Ted Cruz responds to father's 'ill-advised joke'
(CNN) - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is accusing critics of smear tactics after they attacked his father for saying President Obama should go "back to Chicago, back to Kenya" at an event last year.
Even as he dismissed his father’s comments as a “joke” and ill-advised, he said critics were motivated as much by politics as by genuine outrage.
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Speaking to CNN affiliate WFAA on Friday, the first-term Republican senator from Texas said, "sadly, those who are trying to play the politics of personal destruction are trying to smear him and use that to attack me. That's a shame."
"I love my father," said Cruz. "He is a pastor. He is a man of deep integrity. And he made a joke."
Cruz's father, Rafael Cruz, is an influential figure in his own right and is known for his outspoken conservative positions. He has attracted a following among tea party activists and social conservatives, and he has campaigned alongside his son on many occasions.
The controversial remarks were captured in a video first posted on the left-leaning news website Mother Jones on Thursday. The website posted that video, along with several other videos of Rafael Cruz addressing conservative groups, and the comments quickly circulated online, drawing criticism from liberals.
Sen. Cruz's statement to WFAA marks his strongest reaction so far to his father's critics.
A spokeswoman for the senator previously declined to offer comment about the elder Cruz's statements, instead referring CNN to a statement that Cruz Communications Director Sean Rushton gave to Mother Jones.
"These selective quotes, taken out of context, mischaracterize the substance of Pastor Cruz's message. Like many Americans, he feels America is on the wrong track," Rushton said in the statement, adding, "Pastor Cruz does not speak for the Senator."
Rafael Cruz's remarks are reminiscent of the so-called birther movement, led by influential figures such as Donald Trump, who have suggested that Obama was not born in the United States and is therefore ineligible to be president.
Obama responded to those critics in 2011 by releasing his long-form birth certificate, which shows that he was born in Hawaii.
The irony here is staggering. Are they both too stupid to figure that out???
This guy came from Canada where there's free healthcare and where his father was able to take paternity leave as a new dad and still get paid, and is telling Americans they don't need government to help with their health care. They want to punish struggling Americans whose parents struggled to build this country that they now enjoy! Why can't they take their idea of "No government assistance to citizens' back to Canada?
Joke? Are you kidding me? This was not a joke, and you folks shouldn't even report it as such. This man was serious.
1 Timothy 2:1-3
New King James Version (NKJV)
Pray for All Men
2 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
I guess he has ripped this out of the bible and no longer applies to the "Man of God"
1 Timothy 2:1-3
New King James Version (NKJV)
Pray for All Men
2 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
Well, if nothing else, at least we now know where Teddy's stupid gene came from. Seems it caught a ride on Daddy's Y chromosome.
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
This doesn't seem very good.
That is because it's not.
My word.
I am completely grossed-out.
Have a Dovely.
Sincerely yours,
Caleb Boone.
Looked in the closet and found an old white sheet with holes cut for the eyes but this white sheet got a hood and wasn't for halloween , don't have to look to far to figure out the tea party favorites .
Mr. Cruise is an Angel
But at no point does Ted Cruz say anything about disagreeing with what dear ol' dad said, just said it "was a joke".
PASTOR CRUZ?!?!?!?!? Well...How "Christian" of him. I know that old "Teddy Boy's" PAs are trying to distance themselves from the remarks. However, that IDIOT raised Ted...And the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Once a BAGGER, always a BAGGER.
Ted's grammar is a tad off today. "My father IS A JOKE" is proper English... and a hell of a lot more factual.
Ted's grammar is a tad off today. "My father IS A JOKE" is proper English... and a heck of a lot more factual.
Ted's grammar is a tad off today. "My father IS A JOKE" is proper English... and a lot more factual.
Ted's grammar is a tad off today. "My father IS A JOKE" is proper English... and a lot more factual.
Crazy father indoctrinates son. Creates another generation of crazy. Thanks.
what an old phart and the son is no different"""'illegal immigrants.... by the way, where is the American mother???
btw, Pastor Cruz–a family values guy–is divorced. Another Baptist hypocrite.
Cruz and his father were born in other countries. Obama is a native American. The Cruz family needs to make less noise.
It wasn't a joke-it was a comment meant to exploit the ignorance and bigotry of his audience...
This is his Father – the apple doesn't fall far from the tree....blatant racism here....it won't mater tho – he can't legally run forPresident anyway...
human excrement is how these two should be compared to.......
Die cruz die...go back to cuba
Do Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz have the same Father ?
Senator , your father just buried your political future...You were in bad shape already, but this joke will cost you more...