Tea Party's Sen. Ted Cruz Born in Canada

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright August 11, 2013
All Rights Reserved.                                      

             Born in Calgary, Alberta Canada  Dec. 22, 1970, Tea Party favorite Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) appears ineligible to run for president because he was born outside the United States.  Without an act of Congress, the ultraconservative junior senator from Texas appears out of the running, slated to begin in earnest sometime after the November 2014 Midterm elections.  While holding all the right credentials, including Princeton University (1992) undergraduate and Harvard Law School degrees, Cruz lacks the basic Constitutional requirement of birth in the United States or at a designated military base.  Speaking to Christian conservatives in Ames, Iowa Aug. 10, Cruz sounded like a budding presidential candidate, despite the birthplace obstacle.  “You all had the opportunity earlier this afternoon to get to know my father.  And as you saw, my dad is very soft spoken,” said Cruz.

             Cruz’s 74-year-old father, Rafael, spoke to evangelicals about his imprisonment and torture by the Castro regime before defecting to the United States.  “I will confess, I am today violating what has been a cardinal rule, which is never, ever, ever follow my father at the podium,” said Ted, referring to his father’s charisma.  “A young charismatic leader rose up talking a bout hope and change,” said Rafael, hintign at Barack Obama in 2008.  “His name was Fidel Castro,” making the communist connection to Obama’s signature legislation known as “Obamacare.’  “This administration has both their hands in your pocket,” said the elder Cruz to a thunderous ovation.  “There’s going to take everything you have,” referring to the nearly $10 billion a month price tag to Obamacare.  Making wild accusations, the elder Cruz insisted Obamacare would destroy health care to the elderly.

             Christian conservatives in the audience applauded wildly, forgetting that the government already subsidizes health care to the elderly with Medicare.  Obamacare has nothing to do with the elderly who will continue getting Medicare.  While gladly accepting Medicare himself, Cruz’s conservative audience doesn’t want the government insuring self-employed individuals for whom getting health insurance has become prohibitively expensive.  GOP conservatives on Capitol Hill have tried to repeal Obamacare 40 times since Obama signed the legislation into law March 23, 2010, primarily because they believe the government should stay out of health care.  Those same conservatives have no problem allocating equivalent fortunes to the Pentagon to fight foreign wars.  It’s difficult objecting to Obamacare when conservative have no problems using Medicare or Medicaid to pay for their health care.

             Since Obama signed the historic legislation, the GOP has made repealing the legislation its primary focus.  GOP presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney staked his entire campaign on repealing Obamacare, hoping to galvanize conservative groups.  When he lost by a landslide Nov. 4, 2012, Romney and his conservative running mate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) misread the American public on Obnamacare.  They believed the GOP propaganda that the country was against it.  National polling showed that the public had warmed up to the idea of the government providing health care to citizens that couldn’t afford or qualify for the coverage.  Few people object to ending the insurance industry’s age-old discrimination against self-employed individuals, forcing them to qualify for coverage, rather than approving everyone covered by groups.

             Cruz’s father gave the Ames, Iowa evangelicals all the red meat they bargained for.  “Obamacare is going to destroy the elderly by denying care even perhaps denying treatment to people who are in catastrophic situations,” said the elder Cruz, showing no understanding of Obamacare.  Obamacare has anything to do with the elderly.  That’s the role of Medicare, always has been.  Obamacare simply tries to cover the some 40 million self or unemployed workers that don’t currently quality under Medicare [care for elderly and disabled] or Medicaid [care for the poor].  Obamacare gets coverage to some 40 million uninsured Americans that either can’t afford coverage or can’t get it because of pre-existing medical conditions, making coverage currently unaffordable.  For Cruz’s father to whip up his audience into a lather without any factual information goes beyond the pale. 

             Whether or not Ted Cruz qualifies to run for president because of his birthplace, his father should state the facts, not pander to the most cynical conservative GOP voices.  Gladly using Medicare or Medicaid, conservatives, like Cruz’s father, should get their facts straight about whom Medicare targets.  Most know that Obamacare has nothing to do with the elderly.  Insuring the some 40 million uninsured citizens is the focus of Obamacare, attempting to provide more affordable coverage and standardized benefits.  Calling his son Ted “gifted above any ma that I know,” the elder Texas minister shouldn’t embarrass his son by misstating basic facts about Obamacare.  Whether or not religious or fiscal conservatives oppose the idea of paying for health care, they should at least get the facts straight about Obamacare.  If the GOP has any prayer the next time around, they need to get their facts straight and stop blowing smoke.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.