Ted Cruz is our only hope, we can't win without a chunk of the hispanic vote, he would need to run a lot of ads in Spanish. same with Rubio, make him Speaker of The House, he can also run ads for Ted Cruz. If it comes down to Cruz/Paul or Cruz/Christie, conservatives/liberals and Republicans will be happy.
Stay with me on this one, because Cruz confuses my personal values, a lot.
I like the idea of a Christie/Cruz Ticket, however i would like to know a little more about Ted Cruz aside from the ACA debate. I like his positions on education, allowing for states to determine their educational needs and how he opposed the Dept. of Education. His stance on immigration won't win over too many Hispanic votes though. He once stated that " We have a crisis in illegal immigration, and the federal government must get serious about securing our borders; this latest Obama policy is nothing more than an attempt to enact back-door amnesty, and I categorically oppose amnesty." and not that I don't support that position, when talking about getting Hispanics to vote R, that won't win to many over.
Now, he comes from Texas, and I know how they love their guns there, and I know he is a staunch supporter of the second amendments. Not that I am not, but I would like to know how he feels about things like, background checks, waiting periods, just more strict enforcement on illegal gun sales and transfers. I am personally appalled that I can walk into a gun show and just buy a rifle without any paper work. I don't think that we look at the big picture with guns, because a lot of people look at it like, I am a responsible gun owner and I don't want it to be harder for me to access my hobby, without realizing the ease of access of guns to inner city youths. It is killing them in droves and we need to look at that.
Like Ted Cruz, I support the repeal of Dodd-Frank. I support Right-to-Work states, and I support the cut of the corporate tax rate which forces corporations to move money overseas to maintain profits. If what he is saying is true when he says, "I am perfectly happy to compromise and work with anybody, Republicans, Democrats, libertarians, I'll work with Martians, if -- and the "if" is critical -- they are willing to cut spending and reduce the debt." I am with him, but the crucial "if" here is, is he really willing to work with anyone to get things done. Cutting taxes, and reducing spending is easy to say, but it is harder to do, I just hope he is up to the task.
This is where he really started to win me over. He stated, and I want all hard line conservatives to read this quote that, "There is fraud, waste and abuse in every government program, and this includes our military. While it is vital to ensure that we have the defense systems necessary to protect America's vital security interests, we should explore cuts in every part of our budget when warranted. In defense issues, I will rely strongly on the advice of our military leaders to ensure all programs meet vital needs, and are not simply pork projects that do not substantially advance our national defense." You cannot tell me that out-spending the next 25 nations combined on defense (most of them being allies) is running an efficiency defense program. Most of our enemies don't require F-16's to beat, and the cost of the military is a serious burden on our economy, especially with the advancements in techno warfare and drones.
Lastly, I promise is my rebuttal to myself. Cruz is a staunch advocate against same-sex marriage, a policy that will seriously harm this party. It makes us look, uninformed, and backwards socially. Another policy like same-sex marriage, the pro-life/pro-choice debate should be over with by now. 40 years after the ruling, conservative SC's, Presidents, AG's, and it still isn't overturned for a reason. It makes us look lost in nostalgia and doesn't help us win over any moderates. Any way, those are my thoughts on Cruz. He has potential, and could make a few good play's toward the presidency, but the key for him is to not turn into a Sarah Palin, or Herman Cain.
He can't attach himself to the TPM and think that is the only place his bread can be buttered. He has a shot at winning over American voters, and not just fringe conservatives, I hope he realizes that.
Sorry this was so long, but I think its important to talk about!
