.
“The biggest divide is not between Republicans and Democrats.
The biggest divide is between career politicians in Washington of both
parties and the American people.” Ted Cruz
11/24/14, "Sen. Ted Cruz, ’16 Presidential Hopeful, Woos New York Jewish Donors – UPDATED," NY Observer, Ken Kurson
"UPDATE: This story has been updated to reflect the
correct location of the meeting between Mr. Cruz and Mr. Adelson, as
well as a different characterization of the results of that meeting."
"Jewish life in New York is dominated by ritual. Holidays. A pastrami
reuben on a hero at Katz’s. The reading of holy books in cycles that
take a year (the Torah) or seven and a half years (the Talmud). And just
as reliably, there’s the ritual of presidential candidates sniffing
around for dough right after the midterm elections.
That last one got going in earnest yesterday and today, with Senator
Ted Cruz of Texas making a whirlwind tour of power Jews in New York
City.
Last night, Mort Klein’s Zionist Organization of America dinner featured Mr. Cruz, known for his steadfast and aggressive support of Israel,
in a prominent speaking role. Attendees included Alan Dershowitz,
Pastor John Hagee, and Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus. Those who made
the scene at a fancy VIP pre-dinner buffet included billionaire Ira
Rennert, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, former Westchester District
Attorney Jeanine Pirro, Public Relations authority Ronn Torossian,
Bernstein Global Wealth Management (and recent Observer subject)
Jeff Wiesenfeld, plus Rabbis Avi Weiss and Shmuley Boteach. Reviews of
Mr. Cruz were uniformly positive as many New York Jews got their first
taste of the tea party darling and discovered, to the shock of some,
that the Princeton-educated lawyer was rather well-spoken and engaging.
Today, there were some bigger surprises for the promising junior
senator, who is widely understood to be considering a run for the
Republican presidential nomination in 2016, including both the firepower
and the political leanings of those from the Jewish community who made
time for Mr. Cruz.
The Observer can report that Mr. Cruz had a private two-hour
meeting with the most highly sought-after donor of all. After sitting
next to Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire owner of the Venetian casino
who was the single largest donor to Republican causes
in 2012, at Sunday night’s ZOA dinner, Mr. Cruz and Mr. Adelson met for
two hours this morning at the St. Regis Hotel. While one source close
to Mr. Adelson claimed the casino owner liked Mr. Cruz but found the
senator “too right wing” and concluded he is a longshot to win the
nomination, Mr. Adelson called the Observer after publication of this story to dispute that characterization of his reaction to Mr. Cruz. Mr. Adelson made clear to the Observer
that he was the only person in the room with Mr. Cruz and thus the only
one in a position to know how he felt about the Senator.
Another surprise is that Mort Zuckerman, the developer and owner of the New York Daily News who usually backs moderate Democrats, hosted Mr. Cruz for a lunch yesterday before the ZOA dinner.
And then a final surprise show of interest in a candidate who would
perhaps have appeared outside the usual centrist spectrum of Jewish
political giving. Michael Steinhardt—the
investing legend and megaphilanthropist who chaired the same Democratic
Leadership Council that catapulted Bill Clinton to the White House—hosted Mr. Cruz at his investment firm’s office.
Jointly hosted by Mr. Boteach and Mr. Steinhardt, about a dozen heavy
machers met for a private kosher lunch with the senator, including
Perella Weinberg hedge fund manager Dan Arbess, NGN Capital’s Ken
Abramowitz, and Edward Turen of Control Equity Group.
The Observer noted several attendees seemed to arrive with
doubts similar to Mr. Adelson’s enthusiastically nodding assent as Mr.
Cruz addressed questions on topics ranging from Israel to Harry Reid to
his own electability in a possible 2016 presidential run.
Mr. Cruz poured himself a Diet Coke, removed his jacket, and jumped
right in. “There are times in history that are inflections. Basic forks
in the road that have far-reaching consequences. I think 2016 is going
to be one of those elections.”
Mr. Boteach said, “You are arguably the strongest US Senator when it
comes to Israel. But if you run, can you win? You’re seen as a champion
of the tea party. And the media tends to caricature.”
Mr. Cruz replied, “Historically, the media has had two caricatures of Republicans. We are either stupid or evil.”
“Sometimes both!” volunteered one of the lunchers.
Mr. Cruz laughed and continued. “Reagan was stupid, according to the
media. George W. Bush, Dan Quayle, stupid. Nixon was evil, Cheney was
evil. I sort of take it as a backhanded compliment that they’ve invented
a new caricature for me – crazy. At the end of the day, that caricature
doesn’t trouble me because it’s fundamentally false. The American
people have a history of making up their own minds.”
Mr. Cruz told the group that as groups who might be skeptical-like
the one in this room-come to know him, doubts will be dispelled and
stereotypes will be shattered.
And again, the Gipper comes up. “If you look back, in October of
1980, the American people were told Reagan was a wild-eyed cowboy who’s
going to lead us into World War Three. People tuned in and watched the
debate and said, ‘you know what? I agree with that guy.'”
As the crowd pressed, Mr. Cruz surprised at least some in the room with a proclamation.
“I don’t think I’m all that conservative. And it’s interesting.
Reagan never once beat his chest and said ‘I’m the most conservative guy
who ever lived.’ Reagan said, ‘I’m defending common sense
principles—small businesses, small towns.'”
Mr. Cruz addressed the sad state of politics in Washington with some
eloquence. “The biggest divide is not between Republicans and Democrats.
The biggest divide is between career politicians in Washington of both
parties and the American people.”
When it came to Israel and the US, Mr. Steinhardt reflected the
concern dominating the room. “On some levels, things are good. The U.S.
Stock market at an all-time high, real estate in New York is near that,
the art market is insane. But what is not wonderful is the mood. I’m not
sure I have an answer. The two-state solution looks remote. And if that
doesn’t happen, what is going to happen?”
The senator made his living litigating before the Supreme Court
before heading to Washington. So he knew how to play to the room with
appropriate outrage about the Obama administration’s perceived deficits
on the Jewish state. For example, he cited a case in which a Jewish
family wants to list “Jerusalem, Israel” on its son’s passport.
Deploying a mindboggling analogy before the highest court, the Soliciter General likened Israel’s claim over Jerusalem to Russia’s claim on Crimea.
From the 34th Floor of Mr. Steinhardt’s 5th
Avenue office, Mr. Cruz thundered, “That is a grotesque and offensive
analogy. This administration has been the most antagonistic toward
Israel in memory.”
He also said, “Standing for Israel is a deep passion
of mine. But it’s also a manifestation of a basic principle that if I
say I’m with you I’m really with you.”
And then Mr. Cruz, whose parents were both mathematicians, gave the
crowd what it wanted by delving into some “path to victory” stuff. And
threw in a cheeky anecdote.
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