Sen. Ted Cruz (R–Texas) called out the NAACP’s recent “travel advisory” singling out the Republican Governor of Florida, calling it “bizarre” and “utterly dishonest.”
Expressing his outrage at the “partisan advisory” that was based on false claims about the governor’s policies toward the black community, Cruz noted on Twitter that “In the 1950s & 1960s, the NAACP did extraordinary good helping lead the civil rights movement. Today, Dr. King would be ashamed of how profoundly they’ve lost their way.”
Unsurprisingly, many on the left took offense and began to criticize the senator, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio–Cortez (D–NY), who argued that the NAACP was within its rights to issue their advisory and that Cruz would have been “first in line” to filibuster the Civil Rights Act.
Cruz did not back away from his criticism however, citing that “That shameful filibuster was led by Democrats—your party.” He then went on to point out the long history of the Democratic party’s racism, noting that “the Dem party founded the KKK” and “wrote Jim Crow laws,” while also mentioning their filibuster of the Civil Rights Act and push to abolish police. He also highlighted the Trump administration’s role in reducing African American unemployment to its lowest ever and poverty levels to its lowest ever since he took office.
Meanwhile, many are frustrated at the idea that Cruz’s comments have been spun as “anti–black,” leading to an ongoing narrative that the Republican party is racist, especially considering the very real evidence that Republican and Democratic parties switched sides in terms of civil rights support over the years.
As Cruz noted, the Republican party was “founded to oppose slavery” and led by “the first Republican President” Abraham Lincoln, “who won the Civil War and ended slavery.”
Nonsense. That shameful filibuster was led by Democrats—your party.
My party—the Republicans—proudly voted for the Civil Rights Act in much higher percentages than the racist Dems. https://t.co/MgPZZFTlak
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 23, 2023
Moreover, the southern Democrat shift in support of their civil rights policies didn’t occur until the late 1980s, early 1990s, and some even argue that it had more to do with economics, national security, and Democrats’ race to the far left than with “racism.”
Ultimately, Senator Cruz’s comments still ring true, though he may not have phrased them in the most diplomatic of terms: The NAACP has “lost its way” and has become overly partisan, basing its “advisory” off of false allegations and has essentially used black people as pawns for their political agenda. And, the Republican party is not to blame for this.
In 1965, Dr. King called for a national boycott of the state of Alabama, saying that Democratic Gov. George Wallace's policies constituted "a reign of terror" against Black Americans. pic.twitter.com/bSUqKslpcJ
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) May 22, 2023
