Ted Cruz Ping! If you want on/off this ping list, please let me know.
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CRUZ or LOSE!
Posted on 07/24/2015 9:19:34 PM PDT by VinL
Among the huge and ever-growing list of Republican candidates for the 2016 presidential election, I still can't figure which one has what it takes to get the nomination.
But a video I watched this week of Ted Cruz certainly elevated him in my opinion as a classy and capable candidate.
He was speaking to about a hundred people, including the media, across the street from the White House on Thursday at an event organized by the conservative group Concerned Women for America.
When the junior U.S. senator from Texas began speaking about the nuclear deal with Iran, he was shouted down by a number of liberal protesters from a group called Code Pink.
What was so impressive to me was how Cruz handled the interruptions. As he began to speak the protesters tried to drown him out by shouting, to which he replied, “It is very interesting to see those who profess to believe in free speech are the ones afraid of speech,” Cruz shouted back.
He wasn't rattled. He wasn't angry. In fact, he invited some of the protesters to debate him on the Iranian nuclear deal in front of the cameras, beginning with Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin. As she came up to the microphone, Cruz asked her, “Will you ask your colleagues to be quiet? We can have a discussion.”
After listening patiently to Benjamin's comments in support of the Iran deal without interrupting her, Cruz said, “Thank you, ma'am. And I respect your right to speak. But let's have some dialogue.”
He went on: “If this deal goes through over $100 billion will flow to Iran that they will use to fund Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and radical Islamic terrorists. Those billions of dollars will be used to fund jihadists who will murder Americans and murder Israelis.”
Cruz spoke about his opposition to the deal for more than 20 minutes, especially criticizing the White House for not arranging the release of four American prisoners.
The conservative supporters in the crowd held signs showing the faces of the American prisoners, while Code Pink protesters displayed pink signs that said “Peace with Iran” and “Support Nuclear Deal With Iran.”
As Cruz continued to speak, another Code Pink protester tried to shout him down on a bullhorn. Cruz asked him to come to the microphone as well.
“Will your colleagues be quiet while you come forward?” Cruz asked?
“Moving on, what we need to know right now is how are we going to get to this point where we're assured that everyone feels safe and comfortable. Not with threats of 'they're going to kill us all.' Let's just figure this out so we can make this work.”
“And sir, I will respond to you now,” said Cruz. “This is how civilized people have discourse. They don't yell and interrupt each other. I heard you out, and now I'm going to respond. You said, 'Why should we discuss history?' Well there's an old adage: 'Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.'
“The last ineffective weak president we had, Jimmy Carter, wrung his hands in impotence while our hostages languished in Iran,” Cruz said. “This president, like Jimmy Carter, is leaving four American hostages in Iran.”
If you're looking for a candidate who is “presidential” I think Cruz made a pretty good case for himself.
Ted Cruz Ping!
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