{"id":2366,"date":"2016-07-21T15:42:56","date_gmt":"2016-07-21T15:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/?p=2366"},"modified":"2016-08-04T15:46:03","modified_gmt":"2016-08-04T15:46:03","slug":"republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Republican National Convention Day Three: Cruz Control"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">CNN,\u00a0of all people, <a href=\"ttp:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2016\/07\/21\/politics\/republican-convention-2016-day-three-takeaways\/index.html\">summarized<\/a> Day Three of the Republican Convention perfectly:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201c<span class=\"s1\">Ted Cruz stole the show, and then Donald Trump stole it right back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">Of course, it\u2019s beyond CNN to give Trump kudos for the spectacular turnaround; it\u2019s not called the Clinton News Network for nothing.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>On a splash page running the words \u201cDefiant Cruz\u201d over the media darling <i>du jour<\/i>, features below proclaim, \u201cHow Cruz Stole Trump\u2019s Show,\u201d \u201cOpinion: Trump\u2019s Dreadful Night,\u201d and \u201cSenator To Trump: \u201cI Won\u2019t Back People Who Attack My Family,\u201d along with featured stories on Trump not defending allies and the hundredth repetition of Trump being hurt by \u201cplagiarism flap.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">Talking heads will milk the Cruz incident ad <i>nauseam<\/i>, so I will merely dwell on two mysteries involving the incident.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">The large mystery is why Cruz did it at all.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Cruz took a pledge earlier to support the Republican nominee whoever it might be.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>So, when Trump invited Cruz to speak, it was universally assumed that, while Cruz might not exactly adore Trump,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>he (Cruz) was a team player and certainly would not do anything that might help put Hillary Clinton in the White House.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>A reluctant endorsement would surely be announced, and an ostensibly unified Republican party would take to the battlefield.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">How could Cruz do anything but?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>If he failed to support Trump and Trump won, Cruz would be in Outer Siberia for the next four to eight years.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>If he failed to support Trump and Trump lost, Cruz would be blamed for the loss. Even if Cruz <i>wanted<\/i> Trump to lose, he likely do more damage and network-building inside the campaign as an ally.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>There was no down side to supporting Trump, however reluctantly, and much to risk by not doing so.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cLittle Marco\u201d proved himself big by going just this route.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Yet <i>Cruz went for it regardless<\/i>, despite an entire convention floor of Republicans, even the delegation from his own state of Texas, booing and cursing him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">Clearly Cruz saw himself at something of a Reagan\/Ford moment, when the challenger can\u2019t take the title from the champ yet, but does want to position himself as the Greater White Hope.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The difference being that Reagan did the smart thing: he bided his time, and till then supported and campaigned for Ford.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">What in the world possessed Cruz to cast aside this successful strategy and instead gore Trump before the entire party and the world?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s like a rejected suitor being invited to a wedding and hearing the minister ask, \u201cIf there are any among you who have an objection\u2026\u201d and bursting out, \u201cYes!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The groom\u2019s a pig!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And the bride\u2019s an idiot too!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><i>I <\/i>should be up there!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><i>Me, me, me!<\/i>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">Was it sheer small-minded mean-spirited pettiness on the part of Cruz?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>That, plus the naked egomaniacal <i>frisson<\/i> of dominating the media again for a few minutes again after months in the shadow? Perhaps it is.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">In any case, Cruz droned vapidly on and <i>on<\/i>, as chants of \u201cWe Want Trump\u201d increasingly swept through the arena.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And, as the interminable string of cliches, began to drown under the weight of the catcalls, Cruz finally came out with his 2016 recommendation:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cVote\u2026 <i>your conscience<\/i>,\u201d he blared, and droned on<i> still<\/i> as the crowd erupted in execration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">Well, that was enough.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Like Michael banishing Satan to the infernal depths, no less than Trump himself then appeared.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>All cameras swiveled to the Republican nominee. Cruz, no longer in the limelight, flapped off to his vampyr aerie, even as his wife Heidi was being driven out by Republicans chanting (in yet another of the surrealist inversions typical of this weird election season) exorcist howls of<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cGoldmann Sachs!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Goldman Sachs!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">Heidi\u2019s husband, the man of principle, has since e-blasted a new series of emails to his list asking for more money to carry on the fight.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat fight?\u201d you reasonably ask?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Don\u2019t.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Reason has nothing to do with it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">But I spoke of two mysteries.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Here\u2019s the second:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">Reports vary, but apparently Trump knew either two days, six hours, or two hours beforehand that Cruz had no intention to endorse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">Why in the world would Trump, aiming to unify the Party, bring in someone with no intention of doing anything but maintaining, even <i>heightening<\/i>, division?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">I am increasingly beginning to suspect that Donald Trump has an ability to read these situations with spectacular depth.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He knows full well that Cruz has been doing all he can to build an organization to take the Republican candidacy in 2020.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Cruz\u2019 allegiance now will not likely add many votes to the Trump coffer.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>What Cruz voter will vote Hillary?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But removing Cruz from possible future contention is wise long-term strategy.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Solution: give Cruz enough rope to hang himself!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And what could seal his fate better than disgracing himself in front of all the TV and media and being booed off-stage by the entire Republican National Convention?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">Running this option implies massive contempt for Cruz\u2019 judgment, but Cruz richly fulfilled its promise.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He is now in the political wilderness, God be thanked.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>One wonders whether he will have the sense to eat crow at some future point, or simply press further to the extreme, purely to maintain media attention?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I expect the latter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">The drama of the convention then took yet another shift as the next speaker appeared.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>This, in yet another touch of genius, was Eric Trump.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Eric\u2019s speech was not the speech of an obvious up-and-coming pol like Donald Junior, but rather the heartfelt tribute of a loving son.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In the wake of Lyin\u2019 Ted\u2019s backstabbing betrayal, it was almost poetically heightened as the camera eye panned over the faces of the Trumps, each one pulling for Eric and for dear old Dad.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Trump himself grew visibly misty, and if there has ever been a moment when Donald Trump and the American electorate were at one, it was this moment, as the electorate saw this beleaguered father\u2019s evident love and affection for his son, standing up for him in front of the world.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It was <i>the<\/i> moment when the floor genuinely bonded with its nominee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">And \u2014 maraschino cherry on the icing \u2014 then came Pence.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I confess I am no great Pence fan, but yet again I found myself impressed after the fact by Trump\u2019s deftness of move.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Pence is the anti-Trump, self-effacing where Trump is brash, quiet where Trump is loud, dry where Trump is gross, humble where Trump is arrogant, reticent where Trump appalls. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He is the perfect foil, the sweetener that takes the edge of the tartness of The Donald.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Moreover \u2014 like the Trump brood \u2014 he reassures.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Can Trump really be the gibbering Nazi madman the Democrats say if he selects such a gentle mild-mannered soul as this as his wingman?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The Supreme Court objection to Trump crashed with Pence\u2019s first smile, with his introduction to his tear-eyed elderly mother.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>A perfect choice to soothe ruffled Conservative feathers, Pence even stepped up his game and delivered a genuinely sane and energetic speech.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Fortunate the nation whose high offices Trump fills with figures like this.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Or so at least was the impression Pence made.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">So.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Day 3 \u2014 a plus or minus for Trump?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>A plus for the country, certainly.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Trump\u2019s ambiguity is such that even his worst critic may reasonably hope to be surprised.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Cruz Conservatism, on the other hand, aims to weld the dominionist religious right, Goldman Sachs, and neoconservative military imperialism into iron whole.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It is not the promise of Trump, an <i>evolution<\/i> of conservatism (or mutation, if you are a critic), but its fossilization.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Whatever else can be said of Trump, his wresting of the nomination from the Establishment forces both right <i>and<\/i> left to reconsider their ideas, their assumptions, the entire political landscape.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Cruz and Clinton in their respective ways are the embodiments of conservatism in the worst sense, that of preserving, <i>anchoring<\/i>, an unpopular and dysfunctional status quo.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">Trump has shattered that sclerosis, but definitively?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s hard to say.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The Republican establishment is already talking about the virtues of installing nomination-by-superdelegate in the wake of a Trump loss.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><i>Au revoir<\/i>, democracy as we know it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">But is a loss closer as a result of Day 3, or is victory?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I am tempted to call it a draw.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">Certainly Eric Trump and Pence will do much to drain concern about Trump away from the undecided.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The impact from Cruz remains to be seen.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And from his strange-bedfellow enablers, the liberal media:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Cruz\u2019 mean-spiritedness is such that he will no doubt do all he can to bash and gore Trump further, and justify himself, every chance he gets; and the mainstream, ever thirsting for anti-Trump commentary, will see to it that Cruz\u2019 vitriol is spread to the four winds.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It is quite obvious by now that no one believes or cares what the talking heads themselves say, but Cruz has his own weird integrity, and his own (much diminished, now) following.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Like an endlessly nagging spouse, it may well take a toll.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">But overall, Trump has banished Cruz to the infernal realms, the impact of Trump&#8217;s children is growing ever stronger and more positive, and Pence is looking good. \u00a0Hard to call all that a minus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\"> So: \u00a0there is only one day left now for the much-anticipated rioting in the streets, the Republican Establishment <i>coup d\u2019etat<\/i>, the wistfully suggested assassination attempt, and feverish media dreams of the candidate\u2019s string of crazy gaffes finally ascending to the all-obliterating heights of muttering the \u201cN\u201d word on national TV.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s2\">Triumph at hand, will Trump screw it all up for the sheer hell of it tomorrow, and laugh?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s2\">We\u2019ll see tomorrow.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CNN,\u00a0of all people, summarized Day Three of the Republican Convention perfectly:\u00a0 \u201cTed Cruz stole the show, and then Donald Trump stole it right back.\u201d Of course, it\u2019s beyond CNN to give Trump kudos for the spectacular turnaround; it\u2019s not called the Clinton News Network for nothing.\u00a0 On a splash page running the words \u201cDefiant Cruz\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Republican National Convention Day Three: Cruz Control - Political Commentary by Peter Simon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Republican National Convention Day Three: Cruz Control - Political Commentary by Peter Simon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CNN,\u00a0of all people, summarized Day Three of the Republican Convention perfectly:\u00a0 \u201cTed Cruz stole the show, and then Donald Trump stole it right back.\u201d Of course, it\u2019s beyond CNN to give Trump kudos for the spectacular turnaround; it\u2019s not called the Clinton News Network for nothing.\u00a0 On a splash page running the words \u201cDefiant Cruz\u201d [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Political Commentary by Peter Simon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-21T15:42:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-08-04T15:46:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-content\/uploads\/cruz.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1240\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peter Simon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Peter Simon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Peter Simon\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/#\/schema\/person\/1d19132b10c5f3367a7de310f12ada75\"},\"headline\":\"Republican National Convention Day Three: Cruz Control\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-21T15:42:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-08-04T15:46:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/\"},\"wordCount\":1630,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-content\/uploads\/cruz.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/\",\"name\":\"Republican National Convention Day Three: Cruz Control - Political Commentary by Peter Simon\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-content\/uploads\/cruz.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-21T15:42:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-08-04T15:46:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/#\/schema\/person\/1d19132b10c5f3367a7de310f12ada75\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-content\/uploads\/cruz.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-content\/uploads\/cruz.jpg\",\"width\":1240,\"height\":520},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Republican National Convention Day Three: Cruz Control\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/\",\"name\":\"Political Commentary by Peter Simon\",\"description\":\"Politics, Culture, Ideologies, New\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/#\/schema\/person\/1d19132b10c5f3367a7de310f12ada75\",\"name\":\"Peter Simon\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd7917840ec2d496188bab6b68e756e2aea68724b94072332046ff9e730e02fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd7917840ec2d496188bab6b68e756e2aea68724b94072332046ff9e730e02fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd7917840ec2d496188bab6b68e756e2aea68724b94072332046ff9e730e02fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Peter Simon\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.peterthomassimon.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/author\/peter-simon\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Republican National Convention Day Three: Cruz Control - Political Commentary by Peter Simon","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Republican National Convention Day Three: Cruz Control - Political Commentary by Peter Simon","og_description":"CNN,\u00a0of all people, summarized Day Three of the Republican Convention perfectly:\u00a0 \u201cTed Cruz stole the show, and then Donald Trump stole it right back.\u201d Of course, it\u2019s beyond CNN to give Trump kudos for the spectacular turnaround; it\u2019s not called the Clinton News Network for nothing.\u00a0 On a splash page running the words \u201cDefiant Cruz\u201d [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/","og_site_name":"Political Commentary by Peter Simon","article_published_time":"2016-07-21T15:42:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-08-04T15:46:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1240,"height":520,"url":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-content\/uploads\/cruz.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Peter Simon","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Peter Simon","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/"},"author":{"name":"Peter Simon","@id":"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/#\/schema\/person\/1d19132b10c5f3367a7de310f12ada75"},"headline":"Republican National Convention Day Three: Cruz Control","datePublished":"2016-07-21T15:42:56+00:00","dateModified":"2016-08-04T15:46:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/"},"wordCount":1630,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-content\/uploads\/cruz.jpg","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/","url":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/","name":"Republican National Convention Day Three: Cruz Control - Political Commentary by Peter Simon","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-content\/uploads\/cruz.jpg","datePublished":"2016-07-21T15:42:56+00:00","dateModified":"2016-08-04T15:46:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/#\/schema\/person\/1d19132b10c5f3367a7de310f12ada75"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-content\/uploads\/cruz.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-content\/uploads\/cruz.jpg","width":1240,"height":520},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/republican-national-convention-day-three-cruz-control\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Republican National Convention Day Three: Cruz Control"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/#website","url":"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/","name":"Political Commentary by Peter Simon","description":"Politics, Culture, Ideologies, New","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/#\/schema\/person\/1d19132b10c5f3367a7de310f12ada75","name":"Peter Simon","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd7917840ec2d496188bab6b68e756e2aea68724b94072332046ff9e730e02fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd7917840ec2d496188bab6b68e756e2aea68724b94072332046ff9e730e02fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd7917840ec2d496188bab6b68e756e2aea68724b94072332046ff9e730e02fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Peter Simon"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.peterthomassimon.com"],"url":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/author\/peter-simon\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2366"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2369,"href":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2366\/revisions\/2369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pascaleditions.com\/peterthomassimon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}