CLARINDA, Ia. – The U.S. is “one justice away” from a liberal Supreme Court causing enough damage for the nation to become unrecognizable, Texas Republican Ted Cruz said Friday.
“One more liberal justice and our right to keep and bear arms is taken away from us by an activist court. One more liberal justice and they begin sandblasting and bulldozing veterans memorials throughout this country. One more liberal justice and we lose our sovereignty to the United Nations and the World Court,” Cruz said when responding to how he would treat appointing justices to the court.
Cruz, a U.S. senator and presidential hopeful, has made similar statements earlier in the campaign cycle.
After the Supreme Court made rulings upholding the federal health care law and legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, Cruz called for Supreme Court justices to face retention elections.
Cruz was in the middle of a five-stop tour Friday through parts of southwest Iowa as he continues to seek his party’s presidential nomination. A new Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll released the same day put Cruz in third place in Iowa among likely Republican caucusgoers.
Still, Cruz faces a blockade from neurosurgeon Ben Carson and businessman Donald Trump. Carson took the top spot in the poll and Trump came in second.
Iowa political observers have also noted Cruz has to fend off other competitors – such as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal – who are competing for similar voters.
Mary-Alice Blake Gilson, who lives in West Des Moines but heard Cruz speak in Atlantic, said she is supporting Jindal. Even so, she said she wanted to see Cruz and other candidates to stay informed.
“In case (Cruz) gets the nomination, then I would liked to have seen him. … I’m big on information,” she said.
While registered as a Republican, Blake Gilson said she voted for President Barack Obama in 2008. She later voted for Mitt Romney in the 2012 election, saying she could no longer support Obama.
“I think he lied to us,” she said.
In Clarinda, retired farmer Michael Pattavina asked Cruz about his commitment to investigating and defunding Planned Parenthood.
“I think he’s taking it too far because I think Planned Parenthood does more to prevent abortions than all the pro-life (programs) put together,” Pattavina said. “I think these women need the program. If you shut them completely down, you’re denying millions of women health care.”
A self-described “Bernie Sanders man,” Pattavina got into a mini debate with friend Jane Jensen about the merits of Sanders and Cruz.
While Pattavina questioned the trustworthiness of Cruz, Jensen said she didn’t want to support a socialist like Sanders.
“He wants to give away the farm and I’m not going to vote for anyone who” wants to do that, said Jensen, who has put Cruz and Carson at the top of her list.
Throughout his stops Friday, Cruz touted his campaign’s money haul so far this cycle – $26.5 million – and that his operation has kept a large part of that cash on-hand for future use.
“We have over $3.5 million more in the bank than Jeb Bush does, which, to be honest, is absolutely nuts,” Cruz said.
That amount doesn’t take into account money held by Super PACs supporting Cruz or the other candidates.
While Jeb Bush is making drastic cuts to his payroll and campaign, Cruz has managed the money he has raised wisely and is getting ready to do what you should be doing at this point in a presidential campaign… doubling down and going at the race full tilt. Not cutting back and coasting. We need someone savvy and principled like Cruz in the White House. He’s a good, honest, ethical man who has the courage of his convictions and the strength of his faith supporting him. He’s a solid conservative constitutionalist and he’s not afraid to put everything on the line to fight for what he believes in. One of those things is righting the Supreme Court. We have already lost so much ground on our rights and freedoms that America is teetering on the brink of collapse and revolution. Socialism a la Bernie Sanders will finish us off. I still believe Cruz is our best choice for the leader of this nation. Time is short to fix things here in America… I want someone who is a warrior, gifted mentally and believes in God. That man is Ted Cruz.