During a presidential campaign visit to Beaumont, Texas, on Tuesday, U.S. senator Ted Cruz finally became so exasperated with the constant barrage of reporters' inquiries about homosexuals' rights that he suggested Kevin Steele of KMBT-TV refrain from getting his questions “from MSNBC. They have very few viewers, and they are a radical and extreme partisan outlet.”
Cruz also referred to the U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming decision on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage and said Democrats are “so devoted to mandatory gay marriage that they've decided there's no room for religious liberty.”
Steele also asked the senator: “Do you have a personal animosity against gay Americans?”
The GOP official patiently replied:
Let me ask a question: Is there something about the left -- and I am going to put the media in this category -- that is obsessed with sex? OK, you can ask those questions over and over and over again.
I recognize that you're reading questions from MSNBC, that you're wincing. You don't want to talk about foreign policy. I recognize that you want to ask another question about gay rights.
Cruz then stated that “ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is executing homosexuals,” and this week was a very bad time for gay rights due to “the expansion of ISIS, the expansion of radical, theocratic, Islamic zealots that crucify Christians, that behead children and that murder homosexuals.”
“That ought to be concerning you far more than asking six questions all on the same topic,” he noted before turning the tables on Steele:
Do you have a personal animosity against Christians, sir? Your line of questioning is highly curious. You seem fixated on a particular subject.
Look, I’m a Christian. Scripture commands us to love everybody, and what I have been talking about, with respect to same-sex marriage, is the Constitution, which is what we should all be focused on.
“The Constitution gives marriage to elected state legislatures,” he added. “It doesn’t give the power of marriage to a president or to unelected judges to tear down the decisions enacted by democratically elected state legislatures."
“You don't want to ask,” Cruz continued, “but what I'm talking about are the challenges facing this country,” including the fact that “millions of people across this country -- people here in Beaumont, hard-working men and women who want to believe again in the miracle of America -- are tired of seeing life made harder" for them.
That interview took place before a round-table discussion at the city's Elegante Hotel, where the senator met privately with local officials and criticized Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for her use of a personal e-mail while she was the secretary of state.
“Unfortunately, this pattern of deception is what we’ve come to expect from the Clintons,” he said. “I think what’s most surprising is how unsurprising this is.”
On the other hand, Cruz described his vision for the U.S. as “re-igniting the promise of America and making Americans again trust in the work of Washington.” He also pledged to “defend the Constitution, step back from the Obama administration's foreign policy and promote economic growth.”
In addition, the senator declined to say whether he would participate in the Iowa Straw Poll later this year: "I am spending a great deal of time in Iowa, and I intend to participate vigorously in the Iowa caucus."
Maintaining that his views on same-sex marriage will not hurt him among moderate voters, Cruz said that "mandatory same-sex marriage" flies in the face of constitutionally protected religious freedom.
According to an article written by Heidi Pryzybyla for the Bloomberg.com website, “Cruz is making the gay marriage debate the cornerstone of a bid to rally conservatives to his 2016 presidential bid."
Last weekend, he “called on Americans to get on their knees in prayer that the court rules against same-sex marriage laws,” she added. “Cruz told Iowans he's been a religious liberty advocate for decades,”
“His pitch to Republican primary voters is that, unlike his competitors, he's also a principled fighter,” Pryzybyla added. “Cruz became a TEA Party sensation by championing opposition to government spending and spurring a 16-day federal shutdown in an unsuccessful bid to reverse ObamaCare.”
It comes as no surprise that the liberal press can't tolerate a presidential candidate with strong conservative beliefs. In addition, the people in the media are probably afraid that Cruz might be able to draw a number of Hispanic voters away from the Democratic turnout in the 2016 election.
H/T: The Right Scoop
