Posted on 12/28/2015 8:04:39 AM PST by Isara
Texas senator and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, who is preparing to position himself as a viable alternative to frontrunner Donald Trump, will meet about 300 pastors and faith leaders Monday at a ranch owned by conservative billionaire Farris Wilks near Dallas.
The meeting in Cisco, a tiny city about two hours west of Dallas, is being organized by Keep the Promise PAC, one of four main super PACs supporting Cruz, who is second to real estate magnate Trump nationally and is the frontrunner in the latest poll in Iowa, according to The Texas Tribune.
The meeting is "designed as an open dialogue with Sen. Cruz and an opportunity to listen to and learn from one another," Laura Barnett, a spokeswoman for Keep the Promise PAC, was quoted as saying.
Several influential conservative Christians have recently endorsed Cruz, including Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family; Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage; and Bob Vander Plaats, head of the Iowa Family Leader organization.
"We still find there are many, many folks who still do not know he is a man of faith or his faith story," David Barton, who heads Keep the Promise PAC, was quoted as saying. "As that gets out, I expect there'll be even more consolidation."
"Ted Cruz made a significant investment in a ground game that looks to pastors to register and mobilize the pews," David Lane, an activist connecting candidates with clergy members, told The Washington Post earlier. "Neither Trump nor Carson nor Rubio have done that."
Cruz, and other GOP presidential candidates, including retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former business executive Carly Fiorina, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, spoke at Prestonwood Baptist Church on the outskirts of Dallas in October.
Cruz, who declared that "religious liberty is under threat as never before in this country," was a crowd favorite at Prestonwood, according to Politico. He told the megachurch congregation he would "not surrender" on gay marriage.
Some say it makes sense to support Cruz for conservative causes.
"There is a real danger that conservatives will split the vote, allowing someone like Donald Trump to emerge from the crowded field, which would be disastrous," NOM president Brown said while endorsing Cruz, who, he added, "has run the best campaign thus far, racking up endorsements and financial resources and climbing in the polls. We believe he has the best chance of uniting conservatives and going on to win the nomination."
In an interview with EWTN News earlier this month, Cruz said he is convinced that 2016 is going to be a religious liberty election, and that he will push for legislation to protect people's rights against any possible discrimination or persecution from the federal government.
"I've hosted now two religious liberty rallies, one in Iowa, one in South Carolina, they both had 2,000-3,000 people come out," he said, adding that he believes the foundations of America are the free market principles and the constitutional liberties of free citizens to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, to pursue their natural God-given rights. "And those foundations are profoundly under assault."
Earlier this month, Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta said at a private fundraising event in Berkeley, California, that Cruz is the likeliest nominee, followed by Trump, and then Rubio.
Our constitution is firmly rooted in biblical ground.
Somehow I don’t think Ted Cruz will have to walk anything back after this meeting, unlike Trump and his 100 Black minister endorsement episode.
Ted: organizing with PACs and billionaires to bring change to how our crony capitalistic system works and to eliminating the influence of money in elections.
Now I like some things about “Ted”, but this isn’t one of them.
Those that feed from this trough tend to like seeing it refilled regularly for tomorrow’s meal.
Do pay attention: these are evangelical PACs. Without money, Cruz would go nowhere.
David Barton, for example, is hugely influential in Texas politics, and a reliable conservative.
Also pay attention to Peter Thiel, the billionaire homo-lover who donates to Cruz.
Well, I’ve found that judging Ted Cruz by the standards of other people is not a good plan.
You have to judge Ted by what he says, and then what he does; otherwise, you’ll end up in the weeds with the rest of the GOP by holding Ted to standards he’s never held.
It’s better to just listen to the recordings Ted makes, and then you can judge what he says by what he does. If you do that, you will most likely find that HIS standards are way above the average politician.
Cisco is the location I believe of the first ever Hilton Hotel: now a museum maybe. It’s west of Fort Worth and east of Abilene on I-20.
Maybe Ted will catch on, but I am unsure that he can. He may be too intelligent for the American people.
Evangelicals met north of Houston in early 2012 and endorsed Rick Santorum, but it didn’t help as much as it might have had there been greater unity.
Amen
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.