This is the fourth installment of a series profiling different students on campus on why they support different candidates.
I got to sit down with Wade Leach, a senior history and political science double major currently writing his political science honors thesis on intellectual conservatism and its impact on American public policy. We discussed why he supports Senator Ted Cruz for the 2016 Presidential Election. In a candidate, Wade is looking for a focus on national security, personal freedom, and limited government as the central tenets of policies that work towards America’s most important ideals. All of the following information reflects his beliefs and the information he provided.
Policies
Cruz’s economic policies are geared towards shrinking the government, eliminating unnecessary regulations, and lowering the tax burden on Americans. “There is an obscene amount of criminal regulations – 300,000, which are created by bureaucratic agencies and have the same force as a law passed by Congress. We’re all probably breaking regulations we don’t know exist on a daily basis. Cruz wants to reel in agencies and make us more productive as a society. In a nutshell, the government should be trying to help individuals succeed and pursue free enterprise… Limiting the government gives people better opportunities to do so.” Lowering taxes also gives people more chances to reinvest in themselves and their future. “By promoting pro-growth policies (such as lower tax rates), people can earn higher-paying jobs. This translates into two things: first, individuals – especially working-class and low-income earners – see a significant rise in their real income. Second, the government gets more tax revenue while individuals pay lower rates. It’s a ‘win’ for everyone involved.”
Generally speaking, Cruz is in favor of states’ authority and limiting the federal government to support state autonomy. With respect to immigration, Cruz’s call to deport all 12 million illegal immigrants seems logistically infeasible. “I personally favor granting lawful citizenship (pay a fine, serve in the military, etc.) after the border is secure and the problem of illegal immigration is solved; I don’t think we can deport everyone who is living here illegally. That said, Cruz’s plan to cut funding for ‘sanctuary cities’ is necessary and should have been implemented long ago. We don’t reward individuals for breaking federal law; why should we do so for municipalities?”
Qualifications
Cruz has strong economic and social policies focused on increasing government efficiency, and his policies uphold conservative ideals of limited government, free enterprise, traditional American values, and strong national defense. “The principles of conservatism of the last 75 years are making a comeback, and at the end of the day, 2016 is going to be a battle of ideas, which I think is a great thing.” Cruz is bringing great ideas to the table. Trump speaks to the populist portion of the voters, but his policies are not truly conservative. Cruz also has extensive judicial experience, having served as a clerk under Chief Justice Rehnquist, worked for the Department of Justice, directed the FTC, and served as Solicitor General of Texas.
As far as national security, “The biggest issue is combating the radical Islamic terrorism that comes from a power vacuum [in the Middle East]… we need a candidate willing to work with coalition partners and rise to the challenge.” Cruz, in Leach’s opinion, is the strongest and most enthusiastic about national security and combating the threats posed by ISIS, in addition to a nuclear Iran, an aggressive China, and a resurgent Russia.
Weaknesses
Cruz tends to come off as somewhat pessimistic, even though it seems at his core he’s an optimist. It does not affect Leach’s decision to support Cruz, but it would be better if he showed a little more optimism.
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