Father of Sen. Cruz fires-up GOP in Sealy

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The Rev. Rafael Cruz, the 80-year-old father of Sen. Ted Cruz, delivered a fire-and-brimstone sermon railing against what he called the “evils” of Democratic Socialism while stressing a desire to keep Texas a red state during a Nov. 7 meeting of the Austin County Republican Party.

Speaking before a group of about 50 people at Tony’s Family Restaurant, Cruz told his own tale of fleeing the communist takeover of Cuba and his rags-to-riches story in America. For about an hour he delivered a fiery, impassioned speech, often laced with biblical scriptures, calling on the GOP faithful to defend Texas against the rise of socialism.

The Rev. Rafael Cruz speaking in Sealy Nov. 7, 2019.

“We cannot take this next election for granted. We do that at our peril. The Democrats are committed. They know that Texas is ground zero. If we lose Texas, we lose America,” he declared. “Do you understand what I am saying? If we lose Texas, we lose America.

“Let me give you a very simple, mathematical idea. If (President Donald) Trump loses Texas and wins every other state he won in 2016, he will lose by three electoral votes. The Democrats know that. The Democrats have already committed over $100 million to Texas and 1,000 paid workers to mobilize across Texas registering people to vote. I am sure that in all probability many of those people they register to vote are not eligible to be registered to vote. What are we doing about it? We better be committed,” he said.

He went on to explain how critical Texas is to both major political parties.

“Let me tell you how critical Texas is. 2020 is census. For the last few years we have been growing in Texas at the rate of over 1,000 people a day. That means that 2020, when the census comes, I believe we are going to gain three electoral votes. We are going to go from 38 electoral college votes to 41.

“The Democrats only need to take nine seats from the Texas House to take control in Austin. If they take control in Austin, they will be drawing those three new congressional districts. I can guarantee you they will make sure that there are three new Democratic congressmen or congresswomen. But not only that, 2021 is redistricting. If the Democrats have control of the House, the House is the one that draws the map,” he said.

He told the story of how the Supreme Court said it would not get involved in any more gerrymandering cases.

“If the Democrats redraw all the districts, I can guarantee you if they take control, they are going to gerrymander the whole state. We could lose six, eight, 10 congressional seats. If we lose Texas, we lose America,” he said.

He then turned hit sights on the leading candidates in the Democratic primary.

“Let me tell you, if any one of those characters running in the Democratic primary takes over in 2020, America will be destroyed because they are set on the destruction of America. Their agenda is pure Marxism! Don’t be fooled about it. They are running as outright communists. They call themselves socialists or democratic socialist, I don’t care what they call themselves, they will destroy America,” he warned.

Cruz vowed to fight for President Trump next year and called on the Republican faithful to join him.

“I don’t know about you, I lost my freedom once, I’m not going to lose it again. I will die fighting before I lose it again and so should you,” he said. “The battle lines are drawn already. What are we going to do about it? It’s going to boil down to one thing: who gets more people to the polls. It’s all about turnout, turnout, turnout.”

Cruz acknowledged two young sisters in the audience.

“Do you realize that we are in the battle for their survival? Do you realize that if we lose this battle, they will not have a future? Let that sink in,” he said. “We really are not fighting for ourselves. We are fighting for the future of our children and our children’s children and if we lose this battle, they will not have a future. If that does not set you on fire, your wood is all wet.”

Cruz said he was concerned about the direction the Democratic Party is heading in.

“We have all these candidates on the Democratic side. Every one of them makes Obama seem like a conservative! This is crazy. They are promoting outright Marxism. Outright communism,” he said.

Omitting to mention the fact that after coming to the United States he later became a citizen of Canada at the time his son was born, he touted America as the land of opportunity.

“This is the only country on the face of the Earth that with hard work and perseverance anyone can achieve their dreams,” he said. “Notice what I said: Hard work and perseverance. Not sitting on the couch watching the idiot box while you’re collecting a welfare check.”

He later renounced his Canadian citizenship and now holds dual citizenship in the United States and Cuba. He said he has been all over the world and seen how socialism has failed numerous times.

“Today, if you’re making $100,000 a year you’re doing very, very well. If you make $100,000 in Sweden, $70,000 to $75,000 of that goes to the government and you live with $25,000 or so,” he said. “So, you work for the government. Everybody is a slave to the government.”

He said people in this country need to understand how good they have it here.

“We need to realize that the greatness of America is the greatness of its people,” he said. “America is more than a country. America is an ideal. America is an ideal that is so well ingrained in the Declaration of Independence.”

Cruz spoke about the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

“I want you to notice two things. Number one, the most important of those things is life… Life is fundamental. That means we need to protect all life from conception to natural death,” he said.

He then made the connection between the right to bear arms and the right to life.

“The Second Amendment is intrinsic to that unalienable right to life,” he said. “What is the last sentence in the Second Amendment? The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Period! What part of infringed do you not understand? See, what that means is if you have an unalienable right to life from your creator; you have the right to defend your life and the life of your loved ones. The Second Amendment is intrinsic in that unalienable right to life.”

He then expounded on the pursuit of happiness.

“Contrary to what the Democrats say, happiness is not a right. It is the pursuit of happiness. We believe in equality of opportunity, not the equality of outcome. Equality of outcome is communism and it has never worked. If you work twice as much as I do, you deserve to get twice as much as I get,” he said.

Near the end of his speech, he spoke about how teen pregnancy and violent crime rose after the courts removed prayer and Bible study from public schools in the 1960. He tied the decline of morality with the 1973 Supreme Court ruling on abortion.

“If you vote for a candidate that promotes abortion, you’re going to have blood on your hands. You’re complicit in the murder of over a million babies a year in America,” he said.

He urged people to get registered to vote and then to go to the polls. He said the 2020 presidential election is a “time to draw a line in the sand.”

“We hold the future of America,” he said. “We hold the future of Texas in our hands. Let us be fully committed to make sure that America continues to be that shining city on a hill to the glory of God.”