Sunday, November 22, 2015

The Ted Cruz I Know

The most principled man to run for president in my lifetime

As a part of a the Ted Cruz Campaign in Iowa, I've had access to meetings and conferences and events that even most politically involved Iowans aren't privy to. I've also been to Iowa retail political meet and greets with Senator Cruz. I think there is a huge misconception nationally about the kind of man and the kind of candidate that Senator Cruz is. I'm here to set that record straight with information about my own experiences and what I hear from others that have had the distinct pleasure of meeting the most principled man to run for president in a generation.



This first time I saw Senator Ted Cruz was at a large event, the Iowa Rally for Religious Liberty, that his campaign put on. I met him briefly and saw him interact with others with a grace and humility rarely seen in any person and almost never seen in DC politico types. I filled out a commitment card that night. Shortly thereafter I received the call to be a part of a team that I have grown to respect and care for.

Meetings with Senator Cruz away from the media are light hearted and fun. He knows when to be serious but I think he takes the "spoonful of sugar" adage to heart. He uses humor to get his points across when appropriate. He also can be deadly serious. I appreciate someone who doesn't have to have a stage persona when he's in front of the camera. Ted Cruz is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow. If you want a glimpse into the more light-hearted Senator Cruz is, watch below.



Conversely, when talking about his faith, you can tell that he is very well settled in who he is and that it isn't his will, but God's will that will reign. He knows that he is saved and he also knows that he isn't perfect. At the Presidential Family Forum in Des Moines on Friday, November 20th, Moderator Frank Luntz asked Ted a question that brought forth an answer that brought the room full of 1800 people to a hushed reverence. He was so honest that we were given a glimpse of his soul. He is a strong man of faith and for that, I am thankful.



The other part of Senator Cruz's character that shines through is his love for people. He is the only candidate that I've ever seen that must always be told that it is time to go. His "body man", Bruce Redden, can always be seen having to grab him by the shirt when they have to go to the next event. Ted would be happy taking questions from people and just greeting them for hours on end. He always takes photos with people and makes it a point to make children, being brought along by their parents to a political event, feel welcome. No other candidate does this with the comfort and total ease that Ted Cruz does.



I'm sure you've also heard the media quip about Ted Cruz being rehearsed. I've never heard him give the same exact stump speech twice. Now, he does have certain phrases that he uses to convey importance but he always changes it up. He is so comfortable speaking to a crowd that he can come off as rehearsed when in reality, he's just the smartest guy in the room on nearly any issue. An exchange with Frank Luntz at this same forum went something like this(I'm paraphrasing because I don't have an audiographic memory). "Ted, are those the exact words President Obama used?" Followed by an exact recitation of a quote Obama had made earlier in the week. He frames an argument better than any person I've ever met. Watch how Ted Cruz handles hecklers and people that don't agree with him.



Eli Stokols, of Politico, tweeted out this:


We had to open the room to the hallway. There were too many people that wanted to see Sen. Ted Cruz
A CNN reporter tweeted this:


I urge you to not just believe me, but to do your own research. You'll find that what I say here is not only true, but it is just a small portion of what there is to know about Ted Cruz. If he is in your town, do not miss the opportunity to hear him speak and meet him up close and in person. Your perception of what a leader can be will be changed. He is the first candidate that I have been truly honored to support. In my adult life, I've never been able to say that about any other presidential candidate.
Ted Cruz always involves children in his campaigning. He knows they are the future.



Every time I see Senator Cruz, he makes a point of coming up to me and thanking me for what I do for the campaign. He does this with all of his supporters. He remembers people and he knows who he is working for. He is beholden to those people that vote for him and those people that put their life on hold to help him in his campaign to break the Washington Cartel. Those of us that make up the affectionately named the #CruzCrew will crawl across broken glass with knives between our teeth, to borrow a phrase from Ted, to see he gets across the finish line with the Republican nomination and then wins the general election next November. We are over 100,000 strong nationwide.

If you aren't committed the cause of liberty yet and you aren't ready to support Ted Cruz for 2016, I urge you to do your due diligence and pray on it. I'm sure you will see that this man is worthy of your support. If you have already decided that Ted is your guy, join us and help him become the next President of the United States of America.

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Sunday, November 15, 2015

Dereliction of Duty


The more this campaign season marches toward caucus day, the more I see evidence of a brokenness in much of the electorate. I've now made hundreds of phone calls, sent thousands of emails and knocked on many doors. While I continue to be impressed with many of our volunteers and staff, I am also continually disappointed in the apathy I hear from voters that are not involved in a campaign or in politics in general. There is a general dereliction of duty when it comes to Americans and their civic responsibilities.

Case in point. I made a phone call the other day to a random voter through our calling application and was greeted with the phrase, "I don't get involved until the general election." I asked him if he cared to have a voice in who he voted for next November. His exact words were, "It doesn't matter." I bid him good day. I really wanted to ask him if he cared about our country and if he cared about the future. It does matter! Is it any surprise that those of us that aren't on the political left have been saddled with terrible presidential candidate after terrible presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan left office. Need I remind you that we nominated the man who inspired Obamacare four years ago.

I find many people who take a wait and see attitude with politics, like it won't have any effect on them. Especially in an early state like Iowa, nothing could be further from the truth. A candidate that finishes outside of the top three here on caucus night will likely be done in the race for president. A candidate that wins can use the victory as a springboard toward the greater goal of becoming the nominee. When can a group as small as 130,000 people make a difference in the way the country is steered? That time is now and the place is here.

Yesterday, the Ted Cruz 2016 campaign office in Urbandale, Iowa, made over four thousand phone calls to prospective voters. If you include those of us that don't live around the Des Moines area, that number approaches five thousand with the call at home application. That is nearly four percent of the likely caucus goers in one day of calling. Just think what we could do if ten more people in each county were on board as volunteers.

I don't say any of this to diminish the amazing work put in by the volunteers, but many volunteers are only there for association purposes or to pad a resume. That can't be the approach. That mustn't be the approach. The proper approach should be this: How am I going to contribute to liberty's gain by helping elect the best presidential candidate in generations? That should be the question every volunteer asks themselves.

Today, the pastor of the church I attend, Joseph Brown, preached a sermon about not wasting time that we could be using for the advancement of a cause greater than our own self interest. He quoted facts and figures from studies about TV and social media usage and tied them back to a passage in Ephesians. Some of us use social media for advertising and campaign purposes (namely, me) but some of us use that social media time to do nothing to advance the cause of liberty or to bring people toward the church. Why? If we, as free thinking people, put our time toward something that would help ensure liberty for our following generations, wouldn't that be a more noble goal for our media use than that of gossiping about some person who is famous for simply being famous? Pastor Brown didn't even tell the congregants that social media or TV were bad, but that we could use them for the right purposes. The message was timely.

There's an old business adage that twenty percent of the people do eighty percent of the work. I'm finding that to be entirely true, if not a little generous. The point I'm trying to make with all of this is everybody can do more. If you don't live in an early state, contact me and ask me how you can help make phone calls into Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada. We have a mobile application that will do almost all of the work for you(it doesn't cost you anything either). If you live in a border state to one of these early states, contact me and ask me about setting up door knocking crews to go door to door in a city or town right across your state border. The door knocking is done by a smart phone app too. It takes almost no time to learn. Write letters to your local newspaper editor. Call into your local talk radio shows. Post messages on social media that will help our cause and highlight our campaign's strengths. All of this adds up and costs little to no money.

In closing, I'll refer back to Pastor Brown's sermon. He said that the only true currency we have is time. All of us have the same amount per each day we have on the earth. How are we going to spend our currency?

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#CruzCrew #Cruz2016 #CruzToVictory #iacaucus #nhpolitics #FITN

Monday, November 9, 2015

A Call to Action

As I sit here late at night, I find myself pondering a vexing thought. Why do people not want to be involved in the future of their country? I talk to so many people that are content to go to work, go home and then do it all over again with no concern about how the government or society writ large confine them to a life of nothing more than indentured servitude to a failing system run by an ever growing state.
A small group of patriots can change the world.

That last sentence might sound harsh but I think it needs to be said. I see people, like a few of the volunteers and staffers I've met while working with the Cruz campaign. They are all in. They take their task seriously. I think they will be OK, no matter what happens because they see the problem. They are resourceful and smart. The people I refer to are many of the ones I call on a daily basis to see if they would be interested in helping out a campaign to save the Republic. Many say variations of these pathetic answers: "I might help if I thought I could make a difference but..." or "I don't have time" or "I don't like politics".

Let me address those points. First, everyone can make a difference. If you can get a few of your friends to go to the polls or, as is the case here in Iowa, the caucuses, you can make a difference in your area. You could get elected to the county convention. You could be elected to central committee for your party and help change a feckless social club into a group dedicated to actual reform. It takes little time and it can make a huge difference. Inject some younger and more principled blood into the party system. Push out those that have become fat and happy.
Don't be content to sit and go through the motions.

Secondly, if you don't have time to positively help the coming generations start to turn this place we call America around, make sure you aren't in the way when those of us that do push for change make our move. Frankly, I'm sick of people making excuses for why they don't have time to be involved. Take your children with you. Show them that they can be involved in the community. Perhaps, you are busy with church. Have you stopped to think that what you are doing with your church may someday be illegal or be forced underground? Why not step up and be a force in your community? If you don't do it, it may not get done.

I hear this so much. "I don't like politics." Frankly, that statement is a load of bovine excrement. Everything is politics. Period. How much your income is taxed. How much you pay to register your car every year. How you can protect your home and loved ones. How you practice your faith. How you can use your own property. How you raise your family. All of these can be jeopardized by not participating in politics and allowing those who would lord over you to remain in power. If you don't like politics, you don't like having a say in the way you live your life, free from government intervention. Think of politics as Hollywood for the ugly(as Ted Cruz says, I resemble that remark). Get out and start starring in your own production or be and extra with a big production, but for God's sake, don't sit at home and be content with just being a spectator.

One big reason conservatives have trouble mobilizing is we are our own people and we tend to shy away from group goals. Don't think of this campaign as a group goal. Think of it as a gift to your children. Get off your hind quarters and help us.  Help your children and your children's children.

Don't let the forces of collectivism keep marching toward their end goal of a totalitarian state. Don't let someone tell you what to say or what language you have to avoid, in the interest of political correctness. Don't let someone, for reasons I don't care about, tell you what to think. Stand up to political bullies. Be the squeaky wheel. Be the reason for reform. Don't shut up.

One caveat. If you are just getting involved to throw around your own power or you are just interested in telling others how good you are, change your attitude before getting involved. You need to be more concerned with others before you can truly have the heart of a servant that it what it takes to reach people. DO NOT be the guy that thinks he can be everything to everyone. If you get involved, don't take it lightly. Be steadfast in your commitment to the cause of Liberty. Don't be afraid to find the good when it is evident. Don't be afraid to call out sellouts and fakes. Be courageous.

The reason I got involved wasn't for my resume or career enhancement, outside of supporting someone that would reduce the government's roll in my life and pocket book. The reason I got involved is because of people like my little 16 month old nephew, Wyatt. I want to leave a better country to him. Ponder on this query. Do you want to leave a better country to the next generation? Or not?

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PS: Thank you to a few young people I've met over the past few months that have revived my faith in humanity. Daniel, Blue, Lyndsey and Alex are great examples of why I work to help reignite the fires of liberty in this great nation. They deserve better than what we have right now and I'm determined to do my part.

#CruzCrew #TrusTed #Cruz2016

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Governing (Said An Octave Lower)

Senator Ted Cruz(R-TX) speaking before Iowa voters


As I've said before, being involved with a campaign has been quite educational, to say the least. I've attended Republican Party events, both around Iowa City and Johnson County and across Iowa. There is a marked difference in the type of people that are Ted Cruz supporters, staff and volunteers and the run of the mill Republican party types. Our people are ready to run through walls and crawl over broken glass to help Ted Cruz because they see him as someone who will not back down when the going gets rough and he will be committed to the principles he holds. In meeting with him away from the media, I can confirm that to be true. That is what I find so refreshing about Ted Cruz. He is who he is and it doesn't change when a camera or prospective voters are in front of him.

Contrast this to your typical Republican party apparatchik. This kind of person is concerned with keeping the Party in power, no matter who the candidate is. I used to agree with this "party over person" mantra. After seeing Washington, DC up close and being around members of the party at local and state levels, I can no longer do this. The party needs to start being committed to something other than just doing a better job of managing the decline of this great nation. I guess the best way to describe why I'm a party member is this: I am a Republican because it is a means to achieve a goal, not the goal itself.

Local Republican leaders in many counties are just involved so they can say they are involved. Frankly, their lack of principle is appalling. All they are interested in is being in charge. Nothing more. Reform is not something that falls into their lexicon. Many are content to manage the decline of a great nation, so long as they are in power. This makes my head hurt with the power of thousand migraines.

I live in a state now that is mainly led by corporatists. Many of the Democrat and Republican elected officials are just fine with wasting huge amounts of money, all while protecting certain hand-picked businesses and causes. They put the weight of government behind lobbied interests, all in the name of "governing". I've had it. Either come out of the closet as a big government progressive that wants to control people and business or find a backbone and stand up to these evil ways of doing government business as usual. I want to use another reference about a bathroom but I will refrain because kids may read this.

I will remain a member of the Republican party but I will only support candidates that I think are the embodiment of what I hold true. Limited government, low taxes, religious liberty, a strong national defense and foreign policy and reformed(preferably shuttered) regulatory agencies at the federal level. I encourage you to support, either by volunteering or monetarily, only candidates that share your values. Give nothing to a party that doesn't share your values until they see the error of their ways.

Only one person running has shown that he has the backbone to get this done. His strength is contagious, as you saw in the last debate when, with one unprepared answer, he won the debate while standing up for the other people on stage with him. That man is Ted Cruz. I urge you to support Ted Cruz. His support base in Iowa is growing exponentially, as it is across the nation. The people backing him come from all walks of life, unlike some supposedly preordained candidates that can only manage 4 volunteers out of 70,000 phone calls. I average 1 volunteer for about 35 phone calls. The other ratio is 1 in 17,500. The difference is quite telling. People are getting to know Ted Cruz for the person he is rather than the person the establishment has labeled a whacko bird. Count me as a whacko bird if you want but don't count on my support if you run squishy candidates that campaign as conservatives, yet once in office, GOVERN(imagine this said in a baritone voice) as progressives.





Read about the #CruzFlatTax plan.

Ted Cruz's father, Rafael Cruz and me at an event in Iowa.