Sen. Ted Cruz called for the abolition of the IRS and the repeal of Obamacare in a rousing speech to kick off the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday.
The Texas Republican has made a name for himself in Tea Party and conservative circles by standing ironclad on issues like the federal debt ceiling — to the consternation of some in his own party, at times.
He took a lighthearted swipe at some of the GOP’s recent presidential prospects who had been perceived as moderate by some in the modern party.
“Of course all of us remember President Dole and President McCain and President Romney,” he said.
Mr. Cruz also called for an auditing of the Federal Reserve — a pet issue for Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican and a potential 2016 presidential primary rival.
He also offered simultaneous praise Thursday to former President Ronald Reagan and former Texas Rep. Ron Paul — two Republicans rarely mentioned in the same breath — for energizing younger GOP voters.
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Mr. Cruz said that out of all the elections in the past eight years, 2010 was the only election Republicans won, “when we stood unequivocally for principle.”
“Who are the most two people who have energized young people?” he asked. “Ronald Reagan and Ron Paul. What did they do? They painted a bold picture of what America can do.”
Mr. Cruz went on to say that “if you were to sit down and hammer the living daylights out of young people, you couldn’t do better than the Obama administration.”
“We need to stop bankrupting our country,” he said. “What we’re doing to our kids and grandkids is morally wrong. If we don’t change course, they will be left working to pay off the debts their parents left them with. We are need to turn this around.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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