Is Ted Cruz the next Marco Rubio?

He’s a Cuban-American, tea-party backed upstart taking on a establishment-backed Republican Senate candidate.

Is Ted Cruz the next Marco Rubio?

“This is a showdown between a conservative fighter and an establishment moderate, so there are certainly similarities,” said Cruz campaign manager John Drogin.

U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz (R) greets supporters at The Tea Party Express rally in Austin on May 6. (Jay Janner - AP/Austin American-Statesman)

The former solicitor general forced Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst into a runoff in Tuesday, keeping the frontrunner just below the 50 percent he needed to win outright. The two will face off in a July 31 runoff.

Like Rubio, who won his Florida Senate seat in 2010, Cruz has the support of a number of conservative heavyweights up to and including former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, and the Club for Growth.

Born Rafael Edward Cruz, the candidate is son of a teenage refu­gee who fled from Cuba to Austin, Texas with $100 sewn into his underwear. Like Rubio, Cruz brings up his father’s story regularly in speeches.

Unlike Rubio, who has misremembered some facts in his personal history, Cruz has made clear that his father was fleeing right-wing dictator Fulgencio Batista and left the country before Fidel Castro took power. “He was a guerilla, throwing Molotov cocktails and blowing up buildings,” Cruz has said. “They didn't know Castro was a Communist, what they knew was that Batista was a cruel and oppressive dictator.”

Cruz graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School, where he served on the law review; he clerked for former Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. He was a founding editor of the Harvard Latino Law Review. He was the first Hispanic solicitor general in Texas and the youngest solicitor general in the country.

“You have a young guy who looks like the future, who talks about the future, and has a motivated base,” said Texas Republican strategist Jordan Berry.

The comparison between Cruz and Rubio is imperfect largely due to the nature of the candidate Cruz is facing

Unlike then-Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Dewhurst retains significant support. Crist was losing his own establishment friends even before he decided to run as an independent; former governor Jeb Bush’s sonsheld a fundraiser for Rubio in 2009.

Dewhurst has not broken with his party in major ways, as Crist did. A Rice University study found that the lieutenant governor is about as conservative as two-thirds of the Republican state Senate delegation. (One-third of GOP state senators are more conservative, a fact Cruz highlighted.)

“This is a race between a Texas conservative businessman, David Dewhurst, and a lawyer who’s been funded by D.C. special interests, who has no record,” said Dewhurst spokesman Matt Hirsch.

Cruz also lags behind Dewhurst in polls. Dewhurst was forced into a runoff, but he still beat Cruz 45 percent to 34 percent. A recent poll from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling had Dewhurst beating Cruz 59 to 34 percent in a runoff. Supporters of former Dallas mayor Tom Leppert, who placed third in the primary, overwhelmingly break for Dewhurst in the poll although it remains to be seen how it will all play out now that the runoff is a reality.

Cruz’s campaign argues that runoff turnout, which is likely to be low in the dead of a Texas summer, will be good for them.

The grassroots upstart also has to win over some skeptics. A recent Wall Street Journal op-ed calledCruz “aloof” and suggested “he’d do well to talk less about himself.”

Cruz could very well upset Dewhurst as Rubio drove Crist from the primary and the party. But his victory likely won’t be as easily won.

Tim Cook’s Interview and Two Other Stories You Need to Know

Welcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. Today, we’re looking at three particularly interesting stories.

Tim Cook Hints at Apple’s Next Steps

In an interview with All Things D, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company has a “very solid” relationship with Facebook, hinting at deeper integration with the world’s largest online social network in the future.

He also said Siri would be getting some enhancements in the near future, but didn’t confirm or deny that Apple is working on a TV set or a related product.

Salesforce to Purchase Buddy Media for More Than $800 Million [REPORT]

Salesforce.com is close to purchasing Buddy Media for more than $800 million, All Things D reports. Sources say Google was in the mix for the acquisition, too, but Buddy Media chose Salesforce’s offer.

Doc Watson, Blind Guitar Wizard Who Influenced Generations, Dies at 89

Doc Watson, the guitarist and folk singer whose flat-picking style elevated the acoustic guitar to solo status in bluegrass and country music, and whose interpretations of traditional American music profoundly influenced generations of folk and rock guitarists, died on Tuesday in Winston-Salem, N.C. He was 89.
Mr. Watson, who had been blind since he was a baby, died in a hospital after recently undergoing abdominal surgery, The Associated Press quoted a hospital spokesman as saying. On Thursday his daughter, Nancy Ellen Watson, said he had been hospitalized after falling at his home in Deep Gap, N.C., adding that he did not break any bones but was very ill.

Mr. Watson, who came to national attention during the folk music revival of the early 1960s, injected a note of authenticity into a movement awash in protest songs and bland renditions of traditional tunes. In a sweetly resonant, slightly husky baritone, he sang old hymns, ballads and country blues he had learned growing up in the northwestern corner of North Carolina, which has produced fiddlers, banjo pickers and folk singers for generations.

His mountain music came as a revelation to the folk audience, as did his virtuoso guitar playing. Unlike most country and bluegrass musicians, who thought of the guitar as a secondary instrument for providing rhythmic backup, Mr. Watson executed the kind of flashy, rapid-fire melodies normally played by a fiddle or a banjo. His style influenced a generation of young musicians learning to play the guitar as folk music achieved national popularity.

“He is single-handedly responsible for the extraordinary increase in acoustic flat-picking and fingerpicking guitar performance,” said Ralph Rinzler, the folklorist who discovered Mr. Watson in 1960. “His flat-picking style has no precedent in earlier country music history.”

Arthel Lane Watson was born in Stoney Fork, N.C., the sixth of nine children, on March 3, 1923. His father, General Dixon Watson, was a farmer and day laborer who led the singing at the local Baptist church. His mother, Annie, sang old-time ballads while doing household chores and at night sang the children to sleep.

When Mr. Watson was still an infant an eye infection left him blind, and the few years of formal schooling he received were at the Raleigh School for the Blind. His musical training, typical for the region, began in early childhood. At the age of 5 or 6 he received his first harmonica as a Christmas gift, and at 11 his father made him a fretless banjo with a head made from the skin of a family cat that had just died.

Arthel dropped out of school in the seventh grade and began working for his father, who helped him get past his disability. “I would not have been worth the salt that went in my bread if my dad hadn’t put me at the end of a crosscut saw to show me that there was not a reason in the world that I couldn’t pull my own weight and help to do my part in some of the hard work,” he told Frets magazine in 1979.

By then, Arthel had moved beyond the banjo. His father, hearing him plucking chords on a borrowed guitar, promised to buy him his own guitar if he could teach himself a song by the end of the day. The boy taught himself the Carter Family’s “When the Roses Bloom in Dixieland,” and a week later he was the proud owner of a $12 Stella guitar.

Mr. Watson initially employed a thumb-picking style, in which the thumb establishes a bass line on the lower strings while the rest of the fingers pick out a melody or chords. That soon changed.

“I began listening to Jimmie Rodgers recordings seriously and I figured, ‘Hey, he must be doing that with one of them straight picks,’ ” he told Dirty Linen magazine in 1995. “So I got me one and began to work at it. Then I began to learn the Jimmie Rodgers licks on the guitar, then all at once I began to figure out, ‘Hey, I could play that Carter stuff a lot better with a flat pick.’ ”

To pay for a new Martin guitar bought on the installment plan, Mr. Watson played for tips at a cab stand in Lenoir, N.C. Before long he was appearing at amateur contests and fiddlers’ conventions. One day, as he prepared to play for a radio show being broadcast from a furniture store, the announcer decided that the young guitarist needed a snappier name and appealed to the audience for suggestions. A woman yelled out, “Doc!,” and the name stuck. (Last year, a life-size statue of Mr. Watson was dedicated in Boone, N.C., at another spot where he had once played for tips to support his family. At his request the inscription read, “Just One of the People.”)

True or false: With Roy Halladay on the DL, the Phillies have no shot at the playoffs

Crasnick: False: I didn't love the Phillies' chances even before Halladay got hurt. But this is a proud, accomplished team that has a .500 record two months into the season even though Ryan Howard and Chase Utley haven't logged a single at-bat between them. Nobody is running away with the NL East, and the extra wild card spot gives the Phils some extra wiggle room. I think it's fair to say the Phils have a slim chance. But that's better than no chance.

Simon: False, but the chances have gone from reasonable to slim (I'd forecast it at less than 20 percent). In order to make the postseason, they'd definitely need Utley and Howard to come back at something close to the level of production that we've come to expect from them annually. They'll also need Halladay to return to form, and maybe the rest will allow him to heal up and do that. The Phillies were 46-19 in his starts in 2010 and 2011, but just 4-7 in 2012.

Baumann: Well, it looks less good than it did last week, but they've still got a shot. The drop from Halladay to either Dave Bush or Kyle Kendrick for two months is big in a division this close. But they've been without Cliff Lee and Vance Worley for parts of the season, and Utley and Howard for all of it, and they're still only four games back with more than 100 to play.

George Will Slams Donald Trump, Bloviating Ignoramus Responds With Epic Comeback on Twitter

Conservative columnist George Will slammed Donald Trump as a moronic blowhard this weekend, prompting a blistering, unintentionally hilarious response from the Celebrity Apprentice star, who has been campaigning with Mitt Romney.

The GOP presidential candidate has taken a lot of heat for appearing with Trump at a campaign fundraiser. Will criticized the move, as well as Trump personally.

“I do not understand the cost-benefit here,” Will said on ABC’s This Week. “The costs are clear. The benefit - what voter is going to vote for him because of Donald Trump?"

"The cost of appearing with a bloviating ignoramus is obvious, it seems to me."

"Donald Trump is redundant evidence that if your net worth is high enough, your IQ can be very low and you can still intrude into American politics.”

Bloviating ignoramus ... wow. George Will FTW. Fortunately, Trump took the high road with his response ... just kidding. Did you really fall for that?
“George Will may be the dumbest (and most overrated) political commentator of all time,” he tweeted. “If the Republicans listen to him, they will lose.”
Oh, and it continues. He adds: “Losers such as George Will and Rosie O'Donnell use me to get publicity for themselves. They are strictly third rate.”
“George Will totally ‘bombed’ at The Mar-a-Lago Club. I was there to watch. He was embarrassed and no longer likes Donald Trump.”
Yes ... what you just witnessed is Trump insulting Will AND name-checking his own elite Palm Beach real estate property! The Donald FTW!
Will did speak at the Trump’s opulent Palm Beach club ... in 1995. He has yet to respond to the Mar-a-Lago crack ... and really, how do you recover from that?!

Detroit Woman Gives Birth, Days After Fire Attack

Police say a Detroit woman whose ex-boyfriend allegedly tried to have her killed to prevent her from having his child has given birth to a boy.

Warren deputy police commissioner Louis Galasso says Latonya Bowman's son was delivered via an emergency cesarean section early Tuesday. He didn't know if the C-section was needed because of Saturday's attack.

The child's father and another man are expected to be arraigned on attempted murder charges.

Police say the second man abducted the 22-year-old Bowman while she was dropping her ex-boyfriend off after a night out. They say the man bound her in tape, doused her in lighter fluid and set her on fire. They say he then shot her and fled while she played dead.

Bowman is expected to recover.

Clippers to retain Vinny Del Negro as coach

The Clippers informed Coach Vinny Del Negro Tuesday that the team will pick up his contract option for the 2012-13 season, said sources that were not authorized to publicly speak on the matter.

Clippers owner Donald Sterling, president Andy Roeser and vice president of basketball operations Neil Olshey came to the conclusion that Del Negro would at least finish his third year as coach of the Clippers.

Del Negro took the Clippers to the second round of theWestern Conference playoffs, where they were swept in four games by the San Antonio Spurs.

But it was just the second time in the 31 years Sterling has owned the team that the Clippers reached the semifinals of the playoffs.

Del Negro led the Clippers to a 40-26 record during the shortened, 66-game lockout season, the 60.6% winning percentage the highest in franchise history for a single season.

He came under intense scrutiny and his job became tenuous after the Clippers lost three consecutive games in March.

But Del Negro and the Clippers turned things around, winning 13 of their next 15 games.

The Clippers lost home-court advantage for the playoffs by losing three of their last four games.

But again, Del Negro got the team turned around in its first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Clippers came back from a 27-point deficit to win Game 1 of that series and then won Game 7 in Memphis, to win the series, 4-3.

In his two years as coach of the Clippers, Del Negro has a 72-76 record.

Police: Boxer Paul Williams was driving motorcycle too fast at time of crash

Police in Marietta, Ga., say the 30-year-old boxer was driving at a high rate of speed and could not negotiate a curve on Sunday. Williams, who slammed into an embankment, has no movement from the waist down. 

Boxer Paul Williams was driving his modified sport motorcycle too fast for conditions when he crashed into an embankment, police said Tuesday.

Williams was paralyzed and has no movement from the waist down after a crash Sunday in Marietta, Ga., northwest of Atlanta, his manager George Peterson said.

The 30-year-old athlete severed his spinal cord after falling on his back and head when he was thrown from his motorcycle, Peterson said.

Williams was driving at a high rate of speed which was too fast for conditions, Marietta police said in a statement Tuesday. Police say he could not negotiate a curve, and the bike slammed into the embankment.

Williams, a fighter known as "the Punisher," is from Aiken, S.C. He was in metro Atlanta to attend his brother's wedding.

He was scheduled to fight Saul "Canelo" Alvarez on Sept. 15 in Las Vegas but that event has been canceled, Peterson said.

ETC.

Galaxy upset by Railhawks in U.S. Open Cup

Brian Shriver scored in the 88th minute, giving the Carolina Railhawks a 2-1 upset win over the Galaxy in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup in Cary, N.C. Shriver's shot from 15 yards on the right side got through goalie Bill Gaudette.

Pat Noonan scored on an assist from Chad Barrett in the 38th minute for the Galaxy. Ty Shipalane tied it in the 75th minute from five yards on the right side, assisted by Zach Schilawski.

The Galaxy played without David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane.

The Railhawks are winless (0-5-4) in the North American Soccer League this season.

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Former NBA star Dennis Rodman was sentenced to 104 hours of community service and three years of informal probation in Orange County court Tuesday after being found guilty of contempt for failing to pay child support, a court official said.

"Rodman also must pay current child and spousal support, and he still owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional back child support," the official said.

Rodman still has to settle any remaining disputes over child support and an additional contempt charge when he appears in court June 22, the official said.

Rodman, 51, spent 14 years in the NBA but is now broke, his attorney and financial advisor told The Times this year.

"In all honesty, Dennis, although a very sweet person, is an alcoholic," said Peggy Williams, his financial advisor. "His sickness impacts his ability to get work."

In March, an Orange County court commissioner told Rodman that he faced a possible 20-day jail stint or community service for contempt of court unless he came up with $860,376 in child and spousal support he owes his ex-wife by Tuesday.