GOP Congressman: Ted Cruz’s Christian Event Confrontation Was ‘Very Self-Serving’

[GBCW 397]

A GOP congressman says he knew exactly what Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was doing when he made a controversial speech at a Christian conference that got him heckled off stage.

“It was a willful and deliberate confrontation, and very self-serving,” Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) told The Washington Post.

During his remarks at the conference held by In Defense of Christians, a non-profit supporting persecuted Christians in the Middle East, Cruz prompted boos, both from the Christian attendees and their Jewish allies, by claiming: “Christians have no greater ally than Israel…If you will not stand with Israel and Jews, then I will not stand with you.”

“I support Israel, but what Senator Cruz did was outrageous and incendiary,” Dent, whose district includes Syrian and Lebanese-Americans.

“He showed a true lack of sensitivity for the people he was speaking to, especially the religious leaders who were there. It was a political speech, inappropriate and, overall, an uncomfortable moment.”

Dent speculated that Cruz was trying to whip up some pro-Israel support before his likely 2016 Presidential bid — probably among Tea Party Republicans. “He was speaking to people outside of the building,” he affirmed.

The Post noted that Dent represents a district with a large population of Americans of Syrian and Lebanese descent.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/gop-congressman-ted-cruzs-christian-event-confrontation-was-very-self-serving/

[GandD 5,966]

Of course.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Funny thing is, what Dent is doing would appear to be quite self-serving as well.

[Expat1 971]

Speaking to Christian organizations about Israeli friendliness to Christians is like a bad joke. Small wonder he was boo'd out of there. Is the religious "right" really this stupid?

http://972mag.com/israels-not-so-stellar-record-on-treatment-of-christians/43325/

The 2010 State Department report on religious freedom in Israel and the occupied territories found that the Israeli Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is harassing Christian priests by demanding they renew their visas time and time again. It limits the number of visas Christian religious workers receive, and makes onerous demands on them. The visa application process, when successful, takes months. During 2010, the MOI refused to renew the Jerusalem Anglican bishop’s residency permit, claiming that he was involved in forgery. The bishop denies the claim, and it is noteworthy that he was not indicted.

The MOI further refuses to grant recognized legal status to several old churches in Israel, all of them Protestant. Four Christian churches are waiting years for recognition of their legal status: the Ethiopian-Orthodox Church, the Coptic-Orthodox Church, the Evangelic Lutheran Church, and the United Christian Council.

The MOI, left for many years to the Orthodox parties, is collaborating with a hate organization, “Yad Le’Achim,” which has a clear anti-Christian agenda (Hebrew). The MOI sends “queries” about Israeli citizens and tourists to Yad Le’Achim, for it to decide whether they are suspected of “missionary activity.” Now, Israeli law does not forbid religious preaching: it merely prohibits a conversion made in exchange for goods, and the conversion of minors without the permission of their parents. Yet, when your country is officially termed Jewish and your Minister of the Interior is an Orthodox Jew, the law matters little. In 2009, according to the State Department report cited above, 30 percent of the tourists who were stopped for questioning in Ben Gurion Airport were questioned about their religious beliefs, at the instructions of the MOI. This was probably an attempt to intimidate them from proselytizing.

The situation of the Messianic Jews, a sect of Jews who accept a version of Christianity – ironically, re-creating the most ancient Christian community – is even worse. They suffer from endless molestations, both by the MOI (aided, again, by Yad Le’Achim) and by the general Jewish Orthodox population. In 2008, one such family suffered a terrorist attack – a real one, Ambassador Oren, bomb and all (Hebrew) – and Jewish terrorist suspect Jack Teitel is suspected of carrying it out. Unlike other Jewish families which fall victim to terrorist attacks, this family did not become the focus of media or official attention.

[OriZ 3,157]

I've already posted some stuff about that here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/514071-ted-cruz-gets-booed-off-stage-at-middle-east-christian-event/?p=7238809

In short, the US doesn't have and never will have a better friend than Israel in the Middle East.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Let's face it. Ted inserted his big foot in his mouth once again. He cruzed it up again...

A GOP congressman says he knew exactly what Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was doing when he made a controversial speech at a Christian conference that got him heckled off stage.

“It was a willful and deliberate confrontation, and very self-serving,” Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) told The Washington Post.

During his remarks at the conference held by In Defense of Christians, a non-profit supporting persecuted Christians in the Middle East, Cruz prompted boos, both from the Christian attendees and their Jewish allies, by claiming: “Christians have no greater ally than Israel…If you will not stand with Israel and Jews, then I will not stand with you.”

“I support Israel, but what Senator Cruz did was outrageous and incendiary,” Dent, whose district includes Syrian and Lebanese-Americans.

“He showed a true lack of sensitivity for the people he was speaking to, especially the religious leaders who were there. It was a political speech, inappropriate and, overall, an uncomfortable moment.”

Dent speculated that Cruz was trying to whip up some pro-Israel support before his likely 2016 Presidential bid — probably among Tea Party Republicans. “He was speaking to people outside of the building,” he affirmed.

The Post noted that Dent represents a district with a large population of Americans of Syrian and Lebanese descent.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/gop-congressman-ted-cruzs-christian-event-confrontation-was-very-self-serving/

[UncleBeer 244]

Let's face it. Ted inserted his big foot in his mouth once again. He cruzed it up again...

Not even close. The establishment GOP is developing a fetish for smacking around popular Tea Party types for no other reason than a) they upset the good-old-boy network and b) they're popular with constituents. Not very smart of them to eschew real conservatives, but that's the old-school GOP for you.

[decocker 7,198]

well we certainly don't want to upset the good ol boys.

[Pooky 3,844]

What do people expect from a politician?

[JohnR! 5,495]

True... Especially Cruz, who isn't the brightest star in the constellation, to begin with...

What do people expect from a politician?

[UncleBeer 244]

True... Especially Cruz, who isn't the brightest star in the constellation, to begin with...

Let's see...

After graduating [cum laude] from Princeton, Cruz attended Harvard Law School, graduating magna cum laude in 1995 with a Juris Doctor degree.^[2][37] While at Harvard Law, Cruz was a primary editor of the Harvard Law Review, and executive editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, and a founding editor of the Harvard Latino Law Review.^[7] Referring to Cruz's time as a student at Harvard Law, Professor Alan Dershowitz said, "Cruz was off-the-charts brilliant."

Care to match your own bona fides up against Cruz'?

[Dan and Judy 614]

What's more important, the Jewish vote or the Redneck vote?