Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has some advice for fellow Republicans in the House: Stop reading The New York Times.
Sparking applause from the crowd gathered at the National Review Institute’s summit, Mr. Cruz said he is confident that the nation is “on the verge of a rebirth of conservatism” and that the first step in that direction is for members of House GOP to cancel their subscription to the Old Gray Lady.
“The next two years of headlines from The New York Times: ’The Democrats are right, abandoned conservative principles,” Mr. Cruz said.
Mr. Cruz said the GOP-controlled House over the next two years will serve as the “last bastion standing between us and oblivion” and said conservatives must stand together to stop President Obama and Senate Democrats from pushing through tighter gun laws, new spending and new regulations.
“They are feeling emboldened right now, and if conservatives stand together, we can stop that, and stopping bad things that will harm this country, and harm Americans, is a major victory for the next two years,” Mr. Cruz said.
Mr. Cruz said Republicans should not shy away from accepting a temporary government shutdown in the coming fights over the continuing budget resolution and the debt ceiling, saying it might be the only way to get Democrats to curtail government spending.
“President Obama has indicated sadly that he has no interest of being Bill Clinton, that he has no interest in tacking to the middle,” Mr. Cruz said. “He has no interests in compromising with anybody, and the only way we are going to restrain the out-of-control spending and debt that is threatening our future is to use those leverage points [the continuing resolution and debt-ceiling debates] to force real solutions.”
The tea party favorite surprised the Republican party of Texas when he knocked off Lt. Gov. David Dewhurt in the runoff for the U.S. Senate. The 41-year-old son of a Cuban-American immigrant, went on to defeat Texas state lawmaker Paul Sadler in the November election.
Since arriving in Washington, Mr. Cruz, a graduate of Harvard Law School, has not kept his head down. He has been a staple on the television talk show circuit and frequent critic of Mr. Obama, including his choice of former Sen. Chuck Hagel as defense secretary.
During an appearance last week on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Cruz said the proposed regulations the Obama administration put forward following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School would not have saved those that were killed.
“This is not designed to actually solve the problem of violent crime. This is designed to assuage liberal partisans who want to push gun control,” the freshman senator said.
Mr. Cruz also said he would have defied party leaders and joined with the eight senators — a group that included Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky — that voted against the “fiscal cliff” deal brokered by Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate.
On Saturday, Mr. Cruz called the deal, which amounted to a tax increase on wealthiest Americans, “lousy.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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