Ted Cruz Rallies Republicans To Their Feet At State Convention

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Thousands of cheering Republicans at the state GOP convention in Fort Worth consider U.S. Senator Ted Cruz a political rock star.

He said, "I spent all week in Washington DC, and it's great to be back in America."

Senator Cruz told the crowd liberty is under assault by the federal government, and that Texans would lead the way to fight back. "The IRS is demanding of citizen groups tell us about the books you're reading, tell us the contents of your prayers. The federal government has no business asking any American the contents of our prayers."

The freshman Senator drew thunderous applause when he criticized President Obama for overstepping his authority and gave his solutions. "We abolish the IRS, and we repeal every blessed word of Obamacare."

He also criticized the Obama administration's handling of the economy. "Who's hurt the most by the Obama economy? It's the people who are struggling. It's the young people, it's African-Americans, it's Hispanics, it's single-moms."

Democrats strongly disagree with Cruz and attack Republicans' economic policies.

The nation's unemployment rate is 6.3 percent, and the government announced the nation has now regained all of the jobs the recession wiped out -- more than nine million.

But for the first time in three years, the nation's gross domestic policy shrunk by one percent during the first quarter. For their part, Senator Cruz's supporters, such as Lilly Ralph and her 14 year old son Eugene of Dallas, praised his speech.

"It was awesome. I always look forward to hearing from Senator Cruz," said Ralph. Her son echoed the sentiment. "Whenever I listen to him speak, I'm hearing a man who knows how to run America."

They and others such as Sue Glover said they believe Cruz will run for President. "I hope he does because we need a strong President in the world."

Other potential candidates for the White House include Kentucky Senator Rand Paul who also addressed Republicans Friday.

Some analysts believe Governor Rick Perry will also run for President after dropping out of the race in 2012. The winner of the Presidential Straw Poll will be announced Saturday at the end of the convention, which has attracted 10,000 people.

Follow Jack on Twitter: @cbs11jack

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