Ted Cruz came to New Hampshire, but unlike other candidates who talked in Bushian generalities, he talked about his positions on the issues.

He won applause when he called for a flat tax and abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and he said the Affordable Care Act and Common Core curriculum standards should be repealed.

He also said he wanted taxes simple enough so they could be done on a postcard.  Do you hear other candidates talking this way?  I don't.  I don't think I've heard a single candidate call for abolishing the IRS, have you?

Senator Cruz has spoken at length about these issues in the past, and unlike other candidates, whose views have "evolved," "grown," or "mutated" right before running for president, Cruz has actually held these positions for greater than two years, even before he considered running for president.

With regard to the ethanol mandate, which makes both gasoline and food much more expensive, Cruz says he is flatly against it.  When asked about Scott Walker's view, which is that Walker is

(a) for it in Iowa,

(b) against it in Wisconsin,

(c) and unclear on his views for ethanol in the other 48 states,

Cruz refused to attack his rival.

Cruz also said he didn't want any limits on campaign donations.  The current system already has so many holes in it – for example, manpower donations by unions aren't counted as "donations," and slanted coverage by the liberal media is also not counted as donations – that it makes sense to allow everyone to get as involved as he or she wishes.  The wealthy can already spend a lot to push their agenda with indirect spending to PACs; we might as well open up the system entirely, have full disclosure of donations, and at least have a system of donations that is less opaque.

Cruz also spoke about the Constitution, a subject few other candidates seem to find worthy of mention in their speeches.

"We’ve got to get back to defending our Constitutional liberties," Cruz said in a luncheon speech in Barrington, about 30 miles northeast of Manchester. "We’ve never seen a federal government come after the Bill of Rights like this administration."

The media piled on and attacked his visit, with CNN writing an article entitled "Fiery Ted Cruz confuses a little girl, snubs a goat in New Hampshire" – none of which actually happened.

Others also found his visit unwelcome.

Cruz earlier this week received a cool reception from former New Hampshire GOP Chairman Fergus Cullen, who invited Jeb Bush to a gathering at his home but declined to invite Cruz, saying the Texas Senator represents everything that is wrong with the Republican Party in Washington.

I think establishment Republicans dislike Cruz even more than Democrats do.

Cruz and Scott Walker are currently the most conservative candidates.  Cruz is against amnesty, is pro-life, is for right-to-work laws, and is against Common Core, and as of this writing (3/15/15), Scott Walker currently is as well.  While Cruz has held conservative positions longer than Scott Walker has, Scott Walker has better hair, so we have to watch both these candidates and give each reasonable consideration.

Pedro Gonzales is the editor of Newsmachete.com, the conservative news site.