LYNCHBURG, Va. - Facing a rapt audience as he launched his long-expected bid for the presidency at Liberty University on Monday, U.S. Sen Ted Cruz delivered a rousing 30-minute speech in which he pledged to "reignite the promise of America."
That he chose this bastion of Christian conservatism to launch his campaign and become the first candidate in what is expected to be a crowded field seeking the Republican nomination is not surprising.
The university, nestled in the Appalachian foothills of southern Virginia, has been a magnet for Republican aspirants in recent years. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a potential 2016 rival, spoke here in 2011 on his way to his first presidential bid. He was followed by former Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and eventual 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
Each candidate has come with his own agenda.
For Cruz, his second pilgrimage to Liberty served as the springboard for a somewhat long-shot grass-roots campaign to battle not only liberals and Democrats but also the more establishmentarian elements of the Republican Party, represented by Texas native Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor whom many see as the undeclared front-runner.
Some of the shock troops in that campaign might be found in schools like Liberty, founded in 1971 as Lynchburg Baptist College, where Cruz received a warm, enthusiastic welcome.
Mobbed by students
The gathering was like any other Monday convocation under the Vine Center's white, 10,000-seat dome on the sprawling campus, except the students were handed little American flags to wave on their way through the double-glass doors.
"I believe God isn't done with America," Cruz said to a raucous standing ovation. "I believe in you. I believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives rising up to reignite the promise of America. And that's why today I am announcing that I am running for president of the United States."
The announcement was met with chants of "USA! USA!" Students mobbed the senator as he left the four-sided arena stage posing for photos and exchanging personal greetings.
"He's going to be the next president of the United States," said Jarryn Bailey, a 19-year-old international relations major from Colorado Springs. "We're going to make it happen. He is anointed by God."
Cruz's speech dovetailed with Christian-themed rock music and prayer at the nation's largest Christian university, a modern evangelical citadel founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell.
Almost an endorsement
The founder's son, university President Jerry Falwell Jr., called it a historic moment both for Cruz and the school, which had to reschedule a planned appearance by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe in order to accommodate Cruz's decision to move up the timing of his announcement.
Falwell stopped short of an endorsement but offered words of praise: "Ted Cruz has gone against the tide, taken the road less traveled, and proven himself to be a man of character," he told the gathering.
Most of the students in the packed arena responded enthusiastically, despite a smattering of empty seats and red "Rand" T-shirts in support of Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who also is expected to announce soon.
Among the likely Paul supporters was Rick Taylor, a retired engineer from Moneta, Va., who came just to hear Cruz.
"My wife's more skeptical," Taylor said. "She's still trying to figure him out."
But from the stage, where Cruz paced the four corners without notes, he could look out on a sea of welcoming faces. He highlighted his story as the son of a Baptist preacher running as a small government social conservative committed to a traditional definition of marriage, school "choice" and opposition to abortion rights.
He talked about the "transformative love of Jesus Christ," and asked students to "imagine a federal government that works to defend the sanctity of human life and to uphold the sacrament of marriage."
Those words resonated with James Shank, a 20-year-old youth ministry student from Virginia.
"He did a good job of not only expressing his political views but also his faith," said Shank, who led chants of "liberty!" and "USA!"
"I'm so excited," said Kara Faraldi, a 22-year-old theater major from southern New Jersey. "How often do you get a chance like this?"
Faraldi professed to know little about Cruz, but enough to give him a warm reception.
"I know enough to know he stands for good things, values this country was founded on - and not taking flack from anybody," she said.
The carefully chosen venue strengthened Cruz's case to religious conservatives who dominate the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, anchoring him well to the right of what is expected to be a crowded GOP field.
Anointing him as the first major 2016 contender, Monday's rally also gave Cruz a conspicuous platform on the fifth anniversary of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, "every word" of which Cruz vowed to repeal.
Cruz reminded the students that their university had mounted a lawsuit against Obamacare - ultimately unsuccessful - challenging the contraception mandate and the requirement that employers provide health coverage.
"I love that he's trying to stand up against what President Obama is doing to this country," said Alex Bothmann, a 30-year-old Liberty University graduate student from Dallas.
A family affair
Cruz, in a black suit, was accompanied by his wife Heidi, on leave from her job as an executive at Goldman Sachs to join his campaign. Decked in a pink suit, she was joined by their two young daughters, Caroline and Catherine, in matching red dresses. All four took part in the stage rehearsals over the weekend.
In a new campaign video he launched via Twitter early Monday, Cruz spoke of "a new generation of courageous conservatives to help make America great again." Speaking over images of country churches and sweeping Western vistas, he also said he was "ready to stand with you and lead the fight."
The video, "It's a Time for Truth," was intended to introduce presumably new audiences to the salient points of Cruz's personal biography as the son of an immigrant father who fled oppression in Cuba "with just a hundred dollars to his name."
Cruz, starting far behind in the polls of likely GOP hopefuls, might be one of the party's most outspoken firebrands. But he still faces stiff competition for the mantle of lead religious conservative from better-established figures such as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Paul, another hopeful with a Texas pedigree, is expected to announce April 7, presenting a challenge for the libertarian wing of the party.
All have their eyes on former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is widely regarded as the likely 2016 Democratic nominee.
Democrats took immediate aim at Cruz, whom many see as the epitome of the Republicans' lurch to the right.
"He's everything voters hate about the modern Republican Party in one candidate, and the entire field is already signing on to his positions," said Brad Woodhouse of American Bridge, a Democratic-aligned PAC.
Next? Raising money
But win, lose or draw, Monday's announcement was a milestone for the former Texas solicitor general who has quickly emerged as a tea party hero scarcely two years after he came out of nowhere to win a U.S. Senate seat.
His next challenge will be to translate that populist support into a credible fundraising base to make him competitive beyond the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, where he plans trips in the coming weeks. Campaign advisers have said he needs to raise as much as $50 million through the 2016 primary season.
His announcement also will trigger a more stringent set of campaign finance restrictions. Until now, his political operation has been run largely by his Jobs, Growth and Freedom Fund, a leadership PAC that operates under looser fundraising rules.
A political autobiography, also titled "A Time for Truth," will follow in the coming months. That's another rite of passage on the modern presidential campaign trail, which began, officially at least, in Lynchburg - where Cruz won the race to the starting line.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1HwyqSb
0 comments:
Post a Comment