Cruz Doubles Down on ‘New York Values’ Attack in Big Apple

At a GOP debate in January many thought Texas Senator Ted Cruz made a gaffe when he threw out the phrase “New York values” as an attack on frontrunner Donald Trump. Now that the New York primary is finally at hand, the Senator is taking yet another stab at explaining what the phrase means to help smooth the way for Empire State Republicans to pull the Cruz lever.

During the January 14 debate, Cruz tried out his “New York values” taunt, seeming to assume that most Republicans would understand what he meant. They didn’t.

Only a day after his massive win in Wisconsin and as frontrunner Donald Trump breaks the crucial fifty percent mark in New York polling, Cruz is left struggling in third place behind Gov. John Kasich.

And after holding a poorly attended event in New York City, Cruz was once again pressed to answer to his “New York values” jab.

The Texan tried a new tack, this time linking his “values” comment to “liberal Democratic politicians” whose polices, he says, “have been hammering the people of New York for some time.”

According to The Hill, the Senator then went on to associate Donald Trump with a long list of destructive liberal politicos in the Empire State.

“The people of New York know exactly what those values are — they’re the values of liberal Democrats like Andrew Cuomo, like Anthony Weiner, like Eliot Spitzer, like Charlie Rangel, all of whom Donald Trump has supported,” Cruz explained.

Cruz went on to say these “values” could be found on the campaign money Trump has spread around over the decades. “If you want to know what liberal democratic values are, follow Donald Trump’s checkbook. He has been funding these policies,” he said.

This is one of the first times that Cruz has had to answer to New Yorkers face-to-face since he delivered his much-panned “New York values” line in January. If the polls in the state are any indication, not many New Yorkers are buying his explaining and re-explaining the comment.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com