Leadership Assessment: Ted Cruz

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Proverbs 28:2

2 When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But with wise and knowledgeable leaders, there is stability.

NLT

As we continue our search for someone to lead our nation back to its position of greatness, the above proverb serves as a warning to us.  Many believe that moral issues and morality are not critical in selecting a leader but this proverb reminds us of the importance of morality within a nation.  When a nation has immoral leaders, the result is the minimization of morality within the nation and the nation begins to rot from within. 

We do not have to look far in our nation today to see examples of moral rot.  All we have to do is turn on the TV, look at advertisements, and observe the obsession our leaders have with issues like gay marriage, abortion, and contraception.  While they obsess on these issues, they ignore the fact that many in our nation have given up looking for work, and that we are now the laughing stock of the world. 

In a very short period of time, Ted Cruz has emerged on the scene as a potential leader to lead our nation out of its current situation.  He has remained steadfast in his determination to carry out the agenda the people of Texas elected him to do.  He has also demonstrated great courage in standing up to the establishment of his political party.

Ted Cruz was born Rafael Cruz in Canada to his Cuban father and Irish-American mother.  Cruz’s parents had moved from Texas to Canada during the 1960’s oil boom.  As a teenager, Cruz’s father fought for Fidel Castro against Fulgencio Batista.  He was unaware that Castro was a Communist and fought for Castro because Batista was a cruel and oppressive dictator.  After being imprisoned and tortured by the Batista regime, the elder Cruz came to America on a student visa.  Cruz’s mother was a working-class Delaware native who studied math at Rice University.(1)

Some have claimed that since Ted Cruz was born in Canada he is not qualified to run for President since he is not a natural born citizen.  However, there is no clear definition of the term natural born citizen in the Constitution and the U.S. Supreme Court has not made any ruling that clearly defines the term.  Typically, our nation grants citizenship to persons born in another country as long as they are born to U.S. citizen parents.  However, there is no clear requirement that both parents be U.S. citizens.  Therefore, since Cruz’s mother is a citizen born in Delaware, he is qualified as a natural born citizen through his mother according to legal president.  (2)  However, in order to stave off any potential legal challenges to his eligibility, Cruz did renounce his Canadian Citizenship.  (3)

Using our metric of vision, courage, integrity, and a servant’s heart, let us assess Ted Cruz’s leadership qualifications. 

1)      Vision – Ted Cruz kicked off the 2014 CPAC Convention with a sweeping conservative vision.  He favors repeal of Obamacare, which as he stated during his 21-hour filibuster would fail, which it has.  (4) (5)  He also favors not increasing the nation’s debt ceiling and instead favors balancing the nation's budget.  He believes balancing the budget eliminates the need to continually raise the debt ceiling to cover endless deficits.  His vision for conservative victory is the strategy used in the 2010 election, the only election Republicans have won in the last eight years, because republicans “stood unequivocally for principle.”  (6)

2)      Courage – Standing firm on principle and his vision for repeal of Obamacare and a balanced budget, Ted Cruz conducted a speaking filibuster in the U.S. Senate on September 24, 2013.  (4) Along with standing on principle, Ted Cruz was going against the GOP leadership in the Senate that favored the funding of Obamacare and then allowing it to collapse when it failed after implementation.  (7)  Everything Ted Cruz said would happen with the implementation of Obamacare has occurred and it has clearly failed, however, it is still the law of the land and the Administration continues to delay the most destructive parts of the law until after the elections.  Even though Obamacare is failing, the Administration keeps propping it up and it just does not go away. 

3)      Integrity – Cruz voted according to his principles by voting against a temporary debt limit increase on February 12, 2014.  He voted against extending unemployment on January 14, 2014 instead favoring policies that would increase employment such as drilling for oil in our country.  He voted for completing the fence along the U.S. Mexico border.  (8)

4)      Servants Heart – During the recent government shutdown, Senators continued to receive their salaries.  However, Ted Cruz donated his salary to charity during the shutdown.  (9) Ted Cruz, a Southern Baptist, does not believe in using his religion as some convenient political garb and instead asks voters to judge him by his actions.  (10)

Academically and professionally, Ted Cruz is a Harvard Law Graduate and served as a clerk for the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist.  His academic accomplishments and service as a clerk in the Supreme Court mean he knows a thing or two about the United States Constitution.  (10)  He is a strict constitutionalist who believes in interpreting the constitution as written. 

I give Ted Cruz an A on his leadership assessment.  However, whether he would be the best person to become our nation’s 45^th president depends upon how he stacks up against other potential candidates.  Next week we will assess Sarah Palin’s leadership qualities.

1. Weiner, Rachel. Who is Ted Cruz? www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] The Washington Post, August 1, 2012. [Cited: March 28, 2014.] http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/who-is-ted-cruz/2012/08/01/gJQAqql8OX_blog.html.

2. Feran, Ted. Is Ted Cruz eligible under the Constitution to become president? www.politifact.com. [Online] The Plain Dealer Politifact Ohio, May 9, 2013. [Cited: March 28, 2014.] http://www.politifact.com/ohio/article/2013/may/09/ted-cruz-eligible-under-constitution-become-presid/.

3. Reilly, Molie. Ted Cruz Taking Steps To Renounce Canadian Citizenship. www.huffingtonpost.com. [Online] The Huffington Post, January 25, 2014. [Cited: March 28, 2014.] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/29/ted-cruz-canadian_n_4515506.html.

4. Dan Friedman, James Warren. Ted Cruz ‘filibuster’: After 21 hours of anti-Obamacare talk mixed with Dr. Seuss and Star Wars, Texas senator votes to consider House bill. www.nydailynews.com. [Online] Daily News, September 25, 2013. [Cited: March 28, 2014.] http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ted-cruz-filibuster-talks-21-hours-votes-house-bill-article-1.1467344.

5. The Washington Post. TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Ted Cruz’s marathon speech against Obamacare on Sept. 24. www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] September 24, 2013. [Cited: March 28, 2014.] http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2013/09/25/transcript-sen-ted-cruzs-filibuster-against-obamacare/.

6. Sherfinski, David. Cruz lays out sweeping conservative vision to kick off CPAC 2014. www.washingtontimes.com. [Online] The Washington Times, March 6, 2014. [Cited: March 28, 2014.] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/6/cruz-lays-out-sweeping-conservative-vision-kick-cp/.

7. Morrissey, Ed. New GOP strategy on ObamaCare: Let it burn. hotair.com. [Online] Hot Air, November 21, 2013. [Cited: March 28, 2014.] http://hotair.com/archives/2013/11/21/new-gop-strategy-on-obamacare-let-it-burn/.

8. Project Vote Smart. Ted Cruz's Voting Records. https://votesmart.org. [Online] Project Vote Smart. [Cited: March 28, 2014.] https://votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/135705/ted-cruz#.UzY7MvlSbko.

9. McLaughlin, Seth. Sen. Ted Cruz plans to donate salary to charity each day of government shutdown. www.washingtontimes.com. [Online] The Washington Times, October 1, 2013. [Cited: March 28, 2014.] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/1/sen-ted-cruz-plans-donate-salary-charity-each-day-/.

10. III, Nicholas G. Hahn. You Shall Know Cruz By His Deeds. www.realclearreligion.org. [Online] Real Clear Religion, February 29, 2012. [Cited: March 28, 2014.] http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2012/02/29/you_shall_know_cruz_by_his_deeds.html.