Ted Cruz: The Four-Part Series

In a four-part series for radio, Glenn tells the life story of presidential candidate Ted Cruz --- from his early upbringing by immigrant parents to his courageous leadership today. Known for tenaciously standing up to establishment power brokers in Washington --- on both sides --- and the media, Cruz has done so with both honor and class. Ted Cruz is, in Glenn's words, the George Washington we've been praying for, born at this time for a reason --- to become president of the United States.

The four-part series is compiled below for your convenience.

Part I: The Early Years

Raised by an American mother and a Cuban immigrant father, Cruz was taught to love the United States and revere the Constitution. From an early age, he learned important lessons from both of his parents, including discipline and hard work. His father --- Rafael Cruz --- fought in the Cuban revolution, and was imprisoned and tortured. After fleeing to Texas in 1957, penniless and not speaking a word of English, Rafael washed dishes for 50 cents an hour to pay his way through the University of Texas.

When Ted was eight years old, he went to a summer camp and accepted Christ in his life. Early on, it became apparent that Ted was more than average. He was brilliant --- and destined for something big.

When he was 15, Ted Cruz was one of five Houston kids selected by the Free Enterprise Institute to tour the country and speak about the Constitution. Prior to graduating high school, Ted had delivered 80 speeches on such topics as economics, the Austrian economist von Mises, and the importance and meaning of the Constitution.

Ted's decision to attend an Ivy League school was not received well by his parents. They were struggling financially. To make his dream a reality, it would mean scholarships, students loans and working two jobs. Additionally, his father was concern the liberal environment would tarnish his son's beliefs.

"Ted, you're growing into a good, strong man," Cruz's father said to him. "Are you going to be strong enough to go to an Ivy League school and hold on to your principles and values?"

Ted assured him he could and was accepted into Princeton University. He later attended Harvard Law School.

Subsequent years at Princeton University and Harvard Law School would uniquely prepare Ted to be leader of the free world. They would also put him on a collision course with some of the most powerful people in the world --- including the president of the United States.

Part II: The College Years

As his high school's valedictorian, Ted had the opportunity to visit several campuses while scouting out colleges. He dreamed of attending an Ivy League school and visited esteemed campuses like Harvard, MIT and Dartmouth. He realized his dream when he was accepted to Princeton University.

Paying for an Ivy League education wasn't easy, though. His family was struggling financially so it required earning scholarships, taking out student loans and working two jobs --- no government bailouts for this constitutional conservative.

During his freshman year, Ted realized that being a principled conservative in a liberal environment would be challenging. He was paired with a New Jersey liberal as his roommate. Needless to say, they didn't exactly hit it off. (In fact, that roommate is conducting a Twitter jihad against Ted this very day.)

Being a super smart geek, Ted naturally joined the Princeton debate team. He became a champion debater, winning multiple categories, including 1992 Team of the Year and 1992 Speaker of the Year. He additionally won significant national debates earning awards for the 1992 National Championship for Top Speaker and the North American Debating Championship Top Speaker. Today, he is forever enshrined in the Princeton debate hall of fame.

Ted continued his debating record at Harvard Law School where he became a world debating championship semifinalist.

While at Harvard, Ted served as the primary editor of the Harvard Law Review, the executive editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy and the founding editor of the Harvard Latino Law Review. He graduated magnum cum laude from Harvard Law School.

One of Ted's law professors --- liberal lion lawyer Alan Dershowitz --- said this of his student:

"One of the sharpest students I had, in terms of analytic skills. I've had 10,000 students over my 50 years at Harvard. He has to qualify among the brightest of the students. Deeply principled. He thinks he's doing the right thing. I saw that years ago when he was a student. He was not a compromiser. He was not somebody who tried to make friends by accepting what was then the political correctness of the day."

Upon graduating from Harvard Law School, Ted landed a job as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice law clerk in U.S. history, clerking for Chief Justice William Rehnquist. He later went into private practice defending his first love --- the United States Constitution.

Working on matters relating to the Second Amendment and the NRA, Ted helped prepare testimony for the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton. When he was 28, Cruz joined the George W. Bush presidential campaign in 1999 as a domestic policy adviser, advising then governor George W. Bush in a wide range of policy and legal matters, including civil justice, criminal justice, constitutional law, immigration and government reform.

During the 2000 election, in the case of Bush vs. Gore, Cruz was sent to Florida to sort out the legal mess created by the dangling chad situation. Cruz assisted in assembling the Bush legal team, devising strategy and drafting pleadings for filings with the Supreme Court of Florida and the U.S. Supreme Court. He helped lead the way to two big wins, clearing the way for Bush to become president.

He was still barely 30 years old.

Part III: The Supreme Court Years

At age 33, Ted Cruz became the youngest solicitor general of Texas in American history. He would go on to become the longest serving solicitor general, ferociously fighting for the Constitution. He sought out conservative, constitutional causes, distinguishing himself with exceptional achievements and victories:

• Cruz authored 70 United States Supreme Court briefs and presented 43 oral arguments, including nine before the United States Supreme Court --- more than any practicing lawyer in all of Texas or any current member of Congress. He took on some of the biggest cases decided by the courts in decades --- and won virtually every single time.

• Cruz won a huge Second Amendment victory in the District of Columbia versus Heller, drafting the amicus brief signed by the attorneys general of 31 different states and presenting the oral argument. This victory struck down a D.C. handgun ban as infringing upon the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms --- and it changed everything regarding your right to carry a gun.

• Cruz wrote a brief on behalf all 50 states in the Elk Grove Unified School District versus Newdow case, in which atheist activist Michael Newdow sued on behalf of his daughter to stop schools from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. He objected to the phrase, "One Nation Under God." For months, the pledge was not spoken in nine western states --- until Cruz argued the case. The Supreme Court upheld Cruz's belief that Newdow had no standing to file suit on behalf of his daughter.

• Cruz successfully defended the constitutionality of the Ten Commandments Monument on the Texas State Capitol grounds before the Fifth Circuit Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. As a result, the Ten Commandments Monument currently stands on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol.

• Cruz fought on behalf of the state of Texas to uphold the death penalty sentence for a vicious gang member who was in the United States illegally when he and other gang members brutally beat, raped, tortured and killed two teenage girls in Houston. The Mexican Consulate became involved, as well as then President George W. Bush, who sided with the Mexican government and turned the case over to the International Court of Justice which ruled against Texas and stayed the execution. Texas then turned to Solicitor General Ted Cruz. Appearing before the U.S. Supreme Court, Cruz successfully defended the Constitution. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that decisions from the International Court of Justice were not binding in any domestic law and even the president had no power to enforce them. Ted Cruz won and gang member Jose Medellin met his maker.

Ted Cruz has a proven record of fighting for and defending the United States Constitution --- even when it means going against the establishment. In the case of Medellin versus Texas, not only did he go against a brutal, illegal alien murderer, the country of Mexico, the Geneva Convention, the International Court of Justice --- but also his former boss and the president of the United States, George W. Bush. This may provide insight into why George W. Bush broke his long-standing policy not to comment on politics to say recently about Cruz, "I just don't like the guy." Being embarrassed and beaten on the international stage isn't generally followed by afternoon tea.

There's a reason why the Republican establishment in D.C. is known for not liking Cruz. They stand for the party, for themselves and for their own political power. Ted Cruz doesn't play party politics or political games. Ted Cruz stands for principles, values, integrity and the United States Constitution.

What does your candidate stand for?

Part IV: The Candidate

Ted Cruz is the real deal. He is a true conservative to the marrow of his bones. Not the kind of "conservative" you find in Washington, D.C., the kind that has betrayed us for decades --- but a true constitutional conservative as the Founders intended. The Constitution isn’t just an afterthought to Ted Cruz. He memorized this sacred document when he was 13 years old, and those words are ingrained in the very fabric of his being.

How does a man come to live and breath the Constitution? It's simple, really --- he was raised that way. Raised by a man who lost his freedom in Castro's Cuba and fled to the United States in search of freedom. Raised by a man who taught him to revere God and the Constitution of the United States. Raised by a man who lost his way because of alcoholism and atheism, but found his way back by the grace of God.

Ted Cruz was raised with the Bible and the Constitution on his kitchen table every single day of his life.

As valedictorian, magnum cum laude graduate, Ivy League scholar, debating champion, Supreme Court law clerk, defender of our constitutional rights and U.S. senator, Ted Cruz has held firm to conservative beliefs and values. He is a dedicated husband, loving father and committed Christian. He is a constitutionalist. But, most of all, he is consistent, with a proven track record and history.

For Cruz, it may be true that he has very few friends in Washington, D.C., but he should wear that as a badge of honor.

Constitutional principles have always come first for Ted --- even ahead of party loyalty. Like when he filibustered Obamacare for 21 hours --- alone --- trying to stop the unconstitutional takeover of America’s healthcare system. He knew his own party would come after him, but he had promised the American people to hold firm in his beliefs. So he did.

Ted understands the gravity of our situation, and he understands how to right the wrongs of the past eight years by holding true to the principles of the U.S. Constitution. It's all there, written long ago by the brilliant men who fought the fierce battle for freedom and liberty. We don't need a bailout, we don't need any new government programs. We need to return to the First Principles laid out for us by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.

Ted Cruz is the George Washington we've prayed for. He's here --- the man who understands that government is not the solution but the problem. Ted Cruz understands that the restraints placed on the government by the Constitution are a good thing. Because absolute power corrupts absolutely. We've had enough of that corruption far too long.

It's time to send a man of honor and character to the White House, a man who says what he means and means what he says. It's time to send a man that will proudly place his hand upon the Bible and solemnly swear to faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and to the best of his ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

That man is Ted Cruz, and his time is now.

Featured Image: Senator Ted Cruz

The West is dying—Will we let enemies write our ending?

Harvey Meston / Staff | Getty Images

The blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, and soldiers built our civilization. Their sacrifice demands courage in the present to preserve it.

Lamentations asks, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”

That question has been weighing on me heavily. Not just as a broadcaster, but as a citizen, a father, a husband, a believer. It is a question that every person who cares about this nation, this culture, and this civilization must confront: Is all of this worth saving?

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

Western civilization — a project born in Judea, refined in Athens, tested in Rome, reawakened in Wittenberg, and baptized again on the shores of Plymouth Rock — is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t purchase it. We were handed it. And now, we must ask ourselves: Do we even want it?

Across Europe, streets are restless. Not merely with protests, but with ancient, festering hatred — the kind that once marched under swastikas and fueled ovens. Today, it marches under banners of peace while chanting calls for genocide. Violence and division crack societies open. Here in America, it’s left against right, flesh against spirit, neighbor against neighbor.

Truth struggles to find a home. Even the church is slumbering — or worse, collaborating.

Our society tells us that everything must be reset: tradition, marriage, gender, faith, even love. The only sin left is believing in absolute truth. Screens replace Scripture. Entertainment replaces education. Pleasure replaces purpose. Our children are confused, medicated, addicted, fatherless, suicidal. Universities mock virtue. Congress is indifferent. Media programs rather than informs. Schools recondition rather than educate.

Is this worth saving? If not, we should stop fighting and throw up our hands. But if it is, then we must act — and we must act now.

The West: An idea worth saving

What is the West? It’s not a location, race, flag, or a particular constitution. The West is an idea — an idea that man is made in the image of God, that liberty comes from responsibility, not government; that truth exists; that evil exists; and that courage is required every day. The West teaches that education, reason, and revelation walk hand in hand. Beauty matters. Kindness matters. Empathy matters. Sacrifice is holy. Justice is blind. Mercy is near.

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

If not now, when? If not us, who? If this is worth saving, we must know why. Western civilization is worth dying for, worth living for, worth defending. It was built on the blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, pilgrims, moms, dads, and soldiers. They did not die for markets, pronouns, surveillance, or currency. They died for something higher, something bigger.

MATTHIEU RONDEL/AFP via Getty Images | Getty Images

Yet hope remains. Resurrection is real — not only in the tomb outside Jerusalem, but in the bones of any individual or group that returns to truth, honor, and God. It is never too late to return to family, community, accountability, and responsibility.

Pick up your torch

We were chosen for this time. We were made for a moment like this. The events unfolding in Europe and South Korea, the unrest and moral collapse, will all come down to us. Somewhere inside, we know we were called to carry this fire.

We are not called to win. We are called to stand. To hold the torch. To ask ourselves, every day: Is it worth standing? Is it worth saving?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Pick up your torch. If you choose to carry it, buckle up. The work is only beginning.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Stop coasting: How self-education can save America’s future

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

Coasting through life is no longer an option. Charlie Kirk’s pursuit of knowledge challenges all of us to learn, act, and grow every day.

Last year, my wife and I made a commitment: to stop coasting, to learn something new every day, and to grow — not just spiritually, but intellectually. Charlie Kirk’s tragic death crystallized that resolve. It forced a hard look in the mirror, revealing how much I had coasted in both my spiritual and educational life. Coasting implies going downhill. You can’t coast uphill.

Last night, my wife and I re-engaged. We enrolled in Hillsdale College’s free online courses, inspired by the fact that Charlie had done the same. He had quietly completed around 30 courses before I even knew, mastering the classics, civics, and the foundations of liberty. Watching his relentless pursuit of knowledge reminded me that growth never stops, no matter your age.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures.

This lesson is particularly urgent for two groups: young adults stepping into the world and those who may have settled into complacency. Learning is life. Stop learning, and you start dying. To young adults, especially, the college promise has become a trap. Twelve years of K-12 education now leave graduates unprepared for life. Only 35% of seniors are proficient in reading, and just 22% in math. They are asked to bet $100,000 or more for four years of college that will often leave them underemployed and deeply indebted.

Degrees in many “new” fields now carry negative returns. Parents who have already sacrificed for public education find themselves on the hook again, paying for a system that often fails to deliver.

This is one of the reasons why Charlie often described college as a “scam.” Debt accumulates, wages are not what students were promised, doors remain closed, and many are tempted to throw more time and money after a system that won’t yield results. Graduate school, in many cases, compounds the problem. The education system has become a factory of despair, teaching cynicism rather than knowledge and virtue.

Reclaiming educational agency

Yet the solution is not radical revolt against education — it is empowerment to reclaim agency over one’s education. Independent learning, self-guided study, and disciplined curiosity are the modern “Napster moment.” Just as Napster broke the old record industry by digitizing music, the internet has placed knowledge directly in the hands of the individual. Artists like Taylor Swift now thrive outside traditional gatekeepers. Likewise, students and lifelong learners can reclaim intellectual freedom outside of the ivory towers.

Each individual possesses the ability to think, create, and act. This is the power God grants to every human being. Knowledge, faith, and personal responsibility are inseparable. Learning is not a commodity to buy with tuition; it is a birthright to claim with effort.

David Butow / Contributor | Getty Images

Charlie Kirk’s life reminds us that self-education is an act of defiance and empowerment. In his pursuit of knowledge, in his engagement with civics and philosophy, he exemplified the principle that liberty depends on informed, capable citizens. We honor him best by taking up that mantle — by learning relentlessly, thinking critically, and refusing to surrender our minds to a system that profits from ignorance.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures. Every day, seek to grow, create, and act. Charlie showed the way. It is now our responsibility to follow.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins TPUSA tour to honor Charlie Kirk

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

If they thought the murder of Charlie Kirk would scare us into silence, they were wrong!

If anything, Turning Point will hit the road louder than ever. On Monday, September 22, less than two weeks after the assassination, Charlie's friends united under the Turning Point USA banner to carry his torch and honor his legacy by doing what he did best: bringing honest and truthful debate to Universities across the nation.

Naturally, Glenn has rallied to the cause and has accepted an invitation to join the TPUSA tour at the University of North Dakota on October 9th.

Want to join Glenn at the University of North Dakota to honor Charlie Kirk and keep his mission alive? Click HERE to sign up or find more information.

Glenn's daughter honors Charlie Kirk with emotional tribute song

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK / Contributor | Getty Images

On September 17th, Glenn commemorated his late friend Charlie Kirk by hosting The Charlie Kirk Show Podcast, where he celebrated and remembered the life of a remarkable young man.

During the broadcast, Glenn shared an emotional new song performed by his daughter, Cheyenne, who was standing only feet away from Charlie when he was assassinated. The song, titled "We Are One," has been dedicated to Charlie Kirk as a tribute and was written and co-performed by David Osmond, son of Alan Osmond, founding member of The Osmonds.

Glenn first asked David Osmond to write "We Are One" in 2018, as he predicted that dark days were on the horizon, but he never imagined that it would be sung by his daughter in honor of Charlie Kirk. The Lord works in mysterious ways; could there have been a more fitting song to honor such a brave man?

"We Are One" is available for download or listening on Spotify HERE