Satanists Fuming Over Boehner Comparison of Ted Cruz to Lucifer
Satanists are on fire over former House Speaker John Boehner's contemptuous comparison of Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz to the prince of Hell, Lucifer.
Boehner, in comments that have since gone viral, told an audience at Stanford University on Wednesday night, according to the Stanford Daily, that Cruz is "Lucifer in the flesh."
"I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a b**** in my life," Boehner told the audience.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Asked about the comparison by The Friendly Atheist, Lucien Greaves, spokesperson for The Satanic Temple, dismissed Cruz as a fraud.
"Boehner's comment is illustrative of how well past time it is to adjust our mythologies to reflect our realities. Cruz's failures of reason, compassion, decency, and humanity are products of his Christian pandering, if not an actual Christian faith. It grows tedious when pedophile priests and loathsome politicians are conveniently dismissed as satanic, even as they spew biblical verse and prostrate themselves before the cross, recruiting the Christian faithful. Satanists will have nothing to do with any of them," Greaves told the blog.
According to Politico, Wednesday night was not the first time Boehner has compared Cruz to the devil. During a question-and-answer session with reporters at the Futures Industry Association conference in Boca Raton, Florida, last month, Boehner compared the Republican presidential candidate to the prince of darkness.
Cruz notes Politico is well-known for his toxic relationship with his congressional colleagues which hit a high point in 2013 when he played a pivotal role in shutting down the federal government with his high-stakes attempt to defund Obamacare. His political opponents, like Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, have repeatedly used this reputation against him.
On Thursday, Rep. Peter King R-N.Y., made it clear he was not a Cruz fan when he brought up the shutdown.
"Maybe he gives Lucifer a bad name by comparing him to Ted Cruz," King said on CNN. "Listen, what John Boehner was most concerned about was Ted Cruz perpetrated a fraud and a hoax when he brought about the shutdown of the government on some kind of a vague promise that he was gonna be able to take Obamacare out of the budget or to end Obamacare."
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who will chair the Republican National Convention this summer, also weighed but tried to remain neutral.
"I have a very good relationship with both of these men," Ryan said, referring to Boehner and Cruz, according to Politico. "I'm going to keep it that way."
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said he was confident Boehner was just simply telling the truth.
"Obviously, Speaker Boehner was speaking based on his own experience," Earnest told reporters. "I don't know that he was looking to be helpful or harmful. I think he was just looking to be honest about his own view."
