Amongst presidential candidates, Junior Senator Ted Cruz has received some of the widest media
attention over the past few years.
As the first Hispanic-Canadian Senator from Texas, Ted Cruz is a very particular sort
of politician, and that has not gone unnoticed.
The republican candidate has been hailed as the Tea Party’s poster boy.
So, we wanted to know, who exactly is Ted Cruz?
Well, perhaps most confusingly, Ted Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother and a
Cuban father.
Notably, his father fought in support of Fidel Castro during the 1950s.
Now, if you watched our “Who Can Run For President” video, you’ll know that being
born in Canada doesn’t actually disqualify Cruz from the presidency.
Anyway, Ted Cruz began his political career as a domestic policy advisor to President
George W. Bush.
He helped stop the Bush v. Gore recount, which awarded Bush the presidency in 2000.
He later became the Texas Solicitor General, and was part of a number of high-profile cases.
In one, he prevented the Supreme Court from removing “under God” from the pledge of
allegiance.
In 2012, Cruz joined the Senate, and burst into the public eye.
Mostly for his conservative policy stances and his questionably true statements in support
of them.
Cruz opposes net neutrality, as well as the authority of the FCC’s regulatory.
He has voted against all gun control bills, and has threatened to filibuster bills that
would improve background checks for gun purchases.
Like most conservatives, Cruz is adamantly
against “Obamacare”.
Some have pointed to him as the leading force behind the 2013 government shutdown in protest
of Obamacare, although Cruz has blamed Obama for the shutdown.
He has also proposed legislation barring illegal immigrants from ever receiving citizenship,
and to triple the number of guards at our borders.
As the recipient of large donations from gas and oil companies, Cruz is largely in support
of the Keystone XL pipeline, and lifting limits on oil exports.
He has also spoken out about ending the 1992 ethanol mandate that aims to reduce carbon
emissions.
Cruz has voted against the idea that climate change is man-made, and has called environmental
scientists, “global warming alarmists” and compared them to “flat-earthers”.
Socially, Cruz is anti-abortion except in cases of harm to the mother.
He also opposes same-sex marriage and gay pride parades.
In 2015, Cruz proposed the State Marriage Defense Act, which would prevent the federal
government from using the word “marriage” or “spouse” to describe nontraditional
marriages.
He also voted against a bill which would protect a number of minority groups, including women,
Native Americans, and the LGBT community.
He also opposes legalization of marijuana, although he respects a state’s right to
decide.
As a candidate, Cruz doesn’t especially stand out amongst his fellow republicans.
However, as a polemic speaker on social and political issues, Ted Cruz has led the pack
in conservative rhetoric, despite garnering less support than some of his other peers.
The GOP race for the 2016 nomination is going to be long and messy.
To learn more about Mike Huckabee and Marco Rubio, two other candidates, check out these
videos now.
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