The Abilene Reporter-News published a remarkable story about a speech by Republican party chairman Steve Munisteri.
“Is Ted Cruz a bright star or what?” Minusteri said in a speech at the Brownwood Country Club.
The article continued, “After the meeting, he hesitated to say that Dewhurst, who was backed by Gov. Rick Perry, would be less effective in the upcoming legislative session, or that the governor lost any political clout by backing a loser–though he didn’t say they would remain political powerhouses.”
“The next legislative session will be critical for Dewhurst and for Perry,” he said. “You always want the last thing you do to be positive.”
If the 2013 legislative session is a swan song for the state’s longest tenured governor and his No. 2, the next generation of Texas political leaders will be ready to step in, headlined by Cruz.
“The secret to Cruz’s success is to be passionate to his ideals,” Munisteri said. “I don’t expect him to change one bit while in the Senate. He’ll end up being a new generation of younger Republican leaders in the state.”
Cruz, 41–and two decades younger than Perry, Dewhurst, and a host of other establishment Republican leaders in Texas–will be a speaker at the Republican National Convention in Tampa later this month.
“He could spring onto the national scene and be a big name, a Mike Huckabee type, one of those faces who is always on Fox News,” Munisteri said.
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This is amazing. Munisteri all but told Perry and Dewhurst it is time for them to go. (I couldn’t agree more, but then I’m not the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas.) Clearly, Munisteri prefers the next generation of Republican leader to the current one. Amazing indeed.
