Did Ted Cruz praise a racist?

[The Big Dog]

How is the video misleading? It's a segment - an introductory segment of a speech he made. He's obviously playing to someone off on stage right who is related to or a former staffer of Helms. But he clearly says that we need people willing to "say those crazy things". I quoted one of them. Do we need people saying that UNC stands for University of Negroes and Communists? "Senator No" said some crazy things. Crazy AND reprehensible. Cruz certainly knows what Helms stood for and it wasn't solely his Senate FRC role.

It was misleading because the context was cut.

Why don't we agree that complimenting known racists disqualifies one from the presidency. I look forward to Obama's resignation.

/by the way, your "you are here for the fighting" was *********** ridiculous.

 

[Foolmewunz]

It was misleading because the context was cut.

Why don't we agree that complimenting known racists disqualifies one from the presidency. I look forward to Obama's resignation.

/by the way, your "you are here for the fighting" was *********** ridiculous.

Oh, you can disagree with anything I say. I think the proof that you're here for the partisan squabbles is fairly apparent, though. A question as to just what Cruz was supporting after the clip of a speech is fairly legitimate. You have nothing to offer other than "Yeah, what about the Pastor"? You're starting to discuss it after a full page of purely partisan backing of your team. You seem determined to point out that your opponents are being unfair, yet you apply the same tactics, bringing in unrelated Tu Quoque arguments.

Yeah, the Reverend J seems to have a big ol' racist streak in him. So did FDR (plus being a classist and elitist), and Wilson... and a whole bunch of the founding fathers. But while I have no personal interest in the former bible-peddler of the POTUS, I do have interest in and know the lives and careers of those others and I can condemn them for some of their views and respect them for others... most others. I asked the same thing about Helms. You chose to continue bickering. Are you simply unfamiliar with the life and career of Jessie "Senator No" Helms? It's okay to say so, but then I really question why you're in a thread about someone lighting incense (figuratively speaking) to his memory.

If I said, "Ya know, that Huey Newton said some crazy ****, man. But I think we need more people willing to say crazy ****...", would people assume I know nothing of his involvement with the Black Panthers and that I was perhaps speaking of his desire to have better labels on school milk? I doubt it. You'd assume, as would everyone else that I (as did Cruz) was referring to the things the person I'm referring to is most famous for.

 

[The Big Dog]

Oh, you can disagree with anything I say. I think the proof that you're here for the partisan squabbles is fairly apparent, though. A question as to just what Cruz was supporting after the clip of a speech is fairly legitimate. You have nothing to offer other than "Yeah, what about the Pastor"....?

stopped reading there... I actually said that the video was misleading.

I'm sure you had several solid points though.... rolls eyes....

 

[Foolmewunz]

stopped reading there... I actually said that the video was misleading.

I'm sure you had several solid points though.... rolls eyes....

Yes, I did, as a matter of fact. If you don't wish to discuss the case, well lead horse... water... can't make 'im....

@Randfan,
Here's the more interesting question. This is The Heritage Foundation. The crossroads of the crazy for the GOP fiscal conservatives, fundies and Tea Party. Rather than bashing Cruz, mightn't we be looking at the fact that this is an ongoing event at The Heritage Foundation. The Jessie Helms Lectures. That's why he's even brought up. It's a series of lectures named in Jessie's honor. (And frankly his foreign policy was more self-serving than belief-driven.)

 

[The Big Dog]

Yes, I did, as a matter of fact. If you don't wish to discuss the case, well lead horse... water... can't make 'im....

 

[RandFan]

• Obama deserved and got grief for his role with his pastor (Obama paid a price).
• I don't think praising Helms is an offense worthy of kicking anyone out of office.
• I don't think the racism of Helms disqualified him for office. His constituents had a right to choose him as representative.
• Following the Pastor debacle Obama distanced himself from the pastor.
• I'm not calling for Cruz to leave office and I don't think he has done anything for anyone to ask him to leave.
• I've stated that I don't simply see people as good or bad.
• I have sincerely asked for people to provide mitigating information about Helms.
• Help me see that he wasn't a racist.
• So far I've only gotten input from foolmewunz.
• Did Helms have any supporters here.

 

[Unabogie]

• Obama deserved and got grief for his role with his pastor (Obama paid a price).
• I don't think praising Helms is an offense worthy of kicking anyone out of office.
• I don't think the racism of Helms disqualified him for office. His constituents had a right to choose him as representative.
• Following the Pastor debacle Obama distanced himself from the pastor.
• I'm not calling for Cruz to leave office and I don't think he has done anything for anyone to ask him to leave.
• I've stated that I don't simply see people as good or bad.
• I have sincerely asked for people to provide mitigating information about Helms.
• Help me see that he wasn't a racist.
• So far I've only gotten input from foolmewunz.
• Did Helms have any supporters here.

It's possible that Cruz' statement was just an extension of the internet meme:

Modern conservatism: the opposite of what liberals want, updated daily.

In other words, they don't actually like Helms or what he stood for, but liberals hate him, so they say they love him. I don't actually buy that, though. The kind of overt racism that Helms displayed never really went away, IMO. It just became socially unacceptable. But over the last several years that taboo has broken down and you see thing like a Heritage report on immigration written by an actual white supremacist and other white supremacists writing for publications like the NRO. You see a rise in the stature of crypto-racists like the Paul clan, and an increased willingness to stoke racial tensions and call black people (and especially Obama) the "real racists". Glenn Beck, very soon after Obama was elected, said Obama has a "deep seated hatred of white people".

So yeah, praise of Helms' overtly racist career could have been a feature, not a bug, of Cruz' comments.

 

[RandFan]

It's possible that Cruz' statement was just an extension of the internet meme:

In other words, they don't actually like Helms or what he stood for, but liberals hate him, so they say they love him. I don't actually buy that, though. The kind of overt racism that Helms displayed never really went away, IMO. It just became socially unacceptable. But over the last several years that taboo has broken down and you see thing like a Heritage report on immigration written by an actual white supremacist and other white supremacists writing for publications like the NRO. You see a rise in the stature of crypto-racists like the Paul clan, and an increased willingness to stoke racial tensions and call black people (and especially Obama) the "real racists". Glenn Beck, very soon after Obama was elected, said Obama has a "deep seated hatred of white people".

So yeah, praise of Helms' overtly racist career could have been a feature, not a bug, of Cruz' comments.

Good post. At the risk of being trite, "it's always darkest before the dawn".

The long term trend is clear. In the short run there are a lot of influential people with lots of resources to keep their particular brand of offensive ideology from going quietly into that good night (damn, now I've mixed metaphors).

The backlash and it's effectiveness is to be expected. When cornered people will fight with even more fervor. See the Battle of the Bulge.

 

[Spindrift]

Good post. At the risk of being trite, "it's always darkest before the dawn".

The long term trend is clear. In the short run there are a lot of influential people with lots of resources to keep their particular brand of offensive ideology from going quietly into that good night (damn, now I've mixed metaphors).

The backlash and it's effectiveness is to be expected. When cornered people will fight with even more fervor. See the Battle of the Bulge.

Or they give up if it's not really worth it. See Yorktown or Dien Bien Phu.

 

[thaiboxerken]

It is a fact that Ted Cruz praised a racist. However, it's only a very good induction that he praised the racism as well.

 

[Corsair 115]

Ted Cruz? Shouldn't he be busy renouncing his Canadian citizenship like he said he would?

 

[Foolmewunz]

Good post. At the risk of being trite, "it's always darkest before the dawn".

The long term trend is clear. In the short run there are a lot of influential people with lots of resources to keep their particular brand of offensive ideology from going quietly into that good night (damn, now I've mixed metaphors).

The backlash and it's effectiveness is to be expected. When cornered people will fight with even more fervor. See the Battle of the Bulge.

It is a fact that Ted Cruz praised a racist. However, it's only a very good induction that he praised the racism as well.

Or here's another possible read on the situation. You guys can decide whether it makes him out to be better or worse....

Translate that speech into, "Hey, I know how important fund-raising is. I contributed my hard-earned allowance to the greatest fund-raiser we ever knew, 'cuz I thought it was important. So you fat cats with the money over there on stage right, you keep that in mind. Little eight-year old Ted Cruz helped Saint Jessie of Helms to get elected."

This is the Heritage Foundation. The fat cats in the party are out looking for their next shield bearers and lance wielders. It's a cute anecdote, but it drove home the point. I'm a true believer in the "heritage" of Jessie and I've shown tremendous generosity in the past for "our" causes, so keep me in mind when my stuffed suits call your stuffed suits for some support when I need it.

Let's remember that we're too early to be watching the ESR (embarrassing shift to the right) that the mainstream GOP candidates will be trying to finesse. But Cruz doesn't have to be embarrassed - this is him. He's all the way over there on their team already, and he was seeing fit to remind them of that. Like Mitt and like L'il Ricky, he's trying to line up one fat cat/angel to carry him through the next three years. Would the brothers Koch' association with the Heritage Foundation have anything to do with that performance?

The cynic in me says it does. The old adage that all politics is local has been changed to "all politics is fund-raising". Until the Bushies and Perry decide whether or not to run their own guys, Texas is a dry hole for Cruz.

 

[fuelair]

An example of why I use my wife's spelling of what used to be republicans through the very early 80s but basically gave it up for fundy religion, right wing stupidity, and racist and classist empire building after that. Republikers or republikkkers they are. Their choice, never mine. They claim the policies, they chose the name by actions.

 

[The Big Dog]

An example of why I use my wife's spelling of what used to be republicans through the very early 80s but basically gave it up for fundy religion, right wing stupidity, and racist and classist empire building after that. Republikers or republikkkers they are. Their choice, never mine. They claim the policies, they chose the name by actions.

Plus it is very helpful in alerting people that they have no reason to read your post!

Thanks fuel air!

 

[daredelvis]

Yes, yes he did.

Daredelvis

 

[Mumbles]

Obama deserved and got grief for his role with his pastor (Obama paid a price).

The funny part is, most of what Rev. wright said in the sound bites that got trafficked around and had people howling in outrage ...were absolutely correct. As examples, he claimed that the US killed innocent people, and treated her own citizens as subhuman. Both are absolutely true. He also praised Louis Farrakhan for promoting nonviolence in black communities, which, again, was correct. He did push a couple of conspiracy theories that, though somewhat justified, were false conspiracy theories (eg. The US funneling cocaine into black communities, or inventing AIDS), however.

As much as I like Obama, he has a nasty (though necessary) habit of pushing a false equivalence between races in the US. As in, he proclaims that black people rioting in Watts, is just as bad as Jim Crow. It's a nice way to win elections, but it's clearly absurd.

And this is where we get real. Cruz has signed onto a centuries-long legacy of oppression and violence, much as a seeming majority of right-wing pundits and speakers have done.. Wright is a reaction to said legacy, and Obama plays to a fake middle ground.

I don't think praising Helms is an offense worthy of kicking anyone out of office

.

Neither do I. If the folks in Texas think Ted Cruz is the best man to represent their opinions, then that s entirely on them. And that's also true of the folks that elected Helms not office over the years. I just don't think that they should get to whine about how we should hand-wave the implications of their vote. In other words, if some district wants to elect David Duke or Donald Trump or whatever bigoted moron, well, that's who they are.

 

[Xulld]

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.

. . and your playing to his association with Jessie Helms as if that makes him a racists.

Don't hate the player?

Meh, dont know why I try, its not like I live on either side of this . . . .

 

[RandFan]

. . and your playing to his association with Jessie Helms as if that makes him a racists.

That's called straw man. My point is that Jessie Helms does not deserve praise.

Meh, dont know why I try, its not like I live on either side of this . . . .

I don't know why either, it's not like anyone cares if you try, especially when you miss the point so badly and put words into other people's mouths.

If you figure it out let me know but I suspect it has something to do with my sig file. Which BTW I included primarily for myself but I'm not alone, not by a long shot.

 

[RandFan]

. . and your playing to his association with Jessie Helms as if that makes him a racists.

BTW: To add to the error you completely ignored the demogaguery of Cruz (which I actually accused him of and not racism, hint, you can't really read minds). Anyway, Cruz is acting as if Americans are desperately in need of protection from terrorists because since 9/11 America has been awash in the blood of terrorist victims.... no wait, that's automobile accidents, non-terrorist shootings, non-terrorist poisonings, etc., etc.. But we need more idiots like Helms to protect us from terrorists. As if the FBI, CIA, Homeland security and a defense that costs $700B a year isn't enough. Yeah, what we really need are 100 racist jackasses like Helms to protect us from terrorists.

Now I'm the one who needs to figure out why I bother, guess it's still the sig file.

 

[RandFan]

Peter King: Ted Cruz 'is a fraud'