Ames, Iowa — Ted Cruz argued today that it was vital that Obamacare be defunded.

“A lot of politciians in Washington in both parties are telling the American people it can’t be done,” Cruz said in a speech at The Family Leader Summit. “Why? Because Barack Obama will always stand for his principles, so America, apparently conservatives have to give up on ours.”


“Our friends in the media happily repeat that much,” he added. “They say ‘this is a fool’s errand, you’re tilting at windmills.’ Let me tell you, if we can hold 41 Republicans in the U.S. senate or 218 Republicans in the U.S. House, we can defund Obamacare.”

He took another crack at his Senate colleagues after receiving a long, standing ovation for his declaration that “there is no more important regulatory reform we can do that to repeal every single word of Obamacare.”

“If I were sitting in the Senate cloakroom, the reaction to that statement would be fundamentally different,” Cruz quipped. “I don’t know that I’m quick enough to dodge all the things that would be thrown at me.”