such an important event. Important because this is a midterm election year and the party needs to gear up its funding, and he promises only to invite negative media attention and potentially split and polarize the party and paint the party as more conservative than they would want to be painted.
�As to why he�s coming here, the folks that are looking at running for president always do this. They go to key swing states. Everyone visits Iowa and New Hampshire because they�re early [in the nominating process]. But everyone visits Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Missouri, Colorado, Nevada � all the swing states � and starts setting up donor lists,� he said. �It�s good to have that in your back pocket and start developing donor lists, start developing contacts, start developing all of that networking that one needs to do if one is going to raise a couple of hundred million dollars to make a run for the presidency.
�So the same way [New Jersey Gov. Chris] Christie was here, even though he was acting on behalf of the Republican Governors Association, they all come here and start to test the waters. And the fact that he is coming here raises his profile as a serious candidate.
�You�ve got to raise money in Florida, and you�ve got to have connections in the most important swing state in the country.
�I was intrigued, and I�m interested to see what kind of blowback the Palm Beach County Republicans get to see if there�s folks that are giving him a rough time � about his divisiveness in the party.�
He�ll be joined by another controversial conservative, Dr. Ben Carson, and the host of the event and another guest, Donald Trump.
�All three, not just Ted Cruz, but The Donald and Dr. Carson all represent � they themselves and their policies � represent the fringe of the party, the far right of the party. So at a time when everyone knows the Republicans need to move toward the center electorally if they are to win, not only in the midterms but the White House in 2016, it seems kind of odd that they�re inviting and featuring the fringe of the party.�
�So the question would be why is the Palm Beach County Republican Party doing this?�
The only thing worse than a liberal is a liberal that thinks they're a conservative.
