Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), who will challenge Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) next November, has fallen into some traps when it comes to the blame game. Last Thursday he published an article for MSNBC: “As the Israel-Hamas war rages, extremist Republicans handcuff the USBut nearly 24 hours later, a correction was necessary because Allred misrepresented Cruz’s position on the confirmation of Jack Lew, President Joe Biden’s pick as ambassador to Israel.
It’s no surprise that Allred attacked Cruz, even though the original article had a glaring problem with it. As we read, with additional emphasis:
However, it is not too early to consider how we can ensure lasting peace and exploit this tragedy as a catalyst for change. At least 27 American citizens were murdered and an unknown number were taken hostage. However, Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas continue to block the confirmation Jack Lew, an eminently qualified candidate for ambassador to Israel.
Cruz can’t actually block Lew’s confirmation because a hearing hasn’t been held yet. Because Republicans are in the minority, Democratic leaders in the Senate are planning such hearings. As announced last Monday, the hearing will take place on Wednesday. A Reuters headline even read: “The U.S. Senate is moving quickly to confirm Lev as ambassador to Israel“
MSNBC was forced to issue a correction, and the timestamp showed it was made about 23 hours later.
“ADJUSTMENT (October 13, 2023, 6:10 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article incorrectly represented Senator Ted Cruz’s procedural position on Jack Lew’s nomination. Although he did not agree to expedite Lew’s nomination, Cruz did not formally postpone it,” we read in a correction added at the bottom of the article.
Here’s what the passage reads now, with added emphasis:
However, it is not too early to consider how we can ensure lasting peace and use this tragedy as a catalyst for change. At least 27 American citizens were murdered and an unknown number were taken hostage. But Republicans such as Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas have balked at rushing the confirmation Jack Lew, an eminently qualified candidate for ambassador to Israel.
Macarena Martinez de Aldecoa, Cruz’s spokeswoman, posted a screenshot with a correction, highlighting the congressman’s embarrassing mistake, especially considering he wants to become a senator.
“Colin Allred wants to be a senator but knows nothing about how the Senate works,” her post reads in part. “His opponent keeps tweeting that Ted Cruz is holding the ambassador for questioning (he doesn’t know how it all works).”
Colin Allred wants to become a senator, but he has no idea how the Senate works.
His nemesis keeps tweeting that Ted Cruz is holding the ambassador for questioning (no idea how this all works).
Tonight he tried to post it on MSNBC, which just issued a correction. pic.twitter.com/hHxMwrrnar
— Macarena Martinez de Aldecoa (@macamrtz) October 13, 2023
Although Allred’s article describes Lew as “eminently qualified,” Republican senators have expressed concerns about his background, particularly regarding the role he played in easing sanctions on Iran during the Obama administration.
According to Wall Street JournalIran played a role in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
Report from the Daily Signal he pointed out such concerns about Lev, including not only the Iran nuclear deal but also what the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s investigation found about the deal; his claim that “no administration has done more for Israel’s security than this one,” referring to the Obama administration; his pro-China association; payments from New York University; and CitiGroup withdrawals.
While the report did not mention Allred’s MSNBC article, it did include a statement from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) regarding allegations against Republicans blocking the nomination, with additional emphasis:
In Mr. Lew’s case, I have sedate concerns that he has a history of misleading and lying to Congress regarding certain financial arrangements made during the Obama administration. This is a legitimate situation. This is something you should ask about. Republicans are not blocking his nomination. He just got nominated. The documents regarding his nomination reached the Senate literally a week ago. It would be impossible to confirm him or anyone else. We will get through these hearings. We will go through this process.
This wasn’t the only time Allred attacked Cruz last week, including Israel. In an Oct. 11 post, Allred made similar allegations. “Guerrilla extremists like Ted Cruz have implemented a blockade of ambassadorial candidates across the Middle East – including the ambassador to Israel – just to score political points against the Biden administration,” it read in part, but it only got accusatory from there.
“Even after these horrific attacks, Senator Cruz continues to prevent you from voting for a highly qualified candidate to be our ambassador to Israel. This is shameful and dangerous,” the post later reads. “Though Senator Cruz should do the right thing and put politics aside.”
“By continuing to play political games and obstructing the nominations of key nominees, Ted Cruz is endangering our national security and putting Israel at risk,” reads the text attached to the post.
Martinez de Aldecoa responded to the post with another screenshot of the fix.
@Community Notes this is a blatant lie.
MSNBC had to be the adult in the room because you wrote something that wasn’t true, so they had to step in and correct you because you don’t know how the Senate works.
Everyone in the world understands how the Senate works – except… pic.twitter.com/NVM2g7ZY02
— Macarena Martinez de Aldecoa (@macamrtz) October 15, 2023
As Townhall reported at the time, Allred and Cruz also exchanged quotes on their X political accounts, with Cruz pointing out that Allred had insisted on releasing aid to Gaza, despite an internal document revealing that “due to his overall control over Gaza, we assess that there is a high risk that Hamas could potentially derive indirect, unintended benefits from U.S. assistance to Gaza.”
Allred also had problematic ties to the anti-Israel group J Street and Imam Omar Suleiman.
Forecasters consider the race “Probably a Republican” and there are many Democratic officials who are considered much more vulnerable, particularly in Montana, West Virginia and Ohio. When it comes to both the seats that Democrats and Republicans are defending, map 2024 seems particularly beneficial to the GOP in particular Compared to map from 2022
I would also shy away from this album. Texans do not support the financing of terrorism.https://t.co/z3Q7ICiFuz
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 13, 2023
