# Ted Cruz

Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (born December 22, 1970) is an American politician who is the junior U.S. senator from Texas. Cruz served as the director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission, an associate deputy attorney general at the United States Department of Justice, and domestic policy advisor to President George W. Bush on the 2000 George W. Bush presidential campaign. He also served as Solicitor General of Texas from 2003 to 2008. He was the first Hispanic, and the longest-serving solicitor general in Texas history. Cruz was also an adjunct professor of law from 2004 to 2009 at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, where he taught U.S. Supreme Court litigation.
Cruz chairs the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, Federal Rights and Agency Activities, and is also the chairman of the United States Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness. In November 2012, he was appointed vice-chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He was a candidate for President of the United States in the 2016 presidential election.

## Quotes
### 2011

* I think President Obama is the most radical president this nation's ever seen. 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.
** Interview with Caroline May of The Daily Caller, after his announcement to run for U.S. Senate for the first time; in Caroline May, "Partier for Senate", The Daily Caller (June 6, 2011).

### 2013

* Reaganomics: You start a business in your parents' garage. Obamanomics: You move into your parents' garage.
** Tweet (20 July 2013)
* I do think in the media there is a tendency to describe conservatives as one of two things: stupid or evil. And those are the two categories that every conservative gets put in by Democrats and the media. A conservative is either stupid — too dumb to know the right answer — and even worse, if they actually know the right answer, then they’re evil. They want people to suffer. I suppose I feel mildly complimented in that they have recently invented a third category, which is crazy. It’s the alternative to stupid or evil. And now crazy is the third one, because it seems inconceivable that there could be Americans who believe in free-market principles and believe in the Constitution and are working to defend them.
** Interview with Alex Altman of Time Magazine, in Alex Altman, "Why Ted Cruz Thinks the Media Gets Conservatism Wrong", Time Magazine (August 8, 2013).
* If we got out of Washington, D.C., if we went to the American people and said what are your top priorities--we actually have. We don't have to hypothesize about that. The American people over and over again say jobs and the economy are their top priorities. The American people want ObamaCare stopped because it is not working, it is killing jobs, it is pushing people into part-time work. Yet this Senate has not been listening to the American people. We need to make D.C. listen.
** Transcript of Obamacare filibuster, TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Ted Cruz’s marathon speech against Obamacare on Sept. 24, Washington Post (September 24, 2013)

### 2014

* If we're going to repeal Obamacare, and I'm convinced we're going to, it's going to come from y'all. It's going to come from the people saying this thing isn't working, let's start over. And I intend -- let me just say, that '14 and '16, I think those elections should be about many, many things, they should be about freedom, they should be about jobs, they should be about growth, but they should be about repealing every bloody word of Obamacare.
** Cruz speech at National Conservative Student Conference hosted by YAF, Cruz: 2014 & 2016 "Should Be About Repealing Every Bloody Word of Obamacare", Real Clear Politics (July 29, 2014)

### 2015

* Instead of the joblessness, instead of the millions forced into part-time work, instead of the millions who’ve lost their health insurance, lost their doctors, have faced skyrocketing health insurance premiums, imagine in 2017 a new president signing legislation repealing every word of Obamacare.
** Presidential declaration speech, Ted Cruz declaration speech: Full transcript, Independant.co.uk (March 23, 2015)
* God’s blessing has been on America from the very beginning of this nation, and I believe God isn’t done with America yet. I believe in you. I believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives rising up to reignite the promise of America, and that is why today I am announcing that I’m running for president of the United States. It is a time for truth. It is a time for liberty. It is a time to reclaim the Constitution of the United States.
** Presidential declaration speech, Ted Cruz declaration speech: Full transcript, Independant.co.uk (March 23, 2015)
* Today, the global warming alarmists are the equivalent of the flat-Earthers. It used to be [that] it is accepted scientific wisdom the Earth is flat, and this heretic named Galileo was branded a denier.
** Interview with the Texas Tribune, Washington Post (March 24, 2015)
* In 1956, my mom married her first husband, a mathematician named Alan Wilson .. Losing Michael to crib death broke my mother’s heart, and had a profound effect on her, so much so that I never even knew that I had had a brother until I was a teenager and my mother told me the story .. And the heartbreak also ended her marriage.
** 30 June 2015 in A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America as cited in January 2016 Star-Telegram article by Maria Recio
* Whether it's in Ferguson or Baltimore, the response from senior officials, the president or the attorney general, is to vilify law enforcement. That's wrong. It’s fundamentally wrong. It’s endangering all of our safety and security.
** As quoted in "Ted Cruz blames Obama for death of Harris County sheriff's deputy", by Matt Levin, Houston Chronicle (31 August 2015).
* Ya' want to know what I will do as president it's real simple. We'll kill terrorists, we'll repeal Obamacare, and we will defend the constitution. Every single word of of it!
** At the Republican Presidential Debate. September 16th, 2015.
* We should not give $500 million to a corrupt organization that is selling unborn children's body parts.
** #‎DefundPlannedParenthood‬: https://www.tedcruz.org/l/defund-planned-parenthood/ On Facebook September 28, 2015.
* You don't have to win every fight. You don't have to fight every fight. But you DO have to stand for something.
** #‎DefundPlannedParenthood‬: https://www.tedcruz.org/l/defund-planned-parenthood/ On Facebook September 29, 2015.
* The U.S. government is crushing liberty at nearly every turn. Our Constitutional rights are under attack like never before and we must fight back.
** On Facebook September 29, 2015

### 2016

* Today, many of us picked up our newspapers, and we were horrified to see the sight of 10 American sailors on their knees, with their hands on their heads. In that State of the Union, President Obama didn't so much as mention the 10 sailors that had been captured by Iran. President Obama's preparing to send $100 billion or more to the Ayatollah Khamenei. And I'll tell you, it was heartbreaking. But the good news is the next commander-in-chief is standing on this stage. And I give you my word, if I am elected president, no service man or service woman will be forced to be on their knees, and any nation that captures our fighting men will feel the full force and fury of the United States of America.
** Sixth Republican Presidential Debate (January 14, 2016)
* Back in September, my friend Donald said he had his lawyers look at this from every which way and there was no issue there. There was nothing to this birther issue. Now since September, the Constitution hasn't changed. But the poll numbers have. And I recognize, I recognize that Donald is dismayed that his poll numbers are falling in Iowa. But the facts and law here are really quite clear. Under longstanding U.S. law, the child of a U.S. Citizen born abroad is a natural-born citizen.
** Republican Presidential Debate (January 14, 2016)
* Today -- and I'm not making this up -- Jimmy Carter endorsed Donald Trump. Here's what Jimmy Carter said: the reason is Donald's views are malleable, he has no core beliefs on anything... This Cruz guy actually believes this stuff. I want the video, and I am going to pay to air Jimmy Carter attacking me.
** About Carter's staments on the 2016 United States presidential election. As quoted in Jimmy Carter: I would choose Donald Trump over Ted Cruz (February 3, 2016) by Stephanie Condon, CBS News
* People are asking themselves, 'How would we feel if our children came in repeating the words of the president of the United States if that president was Donald Trump?' And if it would embarrass you to have your children repeat the words of the president, that's not a good thing... A president should unify us, should appeal to our better angels, should appeal to our shared values that make America who we are.
** Interview with John Dickerson (March 2016), Face the Nation
* It's not easy to tick me off... I don't get angry often. But you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids; that'll do it every time. Donald, you're a sniveling coward and leave Heidi the hell alone.
** As quoted in "Cruz calls Trump "sniveling coward" and says 'leave Heidi the hell alone'" (24 March 2016), by Reena Flores, CBS News
* Donald has a very unfortunate habit. When he gets scared, he lashes out... And he insults and attacks whoever is standing near him... Donald does seem to have an issue with women... Donald doesn't like strong women. Strong women scare Donald.
** As quoted in "Cruz calls Trump "sniveling coward" and says 'leave Heidi the hell alone'" (24 March 2016), by Reena Flores, CBS News
* Let me be clear: Donald Trump may be a rat, but I have no desire to copulate with him.
** As quoted in Ted Cruz Will Do Anything for Love, But He Won't Do Rats [25 March 2016], by Matt Miller, Esquire Magazine
* Donald Trump... this man is a pathological liar
** cnn youtube video of Cruz

#### Speech at the Republican National Convention (July 20, 2016)

    (Transcript by Roll Call)
* God bless each and everyone of you.
* What if this right now is our last time? Our last moment to do something for our families, and our country? Did we live up to the values we say we believe? Did we do all we really could?
* America is more than just a land mass between two oceans, America is an ideal. A simple, yet powerful ideal. Freedom matters.
* Government power has been the unavoidable constant in life. Government decrees and the people obey, but not here. We have no king or queen, we have no dictator, we the people constrain government.
* Our nation is exceptional because it was built on the five most beautiful and powerful words in the English language, "I want to be free."
* My friends, this is madness.
* Freedom means free speech, not politically correct safe spaces. Freedom means religious freedom, whether you are Christian, Jew, Muslim, or atheist. Whether you are gay, or straight, the Bill of Rights protects the rights of all of us to live according to our conscience. Freedom means the right to keep and bear arms, and to protect your family. Freedom means that every human life is precious and must be protected. Freedom means Supreme Court Justices who don't dictate policy, but instead follow the Constitution. And, freedom means recognizing that our Constitution allows states to choose policies that reflect local values. Colorado might decide something different than Texas. New York different than Iowa. That's the way it's supposed to be, diversity. If not, what's the point of having states to begin with?
* People are fed up with politicians who don't listen to them. Fed up with a corrupt system that benefits the elites instead of working men and women.
* If we stand together and choose freedom, our future will be brighter. Freedom will bring back jobs and raise wages. Freedom will lift people out of dependency to the dignity of work.
* We deserve leaders who stand for principle, who unite us all behind shared values, who cast aside anger for love. That is the standard we should expect from everybody.
* If you love our country, and love our children as much as you do, stand, and speak, and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom, and to be faithful to the constitution.
* We deserve an immigration system that puts America first, and yes, builds a wall to keep America safe.
* Most wars are not won in a single battle, what I’m looking forward to is changing the course this country is on. I don’t know if that happens in this election cycle or not.
** In an interview with Politico's Off Message podcast. (July 18, 2016)

### 2017

* The Democrats are the party of the Ku Klux Klan. You look at the most racist — you look at the Dixiecrats, they were Democrats who imposed segregation, imposed Jim Crow laws, who founded the Klan. The Klan was founded by a great many Democrats.
** In an interview on Fox News on 8 February 2017. Quoted in Ted Cruz: 'The Democrats are the party of the Ku Klux Klan' by Kristine Phillips, 8 February 2017, The Washington Post

### 2019

* America’s justice system prevailed today in convicting Joaquín Guzmán Loera, aka El Chapo, on all 10 counts. U.S. prosecutors are seeking $14 billion in drug profits & other assets from El Chapo which should go towards funding our wall to #SecureTheBorder.
** 12 February 2019

### 2020

* Who the hell elected you?
** Addressing Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey during Big Tech senate hearing 28, 2020

### 2021

* Um, a terrorist—who happened to be both Black & Muslim—murdered a police officer at the Capitol just 139 DAYS AGO. You & the rest of corrupt corporate media promptly REFUSED to cover it.
** 19 August 2021 responding to Joy Reid's question "Is there even any point to doing the "if that guy who threatened to bomb the Capitol was Black or Muslim" convo at this point...?"
* I’d like to solve the puzzle…. #LetsGoBrandon
** 4 October 2021 about Brandon Brown the NASCAR racer, not Joe Biden

### 2022

* We are approaching a solemn anniversary this week. It is an anniversary of a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol where we saw the men and women of law enforcement demonstrate incredible courage, incredible bravery, risk their lives to defend the men and women who serve in this Capitol.
** Rolling Stone, 5 January 2022
* For a decade, I have referred to people who violently assault police officers as terrorists.
** Texas Tribune, 6 January 2022
* The stunning leak of the documents showing that the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade is corrosive to the Court. It is an outrageous consequence of the Democrats’ efforts to undermine the Court!
** Collins, Manchin and other lawmakers react to the Supreme Court draft opinion Updated May 3, 2022

## About Ted Cruz

* I think he is the most talented and fearless Republican politician I’ve seen in the last 30 years. I further think that he is going to run for president, and he is going to create something.
** James Carville, James Carville: Ted Cruz Is The Most 'Fearless Republican' I've Seen In '30 Years', May 5, 2013
* He’s articulate. He seems to be charismatic, but I don’t like his politics. I think he introduces a measure of incivility in the political process. Insulting people is not the way to go. But I guess he’s a force in the Republican political system, but I’m not a fan. [..] He’s anti-immigration. Almost every Hispanic in the country wants to see immigration reform. No, I don’t think he should be defined as a Hispanic. He’s a politician from Texas. A conservative state.
** Bill Richardson, Richardson On Ted Cruz: "I Don't Think He Should Be Defined As A Hispanic" May 5, 2013
* I do like Ted Cruz -- but not a lot of evangelicals come out of Cuba, in all fairness. It's true. Not a lot come out. But I like him nevertheless. But I think we're going to do great, and we are doing great with evangelicals.
* Well look he's from Texas -- to the best of my knowledge, there's a lot of oil in Texas, right? So, he gets a lot of money from the oil companies, and he's against ethanol and everything else you're talking about. And I'm not totally in favor. And you know it's a big industry here, it's a big industry. You know if that industry [ethanol] is upset, Iowa's got problems.
* I really do, I like Ted Cruz a lot, I would say that we would certainly have things in mind for Ted, to be honest with you. I mean, he's somebody that I could certainly say that [about] because I like him.
** Donald Trump, during a rally in Iowa Trump questions Cruz's ties to oil companies and In Iowa, Trump vs Cruz on ethanol and religion December 11, 2015
* The truth is, he's a nasty guy. He was so nice to me. I mean, I knew it. I was watching. I kept saying, 'Come on Ted. Let's go, okay.' But he's a nasty guy. Nobody likes him. Nobody in Congress likes him. Nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him. He's a very –- he's got an edge that's not good. You can't make deals with people like that and it's not a good thing. It's not a good thing for the country. Very nasty guy.
** Donald Trump, in an interview on This Week Ted Cruz is a nasty guy January 17, 2016
* I think I would choose Trump, which may surprise some of you, but the reason is Trump has proven already that he's completely malleable. I don't think he has any fixed opinions that he would really go to the White House and fight for. Ted Cruz is not malleable. He has far right-wing policies, in my opinion, that would be pursued aggressively if and when he would become president.
** Jimmy Carter to the House of Lords, when asked about the 2016 United States presidential election. As quoted in Jimmy Carter: I would choose Donald Trump over Ted Cruz by Stephanie Condon, CBS News February 3, 2016
* If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you.
** Lindsey Graham, Washington Press Club dinner in February 2016, as quoted by CNN, Lindsey Graham jokes about murdering Ted Cruz February 26, 2016
* I want to apologize to Ted for saying he should be killed on the Senate floor.
** Lindsey Graham, Graham apologizes for calling for Cruz’s murder, The Hill, 12 January 2017
* Lucifer in the flesh. I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.
** John Boehner, when asked his opinions on Ted Cruz during an appearance at Stanford University. Election time with John Boehner April 28, 2016
* The guy who microwaves fish in the office.
** Al Franken, as quoted in "Inside Al Franken's blood feud with Ted Cruz" via The Washington Post, June 1, 2017
* Here's the thing you have to understand about Ted Cruz. I like Ted Cruz more than most of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz.
** Al Franken, former Senator, in his autobiography Al Franken, Giant of the Senate" (2017)
* More than 900 Harvard Law School affiliates signed a statement denouncing Sen. Ted Cruz — a Republican from Texas who graduated from the Law School in 1995 — for contesting the results of the recent presidential election.[...] On Jan. 2, Cruz and 10 other Senate Republicans announced their intent to object to the certification of some votes in the Electoral College, calling for an “emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states.” The Law School statement condemns Cruz for the objection, stating that his “false claims of voter fraud” and his choice to contest votes are “utterly inconsistent” with his oath of office. [...] Christopher M. “Chris” Kelly — a former policy advisor to President Bill Clinton and a 1997 Law School graduate — collaborated with fellow HLS alums Marvin Ammori and Katie “Kathryn” Biber to write the statement. [...] “After Wednesday, I think that the only acceptable result of this — for Senator Cruz and for Senator Hawley, in particular — is expulsion from the Senate,” Kelly said.
** The Harvard Crimson, Hundreds of Harvard Law School Graduates and Affiliates Condemn Ted Cruz’s Election Fraud Allegations, January 12, 2020
* Guess which US Senator from Texas flew to Cancun while the state was freezing to death and having to boil water?
** Gene Wu via Twitter according to "The Guardian: Ted Cruz flies to Cancun as millions of Texans freeze in the dark" February 18, 2021
* We all know by now that Ted Cruz went on vacation while Texas froze.
** Jamelle Bouie New York Times February 19, 2021
* We should think about Ted Cruz’s ill-fated trip to Mexico not as a, quote-unquote, “mistake,” as he now describes it, but, in a way, as a metaphor, Amy, a metaphor for how these politicians actually think about the climate crisis. They don’t think it’s a hoax. They just say that publicly. They know it is real... They believe that their wealth, their power and their privilege will protect them from the worst of its effects. And if we want to know what that looks like, it looks like Ted Cruz boarding a flight to Mexico in the middle of a disaster to go to the Ritz-Carlton in Cancún.
** Naomi Klein, Fossil Fuel Shock Doctrine: Naomi Klein on Deadly Deregulation & Why Texas Needs the Green New Deal, Democracy Now! February 22, 2021
* Sen. Ted Cruz has held up President Biden’s nomination of William Burns for director of the Central Intelligence Agency until the administration acts tougher to stop a liquid natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany... “I’ll release my hold when the Biden [administration] meets its legal obligation to report and sanction the ships and companies building [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s pipeline,” Mr. Cruz said when announcing the hold.
** Mark Warner, Intelligence Committee Chairman and Virginia Democrat, blasted Mr. Cruz’s efforts on Monday, saying the “country needs a Senate-confirmed CIA director.” via "Ted Cruz blocks CIA director nominee William Burns’ confirmation until pipeline is stopped." The Washington Times, March 8, 2021
* Opposing unions-public sector and otherwise-has since become utterly entrenched in the Republican Party's policies and public image, even as it continues to attempt to paint itself as representing "hardworking blue-collar men and women," as Texas senator Ted Cruz (himself a millionaire married to an heiress) phrased it in one especially disingenuous 2021 tweet.
** Kim Kelly (journalist) Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor (2022)
* Opposition to Nord Stream 2 flared on the eve of the Biden inauguration in January 2021, when Senate Republicans, led by Ted Cruz of Texas, repeatedly raised the political threat of cheap Russian natural gas during the confirmation hearing of Blinken as Secretary of State. By then a unified Senate had successfully passed a law that, as Cruz told Blinken, “halted the pipeline in its tracks.” ... Testifying at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in late January Victoria Nuland told Senator Ted Cruz, "Like you, I am, and I think the Administration is, very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now, as you like to say, a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea."
** Seymour Hersh, How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline, February 8, 2023