Texas candidates receive warm reception
During Cruz’s speech, he unveiled a possible new theme for a 2016 presidential campaign — “reigniting the miracle of America” — a credo he rolled out Wednesday in an interview on Iowa radio.
“It is the most important cause that unifies us together, and Iowa believes in the miracle of America,” he said, drawing applause as he paced the stage.
Perry, in an animated speech filled with fist pumps and a full-throated Texas drawl, urged Republicans to be bold as they mull their choices for 2016 and potentially set their sights outside dysfunctionriddled Washington.
“I got a feeling that after six years of disappointment, of mediocrity and decline, a slow course correction is not what voters are going to be looking for in 2016,” Perry said, repeating his refrain that Americans are looking for a “clean break” from the Obama years. Evangelical appeal
Texas’ junior senator made special effort to appeal to the evangelical voters who could cast about half of the votes next February. Cruz spoke thoroughly about Houston Mayor Annise Parker’s now-withdrawn subpoena of some area pastors this past fall and about his father’s journey from alcoholism to priesthood after discovering Christianity.
“Men and women all throughout here have experienced miracles just like that in our lives,” Cruz told the Iowans, who heard from two dozen conservative speakers throughout the day. “Compared to that, the challenges facing this country are nothing.”
To overcome those challenges, Perry suggested Republicans should look to the states, where he said he managed to build a booming economy “in spite of Obama’s recession and nonexistent recovery.” He contrasted his leadership with the dearth of it in Congress, which he likened to a “debating society” unconcerned with actually solving America’s problems.
“I’m here today to say it’s not good enough for conservatives to be just an opposition force,” Perry said. “We got to offer a vision for the future.”
Billed in his introduction as the day’s “main event,” Cruz had three pre- scriptions of his own for “reigniting the miracle:” growing the economy, protecting religious freedom and restoring American leadership in the world. Cruz’s policy pitch and criticism of President Barack Obama did not differ much from his speech last week to tea party activists in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
As he did there, Cruz on Saturday encouraged listeners in the early-voting state to have high standards for the 2016 candidates who pledge that they are the most authentic conservative —“talk is cheap,” he noted.
“If you say you support liberty, show me where you stood up and fought for it,” Cruz said, leading a refrain. “If you say you’ll stand up to the Washington establishment, the career politicians of both parties who have gotten us into this mess, show me where you’ve stood up and fought.”
Robert Rees, a Des Moines talk-show host who hopes to host Cruz in the upcoming weeks, said he “owned the place.”
“Ted Cruz actually had a bigger standing ovation at the introduction than all the rest of standing ovations throughout the day,” Rees said. Immigration protest
Perry also brought the crowd to its feet when he was interrupted about halfway through his speech by hecklers apparently upset with a recent comment by King, the host of the event, that called an undocumented immigrant a “deportable.” Perry slowed but did not stop his remarks as the Des Moines auditorium erupted into chaos, and the protesters were escorted out.
“DO POTENTIAL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES AGREE WITH REP. STEVE KING?” read the signs the protesters were holding, according to video of the incident posted on YouTube.
Lynn Proudfoot, a Des Moines hotel worker who attended Perry’s speech, said the heckling was among the best things that could have happened to Perry. During his 2012 presidential campaign, the former governor took heat from some Iowa conservatives for standing by his support for allowing undocumented immigrants in Texas to apply for-instate tuition.
“Rick Perry had the good fortune to be heckled, and that really ignited the crowd in his favor,” Proudfoot said. “That kind of fired him up, and the rest of his speech was very strong.”
Neither Texan offered any new indications of when they would make up their minds about 2016 campaigns. As he did last week in California, Perry confirmed he has been “thinking a little about 2016” after naming a slew of politicians he campaigned for last year in Iowa while laying the foundation for a presidential campaign. Bush absent
At a post-speech news conference, Cruz repeatedly declined to size up his potential competition, saying it is upto the voters to decide whether former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who skipped the summit, is a “constitutional conservative.”
Perry, who by one count has visited Iowa more than any other potential 2016 presidential candidate, is staying there for the next two days. He is scheduled to address the Warren County GOP on Sunday evening in Indianola and attend a meet-and-greet for the Republican Jewish Coalition on Monday morning in Des Moines. He also is meeting privately with Republican state legislators in the capital city.
Cruz had a quicker visit to the Hawkeye State planned for this weekend: He met with activists from the grass-roots group Liberty Iowa in the afternoon and appeared as a featured guest at a fundraising dinner for King in the evening. On Sunday, Cruz is scheduled to appear at a Koch Brothers conference in California. patrick.svitek@chron.com twitter.com/patricksvitek teddy.schleifer@chron.com twitter.com/teddyschleifer