Potential GOP candidates audition for 2016 by slamming Hillary Clinton
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks to guests at the Iowa Freedom Summit on January 24, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa. Scott Olson, Getty Images
The potential Republican presidential candidates who addressed the Iowa Freedom Summit on Saturday sought to distinguish themselves from one another, jockeying for an early advantage in what will likely be a crowded primary field.
But many of them also fixed their sights beyond the primary on the woman many assume their party will face in the general election: Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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Some potential Republican candidates for president are sharing the stage at the Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines. It is billed as the first big ...
Clinton, though she has not yet declared a candidacy, earned condemnation from many potential candidates who took the stage in Des Moines. Some tore into her record as the nation's top diplomat; others portrayed her as a member of the old guard, incapable of changing D.C. Many sought to tie her inextricably to President Obama, whom they deem a failure.
"Over the past six years, we have seen the fruits of the Obama-Clinton foreign policy of receding from leadership in the world," said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. "Leading from behind doesn't work."
Cruz said the threats the U.S. is facing today are "every bit as ominous" as those faced before World War II. He called for "clarity of thought and voice and action" as the U.S. responds to the threat posed by "radical Islamic terrorism."
Former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin questioned whether Hillary Clinton could credibly campaign as a change agent.
"Is Hillary a new Democrat, or an old one?" Palin asked. "Now, the press asks, 'Can anyone stop Hillary?'...Hey Iowa, can anyone stop Hillary? Let's borrow a phrase - yes we can - and it starts here and it starts now."
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Potential GOP candidates audition for 2016 by slamming Hillary Clinton