Cruz Shows Political Strength During Town-Hall

Melissa Rozenboom-Ray’s 5th Grade Class from Oskaloosa Christian School enjoyed some humor and a group photo with Sen. Ted Cruz. Cruz is running for the Republican nomination for President.

Oskaloosa, Iowa — On the unassuming stage area inside Smokey Row Coffee House, on the west side of the Oskaloosa square, candidates seeking the most powerful office in the United States take that small step up.

That single step onto an unassuming stage, underneath the old Rivola Theater marquee is an important step for area residents in deciding who the next president may be.

In back-to-back Wednesdays, two Republican candidates for president have stopped by the venue. Also, Democrat candidate Martin O’Malley has recently stopped by.

The past two weeks have seen a nearly packed house, with standing-room-only being the norm, as area residents are more eager than ever to listen and question the candidates.

Iowans are very adept at politics, because of years of meetings just like this one, and asking the tough questions of the candidates is quickly becoming second nature.

So, under that old marquee, the 44-year-old Texas Senator took that stage after a brief introduction by his wife Heidi.

Cruz is currently ranked third in national polling trends, and he took the stage at Smokey Row to a lively reception.

Cruz showed his humor during his stump speech. Cruz referenced the recent visit by Pope Francis, saying that during a press conference, “That [it] got a little awkward. Every time the reporters addressed a question to ‘Your Holiness’, Obama would answer.”

The crowd erupted in laughter.

Cruz continued on the attack by once again using humor, saying that China’s President Xi visited the next day, and reports listed the visit as a visit between, “The worlds most powerful communist and the President of China.”

“It’s true,” you could hear a couple of attendees say.

Cruz said that he and the others were there because the country is in crisis and “we’re bankrupting our kids and grandkids. Because our constitutional rights are under assault from Washington each and every day.”

Cruz said that American has given up its place of leadership in the world, and “it’s made the world a much more dangerous place.”

Cruz said that if he were elected president, he would change things the first day in office by revoking each and every illegal executive action. “President Obama likes to say he’s got a phone and he’s got a pen. And when you live by the pen, you die by the pen.”

Cruz said his next step, if elected, would be to instruct the Department of Justice to open an investigation into planned parenthood and to “prosecute any and all violations by that organization.”

“The administration of justice should be blind to party or ideology,” said Cruz.

Third on Cruz’s list is to instruct the Department of Justice and the IRS and every other federal agency “that the persecution of religious liberty ends today. That means that every service man and woman has the right to seek out and worship the Lord God Almighty with all his heart, mind and soul and his superior officer has nothing to say.”

Cruz said that on his first day he would also, “rip to shreds this catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal”.

By this time, the crowd was clapping and cheering, while a 5th grade class from Oskaloosa Christian School took in the experience of watching and learning about politics in Iowa.

Because in Iowa, we are now use to prodding and probing the candidates.

As Cruz continued with his talking points, the youngsters learned more about politics, and the process that takes place to select the next leader of our country.

Finally, during the question and answer session, one of those young people in the 5th grade class asked Cruz what his thoughts are about Social Security.

Cruz was taken aback by such a strong question from such a young person, who is decades away from being able to utilize the program. “I will go out on a limb and say you’re a little young for it,” joked Cruz.

“That’s a good question,” Cruz said, adding that, “it gives a good illustration of the kind of leadership we need.”

Cruz said he believes that politicians are afraid to talk about social security and that the social program is running out of money and it’s fundamentally irresponsible not to be discussing the issue.

Cruz explained he believes that Social Security reform is possible with four principles put in place. Firstly, Cruz explained that for those who are on social security or near retirement, there should be no changes.

Secondly, Cruz said that for younger workers, the retirement age should gradually increase. Cruz cited stats saying that when Social Security was signed into law the retirement age was 65, but life expectancy was 62 years of age. “People are living a lot longer now,” saying that now the average life expectancy is 78 years of age.

Cruz also spoke of creating a personal account, that would be a part of the Social Security program, which would allow individuals to pass the earnings in that account along to their children and grandchildren.

Melissa Ray, 5th Grade teacher at Oskaloosa Christian School, spoke about the how the learning experience of the day is being translated into learning in the classroom.

“The students wanted to know if Cruz really memorized the Constitution,” said Ray. The students were also interested in learning more about Cruz’s family, because they have heard stories about Cruz’s father, Rafael Cruz.

“They really wanted to see the town-hall meeting and how that happens, because we’re learning about We The People and how we the people matter the most in the whole process,” explained Ray.

So, as Iowans continue to prod and poke the presidential candidates as they crisscross the state, a new generation of young Americans are learning about the process; so that when it’s their time, they will be prepared to take their turn.