When I asked Ted Cruz to define evangelicals yesterday, I expected fire and brimstone but got milk and honey.
His response made it clear he is worried about alienating other voters.
Conservatives are constantly courting evangelicals, and I simply wanted a refresher on who exactly those people are. But during an interview on Boston Herald Radio yesterday, Cruz let the opportunity pass.
“I will leave defining words like ‘evangelical’ to the dictionaries and others. We are working to build a coalition, we are seeing evangelical Christians, we are seeing Catholics and Jews and women and young people, and Hispanics and African-Americans coming together. We are seeing people of faith,” he said.
Several Herald Radio listeners picked up on Cruz’s decision to punt on the question and sensed he was afraid of turning off people who don’t consider themselves evangelical.
The political group, Americans United for Values, has spent a lot of money in Iowa questioning Cruz’s evangelical Christian faith. The Texas senator has made his religion a key part of his campaign and this group is trying to discredit it.
I have always considered Ted Cruz a holy roller from the south — so why is it so hard for him to explain a simple term?
Maybe it’s because others have questioned his faith, like Donald Trump, who recently said, “To the best of my knowledge, not too many evangelicals come out of Cuba, OK?” referring to Cruz’s Cuban heritage.
According to Merriam-Webster, “evangelical” means “of or relating to a Christian sect or group that stresses the authority of the Bible, the importance of believing that Jesus Christ saved you personally from sin or hell, and the preaching of these beliefs to other people.”
Senator Cruz, I am not here to question your faith because I think you probably have a deep connection with God, but don’t be afraid to define it.
Jaclyn Cashman is co-host of the “Morning Meeting” show on Boston Herald Radio.
Copyright © 2024 Jaclyn Cashman.
