[Hoot Gibson]

Anybody who does not understand why Ted Cruz has such a loyal and growing group of supporters should watch the video below. Cruz was being heckled by a group of Code Pink protesters who were attempting to shout him down. Think about how other candidates handle this situation and then watch Cruz.

Ted Cruz is a fearless debater. Instead of having security forcefully remove the hecklers, he challenges them to send a leader forward for an impromptu debate. He shames them into politely debating him by treating them with respect. Of course, no politician can afford to give equal time to rabid protesters at every event, but I think that this video shows how unflappable Cruz is during a debate and how confident he is in his positions.

This video illustrates why Donald Trump has been so reluctant to personally attack Ted Cruz the way that he has gone after Jeb Bush and other candidates. Cruz thrives when debating people who rude and easily agitated. Trump has rightly identified Jeb Bush as a candidate who is easily rattled when criticized and he has wisely decided not to try the same tactics against Cruz.

This video is pretty long, but I think that it gives us an idea of why the GOP establishment decided to limit the number of debates during the primary season and why so many candidates have been included in the prime time debates. Imagine Jeb Bush debating Cruz or Trump one-on-one for 90 minutes. It would be a political TKO, with Bush knocked senseless. That is why the debates were designed to protect Jeb as much as possible on his way to winning the nomination. Obviously, the strategy has backfired on the GOP.

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