Now, Ted Cruz is currently my #2 choice behind the excellent Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal. However, this 10-minute video of Ted Cruz doing what I think he does best must be blogged.
Here is the video (10 minutes):
And the Daily Signal has the story.
Excerpt:
Sen. Ted Cruz’s questioning of Sierra Club President Aaron Mair turned contentious Tuesday, then went viral when the Texas Republican posted the nearly 10-minute exchange.
Cruz repeatedly pressed Mair to address satellite data that found an 18-year pause in global warming, countering the Sierra Club’s claim of a warming trend. He asked the green group to retract its assertion that the “planet is cooking” in light of scientific evidence suggesting the opposite.
Mair stonewalled the question each time, answering only that his group supports the “97 percent of scientists that say the exact opposite.”
“So if the data are contrary to your testimony, would the Sierra Club issue a retraction?” Cruz asked.
“Sir, we concur with the 97-percent scientific consensus with regards to global warming,” Mair responded.
The two battled back and forth in a contentious exchange until Cruz concluded in frustration that Mair was unwilling to rescind his claim.
“You know, Mr. Mair, I find it striking that for a public policy organization that purports to focus exclusively on environmental issues, that you’re not willing to tell this committee that you would issue a retraction if your testimony is objectively false under scientific data,” Cruz said. “That undermines the credibility of any organization.”
Now, the knock on Cruz is that he has not been able to accomplish much as a legislator. I am looking for someone who can craft legislation that gets enough votes between the two parties to move forward and either get vetoed, or get turned into law. Cruz sounds so good when he talks, but I want a candidate who has more policy accomplishments and has successfully defended his policies and decisions from attacks.
Bobby Jindal is my top pick for exactly that reason. Rather than merely saying the things I want to hear, he adds doing the things I want to be done to his words.
Take a look at this article from the Washington Post, which looks at which candidate was the most effective at moving legislation, and getting bills turned into laws.
It says:
Jindal got 1.7 laws passed for every year he spent in the House, far more than anyone else.
By sponsored bills, he also comes out on top, though John Kasich also had a relatively high percentage of the bills he sponsored in the House see the president’s pen.
So who is the most effective legislator running for president? By this metric, we’ll give it to Jindal.
Here’s the graph:
Let’s look a bit more at the differences between Cruz and Jindal. First, Jindal is a policy guru, and has got things done in education and health care policy going back as far as 1996, when he was only 24 years old and go the job to take over state-level health care policy in Louisiana. He knocked it out of the park. As Governor of Louisiana, he put into place a state-wide voucher program and privatized many wasteful, bloated government programs. And he was willing to battle against the Obama administration to keep his “parent’s choice” education plan. He is the only GOP primary candidate with a detailed plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, and because of his past success, we know that he is competent to do that job. We don’t have to just believe his words, we can look at his accomplishments. And Jindal is the most socially conservative candidate in the race. Whether it’s on abortion or gay marriage, we don’t have to trust mere words. We have something better: actions. Cruz does not have the record on social issues that Jindal has. And what’s more, I don’t think that Cruz is as conservative on social issues as Jindal is.
So, that’s why Jindal is my number one pick right now, and Cruz is number two. We are losing a lot of experience and achievements if we have to fall back to Cruz. He would make a good attorney general, but he is not the best qualified conservative in the primary. Jindal is.
WINTERY KNIGHT 
I must take issue with the criticism that Ted Cruz “can’t get things done.” He has gotten a lot done. Of course, his record of passing legislation is not as good as Jindal’s, but Jindal had the HUGE benefit of being in the Congress when we had a Republican majority in BOTH houses and a Republican President. That’s not a little thing.
Cruz has, up until the last 9 months or so, been in a Democrat-controlled Senate and under a Democrat President. In spite of that, he is ranked *4th* among Republican Senators for that period of time. Only 3 Republican Senators passed more legislation during the last Congress than he has.
Of course, passing legislation is not the only important thing, but even there Cruz has accomplishments. In addition to that, he has a serious record of wins in the court system, including more then 40 oral arguments before the Supreme Court. Cruz was fighting for our freedoms in the area that is perhaps the most profitable and important for conservatives while a Democrat President is in office.
And of course, one of the most important positives of Cruz is that he takes on the Republican Establishment as much as he does the Democrats. Both of those are serious threats to our freedom. What’s more, the American people are extremely dissatisfied with the fact that both parties continue to spend, spend, spend and bankrupt our country and that neither party is very good at listening to constituents. Cruz stands against the cronyism that causes Republican leadership to talk the talk when campaigning and then DO NOTHING (except what their big business donors want), and Cruz exposes that for what it is. The GOP needs a shaking up and Cruz has the reputation, the rhetorical skills, the knowledge, and the commitment to conservative principles needed to turn the party around and show people what real conservatism is all about.
Don’t get me wrong. I like Jindal a lot. He would make a good President. I just think Cruz has the best mix of traits that we need at this point in time. Jindal does have some impressive accomplishments and he is very conservative. But Jindal is going to be hurt by the fact that he has been in politics for a long time. He’s a career politician. A good one, but still a career politician. The people are tired of trying that and having it not work.
The people don’t want more of the same. They want someone they can trust not to fit in and get along with the politicians in Washington. That’s one of the main reasons people are flocking to Trump and Carson. They don’t want a politician because that would be just more of the same. They don’t trust the people who fit in in Washington.
Cruz has the best mix of outsider status and experience. He knows what he’s doing and we have a record to show he’s not going to be swayed by the power, but he’s also not a career politician and is absolutely hated by the Establishment precisely because he doesn’t get along with the cronyists who are bankrupting our future and ignoring our priorities. Cruz is what the people are looking for. As Trump and Carson inevitable implode when they can’t provide the consistency and conservative principles the people are looking for, Cruz is in the right position to rise to the top.
As Steven Deace said, “If your criticism of Ted Cruz is the establishment talking point “he can’t get anything done” in a corrupt Congress almost everybody hates, then you truly don’t understand the electorate and are actually helping his candidacy. So please keep it up.”
LikeLike
I’m having trouble find the part where I said that Cruz can’t get things done, because I wanted to change it if I said that. I think his record of getting things done is better than the average Republican senator.
LikeLike
Oh I see where you got that impression, I’ll change it.
LikeLike
WK, but what do you have to say to the suggestion that Cruz is more inclined to fight even those in his own party, who listen to money at the expense of principle? Do you have any thoughts in response to the points raised in Lindsay’s comment?
LikeLike
That’s great that Cruz is willing to fight those in his own party. However, I only care about results. I want to see laws, policies and executive decisions happen in the real world, and have an impact in the real world. Jindal has a record of action on issues like abortion, defense of marriage, choice in education, health care reform, etc. etc. etc. Dozens and dozens of achievements and accomplishments that make a difference in the real world to real people. Cruz has decent experience as an attorney general and legislator, but no executive experience and much less legislation moved and enacted than Jindal. I prefer the results guy over the talk guy. Cruz is a good candidate for attorney general.
LikeLike
Wow I’m liking Jindal more and more
LikeLike
I have to say…I do think the comparison is a bit apples to oranges in a manner similar to that put forth by Lindsay Harold. However, while I feel drawn more toward Cruz than to Jindal (only by mere degrees), I am concerned about the social issues more than most (though not, perhaps, more than WK ;D), and I haven’t heard enough distinct opinions on such by Cruz. I also have a concern about his position on immigration, as I recently read of work his wife did with regards to North American trade agreements that could very likely result in more undesirable flowing in from the south than are entering already. Though immigration seems to make Trump a one-trick pony, on that issue I do like his hard-core attitude regarding how to deal with it and why we should. I would put it this way: my starting point for discussion is NO MORE immigration and defend the borders as aggressively as possible…as if everyone who tries to enter is an invader intent on doing harm.
Anyway, I haven’t heard anything concrete about that issue from Cruz thus far (unless I just missed it). Overall, I’m good with either as the nominee.
Finally, I’ve heard some hard knocks against Jindal and his record on economic issues regarding his state. What can you say about that since having gotten results is as important to you as to me?
LikeLike
If you want to know where Cruz stands on amnesty, take a look at his remarks here:
http://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2015/08/12/ted-cruz-when-it-comes-to-immigration-legal-good-illegal-bad/
“There should be no pathway to citizenship for those who are here illegally. I don’t support amnesty. And I find it really striking at the Cleveland debate, that divide was evident for all to see. Let me step back for a second. Let me talk about the amnesty issue. Because I actually think the amnesty issue is broader than just another policy issue on which people can disagree. President Obama famously said his goal was to fundamentally transform the United States of America. And one of the critical tools he is using to try to do that is to allow millions of people to come here illegally. There’s seven billion people on the face of the planet, and an awful lot of them would like to come here. Now if they want to come here legally and follow the law, great. You and I both come from immigrant families who followed the law.
But the Obama plan is to allow millions to come in illegally and try to grant them amnesty, grant them a pathway to citizenship, and they believe they’ll vote Democrat in perpetuity to keep the big-government Democrats in power. It is a transformational policy, if amnesty goes through. It changes who we are as a country, if Obama and the Democrats succeed in this.”
Cruz has never supported amnesty, unlike Rubio, Bush, and even Walker who have all supported amnesty in the past.
If you want to know how Cruz stands on abortion, probably the best thing is to read what the pro-aborts say about him:
http://www.bustle.com/articles/71469-ted-cruzs-views-on-abortion-are-pretty-amazing-and-not-in-a-good-way
Cruz believes life begins at conception and that all human lives should be protected by law. Ted Cruz has also led the fight to defund Planned Parenthood in the Senate and lambasted GOP leaders who caved on the issue.
On marriage, Ted Cruz believes marriage is the union of a man and woman only and stands against the recent Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, declaring it “tyranny.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-gay-marriage_55b00157e4b07af29d57677c
LikeLike
See, I think the trouble with Cruz people is that they think that Cruz’s opinions and talk are accomplishments.
Passing a state-wide voucher program and defending it against the federal Department of Justice is an accomplishment (Jindal).
Passing collective bargaining reform that resolves a $3.6 billion state deficit and then beating a recall is an accomplishment (Walker).
Talky-talk is not an accomplishment.
LikeLike
I have to say that after listening to Cruz’s exchange debate with the Sierra Club President, I am leaning toward Cruz as my first choice in the Republican primaries. He is smart, calculated, methodical and probing. We need someone like him to bust up big government. I think he’s the guy to do it. Trump looks like a dumb stump compared to Cruz. Ask yourself – who is going to take on Hillary in the debates – Cruz? or Trump?
LikeLike