Details Only On The Brody File: 10,000 Conservative Christians Gather On Phone For Big Cruz Campaign Town Hall

The Brody File reports tonight that Ted Cruz’s campaign held a telephone town hall with more than 10,000 conservative Christians listening in on the phone call. They heard encouraging words about Cruz from influential evangelical leaders Dr. James Dobson, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins and Bob Vander Plaats, CEO of the Family Leader in Iowa. In evangelical world that’s called bringing out the big guns. Overall, the Cruz campaign identified and then phoned 99,000 likely Iowa caucus goers using their robust data mining operation. They believe these folks might be persuaded to vote for Cruz by hearing from social conservative stalwarts like Dobson, Perkins and Vander Plaats.

Through a call participant, The Brody File got wind of the telephone town hall and heard it in its entirety. Essentially, it was dedicated to explaining why Cruz is the right man to be President of the United States. Dobson compared Cruz to Ronald Reagan saying, “When you hear Ted Cruz talk from his heart you’re hearing things reminiscent of, “The Gipper” himself. I had an opportunity to work with President Reagan for five years. I know the man and I believe I know this man Ted Cruz.” Vander Platts told the conservative Christians assembled on the call that Cruz has a, “bold and courageous spirit” while Perkins vouched for his Christian credentials. “We’ve prayed together," Perkins told the group. "Ted integrates his faith into his policy…he is the one that has most consistently done that...we can anticipate how he’s going to respond to things because of his biblical worldview.” Dobson spoke up on Cruz’s faith as well. "Ted Cruz is deeply committed to his faith. I know that for a fact. He and Heidi (Cruz’s wife) are both committed to Christ."

There was also an attempt on the call to try and sway these undecided likely caucus goers away from voting for Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. Vander Plaats led the charge against both, first citing Rubio’s desire to work with democrats on immigration. “He campaigned in 2010 as a Tea Party candidate and yet when he went to Washington DC, he went there to go along to get along and teamed up in the, “Gang of 8” (immigration reform) with Schumer and Obama and Pelosi and McCain,” Vander Plaats said. “It just sent the wrong message to me. That’s not the bold and courageous spirit we’re looking for.” Then he moved on to the marriage issue. “What concerned me about Senator Rubio is when he said the Supreme Court has spoken, it’s the law of the land, we must move on. That’s not a bold and courageous spirit either.” It should be pointed out that Rubio clarified with The Brody File in an interview that he does not believe the marriage issue is settled law but rather, “current law.”

As for Trump, both Dr. Dobson and Vander Plaats told the thousands of callers that they had serious reservations about his ties to gambling and what comes with it. “Donald Trump has made a lot of his money on gambling and strip clubs and other things,” Vander Plaats says. “I think we need to be very very concerned when we’re taking a gamble on Donald Trump.” Cruz has not mentioned this issue against trump on the campaign trail. At least not yet.

Finally, at one point during the call the pitch was made to these Iowa conservative Christians that if they are thinking about another candidate, now is the time to abandon that support and get behind Cruz, who they say is the only one who can beat Trump in Iowa. “Any vote that doesn't go for Ted Cruz is a vote for Donald Trump,” Vander Plaats says. “If we divide our support here, Donald Trump gets to be the winner of the Iowa Caucuses…Right now, we just need all hands on deck."