Year: 2016

Ben Carson Accepts Ted Cruz's Apology for Spreading Rumors but Calls on Cruz to End Dirty Tricks

Earlier today I wrote about accusations from Ben Carson that Ted Cruz’s national co-chair Steve King misled caucus goers about the status of Ben Carson’s campaign. King tweeted prior to the start of the caucus that Carson appeared to be dropping out. In fact, Carson did not drop out and believes that the message from King and others in the Cruz camp compromised his Iowa results.
Today, Cruz issued an apology but did not mention any consequences to staffers who misled voters. I have seen nothing from Marco Rubio’s camp.
In response to an email, this just came from the Ben Carson campaign:

Ben Carson for President
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
February 2, 2016
Statement on Behalf of Dr. Ben Carson re: Senator Cruz’s Apology for                                                Campaign Caucus Tactics

Alexandria, Virginia — February 2, 2016 – “Dr. Carson has accepted Senator Cruz’s apology issued earlier this afternoon,” said A. Larry Ross, Communications Director for Ben Carson for President 2016. “These ‘dirty tricks’ political tactics are part of the reason Dr. Carson got into this race and reflect the ‘Washington values’ of win at all cost — regardless of the damage to the country — which he is trying to change. This incident further demonstrates that we need an individual who is not a politician to lead and to heal our nation, not someone driven by ambition.

“Dr. Carson will continue to work tirelessly toward reforming the system, restoring faith in the integrity of the electoral process and giving government back to ‘We the People.’ He invites Senator Cruz and all of the candidates who profess to reject politics as usual to join him in conducting a race worthy of American ideals and respectful of the American people. He is looking forward to continuing his campaign in New Hampshire, South Carolina and beyond.”
 A. Larry Ross
###

Phoenix and Seattle News Media Cover Mark Driscoll’s New Venture

The absence of Mars Hill Church from the bios and announcement of Mark Driscoll and his associates made an impression on those covering the news of Mark Driscoll’s planned launch of The Trinity Church.

Yesterday, I posted Driscoll’s announcement of the formation of a church in Phoenix. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Seattle Times followed with stories.

This evening, Phoenix television station ABC15 posted this report from Nick VinZant (transcript on the ABC15 website).

Cruz and Rubio Campaigns Accused of Telling Iowa Voters Before the Caucus that Ben Carson Dropped Out (UPDATED)

UPDATE 2/3/16: The source of the story that Marco Rubio’s campaign told caucus goers that Ben Carson dropped out of the caucus now says his tweet was a mistake and based on other tweets he saw the night of the caucus. See information at the end of this post.
………………………..
This morning Ben Carson is calling on Ted Cruz to fire any staffers who told Iowa voters that Carson dropped out of the campaign.
Carson announced Monday that he was going to Florida after the caucuses but later clarified that he needed to go home for fresh clothes and was not dropping out.
According to tweets posted on Monday night, the rumor quickly circulated that Carson was suspending his campaign. Some of those tweets pointed to unnamed persons within the Cruz and Rubio campaigns as pushing the story that Carson was ending his campaign.
This tweet points to Cruz’s campaign:


Mr. Locker later told me via twitter that Steve King, Cruz’s national co-chair, was tweeting about Carson dropping out before the caucus event started.
Here is that tweet:


Another tweet points to Rubio’s campaign:


(Conrad Close has now deleted this tweet and said it was a mistake. Please see the updates below).
RubioCampCarsonOut
It is unclear whether or not the campaigns knew Carson was going to get clothes or if they simply followed the media reports that Carson might be dropping out.
UPDATE: Cruz apologized to Carson for not relaying a correction to the campaign workers Monday night.
UPDATE: 2/3/16: Now Conrad Close says his tweet was a mistake.


I am unclear what Mr. Close saw on twitter which would have led him to believe Rubio’s campaign was running with the “Carson drops out” story.

Mark Driscoll Announces Launch of The Trinity Church (UPDATED)

In an email to supporters and a You Tube video, Mark and Grace Driscoll have announced the formation of The Trinity Church. I reported late last year that Driscoll had formed the legal corporation along with Jimmy Evans and Randall Taylor.  At the time, I asked rhetorically if the launch would be in January. I was close.

Watch:

The website is TheTrinityChurch.com. The church is named after Grace Driscoll’s home church in the Seattle area. So far, the church is a P.O. Box (see some pics here).

In what appears to be comparable to Mars Hill Church’s Board of Advisors and Accountability, Driscoll lists four pastors as providing “wise counsel”: Larry Osbourne, Randal Taylor, Jimmy Evans, and Robert Morris. These pastors have “apostolic gifting.”

Mark and Grace Driscoll have pastors with apostolic gifting who love them, know them, and are invested in them.

We learn from, respect, honor and seek wise counsel from the following leaders, their families, churches and ministries. We also appreciate those ministry leaders praying for and supporting our church plant.

Josh McDowell and Wayne Grudem are on the prayer team. UPDATE: Without note, Wayne Grudem’s name has been removed from the list of prayer supporters.

Andy Girton and Brandon Andersen are listed as associate pastors.

Apparently, it is forbidden to mention Mars Hill Church.

Although the incorporation papers say the church won’t have members, The Trinity Church website says the following about membership:

Once the church is established, a class and process for spiritual church membership will be offered.

Sounds similar to Mars Hill in that spiritual members didn’t vote. Legally, they weren’t members for the purpose of being involved in the business of the church.

The board of directors from the Arizona state corporation website is below:
The Trinity Church Directors

Click the following links for the posts covering The Trinity Church, Mars Hill Church, and Mark Driscoll.
UPDATE: After the post was published, I noticed another video on Driscoll’s You Tube page, published today. Watch:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWI06YsSa3s[/youtube]
Here he describes the church plant again, but dressed in different clothing. I think the first video about the church plant was shot back in early December based on the clothing and scenery in this December 7 video.
MGDriscoll12072015

Phil Robertson Uses Spurious James Madison Quote to Explain His Support for Ted Cruz

Today, Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson used a spurious quote often attributed to James Madison to explain his support for Ted Cruz. Watch (see especially the segment starting at 1:30 into the clip)
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcfKyvOb38I[/youtube]
There is no such Madison quote about America being based on self-governance according to the 10 commandments. Even Ted Cruz’s historian, David Barton, now labels that quote “unconfirmed.” By all accounts, the quote cannot be found in any of Madison’s writings or can’t be traced to any primary source.
Someone should tell Phil Robertson that several of the quotes Barton used in his first book cannot be found in primary sources.