Presidential candidate Cruz appoints Islam critics as advisers

[pampango]

1. Frank Gaffney is “one of America’s most notorious Islamophobes.”

Gaffney, who served in the Reagan-era Defense Department, now heads the Center for Security Policy. It’s a think tank of sorts well known for promoting conspiratorial theories about the Muslim Brotherhood infiltrating the U.S. government at high levels and the Sharia system replacing American democracy.

Well aware that he is not the GOP establishment’s favorite, Cruz has been urging primary voters to see him as the most likely candidate to beat Trump. But it’s not clear that the Texas senator offers much of an alternative to Trump’s offensive rhetoric.

A few years ago, it looked as though the Republican Party was ready to sever ties with Gaffney and his inflammatory claims. He was banned from the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in 2011 after accusing Norquist and Khan of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

But since then, Gaffney has staged a comeback. GOP presidential hopefuls Cruz, Trump, Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee all appeared at his group’s events last year. Months ago, Cruz offered the following praise for the zealot: “Frank is a patriot, he loves this country, and he’s clear-eyed about radical Islamic terrorism.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-frank-gaffney-islamophobia_us_56eb11cbe4b03a640a69fc3b