Values Voter Summit 2014 ... >
Sept. 26, 2014 - Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told a moving account of the torture his father experienced at the hands of the Cuban government at age 17, many decades ago:

"My father had been thrown in a Cuban prison and tortured, beaten, hour after hour.  He’d had his teeth crushed in as his head was stomped into the ground by an army boot.  My grandmother told me when she saw my father again, that white suit – you could not see a spot of white anywhere on the suit.  It was covered in mud and blood, and his teeth were dangling from his mouth. 

 

"And yet even when he was in that Cuban jail, God was with him.  By all rights, my father should have perished there, but God’s hand brought him from captivity to freedom.  God’s grace brought him to the United States of America."

The crowd responded enthusiastically as Cruz addressed the question "How do we win?":

"How do we win?  We defend the values that are American values.  We stand for life.  We stand for marriage.  We stand for Israel.  (Cheers, applause.)  We bring back jobs and opportunity and unleash small businesses to make it easier for people to achieve the American dream.  (Applause.)  We abolish the IRS.  (Cheers, applause.)  We repeal Common Core.  (Cheers, applause.)
 
"In 39 days, I believe we’re going to retake the United States Senate and we are going to retire Harry Reid as majority leader.  (Cheers, applause.)  And in 2017, with a Republican president in the White House – (cheers) – we are going to sign legislation repealing every word of 'Obamacare.'”  (Cheers, applause.)"


L. Brent Bozell, founder and president of the Media Research Center, introduced Cruz.
DNC National Press Secretary Michael Czin released the following statement in response to Senator Cruz’s speech at the Values Voters summit saying that the “modern Democratic Party is an extremist radical party:”
 
“If Senator Cruz thinks that fighting for opportunity for all, like paying women as much as men, raising the minimum wage or fixing our broken immigration system is extreme and radical – that’s a debate we’re thrilled to have.
 
“Exactly a year ago, Ted Cruz was busy orchestrating the government shutdown that ultimately cost our economy $24 billion. Today he’s promoting a fringe agenda that does nothing to help grow our economy and expand opportunity. The choice for voters in November couldn’t be clearer.”
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