I’m not sure where I am with Ted Cruz. I like some things he has said, but I have my doubts about his sincerity on issues important to me like immigration, guns and the size of government. I’m still open minded about him, but given the state of his party and the Right in general, he’s probably just another grifter working a scam. Stories like this make me wonder if he is an idiot or extremely clever.
Sen. Ted Cruz was booed offstage at a conference for Middle Eastern Christians Wednesday night after saying that “Christians have no greater ally than Israel.”
Cruz, the keynote speaker at the sold-out D.C. dinner gala for the recently-founded non-profit In Defense of Christians, began by saying that “tonight, we are all united in defense of Christians. Tonight, we are all united in defense of Jews. Tonight, we are all united in defense of people of good faith, who are standing together against those who would persecute and murder those who dare disagree with their religious teachings.”
Cruz was not reading from a teleprompter, nor did he appear to be reading from notes.
“Religious bigotry is a cancer with many manifestations,” he continued. “ISIS, al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Hamas, state sponsors like Syria and Iran, are all engaged in a vicious genocidal campaign to destroy religious minorities in the Middle East. Sometimes we are told not to loop these groups together, that we have to understand their so called nuances and differences. But we shouldn’t try to parse different manifestations of evil that are on a murderous rampage through the region. Hate is hate, and murder is murder. Our purpose here tonight is to highlight a terrible injustice, a humanitarian crisis.”
“Christians have no greater ally than Israel,” he said, at which point members of the crowd began to yell “stop it” and booed him.
EWTN News Nightly’s Jason Calvi caught the moment on video.
“Those who hate Israel hate America,” he continued, as the boos and calls for him to leave the stage got louder. “Those who hate Jews hate Christians. If those in this room will not recognize that, then my heart weeps. If you hate the Jewish people you are not reflecting the teachings of Christ. And the very same people who persecute and murder Christians right now, who crucify Christians, who behead children, are the very same people who target Jews for their faith, for the same reason.”
The cries of “stop it, stop it, enough,” and booing continued. “Out, out, leave the stage!” At this point IDC’s president, Toufic Baaklini, came out to the stage to ask for the crowd to listen to Cruz, but Cruz had already had enough.
I probably know more about Arab Christians than most people, but guys in his league have sharp people around them who do their homework before sending their man out to speak. Arab Christians hate Arab Muslims and they hate Israel. They have good reason to hate both camps. They are typically used as canon fodder by both sides. The Israelis and Arabs have run most of the Christians out of Lebanon, for example.
Now, maybe Cruz is just a blockhead, who assumed all Christians are like American Evangelicals. He went in thinking he had a great pitch only to find they thought he was flinging poo at them. On the other hand, it may have been a setup. The three “I’s” still apply to some degree in American politics. That’s Iowa, Ireland and Israel. Get the support of all three and you win the presidency. Ireland has fallen by the wayside now, but Israel still counts for a lot. Taking one for the Tribe looks pretty good on the resume if you’re planning to run for president.
“The Israelis and Arabs have run most of the Christians out of Lebanon, for example.”
You might take a look at Brigette Gabriel’s You Tube videos. She says she was rescued BY the Israelis, when the Christians in their town were about to be murdered by the Muslims.
For proof of my assertion, take a look over at the conservative cult website HotAir. They wrote a story about how this is a big political win for Cruz. The comments are full of hosannahs and praise for Cruz. He stood up to those bigots! Really, the responses write themselves.
ZMAN, you frequently, and correctly, describe liberalism as a cult, but the sad truth is that conservatism, at least in its current form, is also a cult. Whenever someone tells you that they are not Republican, but conservative, they’ve flashed their cult ID. Cruz accepts the dogma, and mouths the catechism, so he becomes a conservative messiah.
Cruz is not completely cynical; he’s as much a member of the cult as he is a leader of it. I suspect he thought the Middle Eastern Christians were also members of the cult, and was shocked when they didn’t link arms and start chanting when he began spouting the mantra. While I don’t agree with this type of anti-Semitism, I can understand that those people were appalled at Cruz’s bovine ignorance. They have their own identity, and their own problems (serious, existential problems); wanted to see them acknowledged, discussed, and addressed; and were rightly appalled when Cruz dragged Israel into the discussion. Israel is a powerful country with a powerful patron, a well-funded and well-connected lobbying arm, a wealthy and influential diaspora, and nuclear weapons. The Middle-Eastern Christians have nothing and no-one. The fact that Cruz felt the need to drag Israel into the discussion was inept, insensitive, and insulting. I’m glad to see the audience booed him off the stage. It should happen more often.
Ted Cruz is a slightly smarter Marco Rubio, or a slightly dumber Obama. Conservatives who vilify Obama for being a one term Senatorial dilettante with no discernable qualifications for the Presidency are being hypocrites when they tout Cruz. Cruz is a fraud, a 21st century Sammy Glick, reeking of ego and ambition, who will screw his supporters at first opportunity, as soon as he has real power.
His ignorant speech doesn’t surprise me, given that he reeks of the type of ignorance that thinks the whole world secretly desires to adopt the civilizational values espoused by Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. Despite graduating from Princeton and Harvard, or perhaps because of it, Cruz is poorly educated which, combined with a high IQ and overweening arrogance, is a dangerous cocktail. He’s an inept strategist and a poor problem solver, and the cracks are beginning to show. Cruz accompanied Beck on his inane trip to give apples and toys to the Children’s Crusaders, which shows that his insecurity and need for liberal approval is stronger than people think. Mark my words, now that Rubio is a dead fish, Cruz will be the point man for the massive Republican betrayal on immigration.
The funny thing about Cruz, at least to me anyway, is he has done nothing to show he is worth a vote for president. That’s not a bad thing. I’ve done nothing to earn your vote, but I’m not running for president. The governor of Wisconsin, in contrast, has done a lot of heavy lifting for conservative causes. The governor of Indiana has proven to be a competent executive.
Yet, none of the “experts” talk about these two. Instead it is the parade of ambitious trimmers like Cruz, Rubio and Paul.
Cruz is no idiot, a fool maybe, but still a pretty sharp cookie. My bet’s on clever.