Send Mr. Cruz to Washington
“Texas has yet to learn submission from any oppression, come from what source it may.”
Sam Houston
It is not unusual for Texans to be faced with two good choices for public office. Our great state produces many exemplary candidates who are accomplished in their fields and principled in their positions. The current contest for U.S. Senator is no exception as voters must choose between two attractive candidates. However, it is rare that we have the opportunity to send a 41-year-old man to Washington who possesses the credentials, charisma, intelligence and passion as Ted Cruz.
We are living in times that try men’s souls. Who would have thought that:
- The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, appointed by a conservative Republican President, would write a landmark opinion vesting Congress with the power to regulate minute aspects of Americans’ lives so long as the regulation can be called a tax. This is exactly what Justice Roberts has done in spite of the bill’s chief proponent, President Obama himself, fervent protestations that his health care mandate is NOT a tax.
- The President of the United States would go on national television and mock small business owners for believing that they had created their own enterprises through hard work and sacrifice. But that is exactly what President Obama said in Roanoke, VA on July 13th.
- The Justice Department would ignore clear cases of voter intimidation and fraud while filing suit against any state that attempts to enact and enforce voter protection statutes. Yet this is precisely the philosophy of our current Justice Department.
- The regional head of EPA would brag that he intimidates energy companies the same way that the Romans maintained order whenever they conquered new territory… “just crucify the first couple of men you see and then everyone will do anything you want.” But that is a quote from Dr. Richard Armendariz, who until recently was the head of EPA’s energy regulation for the Southwestern Region.
- The State Department would refuse to allow crude oil to be shipped into our country from our Canadian allies (Keystone Pipeline) while simultaneously arguing that oil prices are “too high” and must be brought down.
- In an effort to create support for gun control laws, the Obama Justice Department would allow semi-automatic weapons to be “walked” into Mexico even after the gun dealers notified the ATF to say that they were suspicious of the buyers (Fast and Furious). These guns were later used by Mexican drug cartels to murder Mexican citizens and U.S. DEA agents.
- While Americans are suffering a horrible economic recession that the president constantly reminds us is the worst since the “Great Depression,” his Labor Relations Board refuses to allow a great American company (Boeing) to open a new factory in South Carolina that would have created thousands of new jobs. (The LRB was offended that South Carolina is a “right to work” state and as such does not require compulsory union membership in order to find gainful employment.)
As Rush Limbaugh says, “You just can’t make this stuff up.”
These are dangerous times. The first Obama term revealed his ideology and vision for “fundamentally transforming” this country. A second term, unencumbered by concerns about re-election, would permit him to whole-heartedly pursue his long held dreams of punishing his enemies (think Arizona), rewarding his friends (think Solyndra) and “redistributive justice”. The future of our Republic is truly hanging in the balance. This is not the time to send another politician, no matter how honorable and qualified, who isn’t prepared to engage in a life or death struggle for the survival of our country. We must send men and women who realize that we are not fighting over nuances and minor disagreements. This is not the time for compromise and favor trading.
Texas has much at risk. We are a right to work state, with no income tax, the leading energy producer and enjoy a unique trading partnership with our southern neighbor. We are one of the only solvent states in the union. More jobs have been created in our state in the past ten years than in all of the other states combined! Yet President Obama has turned his contempt upon us. His Justice Department has rejected our very reasonable voter ID bill passed by our legislature and signed by our governor. He has declined Governor Perry’s pleas for additional security on the Mexican border. His Fish and Game Department is attempting to curtail oil and gas drilling on private lands in West Texas. His EPA has filed suit against Texas oil companies over fracking, alleging that producing oil and gas two miles below the surface of the earth can somehow contaminate fresh water aquifers a few hundred feet under the soil. The EPA has lost every case! Yet they continue to litigate, costing public and private Texas companies hundreds of millions in defense cost.
We face a Texas-size challenge and we need a Senator who will defend our interests and aggressively assert the rights that every state holds dear under the Tenth Amendment… “Those rights not specifically granted to the Federal government are reserved to the individual states…” Ted Cruz is the right man for the job. As an honor graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Ted clearly possesses the intellectual firepower and training for the job. As a clerk for Chief Justice Rehnquist and Solicitor General for the State of Texas, Ted’s legal resume is impeccable. Ted has argued and won cases before the Supreme Court and the World Court. He has drafted briefs for the Texas Public Policy Foundation in their work to defend and assert our rights under the Tenth Amendment against an increasingly aggressive Federal Government.
Most importantly, as a second generation Cuban American, Ted knows the repression of a government big enough to give you anything you need and strong enough to take everything you have. Having escaped the horrors of Cuba’s “workers’ paradise” Ted’s parents instilled within him a love for liberty and a healthy distrust for demagogues and the promises of socialism, no matter how it is packaged and disguised. We need men like Ted Cruz. We need more like him who will stand shoulder to shoulder with patriots like Senator Marco Rubio.
I am supporting Ted Cruz for three reasons:
- He will be a difference maker, not a placeholder. Ted has the constitutional knowledge, rhetorical skills, philosophical anchor and personal charisma to influence fellow members in the Senate.
- Texas must support qualified liberty-loving Hispanics who comprise such a large population in our wonderful state. If Ted Cruz does not merit our support then what Hispanic can ever hope to gain the support of Texas conservatives?
- Lt. Governor Dewhurst needs to complete the term of office for which we have elected him. Texas faces a potential budget shortfall in our next biennium. Moderates and liberals are already conspiring to foist tax increases upon us. If Mr. Dewhurst is elected to the senate then a moderate senator will likely replace him as interim Lt. Governor. That Senator could easily usher in an income tax or other business tax. That would be a very bitter and expensive consequence of a Dewhurst victory.
Now is not the time for hedging bets and playing it safe. It is time for bold and decisive action. Please join me in supporting Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate on July 31st.
By: Kyle Stallings, Member of board of directors of the Liberty Institute, The Texas Public Policy Foundation and Managing Partner of Desert Partners, LP in Midland, Texas.
