Posted on 02/07/2016 8:45:29 PM PST by SoConPubbie
Yesterday I told you how Ted Cruz talked about building a wall months before Donald Trump announced his 2016 presidential candidacy.
That post was misleading, and I deeply apologize.
Because Ted Cruz was actually talking about a wall years before Trump announced.
YEARS.
Here’s Ted Cruz, July 17, 2012, during his run for the Texas Senate, supporting building a wall:
MODERATOR: Mr. Cruz. You were asked during April’s Belo Debate if you support building a fence the length of the U.S./Mexico border and here’s what you said.
MODERATOR: He supports building a wall along the entire Texas/Mexico border. Is that something that you would support? Yes, no, why? We’ll start with you, Mr. Cruz.
CRUZ: Yes. We have an illegal immigration crisis and we need to do everything humanly possible to secure the border. That means fences, that means walls…
[edit]
MODERATOR: [unintelligible] wall, you said you’d support a wall —
CRUZ: I said yes to that.
MODERATOR: — even if it infringes on property rights of Texans along the way.
CRUZ: Property owners should be compensated for that [edit]
MODERATOR: Is that still your position tonight, to build a fence the length of the Texas/Mexico border?
CRUZ: I think we need to use every tool humanly possible.
MODERATOR: And that is one of them?
CRUZ: Yes.
MODERATOR: Yes? OK. Do you have any idea how much it would cost?
CRUZ: I don’t know the specific cost but I can guarantee you it is far less than the cost of illegal immigration.
The moderator goes on to berate Cruz for supporting this despite the cost. Cruz sticks to his guns. That was July 17, 2012, and the debate clip used in the second debate was from April 13, 2012. Donald Trump’s latest presidential run was announced in June 2015.
This means Ted Cruz supported a wall years before Trump announced his 2016 presidential bid.
And here is Cruz again, from July 30, 2011, supporting a wall as part of a comprehensive strategy to secure the border:
QUESTIONER: Do you favor a path to citizenship for illegal aliens already in the U.S., stricter border enforcement, and/or the building of a border wall or some other policy or combination of policies?
CRUZ: There were a lot of questions in that piece. Let me lay out my position on immigration, because I can state it simply and in one sentence. I am strongly opposed to illegal immigration. I am categorically opposed to amnesty. And I strongly support legal immigrants who follow the rules and come here seeking to work towards the American dream.
Now with respect to securing the borders, I approach this from the perspective of someone who’s spent much of his adult life in law enforcement. It makes utterly no sense that we don’t know who’s coming into this country. We don’t know the criminal backgrounds. Our borders are largely unsecured. And particularly in a post-9/11 world, that is lunacy. I support any and all possible efforts to secure the border. That includes fences, that includes walls, that includes technology, that includes helicopters, that includes drones, that includes manpower, that includes employment verification, that includes approaching it as a law enforcement priority. And right now, neither party is serious about doing that.
With respect to a path to citizenship or amnesty, I categorically oppose it. And the reason is, I’ve spent a lifetime working to defend the constitution and uphold the rule of law. It is fundamentally unfair and contrary to the rule of law to reward those who break the law. And you know, one of the people it’s most unfair to are those that are following the laws. There are immigrants who wait years and even decades to come here legally. And yet what amnesty programs say is that we’re going to take those that have chosen to break the law, and we’re going to reward them rather than insist that people follow the law. I don’t think that’s fair, I don’t think that’s right, and I don’t support it.
Thanks to @mbhouse on Twitter (here and here) for the pointers.
People have talked about a wall long before Cruz arrived on the scene.
A bill for building a wall was passed by Congress in 2006 because it had been discussed for many years.
Reminds me of the rooster Mark Twain wrote about who claimed his crowing brought about the daily rising sun.
I don’t think facts really matter. Here in FR, where Conservatives use to meet up and discuss the news and events of the day... who use to come have constructive commentary from a Conservative point of view...
And now we have FR that shows (via an interesting caucus system) that the majority here support a candidate for POTUS who, until announcing his run on the GOP ticket, has a long history of supporting candidates and positions that run contradictory to the Conservative values formerly the foundation of FreeRepublic.
Facts matter most of all and are why I no longer support Cruz for POTUS. Facts like Cruz campaigning for Barack Obama’s TPA while stuffing his pockets with Goldman Sachs donations. Facts like a Cruz Super PAC raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in anonymous money laundered donations.
Unfortunately, Ted Cruz the man does not match the myth of Senator Principled Conservative (TM). He’s a career politician doing what they all do to get elected. Drink the Cruz-Aid if you wish but many folks are on to his jive and will not support his careerism.
We’ve been over and over this with Trumpbots. It’s really not worth the effort. It takes more than words on a screen to save people out of a cult. It’s up to their families and friends.
Your boy TPA Ted is raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in anonymous money laundered donations to his Super PAC. It doesn’t get any sleazier than that. And you accuse others of being cultists? LMAO.
Congress IS MANDATED to protect our borders, a job they have little interest in doing. IMO, that is authority to spend to build said wall.
“Getting Mexico to pay for the wall only works in bizarro world which apparently we are now in!”
Tax every send-$-home and Mexico WILL be paying for it.
I’m also for the termination of all taxpayer bribe-$ (aka foreign ‘aide’). Terminate, one time out-lay to build and it will help keep other costs down (HCare, schools, enforcement, etc.). Win-Win-Win.
Course, if they followed the Const. to begin, the debate would be moot (no welfare, no ‘free’ schools...no reason to come).
I put three choices out there. I fully expected you to fall into the latter of the three. Now imagine I didn’t make it the rhetoricial list but the direct accusation I get from Trump supporters.
I know you are trapped, just like the rest of us. So are we business owners supporting Cruz. We all are fighting for the same thing. So maybe we can get back to the discussion of how.
I don’t know if they are the majority here. I don’t vote on that caucus thread, so I am sure I am not alone. I think many who are supporting different candidates- whomever they may be- have gone back to lurking. Every thread turns into personal attacks and mudslinging, which I find it very disheartening.
I agree with your post. Thank you.
If you do a little research, one of the Freepers has posted a list of about 20 immigration related bills Cruz has either sponsored or co-sponsored since he has been in the Senate. So he has hardly been AWOL on the subject. Do a little looking before you start making silly uninformed claims...
“Facts like Cruz campaigning for Barack Obama’s TPA “
Give me a break... Since when do conservatives NOT support free trade???
As soon as he found out the BS that was that bill, he dropped it and you know it.
The blatant lies coming out of the Trump camp are insidious.
If you prefer a wealthy elite aristocracy, I am sure there are still some around to choose from.
My right to critiize Trump comes from those who wear our country’s uniform.
The last dust up with Mexico was what brought my family to Texas in the first place. We are not keen on giving it back.
So the alternative is the anti-Conservative who has been the poster boy for all Conservatives claim to hate...? Seriously?
But the TPA - which was also supported by many so-called “Conservatives”... interesting thing to hold against him.
As far as Cruz’s SuperPac... where is the documentation of the “anonymous money laundered donations”? Not saying it isn’t true - but I sure would appreciate some evidence/documentation.
Well, one is proven.
The other is speculation.
Have you seen any parts of the wall they did build. It’s a glorified chain link fence. Wire cutters, two minutes, and you’re in.
Find me a quote where Cruz feels the fence is adequate as is.
The point of the discussion is that Cruz was advocating for a wall/border security when Trump was still for amnesty.
Many consider his touch and go a form of amnesty.
Find me a quote where Cruz feels the fence is adequate as is.
The point of the discussion is that Cruz was advocating for a wall/border security when Trump was still for amnesty.
Many consider his touch and go a form of amnesty.
How you can say Ted was first on this issue?
Donald Trump was much earlier than Ted Cruz on this issue since you can find it in his book publishing date of December 5, 2011.
To put a finer point on it, Donald Trump was on all media pushing this book, which it seems was pretty popular, in December of 2011. Below are some of the links:
Perhaps Ted Cruz read Trump’s book?
Newsmax covered it with the article “Enthused Crowds Line Up for Trump Book Signings” http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/Trump-Signs-TimetoGetTough-Florida/2011/12/10/id/420542/
Amazon Sells Out of Trump Book in First Week http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/amazon-trump-book-sales/2011/12/12/id/420736/
According to CNBC, the Trump book was given heavy airtime by Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and others.
“He’s won accolades from Rush Limbaugh “Don’t just read Time to Get Tough - but share it with your friends and family!”, Limbaugh told his audience of 15 million weekly listeners, an interview on The O’Reilly Factor, a segment on the Today show, and even a bizarre spot on the Christian Broadcasting Network.” http://www.cnbc.com/id/45701529
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p.146-147 , Dec 5, 2011
“I am impressed with the success of the double- and triple-layered fence in places like Yuma, Arizona. The wall there is a serious 20-foot wall. It has three walls separated by 75-yard “no man’s lands” for border agents to zoom up and down in vehicles. It also has cameras, radio systems, radar, and pole-topped lights. After the triple-layered fence was installed, the 120-mile stretch of the US-Mexican border known as the Yuma sector experienced a 72 percent plunge in illegal immigrant apprehensions.
We need to be ready to build other kinds of fences, too. The point is that properly built walls work. We just need the political will to finish the job. And by the way, finishing the job will employ a lot of construction workers. Moreover, I call on Congress and the president to hire another 25,000 border patrol agents and give them the aerial equipment they need, such as Predator drones, to provide real-time aerial reconnaissance information to agents guarding the border wall.”
It is obvious that you did not need to look far to discover this point, yet ignore a highly publicized book by Trump detailing “the wall” among other issues that are part of his current platform. Sheesh.
I am not against “SOME: of them coming back in if they are the “GOOD” type who work hard, pay taxes, and assimilate into our society as millions have done in the past. They must wait in line for their turn and have something to offer to our country, not be a drag on our society and our budget.
We have even welcomed former enemies into our country to help us when thry had something to offer. Wernher von Braun, the Father of Rocket Science, was formerly Hitler’s scientist in Nazi Germany’s V2 program at Peenemunde, member of the Nazi Party and the SS. He was the inventor of the Saturn V for the United States, our first Space satellite and First Series of Moon Missions are due largely to him. He also invented the first intermediate Range Ballistic Missile for the u.S. Army. and has been declared the Greatest rocket scientist in history, and Father of Rocket Science. Should we have let him be shipped off to Russia because he was once responsible for raining death on London? I don’t think so.
Find me a quote where Cruz says it isn’t adequate.
I can find you one where Trump says that.
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