"Cruz’s defiant, anything-goes attitude may help explain why his campaign workers, on caucus day, sent out an email alerting people that “the press is reporting Dr. Ben Carson is taking time off from the campaign trail after Iowa and making a big announcement next week. Please inform any Carson caucus-goers of this event and urge them to caucus for Cruz.”
Rep. Steve King of Iowa, an avowed Cruz supporter, took to Twitter to share the news on Carson, adding his own twist: “Skipping NH and SC is the equivalent of suspending. Too bad this information won't get to all caucus goers.” One minute later, King sent out another tweet: “Carson looks like he is out. Iowans need to know before they vote. Most will go to Cruz, I hope.”
A day later, long after it was made clear that Carson had not suspended his campaign, King expressed “regret for any miscommunications,” then went back to re-tweeting biblical passages and quotes from Phil Robertson of “Duck Dynasty.”
Cruz later tried to blame CNN for having reported that Carson was dropping out of the race. In reality, the network had merely relayed an announcement from the Carson campaign that their candidate was headed to Florida for a change of clothes and to take a "deep breath" before returning to the campaign trail.
Cruz has since apologized to Carson, but says the only mistake his staff made was in not following up with a second email clarifying the status of the Carson campaign.
Gov. Terry Branstad, no fan of Cruz's ethanol politics, also called this style of campaigning "unethical and unfair."
Frankly, it’s hard to square the dishonest campaign tactics of Ted Cruz with his oft-stated support for Christian values.
Then again, it’s hard to square Cruz himself with such values. When asked during a debate to share with viewers his greatest weakness, he resorted to shameless humblebragging. He first said “he was too agreeable (and) easygoing,” then reversed himself and said his “biggest weakness is exactly the opposite: I’m a fighter. I am passionate about what I believe.”
It seems his biggest weakness may be an inability to recognize — or at least admit to — his own failings. That may be the mark of a successful politician, but it’s a dangerous character trait for someone who aspires to be president of the United States."
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Added: Des Moines Register endorsed Rubio for the GOP nomination on Jan. 19, 2016 and Hillary for Democrat nominee.
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Comment: Like Cruz, Rubio made his version of Christianity his main selling point to Iowa Caucus voters. Assuming Christian behavior is the main reason to elect a US president, Rubio's behavior actually mocks Christianity. He's said he often skips voting in the Senate and meetings of his own committee because he doesn't like the job. A person with any values, Christian or otherwise, wouldn't skip doing the job for which he was elected and is paid. If Rubio actually had Christian values he would have resigned or at least returned his salary.
Rubio also preaches to others to do that which he won't:
"Rubio previously implored others on the importance of voting.
"If you don't want to vote on things, don't run for the Senate. If you don't want to vote on things, don't run for office," he said on the Senate floor."...
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Rubio obviously has serious character issues. This country has major problems. As long as much of the focus is placed on who's more Christian, the country's biggest problems don't get the attention they desperately need.
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2/3/16 and 1/31/16 articles about Rubio's Christian sales pitch to Iowa:
2/3/16, "Paul Ryan to Tea Party: You are the problem," Washington Post, Paul Waldman, Plum Line
"The Republican establishment’s golden boy (Rubio) could barely open his mouth in the last couple of weeks without invoking Jesus (though maybe now that Iowa is behind him, that’ll change)."...
Article linked above:
In final Fox tv debate before Iowa caucus, Rubio alluded to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and what "the Bible commands us" to do:
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1/31/16, "To attract religious voters in Iowa, Marco Rubio plays up his faith," Miami Herald,
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Two Oct. 2015 articles about Rubio abandoning his duties in the US Senate, Washington Post and NBC News:
Oct. 25, 2015 article:
10/25/2015, "Rubio gives up on Senate: ‘He hates it’," Washington Post, David A. Fahrenthold
"Marco Rubio is a U.S. senator. And he just can’t stand it anymore. “I don’t know that ‘hate’ is the right word,” Rubio said in an interview. “I’m frustrated.”
This year, as Rubio runs for president, he has cast the Senate — the very place that cemented him as a national politician — as a place he’s given up on, after less than one term. It’s too slow. Too rule-bound. So Rubio, 44, has decided not to run for his seat again. It’s the White House or bust.
“That’s why I’m missing votes. Because I am
leaving the Senate. I am not running for reelection,” Rubio said in the
last Republican debate....
Five
years ago, Rubio arrived with a potential that thrilled Republicans. He
was young, ambitious, charismatic, fluent in English and Spanish, and
beloved by the establishment and the tea party....
Rubio must convince voters that his decision to leave the Senate — giving up the power he already has — is actually a mark of character, a sign that he is too dedicated to public service to stay....
He began missing committee work, even on the subject he most identified with. In 2014, Rubio missed 34 of 68 committee hearings and meetings in the Foreign Relations committee, according to his office’s tally....
“For
two years, we just tried to slow-dance and wait for the 2012 election,”
in the hopes of winning a Republican majority, Rubio said. “And then,
when that didn’t work out, we spent two years trying to position
ourselves for ’14.”
“Now it’s [2015], and the argument is, ‘We’ve gotta wait to elect the president,’ ” he said.
That meant the same frustrations, under a new boss. And that was it."
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Oct. 6, 2015 article: "Rubio previously implored others on the importance of voting. "If you don't want to vote on things, don't run for the Senate. If you don't want to vote on things, don't run for office," he said on the Senate floor."
10/6/2015, "Rubio Tops the Field in Missed Senate Votes," NBC News, Frank Thorp V
"On the same day Rubio defended his missed votes, he missed a procedural vote on the Defense Authorization bill that Congress is grappling over. And Rubio previously implored others on the importance of voting.
"If you don't want to vote on things, don't run for the Senate. If you don't want to vote on things, don't run for office," he said on the Senate floor. "Be a columnist. Get a talk show. Everyone who runs for office knows that what we are called to do here is vote on issues on which sometimes we are uncomfortable," he said in April in reference to amendments on the Iran deal."...
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Source: Des Moines Register endorsement of Rubio:
1/23/16, "Marco Rubio 'pleased' with Des Moines Register endorsement," Des Moines Register, Mackenzie Ryan
"Marco Rubio credited his “issues-based, ideas-based, solutions-based” campaign for cinching an endorsement Saturday [1/19] by The Des Moines Register, whose editorial board called him the Republican Party’s “best hope.”
Just 10 days before the Feb.1 Iowa caucuses, the editorial called attention to the Florida senator’s policies....
“Sen. Marco Rubio has the potential to chart a new direction for the party, and perhaps the nation....
But it’s unclear if the Register’s nod will move the needle here. Rubio is in third place in Iowa, at 11 percent, behind rivals Donald Trump at nearly 29 percent and Ted Cruz at nearly 27 percent, according to a rolling poll average....
The endorsement could also help Rubio in New Hampshire’s primary on Feb. 9, said Chris Larimer, a political science professor at the University of Northern Iowa.
Rubio is polling fourth in New Hampshire, with 10 percent, behind Trump at 32 percent, John Kasich at 13 percent and Ted Cruz at 11 percent, according to the Real Clear Politics rolling poll average."...
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