“Look there is a level at which all of this is ludicrous, but there is another level at which all of this is incredibly dangerous and terrifying,” he said solemnly as the audience applauded.

Cruz alluded to the president’s frequent disregard of the rule of law in favor of his own political agenda, comparing it to that of foreign dictators.

“If we have a system where the president can pick and choose which laws to follow, at utter whim and discretion, then the whole rest of our constitutional structure becomes superfluous,” he said.

Cruz’s approach is starkly different from that of his Republican colleagues, who began 2014 by striking a softer tone.

It turns out that more than a few political advisers saw the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s call for a “War on Poverty,” as perfect timing to highlight their own soft-hearted political solutions.