Ted Cruz: I Understand Why People Fear A Possible Military Takeover Of Texas

[DonViejo]

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Saturday that he asked the Pentagon for answers about Jade Helm 15, a military training program that has sparked conspiracy theories about a possible military takeover of Texas, Bloomberg Politics reported.

The 2016 presidential candidate told Bloomberg during the South Carolina Republican Party's annual convention that his office had been "assured that it is a military training exercise." But, he added, he also gets where the conspiracy theorists are coming from.

"You know I understand the concern that's been raised by a lot of citizens about Jade Helm," Cruz told Bloomberg. "It's a question I'm getting a lot. And I think part of the reason is, we have seen for six years a federal government disrespecting the liberty of the citizens and that produces fear. When you see a federal government that is attacking our free speech rights, our religious liberty rights, our Second Amendment rights. That produces distrust as to government."

Cruz's comments came after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered the state guard to monitor the military's activities after the conspiracy theorists raised concerns.

Cruz told Bloomberg he has "a great deal of faith and confidence" in the governor.

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ted-cruz-jade-helm-15-pentagon

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

1. You might as well just admit you are a traitor and are committing treason

you and the governor

[spanone]

2. go ahead ted, feed the mental midgets

[malthaussen]

3. It's Jade Helm 15, fool.

If the government was serious about taking over your state, don't you think they'd have done it about 14 times ago?

-- Mal

[haele]

11. Jade Helm 15 means Jade Helm FY15. It's a new joint services exercise scenerio that includes SOC.

However, both the Army and Air Force have performed similar CONUS-wide exercises over the years in the same SW area, and has ensured that local law enforcement offices are aware of everything in the scenario so they don't freak out.

I remember supporting Navy and Marine Corps ops during one one back in the mid-2000's prior to "the Surge" where they practiced taking and holding Anbar Provence. Complete with detention camps, sieges, urban warfare, and other population management scenarios.
Guess what states substituted for Iraq and where most of the activity was? It certainly wasn't Maine, South Carolina, Michigan, Hawaii or Alaska.

This whole issue is Political F'-waddery in action. A "population management" exercise in sowing FUD amongst their base.

Haele

[arcane1]

4. "Six years". As if it all started on Obama's first day.

Idiots.

[leftofcool]

5. They are coming to get you, Ted!

Be afraid, be very afraid. Now, go away and find your blankie!

[n2doc]

9. Musical accompaniment

[Vinca]

6. Okay, that's it. The sane states must fund a mission to Texas similar to

Doctors Without Borders and all the doctors must be psychiatrists. Cruz should try to locate his balls and tell the loons down there what they don't want to hear: they're loons. Good lord!

[Sheepshank]

7. we should permit all those scared and concerned people a respit.

The USA should remove ALL military bases, any and all military storage sites etc from Texas, Clearly, they don't like "those" people practicing how to save a nation, in their back yard.

[Iliyah]

8. Fear mongering, bating, blame game, lies, hatred, persecution, gawd's chosen

on and on and on insanity which makes GOPers extremely dangerous to America as well the world.

Someone may snap.

[avebury]

10. The Federal Government should just pack up every

military base, every piece of equipment and member of the military and move them out of Texas (along with every Federal dollar that has benefitted that state.

[Eleanors38]

13. That's compelling logic which would mean nothing to Cruz & his auto-generated wind.

[Eleanors38]

12. Cruz be passin' gas.

[haele]

14. Ummm. I think the military took over a lot of Texas decades and decades ago.

San Antonio might still be a sleepy town along a river if it weren't for the original five Army/Army Air Corps bases that were built there. Galveston. Houston. Dallas Ft. Worth. El Paso. All survived the boom and bust of the early to mid-20th century being military or some other type of federal agency support towns - WWII and NASA did the majority of the work to build most of them up.
Granted, Houston could probably have continued to survive due to its port, but would all the other towns have been able to grow and thrive totally dependent on the boom and bust of oil or ranching? Commodities production has been an increasingly uncertain source of regular revenue in most communities; while big business can do well due to economies of scale, the locals and smaller producers have increasingly smaller margins of profit. Also commodities production employment has been tangentially declining due to improvements brought about by technology - one man (or woman) is all that is needed now to operate equipment that has done away with other jobs (including skilled labor work) that would have employed four to five other people full time in previous decades.

Without the military and NASA to provide a steady level of employed residents and support requirements to fall back on?
If the federal government left, do Texans actually believe that the multi-national employers will take up the slack in revenue shortfall?
Do Texas politicians honestly believe that the oil and tech companies that have come to the state because the federal government investment in the state takes the pressure off the revenue requirements for Texas and helps that state to get away with not requiring an income tax will start paying "their fair share" to keep Texas operating - or rather, lining the pockets of the petit-elite that consider themselves "royalty" in Texas?

Or has playing Political Gotcha and Gawd games with the masses gone to their head?

Haele

[hifiguy]

15. The amount of unquantifiable batshit insanity in this country

is approaching critical mass. It has to be.

[jwirr]

16. Wasn't Cruz the one who was yelling about the ISIS camp on our border down there? Well

Senator first you yell the enemy is on our doorstep and now when the military decides to appease your fears by holding a exercise on the border you are squealing about the protection you asked for.