The media's determination to pin anything negative on Texas Senator Ted Cruz apparently knows no bounds.
Even as the establishment press, with Politico's Reid Epstein being one of the more recent examples, attempts to give President Obama the Mother of All Free Passes for the disastrous rollouts of HealthCare.gov and Obamacare in general, Cruz, currently perceived as a strong 2016 presidential prospect, somehow deserves to be associated with comments left at his Facebook post on Nelson Mandela's death. At least that's what Anneta Konstantinides at ABC's "The Note" seems to want readers to believe; otherwise, why would she engage in the effort at all? Excerpts follow the jump (bolds are mine; HT Twitchy):
Ted Cruz Criticized for Praising Nelson Mandela
While much of the world was eulogizing Nelson Mandela, some of Sen. Ted Cruz’s followers were fuming that the man who defeated South Africa’s apartheid and won the Nobel Peace Prize should be reviled as a communist and a terrorist.
They were also critical of Cruz, R-Texas, for praising Mandela.
The death of Mandela Thursday at age 95 prompted an outpouring of praise from around the world.
Cruz also eulogized Mandela on his Facebook page, writing, “Nelson Mandela will live in history as an inspiration for defenders of liberty around the globe… Because of his epic fight against injustice, an entire nation is now free.”
The senator’s office defended the post, which got over 5,000 likes.
“Mr. Mandela deserves to be remembered and honored for his sacrifices in pursuit of freedom for the oppressed and his historic achievements to that end,” said Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier.
But some of his followers were dismayed by the senator’s praise.
... “Um, yeah, Mandela was a communist and was involved in torture, terror, and murder,” said David Frey. “Just lost a lot of respect, Senator Cruz. A whole lot.”
... Cruz’s office did not return calls seeking comment on his followers’ posts.
There is no point in debating whether or not Mandela was a terrorist in the 1960s. He was routinely identified as one in the 1960s and was charged with involvement in an extensive list of terrorist acts in the 1950s. The question is whether he fundamentally and genuinely changed his outlook and actions in his later years. On that, there is considerable room for disagreement. But what a few Facebook commenters at a Ted Cruz post happen to believe is not news — unless your objective is to sow doubt in voters' minds about him.
The estimable Allahpundit at Hot Air tweeted that Anneta Konstantinides' post came about because it was a "Slow Friday":
I think Allah's being far too kind.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
