Texas Sen. Ted Cruz invoked the memory of President Ronald Reagan while dismissing Mitt Romney as "the mushy middle" in a potential race for the White House in 2016, according to
Politico.
After Cruz was asked at the Heritage Foundation summit about Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, he said, "There are some who believe that a path to Republican victory is to run to the mushy middle, is to blur distinctions.
"I think recent history has shown us, that’s not a path to success. It doesn’t work. It’s a failed electoral strategy.
"I very much agree with President Ronald Reagan that the way we win is by painting with bold colors and not pale pastels, and I think that’s gonna be a debate Republicans are gonna have over the next two years.
"It is certainly a debate that I intend to participate in vigorously."
In his keynote speech on Monday, Cruz also urged Republican lawmakers to stay the course that has helped the GOP gain control over both the House and the Senate.
And he explained his 10-point plan for the nation’s future, which included increasing efforts to eradicate the Affordable Care Act and eliminate the Internal Revenue Service, Politico reported.
"We need to do everything humanly possible to repeal Obamacare," said Cruz, one of several conservative lawmakers, along with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a possible rival for the GOP nomination, due to speak at the meeting.
Cruz called for a Senate vote on a full repeal of Obamacare, and if that is vetoed by President Barack Obama, as expected, then a vote on a series of piecemeal bills to wipe out the more controversial parts of the healthcare legislation.
The senator also urged the White House to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and called for an audit of the Federal Reserve and the repeal of the Common Core educational standards, according to the political news website.
Cruz concluded by condemning Obama’s foreign policy on Iran’s nuclear program and on Islamic terrorism, saying his actions were too weak.
"They target the West, and yet you cannot win a war against radical Islamic terrorism with an administration that is unwilling to utter the words radical Islamic terrorism," he said. "These were not a bunch of ticked-off Presbyterians."
He also slammed the Obama administration for failing to send a top-level American representative to Sunday's solidarity rally in Paris following the deadly terror attack on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, Politico reported.
"How sad was it in the streets of Paris when 40 world leaders walked down the street, absent was the United States of America," Cruz said during a keynote address at the two-day Heritage summit, called "Opportunity for All: Favoritism to None."
The administration had since admitted that it was an error of judgment not to send a high-ranking official to the rally.
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