It's also abundantly clear now, when I see where the article originated and who wrote it, what side of the aisle they are on, and what their intention was:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/opinion/the-brutalism-of-ted-cruz.html?_r=0 On Tue, Jan 12, 2016 at 3:05 PM, Keith In Tampa <[email protected]> wrote: > You know, the writer was begining to sway me. I can understand Cruz's > frustration, in that talking to liberals is like talking to a wall, they > hear nothing and consider nothing other than their usual misguided > perception, and as usual; their perception is usually uninformed or > misinformed. > > Then, the writer wrote this: > > > *"The fact is this apocalyptic diagnosis is ridiculous. The Obama > administration has done things people like me strongly disagree with. But > America is in better economic shape than any other major nation on earth. > Crime is down. Abortion rates are down. Fourteen million new jobs have been > created in five years."* > > > The writer lost all credibility; and clearly doesn't know what he or she > is talking about. > > America has an 18 trillion dollar debt, the largest ever in our history, > and a governmental debt created that is larger than all previous 43 > Presidents. > > Crime is not down, it is now growing (within the last two years) > exponentially. > > Abortion is at record levels. > > The myth that 14 million new jobs have been created, or that our > unemployment rate is something like 5 percent is also Democratic/Moonbat > prevaricate lies. There are more Americans out of work than ever before, > including the Great Depression. > > It's clear who this writer will be voting for..... > > > > > > > > > On Tue, Jan 12, 2016 at 2:04 PM, plainolamerican < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> In 1997, Michael Wayne Haley was arrested after stealing a calculator >> from Walmart. This was a crime that merited a maximum two-year prison term. >> But prosecutors incorrectly applied a habitual offender law. Neither the >> judge nor the defense lawyer caught the error and Haley was sentenced to 16 >> years. >> >> Eventually, the mistake came to light and Haley tried to fix it. Ted Cruz >> was solicitor general of Texas at the time. Instead of just letting Haley >> go for time served, Cruz took the case to the Supreme Court >> <http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/06/11/lazarus.dretke/> to keep Haley in >> prison for the full 16 years. >> >> Some justices were skeptical. “Is there some rule that you can’t confess >> error in your state?” Justice Anthony Kennedy asked >> <http://www.texastribune.org/2012/07/23/cruz-supreme-court-work-heart-campaign/>. >> The court system did finally let Haley out of prison, after six years. >> Continue reading the main story >> <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/opinion/the-brutalism-of-ted-cruz.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=2#story-continues-3>RELATED >> IN OPINION <http://www.nytimes.com/section/opinion/campaign-stops> >> >> - >> Contributing Op-Ed Writer: Willie Horton’s Heirs >> >> <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/opinion/campaign-stops/ads-from-donald-trump-and-ted-cruz-play-to-racist-fears.html> >> >> The case reveals something interesting about Cruz’s character. Ted Cruz >> is now running strongly among evangelical voters, especially in Iowa. But >> in his career and public presentation Cruz is a stranger to most of what >> would generally be considered the Christian virtues: humility, mercy, >> compassion and grace. Cruz’s behavior in the Haley case is almost the >> dictionary definition of pharisaism: an overzealous application of the >> letter of the law in a way that violates the spirit of the law, as well as >> fairness and mercy. >> >> Traditionally, candidates who have attracted strong evangelical support >> have in part emphasized the need to lend a helping hand to the economically >> stressed and the least fortunate among us. Such candidates include George >> W. Bush, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum. >> Continue reading the main story >> <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/opinion/the-brutalism-of-ted-cruz.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=2#story-continues-4>RELATED >> COVERAGE >> >> - [image: Senator Ted Cruz of Texas spoke in Storm Lake, Iowa, on >> Wednesday.] >> One Town at a Time in Iowa, With Ted Cruz >> >> <http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/09/us/politics/ted-cruz-iowa-bus-tour.html> >> - [image: Senator Ted Cruz of Texas with Bob Vander Plaats, one of >> the most influential leaders of Iowa’s politically activist >> evangelicals, in Rock Rapids last week.] >> Ted Cruz’s Diligent Courting of Evangelicals Pays Off in Iowa >> >> <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/11/us/politics/ted-cruz-rises-in-iowa-on-tide-of-evangelical-support.html> >> - [image: Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, far right, highlighted his >> background — the son of a bartender and a maid — during the Kemp Forum in >> Columbia, S.C., on Saturday. Mr. Rubio also noted that Gov. John Kasich of >> Ohio, sitting next to him, understood the challenges of struggling >> Americans, with a father who delivered mail.] >> Republican Candidates, Minus Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, Play Nice at >> Poverty Forum >> >> <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/us/politics/republican-candidates-minus-donald-trump-and-ted-cruz-play-nice-at-poverty-forum.html> >> >> But Cruz’s speeches are marked by what you might call pagan brutalism. >> There is not a hint of compassion, gentleness and mercy. Instead, his >> speeches are marked by a long list of enemies, and vows to crush, shred, >> destroy, bomb them. When he is speaking in a church the contrast between >> the setting and the emotional tone he sets is jarring. >> >> Cruz lays down an atmosphere of apocalyptic fear. America is heading off “the >> cliff to oblivion >> <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2013/10/11/ted-cruz-faces-hecklers/>.” >> After one Democratic debate he said >> <https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2015/10/15/cruz-hits-lowpoint-republican-rhetoric/tKHqXCpiWg65Yf64LmHohP/story.html>, >> “We’re seeing our freedoms taken away every day, and last night was an >> audition for who would wear the jackboot most vigorously.” >> David Brooks <http://www.nytimes.com/column/david-brooks>Politics, >> culture and the social sciences. >> >> - The Self-Reliant Generation >> >> <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/08/opinion/the-self-reliant-generation.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2FDavid%20Brooks> >> - The Age of Small Terror >> >> <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/opinion/the-age-of-small-terror.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2FDavid%20Brooks> >> - The 2015 Sidney Awards, Part 2 >> >> <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/22/opinion/the-2015-sidney-awards-part-2.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2FDavid%20Brooks> >> - The 2015 Sidney Awards >> >> <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/18/opinion/the-2015-sidney-awards.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2FDavid%20Brooks> >> - The Year of Unearthed Memories >> >> <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/15/opinion/the-year-of-unearthed-memories.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2FDavid%20Brooks> >> >> See More » <http://www.nytimes.com/column/david-brooks> >> >> As the Republican strategist Curt Anderson observed >> <http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/12/ted-cruz-2016-ego-213460> in >> Politico, there’s no variation in Cruz’s rhetorical tone. As is the wont of >> inauthentic speakers, everything is described as a maximum existential >> threat. >> >> The fact is this apocalyptic diagnosis is ridiculous. The Obama >> administration has done things people like me strongly disagree with. But >> America is in better economic shape than any other major nation on earth. >> Crime is down. Abortion rates are down. Fourteen million new jobs have been >> created in five years. >> >> Obama has championed a liberal agenda, but he hasn’t made the country >> unrecognizable. In 2008, federal spending accounted for about 20.3 percent >> of gross domestic product. In 2015, it accounted for about 20.9 percent. >> >> But Cruz manufactures an atmosphere of menace in which there is no room >> for compassion, for moderation, for anything but dismantling and >> counterattack. And that is what he offers. Cruz’s programmatic agenda, to >> the extent that it exists in his speeches, is to destroy things: destroy >> the I.R.S., crush the “jackals” of the E.P.A., end funding for Planned >> Parenthood, reverse Obama’s executive orders, make the desert glow in >> Syria, destroy the Iran nuclear accord. >> >> Advertisement >> Continue reading the main story >> <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/opinion/the-brutalism-of-ted-cruz.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=2#story-continues-7> >> >> Advertisement >> Continue reading the main story >> <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/opinion/the-brutalism-of-ted-cruz.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=2#story-continues-7> >> >> Some of these positions I agree with, but the lack of any positive >> emphasis, any hint of reform conservatism, any aid for the working class, >> or even any humane gesture toward cooperation is striking. >> >> Ted Cruz didn’t come up with this hard, combative and gladiatorial >> campaign approach in isolation. He’s always demonstrated a tendency to bend >> his position — whether immigration or trade — to what suits him >> politically. This approach works because in the wake of the Obergefell v. >> Hodges court decision on same-sex marriage, many evangelicals feel they are >> being turned into pariahs in their own nation. >> Continue reading the main story >> <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/opinion/the-brutalism-of-ted-cruz.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=2#story-continues-9> >> Sign Up for the Opinion Today Newsletter >> >> Every weekday, get thought-provoking commentary from Op-Ed columnists, >> The Times editorial board and contributing writers from around the world. >> >> Cruz exploits and exaggerates that fear. But he reacts to Obergefell in >> exactly the alienating and combative manner that is destined to further >> marginalize evangelicals, that is guaranteed to bring out fear-driven >> reactions and not the movement’s highest ideals. >> >> The best conservatism balances support for free markets with a >> Judeo-Christian spirit of charity, compassion and solidarity. Cruz replaces >> this spirit with Spartan belligerence. He sows bitterness, influences his >> followers to lose all sense of proportion and teaches them to answer hate >> with hate. This Trump-Cruz conservatism looks more like tribal, blood and >> soil European conservatism than the pluralistic American kind. >> >> Evangelicals and other conservatives have had their best influence on >> American politics when they have proceeded in a spirit of personalism — >> when they have answered hostility with service and emphasized the infinite >> dignity of each person. They have won elections as happy and hopeful >> warriors. Ted Cruz’s brutal, fear-driven, apocalypse-based approach is the >> antithesis of that. >> >> >> *Follow The New York Times Opinion section onFacebook >> <https://www.facebook.com/nytopinion> and Twitter >> <http://twitter.com/NYTOpinion>, and sign up for the Opinion Today >> newsletter <http://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/opiniontoday/>. * >> >> A version of this op-ed appears in print on January 12, 2016, on page A27 >> of the New York edition with the headline: The Brutalism of Ted Cruz. Today's >> Paper <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html>|Subscribe >> <http://www.nytimes.com/subscriptions/Multiproduct/lp839RF.html?campaignId=48JQY> >> >> -- >> -- >> Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. >> For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum >> >> * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ >> * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. >> * Read the latest breaking news, and more. >> >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "PoliticalForum" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
