Ted Cruz is a Christian Extremist

Ted Cruz speaking at CPAC on February 10, 2011 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many of us on the political left are less than thrilled by the prospect of our country electing Donald Trump as our next president. This is certainly understandable, and there are many reasons to oppose a Trump presidency that have nothing to do with the often overblown rhetoric aimed at demonizing him and those who support him. But as far as this atheist is concerned, Ted Cruz is even more worrisome prospect than Trump. After all, Ted Cruz is a Christian extremist.

We can only speculate about what a President Trump would be like. He's been so wildly unpredictable that it is tough to know how he would govern. If his history is any indication, he'd likely be far more liberal, open to compromise, and willing to work across the aisle than any of the other Republican presidential candidates who have campaigned in 2016. If his campaign rhetoric is any indication, he'd be more conservative than some and far more prone to insulting world leaders than most.

Part of what makes a Trump presidency concerning to both Democrats and Republicans is this unpredictability. On the other hand, I think we know exactly what we would be getting with a President Cruz: a Christian extremist.

Is it fair to characterize Cruz as a Christian extremist? Consider the following:

• Cruz does not think that atheists are fit to be president, suggesting that he is both a bigot and lacks even a basic understanding of the Constitution.
• From the beginning of his campaign, Cruz has made outreach to evangelical fundamentalist Christians his main strategy.
• Cruz has bragged about his endorsements from Mike Bickle (if you are not familiar with Bickle, you can learn more about him here).
• Cruz's wife, Heidi, openly advocates for theocracy and claimed that Cruz will "show this country the face of the God that we serve."
• When Cruz donated clean water to the residents of Flint, Michigan, he made sure to coordinate the donations through Flint Right to Life.
• Cruz appeared with "kill the gays" preacher Kevin Swanson at the National Religious Liberties Conference and has been racking up endorsements from Christian extremists, including Bryan Fischer and Linda Harvey.
• Cruz has drawn heavily on the work of David Barton to claim that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation.

For much more on Ted Cruz, see the impressive archive of posts about him from Right Wing Watch.

While we have heard a great deal from the mainstream news media about the possible dangers posed by Trump and his supporters, we have heard relatively little about Cruz and his supporters. This strikes me as more evidence of our news media's reluctance to acknowledge the problem of Christian extremism. I continue to find this unfortunate. Voters need to know what they would be getting with Cruz.