Forget Marco Rubio, conservatives may soon have another Cuban senator to rally around.
In Texas, the Republican nomination to succeed three-term Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is up for grabs. Currently a four-way race, one of the candidates for the seat, former Texas Solicitor General (SG) Ted Cruz, is gaining national attention in conservative circles.
Cruz, the first Hispanic SG in Texas and the youngest in America, has a long legal resume, including authoring over 70 U.S. Supreme Court briefs and presenting over 30 oral arguments — nine before the U.S. Supreme Court.
He graduated cum laude from Princeton University and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and despite the Tea Party’s penchant to distrust graduates of elite schools, Cruz has received endorsements from FreedomWorks, Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee, Red State and the Club for Growth — as well as the affirmation of conservative heavyweight and radio talk show host Mark Levin.
“Ted is one of our nation’s leading defenders of the Tenth Amendment. He is a champion for limiting the power, size, and spending of the federal government,” said Lee, a recently elected senator considered close to the Tea Party movement. “Ted and I share much in common. We’re both proven conservatives who clerked for strong conservative Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, and we both believe passionately in limited government and the U.S. Constitution.”
Cruz is not coy about his thoughts on the president. According to Cruz, Obama is moving the country in a dangerous direction.
“I think President Obama is the most radical president this nation’s ever seen,” Cruz told TheDC. “And in particular, I think he is a true believer in government control of the economy and of our everyday lives. In my judgment, we are facing what I consider to be the epic battle of our generation, quite literally the battle over whether we remain a free market nation.”
And that battle is important to Cruz, whose father escaped imprisonment and torture in Cuba to arrive in Austin, Texas in 1957 with just $100 dollars sewn into his clothing. Cruz is intent on preserving the American dream for future generations.
“I think it’s an enormous blessing to be the child of an immigrant who fled oppression,” Cruz said. “Because you realize how fragile liberty is and how easily it can be taken away. As President Reagan said, liberty is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
To Cruz, his candidacy is all about actions. It is not his words, but his record of devotion to conservative causes that he wants people to remember.
Instead of an “issues” page on his website, Cruz has a “proven record” page detailing what he has done for the issues he cares about, including: preserving economic liberty, fighting for the 2nd Amendment, protecting U.S. sovereignty, championing pro-life causes, securing the borders, protecting marriage, and standing up for America’s troops.
On health care, Cruz is focused on dismantling every single word of Obama’s health care reform act.
“I think the first and principle objective is to repeal Obamacare before it does lasting, fundamental damage to our health care system, to our individual liberty, to the relationship each of us has with his or her doctor.” Cruz said. “Right now, one of the reasons health care is so expensive is because government regulators have driven up the cost in many, many states, by adding piles and piles of regulations of additional coverage, which has the effect of pricing health care insurance out of the reach of many people.”
Several other Republicans are also seeking the party’s nomination for the seat, which is likely to stay in GOP hands, including Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, ex-Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams.
There is also talk that if Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst decides to get in the race, he will be the odds on favorite to win. Dewhurst has yet to make a decision.
