Education: Mr. Cruz has stood strongly against the Common Core standard and has publicly denounced these standards. He seems to be against any national curriculum and wants control of education to once again rest with the States. +
Environment: well it is known that he is not a believer in the global warming or change rhetoric being thrown around Washington D.C. these days and he has voted against a national effort to protect eco systems, preferring the states to take control of their own lands. +
Immigration: Being from Texas one can expect the opinion Mr. Cruz holds on immigration, but we should reiterate it for those who do not know, he is against Amnesty with every fiber of his being and wants current laws enforced and the borders defended. He has asked for boots on the ground and a wall. +
Tax reform: Mr. Cruz seems to stand against reform but also against tax hikes which in this case firmly plants him on middle ground which is not the norm for this possible candidate.
X
Healthcare: This seems like a touchstone for the current politicians thinking about running for President and Mr. Cruz has made his opinion known, Repeal Obamacare and put in place an option that works within a free market system. He has also gone as far to say stop bringing in Ebola victims by suspending air travel to those countries. +
Foreign Affairs: Within this arena Mr. Cruz is standing on the side of current allies and wants the Executive Branch to act as leaders with American interests and the public in mind. He was the one that stated we should bomb ISIS back to the Stone Age and shutting down Iranian foreign reserves. He has also stood with Israel on many issues. +
Economy: Stop spending money we do not have, stop spending our children’s future, seems to be what Mr. Cruz wants. He demands a balanced budget and limited spending, which is in stark contrast to the current administration and Republican leadership. He is against raising the Minimum wage and extending unemployment but for reducing taxes. +
Now we could go on but this covers the major issue of the next election and will be the criteria for all candidate reviews and grades. How grading works is the system here assumes all candidates start with a C grade until they talk about these issues and they are given a + (We agree with stand), - (We disagree with stand) or a X (either we do not know enough or are ambivalent to candidates current plans) Each plus raises the grade as each minus lowers the grade and an X has no effect. Pluses and minuses added to the grade mean that there are issues we see that either we agree with or do not that could change the grade by Half, an example of this would be a candidate making an embarrassing comment or changing opinion that may cause a flip flopping effect. Ted Cruz as a Candidate for president in 2016 ranks at the moment an A+