Ted Cruz walks out of Mandela memorial

[mota bhai 2,675]

Still, his disrespect for the memory of Mandela is not representative or indicative of American values. If he does not know how to behave in public he should have stayed home. He was there as a representative of our country as a whole, not only of the state in which he was elected.

I would submit to you that his behavior is quite representative of Texas conservatives.

[B_J 2,752]

“Sen. Cruz very much hopes that Castro learns the lessons of Nelson Mandela,” said a Cruz spokeswoman, as quoted by ABC News. “For decades, Castro has wrongly imprisoned and tortured countless innocents. Just as Mandela was released after 27 years in prison, Castro should finally release his political prisoners. He should hold free elections, and once and for all, set the Cuban people free.”

While I agree with the statement, this certainly wasn't the place for it.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

While I agree with the statement, this certainly wasn't the place for it.

There's nothing wrong with the statement. While eulogizing Mandela, Obama made a very similar statement.

"There are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba’s struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people."

There's nothing wrong with speaking out against oppression and those that commit it. Mandela spoke out against oppressors but he also spoke to them and worked with them to advance freedom. Supposedly to advance freedom for the Cuban people, we've been isolating the Castros for five decades now. Are Cubans really any more free as a result of that? No, they're not. They're still oppressed but more impoverished as a result of that. So perhaps it is time to approach this differently.

[lostinblue 1,989]

Grinning Obama selfies with the PMs of Denmark and Britain are completely appropriate.???? You all talk about decorum

[JohnR! 5,495]

I would submit to you that his behavior is quite representative of Texas conservatives.

Unfortunately you are correct, although I am sure that even the more conservatives see Ted as the buffoon he is.

[JohnR! 5,495]

While I agree with the statement, this certainly wasn't the place for it.

There's nothing wrong with the statement. While eulogizing Mandela, Obama made a very similar statement.

"There are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba’s struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people."

There's nothing wrong with speaking out against oppression and those that commit it. Mandela spoke out against oppressors but he also spoke to them and worked with them to advance freedom. Supposedly to advance freedom for the Cuban people, we've been isolating the Castros for five decades now. Are Cubans really any more free as a result of that? No, they're not. They're still oppressed but more impoverished as a result of that. So perhaps it is time to approach this differently.

It is all a matter of how one does it. Obama, as other leaders who spoke, made political remarks during their speeches, which were apropos, given the very nature of Mandela's life endeavor. That is what separate the men from the boys. Ted chose to walk away from a sandbox which was not his because he didn't like the other kids.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Grinning Obama selfies with the PMs of Denmark and Britain are completely appropriate.???? You all talk about decorum

It wasn't a funeral, it was a celebration. There were plenty of photos and selfies being taken.

As was posted in the other thread about this:

http://mashable.com/2013/12/10/nelson-mandela-memorial/

Look at the environment and atmosphere of this celebration. Hardly an inappropriate place to take a picture.

Unless you think this is inappropriate too:

Lost, you really should try and research what you're outraged about before you post about it. The way you talk and posted the picture made it sound like Obama went to some really somber affair and was goofing off taking selfies, which shows a lack of respect. But in reality ,it was a four hour long celebration with singing, dancing, in a STADIUM ... and plenty of pictures and selfies were taken.

So relax. Go get mad about something else.

Edited December 11, 2013 by Penny Lane

[Teddy B 17,252]

It wasn't a funeral, it was a celebration. There were plenty of photos and selfies being taken.

As was posted in the other thread about this:

http://mashable.com/2013/12/10/nelson-mandela-memorial/

Look at the environment and atmosphere of this celebration. Hardly an inappropriate place to take a picture.

Unless you think this is inappropriate too:

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Credit goes to canada_socks for providing the link in another thread

[Lokie 5]

No. His people, the loons.

Ted was right about Obamacare.

There's nothing wrong with the statement. While eulogizing Mandela, Obama made a very similar statement.

"There are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba’s struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people."

There's nothing wrong with speaking out against oppression and those that commit it. Mandela spoke out against oppressors but he also spoke to them and worked with them to advance freedom. Supposedly to advance freedom for the Cuban people, we've been isolating the Castros for five decades now. Are Cubans really any more free as a result of that? No, they're not. They're still oppressed but more impoverished as a result of that. So perhaps it is time to approach this differently.

Mandela was a murderer and his wife is famous for her gasoline necklace.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

I guess lostinblue has dropped his outrage on the selfie topic?

[GandD 5,966]

Ted was right about Obamacare.

Mandela was a murderer and his wife is famous for her gasoline necklace.

South African police shot unarmed protesters in the back while they fled. 90 of them as I recall. Are you appalled by this?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Mandela was a murderer and his wife is famous for her gasoline necklace.

I don't often quote Newt Gingrich. But I think he deals very effectively with the extreme right wing fringe lunatics on this one.

"What Would You Have Done? Nelson Mandela and American Conservatives

Newt Gingrich

Yesterday I issued a heartfelt and personal statement about the passing of President Nelson Mandela. I said that his family and his country would be in my prayers and Callista’s prayers.

I was surprised by the hostility and vehemence of some of the people who reacted to me saying a kind word about a unique historic figure.

So let me say to those conservatives who don’t want to honor Nelson Mandela, what would you have done?

Mandela was faced with a vicious apartheid regime that eliminated all rights for blacks and gave them no hope for the future. This was a regime which used secret police, prisons and military force to crush all efforts at seeking freedom by blacks.

What would you have done faced with that crushing government?

What would you do here in America if you had that kind of oppression?

Some of the people who are most opposed to oppression from Washington attack Mandela when he was opposed to oppression in his own country.

After years of preaching non-violence, using the political system, making his case as a defendant in court, Mandela resorted to violence against a government that was ruthless and violent in its suppression of free speech.

As Americans we celebrate the farmers at Lexington and Concord who used force to oppose British tyranny. We praise George Washington for spending eight years in the field fighting the British Army’s dictatorial assault on our freedom.

Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty or give me death.”

Thomas Jefferson wrote and the Continental Congress adopted that “all men are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Doesn’t this apply to Nelson Mandela and his people?

Some conservatives say, ah, but he was a communist.

Actually Mandela was raised in a Methodist school, was a devout Christian, turned to communism in desperation only after South Africa was taken over by an extraordinarily racist government determined to eliminate all rights for blacks.

I would ask of his critics: where were some of these conservatives as allies against tyranny? Where were the masses of conservatives opposing Apartheid? In a desperate struggle against an overpowering government, you accept the allies you have just as Washington was grateful for a French monarchy helping him defeat the British.

Finally, if you had been imprisoned for 27 years, 18 of them in a cell eight foot by seven foot, how do you think you would have emerged?

Would you have been angry? Would you have been bitter?

Nelson Mandela emerged from 27 years in prison as an astonishingly wise, patient, and compassionate person.

He called for reconciliation among the races. He invited his prison guard to sit in the front row at his inauguration as President. In effect he said to the entire country, “If I can forgive the man who imprisoned me, surely you can forgive your neighbors.”

Far from behaving like a communist, President Mandela reassured businesses that they could invest in South Africa and grow in South Africa. He had learned that jobs come from job creators.

I was very privileged to be able to meet with President Mandela and present the Congressional Medal of Freedom. As much as any person in our lifetime he had earned our respect and our recognition.

Before you criticize him, ask yourself, what would you have done in his circumstances?"

So, what would you have done?

[B_J 2,752]

Finally, if you had been imprisoned for 27 years, 18 of them in a cell eight foot by seven foot, how do you think you would have emerged?

Would you have been angry? Would you have been bitter?

Nelson Mandela emerged from 27 years in prison as an astonishingly wise, patient, and compassionate person.

He called for reconciliation among the races. He invited his prison guard to sit in the front row at his inauguration as President. In effect he said to the entire country, “If I can forgive the man who imprisoned me, surely you can forgive your neighbors.”

I know there were methods used or endorsed by the ANC and Mandela that I have issues with.

But for him to come out of prison with a forgiving attitude instead of with anger is simply amazing and worthy of admiration.

[Darnell 8,479]

Got to agree. A memorial service is no place to make political statements. Cruz seems to step in it at every turn.

Eh - I view Teddie's marching as him being true to his kinfolk, against the Communist Take-Over o Cuba, and just a great level of poofery.

I guess he always wanted to shift his base of voters - this might be a great step in that direction.