DES MOINES, Iowa — Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas called on Iowa voters to thoroughly vet the GOP candidates that run for president to make certain they are not peddling a false bill of goods on the campaign trail.
Mr. Cruz said “talk is cheap,” and voters should demand that candidates show them how they have fought for conservative issues, including for religious liberty and Israel, and against Obamacare and the K-12 education standards known as Common Core.
“If you say you oppose the president’s unconstitutional executive amnesty, show me where you stood up. If you say you support life and you support marriage, show me were you stood up and fought,” he said. “If you say you say you’ll stand up to the Washington establishment, the career politicians of both parties that got us in this mess, then show me where you stood up and fought.”
Since being elected in 2012, Mr. Cruz has become a rock star among grassroots conservatives and has been a thorn in the side of both parties, including in 2013 when he led an effort to defund Obamacare that led to partial government shutdown, which many in the GOP said tarnished the party’s image.
He also is a favorite of social conservatives, who play an instrumental part in the Iowa caucuses, which will begin the nomination race in about a year.
Mr. Cruz came out on top in the last two presidential preference straw polls at the Values Voters Summit, sponsored by the Family Research Council. And he finished second to Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky in the 2014 Conservative Political Action Committee straw poll, which usually draws a crowd with a strong libertarian bent.
Mr. Cruz is among a number of potential presidential candidates that traveled here for the Iowa Freedom Summit, hosted by Rep. Steve King of Iowa and Citizens United.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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