I feel déjà vu all over again, just like Yogi Berra.
Once more time, I am defending my current top pick for president, explaining to readers and voters (hopefully, the same) that my candidate is not pro-amnesty, but pro-America, a consistently conservative candidate to secure the country and put the needs of American citizens first.
Scott Walker walked away from pathway to citizenship for illegals. Guess what? So did I, as did many of my conservative peers, especially when we recognized that the Occupant in the White House is never going to enforce the law. Also, I was one of the first to write letters to the Wisconsin press demanding that Walker reject any embrace of piecemeal amnesty when Walker considered the idea “acceptable.”
Walker even repealed in-state tuition for illegal aliens. He joined the lawsuit with twenty-five other states to stop President Obama’s dictatorial amnesty. He declared his clear focus early and often.
Then Bobby Jindal. In one sentence, Jindal announced his immigration policy: “Immigration without assimilation is invasion.” Some of my fellow California Republicans found this declaration offensive. I loved it. Others still considered him an “amnesty vampire”. My answer to them: “You have lost your mind.”
Now with Ted Cruz. More articulate and aggressive the Walker, with a much stronger media and ground game than Bobby Jindal, this man is the consummate conservative on all issues. It is incredible to me how many issues on which Trump was shrilly, shrilly liberal, and yet gets a pass.
As a candidate, Cruz faces only one limitation for me: He has never governed a state. And yet he holds the US Senate captive when the members insist on running up debt and funding every part of President Obama’s perverse agenda. He has manipulated the media in a fashion unheard of and unparalleled.
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Now, I have friends who are hard-core Trump supporters. I respect their views. They are some of the hardest working people I know, holding elected officials accountable on every issue.
When Trump attacked Cruz as pro-amnesty, though, I had to fight back!
Critics haven’t watched this incredible exchange from Ted Cruz during his run for US Senate, when he defeated the Establishment pick:
“I am strongly oppose to illegal immigration. I am categorically opposed to amnesty. I support legal immigration for those who follow the rules.”
Next, Senator Cruz voted against that terrible Gang of Eight Bill in 2013.
Votes matter. You can tell where a candidate really stands on an issue when they vote on it. All the talk in the world means nothing if they are not voting your values.
Nevertheless, Trump pundits and anti-Cruz haters are pulling out a more sinister playbook, dragging out his amendments to the Gang of Eight bill. They just love to quote this phrase from a US Senate hearing on the Obamacare of Immigration Bills:
“I don’t want immigration reform to fail. I want immigration reform to pass. And so I would urge people of good faith on both sides of the aisle if the objective is to pass common sense immigration reform that secures the borders, that improves legal immigration and that allows those who are here illegally to come in out of the shadows. . .”
Guess what? I want immigration reform, too: secure the borders, remove the welfare state, and enforce E-verify. Sounds good to me. In fact, Ted Cruz defined immigration reform the same way. Listen to his comments on the US Senate floor here.
Donald Trump’s campaign then slammed Cruz with this “devastating” commercial. Pro-Trump theatrics will thump their chests and say: “See?! Ted Cruz was completely caught off guard in that interview. Oh Ho!”
Actually, he wasn’t. Here is the entire interview with Bret Baier (no spin here), which reveals so much more than what the real estate mogul’s attacks had shared. Baier chose his words carefully, when he informs the audience that Cruz supported an amendment. In another sense, Baier was too careful, since he called illegal aliens “undocumented immigrants”.
Now about his call for his amendment to pass. Of course it was a poison pill to kill the entire bill, to expose that the legislation would not secure our borders, but would create more citizens—and Democrats. Besides, I have watched Ted Cruz take on talking heads from the left and the right, and he holds himself steady. He was not wavering that night with Baier.
“I was leading the fight against amnesty. I was standing shoulder to shoulder with Jeff Sessions.”
Guess who agrees with Ted? US Senator Jeff Sessions who affirmed: “I was there. Every step of the way, Ted Cruz was on my side and fought this [Gang of Eight amnesty] legislation all the way through.”
Jeff Sessions supported Cruz’ 2013 filibuster, too. Anyone who thinks that the Alabama conservative is an amnesty vampire needs to put a stake in himself. In fact, Sessions voted for Cruz’ poison pill amendment, a subtle yet very important fact which Trump’s anti-Cruz crowd forgets to mention. Anyone who thinks that Cruz is pro-amnesty has lost his mind. He is pro-America, and I look forward to his future success in this country, and for this country.
By the way. . . Did you know that The Donald hired illegal aliens to work on a construction project, and even went to court over it? He testified that he had no knowledge of this major infraction of immigration law. I notice that his supporters have given him a pass on this slip-up. The Washington Post also investigated whether another Trump company had hired illegal aliens, too.
When will Cruz start shooting back at Trump’s sketchy record on immigration? Donald sounded pretty mushy, even incoherent with all his talk about “legal status” and “we have to do something for them.”
I hope this will get more people fired up about Cruz, and then tell Trump: “You’re Fired!”
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