By Len Lazarick
Ted Cruz speaks to the crowd at the Towson American Legion hall. Photo Maria Pycha’s Facebook page.
“Come out and vote for me 10 times,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz urged his boisterous supporters at a Towson American Legion Hall Monday afternoon. “But look, we’re not Democrats, so I’m not suggesting voter fraud. If everyone here goes out and gets nine other people to vote for me, you will have voted 10 times.”
The visit by Cruz, and another by Ohio Gov. John Kasich Tuesday, and Donald Trump near Ocean City on Wednesday are new experiences for many voters in Maryland where presidential candidates are typically scarce and their votes irrelevant.
The state usually doesn’t matter by the time its primary rolls around, Sen. Michael Hough, chair of the Cruz campaign here, told the crowd. “This year every vote, every delegate will count … You can vote today; we cannot afford to lose it.”
“There is one conservative candidate that can win the primary, and win the general election,” said Hough, and that’s Cruz, “a constitutional conservative.”
The Cruz appearance was very different from Kasich’s town hall in Howard County last week. Hastily organized with 24 hours notice, many more in Monday’s crowd of over 600 were committed Cruz supporters, anxious to see the candidate they knew a lot about.
The event was more theatrical, with former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina introducing Cruz with a short talk and a video, and then the candidate himself, mobbed by supporters along a rope line as he came and went.
In a rambling style, Kasich spoke and took questions for over 75 minutes. Cruz was on stage about 20 minutes, giving a dramatic and well practiced speech, interrupted repeatedly by applause, shouts, hooting and hollering.
Attacks Trump
Cruz did not hesitate to attack Trump by name, prompting boos and catcalls from the audience whenever he did.
“Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are too sides of the same coin,” said Cruz. “He will preserve the system. He will take advantage of the system.”
Cruz casts himself as an opponent of “the system,” and he has been an outsider in the halls of the U.S. Senate.
Fiorina put a positive spin on it. “I know Ted is a fearless fighter. He has the scars and the enemies to prove it.”
But as Trump has risen and the field of opponents has dwindled, Cruz proudly lists five other presidential candidates who have now endorsed him: Fiorina, Rick Perry, Lindsay Graham, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker.
“It’s easy to talk about making America great again. You can even print that on a baseball cap.”
Key talking points
Here are some of Cruz’s key points, which may be familiar after seeing him on a dozen debates and forums.
- “If you want to see incredible economic growth, just take the boot of the federal government off the back of small businesses.”
- “We will repeal every word of Obamacare,” he said. “We’re going to pass common sense health reform that makes health care portable and affordable.”
- “We’re going to pass a single flat tax” and “everyone of us will fill out our tax returns on a post card” “We’re going to abolish the IRS” and “rein in the EPA.”
- “Stop amnesty, and secure the borders, and end sanctuary cities.”
- And after doing all this, “You’re going to see millions and millions of high paying jobs,” jobs coming back from Mexico and China.
- With that economic growth, Cruz will restore the U.S. military to its previous place as the “best fighting force on the planet.”
Cruz described a conversation with Trump where the New York businessman told him he had “to learn to compromise” on issues like religious liberty.
“I will not compromise away your religious liberty and I will not compromise away your Second Amendment rights.”
Trump hands the election to Clinton
Ted Cruz poses for pictures after his speech.
“Nominating Trump hands the election to Hillary Clinton,” Cruz said, and could possibly lose the Senate, maybe the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court “for a generation to come.”
“Maryland is a battle ground,” said Cruz. “Maryland is going to have an outsized voice” in choosing the party’s nominee.
“If I’m the nominee, we win,” said Cruz.
Lisa Hubbard of Parkville wasn’t sure she was supporting Cruz before he arrived, but she was sure of her disdain for Clinton, as shown by the button she wore — “Hillary for Prison.”
But after the event, Hubbard was a Cruz convert, and even though she is a Democrat who can’t vote for Cruz in the primary, she said the rest of her family are Republicans, and she was going to round up those nine other voters.
I already see NY in the rear view mirror and it is getting smaller….. and smaller….. on to the next challenge!
I’ve been watching this play out from the beginning and I know all of their stump speeches by heart… What won me over to Cruz was the way he deals with protesters and hecklers. Rather than threaten or tell his supporters to punch them out, he calls them out and engages them in a civil conversation.
When Code Pink disrupted one of his rallies, his supporters started to shout them down. Cruz calmly told his supporters to let them speak, and treat them respectfully. He then let them say their peace and then calmly refuted them point by point.
In a did decent setting in Iowa, an angry farmer confronted him after a meeting in Iowa over Cruz’ position on renewable fuels. Cruz explained his posiition and how it helped farmers more than the Ethanol mandate. By the end, the Iowa farmer and Cruz seemed to be in agreement.
Cruz is no pushover though. Today, while appearing on Sean Hannity (an enthusiastic Trump supporter), he refused to answer to Trump’s talking points and instead focused on jobs and security. His answers to off-beat questions are clear and understandable — even when he was grilled by a group of CNBC hosts about global and domestic economy.
One cannot appreciate the depth and wisdom of Sen. Cruz by news coverage alone. In spite of near universal support of Trump in the media, Cruz connects with voters — especially one on one.
If we end up with Senator Ted Cruz as our
President, I’m comfortable, we will have the very best of today’s lot
and a brighter future for our country on the horizon.
Go Cruz! AnoinTED and AppoinTED !
He’s not a Messiah, and he’s not campaigning for an appointment.
There’s only two things I want to see with TED. NominaTED and ElecTED.
Very minimal basic common sense dictates that one needs not be a “Messiah” to have God’s Blessing. In order for Cruz to overcome the obstacles set before him in this cycle, faith & favorable circumstances will be necessary to see him become nominated, much less elected nationally. He has had to overcome so very much to even still be in this 17-candidate race, with 16 other candidates dividing the anti-Trump vote (and several others dividing the Conservative vote). In order for him to withstand the continual onslaught from the 24 hr media and all of Trump’s massive money (he’s already committed to spending 20 mil in the final days before Cleveland) & surrogate antics, one must know that unless God is with him, there shall be no seeing him nominated or elected. Period! But with God all things are possible. Of course he’s not campaigning or running for appointment or to be anointed, for these attributes come not from man, but only from Providence. Just as this nation is a nation birthed by Providence against all conceivable odds. And if you don’t get this, then you just don’t get it. I’m sure that he and his family (especially his father Pastor Rafael Cruz) fully understand this and that’s what matters most. Not the naysayers.
“Messiah” means “Anointed One”. Look it up.
And yes, all believers in Jesus Christ are anointed with the Holy Spirit, according to I John 4, but if Ted truly is a believer in Jesus Christ then he is no more or less so than other believers. And so the term has signficant Biblical relevance, and thus has no place at all in a political discussion.
I am indeed praying for God’s working in this election and the election of this man, but I’m not prepared to use Biblical terms in this way, nor to let them pass.
No one said anything about “messiah” except the one who responded. But point well taken. God Bless.
Yes, I guess I did read between the lines there, so thank you for being gracious. Every blessing to you.