May.9
Political News, Now.
Verbatim: Ted Cruz on the Garland, Tex., Attacks
“Thankfully one police officer helped them meet their virgins.”
— Senator Ted Cruz, speaking about last week’s attacks in Garland, Tex., during a speech Saturday at the South Carolina Freedom Summit in Greenville.
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Ben Carson on God, Country, and His Ailing Mom
GREENSVILLE, S.C. – Ben Carson, appearing at the South Carolina Freedom Summit here on Saturday, used his first major appearance alongside his rivals since he formally entered the Republican presidential field to focus on economic and fiscal issues, while imbuing his remarks with repeated references to God and faith — and demonstrating the sort of thoughtful, studied way of speaking that he acquired as a neurosurgeon.
On Religion: Mr. Carson formally entered the race with a kickoff event in Detroit on Monday, but quickly left the trail to be with his ailing mother in Dallas. He told the crowd here that her condition had improved. “I met one lady who said she had a group of 2,200 people praying for my mother,” Mr. Carson said. “And the last few days, she’s been eating and drinking again. So I just want to thank you for all those prayers.” He spoke of the ways in which religion’s importance was recognized by the founding fathers and their heirs, from the Declaration of Independence’s acknowledgement of “the creator, or God,” to how “every coin in our pocket, every bill in our wallet, says ‘In God We Trust.’” He repeatedly said he believed that marriage was between one man and one woman.
On the Economy: Mr. Carson called the nation’s $18 trillion dollar debt “beyond ridiculous” and unfair to future generations. He argued for a flat tax, and traced the recent unrest in Baltimore to the problems caused by a battered economy, for which he blamed President Obama. “One of the reasons that a lot of people are frustrated and manipulated into rioting is because they hear all this stuff, but then when they open their eyes and look around, they don’t see it,” he said. “There’s been plenty of change, but very little hope. And that’s what’s killing people.”
On the Stage: Mr. Carson paced back and forth, speaking slowly and pensively. He offered asides as he spoke, joking that his own mother was “kind of like that Baltimore mom you saw on television” who roughed up her son when she caught him among the looters. He lamented the nation’s racial tensions, saying that, as a neurosurgeon, “When I open someone’s head, I’m operating what makes them who they are. The skin, the nose, the hair doesn’t make them who they are. It’s the brain that makes them who they are.”
Verbatim: Marco Rubio on Terrorists
“We will look for you, we will find you, and we will kill you.”
— Senator Marco Rubio, quoting from the movie “Taken” during a speech Saturday at the South Carolina Freedom Summit Hosted by Citizens United, on his strategy to combat terrorists.
Jeb Bush Defends Religious Freedom at Liberty University
Jeb Bush delivered a forceful defense of religious freedom from a secular government during a speech at an evangelical university on Saturday, deploring the rise of “coercive federal power” under President Obama that he said was seeking to impose progressive dogma on the country’s faithful.
But in an intriguing omission at a school known for its long-time opposition to same-sex unions, Mr. Bush did not mention the raging debate over the legalization of gay marriage, or express his opposition to it, even as he touched on the environment, sex trafficking and abortion.
In his commencement address to students at Liberty University, a Virginia school well known for hosting Republican presidents and presidential candidates, Mr. Bush bemoaned that “federal authorities are demanding obedience, in complete disregard of religious conscience — and in a free society, the answer is no.”
Mr. Bush suggested that, were he to return to office as an elected official, his Christian faith would be an inevitable force in his decision-making.
“It can be a touchy subject, and I am asked sometimes whether I would ever allow my decisions in government to be influenced by my Christian faith,” he told the students. “Whenever I hear this, I know what they want me to say. The simple and safe reply is, ‘No. Never. Of course not.’ If the game is political correctness, that’s the answer that moves you to the next round.”
But Mr. Bush called that flawed thinking. “The mistake is to confuse points of theology with moral principles that are knowable to reason as well as by faith,” he said.
He deplored a “false narrative that casts religious Americans as intolerant scolds, running around trying to impose their views on everyone.”
His speech made a pointed but affirmative case for Christianity as a positive force for freedom and compassion. There is, he said, “no more powerful or liberating influence” and praised its “most dynamic, inclusive and joyful message.”
Mr. Bush spoke against the “hostile caricature” of Christians and seemed to implore the audience to treat him as an ambassador to skeptical outsiders who are misinformed about the faithful.
Intriguingly, Mr. Bush made no reference to his own Catholicism. He converted to the faith from Episcopalianism in the 1990s.
The Bush family has a long history with Liberty University. Both his father and brother — presidents both — have spoken there. The current president of the university, Jerry Falwell Jr., made light of that tradition on Saturday.
“Please tell your mother,” he told Mr. Bush, “I still don’t believe we’ve had enough Bushes speak here at Liberty.”
Mr. Bush came armed with a joke of his own. Mr. Falwell’s brother Jonathan, who attended the speech and spoke with Mr. Bush on Saturday, shares a distinction with Mr. Bush: Both his father and brother are presidents (albeit of a university).
“Somehow,” quipped Mr. Bush, “I don’t know what it was – we really hit it off.”
Bobby Jindal Offers Rare Praise for Hillary Clinton
GREENVILLE, S.C. – With Mother’s Day following the Freedom Summit here in South Carolina, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana was able to compliment Hillary Rodham Clinton during a news conference.
After running through a list of criticisms, such as declaring that the only thing Mrs. Clinton had run was “President Obama’s foreign policy” and that she “doesn’t seem to understand the First Amendment,” Mr. Jindal was pressed to say something nice about her. He paused, until being reminded tomorrow is Mother’s Day.
“I will say this: She and her husband, former President Clinton, raised their daughter, Chelsea, under the glare of the media spotlight,” he said. “As we get closer to Mother’s Day, I respect the fact they worked very hard to shield their daughter from the politics, from the media scrutiny, and by all accounts, she’s turned out to be a very accomplished adult in her own right.”
He added: “You gotta give her and Bill credit, they did everything they could, from the outside, it seems, to protect Chelsea and raise her and give her as normal a childhood as they possibly could.”
Scott Walker Woos South Carolina G.O.P. With Tough Talk on Terror
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin told Republicans gathered here how the last time he was in town he swung by the local Harley-Davidson shop and picked up a T-Shirt — and before taking the stage, he even tweeted a picture of himself in the shirt.
With that, Mr. Walker was trying to say one thing: Although I’ve only been here once this year, I know South Carolina. Now get to know me.
In his address to the Freedom Summit here sponsored by Citizens United, Mr. Walker ran through an extended list of his accomplishments as governor of Wisconsin. “We did some pretty big things,” he said.
He recalled how he survived a recall election, lowered his state’s unemployment rate, and passed gun-friendly legislation and voter identification laws. And he spoke often of his wife and children.
“The reason I tell you that all here is not to brag — well not much,” he joked, before making the case that his actions in Wisconsin could translate to national stage.
As he does in most of his stump speeches, Mr. Walker sprinkled personal stories around references to his platform, trotting out his story of learning to shop at Kohl’s department store for discounts with his wife, recalling his “humbling” history trip to Philadelphia and discussing his time flipping burgers at a McDonald’s during high school.
But he seemed to really capture the crowd when he spoke about national security, or, as Mr. Walker described it, “safety.”
“National security is something you hear about,” Mr. Walker said. “Safety is something you feel.”
He framed the debate in personal terms, describing a fear that “it is not a matter of if” but when another “attempt is made on American soil.” And then he launched into the line that got him his biggest standing ovation of the day: “I want a leader who is willing to take the fight to them before they take the fight to us.”
Indeed, in a state with deep ties to the military, Mr. Walker knew his audience.
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