THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

A couple of Cuban cast-offs, wrapping themselves in the flag and madly humping their bibles are traveling about the land seeking the fervently faithful to delude and seduce down their path to Cruzian Christian Dominion.

With the crowd frothed into a frenzy of righteous choler against the erosion of religious freedom and American exceptionalism by craven liberal politicians and their media lackeys, Ted Cruz summoned a star name to round off the rally: his father.

Rafael Cruz’s week began badly, with an extensive New York Times report claiming he exaggerated stories about fighting for liberty in the Cuban resistance in the 1950s.

It ended with rapturous applause from an audience of conservative Christians during and after a brief speech-cum-sermon in which the 76-year-old urged his fellow pastors to see the US supreme court’s legalisation of same-sex marriage as an opportunity to inspire passive evangelicals into political action.

“Let me tell you, I am so encouraged because I think the decision of 26 June has acted as a catalyst to wake up the sleeping giant,” he said, pacing left and right along centre stage as he addressed about 2,500 people. “Yes, there are more of us than there are of them; the problem is that the ‘us’ have been asleep at the wheel.

“Prayer is only half the equation,” he said, citing a reference to “ambassadors for Christ” in 2 Corinthians. “That means we’re God’s representatives here on Earth, we’re God’s hands, we’re God’s feet, we’re God’s mouthpiece.”

The elder Cruz is also an energetic proponent of his son’s political ambitions, whether speaking at his side, as at Saturday’s Rally for Religious Liberty, or on his own, often to church groups in key states such as Iowa, scene of the first Republican presidential caucus in February.

One should never underestimate the power of the well deluded faithful. It was 185 years ago that a local grifter decided that religion was safer the Treasure Finding Scam for making money. And getting access to other men's wives. Since his seer stones, Uma and Thurman, revealed to him the golden plates, which no one else ever saw, as another so called Word of God, the Mormon Church has been on a roll. Who knows what Rafael los ojalatero and his Canadian spawn will achieve.