West and got on a gray hound bus to head to austin, texas to begin working washing dishes making 50 cents an hour. Coming to the one land on earth that has welcomed so many millions. When my dad came to america in 1957, he could not have imagined what lay in store for him. Imagine a young married couple living together in the 1970s, neither one of them has a personal relationship with jesus. They have a little boy and they are both drinking far too much. They are living a fast life. When i was 3 my father decided to leave my mother and me. We were living in calgary at the time. He got on a plane and flew back to texas. And he decided he didnt want to be married anymore, and he didnt want to be a father to his 3yearold son. And yet when he was in houston a friend, a colleague from the oil and gas business, invited him to a bible study. Invited him to clay road baptist church. And there my father gave his life to jesus christ. [applause] senator cruz and god transformed his heart and he drove to the airport, he bought a plane ticket, and he flew back to be with my mother and me. [applause] senator cruz there are people who wonder if faith is real. I can tell you in my family theres not a second of doubt because were it not for the transformative love of jesus christ i would have been saved and i would have been raised by a single mom without my father in the household. Imagine another little girl living in africa, in Kenya Nigeria its a diverse crowd. Playing with kids they spoke swahili, she spoke english. Coming back to california where her parents who had been missionaries in africa raised her in the central coast. She starts a Small Business when shes in grade school. Baking bread. She calls it heidis bakery. She and her brother compete baking bread. They bake thousands of loaves of bread and go to the local Apple Orchard where they sell the bread to people coming to pick apples. She goes on to a career in business, excelling and rising to the highest pinnacles, and then heidi became my wife and my very best friend in the world. [applause] senator cruz heidi becomes an incredible mom to our two precious little girls caroline and catherine, the joys and loves of our life. [applause] senator cruz imagine another teenage boy being raised in houston, hearing stories from his dad about prison and torture in cuba, hearing stories about how fragile liberty is beginning to study the United States constitution, learning about the incredible protections we have in this country that protect the godgiven liberty of every american. Experiencing challenges at home. The mid1980s oil crisis crater. And his parents business go bankrupt. Heading off to school over 1000 miles away from home at a place where he knew nobody, where he was alone and scared. And his parents going through bankruptcy meant there was no Financial Support at home, so at the age of 17, he went to get to jobs two jobs to help pay his way through school. He took over 100,000 in school loans, loans i suspect a lot of yall can relate to. [laughter] senator cruz loans that i will point out i just paid off a few years ago. [applause] senator cruz these are all of our stories. These are who we are as americans. And yet, for so Many Americans the promise of america seems more and more distant. What is the promise of america . The idea that the revolutionary idea that this country was founded upon which is that our rights do not come from man, they come from god almighty. [applause] senator cruz and that the purpose of the constitution, as Thomas Jefferson put it, is to serve as chain to bind the mischief of government. [applause] senator cruz the Incredible Opportunity of the american dream, what has enabled millions of people from all over the world to come to america with nothing and to achieve anything. And then, the american exceptionalism that has made this nation a clarion voice for freedom in the world, a shining city on a hill. That is the promise of america. That is what makes this nation an indispensable nation, a unique nation in the history of the world. And yet, so many fear that that promise is unattainable today. So many fear it is slipping away from our hands. I want to talk to you this morning about reigniting the promise of america. 240 years ago, on this very day, a 38yearold lawyer named Patrick Henry [applause] senator cruz stood up 100 miles from here in richmond, virginia and said, give me liberty or give me death. [applause] senator cruz i want to ask each of you to imagine, imagine millions of courageous conservatives all across America Rising up together to say in unison, we demand our liberty. [applause] senator cruz today, roughly half of bornagain christians are not voting. They are staying home. Imagine instead millions of people of faith all across america coming out to the polls and voting our values. [applause] senator cruz today, millions of young people are scared, worried about the future, worried what the future will hold. Imagine millions of young people coming together and standing together, saying, we will stand for liberty. [applause] senator cruz think just how different the world would be. Imagine, instead of economic stagnation, booming economic growth. [applause] senator cruz instead of Small Businesses going out of business in record numbers, imagine Small Businesses growing and prospering. Imagine young people coming out of school with 4, 5, 6 job offers. [applause] senator cruz imagine innovation thriving on the internet as government regulators and tax collectors are kept at bay and more and more opportunity is created. [applause] senator cruz imagine america finally becoming energy selfsufficient, as millions and millions of highpaying jobs are created. [applause] senator cruz five years ago today, the president signed obamacare into law. [booing] senator cruz within hours Liberty University went to court, filing a lawsuit against to stop that failed law. [applause] senator cruz instead of the joblessness, instead of the millions forced into parttime work, instead of the millions who have lost their Health Insurance, lost their doctors and faced skyrocketing Health Insurance premiums, imagine, in 2017, a new president signing legislation repealing every word of obamacare. [applause] senator cruz imagine Health Care Reform that keeps government out of the way between you and your doctor and that makes Health Insurance personal and affordable and portable. [applause] senator cruz instead of a tax code that crushes innovation that imposes burdens on families struggling to make ends meet imagine a simple flat tax. [applause] senator cruz that lets every american fill out his or her taxes on a postcard. [applause] senator cruz imagine abolishing the irs. [applause] senator cruz instead of the lawlessness and the president s unconstitutional executive amnesty, imagine a president that finally, finally, finally secures the borders. [applause] senator cruz and imagine a Legal Immigration system that welcomes and celebrates those who come to achieve the american dream. [applause] senator cruz instead of a federal government that wages an assault on our religious liberty, that goes after hobby lobby, that goes after the Little Sisters of the poor, that goes after Liberty University, imagine a federal government that stands for the First Amendment rights of every american. [applause] senator cruz instead of a federal government that works to undermine our values, imagine a federal government that works to defend the sanctity of human life. [applause] senator cruz and to uphold the sacrament of marriage. [applause] senator cruz instead of a government that works to undermine our Second Amendment rights, that seeks to ban our ammunition [applause] senator cruz imagine a federal government that protects the right to keep and bear arms of all lawabiding americans. [applause] senator cruz instead of a government that seizes your emails and your cell phones imagine a federal government that protects the privacy rights of every american. [applause] senator cruz instead of a federal government that seeks to dictate School Curriculum through common core [applause] senator cruz imagine repealing every word of common core. [applause] senator cruz imagine embracing school choice, the civil rights issue of the next generation. [applause] senator cruz that every single child, regardless of race, regardless of ethnicity, regardless of wealth or zip code, every child in america has a right to a quality education. [applause] senator cruz and that is true from all of the above, whether it is a Public School or Charter School or private school or Christian School or Parochial School or homeschool every child. Instead of a president who boycotts Prime Minister netanyahu, imagine a president who stands unapologetically with the nation of israel. [applause] senator cruz instead of a president who seeks to go to the United Nations to end run congress and the American People, imagine a president who says, i will honor the constitution, and under no circumstances will iran be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. [applause] senator cruz imagine a president who says, we will stand up and defeat radical islamic terrorism. [applause] senator cruz and we will call it by its name. We will defend the United States of america. Now all of these seem difficult. Indeed, to some, they may seem unimaginable. And yet, if you look in the history of our country, imagine it is 1775 and you and i, we are sitting there in richmond listening to Patrick Henry say give me liberty or give me death. Imagine it is 1776 and we were watching the 54 signers of the declaration of independence stand together and pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to igniting the promise of america. Imagine it was 1777 and we were watching general washington as he lost battle after battle after battle in the freezing cold, as soldiers with no shoes were dying fighting for freedom against the most powerful army in the world. That, too, seemed unimaginable. Imagine it is 1933 and we were listening to president Franklin Delano roosevelt tell america, at a time of crushing depression, at a time of a gathering storm abroad, that we have nothing to fear but fear itself. Imagine it is 1979 and you and i were listening to Ronald Reagan [applause] senator cruz and he was telling us that we would cut the top marginal tax rates from 70 all the way down to 28 , that we would go from crushing stagnation to booming economic growth, to millions being lifted out of poverty and into prosperity and abundance, that the very day he was sworn in our hostages who were languishing in iran would be released. And that within a decade, we would win the cold war and tear the berlin wall to the ground. That would have seemed unimaginable. And yet, with the grace of god that is exactly what happened. [applause] senator cruz from the dawn of this country and at every stage, america has enjoyed gods providential blessing. Over and over again, when we face impossible odds, the American People rose to the challenge. You know, compared to that repealing obamacare and abolishing the irs aint all that tough. [laughter] senator cruz the power of the American People, when we rise up and stand for liberty, knows no bounds. [applause] senator cruz if you are ready to join a Grassroots Army across this nation, coming together and standing for liberty, im going to ask you to break a rule here today and to take out your cell phones and to text the word constitution to the number 33733. You can also text imagine. We are versatile. [laughter] senator cruz once again, text constitution to 33733. Gods blessing has been on america from the very beginning of this nation and i believe god is not done with america yet. [applause] senator cruz i believe in you. I believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives rising up to reignite the promise of america. That is why, today, i am announcing that i am running for president of the United States. [applause] senator cruz it is a time for truth. It is a time for liberty. It is a time to reclaim the constitution of the United States. I am honored to stand with each and every one of you, courageous conservatives, as we come together to reclaim the promise of america, to reclaim the mandate, the hope and opportunity for our children and our childrens children. We stand together for liberty. [applause] senator cruz this is our fight. The answer will not come from washington. It will come only from the men and women across this country, from men and women, from people of faith, from lovers of liberty, from people who respect the constitution. It will only come as it has come at every other time of challenge in this country, when the American People stand together and say, we will get back to the principles that have made this country great, we will get back and restore that shining city on a hill that is the United States of america. Thank you and god bless you. [applause] on the next washington journal, the Deputy Managing Editor of Foreign Policy has the latest on the iran nuclear negotiations. U. S. Military efforts in the middle east, and the impact of slowing troop withdrawal from afghanistan. And i guessed from the Georgetown University center for children and families talks about the childrens Health Insurance program, which provides money to states for health care for kids from low income families. We will take your calls, and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. Washington journal, live at 7 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan. President obama will be in boston tomorrow for the dedication ceremony at the Edward Kennedy institute for the u. S. Senate. The building was created in honor of the late massachusetts senator and aims to educate the public about congress and encourage citizens to take a proactive role in the democratic process. 50 years ago, i managed the successful Reelection Campaign for the junior senator for massachusetts, john f. Kennedy. Although i certainly did not anticipate it at the time, i myself have been deeply honored to hold the same seat he had for some 46 years. During my service in the United States senate, i have often been called a liberal. And it usually was not meant to be a compliment. But i remember what my brother said about liberalism shortly before he was elected president. He said, if by a liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without quick reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties, someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us if that is what they mean by a liberal, i am proud to be a liberal. [applause] those words from late senator Edward Kennedy at Harvard University an event he attended nearly eight months before his death in 2009. The dedication ceremony for the Edward Kennedy institute takes place tomorrow in boston. President obama will be among the speakers. We will have live coverage beginning at 10 00 a. M. Eastern here on cspan. Monday on the communicators, more from the Consumer Electronics show as we look at new technology product. If there is something you want to capture, you can take it off your rest. It will be very simple to take off your wrist. It will expand. It will be as easy as gesturing. You will literally just toss it. It is completely autonomous. There is no remote required. The direction you tossed it if it is a gentle toss, it will stay pretty close. If you throw it, it will go farther away. It will take a photo and come back. The communicators, monday at 8 00 eastern on cspan 2. Tonight on cspan q a with author Eric Larson Erik larson, followed by Prime Ministers questions in the british house of commons. British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron and labor leader this week on q a, our guest is eric larson, out with his new book, dead wake the Last Crossing of the lusitania. The ship was downed in 1915 on route to liverpool england. Brian erik larson, your new book, dead wake you start off on the night of may 6 1915 as the ship