Cruzing Into Town For Opportunity, Is Not Lost

KUDLOW: 1 CHEER FOR THE FISCAL CLIFF DEAL, 2 THUMBS DOWN

SENATOR TED CRUZ FROM RED-STATE TEXAS. What a breath of fresh air in a city of increasing dismal air quality and mean-house gases.

Maybe he can successfully reframe conservatism in refreshing new ways. He certainly gets off to a roaring good start with this piece in the WaPo today:

WHAT THE GOP SHOULD STAND FOR: OPPORTUNITY ....

(Criticizing) the overall narrative of Republicans:

Voters were convinced that the GOP is the party of “the rich” and that Democrats are the party of everybody else. That characterization is false, but as long as a majority of Americans believe that Republican policies do not benefit them, Republicans will continue to lose.

And far too many Republicans believe it as well.

So let me suggest an alternative course: opportunity conservatism. Republicans should conceptualize and articulate every domestic policy with a single-minded focus on easing the ascent up the economic ladder. We should assess policy with a Rawlsian lens, asking how it affects those least well-off among us. We should champion the 47 percent.

Couldn't agree more. Here's a great piece on the art of gentle persuasion @ WSJ that should be useful to Ted and his fellow conservatives.