Ted Cruz attacks Donald Trump for wanting to leave public land in feds' hands

Politifact ^ | February 23, 2016 | Riley Snyder

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Of all the controversies associated with Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, his position on federally owned land tends to attract less attention.

But the issue of public land ownership is important to Nevadans, where federal government agencies manage and control around 85 percent of state land.

And it's partially why Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is slamming Trump on the issue in a campaign ad airing just days before the Nevada Republican presidential caucus on Feb. 23.

"Eighty-five percent of Nevada is owned and regulated by the federal government," says Cruz in the ad. "And Donald Trump wants to keep big government in charge. That's ridiculous."

The ad has aired dozens of times in Reno through the lead up to Nevada's caucus, according to Political TV Ad Archive. We thought Cruz's claim merited fact-checking, because public lands management is a critical issue with Nevada voters.

An on-screen graphic refers to a January interview with Field & Stream magazine, where Trump said he would be hesitant to give federal land over to state and local governments.

"I don't like the idea, because I want to keep the lands great, and you don't know what the state is going to do," he told an interviewer. "I mean, are they going to sell if they get into a little bit of trouble?"

Trump's campaign offered a slightly more detailed explanation of his proposed policy in an answer to a candidate questionnaire, but said the bigger issue was land management and not transfer of ownership.

"The issue is not that so much of the state is public land; it is how that land is managed," the campaign wrote, promising to cut "needless bureaucratic red tape."

The Trump campaign didn't return emails seeking comment.

Cruz, on the other hand, takes a more libertarian stance on public land issues and said the amount of land owned by the federal government is "unacceptable."

"I believe we should transfer as much federal land as possible back to the states and ideally back to the people," he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in December.

Cruz fought with the Bureau of Land Management over the agency's efforts to "claim 90,000 acres of disputed land near Texas's Red River," and for a time supported Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy's standoff with the federal government over his unpaid grazing fees.

And many of the Texas senator's Nevada supporters pushed for a failed bill in the state Legislature that "would lay claim to almost all federally managed public lands and water rights in the state."

It's worth noting that Nevada's state constitution expressly gives up the state's rights to all "unappropriated public lands" to the federal government, which is why it's worth quibbling with candidates like Cruz and Rubio promise to "return" control to its citizens - who have never held a claim to the federally owned land in the past 151 years of Nevada statehood.

Our ruling

Cruz says that Trump wants to keep "big government" in charge of Nevada's public lands.

Trump has answered questions on public land management twice. He has not advocated for transferring ownership, but he has focused on cutting bureaucratic red tape. Cruz exaggerates Trump's position slightly by saying Trump favors "big" government.

We rate the ad's statement Mostly True.

[altura]

I trust him. He keeps his word. He will fight to get the land transferred back to the state.

Trump is wrong. Obama has proven we cannot trust the feds all the time.

And we probably couldn’t trust Trump. He might think Nevada’s lands would make good golf courses.

[altura]

Is there some point to your making a stupid comment when we are discussing a serious issue?

[pilgrim]

Then there are the voters who are really informed!

Tried posting this as a thread and no, no, no!

Can you name the candidates?

Randi Kaye shows a group of Nevada diners photos of the presidential candidates. You would be surprised how many had a hard time coming up with their names.

LINK

[Patton@Bastogne]

.

I've never met a "New York city" type who didn't LOVE big government ...

Who knows ?

Maybe Donald Trump is one-outta-ten-million ...

I watched him discuss the issue in a televised town forum setting with a woman (wearing a red dress)

No conviction or passion in Trump's reply ...

Who knows what it all means ?


.

[Trumpinator]

“It’s worth noting that Nevada’s state constitution expressly gives up the state’s rights to all “unappropriated public lands” to the federal government,”

So take care of that first, then.

Or else the issue is Cruz blowing smoke.

---

Kind of sad for a constitutional scholar like Cruz to miss this fact.

[mac_truck]

Lol..it sucks when someone takes your own words and shoves them down your throat, huh?

[ConservingFreedom]

the 500% increase in H1B visas that Cruz thinks is important to ram down our throats

False. From https://www.tedcruz.org/cruz-immigration-plan/:

Amend the H-1B visa program to fulfill its original purpose: Work with Congress to pass reform legislation for the H-1B visa program that will:

• Create an advanced degree requirement: Only individuals with advanced degrees in their respective fields may be brought to the United States with an H-1B visa. And preference will be given to those with advanced degrees from American universities.
• Create a "layoff cool-off" period for all H-1B visa applications: Companies must wait one or two years between laying off a worker and bringing in any H-1B foreign workers to ensure that the program is not used to displace American workers.
• Establish accreditation or recognition requirements for overseas schools: The recent lack of federal oversight of the H-1B visa program has fueled a cottage industry of diploma mills. Foreign academic institutions must meet minimum accreditation standards at least as stringent as those imposed on American universities in order to qualify for the advanced-degree requirement.
• Require sworn affidavits describing domestic hiring efforts: Companies will provide sworn statements and documentation that detail their efforts to hire Americans before requesting foreign workers through the H-1B visa program. Individuals who make false statements in these affidavits will be subject to perjury charges.
• Suspend companies from H-1B visa eligibility for failure to help foreign workers obtain green cards: Many companies misuse the H-1B visa program to train foreign workers that they intend to send back overseas to compete with America. The law must impose additional requirements on employers to pursue Legal Permanent Resident status on behalf of their H-1B visa-based foreign workers, or risk loss of access to the program.

"Ted Cruz, Jeff Sessions Roll Out Antidote To Broken H-1B Program: American Jobs First Act" - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3371276/posts

"Ted Cruz Explains why His Position on H-1B Visas Has Changed" - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3376485/posts

[DJ MacWoW]

I went to your link and looked up something she said. It didn't apply and was taken out of context. She also cut the quote short. I underlined what she used.

James Madison, House of Representatives

This is about "Mr. Smith" and whether he should be seated in the House.

It were to be wished, that we had some law adduced more precisely defining the qualities of a citizen or an alien; particular laws of this kind, have obtained in some of the states; if such a law existed in South-Carolina, it might have prevented this question from ever coming before us; but since this has not been the case, let us settle some general principles before we proceed to the presumptive proof arising from public measures under the law, which tend to give support to the inference drawn from such principles.

It is an established maxim that birth is a criterion of allegiance. Birth however derives its force sometimes from place and sometimes from parentage, but in general place is the most certain criterion; it is what applies in the United States; it will therefore be unnecessary to investigate any other. Mr. Smith founds his claim upon his birthright; his ancestors were among the first settlers of that colony.

[altura]

It’s not blowing smoke.

Trump is fine with the Feds continuing to hold all the land.

Cruz is not.

[Trumpinator]

After the Civil War, power shifted to the central government. No one challenged this takeover and the 16th and 17th amendments pretty much sealed the deal.

---------

So we are upset at an over 150 year old set of amendments to the constitution now? How far back in time do we need to go for the constitution does one need to go before it is acceptable?

[DJ MacWoW]

Tell it to Harvard Law Review Forum that published the article.

[jospehm20]

There are many knowledgeable people who say he is not. It is not a settled matter from what I have been able to read. Since he was undoubtedly a Canadian citizen until after he was an elected US Senator, there are knowledgeable people who do not think he was eligible for that.
http://northamericanlawcenter.org/ted-cruz-is-in-the-u-s-senate-illegally/#.Vs6PPHBDTnqD

[skeeter]

Depends upon if one is intelligent enough to understand things like context & nuance and the peculiarities of statecraft.

For those that aren't it can be confusing and they are liable to draw incorrect conclusions.

[altura]

I’m loathe to call all Trump supporters stupid, although they often act stupid.

I believe they were originally swept along in exultation as someone gave voice to their rage and impotence.

And now, having plighted their troth, they refuse to give up their beloved no matter what comes about him that is troubling and evil.

[Catsrus]

No, it’s about winning. Otherwise, we’ll get 4 more years of Obama under Hillary or worse under Sanders. Wise up!

[Trumpinator]

The eastern state deeds (13 colonies) were from sea to sea. They ceded the lands west of their western boundaries to the Federal Government.

So we had the Northwest territory, then the Louisiana Purchase and a couple more. States evolved. Some federal Lands were given to soldiers (warrants). Some became Indian Reservations. Some became gospel lots. Some became sites for Forts. Some became military roads.

In other words, in all cases, excepted the original 13 colonies, the lands became Federal lands first.

---

No one replied to your post so I will - tip of my hat. With truth and history you just ended any more comments on this matter.

[altura]

You miss the point.

It is an issue revealing how two people stand on the subject of federal ownership of lands.

One is more of a states rights person.

One wants federal control and he wants to be the one who controls it.

[Trumpinator]

I trust him. He keeps his word. He will fight to get the land transferred back to the state.

----

I take issue with the "transferred back". It was never the state's land to begin with.

[jospehm20]

It is probably a good thing that it doesn’t matter what i think. There is no way that I will ever be convinced that a person born and who remained a citizen of another country until he was in his mid 40s is the type of person our founders wanted for President.

[VanDeKoik]

Nevada’s constitution gave that land to the Feds.

That’s their F-up. Cruz has no special power to override this.

Nevada needs to fix their constitution, not expect someone to wave a magical presidential wand.