Guests:Monica Crowley & Kirsten Powers
"According to a Gallup poll, nearly 40% of Americans say they are conservative thinkers; 24% say they are liberal. But is there any group in the country more maligned than conservatives? Maybe serial killers. Enter Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, who has announced he is running for president. He wants to return America to traditional, conservative tenets. The Wall Street Journal compares Cruz to Barack Obama, both men beginning their presidential quest just having two years in the Senate. President Obama was 45 when he started running, while Ted Cruz is 44. However, it is interesting to see how Mr. Cruz's resume is being scrutinized by the media while Barack Obama's inexperience was essentially given a pass. Here's a Washington Post editorial from 2007: 'No matter what your political leanings are, you're likely to feel at least a twinge of excitement about Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's decision to compete for the Democratic presidential nomination.' Talking Points believes conservative Americans are the most maligned mainstream group in the USA. If you don't believe in global warming, you're labeled a loon. If you believe life begins at conception, you're a religious fanatic. If you want strong action against the jihadists, you're a warmonger. If any minority group was smeared the way conservatives are, there'd be a Justice Department investigation. So good luck to Ted Cruz. He most likely will not win the nomination, but his entry into the race is a positive thing if you believe that America should be a vibrant democracy where all sincere views are considered."

The Factor analyzed the Cruz candidacy with Republican Monica Crowley and Democrat Kirsten Powers. "I certainly agree that conservatives are maligned," Powers conceded, "and that disagreements are treated as bigotry and phobias. If you criticize Islam, you have an illness, you're 'phobic.' People on the left have realized that this works." Crowley theorized that the left has devised a very effective strategy. "If they can effectively smear somebody like Ted Cruz, they can discredit everything he stands for. The left constantly tries to turn conservatives into people who are evil or stupid. If they can tack one of those labels on a conservative, then they can set them aside and marginalize them." The Factor reiterated, "The media wants to portray Ted Cruz and anyone who supports him as dysfunctional."

Guest:Glenn Beck
Former Fox News host Glenn Beck, an influential voice among conservatives, has pronounced his general disgust with the Republican Party. He entered the No Spin Zone to explain. "I'd vote for Ted Cruz," Beck said, "but that's different from the party. He's running as a principled Republican, so I'd give my money to him, but I wouldn't give my money to the party any more because the party is attacking Ted Cruz. They don't have any intention of doing anything, it's just a slower route to the same disastrous legislation." The Factor told Beck that he is being unrealistic: "I understand your fervor for change, but you have to deal with the reality of how many votes you can garner to get things done."

Guest:Ed Henry
The Factor asked White House correspondent Ed Henry to analyze President Obama's seemingly nonchalant attitude towards the war on terror. "I do think there is some urgency," Henry said, "because President Obama is reversing a campaign promise and will keep more U.S. troops in Afghanistan. That tells us that he realizes it was a mistake to pull everyone out of Iraq. The negative side is that just over one year ago the president said ISIS was the 'jayvee' squad, and about three months ago the president's commander on the ground said ISIS would never make it into Afghanistan. But the Afghan president said today that ISIS is recruiting in Afghanistan and trying to turn it into a terrorist foothold." The Factor contended that President Obama has blundered badly on numerous fronts: "The president has never admitted that it was a mistake to withdraw all troops from Iraq or that they were slow to pick up on the ISIS threat. So I don't see the urgency, he's never taken the terror threat seriously."

Guest:John Stossel
Police in Virginia have confirmed that there is absolutely no evidence to support Rolling Stone's much-hyped story of a gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity. Fox Business host John Stossel examined the frat's legal options. "The fraternity can sue Rolling Stone," he began, "but it would be foolish because it's hard for a group to sue. Lawsuits are about individual injury and lawsuits can be nasty things. The defense would ask about everything at the fraternity, including the sexual history of every member. A suit would take years, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the fraternity might not win. But Rolling Stone has been held accountable in that this has hurt their reputation." The Factor concluded, "The standards of journalism have declined dramatically and I think that hurts the country."

Guests:Kimberly Guilfoyle & Stacy Schneider
As reported previously, thousands of illegal immigrants are failing to show up at their scheduled deportation hearings. Legal analysts Stacy Schneider and Kimberly Guilfoyle examined the situation. "Deportations have gone way down," Schneider said, "and people are not showing up at deportation hearings because of fear. Why would they make themselves available to be deported? They stay under the radar." Guilfoyle turned to another subject, the fact that people should not expect information stored in their cell phones to remain private. "All the contents in your phone," she asserted, "could be seized by law enforcement. Police can take your phone and then get a warrant to search the contents. And if it's a company phone, the company can search the contents. You should not have an expectation of privacy in property that you don't own."

Guest:Laura Ingraham
A new study shows that young Americans are generally not proficient in reading, math, and other marketable skills. Radio talk show host Laura Ingraham expressed a total lack of surprise. "Over the last thirty years," she lamented, "we have seen a decline in educational standards as Washington has laid down its dictates from the Department of Education. The old ways of teaching have been generally regarded as old-fashioned, but the problem is that there is a baseline of knowledge that is now missing among young people. We live in a world where there are a lot of distractions for all of us." The Factor agreed, saying, "There is no discipline and people have to text 24 hours a day."

George Dilanni, Grafton, MA: "Dr. Sabato put forth the usual nonsense that a conservative like Ted Cruz cannot win the presidency. The same thing was said of Reagan, who won two landslides. Meantime, moderates like Ford, Dole, McCain, and Romney all lost."

John DeGennaro, Kingman, AZ: "Mr. O'Reilly, now I know how you and other Fox News people will treat Ted Cruz. You implied he's as far right as Elizabeth Warren is far left. It's what we can expect from you stealth progressives."

Juan Morales, Queens, NY: "Last week, I was unhappy that Bernie Goldberg did not have time to make all his points. You said you'd bring him back, but I did not believe you. Last night you proved me wrong."

Dr. Selim Benbadis, Tampa, FL: "I watch the Factor because it is fair. However, I would not say FNC as a whole is fair and balanced."

The Korean War Memorial Foundation is raising money to honor veterans of that conflict, so please consider paying a visit to the group's website at KWMF.org.