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Did Ted Cruz praise a racist?

RandFan

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RandFan
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Sen. Ted Cruz: ‘We Need A Hundred More Like Jesse Helms’ In Senate

Cruz got a little personal and talked about the late Republican Senator Jesse Helms, the first politician Cruz ever gave money to. Cruz touted all the “crazy things” Helms said, not as a negative, but as a positive, declaring that the Senate could use “a hundred more like Jesse Helms in the U.S. Senate.”

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Helms was an incredibly controversial political figure in his time, considered by many to be an unapologetic racist.
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16.5 said:
curious that the text of the article cut out the context leading into that part of the speech:

"Terrorists use pressure cookers to murder civilians. This threat continues and we need the clarity to continue to defend the United states of America."
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... K... And?
 
Redtail said:
... K... And?
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I guess that demagoguery makes being a racist okay.

dem·a·gogue also dem·a·gog (d
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1. A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace.
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BTW: Who is it that is arguing that we should stop defending the United States? The costs for defense is $700 billion dollars annually. IIRC, this does not include the costs of the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, etc., etc..

Ted Cruz is demagoguing the issue with straw men. He's playing to people's fears about terrorism when the fear of terrorism is irrational and no one, NO ONE, is suggesting that we stop defending the United States. More people die from food poisoning than terrorism. And more people die in automobile fatalities than food poisoning. So what does Cruz campaign on? Irrational fear.

The Irrationality of Giving Up This Much Liberty to Fight Terror

When confronted by far deadlier threats, Americans are much less willing to cede freedom and privacy.
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I get angry every time Obama praises the known racist Abraham Lincoln.

Don't get me started on Woodrow Wilson or FDR.

Or maybe we can just say that there's more to the sum of one's accomplishments than how he or she felt about black people.
 
mikedenk said:
I get angry every time Obama praises the known racist Abraham Lincoln.

Don't get me started on Woodrow Wilson or FDR.

Or maybe we can just say that there's more to the sum of one's accomplishments than how he or she felt about black people.
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I've condemned strongly both FDR and Lincoln. I believe that FDR committed crimes against humanity, Lincoln was not only racist but trampled on the constitution when he suspended Habeas Corpus. I'm happy to condemn Wilson but it's never come up before. I've also condemned Columbus, Jefferson and others who are otherwise considered great American Heroes (though I think we need to consider founders and early American leaders by the light of their times).

I would be happy to consider any mitigating arguments you have for Helms. I don't believe that people are by and large either good or bad. At the end of the day Helms was an unapologetic racist while others realized the pernicious nature of racism. I don't know much about Helms to mitigate against that. What I do know about him isn't very flattering.

So, by all mean give me the information to help me alter my opinion. I should let you know that I didn't like Helms when I was a staunch conservative so I think the row a bit harder to hoe but I'll keep an open mind.
 
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Well did he ever specify exactly what about Helms he admired?
 
RandFan said:
I've condemned strongly both FDR and Lincoln. I believe that FDR committed crimes against humanity, Lincoln was not only racist but trampled on the constitution when he suspended Habeas Corpus. I'm happy to condemn Wilson but it's never come up before. I've also condemned Columbus, Jefferson and others who are otherwise considered great American Heroes (though I think we need to consider founders and early American leaders by the light of their times).

I would be happy to consider any mitigating arguments you have for Helms. I don't believe that people are by and large either good or bad. At the end of the day Helms was an unapologetic racist while others realized the pernicious nature of racism. I don't know much about Helms to mitigate against that. What I do know about him isn't very flattering.

So, by all mean give me the information to help me alter my opinion. I should let you know that I didn't like Helms when I was a staunch conservative so I think the row a bit harder to hoe but I'll keep an open mind.
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I see that our intrepid poster is continuing to rely upon the the argument from former republican.

As a former staunch democrat (until the guys who put Obama where he is today destroyed Illinois) I can appreciate that type of argument.

Drink!
 
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C'mon, Jesse Helms was a great advocate of equality! He just wanted white people to have more of that equality.
 
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