6/7/14, "Ted Cruz Country," Politico, Katie Glueck, Ft. Worth
"The stage was set for a clash of political titans as three likely presidential candidates and thousands of conservatives gathered here this weekend.
Instead, the Texas GOP convention turned into a blowout bash for Ted Cruz.
The Texas senator was introduced at times as “the next
president of the United States.” His speeches were punctuated by chants
of “Run, Ted, run!” and supporters mobbed him at his huge exhibition
booth. Cruz easily overshadowed fellow potential 2016ers at the event,
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and he dominated them
in a presidential straw poll held there....
(Also on POLITICO: Cruz crushes competition in straw poll)
The dynamics here show the strength, energy and numbers that still make the GOP grassroots powerful. And Cruz’s reception — home-field advantage notwithstanding — offers a preview of the enthusiasm he could generate in other places where grassroots conservatives are active if he runs in 2016.
“What I am trying to do, more than anything else, is motivate and energize millions of grassroots activists in Texas and all around the country to stand up and demand we change course,” Cruz told POLITICO.
The one big demand he faced in Fort Worth was to run for president.
On Thursday night, he addressed two events — a banquet sponsored by the Texas Eagle Forum, and a Defense of Texas Marriage Amendment rally — and both ended with standing ovations and chants of “Run, Ted, run!”...
Cruz’s soaring rhetoric and near-apocalyptic talk about saving the nation, which engenders eye rolls in Washington, brought crowds here to their feet. People responded to the freshman senator’s speeches with “amens;” a “you da man” or two. But the most fervid responses often came when he hinted about his future plans....
Cruz reveled in dinging D.C. The hash tag #makedclisten, popularized by the Cruz team during the shutdown, was plastered on the senator’s posters, and Cruz remarked in his keynote speech on Friday that Ronald Reagan was “despised” by Washington in 1980.
“I hope we see leaders who are willing to suffer the scorn of Washington,” he told reporters later when asked about 2016. “I will say this: Any candidate who is embraced by Washington, D.C., my advice to the people is, run and hide, ‘cause that ain’t how we’re turning this country around.”
In sheer size and noise, the Texas GOP convention made the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington look like a staid gathering of moderate Republicans. The head count as of Friday night was about 7,000 and rising.
(QUIZ: Do you know Ted Cruz?)
There was a “pin the tail on the Democratic donkey” booth hosted by a candidate for state comptroller; the “tails” featured toxic terms in conservative circles, such as “gun control,” “Obamacare” and “higher taxes.” Or, for $600, you could buy a pair of boots dotted with crosses.
Cruz’s massive booth in the exhibition hall appeared to be nearly twice the size of Paul’s, situated right across the aisle.
The Cruz booth, designed to look like a rustic living room, featured plush chairs, a saddle, enormous letters spelling out the word “Texas” next to an even bigger Lone Star State flag and giveaways including T-shirts, cups and stickers. It was packed throughout the convention, and when Cruz appeared for a photo opportunity, the line snaked around two corners of the structure."...
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6/7/14, "Ted Cruz crushes competition in straw poll," Politico, Katie Glueck
6/6/14, Listening in to Sen. Ted Cruz speak to a small group at Texas GOP convention, Aaron Gardner twitter pic
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