Posted on 03/04/2015 1:34:46 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – This past weekend at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, every possible candidate for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination laid out his case on why he should be for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. As could be expected, every speaker from Jeb Bush to Rand Paul to Ben Carson used the opportunity to burnish his conservative credentials and sound like he was the most conservative person alive.
Sen. Ted Cruz was one of the few individuals who gave the audience more than just conservative platitudes and anti-Obama rhetoric. Cruz gave the audience two very clear and concise reasons why he stands apart from the crowd and why he can be trusted: he has the battle scars to prove that he has stood up for conservative principles, and he can bring together all three legs of the Republican Party.
He has backed up his words with actions.
Most of the possible candidates focused their CPAC speeches on strong anti-Obama rhetoric and promises to the American people about what they will do in the future. In politics today, there is no reason to believe that any politician will stand up for certain principles once they gain power, unless they have defended those principles before, especially at times when standing up for them was not politically or personally beneficial.
Cruz reminded the crowd that he has fought for conservative principles and policies: “Talk is cheap,” he began, “actions speak far, far louder than words. We need to look to people who walk the walk and don't just talk the talk. I had a former boss who used to say, ‘If I’m ever accused of being a Christian, I’d like for there to be enough evidence to convict me.’ It is equally true of being a conservative. If you're really a conservative you will have been in the trenches, you will bear the scars, you will have been fighting the fights.”
Cruz also emphasized that he is willing to go against the grain and stand up to members of his own party to defend his conservative values and the promises he made to the people of Texas when he ran for Senate: “If you have a candidate that has stood against Democrats, that's great! – but when have you been willing to stand up against Republicans? When have you been willing to stand with the people?”
Cruz has fought both Democrats and Republicans in Washington on many issues, including Obamacare, gun control, the debt ceiling, sanctions against Iran, Obama’s executive amnesty, the IRS targeting scandal, net neutrality, and leading the way on exposing the truth about Benghazi. He has taken an unbelievable amount of unfair criticism from the Republican establishment many times when he chose to stand up for conservative values rather than towing the party line.
Put simply, Cruz has kept every single promise he made to the people of the state of Texas when he ran for Senate, regardless of the personal and/or political detriment that he was facing at the time, which lends him much more credibility than most all of the other possible candidates who spoke.
He can bring together all three legs of the Republican Party
Republicans, if they want to win in 2016, must be able to bring together all three legs of the Republican Party: national security conservatives, fiscal conservatives, and social conservatives. Cruz is one of the few candidates who could appeal to all three.
Cruz made this point in his speech: “We need to reassemble the Reagan Coalition. We bring together fiscal conservatives, social conservatives and national security conservatives. We stand strong for economic growth, but we also stand for life and marriage. We defend constitutional rights but we also stand and lead the fight against ISIS and a nuclear Iran.”
He also discussed how exactly to do this, and added a very strong jab at Hillary Clinton in the process: “We do that fundamentally, by standing with the people, and not with Washington. Washington wants Obamacare; the people want liberty. Washington wants amnesty; the people want rule of law. Washington wants power over the Internet, the people want freedom online… Hillary Clinton embodies the corruption of Washington… we need to run a populous campaign standing for hardworking men and women. We need to take the power out of Washington, and bring it back to the American people.”
As is becoming very clear, the Obama-Clinton-Kerry foreign policy has failed in every area of the world where they have involved themselves. Therefore, there is no doubt that foreign policy will be a huge topic in 2016. This bodes very badly for Sen. Rand Paul, as it will become apparent that his foreign policy is very similar to his father’s, which was the one issue that made Ron Paul an outcast with national security conservatives. He, as well as many others, will have a difficult time with the social conservative base as well, which is concerned with defending life from conception and traditional marriage. Cruz will be one of the very few candidates that appeals to all three branches.
In Cruz’s speech, he emphasized how many great conservative candidates may get in the race in 2016, and he is right; but, he also clearly and cleverly differentiated himself in two very critical areas. Cruz will be a major player in 2016, and he gave two very strong reasons why he should be the next Republican nominee for President last weekend at CPAC.
CCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZz
“Question: Is Lynch going to be AG, or not?”
It’ll either be 50-50 with biden casting the deciding vote and democrats being joined by 4 republicans or 51-49 with 5 republicans joining the democrats. Whatever the dems need mCconnell will see that they get it.
And .. I hate to burst your bubble .. but you live in a Constitutional Republic .. not a democracy. Like I said, you must be 12; that’s your mentality.
I’m in no bubble.. In a Constitutional Republic the States would have ultimate power over the federal paper givernment..
they do NOT ANYMORE..
WE live in a democracy.. yeah YOU TOO..
ALL POWER IS CENTRALIZED in the federal leviathan..
To say this is NOT SO... is delusional.. (yeah you)..
The States have become VASSALS of the federal givernment...
At one time the federal givernment was VASSAL of the States.. NOT SO anymore..
The States are clients of the federal givernment NOT..
the fed client of the States..
if anyone is prepubescent its YOU... suggest you get out more..
“Cruz is part of the majority in the Senate now. Can he pass bills?”
Unfortunately I’m not sure that republicans hold the majority in the senate or house. Maybe they do if you count rinos but electing the leader is one thing, passing legislation or denying the democrats anything is another
“but if we don’t control the Obamacancer in the next two years, it doesn’t matter what anyone says, it’s what the Republicans DO in Congress and in the 31 statehouses the GOP controls as we speak.”
Cruz won’t get much sleep. That’s for sure.
Well said.
I think you and SoCon are both scoring some points.
Here is one maybe we can agree on. Thank god it is shaping up at this very early stage that it’s highly likely our choice will either be Walker or Cruz.
Cruz in my opinion is probably less enamored with government in general than Walker.
My vote is for Cruz but I will, as things stand today, LOVE to vote for Walker in Novemer 16 if hes the nominee.
Thank god it is shaping up at this very early stage that it’s highly likely our choice will either be Walker or Cruz.
* * *
Agree strongly! Conservative consensus is coalescing around these two. I hope they can overcome their egos and work together. I think Cruz has a fire and charisma that Walker lacks, but Walker has more experience governing. I’d like to see Cruz as POTUS and Walker as V.P. (with a role much like Cheney’s, of actually advising and helping the president rather than being ignored). Add Gowdy into the mix as A.G. and I’d be a happy woman! ;o)
Cruz was awesome at CPAC, but he got crushed by Walker in the straw poll and just squeaked by Dr. Ben Carson. I love the guy, but after CPAC I seriously doubt his ability to get the nomination in 2016, seems like we’re going to get Walker, I’m ok with that, but I wish it was Cruz.
Makes two of us!
I like Cruz simply because I can believe him.
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