ICYMI: Press Coverage of Sen. Cruz’s Tax Reform Debate With Sen. Sanders on CNN

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) squared off with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in a CNN Town Hall regarding the need to provide tax reform and relief for the American people. During their debate, Sen. Cruz highlighted many of the Republican priorities for fundamental tax reform, which are in sharp contrast to Senate Democrats plans to increase the tax burden on hard working Americans in every corner of the nation.

Several news outlets covered the debate. Select news coverage is below:

Conservative Review: 8 times Ted Cruz wiped the floor with Bernie's socialist antics
"If you missed Wednesday night’s debate between Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on tax reform, you missed out on a walloping. Ted Cruz dragged Sanders through the fatal conceit of his own socialist ideology and pummeled him with facts, with logic, and with some pretty good jokes… There’s not a lick of difference between Sanders, an avowed socialist, and the Democratic Party on taxes. The Left wants your taxes to go up to fund their Big Government progressive utopia. And Ted Cruz, debating on conservative premises, refusing to cede the argument at any point throughout the debate, got Sanders to make that admission on national television."

Houston Chronicle: Ted Cruz takes on Bernie Sanders in debate over tax cuts
“U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz used a 90-minute debate on CNN Wednesday night to broadly defend Republican efforts to cut taxes, saying if they succeed this year it could spur the economy like what happened in the 1960s and the 1980s. ‘When you cut taxes and the economy booms, everyone benefits,’ Cruz said during the second debate in which CNN pitted the Texas Senator against U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Democrat. Cruz hailed former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan for pushing large tax cuts that boosted the economy in the 1960s and 1980s respectively.”

PJ Media: Ted Cruz Hits a Home Run Against Bernie Sanders: 'He Fundamentally Misunderstands Robin Hood'
“Sadly, however, [Sanders] does have a large and loyal following, which is why a) he has to be taken seriously nonetheless and b) it's so incredibly important to explain that and why he's full of it. Enter Ted Cruz. On Wednesday evening, Cruz and Sanders debated each other on the GOP's tax plan. Cruz truly slammed the floor with his socialist colleague in the Senate, explaining why his favorite Robin Hood analogy is way, way, way off. As Cruz rightfully said, Robin Hood didn't steal from entrepreneurs, but from tax collectors who used their position and power to collect ‘too much taxes from the working men and women, (and who were) ... taking it for the rich.’”

Daily Caller: ‘I Don’t Know’: Cruz Asks Bernie What The Difference Is Between Democrat And Socialists On Taxes
“Sen. Bernie Sanders had no answer for Sen. Ted Cruz when he asked about the difference between a Democrat and a socialist on taxes in a CNN debate Wednesday. Cruz said, ‘Let me just ask, since this is a tax debate, what is the difference between a socialist and a Democrat on taxes?’ Sanders paused for several seconds before saying, ‘Well, I don’t know the answer to that because I don’t know…’ Cruz cut him off, saying, ‘I don’t know either.’”

Texas Tribune: U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders face off in tax code debate
“U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, defended the recently unveiled GOP plan to overhaul the tax code in a Wednesday night debate against U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. ‘This debate is very very simple, Bernie and the Democrats want every one of you to pay more taxes,’ Cruz said during the program, which was hosted by CNN. ‘And the Republicans want to lower the taxes for each and every person watching this debate.’”

Dallas Morning News: 'Robin Hood' and other key takeaways from the Ted Cruz-Bernie Sanders tax debate
“Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders agree that America's tax code needs an overhaul. And that's about it. The political polar opposites, participating Wednesday in a CNN debate, highlighted the yawning policy divide that confronts conservative and liberal lawmakers of all stripes as they prepare to take on a monumental task that's stymied Congress for decades. With these two loquacious senators, however, the split was crystal clear. Cruz, the Texas Republican, pitches the GOP revamp as a way to streamline the code and ‘lower taxes for each and every person.’ Sanders, the Vermont Independent, sees instead a ‘massive tax break for the wealthy’ that comes at the expense of low- and middle-income earners.”

Washington Examiner: Robin Hood was taking from tax collectors, Ted Cruz instructs Bernie Sanders
“Ted Cruz sought to teach a lesson in folklore to Bernie Sanders, telling him that Robin Hood was fighting high taxes. ‘I think Bernie fundamentally misunderstood that story,’ the Texas Republican said during his debate Wednesday night with Sanders over the Republican tax plan, which the Vermont independent had called a ‘Robin Hood proposal in reverse.’ ‘Robin Hood was robbing the tax collectors who were collecting too much taxes from the working men and women, and taking it for the rich,’ Cruz explained. ‘In Bernie's analogy, it is the Democrats who are King John and the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Robin Hood is saying: ‘Tax collectors, stop hammering people who are struggling, who are laboring in the fields, who are working, stop taking it to the castle to give out to your buddies.’” 

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