“The Obama strategy, I believe, is that on January 1, subsidies kick in,” Cruz told a meeting of the Kingwood, Texas tea party in August, 2013. “And his strategy is very simple: He knows that in modern times no major entitlement has ever gone into effect and been unwound. Never been done. His strategy is to get as many Americans as possible hooked on the subsidies, addicted to the sugar.”

“I think if we’re going to stop Obamacare, we have to do it now,” Cruz continued. “If we get to January 1, this thing is here forever.”