Cruz: Censoring Charlie Hebdo Cartoons ‘Inconsistent’ With ‘Free Debate’

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, pauses as he delivers a speech to 2014 Red State Gathering attendees, Friday, Aug. 8, 2014, in Fort Worth, Texas. Possible presidential candidate Cruz predicts Republicans will retake the... U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, pauses as he delivers a speech to 2014 Red State Gathering attendees, Friday, Aug. 8, 2014, in Fort Worth, Texas. Possible presidential candidate Cruz predicts Republicans will retake the Senate this year and that "2016 will be even better." (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called it “unfortunate” that some media outlets would censor some of the more controversial cartoons published by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Cruz’s comments came in the aftermath of a horrific shooting in the offices of the magazine where three gunman opened fire killing at least 12 people, including the magazine’s editor, a cartoonist for the publication and a pair of police officers.

“The First Amendment is designed to ensure a robust debate and refusing to publish the cartoons that are the alleged reason for this brutal act of murder and terror is inconsistent with the spirit of free debate,” Cruz said Wednesday according to Buzzfeed.

The magazine often lampooned the Catholic church, French politicians, and Islam. It had received threats from al-Qaeda for publishing cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

Cruz called the attack “heartbreaking.” Some news outlets have blurred or cropped some of the cartoons.

“It is a reminder of the global threat we face and the enormous peril presented by radical Islamic terrorists,” Cruz said. “It is unfortunate to see media outlets engaging in censorship.”

This post has been updated.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. I am sure Mr. Cruz is referring to the cartoons depicting Mohammed. I wonder if his opinion would change if it were a cartoon of Jesus doing something nasty? This Princeton and Harvard educated guy is sure a dunce.

  2. Allowing Mr Turb Cruz to speak in public is inconsistent with Democracy and Freedom.

    While it IS consistent with DemoCRAZY & FreeDumb.

  3. First, the 1st Amendment has nothing to say about a private organization choosing to publish or not publish any given material. It’s about government telling the organization what to publish. It is exhausting to read so often about a politician knowingly blurring this fact.

    Second, if Sen. Cruz feels that strongly, perhaps he should post the photos on his personal website.

  4. Censoring or censuring?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

7 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for graciee Avatar for Patriott Avatar for lonewolf_93 Avatar for commiedearest Avatar for brutus1910 Avatar for sniffit Avatar for psyclone Avatar for vlharpley Avatar for dnl Avatar for joepaulson Avatar for meta

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: