This brief diary was inspired by another one, here as well as the front page post by Jed Lewison detailing the mounting right wing challenge to McConnell.
I think what Ted Cruz may actually have in mind is not becoming the Republican presidential nominee, but instead, the head of a new party.
I've been wondering for some time now just why Cruz seemed so willing to blow up the Republican party when everyone seems so convinced he's angling for the party's nomination. It just didn't make sense to me. By all accounts he is a very smart fellow and for all those who say he may be bright but he's a lousy politician I can only counter that as a freshman Senator who is supposedly a lousy politician he has sure acquired a lot of power in a hurry.
Quite frankly, what's the big appeal in being the next Republican nominee to be crushed by a Democrat, as he surely would be? That's assuming he could even win the nomination, which after the damage he's inflicted on the Republican party, seems unlikely. However, if he was to form the tea party faithful into an official third party and become the nominee for them, possibly with Sarah Palin as his running mate, he would be assured a place in history forever.
I think a Tea Party could very possibly win more votes than Ross Perot did, and with a decent number of disaffected Republican House members joining, him they could take a fair number seats in congress as well, which would be a huge achievement for a third party.
My guess is that he will wait until the next budget showdown, due in January and February, and when the Republican leadership, rightly skeptical about banging their heads against the rocks once again, refuses to shut down the government again, or at least refuses to place the country in default, he will make his move.
He can probably count on getting money from Heritage, and also from the big donors who funded Santorum and others. Heck, Santorum might join the party as well. The rumblings among the furious right wing about a new party have been growing louder for a long time and the latest "capitulation" by Boehner has them inflamed even more. Another one will leave them grabbing their pitchforks and ripe for a new party
I really do think Cruz forming an official political party out of the teahadists is a genuine possibility.I'd love to see what the rest of you think.