By Ben Barrack

As a Texas talk show host, the topic of the Jihadist attack at Fort Hood has come up on more than one occasion during the show. Whenever I discuss it, one thing remains constant, never-changing. Nidal Malik Hasan murdered 14 people that day, not 13. I always make it a point to emphasize the forgotten 14th victim, the unborn child of Francheska Velez. It is so ingrained that I can’t see myself ever overlooking it. One major reason for this is because I’m staunchly pro-life, as U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) professes to be.

Francheska Velez: Carried Fort Hood’s 14th Murder victim.

Yesterday, on the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Cruz gave a speech at the Heritage Foundation’s Jesse Helms Lecture Series. During the speech, Cruz made reference to the Fort Hood shootings and did not include all of the murdered victims; he did not include the unborn child. Some may see this as the splitting of hairs or an unintentional oversight but it’s important to remember that the Fort Hood attack wasn’t just about murder in the name of Islam. It was also about murdering those Hasan viewed as being less than human.

When conservatives do not acknowledge the death of little baby Velez, aren’t they doing the same thing, viewing that unborn child as less than human? Cruz should have gone out of his way – as should all conservatives – to clarify the record. Unfortunately, he did not.

Via Ted Cruz:

We should expect that kind of an oversight from the various assortment of RINOs who are out there and want to abandon the social issues. Cruz is supposed to be the “Pro-life” Tea Party favorite for 2016. We should not expect such an oversight from him. Rather than abandon him or overlook such things, conservatives should do neither; they should continue to hold Cruz’s feet to the fire. Overlooking this important omission should not be an option for conservatives because it could portend a more center-leaning Cruz if the Tea Party isn’t careful.

In politics, perception is reality and it’s often all politicians care about. If Camp Cruz reaches a point where the perception among Tea Partiers is that he is the conservative standard against which all other presidential candidates are to be measured, Cruz won’t have to work nearly as hard at getting their support because of how he’s already perceived.

It is simply not ok for a conservative, pro-life standard bearer to ignore the 14th murder victim of Nidal Malik Hasan.

**UPDATE**
We’ve predictably gotten some feedback on this post that says we are nit-picking a bit. In order to better explain my point, I’ve included a video metaphor using a clip from Jerry Maguire. To set this up, Maguire, played by Tom Cruise is attempting to sign as many football players as possible. He wants to get their commitment and move on to the next call but he encounters a small problem with one such player – Rod Tidwell, played by Cuba Gooding Jr. – who won’t let Jerry off the phone. As Maguire gets increasingly frustrated because the calls keep dropping, Tidwell assures him that he will remain on as his agent. When Maguire finally hangs up, all the other calls are gone.

To equate this to Cruz, conservative voters need to act like Tidwell because unless we do, Cruz may think he’s got their vote locked up. Uh Uh, Senator… Show us the money (unyielding principles)!