Our window to turn things around, it's not a broad window. If we keep going down this road, there comes a point where you go off the cliff.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Sen. Ted Cruz did not stand at the podium to give the keynote address Tuesday night at the 30th annual gala for the Republican Women of Huntsville.

Instead, one of the nation's most outspoken GOP leaders addressed a packed ballroom at the Huntsville Marriott through live video from Washington on two screens set up in the corners.

It didn't seem to matter as the junior senator from Texas received a warm, half-hearted standing ovation upon his introduction and a more raucous, more unanimous standing ovation upon the conclusion.

He outlined his plan for American economic recovery, harshly criticized the policies of President Obama and played to the crowd by opening with a joke about, of course, college football.

"Unfortunately, the partisan battles here in Washington kept me in Washington, D.C," he said. "Hopefully they will be resolved soon. Although as tough as the battles are here, I understand they are nothing compared with what y'all have in the Iron Bowl."

Indeed, negotiations over the government shutdown and the debt ceiling led to Cruz making a video appearance in Huntsville - a cancellation that was not finalized until earlier Tuesday.

Among the highlights of Cruz's speech - judging from the extended applause - was his call to dissolve the Internal Revenue Service.

Dissolve the IRS



"Our tax code is right now is far too complicated, it is Byzantine, it is oppressive," Cruz said. "We've seen sadly the IRS is willing to abuse its power to target those who seem to be political enemies of the president. To me, the simplest and best solution is we should abolish the IRS."

The awkwardness of the long-distance address was perhaps most pronounced at this moment as the applause lingered for about 10 seconds and Cruz, unaware of the rousing approval, continued speaking even as no one could hear him.

Still, he made his points in speaking for 45 minutes - which included taking a handful of questions from the audience.

"What we're doing to our kids and our grandkids is irresponsible," Cruz said. "It's not right to bankrupt the next generation. Our window to turn things around, it's not a broad window. If we keep going down this road, there comes a point where you go off the cliff."

In lashing out at Obama, he compared the nation's economic standing to that of the late 1970s and early 1980s - the final days of Democrat Jimmy Carter in the White House and the residual effect of Carter's policies in the early months of Republican Ronald Reagan's administration.

He said Obama's economic policies were the "same fatal policies" of the Carter administration.

"People are hurting incredibly," Cruz said. "The last four years, our economy has grown 0.9 percent a year on average. Now since World War II, there's only one other period where the economy has grown four consecutive years less than 1 percent on average and that was 1979-1982."

As a champion of repealing the Patient Protect & Affordable Care Act - aka Obamacare - Cruz delighted the audience in listing off what he described as the dangerous impacts of the national healthcare law that went into effect Oct. 1.

"There is no more important regulatory reform we can do than stopping Obamacare," Cruz said. "We are in the middle of a battle on Obamacare."

Obamacare 'biggest job killer'

Cruz said the healthcare law "is the biggest job killer in the country," pushing people toward part-time jobs so employers don't have to provide them healthcare insurance as full-time employees. It's impacting, in particular, young people who are now required by law to purchase health insurance.

Cruz also accused the Obama administration of "launching an assault up and down the Bill of Rights. It seems like they are trying to violate every single one of the Bill of Rights."

Efforts at gun control and the passing of the healthcare law were specific examples Cruz cited as well as National Security Agency having access to American phone records as part of the war on terror with the blessing of the White House.

"My very top priority in office is restoring economic growth because economic growth is foundational to every other challenge we have - whether it's unemployment or national debt or maintaining the strongest military in the world," Cruz said. "With economic growth, we can do all of that.

"As challenging as our economic problems are, the Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us there is nothing new under the sun. We have seen challenges like this before."

Still, he bemoaned the fact that jobs and economic growth are seldom discussed in the Senate.

"Having spent just 10 months in Washington," Cruz said, "it has confirmed what I suspect everybody knows - that Washington D.C. is broken. We've got career politicians in both parties who have gotten us into this mess and an awful lot of the folks of people in Washington are not listening to the American people."

Cruz repeatedly praised the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, however, for giving an ear to the American people - which he said has led to efforts to repeal the healthcare law.

"We saw over 2 million Americans go to the national website dontfundit.com and sign the petition to de-fund Obamacare," Cruz said. "And the House of Representatives listened to the people. We may not achieve everything we hope to achieve in this fight. But we have seen the American people rise up and we have seen the House of Representatives listen to the people and that is the model I'm going to suggest we take forward. It's how we reign in the federal government, it's how we reign in spending, it's how reign in debt, it's how we enact tax reform. It's how we finally reign in and stop Obamacare that is killing jobs and hurting Americans all across the country.

"I'm inspired by the millions of Americans all over this country who are standing up and saying we have got to preserve freedom. We have got to get back to our Constitution. We have to make sure our kids and grandkids have a brighter future and more prosperity. And we're not willing to go quietly into the night."