I remember it well. I was wiping down the kitchen counters when I heard his announcement on TV.
Hes not serious" I said to myself. We go through this every four years. Even if he was serious hed never win. Theres no way on earth Id ever vote for him."
But then he started talking about illegal immigration. Fearlessly unapologetically without even a hint of political correctness. I couldnt believe my ears. Finally someone was standing up for the people of this Country instead of simply acting tough then caving to seemingly-endless media pressure/the dictates of the democrats. (Think: John Boehner and Mitch McConnell.)
Admittedly Ted Cruz has been my top-pick for the presidency since 2012 and nothing is going to change that. But here was Donald Trump sticking his finger squarely into the conniving eye of the Establishment" passionately contrasting himself with the crap-load of Republicans In Name Only currently inhabiting the House and Senate.
While I certainly didnt agree with the liberal views hed expressed in the past I was confident he was someone I could fall back on" should Ted not secure the nomination.
A sense of peace suffused me. Everything was going to be O.K.
As the days rolled by Donald continued to talk more about securing our borders. Further he talked about the sheer stupidity of our republican leadership restoring our military the Keystone Pipeline" creating jobs and getting rid of Common Core."
My spirits were riding high and I prayed that fellow Christians wouldnt dismiss him before ever giving him a chance.
But then he started saying things that unsettled me.
I rolled my eyes when he referred to Megyn Kelly as highly overrated" and a lightweight" in the wake of her asking him those idiotic tasteless gotcha" questions during the first republican debate. There was no excuse for her Im hell bent to make you look like sexist pig" antagonism. And I honestly felt like slapping her upside the head when she refused to move on to an issue that actually mattered. But come on. Highly overrated"? A lightweight"?
I cringed when he made the infamous blood" comment about her. Nevertheless I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and take him at his word.
I put my head in my hands when he ostensibly made fun of Carly Fiorinas looks. But again I gave him the benefit of the doubt and took him at his word.
The point is I gave Donald several passes" in light of how desperate we are to elect a president who will turn this Country around--before its too late to even try. But when I heard an audio clip of him berating the guy whod set up his microphone at a rally in Florida I knew the time for giving passes" had come to an end.
Did he just call the guy a son-of-a-b**ch" I asked myself wide-eyed as Marshall Applewhite.
Now hes calling him a b*s*ard and telling the crowd hes not going to pay him?"
To my utter dismay Donalds truest colors were beginning to seep through his slick conservative Im going to make America great again" facade and I could no longer turn my head the other way.
Having surrendered the wishful thinking that had so severely impaired my judgment one thing became exceedingly clear: those who say anything even remotely negative about Donaldthose who question the validity of his assertions or any other aspect of his characterare destined to suffer the full impact of his egomaniacal wrath.
Fail to give him the endorsement he tries to buy from you and immediately youre a lowlife leech who took advantage of his infinite wealth and magnanimity.
Talk about any of his fly-by-night political views as Glenn Beck has and youre a pathetic loser seeking revenge because he blew you off when you begged" him to call into your radio show.
(Note: I regularly listen to Glenns show and I can tell you he has never begged Donald to do anythingleast of all to call into his show. On occasion he lets Donald know hes welcome to call. But he lets all the candidates know theyre welcome to do the same.)
Insinuate that something that hes saying isnt true and BAM! youre the object of his venomous knows-absolutely-no-bounds ridicule.
Confess something you did several decades ago (something that few would have the courage to confess) and youre not only a self-seeking prevaricator but incurably pathological" and tantamount to a pedophile.
Rise in the polls and youre: a maniac" a whack job" a nasty guy" whom everyone hates" a basket case" a perpetual liar a down-and-dirty election-stealer a sneaky loan non-discloser the puppet of big oil" (because you want to phase out ethanol subsidies) doomed to the pitiful fate of Howard Dean and going to get your a** sued off because youre not eligible" to run for president.
Granted what Donald says about others sickens and saddens me. But what he says about himself downright terrifies me.
The more he talks (and tweets) the more obvious it becomes that he isand always will bea card-carrying member of the establishment" he so passionately pretends to eschew.
What kind of conservative says Weve got to get a little establishment in order to get things done"? What kind of conservative brags about real establishment types/serious establishment types" getting in touch with him left and right" asking him how they can get involved" in his campaign? What kind of conservative says this this and this? And seriously what kind of conservative makes such infantile outlandish faces in front of millions of viewers during presidential debates?
(Note to Donald: it wasnt the conservatives" who broke their promises. It was the RINOs (Republicans In Name Only). Yuge difference.
The truth is our Country is in the mess its in precisely because of all the so-called deals" our power-hungry double-crossing republican leaders" have made with their democrat counterparts throughout the last several years. Donald knows this full well and is simply biding his time til he can quarterback the con game.
Ted is the antithesis of Donald in every way. Hes dignified even-tempered honest gracious trustworthy principled. He flat-out refuses to be a part of anything that fails to put the Constitution/our Country/his constituents first. No one in the establishment can sway him and thats exactly why they despise him.
While Donald has no recordsave his calculated wishy-washiness on pretty much every issue in existenceTeds record is rock-solid. Had I not been paying such close attention to his revile me all you want but Ill still do the right thing" tenacity over the last two years I might have believed Donalds incessant Ted has no record" twaddle. But I have been paying attention and I am locked and loaded for bear.
If you doubt the authenticity of Teds unflinching conservatism check out his Liberty for All" Heritage Action" and FreedomWorks" legislative scorecards as well as a partial list of pro-freedom legislation he has sponsored/cosponsored.
Let it hereby be said that Ted is the only one who regularly enters the Senate Chamber and opposes the status-quo pantywaists whod never even consider risking their committee chairmanships to do whats best for the Country.
Here are just a few of the things Teds doneon our behalfthroughout the last two years:
Voted against the 2013 2014 and 2015 Cromnibuses" and excoriated his fellow senators for voting in favor of them.
Fought against amnesty and implored Obama to start enforcing existing immigration laws.
Authored Kates Law (a bill that would impose a 5-year-minimum mandatory sentence on illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes) and repeatedly urged his colleagues to pass it.
Hammered Harry Reid when Reid asserted that prosecuting such illegals would cost too much.
Strove to prevent the passage of the suicidal Iran Nuclear Farce Agreement.
Lambasted the RINOs for attempting to hide their refusal to defund the most lucrative abortion cartel in the world. Likewise rebuked the Justice Department for refusing to investigate that cartels latest atrocities.
Dispelled the myths anti-gun activists continue to propagate regarding so called assault" weapons.
Laid bare the brainlessness of climate-change" hucksters lobbyists.
Railed against the IRS for targeting conservative organizations.
Exposed Mitch McConnell for the profligate scam-artist he is (and always has been). Note: Ted was the first and only Senator who had the guts to call McConnell out. But as no good deed goes unpunished" certain members of the establishment wasted no time grabbing their Poor Put-Upon Mitch" Stradivariuses and milking the moment for all it was worth.
Took the democrats to task for blocking legislation that would have protected us from radical Islamic terrorists.
Filibustered the passage of Obamacare to the point of the democrats and RINOs unnecessarily shutting down the government. Of course while the yellow-bellied establishment attacked him for his impudence the democrats blew a disingenuous gasket designed to convince us that no one can survive without 24/7 governmental assistance.
I dont know about you but all I remember about the shutdown is Obama trying to make everyday life as difficult as possible for everyonethe most vulnerable included. For example he ordered the closures of the World War II Memorial the Vietnam Memorial and the White-Cross Memorial in Normandy; he ordered the closure of several privately-funded parks; he cut off financial aid for active-duty servicemen and women pursuing higher education. He defunded advanced-cancer treatment for adults and children; he prevented tourists from taking pictures of Mt. Rushmore and the list goes on.
Closing war memorials and private parks is petty underhanded and juvenile enough. But withholding care from children stricken with cancer? Deplorable.
Onward to Ted and Donalds endorsements. Not surprisingly several full-blown-conservative Congress members have endorsed Ted. Click on the following names to learn more about each of them: Mark Meadows Allen West Greg Abbott Tim Huelskamp Louie Gohmert and Jim Bridenstine.
Conversely several RINO Congress members have endorsed Donald. Click on the following names to learn more about each of them: Tom Marino Michael Turner Chris Collins Duncan Hunter and Scott Brown. (Note how many times Sen. Brown voted with the democrats in direct opposition to Ted.)
There is one more political endorsement Donald has received that Id be remiss in overlooking: the endorsement of Jimmy lets wear an extra sweater" Carteri.e. the worst president in the history of our Country (though Obama might very well assume that mantle as soon as he leaves office). Click here to listen to Jimmys spot-on endorsement.
Ahhh yes. Remember life under Jimmys incomparable leadership"? The Iranian hostage debacle the misery index the never-ending gas-station lines outrageously-high interest rates.
But I digress.
Normally I wouldnt even talk about which evangelicals" endorse which candidates. However since Donald takes every opportunity to gloat over the evangelical" vote he claims to have sewn up I feel compelled to set the record straight.
Those whove endorsed Ted--James Dobson Bob Vander Plaats Jack Hibbs Tony Perkins Steve Strang among others--are legitimate well-respected Christian leaders. Likewise are the 200-plus pastors across the Country who have endorsed him. While the list of those pastors is far too long to include in this paper Ive provided a handful of their names below:
Pastor Andrew Goodwin Gurdon First Assembly of God Arkansas
Deacon Cecil Rhodes Arkansas Full Gospel Fellowship Arkansas
Bishop Robert E. Smith Sr. Founder Total Outreach for Christ Ministries Inc. Arkansas
Dr. Paul Chappell Lancaster Baptist Church California
John Radell Christian Citizens United Delaware Iowa
Pastor Steven Britton Calvary Baptist Church Iowa
Pastor Joseph Brown Marion Ave. Baptist Church Iowa
Pastor David Bush First Federated Church Iowa
Pastor Maurie Campbell Iowa
Pastor Eric Cleveland Spirit and Truth Apostolic Fellowship Iowa
Hope Assembly of God Iowa
Reverend Scott Hill Heartland Baptist Iowa
Pastor Jim Hudzinski Iowa
Pastor Judy Hundley First Church of God Iowa
Pastor Steve Jewett Iowa
Pastor Stan Johnson Britt Free Church Iowa
Pastor Spencer Keroff First Church of the Open Bible Iowa
Chaplain / Elder David Bensley Nevada Men of Faith Ministry Nevada
Wes McMillian Wes McMillian Ministries Nevada
Pastor Kevin Burden Senior Pastor Cornerstone Baptist Church Tennessee
Pastor Roger Burks Tennessee
Laurie Cardoza-Moore President and Founder Proclaiming Justice to the Nations Tennessee
On the contrary those whove endorsed Donald are a bunch of if-you-buy-me-a-couple-more- jetliners-God-wont-send-you-to-hell" flimflammers. Not so long ago an array of those flimflammers gathered round Donald laid hands" on him and blathered Scripture-laden Yes Lord Yes! Praise Jesus! Hallelujah! Can I get an Amen?" invocations to the Almighty.
Click on the following links to watch a few of these charlatansas well as a few of their predecessorsdoing what they do best: Benny Hinn Mike Murdock Orrin Pullings Jan Crouch Paula White Riva Tims Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Robert Tilton Jimmy Swaggart and Peter Popoff.
(If any of these clowns were to endorse me Id crawl" into that proverbial hole" and do my best to stay inside it til Kingdom Come.)
One more endorsement before I close. While Donald seems awfully pleased with himself for having secured Israels coveted Tree-of-Life" award Ted has secured the endorsement of the Israeli Prime Minister himself. Enough said.
Simply put we cannot survive four to eight more years of Lets Conspire with the Enemy Make a Deal." And Ted is the only candidate who will see to it we dont have to.
Can I get an Amen?
I remember it well. I was wiping down the kitchen counters when I heard his announcement on TV.
Hes not serious" I said to myself. We go through this every four years. Even if he was serious hed never win. Theres no way on earth Id ever vote for him."
But then he started talking about illegal immigration. Fearlessly unapologetically without even a hint of political correctness. I couldnt believe my ears. Finally someone was standing up for the people of this Country instead of simply acting tough then caving to seemingly-endless media pressure/the dictates of the democrats. (Think: John Boehner and Mitch McConnell.)
Admittedly Ted Cruz has been my top-pick for the presidency since 2012 and nothing is going to change that. But here was Donald Trump sticking his finger squarely into the conniving eye of the Establishment" passionately contrasting himself with the crap-load of Republicans In Name Only currently inhabiting the House and Senate.
While I certainly didnt agree with the liberal views hed expressed in the past I was confident he was someone I could fall back on" should Ted not secure the nomination.
A sense of peace suffused me. Everything was going to be O.K.
As the days rolled by Donald continued to talk more about securing our borders. Further he talked about the sheer stupidity of our republican leadership restoring our military the Keystone Pipeline" creating jobs and getting rid of Common Core."
My spirits were riding high and I prayed that fellow Christians wouldnt dismiss him before ever giving him a chance.
But then he started saying things that unsettled me.
I rolled my eyes when he referred to Megyn Kelly as highly overrated" and a lightweight" in the wake of her asking him those idiotic tasteless gotcha" questions during the first republican debate. There was no excuse for her Im hell bent to make you look like sexist pig" antagonism. And I honestly felt like slapping her upside the head when she refused to move on to an issue that actually mattered. But come on. Highly overrated"? A lightweight"?
I cringed when he made the infamous blood" comment about her. Nevertheless I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and take him at his word.
I put my head in my hands when he ostensibly made fun of Carly Fiorinas looks. But again I gave him the benefit of the doubt and took him at his word.
The point is I gave Donald several passes" in light of how desperate we are to elect a president who will turn this Country around--before its too late to even try. But when I heard an audio clip of him berating the guy whod set up his microphone at a rally in Florida I knew the time for giving passes" had come to an end.
Did he just call the guy a son-of-a-b**ch" I asked myself wide-eyed as Marshall Applewhite.
Now hes calling him a b*s*ard and telling the crowd hes not going to pay him?"
To my utter dismay Donalds truest colors were beginning to seep through his slick conservative Im going to make America great again" facade and I could no longer turn my head the other way.
Having surrendered the wishful thinking that had so severely impaired my judgment one thing became exceedingly clear: those who say anything even remotely negative about Donaldthose who question the validity of his assertions or any other aspect of his characterare destined to suffer the full impact of his egomaniacal wrath.
Fail to give him the endorsement he tries to buy from you and immediately youre a lowlife leech who took advantage of his infinite wealth and magnanimity.
Talk about any of his fly-by-night political views as Glenn Beck has and youre a pathetic loser seeking revenge because he blew you off when you begged" him to call into your radio show.
(Note: I regularly listen to Glenns show and I can tell you he has never begged Donald to do anythingleast of all to call into his show. On occasion he lets Donald know hes welcome to call. But he lets all the candidates know theyre welcome to do the same.)
Insinuate that something that hes saying isnt true and BAM! youre the object of his venomous knows-absolutely-no-bounds ridicule.
Confess something you did several decades ago (something that few would have the courage to confess) and youre not only a self-seeking prevaricator but incurably pathological" and tantamount to a pedophile.
Rise in the polls and youre: a maniac" a whack job" a nasty guy" whom everyone hates" a basket case" a perpetual liar a down-and-dirty election-stealer a sneaky loan non-discloser the puppet of big oil" (because you want to phase out ethanol subsidies) doomed to the pitiful fate of Howard Dean and going to get your a** sued off because youre not eligible" to run for president.
Granted what Donald says about others sickens and saddens me. But what he says about himself downright terrifies me.
The more he talks (and tweets) the more obvious it becomes that he isand always will bea card-carrying member of the establishment" he so passionately pretends to eschew.
What kind of conservative says Weve got to get a little establishment in order to get things done"? What kind of conservative brags about real establishment types/serious establishment types" getting in touch with him left and right" asking him how they can get involved" in his campaign? What kind of conservative says this this and this? And seriously what kind of conservative makes such infantile outlandish faces in front of millions of viewers during presidential debates?
(Note to Donald: it wasnt the conservatives" who broke their promises. It was the RINOs (Republicans In Name Only). Yuge difference.
The truth is our Country is in the mess its in precisely because of all the so-called deals" our power-hungry double-crossing republican leaders" have made with their democrat counterparts throughout the last several years. Donald knows this full well and is simply biding his time til he can quarterback the con game.
Ted is the antithesis of Donald in every way. Hes dignified even-tempered honest gracious trustworthy principled. He flat-out refuses to be a part of anything that fails to put the Constitution/our Country/his constituents first. No one in the establishment can sway him and thats exactly why they despise him.
While Donald has no recordsave his calculated wishy-washiness on pretty much every issue in existenceTeds record is rock-solid. Had I not been paying such close attention to his revile me all you want but Ill still do the right thing" tenacity over the last two years I might have believed Donalds incessant Ted has no record" twaddle. But I have been paying attention and I am locked and loaded for bear.
If you doubt the authenticity of Teds unflinching conservatism check out his Liberty for All" Heritage Action" and FreedomWorks" legislative scorecards as well as a partial list of pro-freedom legislation he has sponsored/cosponsored.
Let it hereby be said that Ted is the only one who regularly enters the Senate Chamber and opposes the status-quo pantywaists whod never even consider risking their committee chairmanships to do whats best for the Country.
Here are just a few of the things Teds doneon our behalfthroughout the last two years:
Voted against the 2013 2014 and 2015 Cromnibuses" and excoriated his fellow senators for voting in favor of them.
Fought against amnesty and implored Obama to start enforcing existing immigration laws.
Authored Kates Law (a bill that would impose a 5-year-minimum mandatory sentence on illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes) and repeatedly urged his colleagues to pass it.
Hammered Harry Reid when Reid asserted that prosecuting such illegals would cost too much.
Strove to prevent the passage of the suicidal Iran Nuclear Farce Agreement.
Lambasted the RINOs for attempting to hide their refusal to defund the most lucrative abortion cartel in the world. Likewise rebuked the Justice Department for refusing to investigate that cartels latest atrocities.
Dispelled the myths anti-gun activists continue to propagate regarding so called assault" weapons.
Laid bare the brainlessness of climate-change" hucksters lobbyists.
Railed against the IRS for targeting conservative organizations.
Exposed Mitch McConnell for the profligate scam-artist he is (and always has been). Note: Ted was the first and only Senator who had the guts to call McConnell out. But as no good deed goes unpunished" certain members of the establishment wasted no time grabbing their Poor Put-Upon Mitch" Stradivariuses and milking the moment for all it was worth.
Took the democrats to task for blocking legislation that would have protected us from radical Islamic terrorists.
Filibustered the passage of Obamacare to the point of the democrats and RINOs unnecessarily shutting down the government. Of course while the yellow-bellied establishment attacked him for his impudence the democrats blew a disingenuous gasket designed to convince us that no one can survive without 24/7 governmental assistance.
I dont know about you but all I remember about the shutdown is Obama trying to make everyday life as difficult as possible for everyonethe most vulnerable included. For example he ordered the closures of the World War II Memorial the Vietnam Memorial and the White-Cross Memorial in Normandy; he ordered the closure of several privately-funded parks; he cut off financial aid for active-duty servicemen and women pursuing higher education. He defunded advanced-cancer treatment for adults and children; he prevented tourists from taking pictures of Mt. Rushmore and the list goes on.
Closing war memorials and private parks is petty underhanded and juvenile enough. But withholding care from children stricken with cancer? Deplorable.
Onward to Ted and Donalds endorsements. Not surprisingly several full-blown-conservative Congress members have endorsed Ted. Click on the following names to learn more about each of them: Mark Meadows Allen West Greg Abbott Tim Huelskamp Louie Gohmert and Jim Bridenstine.
Conversely several RINO Congress members have endorsed Donald. Click on the following names to learn more about each of them: Tom Marino Michael Turner Chris Collins Duncan Hunter and Scott Brown. (Note how many times Sen. Brown voted with the democrats in direct opposition to Ted.)
There is one more political endorsement Donald has received that Id be remiss in overlooking: the endorsement of Jimmy lets wear an extra sweater" Carteri.e. the worst president in the history of our Country (though Obama might very well assume that mantle as soon as he leaves office). Click here to listen to Jimmys spot-on endorsement.
Ahhh yes. Remember life under Jimmys incomparable leadership"? The Iranian hostage debacle the misery index the never-ending gas-station lines outrageously-high interest rates.
But I digress.
Normally I wouldnt even talk about which evangelicals" endorse which candidates. However since Donald takes every opportunity to gloat over the evangelical" vote he claims to have sewn up I feel compelled to set the record straight.
Those whove endorsed Ted--James Dobson Bob Vander Plaats Jack Hibbs Tony Perkins Steve Strang among others--are legitimate well-respected Christian leaders. Likewise are the 200-plus pastors across the Country who have endorsed him. While the list of those pastors is far too long to include in this paper Ive provided a handful of their names below:
Pastor Andrew Goodwin Gurdon First Assembly of God Arkansas
Deacon Cecil Rhodes Arkansas Full Gospel Fellowship Arkansas
Bishop Robert E. Smith Sr. Founder Total Outreach for Christ Ministries Inc. Arkansas
Dr. Paul Chappell Lancaster Baptist Church California
John Radell Christian Citizens United Delaware Iowa
Pastor Steven Britton Calvary Baptist Church Iowa
Pastor Joseph Brown Marion Ave. Baptist Church Iowa
Pastor David Bush First Federated Church Iowa
Pastor Maurie Campbell Iowa
Pastor Eric Cleveland Spirit and Truth Apostolic Fellowship Iowa
Hope Assembly of God Iowa
Reverend Scott Hill Heartland Baptist Iowa
Pastor Jim Hudzinski Iowa
Pastor Judy Hundley First Church of God Iowa
Pastor Steve Jewett Iowa
Pastor Stan Johnson Britt Free Church Iowa
Pastor Spencer Keroff First Church of the Open Bible Iowa
Chaplain / Elder David Bensley Nevada Men of Faith Ministry Nevada
Wes McMillian Wes McMillian Ministries Nevada
Pastor Kevin Burden Senior Pastor Cornerstone Baptist Church Tennessee
Pastor Roger Burks Tennessee
Laurie Cardoza-Moore President and Founder Proclaiming Justice to the Nations Tennessee
On the contrary those whove endorsed Donald are a bunch of if-you-buy-me-a-couple-more- jetliners-God-wont-send-you-to-hell" flimflammers. Not so long ago an array of those flimflammers gathered round Donald laid hands" on him and blathered Scripture-laden Yes Lord Yes! Praise Jesus! Hallelujah! Can I get an Amen?" invocations to the Almighty.
Click on the following links to watch a few of these charlatansas well as a few of their predecessorsdoing what they do best: Benny Hinn Mike Murdock Orrin Pullings Jan Crouch Paula White Riva Tims Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Robert Tilton Jimmy Swaggart and Peter Popoff.
(If any of these clowns were to endorse me Id crawl" into that proverbial hole" and do my best to stay inside it til Kingdom Come.)
One more endorsement before I close. While Donald seems awfully pleased with himself for having secured Israels coveted Tree-of-Life" award Ted has secured the endorsement of the Israeli Prime Minister himself. Enough said.
Simply put we cannot survive four to eight more years of Lets Conspire with the Enemy Make a Deal." And Ted is the only candidate who will see to it we dont have to.
Can I get an Amen?