Ted Cruz and tone
There’s been quite a bit of talk about a recent appearance of Ted Cruz’s at a New Hampshire church, where he tells the sad story of his half-sister and her addictions. A lot of people who’ve seen the video have said it shows a different side of Cruz, one that’s more human and warm, a side voters need to see.
On watching it, I agree. But obviously he can’t be working in sob stories every time he speaks; that would be both absurd and exploitative of the suffering involved. But as I listened to him, it occurred to me that his relative warmth here is not just conveyed by the subject matter. It’s signaled by a marked shift in his tone and manner from his usual declamatory style with many studied pauses for emphasis, a style he probably learned as a master debater when he was a student.
I wonder if there’s a way Cruz can drop at least some of that and just talk, as he does here, when he’s speaking of things that are less emotional, like policy? After all, all he’s doing here is adopting a more conversational tone, he’s not weeping and wailing and carrying on:
I wonder if Cruz’s speaking style is aimed at his base rather than people like you? As I mentioned in a previous post, his campaign strategy is to target and turn out his base and not necessarily to appeal to moderates and independents. Note that I am NOT saying that you are either of those but it is clear that your background is different from most of his supporters. His tone is offputting to you but I have no problem with it. He may also think that even though you do not like it, if you are conservative you will see through it enough to make your choice of candidate based on his views and policies.
IMO, a conversational tone, along with simple declarations is the key to victory in this election. People are desperate for sincerity and straightforwardness.
The yearning for honest talk is palpable among Trump’s supporters and yes, Sander’s supporters as well. Though obviously in different ways, both men’s supporters believe in a false truth, to which their supporters believe each man speaks. Sanders polls much higher than Hillary, when honesty is important to the voter. Trump scores highest among voters asked, ‘which candidate tells it like it is’ ?
Bob_CA:
No, I’m not a typical Cruz supporter, but I do support him. And yes, he might be appealing to his base. But he actually doesn’t have to do that; the conservative base already likes him, and if he spoke with a more conversational tone the base would not desert him and more people would be attracted to him, I think. And it wouldn’t require his softening a single position; just his tone.
neo.
I think Cruz will change his style somewhat as the primaries progress. He will also introduce some new themes to appeal to more moderates. What he is doing now is getting his thinking conservative base firmly in his camp and turned away from the moderate candidates. He is too smart not to have thought this through. He knows he has to get through the bad press he has gotten from establishment types.
I don’t know. Even if delivered in a more conversational style, “We will carpet-bomb them into oblivion. I don’t know if sand can glow in the dark, but we’re going to find out” is going to be a hard-sell to the more moderate among us.
Ann:
Well, Ben Carson sometimes says very aggressive things, but in a soft voice.
If you could average out Cruz and Carson in terms of demeanor, that might do it.
That tale of sorrow is too common. I have seen it in my family and others too many times. It rips your heart out. But what is so awful is that we have no answers. Interventions work occasionally. Rehab centers work occasionally. Sometimes the addict reaches a point where he/she is staring directly into the face of certain death. A few pull back at that point. Most don’t. Anyone who had an answer to this problem would bring benefits to human kind on a par with the flush toilet or the electric light bulb.
Some say good parenting is the answer. How to explain two sons of the same parents, same schools, same teachers – one becomes an Admiral, the other dies of acute alcoholism on skid row in a big city? Genetics, or????
Telling this in a conversational style does tend humanize Cruz. If he had an answer for the problem it wouldn’t matter what his style was.
Ace made sort of the same point today, saying some pols are Teflon, and some are Velcro; Cruz is, for better or worse, Velcro and needs to deal with it by just being plainspoken and dealing straight from the shoulder. I think he likes to take the chess master’s approach and think things through, which can come across as studied and artificial, but if he can do the actor’s thing and “forget” all the studying, become the part, he’ll do well.
He’s a good man. Also, I have no problem with getting the jihadis dead, glowing sands and all. It’s about time someone talked about the real purpose of a military, which is to kill people and break things. Let’s get real — these monsters are burning people alive in cages, and raping girls to death. Nuking is too good for them: it’s over much too fast.