Monday, February 1st, was the culmination of months of work in Iowa. The Cruz campaign did the hard, but rewarding work to win the Iowa Caucuses. Sitting around the TV at the Dutch Country Inn in Kalona, the sheer joy on the faces of my friends's faces was all the actual reward I needed.
Fast forward to Thursday, February 4th. I received a call that continued to reinforce my knowledge that this campaign, this cause for electing a Christian Constitutionalist, was blessed by God. I was notified that I would be able to go to South Carolina and continue my work for Ted Cruz. I will do my very best to make sure I don't waste this opportunity and let down those people that have put so much trust in my abilities to reach voters. I will talk to any and all voters of South Carolina. I will talk to them as someone who has had the chance to actually get to know Ted Cruz.
I'm so glad that I will see so many friends too. Monday will be an Iowa reunion, so to speak. I can't wait to see Daniel Bradshaw, Lyndsey Blagrave, Bryan English and the Bontrager family. I've also counted my blessings as I'm writing this from my mom's place in Columbia, MD. I'll travel the rest of the way to South Carolina on Sunday.
My goal in South Carolina is to continue actually talking to voters. I'm not interested in just asking them to vote for Ted Cruz. I want to get to know them. God willing, I will be able to convey my knowledge from attending 24 Iowa campaign events with Ted to the voters in South Carolina. I ask for your prayers for all of us traveling from all over the country to the various campaign offices in South Carolina.
Texas Senator and Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz with Dr. James Dobson in Winterset, IA
The issue of the disgusting left wing (and sometimes establishment Republican) media has been weighing heavily on my mind for a while. I expect attacks on the candidate I support. Heck, I even expect attacks on me because I'm so vocal about supporting that candidate when I'm in public. What I don't expect is attacks on friends of mine who, while they also support the same person running for president that I do, aren't nearly as involved in the daily aspects of recruiting volunteers and responding to leftist media requests.
On Wednesday, January 6th, I did what I usually do and that is be a voracious consumer of the news regarding the campaign here in Iowa. I was especially interested in the coverage of the event that I helped work on Monday evening with Senator Ted Cruz because my friends who have a musical group had performed there and there was a huge contingent of press in attendance. I had talked to one of my friends about some of the press coverage Tuesday evening at another campaign event and he said that most of the coverage was straight up but there had been some misquoting of song lyrics and the like. I didn't get around to it that night but after speaking to another member of the family about the same coverage Wednesday, I decided to research and find the media bias. What I found disgusted me and made me angry. I was so angry that I sent an email to the pastor of the church I attend asking for prayers because I didn't want the anger to consume me for the rest of the week.
To the point, the radical left wing online rag, Salon had picked up a piece submitted by a freelance left wing writer named Quint Forgey (not making that up) who had attended the event on Monday, January 4th. What he penned was a blatantly bigoted anti-Christian hit piece where he opined that he heard the "scariest family band of all time", saying that he was struck by song lyrics that said that kids should have a mom and a dad(true) and that we should be concerned about the efforts to curtail religious liberty(also true). This writer was concerned that people in America could still want to hold fast to values that made this country great because those views must be intolerant or something of the like. I felt dirty after reading this piece for the first time. I felt my blood pressure rise. He was talking about my friends and he didn't know a thing about them.
I'm not going to use the names of my friends in this piece but I will say that I had a conversation with the eldest daughter about this issue this week and I told her that the dirty press coverage would likely get worse. To that end, Ted Cruz has told us in a national conference call on Tuesday of this week that the slings and arrows would be many and that we should be strong in our cause because we are working toward a noble end. He quoted from the verse below.
Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
The Left and some on the Establishment Right fear Ted Cruz and the people that support him. They know that Ted's base of support is the most knowledgeable and solid of anyone running on either side of the aisle. To a person, the people involved in our effort to elect Ted Cruz are in tune with those values that have made the United States of America the envy of the world. Those values are being trampled on and marginalized now for some politically correct nanny state concept of false tolerance and blatant anti-JudeoChristian hatred. The political establishment on both sides also fear Ted Cruz because he wants to remove power from Washington, DC and restore the rights of the States to be the laboratories of freedom and self rule that they were intended to be when this country was founded. Think back to when people moved to a state because that state was a bastion for their values. That is becoming less the case now as the federal government seeks to stamp out the differences in the states.
My anger has been turned to action for good. As the bible says:
Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
Proverbs 29:2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
I won't let anger consume me any longer but when I see something written that slanders a friend or friends of mine, I will use that as evidence that our cause is true and that we are working to do God's work here on earth. I believe that God has raised up Ted Cruz as an answer to prayers of many believers and that we are called to do work for His will. No man is perfect, with the exception of Jesus of Nazareth, but there are still great men who would help lead us away from oppression and tyranny and toward freedom and liberty. In that liberty, we will then be free again to live as God wants us to. Again, to echo Ted Cruz in a more modern sense, if you aren't taking flak, you aren't over the target. I think we are over the target.
The most principled man to run for president in my lifetime
As a part of a the Ted Cruz Campaign in Iowa, I've had access to meetings and conferences and events that even most politically involved Iowans aren't privy to. I've also been to Iowa retail political meet and greets with Senator Cruz. I think there is a huge misconception nationally about the kind of man and the kind of candidate that Senator Cruz is. I'm here to set that record straight with information about my own experiences and what I hear from others that have had the distinct pleasure of meeting the most principled man to run for president in a generation.
This first time I saw Senator Ted Cruz was at a large event, the Iowa Rally for Religious Liberty, that his campaign put on. I met him briefly and saw him interact with others with a grace and humility rarely seen in any person and almost never seen in DC politico types. I filled out a commitment card that night. Shortly thereafter I received the call to be a part of a team that I have grown to respect and care for.
Meetings with Senator Cruz away from the media are light hearted and fun. He knows when to be serious but I think he takes the "spoonful of sugar" adage to heart. He uses humor to get his points across when appropriate. He also can be deadly serious. I appreciate someone who doesn't have to have a stage persona when he's in front of the camera. Ted Cruz is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow. If you want a glimpse into the more light-hearted Senator Cruz is, watch below.
The other part of Senator Cruz's character that shines through is his love for people. He is the only candidate that I've ever seen that must always be told that it is time to go. His "body man", Bruce Redden, can always be seen having to grab him by the shirt when they have to go to the next event. Ted would be happy taking questions from people and just greeting them for hours on end. He always takes photos with people and makes it a point to make children, being brought along by their parents to a political event, feel welcome. No other candidate does this with the comfort and total ease that Ted Cruz does.
I'm sure you've also heard the media quip about Ted Cruz being rehearsed. I've never heard him give the same exact stump speech twice. Now, he does have certain phrases that he uses to convey importance but he always changes it up. He is so comfortable speaking to a crowd that he can come off as rehearsed when in reality, he's just the smartest guy in the room on nearly any issue. An exchange with Frank Luntz at this same forum went something like this(I'm paraphrasing because I don't have an audiographic memory). "Ted, are those the exact words President Obama used?" Followed by an exact recitation of a quote Obama had made earlier in the week. He frames an argument better than any person I've ever met. Watch how Ted Cruz handles hecklers and people that don't agree with him.
Eli Stokols, of Politico, tweeted out this:
After #PFF15, Steve King intros Cruz to packed room; Rubio left w/o greeting supporters in his own hospitality room. pic.twitter.com/uAYBEKl091
I urge you to not just believe me, but to do your own research. You'll find that what I say here is not only true, but it is just a small portion of what there is to know about Ted Cruz. If he is in your town, do not miss the opportunity to hear him speak and meet him up close and in person. Your perception of what a leader can be will be changed. He is the first candidate that I have been truly honored to support. In my adult life, I've never been able to say that about any other presidential candidate.
Ted Cruz always involves children in his campaigning. He knows they are the future.
Every time I see Senator Cruz, he makes a point of coming up to me and thanking me for what I do for the campaign. He does this with all of his supporters. He remembers people and he knows who he is working for. He is beholden to those people that vote for him and those people that put their life on hold to help him in his campaign to break the Washington Cartel. Those of us that make up the affectionately named the #CruzCrew will crawl across broken glass with knives between our teeth, to borrow a phrase from Ted, to see he gets across the finish line with the Republican nomination and then wins the general election next November. We are over 100,000 strong nationwide.
If you aren't committed the cause of liberty yet and you aren't ready to support Ted Cruz for 2016, I urge you to do your due diligence and pray on it. I'm sure you will see that this man is worthy of your support. If you have already decided that Ted is your guy, join us and help him become the next President of the United States of America.
