Ted Cruz speaks at the RedState Gathering 2015

TED CRUZ SPEAKS AT REDSTATE GATHERING 2015

Ted Cruz discusses all the issues! 

0:09

Friends let me introduce to you my good friend the senator from the great state

0:15

of texas candidate for president of the United States my good friend Ted Cruz

1:13

extraordinary that unbelievably kind introduction thank you for your

1:21

leadership let me tell you jim is a fearless conservative fighter in the

1:26

house of representatives in Congress you can pretty much measure how strongly

1:35

you're standing for conservative principles by just how much you need of

1:40

food taster in the members' dining room and I think Jim employees five food

1:46

tasters it is great to be back here you know we had a nice quiet evening and

1:58

Cleveland a couple of days ago

2:00

what an incredible array of candidates for president we had this year

2:14

I have to say look it up and down that stage seeing the young dynamic

2:18

optimistic forward-looking conservatives it was powerful it was inspirational

2:23

have the democrats you know I'm pretty sure that democrats debate consists of

2:33

hillary and the Chipotle clerk that's not fair that's not fair Bernie Sanders

2:42

has entered the race so now the democratic field consists of a wild-eyed

2:48

socialist with ideas that are endangering america's place in the world

2:53

and Bernie Sanders

3:01

statement about the two sides of this debate in the conservative movement

3:10

there is life there is vibrancy there are ten candidates are 17 Canada hundred

3:14

and fifty six candidates on the other side it's like that 70 show they're not

3:23

even having a debate you're hearing their latest thing they will move at

3:26

October November December maybe 2017 will schedule the Democratic primary

3:30

debate actually they did plan to have a debate earlier problem was the

3:37

invitation was emailed Hillary

3:47

there is a reason the life and vibrancy the energy the excitement is with

3:58

conservatives this year all across this country so yesterday I had a rally

4:10

Charleston South Carolina woman come up to me at the rally she said in 2008 I

4:25

voted for Barack Obama she said in 2012 I didn't vote for anyone I was so upset

4:31

I just stayed home and she said in 2016 I'm with you

4:44

what I want to talk about today is this is art i wanna talk to you as leaders of

4:54

the conservative movement's red state is an incredible gathering this is the

4:59

seventh red state this is the seventh time I've been at reds

5:09

I remember the first red state and it'll at Atlanta hotel with a gathering there

5:14

wasn't much bigger than about this right here the men and women who were here

5:22

leaders your bloggers journalists activists your informed thought leaders

5:29

every person sitting here

5:31

touches hundreds touches thousands touches tens of thousands and I know it

5:38

first hand I wouldn't be in the united states senate if it were not for the men

5:43

and women in this room if it were not for the leaders and red state there's a

5:48

reason when I launched my campaign for Senate we did it on a conference call

5:51

with blocks because we understand the power of serious conservative thought

5:57

Lee and you know for a long time the conservative movement we've been

6:02

lamenting for decades

6:03

how come nobody will stand up how come we elect one leader after another after

6:09

another they talk a good game and then when it comes to the fight when the

6:15

shooting stars and up cowering under the deaths this is something that we've said

6:26

over and over and over again we've got to distinguish between campaign

6:32

conservatives on the campaign trail suddenly discover they're the most

6:38

conservative solo ever lift it is amazing what happens on the campaign

6:44

trail have you ever noticed ok last night on Cleveland I'm pretty sure not a

6:50

single person in the debate stood up and said I'm an establishment moderate

6:55

squish

6:56

I stand for nothing

7:01

have you noticed that they run as US that's how they run by the way they say

7:09

if you're actually your unelectable but yet when they're running they understand

7:16

their message doesn't sell men and women in this room can play a critical role

7:25

leading the conservative movement in assessing the records of every candidate

7:35

running I'm gonna suggest you a simple test each of you I would encourage you

7:42

make a list of the ten or twelve most important issues the biggest fights of

7:48

the last several years and you decide based on the issues that matter to you

7:52

whether its fiscal conservative issues are social conservative issues or

7:56

national security issues constitutional issues you make the list and ask of

8:02

every candidate running whether he or she has stood up and led on those issues

8:09

in any meaningful way this is a room and educated serious political observers and

8:16

activists and leaders asked if any candidate here's my list of you stood up

8:25

and fought to stop Obamacare not talked about it but stood in the foxholes

8:33

when incoming was coming back whenever you stood and fought against President

8:38

Obama's illegal and unconstitutional executive amnesty

8:43

shouldn't fight against the debt that is bankrupting our kids and grandkids when

8:48

if you stood and fought to defend the First Amendment free speech and

8:53

especially especially especially religious liberty and I gotta tell you

8:58

at Indiana was a time for choose there were so many republican leaders ran for

9:11

the hills on the second amendment where were you when Harry Reid and Barack

9:18

Obama tried to come after our right to keep and bear arms on the fourth

9:22

amendment what have you done to stop the federal government from seizing the cell

9:27

phone communications and emails of law-abiding citizens on the tenth

9:32

amendment where are you own common core and have you always a policy or did you

9:37

just magically oppose it the day you announce for president

9:49

on marriage are you willing to stand in lead or when the supreme court justices

9:59

violated their oath and issued a lawless decision did you come out with some

10:03

melee mouthed statement about law of the land accepted surrendered move on

10:13

on light when if you stood and fought on light on Planned Parenthood how are you

10:20

leading and are you looking for a meaningless showboat or do you actually

10:24

want leadership to stop the atrocity that is what appears to be an ongoing

10:29

criminal organization of planned parenthood

10:40

on Israel what have you done standing and leading the fight to stand with

10:48

Israel on Isis it radical Islamic terrorism in Iran when had you stood and

10:54

clock the lead that's the test those are my doesn't but I'd encourage each of you

11:06

find your own doesn't that you think of the biggest fights of the day and ask if

11:10

every candidate what's their record what have they actually done leading on those

11:17

issues that's what the men and women in this room can do more effectively than

11:22

anyone else has died down beyond the talking points to the actual records now

11:32

why does it matter so much you know it matters because over and over again we

11:38

keep winning and then we lose we win elections and then the people we elect

11:46

don't do what they say we were told if only you can get the House of

11:52

Representatives things will be different so in 2010 millions of Americans led by

11:58

the men and women in this room rose up we won the house and virtually nothing

12:05

changed then we were told ok the problems the senate you guys don't

12:11

understand it's just a half of a third of the government yet can't do it with

12:16

just the house so we said fine Harry Reid's the problem in 2014 millions of

12:25

Americans rose up in an historic election we won the senate we retired

12:30

Harry Reid as majority leader

12:37

and what exactly has this new republican majority accomplished

12:47

it's actually even worse the next alright I gotta say though and hearing

12:53

nothing I'm reminded of one of those great scenes from The Untouchables where

12:59

robert deniro as component as capone says man stands at the bait with a

13:04

badness hand alone but without his team what is he saying in this case our teams

13:16

playing for the other side

13:26

November 2014 we want historic majorities in both houses what happened

13:31

since then

13:32

happen as the republican

13:35

joined with Harry Reid and passed a trillion dollar chrome the bus plan

13:39

filled with corporate welfare and poor and the republican majority voted to

13:46

fund Obamacare to fund President Obama's executive amnesty to fund Planned

13:52

Parenthood and then republican leadership led the fight to confirm

13:58

Loretta Lynch as attorney general of the united states here's one simple question

14:03

which of those decisions is one iota different than it would have been with

14:10

Harry Reid the democrats in the senate this is why we're frustrated

14:25

and this is why the men and women in this room have such an important role to

14:30

ask if every candidate running don't just tell me how you start out democrats

14:34

particularly in a context that didn't really matter much

14:37

show me when you stood up to your own party show me where you stood up for

14:42

republican leadership and the Washington cartel and stood with the people

14:56

a lot of folks in the media want to convince us be done

15:04

complicated too big you can't change the country they want to tell us that

15:11

everyone here give up go home abandon hope all ye who enter here a minute to

15:20

expand on my closing statement in Cleveland tell you what I intend to do

15:27

on my first day in office if elected president on January 20th 2017 the first

15:38

thing I intend to do is rescind every single illegal and unconstitutional

15:43

executive action taken by Barack Obama

16:06

and that's why we're gonna win you know the president is fond of saying he has a

16:25

phone and he has a pen where you live by the pen you die by the pen it's not just

16:38

been the White House and executive orders that have been lawless the entire

16:45

executive administration has been corrupted by the partisan lawlessness of

16:49

this administration

16:56

if I'm elected president the second thing that I will do on january

17:00

twentieth 2017 isn't struck the Department of Justice to open an

17:04

investigation into Planned Parenthood to prosecute any criminal violations that

17:09

are uncovered

17:22

the rule of law matters the Department of Justice is a fair and impartial

17:26

enforcer of the laws regardless of which party is in power that's how our

17:32

constitution was meant to work the third thing I intend to do on january

17:39

twentieth 2017 is instruct the Department of Justice and the IRS and

17:45

every agency in the federal government that you will cease to day persecuting

17:51

religious liberty in this country

18:09

the Little Sisters of the Poor Catholic charity persecuted for standing for

18:18

their religious faith instead of receiving a legal summons from the Obama

18:23

Justice Department will receive a notice in the mail

18:28

case against them has been dismissed

18:38

and accompanying that will be an invitation for the Little Sisters to

18:42

come to the white house and tell their courageous story to the world

18:52

for thing I intend to do on january twentieth is rip up and rescind this

19:01

catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal

19:18

couple weeks ago i observed at this deal goes into effect the Obama

19:25

administration will become the world's leading global financier of radical

19:29

islamic terrorists in response a little over a week ago President Obama from

19:36

Africa took time out of his busy schedule to attack me directly for

19:42

daring to say such a thing he seemed very dismayed and I do so hate this man

19:49

very dismayed he said that language was too much you can't say that sadly a

19:59

number of republicans have echoed those comments and said the rhetoric is too

20:05

much don't use language like that that's what Mitt Romney tweeted that's what jeb

20:09

Bush's said no no no no no don't say such things

20:15

something right now

20:19

truth is not rhetoric

20:35

know where it is attacked on me from Africa to President Obama actually

20:40

dispute the facts of what I said here is the fax number one iranians today and

20:47

will remain the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism number to get this

20:53

deal goes through over 100 billion dollars will flow directly to her own

20:57

number three of that money billions will be given to Hamas to hezbullah to the

21:03

hutus to radical islamic terrorists around the world now if there are

21:09

hundreds of billions of dollars in the control of the american government that

21:13

go directly to jihadist that he used that money to murder Americans and

21:18

Israelis and europeans incontrovertible if President Obama doesn't like the

21:29

rhetoric that he should stop being the world's leading global financier of

21:35

radical Islamic terrorism that he should stop financing radical Islamic terrorism

22:00

and we will not win

22:05

afraid to speak the truth the truth with a smile to speak the truth from love but

22:12

to speak the truth

22:15

absolute courage that the truth

22:28

January 20th 2017 begin the process to move the United States embassy in Israel

22:36

to jerusalem the one senator no capital of Israel

22:49

and you know candidates for president Republicans and Democrats have promised

22:55

to do that over and over and over again and when they get to the white house one

23:02

after the other after the other doesn't follow through let me give you a very

23:07

simple difference I believe between me and the other folks standing on that

23:12

debate stage in clev with me exactly what you're gonna get and I'm gonna do

23:19

exactly what I told you I would do

23:35

a final point about how we win the media democrats although I repeat myself

23:58

tell us a conservative can they say it over and over and over again here's

24:08

their basic rule anytime you stand up for conservative principles you'll get

24:12

the living daylights beaten it democrats are attacking the media will attack you

24:17

republicans will attack and then they immediately say well if you had the

24:21

living daylights beaten out of you then you can't be elected that quickly

24:25

reduces to weaken only nominate someone who's never stood for conservative

24:29

principles and every time we do that we lose

24:38

Heidi and I spent many months thinking about and praying whether to launch this

24:44

campaign our daughters Catherine and Caroline therefore incent lightly throw

24:51

a young family into the maelstrom that is a political presidential campaign the

24:58

single biggest factor that led us to go forward is is that we have to win this

25:03

race as I look at the rest of the field there a lot of young talented candidates

25:07

who I like who I respect to a friends of mine but I don't see a whole lot of

25:13

candidates who I think can energize and mobilizing inspire and bring back the

25:18

millions of conservative evangelical Christians the reagan democrats the

25:22

young people that we've got to bring back to win

25:35

and the reason we decided to run is that I believe I'm in the best position to

25:42

energize and mobilize and bring back to the polls those millions of

25:46

conservatives and to rebuild that reagan coalition to bring together

25:50

conservatives and evangelicals and libertarians and young people in

25:53

hispanics and women and reagan democrats that's how we win we win standing with

26:00

hard working men and women a populist campaign against the bipartisan

26:04

corruption of Washington

26:16

when we launched the campaign the New York Times said crews cannot win because

26:26

the washington elites despise him

26:41

I kinda thought that was the whole point of the campaign but here's the thing

26:50

that's powerful thats transformation you know the times went on to say ok fine

26:55

maybe the grass roots will be with us but he ain't gonna have any money

27:01

because the lobbyists in the washington cartel they control all the money and

27:08

all the lobbyists or with other candidates running because they're not

27:11

going to rock the boat were in the gravy train all of us filed our first

27:17

fundraising reports a couple of weeks ago out of 17 Republican candidates

27:21

running for president you know which candidate raised the most hard money for

27:24

the campaign

27:40

I'll give you one week to that I didn't do that you did

27:50

we raised 14.3 million dollars in just over three months

27:55

second place was jeb bush at 11.4 million now if anyone would have said

28:00

crews was going out raise every republican candidate including out

28:04

raising jeb bush by three million dollars you said I was stark raving bark

28:10

at the moon once but here's how we did it we had over a hundred and

28:16

seventy-five thousand contributions from all 50 states and all five territories

28:22

the average contribution was $68

28:36

where people from all over the country

28:39

go to change crews . or Ted Cruz . or Ted Cruz not or Ted Cruz dot org here's

28:54

an amazing statistic we have donors and roughly half the zip codes in america

29:00

48.1% that is the power of the men and women in this room that is the power of

29:10

the grassroot if we're going to beat the Washington cartel the only way it's ever

29:14

been done was in 1980 the reagan revolution that came from the people we

29:20

do it together if we stand up together the only for strong enough to turn this

29:25

country around as we the people and that's exactly what we're going to do

29:30

because this is our time to take America back

30:15

China questions for the center line to get a few minutes of your lunch break

30:30

dance to that was not the experience two nights ago for it now so John from

30:44

Leonardtown Maryland our position as a world leader has eroded doors are being

30:50

opened or enemies what will you do

30:52

terms of foreign policy to correct this and you have any thoughts on cuba yes

31:04

we need a strong commander-in-chief the two things that change the fastest with

31:14

a new president our executive action and foreign policy it's worth remembering

31:21

that in 1981 Iran released our hostages that day

31:30

Ronald Reagan was sworn in

31:38

there's a reason when I talked about what I intended to do the first day but

31:43

two of them were very directly focused on foreign policy moving the embassy to

31:49

jerusalem is a statement to the world we will stand by our friends and allies no

31:54

matter the criticism from the intelligencia the United

32:05

and ripping up the iran deal is a powerful statement because look at this

32:09

election in many ways the most important issue in this election both in the

32:14

primary and the general is the threat of a nuclear Iran it's the one threat that

32:18

could murder millions of Americans and I gotta tell you I cannot wheat to stand

32:27

on the debate stage with Hillary Clinton

32:37

and make clear if you vote for Hillary you were voting for Iran to have nuclear

32:45

weapons and if I'm elected president under no circumstances will a nation led

32:55

by a theocratic zealot who leads chants of death to America be allowed to

33:00

acquire the weapons that could murder millions of America

33:10

when it comes to radical Islamic terrorism I think we need to rediscover

33:14

ronald reagan strategy for the cold war we win they lose the next question from

33:28

several people including this one from teheran in Madison Wisconsin the

33:32

government shuts down every weekend wire republican leaders so afraid of the

33:36

fighter plane there because they're not on our side to take a minute to explain

33:48

something because sometimes folks complain how come our leadership isn't

33:53

very good they're unwilling to fight they're not competence none of that

33:57

truth leadership is actually quite effective and quite willing to fight

34:03

they're just not fighting for us for example

34:12

when it comes to cronyism and corporate welfare when it comes to the export

34:18

import bank leaders in both houses will fight ferociously with a night between

34:25

their teeth crawling over broken glass

34:28

why because what they're doing is they're listening in their part of the

34:32

washington cartel the giant corporations getting taxpayer guaranteed loans come

34:38

with wheelbarrows full of campaign checks and so a couple of weeks ago when

34:44

I shared some thoughts about Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

35:08

I was told the same thing that I was told when I share thoughts about around

35:14

that rhetoric you can't say that and the truth is not rhetoric standing up and

35:21

speaking the truth is the truth

35:23

Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid or arm in arm working together to reauthorize the

35:29

export-import bank and to continue the cronyism and corporate welfare of

35:34

washington it's not two parties it's one party the Party of washington the

35:40

McConnell Reid leadership team something like a shutdown let's take the issue of

35:50

Planned Parenthood so in the midst of the highway until I stood with Mike Lee

35:57

and we fought to have an amendment to 50 vote threshold where it could matter to

36:01

actually defund Planned Parenthood we weren't blocked by the democrats for

36:07

doing that we were blocked by Republican leadership

36:15

and I gotta tell you they're fifty four Republican senators and yet when we were

36:19

standing there mike lee and I were standing alone fighting to actually

36:24

defund Planned Parenthood now instead leadership likes to have shovels so we

36:31

schedule a vote with a sixty-vote threshold that we know will lose all the

36:35

republicans vote yes all the democrats vote no we've had ourselves on the back

36:38

and they're doing is they're not actually trying to fight for the issues

36:42

we care about their not fighting to be fun

36:45

not fighting to stop Obamacare they certainly aren't fighting to stop

36:48

executive amnesty for illegal immigration a pass case law or in

36:52

sanctuary cities because the Washington cartel supports bigger government and

37:00

supports illegal immigration and so their standard response anytime you say

37:07

let us use the constitutional powers of Congress to change what's happening the

37:15

democrats say well if you do anything like that we will hold the government

37:20

hostage and shut down the government and the republican leadership says oh never

37:23

mind we'll just cut a deal to grow government instead the problem is

37:28

they're not listening to us we need to change that and the way you change it is

37:34

the grassroot holding all of us

37:42

just noticed the crowd is a good thing the Fire Marshal's attend crew supporter

37:48

so I've got this question from California Florida Georgia in New Jersey

37:55

and it's all the same question you probably given good concise whom this in

38:01

your time in washington have you yet figured out what it means to lead from

38:05

behind

38:06

well sure Republican congressional leadership does it every day on foreign

38:21

policy

38:23

leading from behind means withdrawing from the world

38:28

abandoning our friends and allies imagine for example alright seven years

38:34

ago the first Reds day and that little Atlanta ballroom imagined I would have

38:41

suggested that we were going to see a democratic presidents prime minister

38:50

netanyahu would come to America to address a joint session of Congress and

38:55

the president the vice-president every member of the cabinet would boy touch

38:59

the elected prime minister of israel and the president would refuse to see him at

39:05

the white house every one of you would have said frankly what's being said

39:11

about me know that rhetorics crazy that'll never happen that's black

39:16

helicopter loony stuff you know what that's leading from behind

39:20

have you noticed that every bad actor every enemy of america is stronger after

39:26

six and a half years of the Obama Clinton foreign policy is strong China's

39:36

strong

39:37

China just in a massive half into our federal government records

39:44

Russia just in a massive hack into the Pentagon the day after general Soleimani

39:49

the head of the al-quds forces from Iran return in open violation of the

39:53

sanctions Isis will you recall not long ago the president told us was the junior

40:02

varsity is crucifying Christians of beheading children iran is on the verge

40:10

of acquiring a nuclear weapon

40:12

prime minister netanyahu was right he said the one person telling the truth

40:16

about this Iranian nuclear deal is Rohani

40:19

honey singh we got everything we wanted I saw an editorial cartoon recently that

40:25

sums it up perfectly

40:28

it has come any the ayatollah saying yes to every American and it has John Kerry

40:35

saying can we meet halfway

40:39

leading from behind

Check out this episode!