Sen. Ted Cruz had the crowd rolling with a joke about the recent White House fence jumper – hitting political correctness, the immigration system and the mainstream media all in one go.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, Friday, Sept. 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
“We should insist that ABC, NBC, CBS, they refer to the visitor according to the term that is politically correct, an undocumented White House visitor," Cruz said Friday, speaking at the Values Voter Summit in Washington.
Cruz's crack came one week after a security lapse at the White House. Prosecutors say Omar J. Gonzalez, a 42-year-old Iraq War Army veteran, climbed the fence facing Pennsylvania Avenue and ignored orders to stop as he raced across the lawn, not getting tackled by the Secret Service until he made it inside the White House doors.
Cruz, a likely 2016 presidential candidate, blamed President Barack Obama for a leadership vacuum in the world. He also rallied those in attendance about the need for a Republican Senate majority after the November midterms.
“Vote Harry Reid out,” Cruz said repeatedly to thunderous applause. He added that the “Democrat Party is a party of extreme radicals.”
He focused many of his remarks on religious freedom, repealing Obamacare and repealing the Common Core State Standards for schools.
But he also talked about the clash between the moderate Republican establishment and the conservative base.
“People in Washington say for Republicans to win, we have to abandon values,” Cruz said.
A woman in the audience shouted, “It's a lie.”
Cruz agreed, “It is.”
“Values are who we are,” Cruz said. “Values are why we are here. Our values are fundamentally American.”
