Cruz plays to cheering fans in CPAC audience

National Harbor, Maryland – The ballroom at the CPAC was rarely full over the course of its events this week, but Ted Cruz addressed an overflowing crowd of mostly fans there during the nation’s premier conservative conference Friday afternoon.

A clearly overwhelmed Cruz enthused, "God bless CPAC!"

Speaking without notes or a teleprompter, Cruz slammed GOP presidential race front-runner Donald Trump for skipping CPAC and joked, "Perhaps he knew conservatives would be here!"

Most of the crowd cheered, although there remained some Trump supporters in the room, who chanted his name and momentarily threw Cruz off balance.

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Cruz explained his campaign would focus on three themes – jobs, liberty, and security.

It's easy to say "Make America Great Again" but much harder to understand the principles that made the nation great, he said, promising to repeal Obamacare, abolish the IRS, implement a flat tax, and protect small businesses.

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Cruz said he understands the anger in the country, especially over immigration.

He said that's mostly an economic issue, arguing it drives down wages for legal immigrants and American workers. Cruz implied criticism of his rival Marco Rubio by asking attendees to remember where their candidate stood during the debate over the Gang of Eight bill.

However, it was only Donald Trump whom Cruz mentioned by name.

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Cruz accused Trump of "funding" the Gang of Eight because Trump contributed to Democratic politicians in the past. He also condemned Trump for the Republican frontrunner's vow to stay "flexible" in regards to changing circumstances.

'Flexible is a code word'

"Flexible is code word in DC for get ready to stick it to you," charged Cruz.

He claimed every time a politician changes his mind, it always seems to benefit "the corporations, the special interests and Wall Street" while hurting "working men and women."

In contrast, Cruz said he would take care of ordinary people and that his administration would lead to an economic boom. He even said students graduating college would find themselves being offered multiple jobs.

On liberty, he praised the late Justice Antonin Scalia as a "lion of the law" who "ferociously protected the Bill of Rights for all of us."

Cruz warned of dire consequences if Hillary Clinton was empowered to appoint new justices, suggesting religious liberty and freedom of conscience would be endangered, along with other fundamental rights.

"We are one liberal justice from the Supreme Court erasing the Second Amendment from the Bill of Rights," he said. If he is president, he said, "I will not compromise away your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms!"

Israel, military, and engagement

Cruz’s final theme was security. Once again attacking Trump by name, Cruz warned his vow to remain neutral in order to negotiate a permanent peace between Israelis and Palestinians was poor judgment.

He accused Barack Obama of deliberately weakening the military, a direction he would reverse.

"No longer will the military be governed by political correctness," he vowed. "We will have a commander in chief that says to the world, we will defeat radical Islamic terrorism. We will have a president willing to utter the words radical Islamic terrorism."

Cruz also promised to loosen up rules of engagement. He called for America not to get bogged down in foreign military interventions, saying America should "kill the enemy and get the heck out!"

Drawing a parallel to how Jimmy Carter led to Ronald Reagan, Cruz said Obama's longest lasting legacy will be a whole new generation of conservative leaders.

In an interview following Cruz's speech, Sean Hannity tried to pin Cruz down on some specifics, especially Cruz's take on Mitt Romney's condemnation of Donald Trump. Cruz said he does not necessarily share Romney's ideology, but does share Romney's concerns about Trump.

At the same time, Cruz condemned the concept of a "brokered convention" whereby Republican delegates pick the GOP candidate rather than the voters. Cruz said a brokered convention is "the Washington establishment in a fevered frenzy" because their "chosen candidates" keep getting rejected by the voters.

'Manifest revolt'

That direction, he said, would produce a "manifest revolt."

Marco Rubio is to address the conference on Saturday, and John Kasich appeared earlier Friday. Trump canceled an appearance set for Saturday.

Moving on to the general election, Hannity asked Cruz about the latest developments in the Hillary Clinton email scandal, especially the recent news a former Clinton staffer has been granted immunity in the investigation.

"It is an ominous development for Hillary Clinton," said Cruz. Drawing a parallel to mob movies, Cruz joked, "When Paulie flips and goes to the feds, it's a bad development for Fat Tony."

"We've never had a general election debate convened at Leavenworth," Cruz said.

He then received another standing ovation when he joked, "Orange is the new Democratic blue."

Hannity pressed Cruz on how he would respond to the usual attacks of racism, sexism, and cruelty made against Republicans by progressives.

"The Democratic Party is unwilling to say All Lives Matter," said Cruz, defending police officers as the people who truly do the most to defend black Americans.

Rather than expressing fear about confronting Clinton, Cruz sounded almost gleeful.

"I cannot wait to stand on that general election debate stage with Hillary Clinton," Cruz enthused.

Targeting CPAC's massive student audience, Cruz promised young people, "We can turn things around overnight."

Cruz also told Hannity he could use humor and social networking to win over young voters. He argued his campaign won young people in many states, including in Texas, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

Hannity tried to forge common ground between Trump and Cruz on the topic of the Islamic State, which both candidates have promised to attack. For once not mentioning Trump, Cruz said, "Every militant on the face of the planet, if they wage jihad against the United States of America, they are going to understand they are signing their death warrant."

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