Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz delivered one red meat applause line after another to a receptive crowd today at the Des Moines Register soapbox at the Iowa State Fair.
Cruz is running for the Republican nomination for president. Like other conservative candidates, he wants to dismantle most of the federal government, repeal Obamacare, and secure the borders.
He says the fatal shooting of servicemembers at recruiting centers in Tennessee should never happen again.
“We will allow our servicemen and women to exercise their right to keep and bear arms,” Cruz says. “So the next time a jihadist shows up at a recruiting center in Chattanooga, he’s going to meet up with the business end of a firearm wielded by a dozen Marines.
Cruz joins other conservative politicians calling for an end to automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants.
Cruz mocked Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, along with President Obama.
He lists all the federal agencies, along with the IRS, that he says should be eliminated.
“The EPA, the NRLB, OSHA, the alphabet soup that descends like locusts on farms and businesses, and we’re going to bring back booming economic growth,” Cruz says to applause.
Retired petroleum coop manager Bryce Vanderkamp of Montezuma likes what Cruz has to say.
“Everything I would agree with,” Vanderkamp says. “First of all religious freedoms, securing the borders, the nuclear agreement by Obama.”
But Vanderkamp isn’t ready to sign on with the Cruz campaign. He says he may not be electable.
Cruz drew one of the largest crowds at the soapbox, along with Republican Carly Fiorina, and Bernie Sanders who’s running for the Democratic nomination.
Cruz says his presidency would re-enact the Reagan revolution. He allies himself with Iowa Congressman Steve King, calling him a tireless warrior for conservative values.
