Ted Cruz's Dad on the Media's 'Evil Agenda' and More Surprising Comments

Oct. 22, 2013— -- intro: As the country rebounds from the government shutdown, the man who has come to be seen as one of the instigators of the two-week long closure -- freshman Sen. Ted Cruz -- continues to say that he'll stop at nothing to prevent the implementation of President Obama's signature health care law.

"I will continue to do anything I can to stop the train wreck that is Obamacare," the tea party hero said in a recent interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl.

The tendency to be outspoken seems to run in the family, because the senator's father, Rafael Cruz, has also been making headlines over the last few months.

Like his son, Cruz's father is no stranger to the spotlight. He has spoken at a number of conservative events, including the Heritage Foundation organized "Defund Obamacare Tour," which took him to cities across the country in August. He's also becoming a regular on the conservative speaking circuit and on talk radio.

The Cuban immigrant and pastor turned his attention to the media during an interview on Glenn Beck's radio show last Friday.

"In your previous segment you were talking about imagining America. I'll tell you what, it almost seemed like I was listening to what was happening in Cuba during Castro," the Texas senator's father told Beck. "The very same thing, the ministry of misinformation that you have in all the communist countries. Well, did you know, Glenn, we have a ministry of misinformation in this country? It's called the liberal media, and they just tell us what they want us to hear. They are rewriting history."

Beck agreed with Cruz, and pointed out his annoyance with the "liberal media" for "rewriting history."

"They have an agenda," the elder Cruz said, "and, unfortunately, the agenda is an evil agenda. It's an agenda for destroying what this country is all about."

With Sen. Cruz's name in the mix for a potential 2016 presidential bid, it's worth getting to know Rafael Cruz. Here are some of his other comments that may surprise you:

quicklist: 1title: Obamacare Equals 'Suicide Counseling'text: On Sept. 27, Rafael Cruz was the keynote speaker at a fundraising dinner for the Adams County Republicans, just outside of Denver.

The advertisement for the event, as seen on Facebook, promised, "food, fun, and inspiration," and Rafael Cruz took the opportunity to deliver some notable comments on the president and the Affordable Care Act.

"We're denying care to the elderly. With care being rationed; with care being postponed for 12 to 18 months; with care being controlled by a group of bureaucrats, that on the basis of cost benefit, will decide whether you get a medical procedure or not. They're destroying our end of life," Cruz said. "One of the things in Obamacare is that for the elderly, is every five years, you must have end-of-year counseling. Translation, suicide counseling."

quicklist: 2title: Too Many 'RINOs In The Republican Party'text: At the same event, Cruz turned his attention to his own party, calling out members of the GOP for being Republican in name only, or RINOs.

"We have too many RINOs in the Republican Party," declared Cruz. The audience responded with massive applause and cheers.

"They have their minds made up, and basically their idea is this: you're too stupid and I know what I'm doing. Well, I'll tell you what, we the people are not stupid. We the people ought to be smart enough to throw them out of office, or primary them, and put constitutional conservatives in their place!" Cruz exclaimed.

A two-minute audio clip of the event was posted to ColaradoPols.com a liberal blog, YouTube on Sept. 30. The audio clip was given to the blog site by a source at the event.

In the audio posted, a women can be heard interrupting Cruz, and saying Obama "is a Muslim." Cruz didn't correct the audience member; instead he responded that, during the 2008 presidential race Sen. John "McCain couldn't say that because it wasn't politically correct." He then noted, "It is time we stop being politically correct!"

quicklist: 3title: Obamacare Will 'Destroy the Elderly'text: In August, alongside his son, Rafael Cruz addressed a gathering of Christian conservatives in Ames, Iowa. For nearly 20 minutes, the pastor regaled the audience with a fiery pro-Christian, anti-Obama speech that drew a boisterous standing ovation from the crowd at an annual summit organized by the Family Leader, an Iowa-based conservative group.

"This administration has both their hands in your pocket," the 74-year-old Cruz said. "They're going to take everything you have."

Near the end of his speech, he declared: "Obamacare is going to destroy the elderly by denying care, by even perhaps denying treatment to people who are in catastrophic circumstances."

quicklist: 4title: Obama Is 'Just Like A Dictator, Like Fidel Castro'text: In July, Rafael Cruz spoke at Free the People, an event organized by Freedom Works, a conservative group. During the speech, Rafael Cruz compares President Obama to the infamous dictator from his home country, Fidel Castro. Not just once, but twice.

"I grew up in Cuba under a strong, military, oppressive dictatorship. So as a teenager, I found myself involved in a revolution. I remember during that time, a young, charismatic leader rose up, talking about hope and change. His name was Fidel Castro," Cruz said, making a direct comparison to Barack Obama and the theme central to his 2008 presidential campaign.

The Texas senator's father, again, compared Obama and Castro minutes later. "I think the most ominous words I've ever heard was in the last two State of the Union addresses, when our president said: If Congress does not act, I will act unilaterally," Cruz said. "Not much different than that old, bearded friend that I left behind in Cuba -- governing by decree, by executive order, just like a dictator, like Fidel Castro."

quicklist: 5title: On His Son: 'God Has Destined You For Greatness'text: In an exclusive interview on CBN's The Brody File, Rafael Cruz spoke about his son's rising star in politics.

The elder Cruz was unsurprised by the success of his son. In fact, he said he believes his son was 'destined' for greatness by God.

In a July interview, Rafael Cruz spoke about the senator's childhood and said, "Let me go back to when he was maybe four. When he was four I used to read Bible stories to him all the time. And I would declare and proclaim the word of God over him. And I would just say, you know Ted, you have been gifted above any man that I know and God has destined you for greatness."