Free Republic

We all understand that politicians will be political, emphasizing one point to one audience and another point to another audience. We also understand that people's views can genuinely change, including the views of politicians. But when a political leader completely flip-flops on issues and then flip-flops again, the trustworthiness of that leader must be questioned. Does Donald Trump fit the description of a double-minded, untrustworthy leader? Judge for yourself. Trump claims that his views on abortion changed based on personal experience. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt, although at best, he is still not a strong, consistent pro-life...

In the back-and-forth over "New York values", Team Cruz is now circulating a video of Trump espousing more liberal positions, 17 years ago.It worth noting, however, that Ted Cruz espoused more liberal positions– in some cases– just 17 weeks ago…Green Cards In 2013, Cruz proposed doubling "the overall worldwide green card caps from 675,000 visas per year to 1.35 million per year (not including refugees and asylum-seekers)."He flip-flopped in 2015. Guest Workers In 2013, Cruz proposed raising the number of H-1Bs from 65,000 to 325,000.He flip-flopped in 2015. Amnesty In 2013, Cruz proposed an amendment “to provide a legal...

Cruz tells Chris Wallace he flipped his vote on crop insurance because he didn't realize what he was voting on. Blames his staff. https://youtu.be/1U3BNMK0x1A

Byron York had an interesting piece on Donald Trump that is worth reading. At least anyone who might be interested in the real Donald Trump. Trump appeared in front of the “non-partisan” No Labels group who desperately wants candidates that will “compromise” even though it is never clear what compromises will result in. Donald Trump told this group, "Let me just tell you, the word compromise is not a bad word to me. I like the word compromise. We need compromise, there is nothing wrong with compromise, but it's always good to compromise and win. Meaning, let's compromise and win."...

Senator Marco Rubio's recent support for an Article V Convention of the States is causing some folks heartburn. Noah Rothman at Commentary calls Rubio's support for a Convention of the States a Pander for the Ages. Rather than taking Rubio at his word and assuming this is a principled stand, Rothman argues that Rubio's support for the Convention of the States is a politically strategic rouse. As a political maneuver, Rubio’s latest is a deft one. Hardened by influential talk show hosts who have spent months inveighing against his support of a 2013 immigration reform bill, Rubio will need to...

BOONE, IOWA – Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) 79% privately defended the National Security Agency’s (NSA) spying on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even as he publicly condemned the practice. Rubio and his ally Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) 86% discussed the matter privately in a room away from reporters early Wednesday morning at the Royal Amsterdam Hotel in Pella, Iowa. The two men talked before they set out on a three-stop Iowa campaign tour to showcase Gowdy’s endorsement of Rubio. This reporter heard the conversation while picking up a laptop computer and other materials left in a back...

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Wednesday blasted Ted Cruz after a POLITICO report quoted the Texas senator telling a donor that fighting gay marriage wouldn't be a "top-three priority" for his administration. "Conservatives are being asked to 'coalesce' around yet another corporately-funded candidate that says something very different at a big donor fundraiser in Manhattan than at a church in Marshalltown," Huckabee said in a statement released by his campaign Wednesday afternoon. "Shouldn't a candidate be expected to have authenticity and consistency, instead of having to look at a map to decide what to believe and what to say?"...

I had the opportunity to sit down yesterday with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) 100% at a campaign event in Nashville and ask him several questions. One of the questions I asked was whether Senator Cruz still supported expanding the H-1B visa program, as he has in the past. Senator Cruz indicated that he no longer does, and you can see his explanation here: Transcript: RedState: Senator, I think the path to legalization issue has been beaten to death and I won't go over it again. One of the things you have supported in the past is raising the ceiling on...

Oh, I could hear the balloon deflating all the way from the Politico headquarters.Phllloooooooopppphhtt.Last week, on the day of the highly-watched GOP presidential debate, someone gave Politico’s Mike Allen an enticing piece of catnip to put in his insidery morning email. Secret audio tape would soon be published on a conservative news site supposedly showing that Ted Cruz talks much differently to NYC moderates than Iowa evangelicals. “These leaks are designed to undermine Cruz’s authenticity,” Allen wrote.The prospect of a juicy secret recording flew around the Internet. People reported on the prospect of the audio tape, before ever hearing a...

During the question period, one of the donors told Cruz that gay marriage was one of the few issues on which the two disagreed. Then the donor asked: "So would you say it's like a top-three priority for you - fighting gay marriage?" "No," Cruz replied. "I would say defending the Constitution is a top priority. And that cuts across the whole spectrum - whether it's defending [the] First Amendment, defending religious liberty." Soothing the attendee without contradicting what he has said elsewhere, Cruz added: "People of New York may well resolve the marriage question differently than the people of...

Earlier this evening, we reported on the woofing the Rubio campaign was doing to everyone within earshot of how they were going to demolish Ted Cruz by developing the narrative that he was some sort of unprincipled opportunist who would say whatever it took to win votes. According to the Washington Post, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) 94% has a much bigger problem. His supporters don’t know what he believes. From the story Marco Rubio wants to unite later by staying vague now. It is a habit with Rubio, a candidate aiming at moderate and conservative voters who often seems to...

...he was for amnesty before he was against it... [snip] ...from the No. 1 defender of deportation. At the end of June, speaking to the press in Chicago and after saying he "heard you probably have 30 million" illegal aliens in America, Trump contended: "You have to give them a path, and you have to make it possible for them to succeed. You have to do that. But the bad ones, and there are bad ones, you have to get out, and you have to get them out fast." [snip] ...Trump, interviewed by Newsmax's Ron Kessler, blasted Mitt Romney's "crazy...

(Before I begin, I recommend Freepers read up on this thread here, which proves Cruz's support for legalization short of a pathway to citizenship both in 2013 and also after that, and then continue to read this thread) So, I've been getting spammed a whole lot by a bunch of rather vicious posters, and I realized a significant pattern in all of them: a failure to not appreciate the language behind all that this debate has been about (the debate on whether or not Cruz lied when he stated he never supported legalization). Nor do they appreciate that they are...

excerpt In fact, Cruz is 100% right about what he supported and why he supported it, as a brief trip through history suffices to show. The tale actually starts with Rush Limbaugh.

“The problem, though, is that at the time you were telling people … this was not a poison pill,” Baier said in response. “You said you wanted it to pass at the time. Looking back at what you said then, and what you said now, which one should people believe?”

On Immigration, Cruz Aims for Middle Ground When it comes to immigration reform, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has made it abundantly clear what he opposes: giving citizenship to people who broke the law to come here. What has not been as evident is what he supports: legal status for millions of people here already, while making it easier for immigrants to come here through the front door. “I have said many times that I want to see common-sense immigration reform pass,” he said. “I think most Americans want to see the problem fixed.” But for Cruz, a Tea Party favorite...

Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) clashed with Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) over immigration reform during Tuesday's GOP presidential debate, comparing his rival's past position as one supporting "amnesty."CNNCruz could be seen on camera laughing after CNN debate moderator Dana Bash noted that Rubio has claimed on the campaign trail that his immigration plan is not much different than his."He has attempted to muddy the waters," Cruz said, claiming that Rubio chose to "stand with Barack Obama and Chuck Schumer and support a massive amnesty plan."Cruz argued others, himself included, "chose to stand with Jeff Sessions and Steve King and the American people...

Ted Cruz on Tuesday said he did not "intend" to support a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants, closing the door much more tightly on a proposal he has repeatedly declined to address. Cruz has vocally opposed a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States, but he has taken pains during his presidential campaign to never rule out a path to legal status, often telling reporters that he will not discuss what to do with them until the border has secured...

The United States will halt its military withdrawal from Afghanistan and instead keep thousands of troops in the country through the end of President Obama’s term in 2017, Mr. Obama will announce on Thursday, prolonging the American role in a war that has now stretched on for 14 years. The current American force in Afghanistan of 9,800 troops will remain in place through most of 2016 under the Obama administration’s revised plans, before dropping to about 5,500 at the end of next year or in early 2017, senior administration officials said. Some of the troops will continue to train and...

With the Iowa caucuses less than two months away, Ted Cruz seemed to have an epiphany Thursday night on one of the state's — and agricultural lobby's — biggest issues in Congress. Cruz (R-Texas) initially voted with fiscal hardliners to retain $3 billion in crop insurance cuts that were made as part of a budget deal approved in October. After a visit to the Senate cloakroom, Cruz returned and flipped his vote to side with farming interests, which ultimately prevailed. The crop insurance votes were part of a debate on a highway bill, which Cruz opposed on a final vote,...