Ted Cruz blasts Democrats and Republicans in bold Las Vegas speech

Ted Cruz, the firebrand GOP presidential candidate who’s campaigning on promises to cut government spending, pitched himself as a Washington outsider and promised to reform federal taxes during a speech at Red Rock Resort today.

Cruz, 44, channeled the conservative outrage with the federal government by telling tales of his battles against politicians while vowing to implement a flat tax, eliminate agricultural subsidies for corn and sugar, reform health care and end a system of federally backed business loans for purchasing overseas goods.

Cruz, known for his filibusters to protest hikes in government borrowing caps, brought his brand of chutzpah to Las Vegas, saying that if elected president he would veto bills laden with corporate welfare and political cronyism — panning establishment politicians as part of a “Washington cartel.”

Cruz is a polished orator with slicked-back hair and spoke with calculated moxie to more than 400 attendees at an event sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, a conservative grassroots group that has more than 41,000 activists who sign petitions, knock on doors and mobilize voters in the state.

Cruz has made multiple trips this year to Nevada in an effort to win the GOP presidential nomination. He spoke in Henderson earlier today and will be in Northern Nevada on Saturday for a campaign event with Attorney General Adam Laxalt. Cruz is one of 17 GOP candidates looking for the nod and is lagging behind Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Ben Carson and others in polls.

Cruz wooed the crowd with comedic blasts about bureaucrats and Democrats, but tax reform was the crux of the policy platform he pitched to the crowd.

If elected president, Cruz said he would fight for a flat tax rate that can be done “on the back of a post card."

To a raucous cheer, Cruz ended his tax pitch by saying, “We should abolish the IRS.”

He expressed dismay about Republicans who didn’t fight to limit government borrowing or cut spending for Planned Parenthood.

“It’s been eight months since we’ve had a Republican majority in both houses. What the heck have we done with it,” Cruz said. “... Which of those decisions is one iota different than if Harry Reid and Democrats were in control.”

Cruz finished up by saying what he would do with the Affordable Care Act, the federal health care law that’s provided more than 16 million Americans with health insurance.

He said premiums and out-of-pocket costs have “skyrocketed.”

“If I am elected president, we are going to appeal every word,” he said.

The crowd went wild.