Ted Cruz Is Anti-Ethanol-Mandate, but Iowans Like Him Anyway

Ted Cruz's need to keep women barefoot and pregnant -- among other of his policies -- turned me off his presidential campaign long ago. But whatever you say about the Texas senator, the man has a king-size backbone.

Ted Cruz in Iowa

Cruz, fearless attack dog for ending the ethanol mandate in the U.S. gasoline supply, stayed true to his principles -- yes, even while campaigning in the belly of beast, in the middle of the Hawkeye State, corn-based ethanol capitol of the world.

And there it was, just hours after the Obama administration released its (failed) plans to boost the amount of corn-based ethanol in gasoline.

“God has blessed America with abundant natural resources and we ought to be producing everything … but it shouldn’t be Washington picking winners and losers,” Cruz said Monday during a town hall stop in Bettendorf, Iowa. The story is reported in the Quad City Times.

Cruz cast his displeasure with the mandate, also known as the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), in such a way as to suggest Iowans would have greater opportunities with their crops without it.

“I would love to see ethanol expand its market share … and removing government barriers is critical to doing that,” he said.

Nevertheless, it was still an act of bravery, that speech. In the past, Cruz has classified the government's longtime support for ethanol as “corporate welfare” and a threat to free markets. So, surely Iowa is hardly surprised to hear where he stands.

And guess what? His opposition to the government's ethanol mandate hasn't hurt his popularity in Iowa a bit. The most recent poll taken there, published last week by Quinnipiac University, showed Cruz in second place behind front-runner Donald Trump with 23 percent support among GOP voters likely to participate in Iowa's Feb. 1 caucuses.

Obama's Environmental Protection Agency backed off its so-called ethanol mandate Monday, dealing a blow to President Obama’s promise of a green energy revolution just as he and other world leaders opened a new round of historic climate change talks in Paris.

Robert Bryce, a senior fellow at Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, says the ethanol mandate is bad for consumers and the environment.

"Congress approved a 40-cent-per-gallon subsidy for corn ethanol way back in 1978, the same year the Bee Gees were topping the pop charts with their disco hit 'Stayin’ Alive.' Paying to support corn ethanol was a bad deal then. It’s an even worse deal now," Bryce said.

"Taxpayers are no longer directly subsidizing ethanol producers, but the Renewable Fuel Standard requires retailers to blend about 13 billion gallons of corn ethanol a year into the gasoline they sell to the public. That mandate hurts consumers, is bad for the environment and does effectively nothing to reduce America’s need for foreign oil."

The only other GOP presidential hopefuls who openly oppose the ethanol mandate are Carly Fiorina and Rand Paul. Donald Trump, meanwhile, follows President Obama, openly, vociferously in favor of the mandate.