Cruz: 'We’ve been burned too many times'
Voters need to unite behind a single candidate to avoid being burned by weak politicians, Sen. Ted Cruz said Sunday.
“You know what, we’ve been burned too many times. We can’t be burned again. The stakes are too high,” the Texas Republican said during one of his final rallies before the Iowa caucuses. Voters need to unite behind a single candidate to avoid being burned by weak politicians, Cruz said.
Before Cruz took the stage, his campaign rolled out seven speakers to introduce him, including his wife, Heidi, Family Leader CEO Bob Vander Plaats and Iowa-based conservative radio host Steve Deace.
All got up to prop up various sides of Cruz’s personality or resume while encouraging Iowans to caucus for him Monday night.
Holding up a spoon, Iowa Rep. Steve King said he finally figured out how to understand Cruz.
“I learned from Ted, he was spoon-fed the Bible and the Constitution at the kitchen table,” King said.
Cruz’s allies also took snipes at two of his main rivals in Iowa: Donald Trump and Marco Rubio.
Deace said there are only three Republican candidates capable of winning the nomination, alluding to Cruz, Trump and Rubio.
“If you want to know what separates the three … it’s judgement,” Deace said. “A 70-year-old man who tweets like he’s on Bieber fever is not a president of the United States, folks.”
Cruz’s own speech played out similar to the hundreds he’s made before Sunday’s rally. He told the crowd his plans should he make it to the White House. Cruz also urged that conservatives have to unite behind a single candidate in 2016 as they did during the “Reagan Revolution.”
“We have faced the abyss before and the American people rose up, came together and pulled this country back. We have done it before and I tell you this, if we stand together tomorrow night we can do it again and we can restore that last best hope for mankind, that shining city on a hill that is the United States of America,” Cruz said.
At one point, fire marshals shut down access to the rally citing safety concerns and overcrowding. A few handfuls of Iowans were left outside.
The rally also had its interruptions. As Cruz took the stage, a man in the crowd shouted “I don’t feel so good. Ted Cruz looks so weird,” following it up with fake vomiting noises.
As the man was escorted out, Cruz jokingly asked whether Trump was yelling at him from the back of the room.