Re: Cruz on CNN

From:BennettE@dnc.org To: FreundlichC@dnc.org CC: DillonL@dnc.org, BauerN@dnc.org, GrahamC@dnc.org, BrinsterJ@dnc.org, HaxoC@dnc.org Date: 2016-04-28 18:28 Subject: Re: Cruz on CNN

Thanks! changed to restroom" instead of "shower", though he has said the latter before but in a different context Sent from my iPhone On Apr 28, 2016, at 4:25 PM, Freundlich, Christina <FreundlichC@dnc.org<mailto:FreundlichC@dnc.org>> wrote: Thanks eric, these are good H/t Chris for the Fiorina question. Let me know if you have any edits/additional questions 1) You’ve expressed support for HB2 in North Carolina, and on the trail, you’ve criticized Donald Trump for supporting allowing men to use the restroom with girls. Do you acknowledge that men and women have the ability to transition to the sex they identify with? TED CRUZ DEFENDED NORTH CAROLINA’S ANTI-LGBT LAW THAT RESCINDED PROTECTIONS FOR TRANSGENDER PERSONS, STATING THAT “MEN SHOULD NOT BE GOING TO THE BATHROOM WITH LITTLE GIRLS” Ted Cruz Defended North Carolina’s Anti-LGBT Law That Rescinded Protections For Transgender Persons, Stating That “Men Should Not Be Going To The Bathroom With Little Girls.” “CHUCK TODD: “Senator, before I go to some questions. North Carolina. What’s going on down there. And I figure it’s a good follow up for what- the conversation we just had. First of all, do you support the law itself that the governor signed? He signed this law last month. It limits bathroom access for transgender people, eliminates ordinances locally that were done in Charlotte at the time, essentially statewide law saying no you can’t do that. You can’t create these special protections specifically targeting this issue of bathrooms. But it also took away the power of Charlotte and other cities in North Carolina to do their own ordinances. What do you think of the law?” CRUZ: “Well, listen, I’m a constitutionalist and the state has the power to pass their own laws. To make a determination that men should not be going to the bathroom with little girls. As the father of daughters, I’m not terribly excited about men being able to go alone into a bathroom with my daughters. And I think that is a perfectly reasonable determination for the people to make. I mean, that’s why we have a democracy – is to respect the values of the people. And –“ CHUCK TODD: “But did this law go too far cause the law itself and I think the governor thought it did because he signed an executive order cause he was worried that the law was gonna go too far and then make it so that you could discriminate against lesbians and gays.” CRUZ: “Listen, the political correctness that we have embraced, enough already. Listen, the Obama education department is going against a junior high, insisting that the junior high must allow a teenage boy to shower with teenage girls. Now, that’s just nuts. That’s not a reasonable position, that’s crazy.” CHUCK TODD: “What do you say to these corporations that are boycotting North Carolina right now?” CRUZ: “Listen, I think big business gives in to political pressure and has been willing over and over again to trample on religious liberty.” [Ted Cruz Remarks, MSNBC Town Hall, Buffalo NY, 4/14/16; VIDEO] Ted Cruz Attacked Donald Trump For Suggesting That Transgender People Should Be Able To Use Whichever Bathroom They Want. “Ted Cruz went after Donald Trump on Thursday for saying transgender people should be able to use whichever bathroom they want. ‘Have we gone stark-raving nuts?’ Cruz said at a rally in Frederick, Maryland. Responding to North Carolina's controversial bathroom law during a TODAY town hall earlier in the day, Trump said people should ‘use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate.’ Cruz immediately panned the comments, telling radio host Glenn Beck ‘that's not a reasonable position.’ It's a point he again hammered on during his rally in the Old Line State. ‘Grown adult men - strangers - should not be alone in a bathroom with little girls,’ Cruz said.” [NBC, 4/21/16<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/cruz-attacks-trump-transgender-bathroom-comments-n559931>] 2) John Cornyn recently stated that you came to Washington to run for president. How do you expect to govern the country effectively when you have caused so much animosity with your own colleagues? JOHN CORNYN SAID THAT TED CRUZ CAME TO THE SENATE TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT John Cornyn Said That Ted Cruz Came To The Senate To Run For President. “Sen. John Cornyn says fellow Texan Ted Cruz had a specific goal in mind when he was elected to the Senate: Running for president. In an interview with KERA this week, Cornyn said that’s why they have different political styles, despite having similar conservative goals. As the Senate’s No. 2 leader, Cornyn falls in line with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to carry out broader party initiatives. Cruz, however, famously drew the ire of many Republicans when he helped instigate a government shutdown to try to block Obamacare. ‘Clearly, he didn’t come here to remain in the Senate. He came here to run for president,’ Cornyn said, according to the report. ‘…That perhaps explains the difference in tactics.’ The comments are uncharacteristically blunt for the pragmatic three-term senator.” [Dallas Morning News, 4/26/16<http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2016/04/sen-cornyn-ted-cruz-went-to-washington-to-run-for-president.html/>] 3) Your campaign has been accused of coordinating with a super PAC supporting your campaign. Do you deny these allegations, and if so, why was one of your bundlers caught on tape soliciting donations for a super PAC supporting your campaign at an official Cruz for President fundraiser? A Complaint Was Filed Against Ted Cruz’s Campaign After Reports Surfaced That A Campaign Official Solicited Donations For A SuperPAC At An Official Cruz For President Fundraiser. “Texas Democrats have filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission claiming the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz violated federal election law. Announced Monday, the complaint asks the FEC to investigate an incident in which a Cruz fundraiser reportedly suggested at a campaign-hosted event that supporters give unlimited donations to a super PAC. Under federal election law, campaigns and their agents cannot solicit contributions above the federal limit of $5,000. ‘If you hit your max then we have a table for you that is the unlimited table,’ Cruz bundler Keet Lewis said at a campaign fundraiser Dec. 30 in Dallas, according to Politico, which obtained a recording of Lewis' remarks. ‘It can take corporate dollars, it can take partnership dollars, and that’s the super PAC, Stand for Truth, so pick up some of that information.’ The complaint by the Texas Democratic Party, which is dated Friday, says Cruz's campaign ‘disregarded the law and brazenly asked supporters to give both unlimited contributions and contributions from corporations to a Super PAC supporting Senator Cruz's campaign.’” [Texas Tribune, 4/25/16<https://www.texastribune.org/2016/04/25/texas-democrats-file-fec-complaint-against-cruz/>] 4) While Carly Fiorina was CEO of HP, the company engaged in trade with Iran. When questioned about this, Fiorina defend HP’s actions by saying that selling “communication” in Iran would encourage political reform in Iran. Do you stand by Fiorina’s claims that engaging in trade like this is a way to improve what she referred to as the “regime’s atrocities”? CARLY FIORINA’S EXPLANATION FOR WHY HP WAS SELLING HP PRODUCTS TO IRAN WAS “QUESTIONABLE” HEADLINE: “Carly Fiorina’s Defense Of Hewlett-Packard’s Iran Dealings Has Some Big Holes” [Huffington Post, 9/21/15<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/carly-fiorina-hewlett-packard-iran_560048c5e4b0fde8b0cf291b>] Huffington Post: “… If Fiorina Was Unaware Of HP Products Ending Up In Iran, It Appears To Be Partially Because She Wasn’t Looking Or Listening.” [Huffington Post, 9/21/15<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/carly-fiorina-hewlett-packard-iran_560048c5e4b0fde8b0cf291b>] August 2010: Carly Fiorina Defended HP’s Dealings With Iran By Arguing That Its People Could Use HP Ink To Publicize The Regime’s Atrocities. “In August 2010, while running for Senate in California, she defended her company’s dealings with Iran by arguing that its people could use HP ink to publicize the regime’s atrocities. ‘Isn't it wonderful that Dell PCs and Apple iPhones are in Iran, because this is why we know that a woman has been condemned to be stoned to death because she is accused of adultery,’ Fiorina told Lady Globes magazine, an Israeli publication. She added, ‘We should be encouraging elements of political reform inside Iran, and one of the ways to do that is by selling communication in and out.’” [Huffington Post, 9/21/15<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/carly-fiorina-hewlett-packard-iran_560048c5e4b0fde8b0cf291b>] WHEN CARLY FIORINA WAS CEO, HP USED A SUBSIDIARY IN SINGAPORE TO CIRCUMVENT SANCTIONS AND SEND COMPUTERS IRAQ Under Carly Fiorina, HP Used A Subsidiary In Singapore To Send Desktop Computers To Iraq, Which Was Sanctioned At The Time. “As for Fiorina’s assertion that HP only discovered the Iran-related transactions three years after she left the company, that too seems unlikely. The company, after all, was known to use subsidiaries to circumvent sanctions law. In a September 2002 congressional hearing, both witnesses and lawmakers talked openly about how HP used a subsidiary in Singapore to send desktop computers to Iraq (itself sanctioned). Then-Rep. Bob Stump (R-Ariz.), who chaired the House Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committee, accused HP of ‘disserving our country’ by doing ‘an end run around American laws.’” [Huffington Post, 9/21/15<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/carly-fiorina-hewlett-packard-iran_560048c5e4b0fde8b0cf291b>] Ok, will do. CNN is looking for questions. Please send some topical/interesting ones. Maybe a couple on Fiorina. Someone please take point and send them all together by 3pm. Thank you!