Ted Cruz Tells America to ‘Believe Again’

HOUSTON, Texas — Last weekend, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, traveled to Iowa where he participated in events across the Hawkeye State and encouraged Iowans to “Believe Again.” Below is a roundup of some of the press coverage of Sen. Cruz’s campaign swing: Des Moines Register: Cruz encourages Americans to “Believe Again” Cruz’s speech, titled “Believe Again”… The comments are not entirely new for Cruz, who used the cartel reference multiple times during Friday stops in northwestern Iowa. Cruz also used the phrase during a speech to the Heritage Foundation on Wednesday. During his campaign, Cruz has called for a grassroots movement of “courageous conservatives” and made allusions to the 1980 election that saw Ronald Reagan enter the White House.

Cruz: “Even in light of the recent tragedies of Supreme Court decisions this week, Americans can believe again.” pic.twitter.com/ikIgpgy1Y3

— 98.3 The Torch (@983TheTorch) June 27, 2015

Washington Post: Cruz Solidifies Presence in Iowa with “Believe Again” Speech The Texas Republican … tried to use Saturday’s speech, titled “Believe Again” as a way to both solidify his presence in the state and as the uncompromising conservative in the 2016 field. Cruz has come up with a new phrase for the institution he said he is fighting: the “Washington cartel,” which he said is comprised by members of both parties, lobbyists, and now Supreme Court justices.

Ted Cruz: “Even in light of the two tragic Supreme Court cases this week I want to challenge you to believe again”

— Katie Zezima (@katiezez) June 27, 2015

Washington Post: Cruz “Playing Hard” in Iowa, Doubles Down with “Believe Again” Message Now Cruz is doubling down on the Hawkeye State. Cruz is again making a swing through the state Friday. His last stop: a speech Saturday at Drake University in Des Moines, titled “Believe Again.” “I’m going to spend a lot of time in the great state of Iowa,” Cruz promised more than a week ago at a restaurant in Denison, where a print of “American Gothic” hung on the wall behind him and a man rang a cowbell each time the senator made an applause line. He has visited the state twice before as a candidate, with several more visits in the works over the coming weeks. He is vowing to visit all of Iowa’s 99 counties, launching a fresh push to recruit key grass-roots volunteers and opening a campaign office soon.

Spotted: @SteveKingIA at the @tedcruz “Believe Again” event, toting a Compassionate Conservatives for Cruz flag in his jacket pocket

— Betsy Klein (@betsy_klein) June 27, 2015

CBS Des Moines: Cruz Appears at Believe Again Campaign Event Texas Senator Ted Cruz was in Iowa this weekend… Yesterday when he spoke to a full crowd at Drake University, volunteers passed out American flags, pocket copies of the Constitution, and coloring books about the candidates. They say “we see Ted Cruz as president.” He seeks to break up what he calls the Washington cartel of unions, cartels, and big politicians. He was not afraid to call out Republicans. WCF Courier: Cruz says he’s best hope to break Washington ‘cartel’ Presidential candidate Ted Cruz took aim Saturday at activist judges, leaders of his political party and members of a “Washington cartel” that are thwarting American liberty and standing in the way of conservatives trying to change a “rigged” system that favors big-money special interests. Speaking for an hour to about 200 supporters, the senator from Texas offered his 2016 presidential candidacy as the best hope to break the grip of Washington power brokers — what he called a cartel of union bosses, giant corporations, lobbyists, the media, liberal activist judges and career politicians from both parties. “The Washington cartel does one thing: it protects the past,” Cruz told the appreciative crowd that repeatedly interrupted his remarks at a Drake University venue with applause. “No one in Washington represents the future. The game is rigged and they want to keep that game rigged in their favor.” Des Moines Register: In northwest Iowa, Cruz calls court rulings ‘lawless’ Making three stops in northwest Iowa, Cruz railed against the court’s justices for what he called “naked and unadulterated judicial activism” in a 5-4 ruling Friday that said same-sex marriages can take place in all 50 states. “Religious liberty has never been so threatened as it is today,” Cruz said in Sheldon. “I’ll tell you, today’s lawless decision from the Supreme Court puts religious liberty front and center in the target of the federal government.” Washington Examiner: Cruz to Iowa Conservatives: “The last 24 hours at the United States Supreme Court were among the darkest hours of our nation.” While other Republican candidates are happy to leave the controversial same-sex marriage issue behind, Cruz made a purposeful appeal to evangelicals and others displeased by Friday’s ruling, in an apparent effort to garner more votes from Iowa’s conservative base…”As much as there were crocodile tears shed in Washington yesterday on Obamacare, there were even bigger crocodile tears shed in Washington today on marriage,” Cruz said, reported local station KSPR. “This is not a typical moment in American history,” he told a crowd of over 100 gathered on a baseball diamond in the small town of Pierson, Iowa, KSPR reported. “The last 24 hours at the United States Supreme Court were among the darkest hours of our nation.” WCF Courier: Cruz: 2016 Should be Referendum on Obamacare Cruz said the 2016 election should become a referendum on repealing Obamacare. Any GOP presidential candidate who does not fight actively for its total repeal should “step aside,” and party activists should rally behind a full-spectrum constitutional conservative who can restore an America “we can believe in.” “The last thing the Republican leaders in Washington want to see is millions of Americans across the country mobilizing and coalescing around one strong conservative candidate,” he said. Des Moines Register: Iowans Looking for a Candidate with “Strong Values.” Delores DeJohn, 75, was one of the first to speak to Cruz as he entered a Dutch bakery off the city’s main strip. DeJohn said she liked Cruz because “we need to have someone with strong values.” “I believe God is in control of it all, and we need god-fearing men in (the White House), otherwise this country will keep going down the other way,” said DeJohn, who is retired. Washington Examiner: In Iowa, Cruz Discusses Remedies to Judicial Overreach “In order to provide the people themselves with a constitutional remedy to the problem of judicial activism and the means for throwing off judicial tyrants, I am proposing an amendment to the United States Constitution that would subject the justices of the Supreme Court to periodic judicial-retention elections,” he wrote in the op-ed. “Every justice, beginning with the second national election after his or her appointment, will answer to the American people and the states in a retention election every eight years.” Cruz received his loudest applause when he brought up both ideas with Iowa voters, and inveighed against the unelected Supreme Court judges. Reprinted from TedCruz.org.