Ted Cruz Will Campaign With Glenn Beck In Iowa

Ted Cruz Will Appear At Campaign Rallies With Glenn Beck. Glenn Beck will appear with Ted Cruz at “campaign” rallies in Iowa on January 23. The events, which will also feature Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and right-wing author David Barton, are sponsored by the pro-Cruz group Keep The Promise PAC. Beck wrote on Facebook that he “will be introducing Ted Cruz at two rallies on Saturday” and will “lend my support to help defend the constitution, a small government crusader and an authentic conservative Christian candidate.” Beck said on his radio program last week: “If your definition of endorsing is, is he the one guy out of the whole field that I say, 'Yeah, if I have a chance, that's the guy I would vote for, that's the guy,' then I do endorse Ted Cruz.” [Eventbrite.com, accessed 1/19/16; Facebook.com, 1/18/16; The Blaze, 1/14/16]

Glenn Beck Is Infamous For His Fringe Rhetoric And Outlandish Conspiracy Theories. During his media career, Beck has promoted numerous absurd conspiracy theories and repeatedly used violent rhetoric. He caused major controversy when he smeared President Obama as a “racist” with “a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture.” [Media Matters, 6/29/11, 8/22/11]

Cruz Accepted Endorsement Of Anti-Choice Extremist Troy Newman

Cruz Praised Newman After Receiving His Endorsement: “We Need Leaders Like Troy Newman.” Cruz accepted the endorsement of Troy Newman, who is the president of the anti-choice group Operation Rescue and a board member for the Center for Medical Progress (CMP). Cruz described Newman as a “driving force” behind the CMP's series of misleading videos smearing Planned Parenthood and praised Newman as someone who “works tirelessly every day for the pro-life cause. We need leaders like Troy Newman in this country who will stand up for those who do not have a voice.” [TedCruz.org, 11/19/15, via Right Wing Watch]

Newman Has A History Of Anti-Choice Harassment And Violent Rhetoric. The Washington Post has noted that Newman “has long been one of the nation's most controversial antiabortion activists, in part because of remarks he has made apparently praising the killing of abortion doctors and calling women who have abortions 'murderers.'” Newman is so disreputable that Australia canceled his visa over “concerns that he might encourage violence against abortion providers or women seeking the procedure.” Newman has also tried to “shut down abortion clinics by systematically harassing their employees into quitting.” [Media Matters, 11/20/15] 

Cruz Touts Endorsement Of Brent Bozell, Who Calls Being Gay “Morally Wrong” And “Sexually Perverted”

Cruz Campaign Touted Brent Bozell's Call “To Rally Around Ted Cruz.” In December, Media Research Center president Brent Bozell endorsed Cruz by writing that on “every issue of crucial importance to conservatives -- defunding Planned Parenthood, ending the Obamacare nightmare, reducing the size of government, opposing amnesty -- Cruz is not only with conservatives, he's led the fight for conservatives.” The Cruz campaign touted Bozell's endorsement on its website. [TedCruz.org, 12/30/15]

Bozell Has A History Of Bigotry And Hateful Rhetoric. Bozell once likened President Obama to “a skinny, ghetto crackhead” and said the Obamas surround themselves with “anti-American, American hating people.” He complained that Hollywood doesn't show that “homosexuality is morally wrong” and said it is “thrusting garbage down the throats of children” by showing characters that are gay. After gay characters began appearing in comic books, Bozell claimed that comics have “become a red-light neighborhood where sexually perverted superheroes would be packaged to elicit from children fascination and sympathy.” [Media Matters, 2/7/13, 6/13/14]

Cruz Is “Thrilled To Have The Support Of” Anti-Gay Group National Organization for Marriage

Cruz Touted Endorsement From National Organization For Marriage, “One Of The Most Active Groups Defending Traditional Marriage.” A December 11 press release stated that The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), “one of the most active groups defending traditional marriage in state legislatures, Congress, and the courts, has endorsed Ted Cruz for President. Cruz, a supporter of NOM's Presidential Marriage Pledge, has a strong and proven record of standing up for religious liberty and the right of states to decide the definition of marriage.” The release quoted Cruz saying he's “thrilled to have the support of the National Organization for Marriage.” [TedCruz.org, 12/11/15]

NOM Is A Fringe Anti-Gay Group. The National Organization For Marriage (NOM) is a thoroughly discredited anti-gay group that was established to oppose marriage equality. SPLC has noted that “NOM seems hard-pressed to avoid talk of pedophilia as it campaigns against gay marriage.” President Brian Brown has argued that one of the “consequences” of marriage equality could be “a serious push to normalize pedophilia.” He also traveled to Russia to meet with leaders there about that country's anti-gay crackdown. [Media Matters, 5/6/14; Equality Matters, 8/18/11; SPLC, 5/25/12]

Cruz “Thrilled” By Endorsement Of James Dobson, Who Preaches That Gays Can Be Cured

Cruz Touts Endorsement Of Dobson, “One Of The Nation's Most Trusted” Advisors On Family Issues. Cruz announced the endorsement of media personality James Dobson, calling him “one of the nation's most trusted spokesmen and advisors” and saying he's “thrilled to have his support.” [TedCruz.org, 12/17/15]

Dobson Is An Anti-Gay Activist. Dobson predicted that marriage equality could lead to “marriage between daddies and little girls ... between a man and his donkey”; claimed someone can become gay because that person doesn't “reattach to his father” emotionally as a child; asserted that homosexuality can potentially be cured through bogus “reparative therapy”; endorsed a sermon blaming “lesbian sex” for the “wrath of abandonment” by God, which could result in destruction of a U.S. city; and attacked SpongeBob SquarePants for allegedly promoting a “pro-homosexual video.” [Media Matters, 1/25/05; 9/7/10; ThinkProgress, 11/23/06; MSNBC.com, 6/23/05; The New York Times, 1/20/05]

Cruz “Honored” By Endorsement From Fringe Gun Group Whose Leader Was Linked To White Supremacists

Cruz “Honored” To Receive Gun Owners Of America's Endorsement. Cruz accepted the endorsement of Gun Owners of America (GOA), saying he's “honored” to receive their support because they've “been an active and important voice for defending our freedoms.” [TedCruz.org, 9/9/15]

GOA Is A Fringe Group That Opposes Any Background Checks And Is Led By An Extremist Who Was Linked To White Supremacists. GOA is an extremist group that opposes any background checks on gun sales and advocates for guns in kindergarten classrooms. The group's leader, Larry Pratt, has suggested the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater mass shooting could have been staged by the government, and once “seemed to justify” the Oklahoma City bombing in a speech before followers of the racist Christian Identity movement. Pratt was forced out of Pat Buchanan's presidential campaign after his ties to white supremacists were revealed; those ties include participating in rallies with individuals linked to the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nation, directing GOA money to a white supremacist group, and serving as a “contributing editor” to an anti-Semitic publication. [Media Matters, 9/9/15]

Cruz “Thrilled” To Be Supported By Sandy Rios, Anti-Gay Hate Group Official Who Opposes Decriminalizing Gay Sex

Cruz “Thrilled” To Be Supported By Sandy Rios. On October 16, Cruz announced the endorsement of conservative radio host and American Family Association official Sandy Rios. Cruz said he is “thrilled” to have her support. [TedCruz.org, 10/16/15]

Rios Is A Far-Right, Anti-Gay Extremist. The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the American Family Association an anti-gay hate group because it has blamed gay men for the Holocaust and supported the criminalization of homosexuality. Rios has denied that homophobia motivated Matthew Shepard's murder; opposed a Supreme Court decision decriminalizing gay sex; claimed that an engineer's sexual orientation was a “factor” in the deadly 2015 Philadelphia Amtrak derailment; and said being gay is “broken hearts, it's disease.” Right Wing Watch notes that Rios “has repeatedly attacked gays, Muslims and Jews while promoting conspiracy theories and issuing repeated warnings that God's judgment will soon fall upon this nation.” [Media Matters, 4/1/15; Right Wing Watch, 10/19/15; Huffington Post, 5/14/15]

Cruz Has Made Right-Wing Radio Host Steve Deace A Part Of His Campaign

Steve Deace Has Been Heavily Supporting The Cruz Campaign In Iowa. Steve Deace is an influential radio host in Iowa. The Cruz campaign has featured Deace in videos and campaign events and called him a “part of the campaign.” Deace, who is listed as a member of the Cruz campaign's Iowa “Leadership Team,” has frequently used his media platforms to push Cruz's candidacy. Cruz responded to news of Deace's endorsement by calling the radio host “a truth-teller, a courageous conservative, and a powerful voice for liberty.” [TedCruz.org, 9/2/15, accessed 1/4/16, 9/9/15, 8/19/15; Media Matters, 1/3/16]

Deace Is An Extreme Radio Host With A History Of Incendiary Commentary. Deace is virulently anti-LGBT, having repeatedly attacked supporters of LGBT equality as being part of a “Rainbow Jihad.” He has also claimed “Jesus made it quite clear that President Obama is not a Christian” and claimed Carly Fiorina went “full vagina” during a debate. [Media Matters, 7/31/15, 12/15/15, 1/3/16]

Cruz Participated In An Endorsement Video With Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson

“I Am Thrilled To Have Phil's Support For Our Campaign.” The Cruz campaign released a video of Phil Robertson endorsing Cruz while hunting. A press release stated that Cruz is “thrilled to have Phil's support for our campaign.” [TedCruz.org, 1/13/16]

Robertson Has Called Homosexuality A Sin, Illogical, And Akin To Bestiality. Robertson was suspended by A&E in 2013 over a series of anti-gay comments he made to GQ. During that interview, Robertson said, “It seems like, to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man's anus ... But hey, sin: It's not logical, my man. It's just not logical.” Asked what he considers sinful, Robertson replied, “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men.” [Media Matters, 12/19/13]