Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). (AP)
(CNSNews.com) – Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), a potential presidential contender in 2016, said the Republican Party needs a “big tent” that embraces centuries-old “American values” to succeed, adding that the GOP “should continue to defend life and that we should continue to defend traditional marriage.”
Cruz made his remarks during a Mar. 18 interview with the Des Moines Register, where he was asked about Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who recently said that for the Republican Party to grow and recruit more young people, it needed to “agree to disagree on social issues,” specifically homosexual “marriage.”
Cruz was asked whether he agreed with Sen. Paul’s view. The senator from Texas said, “Look, I am a conservative. I’m a fiscal conservative. I’m a social conservative. I think we’ve seen that in order for the Republican Party to succeed, we need to be a big tent. We need to embrace American values. American values that have been present in our country, have been present in every small town, every small business, every family for centuries.”
“There are some who say the Republican Party should no longer stand for life,” said Cruz. “I don’t agree with that. There are some who say the Republican Party should no longer stand for traditional marriage. I don’t agree with them, either. I think we should continue to defend our shared values.”
The reporter then asked, “So it sounds like you disagree with Senator Paul?
Cruz said, “I’ll let him characterize his views. What I can tell you is my views are that we should continue to defend life and that we should continue to defend traditional marriage.”
In an interview last week with Vocativ.com, Sen. Paul said, “I think that the Republican Party, in order to get bigger, will have to agree to disagree on social issues. The Republican Party is not going to give up on having quite a few people who do believe in traditional marriage. But the Republican Party also has to find a place for young people and others who don’t want to be festooned by those issues.”
