M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO Cruz at CPAC: Beware the 'squishy moderate'

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Sen. Ted Cruz on Thursday warned activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference not to trust “squishy” moderates who talk about conservative principles but don’t have a record of activism — a veiled jab at likely presidential rivals such as Jeb Bush.

The junior senator from Texas, a favorite of grass-roots Republicans, said that every potential 2016 candidate at CPAC is sure to promise conservative credentials but that it’s up to the activists to examine their history.


Bush, the establishment favorite who supports immigration reform and the Common Core educational standards, both anathema to the activist crowd, is slated to speak Friday. Cruz spoke shortly after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another likely 2016er who faces challenges among the grass roots.

“We all know that in a campaign, every candidate comes up and tells you, ‘I’m the most conservative guy that’s ever lived,’ that’s just what they say,” Cruz said. “I’m pretty confident you haven’t seen any speakers come up yet to say, ‘I’m a squishy moderate who stands for nothing.’ … Every one of them will say, ‘You betcha, hoo diddly, I’m as conservative as all get-out.’”

Cruz, whose comments came in a speech and subsequent question-and-answer session with Fox News host Sean Hannity, urged activists to “demand action, not talk.”

On issues ranging from a nuclear deal with Iran to Obamacare, Cruz urged activists to ask, “When have you stood up and fought?”

The senator, of course, is well-known for waging a lengthy filibuster, rooted in opposition to President Barack Obama’s health care law, that helped prompt a government shutdown in 2013. His actions drew criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike, something Cruz appears to relish.

“If you have a candidate who’s stood against Democrats, that’s great. When have you been willing to stand up against Republicans?” he said. “When have you been willing to stand with the people?”

This annual confab draws a host of likely presidential candidates who span the GOP ideological spectrum, but the event tends to have a libertarian bent. Cruz is a superstar to social conservatives and others in the grass roots, but he is more hawkish than the libertarian activists who have often dominated CPAC. Still, he fielded several shouts of encouragement for a 2016 presidential run and met a standing ovation when he took the stage.

As other likely contenders have staffed up their political action committees and ramped up their public appearances, Cruz has kept a relatively lower political profile in recent weeks, but he made clear in his CPAC address that he is still seriously considering running.

As he frequently does, he likened the 2016 election to that of 1980, noting that Ronald Reagan was no favorite of the establishment — an implied parallel to Cruz’s own political standing.

The Texan also took several swings at likely 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and her husband. Asked to offer up a word or phrase he associated with Bill Clinton, he replied “youth outreach” — a reference to the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He also was unsparing in his criticism of Hillary Clinton.

“Hillary Clinton embodies the corruption of Washington,” he said. “We need to run a populist campaign, standing for hard-working men and women. We need to take the power out of Washington and bring it back to the American people.”