Posted on Feb 19, 2016
Senator Ted Cruz here, what questions do you have for me? (Answering your questions on Feb 26th!)
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From RP Staff:
*Senator Cruz will be joining us for a live Q&A on Friday, 2/26 at 1:00pm EST. Post your questions below in advance of the Q&A. Questions with the most up votes will be answered first. Please be upfront and to the point with your questions. RP Staff will be monitoring this discussion.*
From Senator Ted Cruz:
America now faces a momentous decision. Almost a decade of irresponsible defense cuts has slashed the number of combat personnel, seriously degraded their combat readiness, and shrunk the size of our military below any reasonable standard. If America continues to lead from behind, we will lose the ability to guarantee our safety at home and abroad.
Our all-volunteer force deserves better. They deserve a leader who will provide them with the finest weapons systems and the best training. They deserve the full and unapologetic support of their Commander-in-Chief, not a minimal commitment and overly restrictive Rules of Engagement.
Furthermore, Americans make up the finest military professionals and veterans in the world, and they deserve an investment in their careers, their health, and their families. We must honor of our military members, families, and veterans by ensuring they receive the respect and care they have earned.
Under focused, new leadership, America can, and will, rebuild our military and take care of our veterans.
The financing and the details of my plan: https://www.tedcruz.org/american-resolve/
*Senator Cruz will be joining us for a live Q&A on Friday, 2/26 at 1:00pm EST. Post your questions below in advance of the Q&A. Questions with the most up votes will be answered first. Please be upfront and to the point with your questions. RP Staff will be monitoring this discussion.*
From Senator Ted Cruz:
America now faces a momentous decision. Almost a decade of irresponsible defense cuts has slashed the number of combat personnel, seriously degraded their combat readiness, and shrunk the size of our military below any reasonable standard. If America continues to lead from behind, we will lose the ability to guarantee our safety at home and abroad.
Our all-volunteer force deserves better. They deserve a leader who will provide them with the finest weapons systems and the best training. They deserve the full and unapologetic support of their Commander-in-Chief, not a minimal commitment and overly restrictive Rules of Engagement.
Furthermore, Americans make up the finest military professionals and veterans in the world, and they deserve an investment in their careers, their health, and their families. We must honor of our military members, families, and veterans by ensuring they receive the respect and care they have earned.
Under focused, new leadership, America can, and will, rebuild our military and take care of our veterans.
The financing and the details of my plan: https://www.tedcruz.org/american-resolve/
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 340
I only saw Senator Cruz answer a couple of questions here. Why did he not answer all of them?
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SPC Tanya Cummings Boozer
MCPO Roger Collins - As I always taught my children, there is no such thing as a stupid question.
And what might seem "insulting" to you probably does not to others and is not meant as such.
Thank you for your reply.
And what might seem "insulting" to you probably does not to others and is not meant as such.
Thank you for your reply.
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If elected, how would you help dismantle the strangle hold that lobbyists, foreign interests, and elitist shave on our government? Would you pledge to get rid of lobbying making it illegal to lobby for any purpose given representatives are elected by the people and should not be coerced into actions while in office?
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We have heard a lot from the other candidates as well as yourself about taking care of the veterans but I never hear anything about taking care of the retired veterans, they have been suffering slowly through ever increasing attacks on their benefits and higher payments for health care which was relatively free 15 years back as well as very high survivor benefit payment plan and very little if any Cost of living adjustment to the pension while our active duty brethren are getting a pay increase nearly every year.
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I'm a Marine Vet and gun owner.. But can we please... Regulate Private sales of firearms.. FFLs and gun stores, already required by law anyway, for a fee of$15-45 per transfer should run backgrounds on the buyers in private sales. More revenues for them too. Though a private sale, a buyer is a buyer.. The private seller will never know if the buyer is a prohibited possessor. FFLs call NCIC for a clearance whether to sell or not. What's the difference me buying from a store and buying from a private seller unless I got something to hide. Just common sense. This is where the criminals guns mostly come from. The trunk of a car on a Saturday night..from backpage or craigslist... In private sales. Ofcourse it will not stop mass shootings where the guns were mostly bought legally anyways but it will stop gangsters from terrorizing city streets like Chicago and LA where gun laws are a joke.
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SPC Peter Jesse
Of course it will not stop mass shootings which were bought legally anyways but it will stop gangsters from terrorizing city streets like Chicago and LA where gun laws are a joke.
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PO2 Nick Burke
Do you really think it will affect criminals already buying and selling guns illegally?
Would there be exemptions for transfers within a family? If not why not?
Would there be exemptions for transfers within a family? If not why not?
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PO2 Nick Burke
SPC Peter Jesse - No it will not. how would it? They are already buying/transferring the guns illegally.
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Senator Cruz,
First off I would like to say thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to interact with the Rally Point family. My question is, If elected President of the United States, what would be the first thing you do in your newly elected position?
First off I would like to say thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to interact with the Rally Point family. My question is, If elected President of the United States, what would be the first thing you do in your newly elected position?
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How does one avoid being blindsided by hubris? How often does a person, such as yourself, who is in a position to be remembered in history for doing a great deal of good, make adjustments to his/her tactics/strategy based off of personal reflections on this issue?
(If this is more-answerable within the terms of the potential thought processes of Hillary Clinton in her current predicament-that language will suffice, and I will be happy to take an answer in a private message if discrestion disallows someone such as yourself from overt rumination. It's your perspective that is fascinating to me, and you may count on my confidence.)
(If this is more-answerable within the terms of the potential thought processes of Hillary Clinton in her current predicament-that language will suffice, and I will be happy to take an answer in a private message if discrestion disallows someone such as yourself from overt rumination. It's your perspective that is fascinating to me, and you may count on my confidence.)
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LTC Martin Metz
The Senator is responding to RP members' questions. It isn't really a town hall with two way discussion though. If you posted a question, it or something similar from another member probably got a response.
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As President, what will you do to bolster our defenses against EMP attacks on the mainland?
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LTC Martin Metz
It began 10am ETS. Questions were looked at and a representative selection were answered. Our concerns, issues, and comments were noted. We got a personalized response for those questions. Unless you go to where he is, it's about the best we can expect.
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Senator Cruz,
I have read your "American Resolve: Rebuilding America’s Military" article on your website and I agree with many of the points listed. One of the points that hits close to home for me is the manning issue facing the Air Force. In November, 2014, a massive Reduction-in-Force took place to cut Air Force personnel to satisfy the current administration's wishes. To my recollection, approximately 35,000 personnel voluntarily exited the Air Force. Another approximately 500 personnel were non-voluntarily released as well. Soon after personnel left in April 2015, there were many reports of Air Force career fields being left with insufficient manpower to accomplish their missions. This leads me into one of your points.
These personnel who were released from Active Duty have the experience, training, and knowledge to help lead a timely reconstitution of the Air Force. Many would likely rejoin Active Duty if given the opportunity. If required, they can also crosstrain into other critically manned career fields much quicker than brand new personnel. This would also provide the Air Force with a much needed infusion (or transplantation) of experience and backgrounds into different career fields to better the entire Air Force as a whole. This is a perfect opportunity to leverage experienced leadership to great benefit of the national defense.
This method could also be utilized to help reconstitute the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.
My question, sir, is how would you increase the manning of the Department of Defense as a whole to benefit national security?
I have read your "American Resolve: Rebuilding America’s Military" article on your website and I agree with many of the points listed. One of the points that hits close to home for me is the manning issue facing the Air Force. In November, 2014, a massive Reduction-in-Force took place to cut Air Force personnel to satisfy the current administration's wishes. To my recollection, approximately 35,000 personnel voluntarily exited the Air Force. Another approximately 500 personnel were non-voluntarily released as well. Soon after personnel left in April 2015, there were many reports of Air Force career fields being left with insufficient manpower to accomplish their missions. This leads me into one of your points.
These personnel who were released from Active Duty have the experience, training, and knowledge to help lead a timely reconstitution of the Air Force. Many would likely rejoin Active Duty if given the opportunity. If required, they can also crosstrain into other critically manned career fields much quicker than brand new personnel. This would also provide the Air Force with a much needed infusion (or transplantation) of experience and backgrounds into different career fields to better the entire Air Force as a whole. This is a perfect opportunity to leverage experienced leadership to great benefit of the national defense.
This method could also be utilized to help reconstitute the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.
My question, sir, is how would you increase the manning of the Department of Defense as a whole to benefit national security?
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