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Posted on 08/10/2014 6:40:43 AM PDT by SoConPubbie
Sen. Ted Cruz spoke at the 2014 Red State Gathering in Ft. Worth on Friday, telling the hundreds of gathered conservative activists not to believe the media's rhetoric on the lagging conservative movement - that, in his time in Washington, there are distinct and powerful victories that conservatives can be proud of.
He named five victories, and two that, in his words, "are fixin' to be completed."
1. The defeat of President Obama and congressional Democrats' proposed gun control measures
Conventional wisdom last year was that the President's gun control proposals were unstoppable... I was proud to stand with my friends Rand Paul and Mike Lee and say that we'd filibuster any legislation."
Following the tragic shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, President Obama and congressional Democrats pushed legislation on "universal background checks." Notwithstanding that the legislation would have done little to nothing to prevent mass shootings - the gun used in Newtown was purchased entirely legally and then stolen by the murderer - the mainstream media pushed the narrative that it was imperative to "do something."
Pro-gun Republicans, however, were able to make strong enough arguments to convince their colleagues not to end any filibuster, and that the legislation was too important to ram through. Conservatives like Ted Cruz chalked up a victory.
"Every single one of President Obama's proposals to restrict our right to keep and bear arms was voted down," Cruz said to the RedState community.
2. Reform of the International Monetary Fund
Cruz told the audience of how Democrats attempted to sneak an Obama agenda item onto a Ukraine aid bill - and how he pointed it out, stood firm against Democrats who denounced him, and was able to have it stripped from the bill.
As Cruz said:
"Several months ago, the Senate was putting together aid to Ukraine, and the Senate Foreign Relations committee decided to attach to it something President Obama had been pushing for for years: so-called "IMF Reform." What did that reform do? For one it would increase the exposure of US taxpayers by billions of dollars to the IMF... It would have decreased America's power and influence at the IMF.. It would have increased Russia's influence and vote at the IMF.I stood on the Senate floor and said this makes no sense, and that we would fight against it... One week later, President Obama and Harry Reid both blinked and stripped the provision of the bill. Without it, [aid to Ukraine] passed 98-0."
3. The defeat of Iran's terrorist ambassador to the United Nations
Cruz spoke of Iran's nomination of a known terrorist to be their ambassador to the United Nations and his role in pushing the Obama Administration to deny that nominee a visa.
In April, Iran nominated Hamid Aboutalebi, a known terrorist who participated in the hostage crisis in 1979 and 1980, to be their ambassador to the United Nations. As Cruz said:
A lot of folks in Washington were saying this was terrible but there was nothing that could be done about it. I introduced legislation in the Senate to bar Aboutalebi from being admitted to the United States... That legislation passed the Senate 100-0. It then passed the House of Representatives 435-0. And then President Obama signed it into law.
4. Miriam Ibrahim's release and immigration to the United States
Miriam Ibrahim is a Sudanese Christian who had been given an impossible choice by the government of Sudan: renounce her Christianity or be executed. The attention that her case received, both worldwide and in the United States, may have helped contribute to Ibrahim's freedom. Sudan's highest court overturned her death sentence, and the U.S. embassy in Khartoum helped secure her departure from the country. She arrived in New Hampshire last month, ready to start a new life.
"It's an incredible, powerful victory about shining the light, and speaking out... a light that can reach the darkest of prison cells and bring hope," Cruz said.
5. Standing up to the FAA when they banned flights to Israel
During Hamas's ongoing terror attack on Israel, the Federal Aviation Administration prohibited flights into Israel for the first time in history. Cruz questioned the decision, calling it an "economic boycott of the nation of Israel."
"I said I'd put a hold on every State Department nominee," Cruz said, "...and suddenly light and truth shined on what they were doing. 36 hours after they put the ban in place, the Administration lifted the ban on flights into Israel."
The FAA insisted that the thirty-six hour flight prohibition was done solely on the basis of security precaution.
Beyond those five, Cruz named two big-picture conservative items that are, as he said, "not yet complete. But as we say in Texas, they're fixin' to be completed." Those two:
1. Winning on immigration reform
The border is in crisis. That much is indisputable. And as Cruz talked up Governor Rick Perry's actions at the border, he also foresaw a victory for Republicans. Cruz said that the recent migrant surge has not occurred in a policy vacuum.
"As a result of the President's illegal amnesty," Cruz said, addressing the influx of unaccompanied immigrant children, "we went from six thousand children to 90,000 children this year."
"We saw a victory a week ago in the House of Representatives," Cruz said. "The House of Representatives stood together and passed major reform legislation to address and solve this humanitarian crisis."
"The most important impact of that legislation is that it ends President Obama's amnesty."
Republicans have indeed touted the reform legislation, but it is unlikely that it's going to be adopted wholesale by the Democratically-controlled Senate, and perhaps even less likely to be signed by President Obama. It's a first step for Republicans, but there's a long way still to go.
2. Repeal of Obamacare
Obamacare is unpopular. This much is undeniable, and Cruz had much to say on its unpopularity.
But to call repeal a long shot would be to understate the odds. Republicans would need a veto-proof majority to overturn Obamacare during President Obama's administration - something that, no matter how good November's numbers are looking, is not going to happen. It will take a filibuster-proof GOP majority and a Republican president.
In the meantime, Obamacare is going to settle into an uneasy status quo. And it will require a massive amount of political will to overturn it come 2016, because Republicans will have to promise not that "if you like your insurance you can keep it," but they'll have to promise to take Obamacare insurance away from a large number of people.
What's interesting about Cruz's five already-accomplished victories are that they're on a much smaller scale than what he's talking up for the future. Stripping an IMF reform provision from a piece of legislation is easy. Repeal of Obamacare is much more difficult.
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Where is the GOPe on these issues? Does Boehner have a position? Why, if he does, won’t he articulate it?
Recently I received a call from the GOP asking for a donation to turn back the democrat initiatives. After I told them exactly what I think of the GOP, they eventually hung up. It was a very satisfying moment.
Me too. Such fun. I asked the gal if she knew about what happened in Mississippi. Amazingly she said YES!!! I told her that because of that I would never, ever, ever, ever give another dime to the GOP at either the national or Senatorial level. We talked a bit more and I finally told her to never call me again.
Very satisfying indeed.
I noticed that town hall tried to celebrate senator Cruz on one paragraph, and impugn him in the next, making his speech look like a cynical political move. I doubt they are in favor of his potential candidacy.
This being said, while Cruz did a nod to other conservatives in congress that supported his ideas, he needs to form a tighter conservative bloc, as such, to present the public with a unified conservative faction within the Republican party.
There is a very good reason for doing this. While a Tea Party endorsement is good, coming from the grassroots level, it helps to also have a top down endorsement as well. In this case, the conservative bloc could endorse conservative candidates in a crowded Republican field, to separate the “wheat from the chaff”.
A superb example right now is the Arizona governors’ race, with five or six Republicans all claiming the conservative mantle, but two or three of them may be faux conservatives. And “dark money” from out of state is pouring in to air attack ads in the melee. To make matters worse is that the AZ Tea Party is less focused and intense, so nobody is “calling out” the bad candidates, except each other, and the situation is confused.
Were Cruz and his conservative bloc to pick one who is most aligned with conservatism, even a brief mention could almost guarantee him the race. And they would also have the power to make conservative candidates “sign on the dotted line”, promising to back conservative agenda items.
Ted Cruz for President in 2016!
Agreed, Ted Cruz for President for 8 years,
the appoint him to serve a lifetime in the
U.S. Supreme Court.
May Jehovah God Bless our nation.
The GOPe has stopped sending letters and have stopped calling me. I have burned their ears off so many times that I have been cleansed of their mailing lists, email lists, and phone lists. I am sure that I have been purged from those lists, and added to the other lists.... you know, IRS audit lists, terror watch lists, domestic disposition matrix, etc.
and all that BIGGOV Inc. needs to do is infiltrate my computer with some kind of “no no” crap. Then I can wake up at 4am with the doors being bashed in, my dogs getting shot... and you know the rest of the story. The only saving grace that I have, is that I am still paying into the Leviathon.
While it might have been satisfying she can call you again and again. Political organizations are exempt from do not call.
I understand your frustration against the national organization but I hope that does not stop you from working for good conservative candidates locally.
No matter the differences any GOP is light years better than any Dem
Thanks SoConPubbie.
He kicks so much ass, he doesn’t even have to take names.
As opposed to Zero, who merely keeps track of all our names.
> “I doubt they are in favor of his potential candidacy.”
Most of the Beltway class are whores and mercenaries to some degree or another.
They will be all onboard once it is clear that conservatives have slaughtered the hogs and are preparing to feed the pigs.
The two issues Sen. Cruz says we're close on -- closing the damn borders and repealing Obamacare -- would go over big with Joe and Jane Sixpack, but he shouldn't spend too much time crowing about the others. Unless, of course, he can find a way to teach the American Sheeple why those victories are important...as did Ronald Reagan.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
No matter the differences any GOP is light years better than any Dem
***
Not necessarily.
Not a chance that I will stop working for the cause. I'm not one of those "Vote for the Dems and teach the GOPe a lesson" types. I want the Senate in the hands of the Republicans even though we all know that will mean GOPe control.
But these days that view may not be in the mainstream here at good old FR.
I kinda figured that you wouldn’t stop just because the RNC has gone goofy.:)
How anyone can think a Dem who embraces the democrat ideology could be better than a Republican who embraces true republican values is beyond me.
That is not to say there aren’t Pubs that should be replaced BUT they must be replaced with a real Republican Never with a Democrat
I've gotten about 20 calls in the past couple of weeks from an 'unknown' number. I do not pick up a call if I don't know who is calling, unless it is from my area code, because it's likely a prayer request, since I'm a contact person for our Parish Prayer line. If I don't pick up, and someone really wants me to call them, they'll leave a voicemail. If they don't leave a voicemail, I make note of the number, and am sure NOT to pick up again, when they try to call. If they're not willing to leave a voicemail, I just ignore them.
I am with you. I do not pick up any unknown number and I really HATE robo or any political calls.
I do a lot of political volunteering but will not do calls.
I have a strong feeling I will not get another call.
BTW, the fellow I spoke with sounded like a GOP person, and not just a paid phone canvasser.
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