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US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 5:48pm On Oct 23, 2013
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is in hot water over comments he made about Obamacare and Nigerian email scammers while speaking at a Houston rally.

About 1,000 supporters cheered him on during his visit to Houston on Monday, but it was a remark he made about the Affordable Care Act that has one community in particular talking right now.

It was a Texas-sized homecoming for Cruz following the government shutdown. Supporters of the Lone Star senator cheered him on, but one statement in particular has some members of the Nigerian community upset.

"Have you all noticed, you know the Nigerian email scammers? They've been a lot less active lately, because they've all been hired to run the Obamacare websites," Cruz said during a public appearance at a Houston rally.

Pastor Felix Awotula with Redeemed Christian Church of God Awotula says he fielded calls at his church throughout the day.

"I'm not too sure of the motive behind that. But anyway, the statement has been made, and it has a devastating effect in the mind of Nigerians because we don't want to identify the country with anything negative. I'm not saying all Nigerians are perfect," Awotula said.

A spokesperson for Sen. Cruz says:

"The senator was making a joke based on the official term of a commonly utilized type of scam. He meant no offense."

Political consultants on the other side say otherwise.

"That type of dialogue is inflammatory. I think it is one that will divide us, as opposed to unite us, and I think that's what the country wants right now; they want to be united, they want real leadership that's not going to be culturally insensitive," said Dallas Jones with Elite Change, Inc.


Some viewers say they've contacted the senator's office, asking for an apology.

SOURCE
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 5:49pm On Oct 23, 2013
Rep. Matt Cartwright called Sen. Ted Cruz’s wisecrack that Nigerian scammers are running the Obamacare exchange website an appeal to “backward” people that make up the Texas senator’s base and believe the president is from Africa.

The Pennsylvania Democrat brought up Cruz’s remarks to a Houston crowd that all the Nigerian email scammers have been hired to run the website on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show.”

“Jokes about Nigerian scammers, you know, I wonder how much off the cuff that really was, and how calculated it was to appeal to Sen. Cruz’s base, many of whom believe that the president is from Africa,” Cartwright said on Tuesday.

Cartwright was discussing how moderate Republicans might feel their brand is damaged by people like Cruz, saying he thinks they would “cringe” at comments like that.

Asked by fill-in host Michael Eric Dyson why Republicans play to “implicit” racial tensions, Cartwright stopped short of affirmatively declaring the comments had a racist motivation, but said he suspected it.

“I don’t know that they’re doing that, Michael, but I will say that I suspect it. And whether they’re doing it on purpose, it does appeal to the people who think that way,” Cartwright said. “There are, you know, a lot of fairly backward people that are a part of the base of people like Sen. Cruz. And comments like that just are right up their alley.”

[url=https://www.nairaland.com/modifypost?redirect=%2F1490253%2Fus-representative-nigerian-community-upset%2319039742&post=19039742]SOURCE[/url]
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 5:50pm On Oct 23, 2013
Senator Cruz is in some hot water grin
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 5:55pm On Oct 23, 2013
CFCfan: Senator Cruz is in some hot water grin

He needs to be held accountable. I can't believe he's daft enough to drag Nigerian anything into his crusade against President Obama considering the sizable Nigerian population that's in Texas. He's a senator and needs to think before speaking. He owes the Nigerian community an apology. He owes the president an apology too, but seldom do those come.
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 5:56pm On Oct 23, 2013
too low, even for a us senator.....

anyways... he's got some big explainings to do....
I just know Obama's guys will so use this against him...
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by strangest(m): 5:58pm On Oct 23, 2013
They should drop the man at oshodi by 2am lipsrsealed
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 6:03pm On Oct 23, 2013
ogugua88:

He needs to be held accountable. I can't believe he's daft enough to drag Nigerian anything into his crusade against President Obama considering the sizable Nigerian population that's in Texas. He's a senator and needs to think before speaking. He owes the Nigerian community an apology. He owes the president an apology too, but seldom do those come.

You're spot on. But I think he knew the Nigerian community in the US don't have the lobbying power of the Jewish/Israel lobby. No US politician dares take a jab at Jews, or else he/she would be defeated at the next elections.
Remember that a CNN anchor lost his job because he made some anti-Israel remarks!
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by homesteady(m): 6:06pm On Oct 23, 2013
Next time he'll know the type of jokes he'll crack in public!
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 7:40pm On Oct 23, 2013
He is just a jealous slowpoke.
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 9:38pm On Oct 23, 2013
But Nigerians do run the email scams unless you are complaining becouse he said they were employed by Obamacare website while they are still doing their scams?

If Nigeria want to protect its name, it needs to severly hunt down and punish perpetraitors of drug trafickers and emails scammers. Its Nigerians that are dragging Nigeria's name in mud people just repeat what is happening.

Honesty is the 1st step to recovery! wink
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 2:12am On Oct 25, 2013
The Nigerian Ambassador has said his own, and his own is truthful and applaudable. cool

The Nigerian ambassador to the United States on Thursday decried Sen. Ted Cruz’s joke earlier this week that “Nigerian email scammers” built the government’s health care exchange website, saying his comments are offensive and demanded an apology.

Ambassador Ade Adefuye told POLITICO that Nigerians are “disappointed and shocked” by Cruz’s comments.

“We deplore the statement, and we demand an apology, and we demand it be withdrawn,” Adefuye said.


Cruz (R-Texas) made the remarks Monday night in Houston at a “Welcome Home” event with tea party supporters. The following day, Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) criticized the comments and said they appeal to a “backward” part of Cruz’s base that believes the president is from Africa.

[b]Adefuye said he was surprised when Cruz did not deny the “offensive” remarks, adding that it’s inappropriate for a senator to disparage an entire country to score political points.

“It is unfair of any senator to essentially use citizens that are law abiding, to use Nigerians as cannon fodder,” Adefuye said. “We recognize that we have efforts on the part of Sen. Cruz to appeal to some animus in his domestic base. In the course of doing that, to allow him to ridicule a country and its citizens is completely over the top. He should not denigrate Nigerians in order to appease these domestic constituents.”

Speaking to POLITICO from Nigeria, Adefuye said the country is aware of Cruz’s comments and “angered” by them. He said Nigerians are good people who should not be made fun of for a joke.

“Many people from Nigeria are making meaningful contributions to American society, and Nigerians are very law abiding and making contributions to their host community,” Adefuye said. “It was a joke that went too far, and we demand an apology.”[/b]

A spokeswoman for Cruz said the comments were made in jest and were not intended to impugn Nigerians as a people.

“The senator meant no offense. He was making a joke based on the official term of a commonly utilized type of scam, referenced often by the FBI, security firms and various news sites,” Catherine Frazier said.

The FBI identifies “Nigerian letter fraud” on its website describing common fraud schemes, saying it involves a letter sent from Nigeria offering to share profits if the recipient helps a self-proclaimed government official transfer funds out of the country.

SOURC
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 2:27am On Oct 25, 2013
^^
It's good to know that a Nigerian ambassador is finally doing what an ambassador should be doing.

1 Like

Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 3:34am On Oct 25, 2013
Exactly oga. He's made me proud.
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by birdman(m): 4:54am On Oct 25, 2013
Adefuye is feeding the senator. This guy was willing to take the US into default just to spite Obama - you are not dealing with some rational dude here. Seriously, the best thing you can do here is to ignore the guy.
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 9:03am On Oct 25, 2013
Lets wait and see if an apology will be tendered... But I aint seeing it coming.
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 9:05am On Oct 25, 2013
This isn't the first time he has made sensitive comments to an ethnic group. He offended Filipinos last month or so and tendered an apology soon after.

These apologies tend to be for superficial reasons than genuine, but we can settle.
Re: US Representative, Nigerian Community Upset Over Ted Cruz's Remark by Nobody: 9:07am On Oct 25, 2013
ogugua88: This isn't the first time he has made sensitive comments to an ethnic group. He offended Filipinos last month or so and tendered an apology soon after.

These apologies tend to be for superficial reasons than genuine, but we can settle.

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