Ted Cruz

                I chose Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) as my very important person (VIP) today because I like the way he stands on his principles and refuses to take any guff.  Senator Cruz took his seat in the U.S. Senate in January 2013 as the junior Senator from Texas and has been making his voice known ever since. 

Senator Cruz has much previous law experience.   He was a partner at the Morgan, Lewis and Bockius law firm where he led the firm’s U.S. Supreme Court and national appellate litigation practice.  He served as the director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission, as an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice, and as Domestic Policy Advisor to U.S. President George W. Bush on the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign.  He was the Solicitor General of Texas from 2003 until May 2008.  He was the first Hispanic Solicitor General in Texas, the youngest Solicitor General in the United States, and had the longest tenure in Texas history.  He was also an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin where he taught U.S. Supreme Court litigation from 2004 to 2009.

Last Saturday, Senator Cruz, a tea-party favorite, continued his call for cutting the funding for Obamacare.  He told the conservative Christians gathered at the Family Leadership Summit that they could not count on lawmakers to cut the funding.  He “drew a standing ovation” when he denounced Obamacare and then stated:  “That reaction right there shows how we win this fight.  If I was sitting in the Senate cloakroom, the reaction would be fundamentally different.  If we have to depend on Washington, it will never be done.”  In calling for a grass root effort, he said, “The only way we win this fight is if the American people rise up and hold our elected officials accountable.”

Senator Cruz is not the only member of his family fighting Obamacare.  His father, Rafael, is a pastor in Texas, and he also addressed the gathering of conservative Christians.  He spoke without notes and recounted his imprisonment and torture in Cuba during the 1950’s and his subsequent immigration to the United States.  “A young charismatic leader rose up, talking about hope and change.  His name was Fidel Castro.”  He spoke for nearly 20 minutes and “drew a boisterous standing ovation” for his “fiery pro-Christian, anti-Obama speech.”  The 74-year-old Cruz said, “This administration has both their hands in your pocket.  They’re going to take everything you have.”  He also said, “Obamacare is going to destroy the elderly by denying care, by even perhaps denying treatment to people who are in catastrophic circumstances.”

Other matters also attract the attention of Senator Cruz.  In an interview with CBN’s David Brody, Senator Cruz warned the First Amendment protections are at risk in the push to favor same-sex unions.  In speaking of hate speech regulations in other countries, he said, “If you look at other nations that have gone down the road towards gay marriage, that’s the next step of where it gets enforced.”

Senator Cruz said, “It gets enforced against Christian pastors who decline to perform gay marriages, who speak out and preach biblical truths on marriage and that has been defined elsewhere as hate speech – as inconsistent with the enlightened view of government.”

The Senator may have been thinking about the widely publicized case of Aake Green, a Pentecostal pastor in Sweden.  “In 2003, the preacher likened homosexuality to cancer during one of his sermons.  As a result, he was brought up on charges over these claims – statements that, in America, would currently be protected by the First Amendment.”  Pastor Green was convicted in June 2004 and became the “first clergyman convicted under Swedish laws that make incitement to hatred against racial, religious or national groups illegal – legislation that was amended in 2003 to include homosexuals.”  He was given 30 days in jail but was allowed to remain free pending his appeal, which he won.

The name of Ted Cruz has been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for President of the United States in 2016.  I like him a lot, but I hope he does not take the bait at present.  Although he has a lot more experience than the current occupant of the White House, I believe that he needs more seasoning on the national level.  Remember Senator Obama was in office less than one term when he ran for President and look at the mess he has made!