--- title: Ted Cruz Slams Bob Dole, Donald Trump As Crony Establishment description: The fight heats up canonical: https://time.com/4189400/donald-trump-ted-cruz-bob-dole/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-21T21:02:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:56:27.251Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ted Cruz Slams Bob Dole, Donald Trump As Crony Establishment og:description: The fight heats up og:url: https://time.com/4189400/donald-trump-ted-cruz-bob-dole/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde64d1750c8da0f9/6988797a5f570fd5a0b1f3ad/ted-cruz-nh.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4776 og:image:height: 2687 og:image:alt: Ted Cruz og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ted Cruz Slams Bob Dole, Donald Trump As Crony Establishment twitter:description: The fight heats up twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde64d1750c8da0f9/6988797a5f570fd5a0b1f3ad/ted-cruz-nh.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ted Cruz Slams Bob Dole and Donald Trump as Corrupt Establishment Leaders > Sponsored content. 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In early voting states like New Hampshire, the hard work of winning elections is often decided by volunteers on the ground._ by [Zeke J Miller / Manchester, NH](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Manchester, NH Jan 21, 2016 9:02 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop Matt Rourke—AP by [Zeke J Miller / Manchester, NH](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Manchester, NH Jan 21, 2016 9:02 PM UTC Texas Sen. Ted Cruz [returned fire](http://time.com/4186862/donald-trump-ted-cruz-hillary-clinton/) on establishment Republicans Thursday, including former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, who suggested that Cruz would fare worse in a general election than Donald Trump. Speaking to reporters following a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Cruz said Dole, among others, were looking to continue the “cronyism” and “corruption” of Washington. “If you think of the last time we beat the Washington cartel it was 1980, it was the Reagan revolution, where millions of Americans rose up,” Cruz said. “And I would note that Mr. Dole then opposed Reagan, and said we need someone who can go to Washington who can cut a deal. Well the American people understood that’s not what we needed.” Dole, a 92-year-old war hero and the GOP’s 1996 presidential nominee, suggested Wednesday that Trump was more amenable to the party’s elites than Cruz, who has alienated most of his colleagues in the Senate and drawn the ire of many in the donor and business communities. Cruz has also recently [been criticized](http://time.com/4185696/iowa-gov-wants-ted-cruz-defeated/) by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad. “I don’t know how he’s going to deal with Congress,” Dole told the New York Times. “Nobody likes him.” He added he thought Trump could “probably work with Congress, because he’s, you know, he’s got the right personality and he’s kind of a deal-maker.” “Just yesterday, Bob Dole explained why the establishment is supporting Donald Trump,” Cruz added. “They said he’s someone we rn make a deal with. He’s someone we can cut a deal with And I would note Donald just a couple of days ago, drew the difference between me and him. And he said look Ted won’t go along to get along, he won’t cut a deal. So if as a voter you think what we need is more republicans in Washington to cut a deal with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, then I guess Donald Trump’s your guy.” Cruz was not done there. “That’s what the Republican establishment is saying,” he continued. “If you want someone to continue the cronyism, to continue the corporate welfare, to continue the corruption of Washington from Washington picking winners and losers, then we’re seeing the Washington establishment run behind Donald Trump. And what Bob Dole is effectively saying and what the establishment is saying is that the guy that scares the heck out of us is Cruz. Cruz actually will stand with the American people against the career politicians in both parties.” ## Transcript [ BLANK_AUDIO ] 30 days to the primary, every second counts. We're hoping that this will prove our tenacity and we're willing to not only go out here and knock on doors, but knock on doors in awful weather because That's how strongly we feel about this campaign. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Three weeks to go now until the first votes are cast in the 2016 presidential race. But the bigger surprise right here, Sanders is closing in on Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders deadlocked. Sanders is out for And that has her campaign admitting they are nervous. [ APPLAUSE ] People hearing the message directly from the senator is wonderful, but we can't have a rally every day. The conversations that matter to me are the ones that are happening between individuals. Because at the end of the day, that's what wins an election. If they're home. [ SOUND ] I think the best I ever did was 61 houses. And I think I got 7 commit cards. Which was pretty good. We've had a big push in the past 60 days. My job is not to convince people to change their vote, I'm just there to give them information. Hi. Hi. Mr. Thorner? And also, it's to inform people what day the Primary is on. Should be, here. [ SOUND ] I remember, I think it was about six years ago now, there was one. Disheveled crazy looking guy on floor of the Senate who gave a 10 and a half hour filibuster about how stupid the Bush tax cuts were. And I remember seeing that, being like, this dude is the only dude in the Senate with guts and this is exactly what I believe in. And I started following a little bit more about who is he was and everything I heard him say, I agreed with and loved. Like everything. Well, we're just out here for Bernie, because we believe that he's one of the most different candidates. That can really revolutionize- This is the grind, yes, this is where it's won. Those are the most effective and persuasive ways of talking to voters. All right, whose next? Yesterday alone we knocked on 17, 000 doors. Watch the ice. One day, 17, 000 doors. We're from the Bernie Sanders campaign and we were just wondering if you were planning on voting in the primary on February 9th. [ INAUDIBLE ] Hilary in the primary. Definitely. Wonderful. Be voting for both of you. Great. Leaning strongly in her favor? I'm still not sure. I love Bernie Sanders. Most of us do Who are in this part of the country. But there's some drawbacks, too. I'm torn- She's a woman with very strong convictions just like Bernie- That I admire. And she's stuck to them, but now she's moderated them to say well, I can meet the Republicans halfway. And I don't know what will happen if Bernie can't meet them halfway. I'm not sure that he would Even have a chance of [ CROSSTALK ] Yes, yeah. That's what I'm really worried. The worries that people have about his electability should have really disappeared by now. All these people that no other candidate would get should come out and vote for them Bernie's got those people. And people that haven't voted in 20 years. And I've seen them in the office making calls. I've seen them stepping up and doing stuff. And I think Bernie talks the talk and walks the walk. One of the reasons that I'm really For Hilary is because of the Affordable Care Act and I think she will not only keep it, but improve on it. I've had breast cancer, my husband's had prostate cancer, my son has treatable epilepsy. She's just right on for people from birth to death. If we get that win by three points or five points or whatever, it's gonna be us on On the ground making that difference, creating that margin, and that's what it's about. Doing it three times this week, because we're getting close to the wire. I definitely will do it the remainder of the Saturdays and possibly some of the Sundays. Then I have said that I'll come in two nights a week to make calls Bye. [ LAUGH ] See if we could get the dogs to vote, we'd be doing really just right. 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