At our very first RedState Gathering, Ted Cruz showed up. He was the Solicitor General of Texas. I did not know him, but he’d gone to law school with a friend and several other friends highly recommended him.
He stood on stage to speak along with another guy named [mc_name name=’Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’R000595′ ].
Both of them dazzled the crowd in Atlanta. They both got repeated standing ovations. They both took questions from the crowd and never made a misstep. I hope they will both return to Atlanta this year for the 2015 RedState Gathering.
Rubio entered the Senate that year. Cruz did not. He had to wait. In the Senate, the two have found triumphs in different areas. Cruz’s has been defined by the hashtag #makedclisten. His championing of that idea has opened the eyes of many on just how badly D.C. does not listen.
Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have had any motivation to listen to the public. Cruz went to D.C., but did not become a part of D.C. as so many have.
There are critics on the right who say, “name one thing Ted Cruz has done for America. What policy position has he gotten passed.” The measure of a conservative should be not what has he gotten passed, but what has he stopped.
Cruz, in the Senate, has not stopped everything, but he has stopped some things. He has helped lead House members to stop other things. He has shown himself a leader of the conservative movement. He has shown himself willing to stand athwart history and yell stop. He has shown an appreciation for the idea that not every man need go to Washington to get things done. Some must go to stop things from getting done.
Ironically, he will now campaign for President on what he can do for the country. I look forward to hearing his vision of what America will look like after four years of a Cruz Administration.
Welcome into the arena, Senator.
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