Ted Cruz discovers ‘right-wing socialism’ and would like Republicans to stop giving away free stuff

BS BULLETIN:

Sen. Ted Cruz is warning Republicans about what he calls a growing strain of “right-wing socialism.”
Cruz says the GOP shouldn’t try to compete with Democrats by becoming a “more generous Santa Claus.”
His prescription for Republicans is decidedly old school: free markets, limited government and stop promising everybody free stuff.

Sen. Ted Cruz has identified a new ideological threat to the Republican Party.

Republicans giving away too much stuff.

The Texas senator is warning fellow conservatives against what he calls “right-wing socialism” — the idea that Republicans can adopt big-government economic policies of their own while simply directing the benefits toward different people.

Cruz said Republicans shouldn’t respond to Democratic spending proposals by trying to become an even more generous Santa Claus.

His argument is straightforward: If Republicans believe socialism doesn’t work, they shouldn’t attempt to build their own version of it.

“We shouldn’t be giving away free stuff,” Cruz said while discussing the ideological debate developing inside the GOP.

Cruz argued that Republicans have historically succeeded by defending free enterprise, reducing taxes and regulations and limiting government’s role in the economy.

The warning reflects a broader argument underway on the right as populism becomes an increasingly powerful force inside the Republican coalition.

Some Republicans favor a more muscular government role in the economy, including industrial policy, tariffs, restrictions on corporations and government intervention intended to protect American workers.

Traditional economic conservatives like Cruz are much more skeptical.

He argues that swapping left-wing government intervention for right-wing government intervention doesn’t solve the underlying problem.

It just changes who’s running the intervention.

Cruz’s comments come as Republicans are having a broader conversation about how far the party should move away from its Reagan-era economic orthodoxy.

President Donald Trump has already moved the GOP significantly toward tariffs, domestic manufacturing incentives and an “America First” economic model.

Trump has also proposed a separate $5,000 “Trump dividend” for adult American citizens if Republicans retain Congress, saying the payment would reflect the economic gains produced by his policies and would have to be spent inside the United States.

Trump has continued to stand behind that proposal, saying the payments are “going to happen — 100 percent,” although congressional Republicans have said legislation and funding details would still have to be worked out.

Cruz’s remarks were broader than that specific proposal.

His concern is where the Republican Party ultimately draws the line between populist economic policies designed to benefit American workers and government redistribution that conservatives once reflexively opposed.

And Cruz has a name for the latter.

“Right-wing socialism.”

Which means Republicans now apparently have their own socialism to argue about.