The Biblical and Practical reasons I’m voting for Ted Cruz!

Why I’m Endorsing Ted Cruz

By Jarod Hinton

Dear Friends, Family, Countrymen….lend me your ears!

Most people that know me are aware that I have chosen to vote for Ted Cruz in the Republican primary race for President of the United States. What is not commonly known are the reasons behind this decision. It is not my way to thrust my view point down someone’s throat. However, I hold my opinions strongly and thoughtfully, and I hope you will take some time to consider the points I raise in this essay. I will address my principled reasons first and secondly my practical reasons for supporting Senator Ted Cruz. 

Principled Foundation

I govern my life and make decisions that are guided by the Scriptures. Biblical principles provide the foundation for my entire worldview. I think most of you that know me would agree with this statement. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Master of all of life, and since that is true, he is the rightful Lord in the area of statesmanship, government, and leadership. (Sometimes referred to as politics.) Being politically active is not a sin and to abandon this area to the heathen is to abandon our Christian duty to be salt and light in the World. To exert biblical influence upon the nation through government is a noble and godly enterprise. Therefore it is our duty as believers to apply Biblical thinking to the political process at all its stages.

When considering whom to support in any political contest I try to follow certain guidelines. There is a Scripture verse that gives a good outline to my thinking. It is Exodus 18:21:

“Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:”

In this passage Jethro is giving Moses good advice about whom to choose as government officials to help Moses govern and lead the people of Israel. Moses heeds Jethro’s good advice and God gives his approval to this counsel. I think this gives us a good guideline for selecting government officials to lead us in this country. (The opportunity to choose government leaders is a privilege not enjoyed by many in the world.) These guidelines are:

1. “…able men,”
   1. Speaks of men who are capable of leading. You don’t want to elect someone with a big heart but absolutely no idea how to do the job. His qualifications must be legitimate.
2. “…such as fear God,”
   1. Notice what this is not saying. It does not say “walked the aisle at seven years old and dedicated his life to the Lord and has taught Sunday School at least six months out of the year ever since.” It does not even say that a person needs to be a “Christian” as a pre-qualifier. Just that he acknowledges the existence of God and his authority over the affairs of men. That he “fears” the Lord in a reverential way, humbly recognizing that he will give an account of his actions to almighty God one day. Benjamin Franklin would be a good example of someone who probably wasn’t a Christian, but did have a healthy fear of the Lord. (By the way, claiming that one doesn’t need to ask God for forgiveness does not indicate a healthy fear of the Lord or a recognition of our human weakness.)
3. “…men of truth,”
   1. Integrity is incredibly important in elected officials. Not that we will ever have a perfect person in office. These are human beings after all and we would do well to remember our own failures before quickly condemning those of others. But a person that desires elected office should have at least a consistent pattern of honesty and truth in his life.
   2. I also believe this can apply to the fact that Conservative ideals and principles are true and the most biblical ideas to accomplish God’s purposes and to benefit mankind. You can disagree if you like, but a “man of truth” must see the world (including economics and other forces) as they truly are. To recognize our need for smaller government, greater liberty and freedom, for protection of our “inalienable rights” from God (including the freedom of religion) is to see the world as it really is.
4. “…hating covetousness”
   1. There is a great deal of temptation and opportunity for dishonest gain among those in positions of authority. A man selected for office must “hate” the very idea of abusing his power for dishonest gain. A bribe must seem the greatest offense to him. He must be transparent and able to boldly stand against those that accuse him.
   2. This can also apply to areas such as taxes and government overreach, since it seems the Government has a tendency to “covet” my finances, possessions, and freedoms. We need leaders that also hate this kind of evil from our Government.

Now, I know this seems like a Sunday School lesson already, but hang with me. Let me point out how Senator Cruz lines up in these areas.

1. “…able men”
   1. Cruz has the knowledge and experience necessary to be the President of the United States. In spades. He graduated from Harvard Law School and worked for several judges, including Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist. He was solicitor general for the state of Texas, and in this post argued and won several cases before the United States Supreme Court. He might be the most well educated, smartest man running for President. (Perhaps only second to Dr. Ben Carson in this area.) He understands how Washington works and yet hasn’t been taken in by their tactics. He knows how to fight the Establishment with courage and backbone. With all the battles coming over Conservative vs. Liberal principles, we need someone who has the guts to not give in.
   2. And with the next president nominating several Supreme Court Justices, we need a man that is able to understand the legal issues involved and select a strong constitutionalist to the Court. Sen. Cruz is very able in this area also, better perhaps than many of our recent conservative presidents because he has experience in the legal system that most of them never received.
   3. Contrary to popular opinion, Sen. Cruz is able to bring about bi-partisan agreement for solutions that are consistent with conservative principles. He did this regularly at the FTC by doing exhaustive research and making his case and convincing his co-workers he was correct. The reason he has been unsuccessful in doing that in D.C. is because the corruption is so severe in that city that no one wants to see sense. But in all of that he has remained true to principle. All of this, along with other things, proves to me that he is more than capable of doing the job.
2. “…such as fear God.”
   1. Cruz is an outspoken and committed Christian. But many men have claimed that title in the past and it is just mere words and pandering. In fact many have accused Ted Cruz of pandering and using religious words to get votes. We don’t want a “preacher-in-chief” I’ve heard said. The only problem with that accusation is that it is based upon people’s impression or feelings of him (often non-believers) and not on any facts. I find myself thinking that if I were running for office I would do exactly the same things he has done. I would go to the Christian Conservatives in their churches and other meeting places and appeal to them to vote for me and the cause I believed in. Sen. Cruz has never done anything that is not consistent with what a true Believer would do if they were strategically trying to garner the support of the Christians all across this country.
   2. He was raised in a Baptist church in Texas, and has proven consistent in his faith before he ever decided to run for President. But beyond just claiming the name of Christ, his principles are consistent with Biblical teaching. Pro-life, lower taxes, strong defense, adherence to the Constitution, traditional marriage, defending religious freedom…all of these are Biblical positions that Ted Cruz has held faithfully his entire life. Read his book, “A Time for Truth”, in which he discusses his conversion experience and decide for yourself if his conversion was genuine.
3. “…men of truth.”
   1. Many in Washington hate, literally hate, Ted Cruz because he is so truthful and honest that he will not compromise his principles to get along with others. And the truth exposes their schemes so they don’t like that. The truth is more important to Sen. Cruz than making friends or buying influence. He even called out the President of the Senate publicly for lying. That takes guts, and a commitment to the truth himself. He is often compared to John Adams, our second President, who was also disliked for all the right reasons.
   2. A few of the candidates, and some of my own friends, have accused Sen. Cruz of lying. Without addressing every single incident here, I will say that every accusation of his not telling the truth has been proven false. Even the incident where he tried to amend the “Amnesty” bill and said “I want immigration reform to pass” has been twisted to seem like a falsehood. He was against that bill the whole time, unless it was amended to no longer be an “amnesty” bill. The parliamentary tactic he employed has been proven to be a means of exposing the real goal of that bill which was to create a whole new voting block of illegal immigrants. Sen. Cruz helped to stop that bill. Participating in subterfuge to expose the Establishments plan to marginalize the conservative voting block is not the same as telling a lie.
   3. Ben Carson did go home after Iowa and did “suspend” his campaign for a short time before NH primary. That is all the Cruz campaign ever said was happening, based on what turned out to be an accurate CNN report. The implication that he could be pulling out all together was perfectly reasonable, and one several people, not just the Cruz campaign, were making.
   4. His recent firing of a senior staffer, the Communications Director, in his campaign for sharing inaccurate information and engaging in a personal attack says a lot about Sen. Cruz’ commitment to the truth. (You may have noticed how he NEVER attacks another candidate personally, as in, calling them names or questioning their character. For him, it’s always about the issues.) FYI, Sen. Cruz could have gotten out of a lot of these attacks by firing some scapegoat. Taking the heat himself says he knows he and his campaign were innocent. When a legitimate failure happens, that is when he brought consequences.
   5. Cruz has the backbone to stand with the truth no matter what. We really need a man who will have guts and fortitude to stand up against the incredible Washington machine that wants to stop his every turn. Sen. Cruz has proven, by his actions, that he really is a man of truth, unfounded personal attacks aside.
4. “…Hating Covetousness”
   1. Cruz has proven during his time in the Senate that he cannot be bought and paid for by lobbyists and others. His hating of covetousness also goes toward the covetousness of Government. His commitment to the principles of limited government will cause power (coveted by the Establishment) to be taken out of Washington and put back into the hands of WE the People. He is so good in this area that the lifetime politicians hate him.

These reasons are only a small helping of the many things that make me incredibly excited about Ted Cruz as President. I have not been so excited about a candidate since…well…I can’t remember a candidate I have ever supported so enthusiastically. This is a godly man that has the education, preparation, experience, conviction, backbone, and principles to be an outstanding conservative president. Our country sits upon a precipice, and while God’s solutions are bigger than just who is the President, this could be a major factor in the restoration we all certainly pray for and seek after.

Practical/Strategic Considerations

Beyond just the principles of the man, there are the practical realities of the political situation we find ourselves in. Recognizing that God is sovereign and raises up whomever he chooses, we still have to consider strategy in our voting. If I believed that Ben Carson or Marco Rubio were the best candidates to be President, I would still be supporting Ted Cruz in this primary. The reason for this is found in two words: Donald Trump.

Donald Trump has been gaining steam and inexplicably surviving statements and situations that would have sunk anyone even four years ago. Who would have ever thought that a person who says that “Planned Parenthood does great things for women” would ever have a chance at winning the Republican nomination for President?! (FYI, Planned Parenthood does not do mammograms, or many of the other “women’s health services” the left likes to point to. This is a common misconception. PP makes hundreds of millions of dollars every year from destroying unborn children. This is almost their entire yearly budget!)

Donald Trump is an immoral man, who has spent his entire life supporting everything we conservatives claim we despise. He is the definition of a donating class liberal elitist who arrogantly thinks he is better than everyone around him, never mind facts to the contrary. Lately he has given lip service to Christian principles and conservative ideals, but has no track record to verify his statements. Even if he has had a “change of heart” on important issues like abortion and immigration and Hilary Clinton (shall I go on?) isn’t it gambling an awful lot on just his word? As in, should we gamble the survival of our nation on a man who has absolutely nothing to prove his change of heart except his confident words? “Trust me. It will be great.” I simply don’t believe him. And I do believe the stakes are that high. Mr. Trump must be stopped!

So what is the best way to stop him? Voting for Ted Cruz. Despite the efforts of the mainstream media to prop up the establishment candidacy of Marco Rubio (who is, I will admit, more conservative than any Establishment candidate I can remember), Sen. Cruz has the best polling numbers in pursuit of the “Trumpster”, running neck and neck with Trump most places and usually ahead of Rubio. He is even leading Donald Trump in his home state of Texas and I think one or two others also. Sen. Rubio might not even win his home state of Florida.

If we conservatives would combine forces to vote for the strongest “not-Trump” candidate, we could end the madness and actually start to focus on winning in November. If Sen. Rubio were the strongest candidate to beat Trump, for the good of the country I would be reluctantly suggesting we join forces behind Rubio. I admit that would be hard for me to do, so I don’t suggest this strategy lightly. (Nothing against Sen. Rubio or Dr. Carson personally. They are just not as conservative or well prepared as I would like.)

Ted Cruz will be able to pull enough support from the other candidates to trump Trump’s advance. There are some significant problems for any other candidate to overcome. It will be hard enough for Cruz to do it, but he does have the best chance. A major reason for this is that people are seeing through the false attacks and recognizing the genuine qualities of Ted Cruz as a candidate and as a man.

Electability

Many have said Sen. Cruz is unelectable in November. This is not true, but is circulated by the Establishment and the mainstream media because they actually fear him more than any other candidate. Most polling data consistently shows Cruz over Clinton or Sanders in a head to head match up. This fact is usually ignored by the press of course. If you know how to listen, you can tell who they believe is the biggest threat to the Liberals in November.

I know that this essay has almost become a book. Many of you will realize that this is normal for me. :o) Thank you for reading.

I feel very strongly about this election, about our nation, about our responsibility to show love to all men. God is still on the throne, but we have a part to play. I see very serious threats coming against us, both in the present and in the future. I also see electing Ted Cruz as a very viable and effective means of stemming the tide of evil in our Government. This is the most important election in our times, and we should not vote lightly.

We must practice discernment and wisdom. If you disagree with my conclusions, I certainly hold no ill will towards you and respect your decision. But I could not in good conscience sit back and not say anything to convince you of the truth of my words. I encourage you to vote in your states primary, and then in the general election in November. And I encourage you to vote for Senator Ted Cruz as the man to lead our nation into these next dark and trying times. He’s the right man for the job! I pray that God will raise him up to “stand in the gap” for us and our families.

May God richly bless your life and may we see His Kingdom go forth in the world!

In Christ,

Jarod Hinton

 

P.S. If anyone would care to ask questions or give me your best shot, I’m more than willing to discuss these issues with you. Email me at jarodhinton@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer quickly.