Ted Cruz Revving Up the Bible Thumpers

[Recusant]

He's blatantly using evangelical pastors to recruit for his campaign.

"Is Ted Cruz Running As 'Jesus?'" | Crooks and Liars

Many Republicans once thought of George W. Bush as the son of God and now Senator Ted Cruz is running for the same title. In a Breitbart article, the Texas Senator told supporters that he wants to awaken the body of Christ to win the White House.

"If we awaken and energize the body of Christ– if Christians and people of faith come out and vote our values– we will win and we will turn the country around," Cruz told volunteers on a conference call Tuesday.

Cruz also said that he is organizing a coalition of pastors in early states including Iowa and South Carolina. "We're working to have a lead pastor in each of the 99 counties in Iowa, 99 pastors are organizing other pastors," Cruz said.

"We're doing the same thing in South Carolina, organizing pastors in 46 counties to motivate and organize other pastors." Cruz warned that, as the election nears, the attacks on his campaign will become more vicious. "I want to tell everyone to get ready, strap on the full armor of God, get ready for the attacks that are coming," he warned. "Come the month of January we ain't seen nothing yet."

[Continues . . .]

[Sandra Craft]

Well, I think the fundies have been working for years at establishing theocracy by increments, with Cruz it seems like they're coming straight out with it.

[jumbojak]

Does this really surprise anyone? Certainly not me. If we're lucky he really WILL get the evangelicals behind him... and lose. Then they might get it through their head that they are not some all powerful force, if they just had the "right candidate."

What surprises me is that Huckabee hasn't already sucked all of the air out of this particular ploy. I work with a guy who's a Huckabee supporter and that's pretty much what he thinks. Most of what he thinks is pretty scary to be honest.

[MadBomr101]

Ted Cruz is actually a much more dangerous and regrettable choice for President than Trump.  If Trump is made Prez, the novelty of his loud mouth and sledgehammer style will wear thin after the first half of his term and he'll wind up offending and angering so many people here in America and abroad thay he'll likely be rendered powerless until the remainder of his term expires.

Cruz, on the other hand, is a psychopath.  I don't say that as an expression of anti-Cruz rhetoric, I mean he's clinically a psychopath. He hits many of the personality points that define a psychopath.

1. GLIB AND/OR SUPERFICIAL CHARM 

2. GRANDIOSE SELF-WORTH

3. PATHOLOGICAL LYING

4. CUNNING AND MANIPULATIVE

5. LACK OF REMORSE OR GUILT

6. SHALLOW & SELF-ABSORBED

7. FAILURE TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR OWN ACTIONS

He may hit even more than these but without extensive knowledge of his personal life and history this is as many as I can confirm from his public persona since rising to prominence.  I'm amazed more people haven't made a point of this.  Psychopaths in positions of absolute power have rarely gone well.  He's a non-violent psychopath but he's still a psychopath.

We're better off having to deal with Trump's childish antics than handing over the nuclear codes to a man who shares many personality traits with the absolute worst group of human beings among us.

[Sandra Craft]

We're better off having to deal with Trump's childish antics than handing over the nuclear codes to a man who shares many personality traits with the absolute worst group of human beings among us.

I'm afraid Trump is being used to make Cruz seem more palatable -- afraid mostly that this might work.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

Cruz is the worst kind of megalomaniac - he's very smart and cunning. Have you seen the recent Doonesbury cartoon - he's been told that Trump spoke a slur about him, comparing him to Joseph McCarthy.  Cruz responses, "so what's the slur?" 

The use of religion in politics is a long established tradition here.  Black churches routinely host Democratic candidates, and white conservative churches routinely host GOP candidates.  It's simply part of the landscape and too be expected.  Cruz is just taking it to the next level.

[Recusant]

Cruz is the worst kind of megalomaniac - he's very smart and cunning. Have you seen the recent Doonesbury cartoon - he's been told that Trump spoke a slur about him, comparing him to Joseph McCarthy.  Cruz responses, "so what's the slur?" 

The use of religion in politics is a long established tradition here.  Black churches routinely host Democratic candidates, and white conservative churches routinely host GOP candidates.  It's simply part of the landscape and too be expected.  Cruz is just taking it to the next level.

That "next level" may lead to some problems (PDF) for the churches. Cruz probably hopes that it will, so that he can feed the "persecution of Christians" baloney to the evangelicals who'll gladly eat it up.

[Icarus]

Methinks that more than a few churches are not obeying the rules. ( is that a sin that would be criticized by Jesus? certainly not by Antonin Scalia. )

Some time ago I arrived at a polling place that happened to be at a small community church.  The church does get some funds for furnishing a suitable voting place. Before I got to the front door a nice older lady accosted me. She beseeched me to consider the fact that  only a certain candidate was a true Christian. She was thereby endorsing a single candidate. I really wanted to sever her jugular but because I am a nice guy,o I only explained to her that she was violating the law by doing her thing within a hundred yards of the polling place.  Did not make a rats ass to her. She claimed to be doing the Lords work and that doing so trumped any silly law that kept her from fulfilling her Christian obligation. I then wanted to painfully strangle the nice little lady civil law breaker. Because I am a preannounced nice guy I did not strangle the sweet little old dumb ass lady. She was smaller than me and I believe that I could have done her in without a great deal of physical exertion on my part.

[MadBomr101]

You shoulda gone with your gut on this and done in the little old twat.

[Essie Mae]

It's quite surprising that there are so many people in the US who preumably think that Ted Cruz's armour of God campaign is normal behaviour.  Has there been any specific reaction by the democrats? Or even other republicans?

[Sandra Craft]

It's quite surprising that there are so many people in the US who preumably think that Ted Cruz's armour of God campaign is normal behaviour.

In many parts of the US, that is normal behavior.

Has there been any specific reaction by the democrats? Or even other republicans?

Here's this from Wiki about his relationship with fellow Senate Repubs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cruz#Relationships_with_fellow_Republicans

This on the Dem opinion is old, they may have changed their minds by now:  http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/03/22/democrats-welcome-cruz-to-the-gop-race/

[Icarus]

Many of us are bewildered by the resounding academic excellence of such a demonstrated fruitcake as Ted Cruz. I recall the slogan of the United Negro College fund: "A mind is a terrible thing to waste".

He just has to stop smoking whatever it is that he is using.

[Essie Mae]

Thanks BCE. What a nightmare; I can see why the Democrats would be quite happy to see him run.

[Firebird]

I think I'd be happy to see him run? Every time I say that about someone like him or Trump, I get that nagging feeling in the back of my head. What if we are so batshit crazy that he'd win?
But honestly I'm rooting more for Trump, because I think that really would destroy the GOP

[Bluenose]

Purely as an outsider looking in, I cannot for the life of me understand how it is that either of these dipsticks is a serious contender to actually become the GOP nominee.  It boggles my brain even more trying to imagine a situation where either one of them could actually get elected as POTUS.  Surely the US electorate is not that stupid?