GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was received at the Conservative Review convention with a standing ovation from thousands of attendees, as he took the stage at the packed Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
The overwhelming majority of the thousands who came out to the Conservative Review convention Thursday night support the Texas Senator, bringing placards and signs showing their commitment to vote for Sen. Cruz.
“Now as I understand it, I’m the last thing between you and Mark Levin, that’s a dangerous place to me,” Cruz joked.
“There were South Carolinians who came to the Alamo, who bled and died, so that Texas could be free,” he said of the bond between South Carolinians and Texans.
Both states are filled with veterans , gun owners, “we love God, and we are fed up with the damage and destruction coming from the corrupt politicians in Washington,” he said.
Cruz then turned to what was on everyone’s minds: the coming South Carolina Republican Primary.
“34 hours. We are 34 hours away from voting opening here in South Carolina,” he said.
“Make sure the next president of the United States is a real and proven conservative,” he stressed.
“On Saturday, we had the latest debate. It was a quiet affair. A whole lot of love on that stage,” Cruz joked.
The election is crucially important because, this time around, “It is not one, but two branches of government that hang in the balance,” he explained.
He said of the recent passing of Justice Antonin Scalia, “Justice Scalia was an American hero. Justice Scalia was a lion of the law. He loved the Constitution. He loved freedom. He adored his wife, Maureen … They loved their 9 children and their 36 grandkids.” Scalia “single-handedly” shifted the court’s understanding of the Constitution back to the text and words adopted by the founders, he told the audience.
“His passing leaves an enormous void on the court,” the Texas Senator added, “our very Bill Of Rights hangs in the balance. We are one justice away from a 5-justice radical left-wing majority, the likes of which this country has never seen.”
Simply voting for a Republican president doesn’t mean that he or she will appoint true Constiutionalists, Cruz explained. He said many Republican administrations have appointed plenty of moderate Republicans, reminding the audience that Warren Burger, who presided over Roe V. Wade, was appointed by a Republican.
Cruz said he even had to take on the George W. Bush administration on a matter where the 43rd president was ready to “hand over authority” to international bodies.
“The United nations and the world court have no authority whatsoever over the U.S. justice system,” Cruz said, noting his successful Supreme Court victory. “No president, Republican or Democrat, has the authority to give away U.S. sovereignty.”
Taking a shot at fellow contender Donald Trump, he added, “If you’ve never done or said anything to demonstrate you’re a conservative. You ain’t.”
“Maybe the Supreme Court of the U.S. is not the best place to find out,” Cruz suggested.
South Carolina should ask their candidate: “Who do I know beyond a shadow of a doubt?”
“And I give you my word that every Justice will be a principled Constitutionalist who will fight to protect the bill of rights for their kids and their kids,” he said.
They should also ask, according to Cruz, “Who is best prepared to be Commander-in-chief. Who has the knowledge, experience, and temperament” to lead the country.
He then discussed the recent military plan he unveiled this week aboard the USS Yorktown.
“You will have a Commander-in-chief who has your back,” Cruz concluded, as he received another standing ovation from the 5,000+ people in attendance at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.