Ted Cruz, speaking to the press in Wisconsin today, expressed disappointment that Georgia governor Nathan Deal vetoed the state’s controversial anti-LGBTQ bill which was widely opposed to the state’s powerful business partners and entertainment industry giants like Disney and Marvel, who today claimed the veto a major victory.
“I thought that was very disappointing to see Governor Deal in Georgia side with leftist activists,” Cruz said to reporters outside a restaurant where the Cruz campaign hopes to gain some important votes ahead of the Wisconsin primary on April 5.
The bill, covered previously by The Inquisitr , would have severely curtailed the rights of LGBTQ individuals living in Georgia, and it was strongly opposed by businesses with large investments in Georgia – businesses like Disney, Marvel, and even AMC which shoots its popular show The Walking Dead ‘ entirely in Georgia state.
Ted Cruz hits Georgia governor for siding with “leftist activists” on religious liberty bill https://t.co/w1MbQBkMBQ pic.twitter.com/ycUTXuhxJA
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) March 28, 2016
Ted Cruz however, isn’t celebrating today as he sees the veto as a capitulation to leftist activists seeking to undermine the kinds of traditional values that the Cruz campaign promotes . In particular, Ted Cruz takes issue with the idea of a state law curtailing an individual’s freedom of religion – by forcing state employees to perform gay marriages, even if those marriages run contrary to their religious beliefs. Ted Cruz, for his part, has referred to gay marriage as a “crisis.”
Ted Cruz’s opposition to the law, which the Governor of Georgia has stated he will veto, could shore up his support among evangelicals who typically support legislation like Georgia’s Religious Liberty Bill, and use the issue to illustrate a clear divide between Cruz and Trump ahead of the Wisconsin primary.
The Ted Cruz campaign in Wisconsin has been firing on all cylinders this week, as the Cruz camp hopes to get ahead of Trump with a solid head start that will carry over into the primary next week, delivering the working-class state and keeping the much-needed delegates out of Trump’s hands.
Ted Cruz, according to the Washington Post , has been hitting the stump hard, painting himself as a working class hero, an image which could help him among Wisconsin’s more moderate voters, who otherwise might not support the far-right Cruz. But Cruz is building a solid operation in Wisconsin, reports the Chicago Tribune .
“We’re gonna see millions and millions of new high-paying jobs, manufacturing jobs, like these jobs, coming back to America, coming back from China, coming back from Mexico,” Ted Cruz promised a group of factory workers in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Ted Cruz has long been a figure in the religious liberty movement which opposes LGBTQ rights – if they infringe on an individual’s religious liberty. Moderate republicans, on the other hand, have warmed up to the idea of LGBTQ rights, and as Gov. Nathan Deal – a Republican – said today, discrimination isn’t going to help anything.
WATCH: @tedcruz : “Who cares what Donald is tweeting?” https://t.co/xpG5K17CfH
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 28, 2016
Ted Cruz continues to campaign in Wisconsin, attempting to promote his economic policy over his social conservative personal ideology which may be at odds with Wisconsin’s more moderate voter base.
“We’re gonna see wages going up for Americans all across Wisconsin, and across this country. And we’re gonna see young people coming out of school with two, three, five job offers,” Ted Cruz promised at a Wisconsin campaign stop today.
According to polls reported to The Washington Post , Ted Cruz may not be gaining much ground among blue-collar workers in Wisconsin, most of whom still support Trump – by around 12 to 21 percent. Not an impossible margin for Cruz to close, but a fairly large gap to close by next week.
Still, the Ted Cruz campaign hopes the Cruz economic policy will resonate with voters, even if his social conservatism might not win him many votes among the blue-collar workers of Wisconsin.
[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images]