Posted on 01/04/2016 10:33:31 AM PST by ObozoMustGo2012
Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas.) on Monday slammed the protesters who have taken over a federal building in rural Oregon, urging them to lay down their arms.
“Every one of us has a constitutional right to protest, to speak our minds,†Cruz told reporters at campaign event in Iowa, according to NBC News.
“But we don't have a constitutional right to use force and violence and to threaten force and violence on others,†he said. “And so it is our hope that the protesters there will stand down peaceably, that there will not be a violent confrontation.†Cruz said he is praying for everyone involved in the dispute, particularly law enforcement officials who “are risking their lives.â€
The protesters, led by two sons of the Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, say they are taking a stand against a prison sentence for two landowners convicted of arson on federal property.
They’re also part of a group that frequently protests against federal government's management of Western lands. They protesters have told media outlets that they plan to stay on the refuge for years.
The standoff has put Republican presidential candidates on the spot, with some of them having expressed support in a similar dispute in 2014 between Bundy and the government over unpaid grazing fees.
The support for Bundy eroded when he began making racially charged statements in interviews.
Up until Monday, most of the GOP's White House contenders had refrained from speaking out on the Oregon dispute, but that is beginning to change.
Like Cruz, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) condemned the takeover at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, though he told an Iowa radio station that he sympathizes with the movement to shrink federal land holdings.
“You’ve got to follow the law. You cannot be lawless,†Rubio told KBUR in an interview highlighted by Buzzfeed. “We live in a republic. There are ways to change the laws of this country and the policies. And if we get frustrated with it, that’s why we have elections, that’s why we have people we can hold accountable.â€
Rubio lent some credit to the stated goals of the occupation, reported by local media to involve a small group of armed men with very few local residents. The group is objecting to federal land control and ownership and pushing for the federal land to be given to states or individuals.
“I agree that there is too much federal control over land, especially out in the western part of the United States. There are states, for example, like Nevada that are dominated by the federal government in terms of land holding, and we should fix it,†Rubio said, adding that it shouldn’t be done “in a way that is outside the law.â€
Among the 2016 hopefuls, Cruz has been one of the most vocal advocates for reducing federal land ownership, along with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
Cruz led the charge against the Bureau of Land Management’s claims over property around the Red River in Texas, saying he wants to “protect landowners from federal overreach.â€
Rubio has been less vocal about federal land ownership, but his energy policy platform calls for more local and state control over federal property for oil and natural gas drilling or other uses.
Land management is a major political issue in Western states. Nationwide, the federal government owns and manages nearly 630 million acres, with most located west of the Mississippi River.
Cruz and Rubio have increasingly clashed in recent weeks, with both seeking to overtake Donald Trump in polls of the Republican race.
While Rubio is seeking to gain ground in New Hampshire, the first primary state, Cruz has taken the lead in Iowa, which will hold its caucuses on Feb. 1.
You’ve got some company here. There are still a few die hard Boosh supporters around.
Looken sharp!
I think in that link at my post 193 the article talks about how this refuge that they are at was started by Teddy - but as Indian land. (Even though no Indians were ever there!) It might have been some other article.
I was a bit disappointed that Cruz didn’t take the opportunity to mention that the Federal land grabs is something that he already has on his platform of things to discuss.
Hopefully the Bundy’s actions have already been enough to bring the issue to the front page again.
Interestingly, there is a conflict with the pro-Bundy viewpoint and the “build the wall” viewpoint. Already there have been federal land grabs and property disputes along the southern border. Pretty tough for a rancher to have 1,000 acres full of cattle if he can’t get them to the Rio Grande to get a drink of water.
Cruz is right. Lawfare is the way to strike back.
A show of guns is just that, a show. Take over the agencies by getting your supporters in them. Then you get to write regulations.
Better yet, ABOLISH THEM.
Thanks for your input.
This is a tough situation and demands the best in my response to it.
The notion of civil disobedience should be thought out in the light of history and in one’s heart. It needs to be thought through deeply.
Consult one’s God and be in total listening and waiting mode most definitely.
Good point. The Constitution mandates the feds prevent invasion (Art IV, Sec 4). The Necessary and Proper Clause would, therefore, allow a FAIR land purchase to build the wall, in agreement with the state to re-direct some of that water for ranching, I would think.
Strike back my azz. It worked out so well over the past 3 decades as tens of millions defecated on our laws and rules as our violent lawless borders are 100% aided and abetted by those in government as they confiscated our tax money to pay for it.
Cruz “slammed the protesters ...”
No. I think “slammed” is the wrong word. Cruz “gently encouraged.” He didn’t “slam.”
;-)
Guess I misunderstood how carrying a weapon is a “veiled threat†as opposed to being used as a tool for defense. No biggie.
I am talking about real world perception and results from such protests.
I want to add that I do believe in arms in the hands of citizens is the last resort and should be used to fight tyranny. But it has to be at a USSR level threat. Right now - as bad as it is - does not warrant such extremes. Civil dis-obedience sounds lame and unmanly but it is effective and actually harder to resist by the govt.
Nobody is defending the baby`s in abortion clinics, seems we all have stepped down
He should have NOT said they have NO CONSTITUTIONAL authority to be armed.
Build it on the Mexican side. What are they gonna do about it?
Well, whatever it is, it is legitimately a state’s issue, not a federal issue. The feds have no constitutional business being there.
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And THAT is the crux of the matter. The Feds have overstepped their authority. The Constitution does not give them the right to confiscate private property whether it be by rules and regulations, by taxation, or by fines and other burdensome means.
“..allow a FAIR land purchase”
I have not read anything about reirecting the water - but that would seem to be a feasible thing to do from an engineering standpoint. (A pipe and a pump). I imagine there are a lot of water rights laws that would need to be adjusted though.
The way it is now the Feds pay for a 100’ wide swath of land or whatever and prevent access to the river. Which makes the other thousands of acres worthless to the rancher.
Cruz addresses some of that with increased numbers of Border patrols, drones, remote sensing, etc. where a fence/wall is not feasible.
The law is wrong then.
Situation after situation just show how weak Ted is. It is sad that he is showing himself as just another RINO dressed up in somebody else’s clothes. Typical politician.
Glen Beck is urging the same thing. Beck is worried that Obama could use this against all Consevatives and gun owners. The Feds have already misused the terrorism law against the Hammonds and he would just love to declare all militias to be terrorists.
LOL hard to get a real world perception when the media is so truthfully transparent. Take care and have a blessed New Year!
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