Ted Cruz stop in Cedar Rapids draws 200

CEDAR RAPIDS — Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said he hopes religious communities in Iowa and across the country will defend laws like Indiana's controversial religious freedom act against a liberal backlash.

'Today, the modern Democratic Party is more interested in partisan politics and extreme partisan support for same-sex marriage in all 50 states than it is in protecting First Amendment rights in the United States,' Cruz told reporters Thursday afternoon after a town-hall meeting at the Best Western Longbranch Hotel.

The Texas senator made three stops Thursday on the second day of a two-day swing through to Iowa, his first trip here since officially declaring his candidacy. At his appearances, Cruz took on the IRS and the Affordable Care Act — saying both should be done away with — as well as Iran nuclear talks, Social Security and government disaster aid.

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The Constitution was a rallying cry for more than 200 people who gave Cruz standing ovations several times during his 30-minute speech and Q-and-A session in Cedar Rapids.

Spectators applauded, shouted 'Amen!' and laughed at Cruz's frequent jokes, including one in which the punch line was simply 'Vice President Joe Biden.'

Cruz laid out his plans for reforming Social Security, which include gradually raising the retirement age, tying benefits growth to inflation and allowing young Americans to put part of their Social Security tax into private accounts. He said he would not reduce benefits for older Americans.

'For those on Social Security or nearing retirement, there should be no changes whatsoever,' Cruz said. 'We need to honor the promises made to our seniors.'

Cruz said he would support immigration reform only after the borders are secure. Another joke opportunity came when he said the 90,000 IRS employees could go work along the border when he streamlines the tax code and closes the agency.

A spectator asked Cruz what he sees as the federal government's role in natural disasters, like the 2008 flood that devastated Cedar Rapids.

'Disaster relief should be focused on disaster relief,' Cruz said — not like the bill that paid for recovery from the Northeast's Superstorm Sandy, which had 'every bit of pork jammed into it,

Cruz denounced an international deal to reduce sanctions on Iran in exchange for reining in the country's nuclear program. The arrangement, which President Barack Obama announced Thursday, should come before Congress, he said.

'Any deal that is not ratified as a treaty by the Senate is not binding in American law,' Cruz said. 'The next president can repudiate it.'

He called a nuclear Iran a 'profound threat to our security and the security of our allies.'

Scott Newman, 65, of Cedar Rapids, agrees. 'The Iran thing is a total joke, an absolute disaster,' he said while waiting for Cruz to speak.

Cassie Fuehrer, 29, of Cedar Rapids, snuggled her 2-week-old daughter in a sling on her chest.

'I agree with a lot of the stances he's taken,' she said of Cruz. 'I want to support him.'

Cruz, the first person to announce he's running for president in 2016, said he and his wife, Heidi, will visit Iowa frequently in coming months.

'Iowa is a state the rest of the country is entrusting to look candidates in the eye and say 'Can we trust them?' ' Cruz said.