RUSH: Yesterday, Ted Cruz was big news on the program because he had proposed something that had already been implemented. He suggested that it be re-implemented. And that was the NYPD surveilling and paying attention to — monitoring, whatever you want to say — Muslim neighborhoods to try to find any evidence that there might be bomb-making activity, terrorism being planned or what have you. It was a plan that had already been implemented during the Bush administration in cahoots with the New York City Police Department and the mayor.
And it had been allowed to end, I think — or if it didn’t end, it certainly faded away at some point — and Cruz, in the reaction to what had happened in Brussels, said, “Hey, it’s time to bring this kind of stuff back. I mean, this is very serious.” And you remember the reaction. Everybody said, “You can’t do that! That’s not our values. That’s not who we are,” all of this rot. People went just had a cow over it, which is why I went back and found the original news stories in the AP back in 2011 describing how the plan worked, and it was not just the NYPD surveilling these neighborhoods.
It was the CIA helping them, and it happened under Obama. It started under Bush, Obama continued it, and here’s Cruz merely suggesting that something that already had been be re-implemented, and everybody was having a cow over this. But Cruz didn’t back down. And, in fact, there’s more to this. He was on Bloomberg’s All Due Respect on TV last night. Mark Halperin said to him, “What would you say to a young child who would see policemen in their neighborhood and wondering why is their neighborhood, a young Muslim child getting increased scrutiny?” What this is about is…
I made a point yesterday. These moderate, peace-loving Muslims, wouldn’t they welcome a police presence in their neighborhood if it was designed to keep the neighborhood safe, if it was designed to root out terrorists, criminals, bad actors? Because we’re told that moderate, mainstream Muslims want no part of terrorism. We are told, in fact, that terrorism support has nothing to do with Islam. Even though terrorists commit their acts of terror in the name of Islam, we are told that Islam is a religion of peace, that there is no terrorism.
This is what Obama tells us. I’m not making this up. This is what Obama says; this what Hillary says; it’s what all the leftists and even some queasy Republicans eagerly point out. “No, no! Islam a religion of peace. They would not be violent. In the Koran, there’s no terrorism.” Of course, that’s not true. But let’s say it is true. If it’s a religion of peace, and terrorism has nothing to do with Islam, and it’s just that terrorists hide in Muslim neighborhoods…
If you are a peace-loving Muslim, wouldn’t you welcome an effort by law enforcement to root out that kind of behavior in your neighborhood? That’s the question I raised. And that’s what Halperin’s asking Cruz here, in a disagreeing way. “Well, what would you say to a young child who would see one of these policemen in the neighborhood, wondering why is the policeman in their neighborhood? A young Muslim child getting increased scrutiny. Don’t you see how they could be suspicion of this?”
CRUZ: New York had in place a very effective program to work cooperatively with the Muslim community to monitor and prevent radicalization and to prevent Islamic terror attacks from occurring before they happen. Now, unfortunately Mayor de Blasio came into office and he’s every bit of a captive to political correctness as is Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, and they disbanded the program. The police are here to protect us. I categorically reject the view of Democrats that the police are the bad guys. When we’ve had police in a community, it protects that community and keeps it safe.
RUSH: And who… It’s hard to disagree with that, but people do, and I will acknowledge that there are many communities think the police are not there but to do anything but catch people and put ’em in jail. I understand people think that. It’s a really a sad thing that that view of the police has taken hold in so much of America. It isn’t true. Try living without them. Try living in any community without policing. Try there being nobody at the end of the phone when you call 911. Try it. You’ll want ’em back within seconds of them leaving the neighborhood.
But civil rights coalitions combined with the Democrat Party have worked their magic and have got everybody thinking that the cops are what caused all the problems in Ferguson and Baltimore and Oakland and wherever else, Los Angeles, you name it. The cops are the problem. But you try living in any neighborhood anywhere without them, and you’ll want them back before the day is over. Now, last night in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, there was a campaign event, Insight 2016. One more little sound bite here from Ted Cruz.
CRUZ: I’m so sorry to be dismaying Barack Obama. And, you know, yesterday and today I was attacked by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and New York’s mayor Bill de Blasio — which suggests maybe I’m doing something right!
RUSH: It wasn’t just those. It was the entire leftist power structure that went after Cruz, and many Republicans did, too. They went after Cruz on this. That’s why I spent so much time yesterday trying to tell you, “Hey, this was not Cruz’s idea. This was an idea that was hatched and implemented under George W. Bush and continued by Barack Obama. Barack Obama had a chance to get rid of the program and he didn’t. He kept it in play.”
Barack Obama’s the guy almost personally flying drones in the Middle East looking people to kill based on his decision to kill them. He’s in charge of the Kill List. If the world is our neighborhood, Obama clearly is surveilling it. And under the same premises that Cruz suggested neighborhoods be surveilled in the United States. With all the refugees coming in, with all the illegal immigrants pouring in, tell me it doesn’t make sense. Here, let me give you a story that happens to coincide with this.
The headline says it all: “Three Washington DC Students Arrested with Bomb-Making Equipment in Dorm Room.” I wonder what their names are. Doesn’t say. George Mason University, located in Fairfax, Virginia, outside Washington. It’s been the site of jihadi organizing and recruitment in recent years and even months. Three students were arrested with bomb-making equipment in dorm rooms, and their names have not been released. They have not been identified. Why not?
Well, any time there’s a political scandal with Democrats involved, you’ll never read that he’s a Democrat. They never put that in the story. Why? Well, because they’re a bunch of hypocrites. The only time scandals are worthwhile is when Republicans commit them and they can get them out of office or otherwise render them impotent. They have their belief system, so if you’re out there and you believe that Islam is a religion of peace and Islam has nothing to do with Islamic terrorism — and if you’re out publicly saying so and you’re out trying to convince people not to fall prey to…
“Al-Qaeda and these guys, they’re abusing a great religion. They’re not really Islamic! They’re not really Muslim,” and then three students arrested with bomb making dorm room and they happen to be Muslim, of course you’re not gonna mention their name; makes ’em look bad. So that’s what everybody’s gonna conclude. If you don’t publish their name, it must be you’re trying to cover for the fact that you’re wrong about something. This is a Breitbart story, by the way.
“Three Washington DC Students Arrested with Bomb-Making Equipment in Dorm Room — The Associated Press is reporting that three George Mason University students have been arrested for allegedly possessing bomb-making equipment in their dorm room.” Oh, and you know what? There’s another story in here, folks, about how we have rounded up… “US Marshals Arrest 13,000 in Sweep Targeting Worst Violent Offenders,” 13,000 individuals with open warrants as part of a national operation aimed at targeting the worst of the worst. And yet we’re told we cannot round up illegal aliens in the shadows.