Republicans Rick Perry and Ted Cruz stoke fires at right-wing convention

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/09/rick-perry-ted-cruz-republican-redstate-gathering

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Rick Perry used the 2011 RedState Gathering conservative convention to announce his ill-fated 2012 presidential bid. There was no such drama this time around from the man who is stepping down as Texas governor after November’s election.

But he delivered a stentorian, crowd-pleasing and rhetoric-jammed speech on core Republican issues on Friday, doing nothing to counter the impression that he is laying the foundations for a second tilt at the White House.

Perry was praised by Ted Cruz during a speech at the Gathering three years ago, when Cruz was merely a little-known, underdog US senate candidate. Now a Tea Party superstar, Cruz reiterated his admiration for his “friend” on Friday night but before long the two may be rivals for the Republican nomination for the 2016 presidential campaign.

Speaking to reporters after delivering a speech at the Gathering at a hotel in downtown Fort Worth, Cruz deflected – but did not dismiss – questions about whether he was considering a run.

“There’ll be time enough to answer that question, but let me answer it this way … I think Republicans should nominate whoever’s standing up and leading and fighting the fight,” he said.

“By all accounts there are 10, 12, 15 people that seem to be thinking about running. What I would encourage each and every one of them to do is stand up and lead. I think it’d be fantastic if a year from now we had five or six or seven Republicans, senators, governors, standing up and leading and making the case that what we’re doing isn’t working and there’s a better path for America. And so my focus is on energising and mobilising the grassroots and making the case we’ve got to change our path.”

The 43-year-old had arrived on the podium to whoops and cheers from the crowd and a standing ovation. “He’s willing to do what must be done for freedom,” Erick Erickson, editor-in-chief of the influential conservative blog RedState.com, said while introducing Cruz. “The rock star status here, it’s like all the Beatles in one person in the conservative movement.”

A woman told Cruz during a brief question and answer session: “When I look at you I can imagine that you’d be just like one of the founding fathers of this country.”

His speech centred on a half-dozen claimed “victories” over the federal government on issues such as gun control. At the end, activists bowed their heads as Erickson led the room in a prayer asking God for Cruz to be a “beacon” for America.

Cruz cited President Barack Obama’s failure to enact legislation in the wake of the Newtown school massacre as an example of successful conservative resistance to perceived government overreach.

“He used it as an excuse to try to go after our second amendment right to bear arms,” Cruz said. “In Texas, gun control means: hit what you’re aiming at.”

He claimed that the current influx of unaccompanied minors across the southern border was a result of the Obama administration’s deferred-action Daca programme. “This crisis is the direct consequence of President Obama’s lawlessness,” he said.

The senator argued that “[Senate majority leader] Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats engaged in naked obstructionism” to scupper the bill, although others have pointed the finger squarely at Cruz for his unwillingness to compromise.

Cruz predicted the GOP would retake the Senate this year. “Obamacare is an albatross hanging over the necks of these Democratic senators … they’re paying the price,” he said.

Despite the popularity of Cruz, and unlike in previous election years, mainstream Republican senators do not seem to be suffering serious consequences from the Tea Party’s influence on grassroots conservatives.

High-profile right-wingers at the Gathering sought to put a brave face on recent setbacks. Incumbent Republican senators seeking re-election all held off challenges from Tea Party-backed candidates in this year’s primaries. This week, Pat Roberts in Kansas (aged 78) and Lamar Alexander in Tennessee (74) became the latest to vanquish insurgents in GOP primaries ahead of this autumn’s mid-term elections.

Jim DeMint, president of a leading conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, said there has been a ripple effect which has forced moderates farther to the right. He added that he believes the Tea Party movement will effectively act as a watchdog to ensure that elected representatives do not compromise on conservative values.

“It’s going to make it harder for them once they get past the general election not to follow through. I’m not discouraged at all. What I’ve seen … is that spirit of resistance and pushback is actually starting to invade the incumbents there in Washington,” he told the audience. “It’s making a difference and we’ve got to keep up the pressure.”

The day’s first speaker, Ken Cuccinelli, president of the Senate Conservatives Fund and the defeated candidate in Virginia’s last gubernatorial election, denied that the group’s backing of Tea Party candidates has been divisive and a waste of money.

“George Washington lost more battles than he won, but he won the war. This is a long war,” he said.

Perry’s 2012 campaign was more of a brief skirmish. An early frontrunner, his bid imploded after a high-profile debate gaffe and when his rivals used his support for government-funded tuition for undocumented immigrants to portray him as soft on immigration.

The surge of unaccompanied children crossing the border in the Rio Grande Valley has given Perry a fresh national platform which he has used to condemn the Obama administration’s handling of the problem. The likely effectiveness of Perry’s plan to send 1,000 National Guard troops to the border has been questioned in some quarters, but his stance was rapturously received here.

“If Washington won’t act to secure the border, as governor of Texas I will,” he said.

Perry met briefly with Obama in Dallas last month to discuss the crisis and the president described the talk as “constructive”, but there was nothing conciliatory about the governor’s tone in Fort Worth.

“The root cause of this tragedy in Texas is a border the federal government refuses to secure,” he said. “As a direct result of this administration’s naive policies, poor enforcement, failed leadership, we’re now faced with an unnecessary humanitarian crisis.”

Perry used part of his speech to expound on a beloved theme in Texas: the quest for limited federal government and giving more power to states. “The founders knew that government closest to the people was best,” he said.

“Thomas Jefferson was right when he said a little rebellion now and then is a good thing. And now, faced with another power-hungry oppressive ruler in a faraway place, it’s time for us to start a little rebellion”. The 64-year-old proposed a “war” on “the battlefield of ideas”.

To the delight of the 300-strong crowd, Perry also launched an assault on Obamacare as a prime example of budget-draining federal overreach. “[History’s told us] what government-run healthcare looks like. It looks like these long lines and rationing in Britain,” he said.

Perry announced the formation of a new political action committee, RickPAC, which aims to raise funds to boost the election chances of fellow Republicans nationwide in November’s elections, such as Tom Cotton in Arkansas and Steve Daines in Montana.

“In order to win back the Senate this fall I’ve formed a new PAC to win races from coast to coast,” said Perry.

The PAC, if successful, is likely to enhance Perry’s standing among party members beyond Texas.

Also adding fuel to the speculation about his presidential intent, Perry is scheduled to spend the next few days making his latest trip to Iowa, the location of the first GOP presidential caucus, for the Family Leadership Summit. Cruz will be there too.