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Ted Cruz yells 'freedom' at CPAC, Internet compares it to 'I Have a Scream' speech that 'canceled' Howard Dean

Sen. Ted Cruz's speech at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference where he shouted 'freedom' angered several on social media who went on to compare his speech to former Governor Howard Dean’s 'I Have a Scream' speech

On February 27, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) gave an energetic speech where he called double-masking guidelines and mask ordinances at restaurants “dumb”. During his speech, Cruz complained to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that when he goes into restaurants, he has to wear a mask amid the coronavirus guidelines, but he can take it off when he is seated at a table. His statements against the guidelines reportedly angered several on social media who went on to compare his speech to former Governor Howard Dean’s 'I Have a Scream' speech.

"Now they're saying, everybody can get immunized, we can have herd immunity everywhere, and we're going to wear masks for the next 300 years," Cruz told the CPAC audience in Florida. "And by the way, not just one mask, two, three, four. You can't have too many masks. How much virtue do you want to signal? This is just dumb."

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Cruz rounded out his speech by warning that the US is in a period of “dark days ” and that “the country will come back to sanity.” He added: “And mark my words, 2022 is going to be a fantastic election year, and so is 2024 as we stand together and defend liberty, defend the Constitution, defend the Bill of Rights of every American.” In closing, he screamed, “Freedom!”

After the videos of Cruz went viral on social media, people started to compare it with Howard Dean’s infamous 'I Have a Scream' speech.

'I Have a Scream'

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vermont governor Howard Dean gave a very infamous speech, 'I Have a Scream', on January 19, 2004, at the Val-Air Ballroom in West Des Moines, Iowa. It was the same night when the presidential candidate had lost the Iowa caucus to John Kerry and wanted to reassure his supporters that he will win. He listed states he would win to his audience before screaming, “Yeah!!!” Within the next couple of days, Dean’s screaming moment was broadcasted over 633 times on national news networks and cable channels.

After Dean’s scream went viral, he lost most of his primaries and suspended his campaign after getting third-place in Wisconsin. Several political pundits have described Dean’s speech as a political blunder that destroyed his presidential campaign in 2004.

“Howard Dean Moment”

After listening to Cruz’s speech, one user wrote: "This type of yell got Howard Dean cancelled." Another user wrote: "When Howard Dean sounded like this they said he could never be president." Another user resonated similar thoughts, "Howard Dean screamed and it DESTROYED his career. Ted Cruz screams and he's still a likely top shot for the 2024 nomination. I'm so sick of democrats being held to standards the republicans can't meet on their best day." While another user tweeted, "I forgot that Howard Dean is the only white man in America who was actually cancelled for absolutely no good reason." Another wrote, "He's running in 2024. If we're consistent, this should be recognized as another Howard Dean moment."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.