Cruz charges into Ex-Im battle

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who has drifted to the middle of the pack of Republican presidential contenders, is girding for his next battle with GOP leaders: reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. --The firebrand conservative on Wednesday challenged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) to block any vote on reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank next month. Pro-trade Democrats say McConnell promised them a vote on the reauthorization of Ex-Im in exchange for their support of a trade package last month. “Leadership in both chambers has said there is no deal. --Excellent. Prove it. If there is no deal, we should let Ex-Im expire and let it stay expired,” Cruz said at a speech at the Heritage Foundation entitled “The People v. The Washington Cartel.”

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EXCLUSIVE — Ted Cruz: ObamaTrade Enmeshed In Corrupt, Backroom Dealings

As a general matter, I agree (as did Ronald Reagan) that free trade is good for America; when we open up foreign markets, it helps American farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers. But TPA in this Congress has become enmeshed in corrupt Washington backroom deal-making, along with serious concerns that it would open up the potential for sweeping changes in our laws that trade agreements typically do not include. Since the Senate first voted on TPA, there have been two material changes. First, WikiLeaks subsequently revealed new troubling information regarding the Trade in Services Agreement, or TiSA, one of the trade deals being negotiated by Obama. Despite the administration’s public assurances that it was not negotiating on immigration, several chapters of the TiSA draft posted online explicitly contained potential changes in federal immigration law.

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Cruz: Universities that boycott Israel should lose federal funding

Sen. Ted Cruz said Thursday that universities that boycott Israel should lose their federal funding. --Cruz's remarks were aimed at the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, which is gaining traction on college campuses. It calls for U.S. companies and universities to divest from Israel. Cruz has spoken against BDS but sharpened his tone Thursday.

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Ted Cruz: The Bush Years

Long before Ted Cruz was a big-name senator and conservative rock star, wowing the crowd at Liberty University in the early days of his presidential bid, he was just another lawyer toiling away in virtual anonymity under George W. Bush.

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Ted Cruz Gets Common Core Way Better Than ThinkProgress Does

ThinkProgress has not one but two articles bashing this tweet from Sen. (and now presidential candidate) Ted Cruz:  Federal Govt has no business sticking its nose in education. We need to repeal every word of Common Core! #nhpolitics #MakeDCListen  The headlines pretty much sum it up: “Ted Cruz Makes Impassioned Plea For Repeal Of Federal Legislation That Does Not Exist” and “Every Claim In This Ted Cruz Statement Is Completely False.” The second critiques this statement from Cruz’s spokeswoman: “Common Core is a federally created curriculum that the state’s ‘Race to the Top’ grants are tied to. So if the state does not adopt the standards, it gives up the grant money. But since the federal government created this mess, there should be a way to undo it.”

Read more at the Heartland Institute Blog
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