“Because everyone knows exactly where he stands.”

That’s the voiceover from Ted Cruz’s first round of television ads currently running in Iowa. The claim fits with the image of a rock solid conservative who doesn’t waver under pressure that the Texas senator has cultivated, successfully, on his swift climb up the political ladder to his position as a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination. But is it true? Not necessarily to the extent that both Cruz’s supporters and detractors might believe.