Cruz Condemns Planned Parenthood Shooting

Texas Tribune ^ | Nov. 28, 2015 | Patrick Svitek

[Isara]

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks with reporters during an event in Iowa on Nov. 28, 2015. (Photo by Patrick Svitek)

LAMONI, Iowa — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Saturday night condemned the fatal shooting of three people at a Planned Parenthood location in Colorado while urging caution regarding the suspect’s motives. 

“We don’t know ... what those motives were, but whatever they were, it’s unacceptable, and it’s horrific and wrong,” the Republican presidential hopeful told reporters here before a town hall. 

Cruz is among the first — if not the first — GOP candidate to denounce the shooting, which happened Friday in Colorado Springs and left a police officer and two civilians dead. A suspect, Robert Dear, has been taken into custody.

"I have spent much of my adult life working in law enforcement, working against murderers and those who commit violent crime, and that one officer lost his life is particularly tragic," Cruz said. 

Cruz appeared to be the first GOP candidate to directly address the shooting Saturday morning, when he tweeted that he was "Praying for the loved ones of those killed, those injured & first responders who bravely got the situation under control in Colorado Springs."

Cruz has been perhaps the harshest critic of Planned Parenthood in the GOP field, especially after the release of undercover videos showing officials with the group discussing business practices. Cruz has referred to the organization as an "ongoing criminal enterprise," and he regularly promises to initiate a federal investigation into the group as one of his first acts in office if elected president.

Disclosure: Planned Parenthood was a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune in 2011. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

[FreeReign]

"We don't know ... what those motives were, but whatever they were, it's unacceptable, and it's horrific and wrong,"

You have a problem with the above comment?

[SunkenCiv]

Cruz appeared to be the first GOP candidate to directly address the shooting Saturday morning, when he tweeted that he was "Praying for the loved ones of those killed, those injured & first responders who bravely got the situation under control in Colorado Springs." ...Disclosure: Planned Parenthood was a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune in 2011. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

[DoughtyOne]

You are desperate to make this all about the officer.  It simply isn't.  It's about three people who lost their lives.  The families of the other two victims do not need to hear that one life was special, but the other two "not so much".

That officer didn’t have to be there.

The officer was doing a job he chose to do.  I am not happy to see him harmed let alone killed.  This is not being disrepectful to him, because I admire his service.  If he were able to comment on it, I suspect that officer would say the same thing I am.  He would not want see his life singled out as more important that the other two people who died.  

Who knows how many other lives law enforcement saved that day?

If it were a thousand, it would have no bearing on this incident.  I am not being disrespectful to this officer.  He will undoubtedly be getting recognition he deserves at his funeral.  That is when you honor him.  You don't do it by singling him out when addressing three lives that were lost.  It's just inappropriate to do that.

That officer gave his life in the effort to protect others. The other deaths were tragic. His is noble.

It makes no difference when addressing the three people who died.  It does make a difference at his funeral.  He should be recognized for what he did then.  If my loved one dies, I better not hear about someone dying at the same time being more special.  At their funeral I would certainl recognize them for exemplary service.

It is analogous to the service given by the members of the armed forces.

Here you go again.  This is not the military.  If six people die in a military event, four civilians and two members of the military, at the time of the announcement of their deaths, you address the total tragic loss of life.  At the funerals of the members of the military, you praise them for their selfless act.

That your political bias for your candidate blinds you to this reality is what is truly shameful.

What sad, is that this is what it boils down to for you.  Neither Curz or you can fathom that all three people had family.   All three should be addressed in a similar mannor until their funeral.

I stand with law enforcement against the criminal element in our society.

Another sad thing is that you are hinging my desire to see all lives respected when first addressing the deaths,  as an example of my not standing with officers.

I stand with all three people who died.  Then I stand with law enforcement during their moment of recognition, which is at their funeral.

After the fact, if a paper wants to publish an article telling what a great service they performed, I'm all for it.  I am not for discounting two of the people who died on first reports.  That is an insult to the other two people.

I honor the love and devotion they give when they put their lives on the line to protect innocent life.

You have made a number of comments that reveal you have assumed I don't care about law enforcement officers.

You're just not grasping that there is a time and a place for everything, and devaluing non LEOs during inital recognition of lives lost, is inappropriate.

[DoughtyOne]

LOL, yes, that would toss them into a melt-down.

Reporter, “Whoa! I never thought of that!”

Sad...

[sitetest]

tl;dr

The bottom line is that my candidate mourns all loss of innocent life, but stands with law enforcement when they lay down their lives to protect the rest of us, and you don’t.

[DoughtyOne]

Sure do. And if you can read, go to the post where I explained why. Don’t bother me with your insipid nonsense.

[DoughtyOne]

You really do have a comprehension problem.

Thanks for the response.

[thestob]

There is just no use in engaging with people like that anymore.

[FreeReign]

You have a problem with the above comment?

"We don't know ... what those motives were, but whatever they were, it's unacceptable, and it's horrific and wrong,"

Sure do. And if you can read, go to the post where I explained why. Don’t bother me with your insipid nonsense.

Your explanation was insipid nonsense.

Cruz was asked and said two simple things.

We don't know the motives.

Whatever the motives are, it's horrific and wrong.

[sitetest]

No, I just don’t bother with sanctimonious, verbose bullshit at midnight. My myriad doctors would not approve of any loss of sleep to read and reply.

[FreeReign]

The bottom line is that my candidate mourns all loss of innocent life, but stands with law enforcement when they lay down their lives to protect the rest of us, and you don’t.

And Cruz's comment matches exactly with Alan West's comment.

Alan West: However, tragedy has struck out in Colorado Springs and I wanted to express my condolences to the families who've lost loved ones-- especially to the law enforcement officer who lost his life-- our everyday guardians.We don't know the motive behind the shooting in Colorado Springs...

Link

[EDINVA]

I didn’t read where Cruz said anything about PP, only that so far no one knows the killer’s motives. The media took it upon itself to call the entire incident the “PP shooting,” and certainly this outfit chose to run with it.

[cynwoody]

Somebody needs to tell Cruz that eyewitness accounts say this appears to be a botched bank robbery, with the perp barricading himself in a nearby pp facility to evade law enforcement.

It seems the perp told detectives, "No more body parts". That means, either you are wrong or the perp is a quick wit regarding politics.

[jonrick46]

My question is, was there one person in Planned Parenthood that was shot by Mr Dear?

[SpaceBar]

I have seen reports both on the first live thread of the incident and subsequent accounts that the PP shootout may have started off as a bank robbery gone bad. A comment upthread says this was debunked, however comments here... http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3365919/posts don’t confirm or debunk the bank robbery part.

[editor-surveyor]

Does that make a difference?

[editor-surveyor]

Nothing stranger than your post.

[SpaceBar]

Facts generally matter.

[jonrick46]

Spot on!

I detect something political is going on in Colorado Springs for the facts of the case to be so slow in coming out. Surly eyewitnesses heard the first shots that went off and know where they came from. However, there is zero news interviews with these eyewitnesses. Why? The effect is to make people assume that Mr. Dear attacked Planned Parenthood. That would fit the narrative that it was part of the conservative assault on Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains CEO Vicki Cowart said it wasn’t yet clear whether the women’s health organization was the target of the attack. Cowart did, however, say that anti-abortion “extremists” have created a “poisonous environment that feeds domestic terrorism in this country.”

The pro-abortion Left will milk this incident for all its worth. They have been trying to make the case for a long time that conservatives are same violent extremists as the Islamic terrorists. It is the same tactic they used against Sarah Palin when she used targets on a U.S. map for the must win elections. This is also all setting the stage for the War on Women agenda they will use to thrust der Hildabeast into the White House.

[editor-surveyor]

He’s usually wrong