UPDATE x1: Cruz campaign announced Monday the GOP candidate asked for campaign spokesman Rick Tyler's resignation.
ROSELLE, IL – GOP candidate for president U.S. Senator Ted Cruz's campaign is choosing to avoid addressing two hot topics that have bubbled to the surface in Illinois – a rogue delegate candidate and a pesky ballot challenge about Cruz's candidate qualifications.
8th CD delegate challenges Cruz attack on Trump's health care plan
C. Steven Tucker of Roselle is on the March 15th GOP primary ballot as a Cruz delegate in the 8th CD. Tucker, a 20 year health insurance sales exec, joined the Chicago Tea Party movement when it began as an outspoken critic of Obamacare. He's been featured on radio and tv talk shows tearing apart the Affordable Care Act.
In mid-February, Tucker published a scathing critique of Senator Cruz' assertion that Donald Trump advocated a single payer health care plan, similar to what Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are promoting. Tucker's story was pointed to by Trump supporter Sarah Palin. On Sunday, the story was featured in the Washington Examiner.
Sunday, Tucker re-emphasized his criticism of his pick in the presidential campaign, saying Cruz is repeating a lie.
"There's a difference between hyperbole and an actual lie, and unfortunately Senator Cruz has repeated lies repeatedly on the campaign trail," Tucker told the Washington Examiner. "He's actually still repeating a lie that Trump is for single-payer and socialized medicine and a plan that's exactly like Sanders and Hillary, which is a lie. I wish that he would stop that and correct the record, I doubt it will happen."
Tucker said he planned to remain a Cruz delegate on Illinois' March 15th GOP ballot, upon which early voting has already begun. However, Tucker's criticism was harsh, and fellow Illinois Cruz delegates contacted by Illinois Review chose to stay out of the kerfuffle. Still, they were upset -off the record via the campaign – about Tucker's comments. Tucker wrote:
I have bit my tongue long enough. As a delegate for Senator Ted Cruz I have been placed into a difficult and increasingly uncomfortable position and now I havehad enough! Continuing to support Senator Cruz after he repeats incorrectly and ad nauseum that “A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for Obamacare“ and, that “if you vote Donald Trump, you vote for Bernie Sanders-style socialized medicine.“ Or even worse that Trump, Clinton and Sanders “have the identical position on health care” has forced me into a crisis of conscience. These are statements that even the left leaning Politifact has correctly identified as FALSE.
There are two things I detest above all others. Lies and intellectual laziness. There are far too many of my fellow “Cruzers” who either refuse to do the necessary research on Mr. Trump’s health care proposals or are simply too lazy to simply read his actual policy proposals as outlined in both his books “Time To Get Tough” from 2011 and his latest book “Crippled America” from 2015.
The Washington Examiner was able to get a short response from Cruz' national campaign Rick Tyler, who doubled down in an email to them
Trump in this “60 Minutes” interview clearly states that everyone is going to be covered and that the government is going to pay for it. That is single-payer socialized medicine. – Rick Tyler
The Cruz campaign chose not to respond to IR request for comment on the issue.
Cruz' ballot qualifications still being questioned by Carson supporter
Downstate attorney Lawrence Joyce, a GOP candidate Ben Carson supporter, has taken his objection of Ted Cruz's qualifications to run for president to the Cook County court level. Earlier this year, the Illinois State Board of Elections threw out Joyce's argument that Cruz was not a "natural-born" citizen of the United States.
Joyce then filed a lawsuit in Cook County Illinois, which Cruz's Illinois legal representative Sharee Langenstein asked for dismissal, based on Joyce's lack of following procedure in paperwork.
Langenstein did not argue the substance of Joyce's argument, but told the court he had failed to follow appropriate paperwork protocol when he didn't inform Cruz at his Texas residence of his objection.
Langenstein said in court Friday it is "very, very clear" the Cook County court doesn't have jurisdiction to hear the case because state law stipulates the candidate be served with the complaint, USA Today reported over the weekend. Joyce, a pharmacist and attorney from Poplar Grove, Ill., failed to serve Cruz, whose home address is listed in his petition to be placed on the state's ballot, Langenstein said.
Cook County Judge Maureen Ward Kirby set a March 1 court date to hear arguments on the motion to dismiss, leaving the question about Cruz's ballot placement open.
The Illinois GOP primary is scheduled for March 15th. Early voting has already begun.
Langensten, who said the national campaign has restricted her comments on the case, referred Illinois Review to the USA Today story.
