Bill Clinton's name brought the term "youth outreach" to Ted Cruz's mind in a word-association game at Thursday's Conservative Political Action Conference, USA Today reported.

The Texas senator's remark was widely interpreted as dig at the former president's affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern in her early 20s at the time of the scandal.

At the event, Cruz missed no opportunity to underline his conservative credentials and forcefully attack Barack Obama and other Democrats, the newspaper noted. He described the president as a "lawless imperator" and promised he would repeal Obamacare if he were to move into the Executive Mansion.

"Washington wants Obamacare, the people want liberty," the Texan insisted. "Don't believe President Obama when he says 'When you like your Internet, you get to keep your Internet.'"

Cruz also promised to "abolish the IRS," "restore America's leadership in the world," end "amnesty" in the immigration system and limit the "alphabet soup" of regulations, USA Today detailed.

Besides Presidents Obama and Clinton, Cruz picked Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton as one of his favorite targets. The former secretary of State embodies the Washington establishment, he claimed. Cruz joked about recent reports that the Clinton Foundation accepted funding from foreign governments.

"We could have had Hillary here (at CPAC)," he said, "but we couldn't find a foreign nation to foot the bill."

Cruz has not officially announced a 2016 presidential bid, but he is seen as a likely candidate in an increasingly crowded Republican field. The senator challenged potential primary voters to look at contenders' actions, not words, TIME noted.

"We all know that in a campaign every, candidate comes out and tells you, 'I'm the most conservative guy that's ever lived,'" Cruz said. "If you're really a conservative, you will have been in the trenches and you will bear the scars. I demand action, not talk," he added.

It is up to Republican primary voters to sort out which candidates bring true conservative credentials, Cruz warned, according to the Dallas Morning News. No candidate ever announced, "Actually, I'm a squishy moderate who stands for nothing," he quipped.

Related