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Cruz Rails Against Marriage, Trans Rights, Rainbows in Iowa
Cruz Rails Against Marriage, Trans Rights, Rainbows in Iowa
Days before the Iowa caucus, the presidential candidate panders to his base.
As Ted Cruz fights for his political life in Iowa, he is crouching to the level of his hyper-conservative base.
At a campaign stop Tuesday, Cruz was asked by a local man about the nation's "moral decay," specifically mentioning the Obama administration's decision to light up the White House with rainbow colors as a way to honor the Supreme Court's marriage equality decision in June.
"It was a sad day when I saw the capitol building all lit up in the rainbow colors," Randy DeLong of Keosauqua said, slightly mistaken about his landmarks, according to ThinkProgress. "How will your faith have a positive effect? How will you light that faith to make changes?"
Cruz responded by saying the rainbow display was an inherent sign that "our country is in a time of crisis."
The U.S. senator from Texas said he would work against the court's ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, calling the decision "fundamentally illegitimate, lawless, and unconstitutional." While he's previously stated that states should ignore the high court ruling, he was also caught on tape saying rescinding national marriage equality is not a priority. But when he's trying to win the Iowa caucus, Cruz reverts back to fire and brimstone. Denying polls that say a majority of Americans support same-sex marriage rights, Cruz turned into a conspiracy theorist:
"You can write a poll in a way that will get the results you want if they're skewed."
The candidate also didn't miss an opportunity to take a swipe at transgender rights, criticizing the Department of Education for supporting and enforcing trans-inclusive policies. He equated trans children using restrooms and locker rooms corresponding with their gender identity as allowing "little boys to shower with little girls."
Cruz was recently endorsed by extremist preacher Mike Bickle, a virulent homophobe who believes the Nazis did God's work by sending minorities, like Jews, gays, and Gypsies, to their deaths. Cruz gladily accepted the the endorsement.
