Cruz invoked this idea of bringing America back to “common sense” principles—a phrase that has become a stand-in for every racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, oligarchic platform they happen to be pushing. Common sense principles—like the arguments for “states’ rights” and “religious liberty”—are little more than dog whistles Cruz and his right wing brethren use to advocate a return to the America of Ronald Reagan and George Wallace, where the poor were treated like pariahs and uppity minorities knew their place. They are the Trojan Horse that, if wheeled past the White House gates, will go about dismantling every last civil liberty and safety net our society has to offer. When Ted Cruz says he wants to take America back to its founding principles, he is not pledging to hold dear to the ideals of democracy and equality and tolerance advocated by our founders, but to resurrect all of the faults that made such ideals the luxury of propertied, white men.

via Of Caucasians & Caucuses: My Short, Strange Trip To See Ted Cruz In Iowa.