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You are here: Home / Politics / Politicans / Cruz-ifiction / Open Thread: Yeah, It’s Just A Grift Now

Open Thread: Yeah, It’s Just A Grift Now

by Anne Laurie|  April 2, 20159:09 pm| 41 Comments

This post is in: Cruz-ifiction, Election 2016, Gay Rights are Human Rights, Military, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity

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Cruz in Iowa: "Fortune 500 is running shamelessly to endorse the radical gay marriage agenda over religious liberty." http://t.co/LFjcQHBDfo

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 2, 2015

… because — and nobody knows this better than a Texas legislator — no GOP candidate gets to be the presidential nominee by bad-mouthing “Fortune 500”. Although Cruz can surely use his Bible-based dog-whistling to collect a sufficiency of “love offerings” to make up for putting his wife’s Goldman Sachs career on a temporary hiatus.

But if he’s knocked out early, at least he won’t have to defend his record, and EvenTheDeterminedlyBothSiderist Politico can find lots that needs defending:

Ted Cruz thunders about what he calls a “fundamentally unserious” U.S. defense policy, but when he had a chance to weigh in during Senate Armed Services Committee hearings, he rarely showed up.

Cruz, who announced last week he’s running for president, has the committee’s worst attendance record — by far.

The Texas Republican attended just three of the panel’s 16 public hearings so far this year, according to a POLITICO review of transcripts from full committee hearings. The average committee member attended 13 of the 16 hearings, and Cruz is the only one of the panel’s 26 members with an attendance rate below 50 percent.

Cruz missed opportunities to cross-examine the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan and was absent from a session on the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay — despite being a leading opponent of President Barack Obama’s decision to swap five Taliban commanders at Guantánamo for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. The freshman senator also missed opportunities to cross-examine officials about the effects of across-the-board spending cuts on military readiness and the appropriate levels of compensation for the troops…

Ted Cruz: Fundamentally Unserious.

On Ted Cruz's big campaign debut in Iowa, no "Cruz for president" signage or stickers or swag. Is Cruz himself all the stagecraft needed?

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 2, 2015

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Reader Interactions

41Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    April 2, 2015 at 9:12 pm

    MSNBC just said Cruz was creeping up in the polls.

  2. 2.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 2, 2015 at 9:13 pm

    Cruz is Dominionist scum.

    Wipe them out. All of them.

  3. 3.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2015 at 9:17 pm

    @Baud: Well, he is creepy.

  4. 4.

    Kropadope

    April 2, 2015 at 9:17 pm

    @Baud:

    MSNBC just said Cruz was creeping up in the polls.

    Just because he managed to worm his way out of the dirt, doesn’t mean he’s going any farther.

  5. 5.

    BGinCHI

    April 2, 2015 at 9:21 pm

    Cruz is a populist if by that you mean popular among a list of fucking brainless, selfish people.

  6. 6.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 2, 2015 at 9:22 pm

    Cruz, who announced last week he’s running for president, has the [Senate Armed Services] committee’s worst attendance record — by far.

    The Texas Republican attended just three of the panel’s 16 public hearings so far this year, according to a POLITICO review of transcripts from full committee hearings. The average committee member attended 13 of the 16 hearings, and Cruz is the only one of the panel’s 26 members with an attendance rate below 50 percent.

    If nothing else, I hope all the other candidates hammer him mercilessly on this during the GOP debates.

  7. 7.

    jl

    April 2, 2015 at 9:22 pm

    @Kropadope: I think I read that Cruz was creeping up in GOP primary polls, but not sure.

    And yeah, that tweeter is damn straight that there is no Cruz signage nor stickers nor gear, since that would distract from the World Historical Figure Himself. Now, a huge pic of his mug hanging over the stage while he speaks, that just might do very nicely.

    So far, Cruz is playing a wonderful role in the GOP primary, dragging all close to him ideologically, like ol’ Huck, into ugly extremist and patently deranged hate and fear mongering. And getting brave and intrepid leaderererers like Jeb! and Christie into pissing themselves with panicked double talk and passive aggressive waffle panders.

    Edit: I can see the piss stains spreading on the front of Jeb! and Christie’s pants just reading their drivel, and I think many others can too.

  8. 8.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 2, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    @Baud:

    Creeping.

    The perfect word for him.

  9. 9.

    Roger Moore

    April 2, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    @Baud:

    MSNBC just said Cruz was creeping up in the polls.

    He got a bump because his name was in the papers after his announcement. That’s all.

  10. 10.

    Mike in NC

    April 2, 2015 at 9:25 pm

    More like Cruz is creeping out in the polls.

    Would do himself a great favor by growing a toothbrush mustache.

  11. 11.

    Hal

    April 2, 2015 at 9:27 pm

    I would love Cruz to be the nominee. It would be nice to have a republican Mondale.

  12. 12.

    Baud

    April 2, 2015 at 9:27 pm

    All Cruz needs is a single billionaire and he can go far into the primary.

  13. 13.

    Kropadope

    April 2, 2015 at 9:27 pm

    @jl:

    I think I read that Cruz was creeping up in GOP primary polls, but not sure.

    Yeah, like I said, the dirt.

  14. 14.

    Mike E

    April 2, 2015 at 9:30 pm

    @Baud: Holy shit, I’m gonna have nightmares now…not because of him mebbe winning but just from the image alone. Thx!

  15. 15.

    Baud

    April 2, 2015 at 9:31 pm

    OT: MSNBC’s website is the Ted Cruz of websites. #DoesNotWork

  16. 16.

    RSA

    April 2, 2015 at 9:33 pm

    It’s just a matter of appearances, but that is a seriously unflattering photo of a Presidential nominee. I’d imagine a serious effort means having someone on your team pay attention to how you look when giving a talk.

  17. 17.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 2, 2015 at 9:33 pm

    @jl: You mean a really big one ala Citizen Kane?

  18. 18.

    Wag

    April 2, 2015 at 9:41 pm

    @Hal:

    That’s too mean by far to Mondale. At least he had accomplished a few things in the Senate prior to his nomination

  19. 19.

    jl

    April 2, 2015 at 9:41 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: it would be better if Indiana just repealed the law,and Arkansas gave up on their version, and the pressure made the very few other states with similarly extreme laws, like Mississippi, do something too.

    But if this kind of nonsense keeps up, it can only hurt the GOP. Read the rancid garbage that Jeb! and Christie are putting out. If this issue is still around right before the election, HRC or Biden, or O’Malley (or Booker, or some others too) could wipe the stage with the likes of Jeb!. Who has the deep bench now, GOP political hacks masquerading as ‘analysts’?

    The GOP stands for allowing intolerant majorities to screw any group they don’t like with impunity. Stands for eagerly chasing after perpetual war. I hope no more issues like the Indiana BS and the Iran talks come up. Sadly I think probably some will.

  20. 20.

    Tree With Water

    April 2, 2015 at 9:42 pm

    “Fortune 500 chases the money” is more like it, as Cruz damn well knows. What a putz.

  21. 21.

    Wag

    April 2, 2015 at 9:43 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Beaten to it by efgoldman, but now doubly true. And as a Mondale voter I resent the comparison of Fritz to Ted.

  22. 22.

    jl

    April 2, 2015 at 9:55 pm

    Huck tries to match Ted:

    Huckabee: Gay-Rights Movement ‘Won’t Stop Until There Are No Churches’
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/mike-huckabee-gay-no-churches

    The GOP primary is full of lying clownish demagogues. What else? Cowardly fakes like Jeb! and Christie.
    You see this garbage and just have to hope that none of this swill gets into the WH.

  23. 23.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 2, 2015 at 10:00 pm

    @RSA: The problem is not with the photo but the subject of the photo.

  24. 24.

    Shana

    April 2, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    @efgoldman: Despite those oh so sincere eyebrows.

  25. 25.

    cokane

    April 2, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    Cruz really should be the Republican nominee. He represents their agenda with more of a bold face than almost anyone else. It would do well for the body politic to see a true conservative trounced in a nationwide election.

  26. 26.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 2, 2015 at 10:06 pm

    Ted Cruz may not be able to do much about his face, but can buy pants that fit better.

  27. 27.

    David Koch

    April 2, 2015 at 10:09 pm

    @Baud: you didn’t know he was creepy?

  28. 28.

    NotMax

    April 2, 2015 at 10:28 pm

    Cruznado!

  29. 29.

    pluege

    April 2, 2015 at 10:31 pm

    cruz is the new palin.

    What would US politics every do these days without an inane effluent spewing, egomaniacal, insane republican to entertain the corporate media?

  30. 30.

    Violet

    April 2, 2015 at 10:33 pm

    So Rand Paul is supposed to declare his candidacy for president on Tuesday? Did I hear that right?

  31. 31.

    Exurban Mom

    April 2, 2015 at 10:41 pm

    Grifters gonna grift. Dude is in it for the wingnut welfare check at the end, not to win.

  32. 32.

    Misterpuff

    April 2, 2015 at 10:48 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: Citizen Cruz – oops that would be Canada!

  33. 33.

    jl

    April 2, 2015 at 10:54 pm

    @pluege:

    ” republican ”

    Why the singular?

  34. 34.

    RSA

    April 2, 2015 at 10:59 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Ted Cruz may not be able to do much about his face, but can buy pants that fit better.

    “I think I’ll wear my Presidenting pants today.”

  35. 35.

    feebog

    April 2, 2015 at 11:21 pm

    I went to the Des Moines Register’s page where they had a series of pictures. Never mind the pants, he was wearing a sports coat that seriously looked liked it had been used as a doormat for the last month. I know you want to project a folksy, aw shucks image, but WTF?

  36. 36.

    Splitting Image

    April 3, 2015 at 12:21 am

    @Hal:

    I would love Cruz to be the nominee. It would be nice to have a republican Mondale.

    I see him more as a latter-day Alf Landon. Landon may not have deserved to win in 1936, but he had an otherwise long and distinguished career and I think he has been the butt of jokes long enough.

    I think it is high time that somebody broke the record for fewest electoral votes won in a presidential election, and I think that somebody should be Ted Cruz.

  37. 37.

    Yatsuno

    April 3, 2015 at 1:20 am

    @jl:

    Stands for eagerly chasing after perpetual war

    While cutting taxes to the rich to the point of a near negative tax rate while creating a permanent underclass that pays for everything. Becuz Merika.

  38. 38.

    Ripley

    April 3, 2015 at 3:42 am

    Is that Betty Draper in the foreground? Figures.

  39. 39.

    Applejinx

    April 3, 2015 at 4:53 am

    @jl: missing signage fixed

    a certain eerie resemblance part deux

  40. 40.

    lou

    April 3, 2015 at 8:22 am

    Ted Cruz is a flim flam artist. Every time I see him speak, I think of Upton Sinclair’s comment: “When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross.”

  41. 41.

    Fester Addams

    April 3, 2015 at 8:28 am

    Money-grubbers vs. bible-beaters. It’s like it’s War-on-christmas in April!

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