CRUZ or LOSE!
Posted on 02/12/2016 10:44:57 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Four remaining Presidential Candidates Ted Cruz, Ben Carson and Marco Rubio, and Jeb Bush have pledged to push for passing the First Amendment Defense Act within their first 100 days in office, while others still in the race have not.
The pledge, a joint effort of the American Principles Project, Heritage Action for America and Family Research Council Action, reads "If elected, I pledge to push for the passage of the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) and sign it into law during the first 100 days of my term as President."
"Our future President, whoever he or she may be, has an important part to play in making FADA a reality in the first 100 days of the new Administration but Congress still has a responsibility in 2016 and beyond," said FRC president Tony Perkins in a statement read at the event. "Every day the American people open their newspapers and read about how their fellow citizens are becoming targets of political correctness. This is why candidates who haven't given into political correctness are being rewarded in the polls. Values voters who make up nearly half of the GOP recognize that our nation is in desperate need of a president who respects what the Constitution plainly states about religious freedom."
The First Amendment Defense Act, which has been introduced to both the House and Senate in the current session, would seek to "[prohibit] the federal government from taking discriminatory action against a person on the basis that such person believes or acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that: (1) marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, or (2) sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage."
According to a statement from APP Senior Fellow Maggie Gallagher, if unchecked, efforts by marriage revisionists to strip religious institutions of their tax exempt status. "It's not far down the road; the regulatory structures are being put in place right now by this White House...This is not theoretical, this is not far-fetched. The mechanisms are being put into place," stated Gallagher.
The announcement came at a press conference held by APP at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC, and with just over a week left before the South Carolina Republican Primary, Gallagher implored the voters to consider the defense of first amendment rights as they head to the polls.
"So the questions the voters of South Carolina have is, 'who is going to stand up and fight for what's right? Who is going to stand up and fight for what I think a vast majority of Americans, including those who favor gay marriage, believe: that if you think marriage is the Union of a Husband and Wife...you can be a decent, law-abiding, loving, good American who should have the same right to a job and the same right to equal treatment as anyone else.' That is now the issue on the table."
The press conference was also attended by representatives from the South Carolina Baptist Convention, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston, the Palmetto Family Alliance, and the Christian Worldview Center at North Greenville University.
While half of the currently remaining GOP Contenders have signed on to the pledge, the rest of the field has so far abstained. "Two candidates said they would not take that pledge but that they were generally supportive of the first amendment," explained Gallagher. "And that was Donald Trump and Jeb Bush."
"I support the First Amendment Defense Act because I believe that Americans should be free to live and work according to their beliefs," read an email from Bush's campaign to APP, clarifying that they do not sign pledges as a rule. "This country has a long tradition of respect for religious liberty and the rights of conscience that are foundational to our freedom."
Bush did, however, full-throatedly endorse the legislation at a speaking event immediately following the press conference also held at BJU. "I support it. Absolutely," Bush said. "If the Congress would pass something - I would support that. And I think it is really important that there is respect for people's religious conscience. As we know, it's the first freedom. There are ways that now it's under threat." It is important to note Bush did not endorse the idea until after APP held its post-event press conference - long after the question had initially been posed to him.
Trump responded to the request with a letter saying "You are asking me to make passing the First Amendment Defense Act a priority in the first 100 days of my administration. As President, I cannot pass legislation, but I will certainly sign legislation that protects religious liberty for all." The letter goes onto say that while economic issues should be "near the top of the list" of priorities for the next President, "Preserving and protecting the rights of our citizens must also be in the mix."
Seemingly absent from the discussion is Former Ohio Governor John Kasich, who recently made major waves by placing second in the New Hampshire Primary. According to a spokesman from APP, "Kasich's campaign told us that they don't sign pledges. However, they failed to indicate support or opposition to FADA one way or the other. Based on an analysis of Kasich's public statements, we have concluded that he does not support FADA."
The pledge was initially sent out in a letter from the "South Carolina Coalition for the First Amendment" earlier this month, asking each candidate for their "public assurance" that they "would prioritize passing the First Amendment Defense Act in the first 100 days of your administration." After it was initially distributed four GOP candidates signed on, but former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina has since dropped out of the race. On the Democrat side, neither Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Primary race has pledged or even responded, according to a press release.
It's a Rubio ad. The actress playing a hotel waitress on the TV screen (the real one, in the lobby) nods thoughtfully at everything Rubio says. But the real hotel clerk is a Bernie Sanders fan.
By 7:30 a.m., I've seen two anti-Trump ads from Cruz on eminent domain, a.k.a. fat-cat cronyism, one anti-Trump ad from one of those faceless SuperPACS saying we don't need Trumpcare any more than we need Obamacare or Hillarycare. Several Marco Rubio ads call Ted Cruz the same thing Donald Trump called him, only the word used is "weak." (Don't think it works, by the way; advertisement works best when it reinforces a desire or fear the voter already has, not when it tries to implant a false or manufactured narrative.)
I'm here in Greenville for the Faith and Family Forum, co-sponsored by the Palmetto Family Council and the American Principles Project (where I work). In a few hours, these South Carolina Christians will release the news of which candidates responded to the South Carolina Southern Baptists, the Catholic Church, and several other groups’ request for an answer: Who will lead for practical religious-liberty protections? Who will fight for the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA)?................. Notes from a Republican-Watcher in South Carolina
The article is from Conservative Review ... CR has been fully discredited as being in the tank for Cruz ... it means nothing, just like Redstate
That’s your opinion and you know what they say about that - everyone has one.
Fact ...
As you Cruzbots like to say - truth hurts
You’re entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
Hate to say it, but that’s four chumps who just signed a pointless non-binding pledge that ensures they will lose the general election.
Again , CR has been thoroughly discredited ...
FADA? Since when does the 1st Amendment need its own protection ?
This wont go where people think it would go.
Red State: Ted Cruz, Homeschooling, S.306, Dishonesty and Pig-Ignorance [FR Thread]
"...What is circulating now is a story that Ted Cruz supports the federal regulation of homeschooling. There are two underlying causes of this story: rank dishonesty and pig-ignorance......."
Look up the definition of “grandstanding”. That’s what this is.
Again, that is your opinion as a Trump fan.
This is nothing more that meaningless posturing. If the Federal Government is willing to ignore the First Amendment, and by extension the Constitution - what makes anyone think that some mere Act will change anything? And if it were to be repealed later, does that mean that now the protected class can be abused?
The proper response is:
No. The Constitution already prohibits such actions and as President my utmost responsibility is ensuring that the Constitution is upheld at all times.
"....For any Republican politician, this was a captive and prized audience. Evangelical Christians are an especially influential voting block in South Carolina, especially in the Greenville area, known as the Upcountry.
Cruz gave about six minutes of remarks and prayer at the start of the concert. He thanked the crowd "for standing unapologetically with Jesus, for confessing your faith with love."
Cruz talked about religious liberty being "under assault," but said that across the country "people are waking up."
"Our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian values," Cruz said. "Those values of life and marriage are under assault, religious liberty is under assault, and yet the American people are rising up."
Cruz did not attack any rivals, nor did he make an overt political pitch. But he cast himself as a champion of social conservative principles,... Ted Cruz leads a prayer with 14,000 cheering evangelicals in S.C. [FR Thread]
Good, we agree then. I just wanted to hear an admission that this (clearing throat) courageous leadership was just political bombast. As you say, in your opinion like Trump.
This is a rather sad attempt by the runners-up to draw attention to themselves.
Of course Yeb makes an awkward mess of signing-on while Cruz, Rubio and Carson, having received the votes together that Trump received, well, considering the contempt Cruz especially has for the hoi polloi, it makes sense.
Pledge to uphold the Constitution or suffer the same that the Founding Fathers suffered (or faced).
Loss of life, Liberty or Financial holdings.
It’s what we are facing and face when we vote for you.
Cruz did a great job there. He said what needed to be said.
But this grandstanding is disappointing coming from him.
Another DOMA? We need a Republican who will start firing Justice Department attorneys his first day, not issue stupid edicts. We already have a megalomaniac named Obama who enjoys preening in the mirror while he issues proclamations. We need a doer, not a talker.
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