David Brooks Describes The Two Republican Establishments And Ted Cruz

David Brooks was part of the establishment movement in the Republican Party during the 1970's.  The movement consciously build institutions to counter the liberal institutions that were dominant in the US.  Most of the conservative think tanks were part of this development.  This movement prospered during the Reagan Administration by using the levers of power available to them.  Brooks argues that Ronald Reagan was not pure enough for some conservatives and an anti-establishment movement developed that was more interested in ideological purity than in the use of power to reform government by compromising with the Democratic Party.  According to Brooks the anti-establishment wing of the GOP has become as powerful as the establishment wing of the Party.  The Heritage Foundation has moved over to the anti-establishment wing of the Party and the Club For Growth has emerged as a power center.

Brooks provides us with this history lesson in order to describe Ted Cruz and his rise to power within the anti-establishment wing of the Party.  He describes Cruz as a self centered Machiavellian who is as tactical as he is ideologically driven.  He has raised twice as much money as Mario Rubio, who Brooks tends to like.  Brooks has raised a flag about Cruz as a warning to Republicans who may want to jump on his bandwagon as the campaign develops and Trump self-destructs.  I don't think that Brooks wants to be a spokesperson for the anti-establishment wing of the GOP.  He helped to develop the establishment wing of the party during the 1970's and later.