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Yesterday, Senator Ted Cruz gave a major foreign-policy speech at the Heritage Foundation critiquing the disastrous nature of what he labeled as the “Obama-Clinton” approach to the subject. His desire to lay out his foreign-policy views in detail at such a venue as well as his focus on Clinton was a clear indication of something that is not exactly a secret: he’s planning on running for president in 2016. Members of his party’s establishment, which generally despises him as much as his fellow senators and the liberal media, do not take Cruz’s ambition too seriously. But as much as it...

On Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) spoke at the 9th Margaret Thatcher Freedom Lecture at the Heritage Foundation. Among other things, he discussed the Anglo-American “special relationship,” ways both countries can work together to combat Islamic terrorism, and the numerous foreign policy blunders committed by the current administration. “We’re gathered here today to talk about one of the greatest resources that America’s traditionally enjoyed, which is the power of friendships across the globe,” he began. “One of the sad legacies we’ve seen over the last six years is the fraying of friendships and alliances across the world,” he continued....

WASHINGTON – In a speech at the Heritage Foundation on Wednesday that sounded like the first foreign policy address of a presidential campaign, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called for a return to the international politics of President Ronald Reagan. Cruz contrasted Reagan’s approach with the Obama-Clinton policy of not putting distance between the U.S. and traditional allies, such as Britain and Israel, in the hope of “domesticating” long-standing enemies such as Russia and Iran. “This backfired,” Cruz argued. “The end result is that Churchill is no longer welcome in the Oval Office. He recalled one of Obama’s first acts...

Texas Senator Ted Cruz is reminding Americans that no civilized nation should ever torture prisoners. “Torture is wrong, unambiguously. Period. The end. Civilized nations do not engage in torture and Congress has rightly acted to make absolutely clear that the United States will not engage in torture,” Cruz said during the Q-and-A portion of a speech at the Heritage Foundation.

The Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom is delighted to welcome Senator Ted Cruz to deliver the 9th Margaret Thatcher Freedom Lecture. Previous speakers in the Thatcher Freedom Lecture series have included former Australian Prime Minister John Howard, journalist and author Charles Krauthammer, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, free market economist Hernando De Soto, historian Victor Davis Hanson, and human rights champion Natan Sharansky. In his address, Senator Cruz will outline his vision for restoring American leadership on the world stage and rebuilding partnerships with key U.S. allies at a time of increasing global threats to the...

“What I’m here urging my fellow Republicans to do is very, very simple. Do what you said you would do. Honor your commitments." -Sen. Ted Cruz Ted Cruz's Tough Message to House Republicans: ‘Do What You Promised' on ImmigrationThe BlazePete KasperowiczDecember 3, 2014http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/12/03/ted-cruzs-tough-message-to-house-republicans-do-what-you-promised-on-immigration/ Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Wednesday called on House Republicans to pass a spending bill that defunds President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration, and said failure to do so would be a failure of the GOP to live up to its campaign promises to fight Obama's plan. "What I'm here urging my fellow Republicans to do...

Trent Lott wasn’t always this way. He was once a conservative champion, who came to Washington to change the ruling-class narrative. But now he’s a profile in what Washington does to you if you stay too long — unless you have Winston Churchill-like courage of conviction, and few mere mortals do. Mr. Lott was originally part of a group that included former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Vin Webber, who were dubbed the “Young Turks.” They were among the chief lieutenants of the Reagan Revolution back in the day. Best known for fighting the Fraternal Order of Establishment Republicans....

AbstractThe FCC has proposed new regulations for Internet service providers, so-called net neutrality rules; the specific practices such rules would ban are unclear. While much will depend on the how the final rules are written, regulation advocates have given some indication of the types of practices they would target. Most of the practices identified by regulation supporters as activities that should be prohibited are in fact beneficial to consumers, or are conducted by challengers to the dominant firms in the marketplace. These cases—identified as examples of neutrality violations by regulation supporters themselves—show that efforts to further regulate the open...

In the minority, Republicans did not have responsibility for governance. However, with a few defections, as we saw in the 2013 shutdown, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) could start a rumpus, delay business, get attention and decry his fellow Republicans’ weakness when his own plots blew up. Come January, he will have a new challenge: remaining relevant. Cruz will not be the most hawkish Republican, even among the potential GOP presidential candidates. Recall that he favored changes to the National Security Agency that would have decimated the program and a “reform” in military investigations of sexual assault claims that would have...

At a Washington, D.C. event hosted by the Foreign Policy Initiative, Senator Ted Cruz defended the use of drones but also expressed some concern. "I'm worried about what I would call video game warfare," said Cruz in response to a question about drones.Watch here: "Look, it is a great question and it's one of the realities of changing warfare--is drones have changed how combat is conducted, it's changed our capacity," said Cruz, responding to the question. "There are advantages to that and risks to that. Now, drones it seems to me, are a tool. They are a tool that clearly...

Senator Rand Paul To Headline Mississippi Republican Party Victory Event ON:5 December 2014 BY:Admin IN: Media Advisory WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) will join Governor Phil Bryant and the Mississippi Republican Party in Jackson, Mississippi on Monday, December 8 for a fundraising event benefiting the state party. MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2014 WHAT: Mississippi Republican Party Victory Lunch TIME: 11:30 am (CST) WHO: Senator Rand Paul & Governor Phil Bryant WHERE: The Old Capitol Inn 226 North State Street, Jackson MS 39201

WASHINGTON—In terms of Washington politics, we have entered what a lot of people like to call the “silly season.” In the months to come there will be endless speculation as to who will make a run for president in 2016. There will be plenty of interest in both major parties since President Barack Obama is barred by law from seeking a third term. This is the time for trial balloons, fits of fancy and the rather far-fetched notion that anyone of about two dozen potential White House contenders could become the next President of the United States on January 20,...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) has been a mixed bag on foreign policy, generally solid in opposing Russian aggression and on Iran’s nuclear program, but inconsistent — if not illogical — on Syria and fighting the Islamic State and terribly misguided in attempting to hamstring the National Security Agency. One issue on which Cruz has been coy is defense spending. At the Foreign Policy Initiative forum this week, he told the audience that “in all likelihood” we need to spend more on defense. He then dwelt on a puny $120 million unnecessary item for algae fuel studies and insisted that we...

First Democrats, now a former Senate GOP leader is attacking Sen. Ted Cruz for standing his ground instead of compromising on key issues. Trent Lott, a former Senate majority leader from Mississippi and now a lobbyist, dubbed Cruz one of the “problems” in the Senate and urged incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to quickly “co-opt” new Republican senators before Cruz and others in the “Far Right” deputize them. “There are problems,” said Lott, pushing bipartisanship at a media roundtable hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. “Yes, we’ve got the Ted Cruzes in the Republican Party, and we’ve got Elizabeth...

I have no idea why some conservatives have decided that they need to imitate liberals by standing up for criminals. Ted Cruz fortunately isn’t one of them. Cruz refused to join the calls for clemency for Scott Panetti, who had murdered his in-laws and held his wife and daughter hostage, and instead said, “I trust the criminal justice system to operate, to protect the rights of the accused and to administer justice to violent criminals.” “I don’t think it’s appropriate for me, as an elected official who does not currently have a role in the criminal justice system, to be...

Sen. Ted Cruz is winning on social media. Between Sept. 1 to Dec. 1, the Texas Republican garnered the most mentions on Twitter out of 10 potential 2016 candidates, with 4.55 million mentions to his two handles, @SenTedCruz and @TedCruz, according to data provided to Politico. Cruz also had similar success on Facebook, with 1.8 million people talking about him, adding up to a whopping 5.6 million interactions (posts, comments and likes) between Aug. 22 and Nov. 22. The only other candidate with as much clout as Cruz on social media was former Secretary of State and likely 2016 Democratic...

In the world of Twitter and Facebook hashtags, the potential 2016 presidential candidates who generate the most buzz are former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, according to Politico. On Facebook, Clinton and Cruz together racked up 40 percent of posts and comments having to with the 2016 presidential race. On Twitter, both got 47 percent of mentions on the topic. And while former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush attracts plenty of media attention, he’s virtually ignored on social media, getting a lowly 3 percent of Facebook mentions and 2 percent of tweets, Politico noted. Sen. Marco...

Steve King started Wednesday morning by doing two of his favorite things: sipping piping-hot coffee and listening to Ted Cruz. The senator from Texas was a guest of the Conservative Opportunity Society, a decades-old organization of House conservatives that meets weekly. King, an Iowa Republican and the society's chairman, had hosted Cruz at previous such meetings, but this session was particularly significant. Over plates of biscuits and gravy and scrambled eggs, Cruz led a discussion of legislative options to retaliate against President Obama's recent executive actions shielding millions of illegal immigrants from deportation. A few hours later, Cruz and King...

The nation’s foreign policy is “a manifest disaster.” Its approach to cutting a deal with Iran on nuclear development is “catastrophically reckless.” Its policy on assisting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia is “incoherent.” This White House is home to the “most hostile administration to Israel in modern times.” That’s Sen. Ted Cruz’s scathing assessment of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, a blistering critique that is positioning him as the most blazingly hawkish Republican to potentially run for president in 2016. He also tellingly dubbed it “the Obama-Clinton foreign policy,” a subtle hint that he’d lob much of the same...

Senator claims that President Obama's immigration action hurts African Americans. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is intent on pulling out all the stops to block President Barack Obama’s executive action offering deportation relief for up to 5 million unauthorized immigrants. The pioneer of the 2013 government shutdown is pushing congressional conservatives to defund the president’s action in a must-pass spending bill, and has declared that “not a single presidential nominee” should be confirmed to any post if Obama moves forward with his “illegal amnesty.” On Wednesday, Cruz sank to a new low in his anti-immigration crusade, attempting to drive a wedge...