We talked Friday about Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) affinity for McCarthyism, including allegations he made at a far-right event in 2010, when he argued that Harvard Law School harbored 12 secret communists — each of whom supported “overthrowing the United States government” — on its faculty during his time as a student there.
As the story gained attention, the Republican senator’s office felt compelled to respond. So, Cruz aides contacted a website created by Glenn Beck — I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried — to explain that Cruz was correct and communists really did enjoy a role on the Harvard Law School faculty.
His spokeswoman Catherine Frazier told The Blaze website that the “substantive point” in Cruz’s charge, made in a speech in 2010, was “was absolutely correct.”
She went on to explain that “the Harvard Law School faculty included numerous self-described proponents of ‘critical legal studies’ — a school of thought explicitly derived from Marxism — and they far outnumbered Republicans.”
For those who still care about reality, it’s worth noting that some scholars can embrace critical legal studies without actually being a communist intent on, in Cruz’s words, “overthrowing the United States government.”
In an amusing twist, the senator’s office also said it was “curious” that Jane Mayer’s New Yorker piece noted remarks Cruz delivered way back in 2010.
Why is that amusing? Because Cruz, as part of his smear campaign against Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel, has said Hagel’s previous speeches are of critical importance — includes remarks delivered before 2010.
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