Ted Cruz's Father: Blacks Need to Be Educated About Democrats; Do Not Understand Minimum Wage Is Bad

By Jeffery Scott, CP Contributor Wednesday, September 03, 2014

Pastor Rafael Cruz speaking to attendees at the Watchmen on the Wall National Briefing held at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC on Thursday, May 22, 2014. | (Photo: The Christian Post: Sonny Hong)

Rafael Cruz, father of Texas Senator Ted Cruz, said in a town hall meeting that African Americans need to be educated about the history of Democrats, return to the Republican Party, and learn why minimum wage is bad.

Cruz was at a Aug. 21 Western Williamson Republican Club meeting in Williamson County, Texas, and spoke of a meeting he had with an African-American pastor in Bakersfield, California. The pastor told him that his values are conservative but the Democratic Party "embraces us."

"I said, as a matter of fact, 'Did you know that Civil Rights legislation was passed by Republicans? It was passed by a Republican Senate under the threat of a filibuster by the Democrats,'" Cruz said. "'Oh, I didn't know that.' And then I said, 'Did you know that every member of the Ku Klux Klan were Democrats from the South?' 'Oh I didn't know that.' You know, they need to be educated."

Cruz accused the Democratic Party of "using" blacks for their own agenda. He also claimed that Planned Parenthood was created for population control of the black community.

Cruz cited a book called Please Stop Helping Us by Jason Riley which claims that government programs have kept blacks in poverty.

"I am going to try to encourage everybody I can to buy a book written by a black journalist. His name is Jason Riley. He wrote a book called Please Stop Helping Us, talking about how all the handouts to blacks have kept blacks in the poorhouse. And I'll tell you what, I am going to make it my task to buy 15 to 20 copies of that book and hand it out to some black leaders to read.

"Jason Riley said in an interview, 'Did you know before we had minimum wage laws black unemployment and white unemployment were the same?' If we increase the minimum wage, black unemployment will skyrocket. See, he understands it, but the average black does not."

Cruz also said that Republicans need to stop playing by the Democrats' playbook, and recognize everyone as Americans instead of "hyphenated Americans." Cruz is no stranger to speaking his mind on the issues of conservative thought and has made some controversial remarks in the past.