As the Republican field narrows, the focus is increasingly falling on three candidates: Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump. Up this week in my newly revived candidate spotlight, Ted Cruz.
Who is Ted Cruz? What does he stand for? If you are a liberal, read on in horror. If you are a Republican, read on (hopefully) with trepidation.
1. He wants to build a wall between the United States and Mexico.
"In short, we’re going to do, we’re going to build a wall. We’re going to triple the border patrol. We’re going to increase—and actually, since Donald enjoyed that, I will simply say, I’ve got somebody in mind to build it." - Ted Cruz
2. He wants to defund Planned Parenthood, and he even called it a "criminal enterprise."
“We should use any and every procedural means we have available to end funding for Planned Parenthood." - Ted Cruz
3. He wants to repeal Obamacare.
And he filibustered a bill on the Senate floor for 23 hours to prove it. "I have made repeal of this disastrous law [Affordable Care Act] a top priority since the first day I arrived in the Senate and have made its repeal central to my campaign. - Ted Cruz
4. He doesn't think the SCOTUS decision regarding same-sex marriage applies to all 50 states, and he thinks it violates the constitution.
"Today's Democratic Party has become so radicalized for legalizing gay marriage in all 50 states that there is no longer any room for religious liberty" - Ted Cruz
5. His freshmen roommate is not his biggest fan.
On a highly popular Twitter account, Cruz's former freshmen roommate at Princeton, Craig Maizin, has tweeted about his experiences living with Cruz. "My freshman year college roommate Ted Cruz is going to be elected Senator. In case I hadn't made it clear, he's also a huge *sshole." - Craig Mazin
6. Ted Cruz clerked on the Supreme Court for Justice Requhist, attended Harvard Law School and is widely acknowledged as one of the best trial lawyers in Texas.
Putting this in here to acknowledge that while I disagree with his positions, this man is not an amateur Ben Carson who made it into the Senate. "In interviews with nearly two dozen of Mr. Cruz’s former colleagues on the court, many of the clerks working in the chambers of liberal justices, but also several from conservative chambers, depicted Mr. Cruz as “obsessed” with capital punishment." - Jason Horowitz, NY Times
8. He doesn't understand climate change.
Cruz reportedly does not believe that the earth has warmed in the last 18 years, citing information gathered from ambiguous "satellites." "The problem with climate change is there’s never been a day in the history of the world in which the climate is not changing.” - Ted Cruz
9. He really, really doesn't like Obama.
“The Obama economy is a disaster, Obamacare is a train wreck and the Obama-Clinton foreign policy of leading from behind — the whole world is on fire.” - Ted Cruz
10. Cruz ardently defends the second amendment.
He authored a brief with 31 states to express just how dedicated he is to it. He even said that when Australia enacted gun laws, the rate of sexual assault went up, a claim that was unsubstantiated. “And as you know, Hugh, after Australia did that [gun buyback program], the rate of sexual assaults, the rate of rapes, went up significantly, because women were unable to defend themselves.” - Ted Cruz
All in all, Cruz might not be shouting as loud or be as openly self-motivated as Donald Trump, but he is certainly not someone I would like to see win the Republican nomination.
