A wingnut pitch for centrist Republicans
by digby
I think they’re still working it through but here’s what Conservative Movement OG Richard Viguerie is sending out to his people:
Yes, Ted Cruz Can Unite Right-of-Center Voters
There’s a myth among establishment Republicans that Senator Ted Cruz, as Donald Trump put it, “can’t get anything done” because the Capitol Hill Republican establishment won’t work with him.
But the record, especially on issues that unite the old Reagan coalition of economic conservatives, cultural conservatives and national defense conservatives shows that claim isn’t a myth – it’s a lie.
Ted CruzYou’d be hard pressed to find a more establishment Republican than Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), who represents a huge district in Florida that runs from the western suburbs of Miami and Hialeah, across the Florida Everglades and then north to the farming community of La Belle.
Rep. Diaz-Balart has endorsed Jeb Bush for President saying he’s “all in” with Bush.
Rep. Diaz-Balart voted for the Ryan – Obama Omnibus and issued a press release singing its praises.
Rep. Diaz-Balart is a proponent of “comprehensive immigration reform.”
Rep. Diaz-Balart was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee by former Speaker John Boehner and has always been a reliable vote for more spending.
And Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart is the House sponsor of a bill, the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act that Senator Ted Cruz introduced to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization and finally end the U.S. operations of this subversive Islamist organization.
“I proudly join Sen. Cruz to introduce this bill in both chambers. This legislation codifies into law something that is long overdue. The Muslim Brotherhood has a long history of terrorism around the world. The group supports and stands behind numerous terrorist organizations that are responsible for acts of violence and aggression,” Rep. Diaz-Balart said. “It is time for Congress and the Department of State to recognize and sanction them as they deserve – as a foreign terrorist organization.”
As Senator Cruz justified and summarized the bill:
“This bill recognizes the simple fact that the Muslim Brotherhood is a radical Islamic terrorist group. For years, American presidents of both parties have correctly designated the Brotherhood’s various affiliates, such as Hamas and Ansar al-Sharia, as terrorist groups.
They have designated individual Muslim Brotherhood leaders such as Shaykh Abd-al-Majd Al-Zindani, who was complicit in the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, and Sami Al-Hajj, who was captured on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in 2001 running money and weapons for al Qaida, as terrorists.
Now we can reject the fantasy that their parent institution is a political entity that is somehow separate from these violent activities… A number of our Muslim allies have taken this common-sense step, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. As this bill details, the Brotherhood’s stated goal is to wage violent jihad against its enemies, and our legislation is a reality check that the United States is on that list as well.”
Capitol Hill Republican leaders have known for years about the subversive activities of the Muslim Brotherhood, and how it has worked to place people, such as Hillary Clinton’s close aide Huma Abedin, in positions of power and influence while funding and encouraging violent jihad against America, in America.
Some of these “leaders,” such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio, sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, where it would have been natural for a bill to stop the Muslim Brotherhood from operating in America to originate.
Over the next few weeks we are going to knockdown other myths and lies about Ted Cruz’s record and about his ability to assemble a winning right-of-center coalition for the Republican primaries and the November battle with Hillary Clinton.
So, consider this one a twofer demonstrating that not only does Senator Cruz work effectively with the Republican establishment without compromising his principles, but where Ted Cruz has been a leader in the fight against radical Islam, Marco Rubio has been MIA on the most important national security issue of our times – the threat to constitutional government posed by Islamic supremacist organizations, such as the Muslim Brotherhood.
If they can get people worked into a full fledged frenzy over the next few months it might even work. If there’s one thing that unites the right it’s hardcore nationalism. Interestingly, Cruz has not been the most bellicose of right wingers on that. Rubio is actually more aggressive on national security. But the Cruz crew have to begin to make an electability argument and they’ve decided to go right at Cruz’s weak spots — the fact that he’s a little bit less militarily adventurous than Rubio, Christie or Bush — and that nobody in Washington can stand him.
Happy New Year everyone!
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