Top 10 Extreme Policy Positions of Ted Cruz

October 26, 2015

Ted Cruz launched his presidential campaign seven months ago. After all that time, Cruz hasn't made any dent in the polls.

But if Republican primary voters are willing to give front-runner status to the likes of Donald Trump and Ben Carson, maybe Cruz has a chance. For all the weird things he says and does, Ted Cruz is still a "well-liked, well-financed" contender who is planning for big victories on March 1, 2016. That's the day of the Texas primary, as well as many others in the South.

With that in mind, here's a quick guide to the top ten extreme policy positions of Ted Cruz.

Money & Politics: Ted in Bed With Super PACs

His love affair with Super PACs borders on the erotic: he's long defended Citizens United, his four super PACs have raised a total of $64 million through the end of September, and he's introduced legislation to make it easier for billionaires to give unlimited funds directly to candidates.[[{"fid":"1992","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"type":"media","attributes":{"height":"300","width":"528","style":"width: 528px; height: 300px;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]
Voting: Ted Cruz Is Not Really a Fan Of It

Ted Cruz won his party's nomination with the support of less than 5% of Texas voters. He's missed a ton of votes in the Senate. He even introduced legislation that would make it harder for everyone to vote, and celebrated a Supreme Court decision that made it harder for minorities to vote.[[{"fid":"1994","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"type":"media","attributes":{"height":"296","width":"300","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]
Higher Ed: Ted Cruz Voted Against Bill to Fix Student Loans

Ted Cruz voted against Sen. Elizabeth Warren's refinancing bill that would have made it easier for students to pay off student loans and not be shackled to excessive debt for decades.

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Environment: "Full Out Denial" of Basic Climate Change Facts

Seriously. Ted Cruz doesn't believe in global warming. Probably worth pointing out that he owns up to $850,000 in the stocks of six major oil companies - and that he's Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Space and Science, .

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Abortion: Ted Cruz Wants to End Abortion Access

Ted Cruz thinks pro-choice legislation is a war on women, and that the government providing birth control is "outrageous." He also tried - and thankfully failed - to shut down the government over Planned Parenthood.

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Health Care: Cruz Wants to Repeal Every Word of Obamacare...But Also Signed Up For It

Wants to repeal every word of the Affordable Care Act...
Actively working to deny healthcare to millions of Texans he represents...
But when he lost access to his wife's Goldman Sachs health insurance, he signed up for the ACA.
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LGBTQ Equality: Ted Cruz Opposes Same-Sex Marriage

Where to begin? Ted Cruz threw a tantrum when the Supreme Court recognized same-sex marriage. He rushed to support Kim Davis - the county clerk from Kentucky - when she didn't want to issue same-sex marriage licenses. And he supports legislation allowing people to abuse religious freedom and use it as an excuse to discriminate.

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Criminal Justice: Ted Cruz Thinks #BlackLivesMatter Celebrates Murder of Police

His words: "If you look at the Black Lives Matter movement, one of the most disturbing things is more than one of their protests have embraced rabid rhetoric, rabid anti-police language, literally suggesting and embracing and celebrating the murder of police officers..."
Immigration: Born in Canada to Cuban Father...Ted Cruz Opposes Immigration Reform

He opposes birthright citizenship (which he supposedly got, so that's a thing), the DREAM Act, and has demonstrated such incendiary rhetoric that Latino conservatives have indicated they will not support him. It's no wonder Ted Cruz has a Latino voter problem.

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Economy: Ted Cruz Opposes Paid Family Leave

Last but not least, Ted Cruz opposes paid family leave laws, including maternity leave. He also filibustered a vote to raise the minimum wage, and his tax plan "delivers its biggest benefits to the top 1%."

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