On the hunt with Ted Cruz
by Naureen Khan
@naureenindc
October 26, 2013 6:30PM ET
If polarizing senator from Texas has split the GOP, some Iowa Republicans are now on his side
![On the hunt with Ted Cruz Src.adapt.960.high.1382826630511](http://america.aljazeera.com/content/ajam/articles/2013/10/26/on-the-hunt-withtedcruz/jcr:content/mainpar/adaptiveimage/src.adapt.960.high.1382826630511.jpg)
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas (center right) and Rep. Steve King, R-Ia. (far left) bow their heads to pray for no Cheney-like 'accidents' before a hunt.Naureen Khan/Al Jazeera America
AKRON, IA – Opening day of pheasant hunting season in Iowa found Ted Cruz a long way away from his native state.
Shortly after sunrise, the Republican Senator from Texas descended the staircase at the Hole N' the Wall Lodge, dressed head-to-toe in khaki, with only the toes of his cowboy boots peeking out.
Rep. Steve King, the firebrand congressman representing this district in rural northwestern Iowa who has taken to hosting up-and-coming conservative politicians on pheasant hunts, was there waiting, with an entourage of a dozen other hunters.
All were wearing prodigious amounts of neon orange.
“So you don’t get shot!” explained one hunter, as an orange vest was procured for the Senator.
“There’s all kinds of birds out there, Ted, and it’s a record hatch. It’s a perfect morning, the temperature’s just right,” King said. “There’s nothing more eager than a bird dog on opening day except maybe you and me.”
Cruz, fresh off receiving a warm reception for his speech at the Ronald Reagan fundraiser for the Iowa Republican Party in Des Moines where he was the keynote speaker, confessed to never having tried his hand at hunting pheasant before, although he said had shot quail, dove and duck.
Asked if he, like 2011’s pheasant hunt guest of honor Texas Gov. Rick Perry before him, was in Iowa preparing for a presidential run, Cruz demurred. “That’s a very dangerous comparison on a lot of fronts, not least of which is Gov. Perry is a lot better shot than I am.”
Despite the unfamiliarity of the game, the early hour, a packed two-day schedule in the Hawkeye State and at least one entreaty to avoid being “Cheney-ed,” Cruz had reason to have spring in his step.
For the moment at least, Iowa is Cruz country — not inconsequential given the state’s outsized role in selecting presidential nominees and the buzz building around a possible presidential run by the freshman Senator. It was Cruz’s third visit to Iowa this year, but the first since he spearheaded a failed effort to tie budget and debt ceiling negotiations to defunding the Affordable Care Act.
Although in the rest of the Republican Party, there is much hand-wringing about the damage the 16-day shutdown and near-breach of the debt ceiling — a strategy championed largely by Cruz and House conservatives — has done to the party’s standing and what few policy concessions the GOP was able to secure at the end of the ordeal, Cruz has a decidedly different take on events.
In Cruz’s telling, the shutdown strategy was not a failure for the GOP because it alerted people to the dangers of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and energized grassroots activists. Never mind the drubbing Republicans are taking in polls or, as Cruz conceded, that the law remains in place.
“I’m convinced that we are facing a new paradigm in politics. It is the rise of the grassroots, and it has official Washington absolutely terrified,” Cruz told the approximately 600 Republicans at the Ronald Reagan dinner. “But this new paradigm has been beta tested, unlike the Obamacare website. It was beta tested with the Reagan revolution.”
Since joining the Senate at the start of this year, Cruz has few traditional legislative accomplishments. But from the senator's perspective, blocking bipartisan background-check legislation and comprehensive immigration reform have been significant victories for conservatives. This perception seems to run contrary to polling that shows broad support for background checks, and warnings from party elders about the urgent need for the GOP to expand its appeal to Hispanic voters.
“What complete poppycock,” Cruz said of softening stances to win elections.
In Cruz’s estimation, too, the infighting within the Republican Party on tactics and policy is a creation of the media and others who wish the GOP harm. Never mind Cruz’s repeated knocks at Senate colleagues for their decision “not to unite and stand side by side with House Republicans” and his insistence that they were the reason the strategy to defund the ACA failed.
“Those who talk about the so-called rift tend to be folks who wish ill upon us,” Cruz told reporters. “They tend to be people like Democrats trying to stir up trouble.”
But if there is indeed a civil war within the Republican Party, in Iowa, it appears many conservative activists and donors have chosen their side — the side of more ideological purity, not less. And that is a big part of Cruz’s appeal in the state.
“I’d like to share with you the one thing that party establishment considers a dirty word: principle,” said Iowa GOP chairman A.J. Spiker in introductory remarks at the Reagan dinner. “[Ted Cruz] has done what I believe is the mark of a truly principled man: he has done what’s right even when it meant opposing leadership of his own political party.”
Christian activist Steve Scheffler, in the prayer before the fundraiser, asked for more leaders who were willing to “be crucified for their belief system.”
Although several Iowa Republicans said it was far too soon to make a decision on who they would be rooting for in the 2016 primaries, they also said Cruz had shown tremendous promise.
“Somebody had to do something and he’s unflappable. He kept right on talking,” said Judith Koski, 71, referring to Cruz’s 21-hour speech before the shutdown. “He believes in limited government, what’s extreme about that?”
Her husband, Melvin, chimed in, “In that bunch of blockheads, it’s hard to get anything done.”
Nicole Cleveland, 28, said she believed that Cruz had been unfairly pilloried by the media and his congressional colleagues, but that made her like him even more.
“He took the brunt of the government shutdown blame but I thank him for standing up for my children’s future,” she said. “He’s shaken up D.C. and D.C. needed shaking up. We have a lot of people who have gone with the status quo and listened to other establishment people, other lobbyists, their biggest contributors, instead of listening to the American people.”
Bob Embree, 60, who said he had hoped that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would get into the 2012 race, was even more effusive in his praise.
“He’s our Ronald Reagan,” he said. “He speaks from the heart, he’s got conviction.”
As for Cruz, he could not complain about his first pheasant hunt. Speaking at an event before he got back on a plane to Texas to attend his daughter’s third birthday party, he joked:
“There are some birds we scared the living daylights out of. Those birds are going to be in therapy for years.”
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/10/26/on-the-hunt-withtedcruz.html
by Naureen Khan
@naureenindc
October 26, 2013 6:30PM ET
If polarizing senator from Texas has split the GOP, some Iowa Republicans are now on his side
![On the hunt with Ted Cruz Src.adapt.960.high.1382826630511](http://america.aljazeera.com/content/ajam/articles/2013/10/26/on-the-hunt-withtedcruz/jcr:content/mainpar/adaptiveimage/src.adapt.960.high.1382826630511.jpg)
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas (center right) and Rep. Steve King, R-Ia. (far left) bow their heads to pray for no Cheney-like 'accidents' before a hunt.Naureen Khan/Al Jazeera America
AKRON, IA – Opening day of pheasant hunting season in Iowa found Ted Cruz a long way away from his native state.
Shortly after sunrise, the Republican Senator from Texas descended the staircase at the Hole N' the Wall Lodge, dressed head-to-toe in khaki, with only the toes of his cowboy boots peeking out.
Rep. Steve King, the firebrand congressman representing this district in rural northwestern Iowa who has taken to hosting up-and-coming conservative politicians on pheasant hunts, was there waiting, with an entourage of a dozen other hunters.
All were wearing prodigious amounts of neon orange.
“So you don’t get shot!” explained one hunter, as an orange vest was procured for the Senator.
“There’s all kinds of birds out there, Ted, and it’s a record hatch. It’s a perfect morning, the temperature’s just right,” King said. “There’s nothing more eager than a bird dog on opening day except maybe you and me.”
Cruz, fresh off receiving a warm reception for his speech at the Ronald Reagan fundraiser for the Iowa Republican Party in Des Moines where he was the keynote speaker, confessed to never having tried his hand at hunting pheasant before, although he said had shot quail, dove and duck.
Asked if he, like 2011’s pheasant hunt guest of honor Texas Gov. Rick Perry before him, was in Iowa preparing for a presidential run, Cruz demurred. “That’s a very dangerous comparison on a lot of fronts, not least of which is Gov. Perry is a lot better shot than I am.”
Despite the unfamiliarity of the game, the early hour, a packed two-day schedule in the Hawkeye State and at least one entreaty to avoid being “Cheney-ed,” Cruz had reason to have spring in his step.
For the moment at least, Iowa is Cruz country — not inconsequential given the state’s outsized role in selecting presidential nominees and the buzz building around a possible presidential run by the freshman Senator. It was Cruz’s third visit to Iowa this year, but the first since he spearheaded a failed effort to tie budget and debt ceiling negotiations to defunding the Affordable Care Act.
Although in the rest of the Republican Party, there is much hand-wringing about the damage the 16-day shutdown and near-breach of the debt ceiling — a strategy championed largely by Cruz and House conservatives — has done to the party’s standing and what few policy concessions the GOP was able to secure at the end of the ordeal, Cruz has a decidedly different take on events.
In Cruz’s telling, the shutdown strategy was not a failure for the GOP because it alerted people to the dangers of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and energized grassroots activists. Never mind the drubbing Republicans are taking in polls or, as Cruz conceded, that the law remains in place.
“I’m convinced that we are facing a new paradigm in politics. It is the rise of the grassroots, and it has official Washington absolutely terrified,” Cruz told the approximately 600 Republicans at the Ronald Reagan dinner. “But this new paradigm has been beta tested, unlike the Obamacare website. It was beta tested with the Reagan revolution.”
Since joining the Senate at the start of this year, Cruz has few traditional legislative accomplishments. But from the senator's perspective, blocking bipartisan background-check legislation and comprehensive immigration reform have been significant victories for conservatives. This perception seems to run contrary to polling that shows broad support for background checks, and warnings from party elders about the urgent need for the GOP to expand its appeal to Hispanic voters.
“What complete poppycock,” Cruz said of softening stances to win elections.
In Cruz’s estimation, too, the infighting within the Republican Party on tactics and policy is a creation of the media and others who wish the GOP harm. Never mind Cruz’s repeated knocks at Senate colleagues for their decision “not to unite and stand side by side with House Republicans” and his insistence that they were the reason the strategy to defund the ACA failed.
“Those who talk about the so-called rift tend to be folks who wish ill upon us,” Cruz told reporters. “They tend to be people like Democrats trying to stir up trouble.”
But if there is indeed a civil war within the Republican Party, in Iowa, it appears many conservative activists and donors have chosen their side — the side of more ideological purity, not less. And that is a big part of Cruz’s appeal in the state.
“I’d like to share with you the one thing that party establishment considers a dirty word: principle,” said Iowa GOP chairman A.J. Spiker in introductory remarks at the Reagan dinner. “[Ted Cruz] has done what I believe is the mark of a truly principled man: he has done what’s right even when it meant opposing leadership of his own political party.”
Christian activist Steve Scheffler, in the prayer before the fundraiser, asked for more leaders who were willing to “be crucified for their belief system.”
Although several Iowa Republicans said it was far too soon to make a decision on who they would be rooting for in the 2016 primaries, they also said Cruz had shown tremendous promise.
“Somebody had to do something and he’s unflappable. He kept right on talking,” said Judith Koski, 71, referring to Cruz’s 21-hour speech before the shutdown. “He believes in limited government, what’s extreme about that?”
Her husband, Melvin, chimed in, “In that bunch of blockheads, it’s hard to get anything done.”
Nicole Cleveland, 28, said she believed that Cruz had been unfairly pilloried by the media and his congressional colleagues, but that made her like him even more.
“He took the brunt of the government shutdown blame but I thank him for standing up for my children’s future,” she said. “He’s shaken up D.C. and D.C. needed shaking up. We have a lot of people who have gone with the status quo and listened to other establishment people, other lobbyists, their biggest contributors, instead of listening to the American people.”
Bob Embree, 60, who said he had hoped that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would get into the 2012 race, was even more effusive in his praise.
“He’s our Ronald Reagan,” he said. “He speaks from the heart, he’s got conviction.”
As for Cruz, he could not complain about his first pheasant hunt. Speaking at an event before he got back on a plane to Texas to attend his daughter’s third birthday party, he joked:
“There are some birds we scared the living daylights out of. Those birds are going to be in therapy for years.”
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/10/26/on-the-hunt-withtedcruz.html
» utube 7/25/24 MM&C Iraq Dinar Update - IQD Revaluation-Key Indicators - Deposit Insurance -Arbitra
» utube 7/23/24 MM&C Iraq Dinar-Prime Minister Advisors-Saleh-Al-Nusairi-Facts bringng facts-Reforms
» MMK&C 7/21/24 Government Advisor: Adopting auditing of foreign transfers contributes
» MM&C 7/21/24 Proposed measures to address the rise of the dollar
» Iraq ranks high in income inequality among citizens
» Within months.. Al-Imar: The amount of loans disbursed amounted to about 750 billion dinars
» Parliamentary Integrity confirms the start of opening the files of former officials
» Iraq and the German Development Bank sign an amendment to the loan agreement to finance a number of
» Regional oil...between export ban and smuggling suspicions
» Economist: Faw Port is an important step towards sustainable economic development and a major gatewa
» Parliamentary Investment "Mocks" Solution to Housing Crisis in Complexes: "Joke" and Government Must
» Multi-million dollar agreement to support Iraqi agriculture
» From Chaos to Law.. The Crowd Breathes with the First Reading of “Service and Retirement”
» Oil Minister inaugurates first phase of associated water injection project in Rumaila field
» Water Resources: The reality of desertification in Iraq is better than before
» Disappearance of 50,000 Pakistani tourists in Iraq.. Government position: We will start the investig
» Iraq reveals the value of its agricultural exports: 400 thousand tons in 6 months
» Electricity directs the rapid implementation of the solar power plant project in Khanaqin
» Worth $20 billion.. Iraq is second in trade exchanges with Iran
» (56) megawatt card.. Opening of the gas power plant in Majnoon field
» Parliamentary Committee: Amending this law will address many problems
» Iraq and the German Development Bank (KFW) sign an amendment to the loan agreement to finance a numb
» Finance discusses regulating the work of government banks with international auditing firm Ernst & Y
» The Prime Minister receives the approval of the coalition of companies that won the investment oppor
» US Ambassador: We helped Iraq with $3.6 billion in the displaced file
» In two stages.. The Minister of Oil inaugurates the associated water injection project in the Rumail
» Who manipulated the budget settings? Adding 15 trillion dinars for the benefit of the people or for
» Statement of the Iraqi Communist Workers’ Party on the “Personal Status Law Amendment” Project
» The American arm has become short.. Iraq will eradicate the “SDF” from Syria
» The idea of the “Sunni region” is maturing again.. The insistence of Western politicians collides
» Iraq takes its share of negative development and faces “electronic blackmail”
» Education in Iraq: Between the lack of schools and the delay in providing supplies
» Economist lays out solutions to get rid of the dollar’s dominance: moving towards a currency baske
» The Presidency of the Republic issues a special pardon for a bank manager accused of embezzlement
» The Ministry of Agriculture reveals the volume of its exported products in numbers
» Transport reveals its latest steps towards lifting the European ban on Iraqi Airways
» "Doors are closed" in Parliament.. Will political pressures result in the election of a new presiden
» Prime Minister's Advisor: Kirkuk government formation will be decided within 20 days
» US dollar exchange rate stability in Baghdad
» Reconstruction: New applications for Housing Fund loans will be opened when liquidity is available
» The US Federal Reserve adopts a new strategy towards Iraq.. The dollar is threatened with rising to
» First government comment on the leakage of 50 thousand Pakistanis in Iraq
» Parliamentary Integrity Committee announces keeping the session hosting the Minister of Water Resour
» Parliamentarian reveals the reason for the recent talk about the Sunni region
» Secrets of the Coordination Framework meeting with the Sunni forces.. Three proposals to resolve the
» Iraqis' spending on tourism is equivalent to the electricity budget.. What is the number of traveler
» "Two Papers of the Tashah in Parliament"... Warnings against implicating the legislative institution
» Turkish Minister reveals details about the security corridor in Iraq and the development road projec
» Does it stipulate the marriage of minors? What does the paragraph amending the Personal Status Law i
» One of the motives of the "salary scale".. Iraq is ranked 87th globally in "income inequality"
» "Vigilant Guardian"... Harmonious Supervisory Cooperation to Guarantee Citizens' Deposits in Iraqi B
» Saleh: The Central Bank's dollar reserves are solid and the GDP rate is very optimistic
» Economist accuses political parties of controlling the exchange rate on the black market
» Minister calls for establishing centers for Turkish commercial agencies inside Iraq
» 98% increase in foreign remittance sales at the Central Bank of Iraq auction
» Important meeting between Al-Sudani and the "Arabs of Kirkuk" to decide on the formation of the prov
» Housing projects in the Kurdistan Region are expensive internally and suitable externally
» Slight decline in the "green paper" in Baghdad stock exchanges
» OPEC: Iraq, Russia to compensate for surplus oil production
» Economist: The Iraqi banking sector has achieved significant growth
» Does integrity interfere with the work of institutions when they conduct investigations into suspici
» Parliamentary Finance: The Central Bank agrees to increase the capital of the Real Estate Bank to ex
» The region lags behind "electronic systems".. Transactions are still paper-based and the authenticit
» Media Authority: We are working on strategic agreements with global companies to bridge cybersecurit
» Al-Sudani stresses the importance of completing the formation of the Kirkuk government and reaching
» The region lags behind "electronic systems".. Transactions are still paper-based and the authenticit
» Iraq prepares to sign strategic agreements with global companies to bridge the digital divide in the
» Exporting (10) million liters of black oil daily.. Oil: Karbala has become an oil port that supplies
» Used as a gift and used for fraud.. The Central Bank warns against the circulation of commemorative
» Judge Faeq Zidane: International cooperation is important in the field of combating terrorism
» Al-Abbasi: Framing the relationship with Washington according to the Iraqi constitution
» Within 6 months.. The European ban on the green bird will be resolved
» Thwarting the smuggling of 21 million liters of petroleum derivatives
» Record
» Production of 24 thousand electric cars annually
» The second phase of the campaign (restricting weapons to the state) begins
» Inclusion of social protection beneficiaries in internal contracts
» The Prime Minister directs the rapid completion of Baghdad entrance projects
» Minister of Labor announces launch of health insurance service for social protection beneficiaries
» Via "Baghdad Today" .. Oil Minister announces increasing social benefits to 10 million dollars
» Joint Statement by the Iraqi and US Ministries of Defense
» Al-Sudani meets with a delegation from the American engineering consulting company KBR
» Kurdistan procrastinates to obtain the "lion's share".. Discontent over the delay in localizing empl
» Withdrawal is "Out of Reach"... Analysis of the Joint Iraqi-American Statement
» Al-Sudani stresses the importance of completing the formation of the Kirkuk government and reaching
» "Black Money" Fuels Investment Stock Exchange.. Countries That Prospered with Looted Iraqi Money
» Central Bank warns against circulation of $1 million commemorative notes
» Planning for “Al-Zawraa”: The five-year plan targets different sectors and does not include traditio
» “Unfair and deepens sectarianism”.. Why did the amendment to the Personal Status Law spark anger in
» Launching an electronic application for Iraqi retirees
» The crowd responds to Halbousi: A person convicted of forgery is not qualified to appoint himself as
» Al-Fayadh: We appreciate the Iraqi Parliament’s progress with the first reading of the service and r
» Nassif: The political process needs Al-Sadr and Al-Maliki to “rule” it
» Al-Mandlawi winks at Al-Halbousi: We reject insulting those who presented thousands of martyrs
» adhere to the rules of the Islamic religion and needs to be reformulated (tweet)
» Sarwa Abdul Wahid: The rivalry between Baghdad and Erbil is just "clacks"
» Parliamentary Finance: The Central Bank of Iraq’s measures to change the exchange rate did not achie
» Al-Sudani meets with Kirkuk Arabs to decide on the provincial government