Greenville, S.C. — Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) signaled a new line of attack on Republican rivals, arguing that not all of his rivals defended religious liberty when Indiana passed a Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
“Indiana was a sorting moment, as Reagan would say, a time for choosing,” Cruz said at the South Carolina Freedom Summit on Saturday. “There are candidates running in 2016, even candidates in the Republican field, who when Indiana was being battled, they were nowhere to be found. I can tell you this, when it comes to standing for the religious liberty of Americans, I will always, always, always stand with the First Amendment.”
Cruz refused to name the Republicans he had in mind, during a press availability following the speech, and insisted that he would take the “high road” during this campaign.
“I do think it’s perfectly legitimate to focus on records,” he said. “I’m a big believer in Ronald Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment, ’thou shalt not speak ill’ of another Republican. Now, to be clear, Reagan did not say ‘thou shalt not have policy differences with another Republican.’ Remember, Reagan primaries Gerald Ford — a sitting Republican president — in ’76 and almost beat him.”