Free Republic

Yesterday we reported that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz seemed to be preparing to go to war with each other. A few hours later, however, Cruz himself responded on Twitter by saying that, although the media would love to see a cage match between himself and the billionaire businessman, he won't play along. That could -- and by all means should -- have been the end of it. Sadly it is not. Trump can also read polls and understands that Cruz poses a serious threat to him in Iowa. And so the cage match has started, whether Cruz likes it...

After a week of tension between the two Republican presidential candidates, front-runner Donald Trump took a shot at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Friday, saying that “oil companies pay him a lot of money.” “With ethanol [Cruz has] gotta come a long way,” Trump said in Des Moines, Iowa. "He’s right now for the oil. But I understand if oil pays him a lot of money, he’s gotta be for oil. Right?”  “But I’m with you,” Trump told his supporters, noting he toured ethanol plants in Iowa last month. "If Ted Cruz is against ethanol, how does he win...

The Texas senator's campaign is beginning to see returns after months of methodically courting evangelical leaders.Ted Cruz increasingly looks like the man to beat in Iowa. He's rising in the polls, building on an already extensive field organization and locking down critical conservative endorsements.Among the biggest yet came Thursday, when Bob Vander Plaats, the head of the conservative group Family Leader, came out for Cruz, citing what he sees as electability in Iowa and nationally. "This is a guy that's been very consistent in principles, in communications, and his campaign has shown ability to slowly gain ground and build momentum,...

At Nate Silver's 538.com, they describe the Republican electorate as a five-ring circus, composed of Libertarian, Tea Party, Evangelical, Establishment, and Moderate voters. A candidate who can bring three of the rings together will be the winner. Ted Cruz is the one who's doing it. With his pastor/father Rafael leading the way, Cruz has taken the lead among Iowa religious voters away from Ben Carson. Their affection for the fervently Christian Carson is not enough to overcome his obvious weakness as a commander in chief. Santorum and Huckabee are his other competitors in this ring, and neither has Cruz's money...

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/12/10/why-bob-vander-plaats-chose-ted-cruz-over-donald-trump-marco-rubio-ben-carson/77087998/

Following his Iowa script, Texas senator reaps support as Carson appears to fade. GREENVILLE, S.C. - He's locking down pastors in every county, held a rally to celebrate religious liberty and is methodically courting Christian grassroots leaders.Ted Cruz has taken his evangelicals-focused Iowa playbook to South Carolina - and conservative leaders in the state say that it's starting to work."Ted Cruz has done perhaps the best job in the state, frankly," said unaligned South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott of the Texas senator's organization, going on to add, "It's not going to help my friends who are serving with me, but...

I understand the tremendous popularity of Donald Trump in America in 2015. He is a larger than life reality TV star; he is incredibly rich and not beholden to anyone; he is fearless and speaks his mind; he articulates the frustrations and anger of millions of his countrymen; he gives the impression that he can fix our economy and will put an end to illegal immigration; he is not a Washington insider; he could be a strong leader who could face down our global enemies; he can even be winsome and self-effacing at times. Yes, I do understand all this...

The religious right may be yesterday’s news, but its signal accomplishment, the white evangelical voting bloc, remains the Republican Party’s most important constituency. And it’s moving toward Ted Cruz. The latest numbers from Iowa show Cruz neck and neck with Donald Trump thanks to evangelical support. According to Quinnipiac, it’s now Trump at 25 percent, Cruz at 23 percent, and Ben Carson slipping to 18 percent among all likely Republican caucus-goers. White evangelicals, who make up 60 percent of them, now favor Cruz over Carson, 27 percent to 24 percent, with Trump at 20 percent. And as white evangelicals in...

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz takes questions after The Family Leader's Presidential Family Forum on Nov. 20, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Patrick Svitek) DES MOINES, Iowa — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Friday night offered a wide-ranging appeal to evangelicals in this key presidential proving ground, opting for humor, solemnity — and an unambiguous pitch for his viability as the GOP's presidential nominee. "If the body of Christ rises up as one and votes our values, we can turn this country around," Cruz said as he drive home his mantra that more Christians need to show up the polls...

...Trump could absolutely win the nomination...the traditional coalition it takes for a Republican to win the White House may have to be reconfigured with Trump as standard-bearer. ...alliance of pro-life Catholics and evangelicals...became the dominant force in the GOP's grassroots... Since Roe...every Republican presidential election victory except one has one thing in common-the GOP won the Catholic vote. The lone exception was in 2000... If Republicans do not run a strong pro-life candidate for president, they don't have enough else in common with Catholic voters to win the Catholic vote. And Trump is not a strong pro-life candidate. Just a...

It is no secret that Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is serious about wooing evangelical voters.Remarks on the stump are laced with references to religious liberty - and what Mr. Cruz sees as attacks against it. His team has assembled a master list of 411 national evangelicals whose support has been deemed most critical, according to a campaign official. The campaign said Mr. Cruz had secured the support of 191.And over the next two days, Mr. Cruz will make his case at a pair of rallies aimed at the class of voters who will be central to his fortunes. He...

The Southern Baptist primary is over, and the preacher’s kid won. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, son of a Baptist evangelist and capable of bringing his own fire and brimstone in the Republican campaign, collected both a thunderous ovation and a subtle blessing Sunday at the North Texas Presidential Forum at Prestonwood Baptist Church. Eight years ago, Prestonwood Pastor Jack Graham told worshipers how “God is lifting up” presidential candidates and “his favor is upon Mike Huckabee”... This time around, Huckabee has plenty of words. Just no campaign money. He chatted breezily with Graham Sunday, and drew cheers when he brought...

I miss Donald Trump. There, I said it. Mea maxima culpa. Ever since Pope Francis blew into town, nobody seems to care about him. Yes, heÂ’s still leading in the polls. But somehow, no one seems to care. HeÂ’s just kind of sitting there, mired in the low 20s, waiting for someone, anyone, to take his place. Ben Carson made a run at him, but has subsided. Carly Fiorina likewise. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz the same. The whole damn race seems stuck in neutral. O Francis, what hast thou wrought? Apparently a need for some churching up, as Curtis once...

Donald Trump recently showed up at a gathering of Iowa conservative Christian voters with a copy of the Bible in hand. "See, I'm better than you thought," he said. Then came a black-and-white photograph from his confirmation to further prove his Christian cred. "Nobody believes this," he said to laughs. "What went wrong?" As the Republican presidential front-runner and billionaire businessman tries to maintain his lead in early polls with rivals gaining, Trump is increasingly courting a wing of the Republican Party that might seem antithetical to his brand: evangelical Christians....

Washington Post/ABC News poll, September 7-10 Q: As you may know, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that gay and lesbian couples have the right to marry. Nonetheless a county clerk in Kentucky has refused to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, saying she objects on religious grounds. Do you think this county clerk should or should not be required to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples? All adults: 63% 33 By religion: White evangelical Protestant 37 61 White non-evangelical Protestant 77 21 White Catholic 70 28 No religion 79 16 By race: White 66 31...

Influential radio show host Steve Deace says he will quit his job if Donald Trump carries the evangelical vote in the Iowa Caucus. "If Donald Trump gets 32% of the evangelical vote in Iowa on Feb. 1 I will quit my job," Deace tweeted on Thursday, responding to someone who referenced a poll. "Not happening." Deace, a prominent Iowan conservative, has previously endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in the GOP primary. “In my view, he’s what we’ve been waiting for,” Deace said. “He’s an end to the false choice between principles and electability.” A Monmouth University poll released Aug. 31...

I'm not saying that we have a theocracy or should have one, nor am I saying that if someone messes up from time to time in their choice of words or choices in life that this means they are automatically not a Christian or aren't seeking to follow the Bible to the best of their ability. Nor should anyone use yet another Straw Man (that I have to knock down before they are lobbed onto this thread) and say that "At least this person isn't Obama." Being anti-PC is often a good thing, for it can remove the endless quibbling,...

Although there are a number of reasons for Evangelical voters to not vote for misogynistic billionaire and presidential candidate Donald Trump, his early success in attracting the interest of some Evangelicals has many wondering, what is "The Donald's" appeal? Even though Trump previously supported abortion, has liberal views on gay marriage, often makes derisive remarks about women and has publicly proclaimed that he doesn't seek God's forgiveness, the self-proclaimed Presbyterian has had no trouble in garnering a plurality of support from Evangelicals, according to two published polls. Although it would seem to make more sense for Evangelicals to get behind...

New polling shows Donald Trump continuing to surge among the Republican field. His strong showing among Evangelicals is a surprise to some and annoyance to others. As a matter of fact, he currently leads among conservative Christians. "I love the Evangelicals," said Trump, but there are doubters. A scathing op-ed in The New York Times on Trump and his Christian support concluded with this assessment: "I don't see someone interested in serving God, I see someone interested in being God." If the disconnect between Republican Party leaders and much of the base is evident, it may exist among Evangelical leaders...

Those who teach in higher education are relatively OK with some religious groups, according to a study based on a 2012 online national survey that drew 464 complete responses. Asked to assess religious groups on a “feeling thermometer” of 1 to 100, Jewish people, mainline Protestants and Catholics all achieved an average score of 65 or higher, researchers led by University of North Texas sociologist George Yancey reported in an online article in the journal Sociology of Religion. Next to the bottom, just slightly above fundamentalists, were Protestant evangelicals with an average score of 48. Based on the rankings and...