Ted Cruz Uses Rush Limbaugh in Radio Ad to Take Down Marco Rubio

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/marcn/20994510876/in/photolist-xZdmDs-y2x3Tr-x5vig7-x5vnw1-y1DUqo-xJVvtG-y3cVV6-x5DNdt-xJVaaY-xK1VyM-y3cQai-y2x18M-xJVFj3-y2x7jz-xZdouG-xZdCUy-xK2dq2-xJUc5w-xZcVGo-y2wK5a-xZdAPG-x5v6cN-xK1Z2i-xJUkd5-x5DgRM-x5vCJA-y1E3iC-A8yUYS-fye9Qg-fye9Uv-fye9Xk-rrMLi6-fysWim-hnE5gj-fye9Zg-fye9S4-fysWos-hfnpsJ-hfno5o-hfnoMA-fyeMbe-fyeiSp-dmUvsq-hsiXHw-CaVyzK-dPbG2A-DLwS8b-CRsDbH-A2XoWg-DNRmsi">Marc Nozell</a>/Flickr

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Ted Cruz is hoping Rush Limbaugh can push him over the top in next Tuesday’s New Hampshire Republican primary. Here’s a spot that the senator from Texas is running on a Boston sports radio station, using the conservative yakker’s words to brand Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who holds a slight edge in the race for second place, as a pro-amnesty hypocrite:

Rush Limbaugh: “If you’re looking for the Republican candidate who is the most steadfastly opposed to liberalism, whose agenda is oriented toward stopping it and thwarting it and defeating it, it’s Ted Cruz.”

Narrator: “Rush is right. It’s Ted Cruz who’s led our fights in Washington. To secure our border. To stop taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants. And it was Cruz who stood up for us against the Washington establishment. When the Gang of Eight proposed amnesty for 11 million illegal immigrants, it was wrong. Ted Cruz fought them. But what about Marco Rubio? When Rubio ran for Senate, he made this pledge:

Marco Rubio: “I will never support it, never have and never will support any effort to grant blanket legalization amnesty.”

Rush Limbaugh: “That’s what he said. It’s not what he did. It was Marco Rubio that was a member of the Gang of Eight, and Ted Cruz that wasn’t.”

Narrator: Ted Cruz, the only one we can trust.”

The ad is not an endorsement from Limbaugh, who made the comments on his radio show. Limbaugh isn’t quite the voice of God, but in a tight Republican primary, he might be the next best thing. Cruz is talking about immigration every chance he can get in the Granite State—even when he’s supposed to be talking about heroin—as he tries to catch up to Donald Trump and keep his rival from Florida at bay.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate