Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has little chance of winning the presidency or even the nomination of the Republican Party, but he could raise havoc in the primaries by dragging the party to the right, particularly on cultural issues, and diminish the chances of the Republicans winning the White House in 2016.

Sen. Cruz on Monday became the first candidate to make his entry into the presidential race official. His focus is on energizing a hard-right coalition of religious conservatives and tea party faithful. The senator chose Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., who in 1979 co-founded the Moral Majority.

Evangelical Christians will embrace Sen. Cruz's call to "defend the sanctity of human life and uphold the sacrament of marriage." However, the broader electorate is supportive of reproductive rights and increasingly accepting of same-sex relationships.

Likewise, his calls to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and repeal Obamacare are red meat for the tea partiers, but most voters know the country needs someone to collect taxes, even if the tax system is simplified. Meanwhile, about 16.4 million people have gained health insurance coverage since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law. The real debate will be about how to improve Obamacare, not eliminate it.

In the Republican primaries, Sen. Cruz will try to make the debate about whether the other candidates are "for" the IRS, back family values, and are sufficiently pure with their anti-Obamacare messages. In the process, he may well move the eventual nominee to the right on issues that will be difficult to defend in the general election.

In addition to being out of touch politically with the general electorate, the freshman senator cannot win because he has alienated his Senate colleagues and party leaders, making it difficult to find the seasoned campaign operatives and money needed to run a national campaign.

Sen. Cruz led the charge to close down the government in 2013 in a quixotic quest to block implementation of the ACA, a foolish move that proved disastrous for the party. His preachy, unyielding rhetoric makes it harder for his fellow Republican senators to entertain the compromises necessary to legislate.

If anyone had reason to celebrate Sen. Cruz's entry into the race, it was the Democrats.