PBS host unsuccessfully tries to corner Ted Cruz on gun control
Media Bias vs. Reason
Ah yes, the media and gun control.
Senator Cruz joined PBS host Tavis Smiley Tuesday. Smiley seized the opportunity to peg Sen. Cruz on gun control.
“To me and to others who’ve seen this, it seemed in bad taste, but maybe that’s my assessment,” Smiley said. “We all know what happened in Charleston the other day, and you were on the campaign trail after this happened, here’s what you said on the campaign trail.”
Smiley then showed Sen. Cruz a clip bearing a HuffPo watermark, dated June 19 when Cruz was addressing a crowd in Iowa. “We need a second amendment, the right to keep and bear arms. You know the great thing about the state of Iowa, I’m pretty sure y’all define ‘gun control’ the same way we do in Texas — hittin’ what you aim at,” Cruz explained as the audience chuckled.
“Gun control is hitting what you aim at. Those comments were made after this tragedy the other day in South Carolina the other day, was that in bad taste?” Smiley asked.
“One of the problems we see in politics is when there’s a tragedy, this should be an opportunity to bring us together,” explained Cruz.
Not content to let the issue pass, Smiley pressed again, “and many of those same people [the people in Charleston] would love to see us get guns off the streets and yet, gun control, for your definition, is hittin’ whatcha aim at.”
“If you look at how you stop crime… you target the bad guys, you target the violent criminals. I think when it comes to violent criminals we should come down on them like a ton of bricks, but I also think we should protect the Constitutional rights of law abiding citizens and I think those are altogether separate.”
And then Sen. Cruz flipped the issue back on Smiley. “You know, it’s easy by the way, for people with a whole lot of money to support gun control. Cause you can live in fancy neighborhoods, you can pay taxes and have the police protect you. But if you’re a single mom living in Anacostia [a notoriously dangerous suburb of Washington D.C.], if you’re taking the subway late at night, if you’ve got tragically a crack house down the street and you’re thinking about protecting your kids, second amendment rights are something real and personal about the right to keep your family safe.”
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Comments
Our tax dollars at work. Why do we need to keep funding PBS? Let the rich liberals pay for it like they do the rest of the media…
Public broadcasting has a value; but like everything in this world, it is a dual-use asset/weapon. Perhaps one day Americans will reclaim control of their institutions and press. In the meantime, deny them the opportunity to [re-]frame the story and propagate a narrative.
Exactly.
Toss it into a free market and let it sink or swim on its own.
Tavis Smiley … working off the latest DNC talking points.
DNC/BGI talking points.
A few years ago, I was amused but not really surprised to learn that, in Texas, the single largest growth in CCW permits was among black women.
I wonder if Tavis ever knew that.
For at least 15 years young single women have seen the biggest growth of gun ownership. This is just an extension of that.
In Florida, the fastest growing demographic is actually women over 50.
Self-defense is a basic human right. The “folks” are not deceived by self-serving interests and political ramblings.
Tavis probably heard that, but was also told it’s a NRA talking point, so he dismissed it as “gun lobby” propaganda.
Remember the “this is your brain…this is your brain on drugs” PSA?
Tavis Smiley is “this is your brain on liberalism”.
To be fair, the problem is not classical liberalism, it’s generational or progressive liberalism that is a degenerative ideology. However, even classical liberalism, untempered by religion/morality, can be barbaric.
There isn’t a liberal alive that can “corner” Sen Cruz.
Ain’t it sweet?
Now, if all the other R’s would follow suit. They too could shut down the liberal narrative, hypocrisy.
DNC/BGI
“have you stopped beating your wife senator?”
Good ol’ tavis. Yellow journalism with a soupcon of Democrat Agenda.
What’s amazing to me is that Cruz appeared knowing full well this jerk would try this sort of thing.
I guess he still has faith that they won’t edit out his comments. Or maybe he had an agreement that they couldn’t.
I don’t see how this helps Cruz. Cause the people that watch tavis have a certain attitude and are not inclined to give anyone with an R after their name any slack. And no one who needs convincing watches it from the right. Who watches a relentless insult to ones beliefs and intellect?
I thought Cruz spanked him pretty good. The bit tying 2A rights back to poor minority women wanting to keep their families safe was solid.
Anything they edit out will appear on youtube. These days you can’t stop it.
Tavis just learned that Cruz is a lot smarter than he is.
Stuff like this is why I’m sticking on the Cruz bandwagon for a while. It’s not enough to shut down their narrative. You’ve got to turn it on them and so far Cruz is the only candidate who is successfully putting the media on the defensive.
Cruz and Rand Paul. Don’t forget Rand Paul’s flipping the question about abortion. (paraphrased) “Why don’t you ask the DNC … when life begins, and when it’s OK to start protecting life. When you get an answer, come back to me.”
I almost joined the “Rand Paul Revolution” that day.
I’d happily vote for a Cruz/Paul ticket, though.
Having an argument over the second amendment against the lawyer who presented the case at the Supreme Court is not smart.
But then again nobody has said that about Smiley.
“In the landmark case of District of Columbia v. Heller, Cruz drafted the amicus brief signed by the attorneys general of 31 states, which said that the D.C. handgun ban should be struck down as infringing upon the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Cruz also presented oral argument for the amici states in the companion case to Heller before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cruz
Boom!
Ted proved what all the gated community liberals are all about.
Liberal hypocrisy is legend.
Smiley caught a Cruz missile in the teeth, lol.
I am so tired of the right-wing crazies and their gun fetish.
We had the same problem with drugs. All we had to do was outlaw drugs, and now there are no more drug addicts and there are no drug dealers on the streets like there used to be.
Just outlaw guns and there won’t be any more guns, just like with drugs. It’s not rocket surgery.
I know this is sarcasm, and yet we’ve had so many post words just like these and mean it.
lol
Smiley is Obama’s tool.
Unfortunately, Obama has more tools than the Craftsman aisle at Sears.
Liberals cannot accept the fact that Americans are going to defend themselves with firearms whether they are legal or not.
Unless there is a metal detector I ignore Gun-Free Zone signs and No Guns! signs. I’m not taking a knee to be shot for any damn body.
“Well, Henry, for the sake of argument, what would you do if all guns were outlawed?
I’d immediately report mine stolen and hide them.
“But that’s a crime, too – filing a false police report.”
In your scenario, I’m pretty sure I won’t care about the ‘law’ anymore.
Indeed. And most of the LEOs I know would not inquire too closely in the “lost” guns.
As we get nearer to the election I have a feeling fewer left wing “journalists” are going to want to interview Cruz. They always end up looking like stupid fools. Because they are.