My Man

Pamela Geller and Ted Cruz

Despite the exuberant title, this is not an endorsement of Ted Cruz.

I'm not telling you to vote for him. I'm not even saying I'll vote for him.

Nor, for the purposes of this post, am I interested in commenting on his overall character or fitness for the presidency, etc.

This blog was set up a little more than a year ago in response to the Charlie Hebdo attacks.  The purpose was to draw attention to and combat Islamic aggression. A subsidiary goal was to defend Israel--in large part because that valiant country was (and still is) ground zero in that effort.

I've also said a few things about Catholicism. I hope you have found them interesting.

But combatting Islamic aggression is by far the most important political issue of our time. It's hitting Europe in a big way now, but it will hit the United States in a big way soon enough. And even before that, when the European civil war comes, the U.S. will be drawn into it. We'll need a leader who understands the issue.

Many, if not most Western politicians are either clueless on the issue or are passive or active collaborators with the bad guys.

A few get it.

Among the 2016 presidential contenders, Ted Cruz seems to understand the issue more than any of the rest. Whether this is sincere or a political calculation, I have no idea. But his publicly stated positions have been consistent.

Before continuing, let's dispose of Donald Trump. He recently famously argued for a complete moratorium on Muslim immigration to the United States. This earned him condemnations from the usual suspects, as well as plaudits (and probably votes) from many. But when the Draw Muhammed festival in Garland, Texas was attacked by Muslim terrorists, Trump was part of the chorus that condemned not the terrorists (quite) but the festival organizers, including Pamela Geller. Here's one tweet:

The U.S. has enough problems without publicity seekers going out and openly mocking religion in order to provoke attacks and death. BE SMART

Geller doesn't mock religion. She mocks Sharia and terrorist Islam, which oh so dearly deserves to be mocked, at least for those who have an ounce of humanity left in them. But according to Trump, Geller (who risks her life every day) is to blame for Muslim terrorists trying to kill her and others for drawing Muhammad's kisser. And Trump (as he claims in another tweet) is a fighter for free speech?

Hey, Trump: have you tried to take any property from little old ladies recently?   

Trump goes off in his "common sense" "plain speaking" way on 1001 things. That he's right on some of them (a strong statistical probability) doesn't mean his heart (if he has one) is necessarily in the right place.

Trump is like Mark Shea.

But here is Cruz on the Draw Muhammad attacks:

“We saw the ugly face of radical Islam in Garland, Texas, recently,” Cruz said of last Sunday’s shooting at a “Draw Muhammad” event there. 

“Thankfully, one police officer helped those terrorists meet their virgins.”

And here's a neat story on Cruz being booed off the stage for defending Israel:

Sen. Ted Cruz was booed offstage at a conference for Middle Eastern Christians Wednesday night after saying that “Christians have no greater ally than Israel.” 

Cruz, the keynote speaker at the sold-out D.C. dinner gala for the recently-founded non-profit In Defense of Christians, began by saying that “tonight, we are all united in defense of Christians. Tonight, we are all united in defense of Jews. Tonight, we are all united in defense of people of good faith, who are standing together against those who would persecute and murder those who dare disagree with their religious teachings.” 

Cruz was not reading from a teleprompter, nor did he appear to be reading from notes. 

“Religious bigotry is a cancer with many manifestations,” he continued. “ISIS, al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Hamas, state sponsors like Syria and Iran, are all engaged in a vicious genocidal campaign to destroy religious minorities in the Middle East. Sometimes we are told not to loop these groups together, that we have to understand their so called nuances and differences. But we shouldn’t try to parse different manifestations of evil that are on a murderous rampage through the region. Hate is hate, and murder is murder. Our purpose here tonight is to highlight a terrible injustice, a humanitarian crisis.” 

“Christians have no greater ally than Israel,” he said, at which point members of the crowd began to yell “stop it” and booed him. 

“Those who hate Israel hate America,” he continued, as the boos and calls for him to leave the stage got louder. “Those who hate Jews hate Christians. If those in this room will not recognize that, then my heart weeps. If you hate the Jewish people you are not reflecting the teachings of Christ. And the very same people who persecute and murder Christians right now, who crucify Christians, who behead children, are the very same people who target Jews for their faith, for the same reason.” 

The cries of “stop it, stop it, enough,” and booing continued. “Out, out, leave the stage!” At this point IDC’s president, Toufic Baaklini, came out to the stage to ask for the crowd to listen to Cruz, but Cruz had already had enough. 

“If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews,” he said. “Then I will not stand with you. Good night, and God bless.” And with that, he walked off the stage.

Pamela Geller endorsed him. That's worth a million Sarah Palins, I think.

In the long run, either we'll go Sharia or we won't. If we don't, it will probably be due in part to a new De Gaulle or Churchill or Reagan. He could be a Catholic or a non-Catholic Christian. He might even be an atheist.

I'd vote for a new Pim Fortuyn in a moment.

Will he be Ted Cruz? I doubt it. That says less about him than it does about the time and place that we're at right now. But if you care about the Islam issue, he deserves credit and a look.

Indeed, Cruz deserves more than standard credit for what he did on that stage.

God works in strange ways. All sorts of people may find themselves champions in His eyes. And they might even save their own souls in the bargain.