Ted Cruz -Dangerous

Sen. Ted Cruz made an utterly remarkable statement Wednesday that clearly aligned him with the ideology of a racist of the past. Cruz said that the country would be better off if the Senate was full of people like Jesse Helms, the late senator who was ardently opposed to all kinds of civil rights measures and even tried to block the Senate from approving a federal holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Cruz made the remarks at a Heritage Foundation event dubbed the "Jesse Helms Lecture Series,"  where Cruz told a story of Helms receiving a $5,000 political donation from actor John Wayne, who apparently later told Helms he liked him because "you're that guy saying all those crazy things" and that there needed to be 100 more of him. Adding, "It's every bit as true now as it was then," Cruz said. "We need 100 more like Jesse Helms in the U.S. Senate."

Helms, the conservative North Carolina Republican who served in the Senate for 30 years, was known for his efforts to stop progressive polices relating to gay rights, abortion and race. He voted against the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which he referred to as "the single most dangerous piece of legislation ever introduced in the Congress." When the Senate acted in 1983 to create a federal holiday honoring King, Helms staged a 16-day filibuster to try to block it. He ultimately caved in exchange for action on a tobacco bill.

From public statements Cruz’s ideology is derived from what sounds like his mentor or idol. He went on to say that the first political donation he ever made was to Helms -- $10 -- and praised the late senator for his outspokenness. And he wants to be president?

I am old enough to remember the racial bigotry of Helms and those like him; such as George Wallace and Strom Thurman to which I see nothing to be proud of by anyone with their views. With Cruz’s McCarthy like tactics and statements such as this remind us of a shameful time not so long ago where America should never want to return.

Moreover, because of the many who support and follow the likes of him, we should be afraid – very afraid! And that’s my thought provoking perspective…