Cruz bucks criticism from Perry

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Sunday parried a strike from former Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas), refusing to jump into the fray with his potential 2016 challenger.

“People occasionally throw rocks in politics, that’s his choice,” Cruz said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“I’m going to say that I think he did a good, effective job as governor of our state.”

In an interview with The Washington Post and the Texas Tribune, Perry last week portrayed Cruz as the next President Obama, and said that his differences from the junior senator are an advantage.

“It’s one of the selling points, if you will, to the American people as they decide who’s going to follow Barack Obama,” Perry said in the interview.

“I think they’re going to make a rather radical shift, away from a young, untested United States senator whose policies have really failed.”

Both Texans have been open about their flirtations with 2016, and while Cruz didn’t give a straight answer, he said he’s looking at it “very, very seriously.”

“I think this election, 2016, is going to be a fundamental fork in the road and I believe that the American people are looking for a new path,” Cruz said.

“They want to get back to the free market principles and constitutional liberties that were the foundation of this country.”