Ted Cruz is turning out to be a very skillful demagogue

[ProSense]

Ted Cruz is turning out to be a very skillful demagogue

By Greg Sargent

Reid Pillifant of Capital New York caught up with Tea Party Senator Ted Cruz last night and asked him a few questions about his opposition to the Manchin-Toomey compromise on background checks. The interview perfectly illustrates the vacuity of the “slippery slope” argument so many Republicans have employed as their excuse to avoid engaging in a reality-based way with what the legislation would actually do.

Cruz — who has been known to claim the U.N. global arms trade treaty would lead to “international gun registration” — offered up a stream of misdirection and distortions about Manchin-Toomey. He said it would restrict the Second Amendment rights of “law abiding citizens,” which is false. He said we should be focused on enforcing current laws rather than expanding background checks, which is a false choice.

But the best part came when Cruz was confronted directly with the inconvenient fact that Manchin-Toomey would explicitly outlaw the creation of a gun registry. When his interviewer pointed this out, Cruz answered:

SEN. CRUZ: It purports to do so. But if it were passed, the next day the argument from the Justice Department, from the Obama administration would be, this legislation is utterly ineffective because we don’t have a registry, and I think a registry would be deeply inconsistent with the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. I think we need to protect the entire Constitution, the entire Bill of Rights. The Obama administration has shown a distressing willingness to disregard the Constitution, whether it’s the Second Amendment or the First Amendment, in intruding and seizing the records of reporters, or whether it is the Fourth Amendment and the Fifth Amendment, concerning drone strikes, concerning privacy, concerning I.R.S. politically minded investigations and audits. And I believe all of us, whether Republicans or Democrats, should cherish and protect the Constitution.

The notion that Manchin-Toomey “purports” to do this is interesting, coming from a former lawyer and editor of the Harvard Law Review. In fact, the current background check law does prohibit the creation of a registry. Indeed, according to the ACLU — which conservatives themselves cited as an authority on background check legislation – Manchin-Toomey would actually strengthen those prohibitions.

- more -

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/05/30/ted-cruz-is-turning-out-to-be-a-very-effective-demagogue/

Yup, he's a liar.

[Warpy]

1. He's slicker than snot on a doorknob and twice as nasty

but he's making so many enemies on his own side of the aisle that I have to wonder about his longevity in office. Democrats don't have to announce hating his guts, Republicans are doing it for them.

[sheshe2]

6. ~

Thanks Warpy

[northoftheborder]

2. Yes, a liar, and this generations' greatest demagogue. so proud of my Senator, NOT.

[spanone]

3. he's a dangerous man. he lies. he tells the teaparty shit they want to hear.

Last edited Thu May 30, 2013, 07:45 PM - Edit history (1)

truth be damned.

yep, demagogue.

[Blue Owl]

4. Cruz Control: no thinking required

n/t

[pscot]

5. Cruz=McCarthy

There's a definite resemblance.

[Skraxx]

7. And If There's Justice, The Same Ignominious Fate