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The best politician, we’re told, is one whose charisma is such that even opponents are seduced into working with them. Ted Cruz is not that politician; even those who agree with him find him irksome, and it can sound as though voters elected him Senator mostly to get him farther away from Texas. This would seem to be a detriment to a man running for President.
But Ted Cruz says there are invisible legions behind him — he can call voters from the vasty deep of the evangelical heartland. Ed Kilgore (who has moved from the Washington Monthly to NYMag) is unconvinced:
At the Republican Jewish Coalition forum yesterday, U.S. senator Ted Cruz made a rather astounding assertion that has now become part of his stock speech: There are 54 million Evangelical voters who stayed home in 2012, and that’s more than enough to provide a margin of victory for someone very much like Cruz.
At The Wall Street Journal today, Gerald Seib expresses his deep skepticism about the math involved in Cruz’s claim. Of the purported 90 million Americans who are identified loosely as Evangelicals (and the definition itself is not an easy one), many are African-Americans not inclined to vote for Ted Cruz or any Republican; 28 percent are self-identified Democrats (according to Pew’s numbers); and others just aren’t into politics. I’d add that a decent number of them “stayed home” because they are not old enough to vote. And the insinuation that all nonvoters are making a conscious decision to “stay home” because of the choices they have been offered is, to use a technical term, ridiculous…
***********
Apart from creepy lying politicians, what’s on the agenda for the evening?
Big R
Making blueberry vanilla applesauce for my Hanukkah party tomorrow night. Also slightly baffled where to find chicken livers: at the risk of using problematic rhetoric, I’ll note that not even the piggly wiggly in the mostly African-American neighborhood didn’t have them.
Is a puzzlement.
Ruckus
Cruz still reminds me of an earlier senator, from WI, Joe McCarthy. Joe was also an asshole.
Baud
Why isn’t he leading in the polls if he’s so popular?
Given that it looks like it’s Cruz or Trump, I give Cruz a good shot at getting the nomination. It’ll be interesting to see if he can turn off the creepy long enough to win the general.
Gin & Tonic
What’s on the agenda? Probably not sleep, as I was in PST just long enough for my body to adjust, and am now back in EST.
Ruckus
@Baud:
I doubt he can turn it off. It seems baked in, like maybe the main ingredient.
Baud
@Ruckus:
Then it will be interesting to see if America goes full Jim Jones.
Pogonip
@Big R: I know a lot of black people and none of them like chicken livers. When they buy a whole chicken they give the liver to a pet. Sounds like your areas about the same. (I don’t like chicken livers either. My neighbor’s dog benefits.)
Can you please publish the recipe for blueberry applesauce?
Anoniminous
@Baud:
There’s no evidence for it. Polling has Cruz losing to Trump … in Texas. And everywhere else, too. Not the sign of a massive surge of support
Schlemazel
@Baud:
Not sure if it is in this clip but TDS points out he is even more creepy when he is trying to be nice. The clip the use to illustrate that is not the one I would have chosen. The “machine gun bacon’ clip is super creepy when he eats the bacon & smiles, Hannibal Lector would get chills up his spine from that face.
bemused
I’m playing with my early Christmas present, a Sun Blaster Grow Light Garden, hoping for fresh basil during long winter months.
My elderly mil who is sight impaired wants to join in on the adult coloring book craze. She occupied herself last winter with large piece jigsaw puzzles that she enjoyed but now wants a another hobby. I’ve been searching for adult coloring books that don’t have such tiny, intricate designs. She would have too hard a time with those. So far it hasn’t been easy to find coloring books that would be easier for her to color in that are not for little kids.
Baud
@Anoniminous:
Right. Cruz is clearly banking on winning Iowa and using that as a springboard. In some ways, he’s trying to recreate Obama’s 2008 strategy.
Except for he whole being likable part.
Schlemazel
@Big R:
The big box grocery here carries chicken livers frozen. I assume you are making chopped liver?
The Republic of Stupity
Truthfully, I doubt seriously if even Ted’s imaginary friends are all that into him…
bemused
Cruz is oily smarmy.
Iowa Old Lady
@Baud: And except that winning the R Iowa caucus is the kiss of death.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Every possible outcome on the R side (Cruz, Trump or Rubio, at the moment) seems as unlikely as any other.
Though this will probably give him a boost in South Carolina
D58826
Ted also wants to ‘carpet bomb’ those radical Islamist that he is so fond of ranting about. Sounds like a winning policy to me (sigh).
Baud
@Schlemazel:
Cruz seems like someone who could have starred in Killer Clowns from Outer Space. (Real movie.)
Anoniminous
Interesting thing. HuffPollster has GOP Primary Undecided at 4.4%. Assuming that is accurate it means for the standings to change candidates have to drop out. But as long as a candidate can get the grift, and Citizen’s United means they can, there’s no reason for him or her to drop out.
Which means placing a bet for Trump to go the distance looking more & more like a winner.
BillinGlendaleCA
@bemused: My early Christmas present to myself was the 2d/3d lens for my camera. My wife, who normally looks at tech stuff I do and goes “so what”, saw a couple of the 3d pictures and was just WOW THAT’S AMAZING.
ETA: It’s also a really fast lens, so it also makes for good pics of houses with nice xmas lighting.
Big R
@Pogonip: In the black communities I grew up around, fried chicken livers were not uncommon. I really should know better, but it was the third place I tried. I was, and am, desperate.
Blueberry applesauce (this is my first try making it, so wish me luck)
Washed, unpeeled sliced sweet apples
Sweet spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc.
Lemon juice
Unsweetened apple cider
Blueberries
Vanilla extract
Combine in slow cooker. Cook on low around five hours or on high around three. Then use an immersion blender to puree to desired consistency.
There you go. I don’t have proportions, I’m afraid.
Big R
@Schlemazel: Yeah. My next tactic is having Mrs. R go to the kosher grocery store in Birmingham while she’s there this afternoon.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Or to follow in the footsteps of eventual nominees and Presidents: Reh Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Bob Dole(88) and HW Bush(80).
Anoniminous
@Baud:
Winning Iowa and then hoping is desperation. Granted Cruz is getting a national organization together but he doesn’t have the chops or the polling to ‘flip’ the race all by himself. As I noted above, there’s no There, there, until some other people quit.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
After all this time I’m still baffled by the through-the-looking-glass logic that suggests this is a courageous statement.
Christie was outdoing himself yesterday, saying foreign policy is all about character, courage and personality.
He thinks the whole world is the cast of Morning Joe.
Baud
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Yeah, IOL said the same thing upthread. But he does have a lot of money, and no one can predict how The Pink One will actually play out when the primaries start.
BillinGlendaleCA
@The Republic of Stupity: “To know, know, know Ted is to Hate, Hate, Hate Ted / Just to see that smile, makes my life worthwhile / To know, know, know Ted is to Hate, Hate, Hate Ted / And I do… “; apologies to the Teddy Bears.
bemused
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I have trouble enough taking decent pictures with my phone. 3d pictures do sound amazing and must be fun to do.
Ruckus
@bemused:
Trying to decide if you are correct then how would you describe the other Greasy Old Poop candidates? They are all smarmy. And slimy. And disgusting. And the word asshole seems to keep creeping in to the descriptions as well. Cruz is just oilier? A bigger asshole?
Djchefron
@Pogonip: But you need the livers for dirty rice
Elizabelle
Hello buds. Checking in from St Lucia. You must visit. It’s gorgeous. Just finished a rum punch and need to get back on the ship. Have missed you! However, satellite Internet is $2/minute. So. Hello books! Norwegian Cruise ship has msnbc. Which has gone full San Bernardino. So, thank dog for BBC world news. The good show w Katty Kay.
Pogonip
@Big R: Yum! Thank you!
Maybe the black people I know all had to eat fried chicken livers at Grandma’s house every Sunday and vowed that when they grew up a chicken liver would never darken the door again! I feel that way about onions, although the onion fanatic was Mom, not Grandma.
Anoniminous
@Iowa Old Lady:
Remember, if the bottom tier of Iowa’s counties were given to Missouri it would raise the average IQ in both states.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: My guess is that his supporters may not vote, as Kay has noted about her Republican friend’s comments, “they’re not real Republicans” about tRump supporters.
Achrachno
“agenda for the evening?”
Evening? Cripes! I’ve barely finished lunch! My day is flying fast enough already.
BillinGlendaleCA
@bemused: I’ve also taken to making 3d out of 2d, I started working on the ‘The Beatles Abbey Road’ cover this morning.
bemused
@Ruckus:
He’s one of the oiliest, smarmiest R’s but he also has the face to fit which puts him right up there with the leading contenders, imo. Eeew.
Baud
@Elizabelle:
I missed you! Glad to hear you’re having fun.
Can’t believe you interrupted your cruise for a Cruz thread. (Get it.)
RSA
@Big R:
Here in the middle of North Carolina, it’s easy to find them packaged by the pound, frozen. My wife used to make a mean chicken liver pate, from a recipe a French friend gave her, and most often it was the crème fraîche she had to substitute for. Funny.
bemused
@BillinGlendaleCA:
It’s all a mystery to me but would love to see some of your work.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The thing about Christie’s resurgence in New Hampshire is that it makes it more difficult for the establishment to rally around one person.
PurpleGirl
@bemused: Hope you’re still reading the thread… I found a snowflake coloring book at Michael’s that had somewhat larger patterns than many of the other adult coloring books. (I love them, even when I’m not planning on coloring them in, I just love the pictures.)
D58826
@efgoldman: I’ll believe Hatch when I can pick up the phone and get connected to POTUS just like the cardinal of NYC can. Or have the same lewvel of WH access that Billy Graham had in his younger days.
Mnemosyne
@bemused:
Depending on her interests, you may want to look for historical fashion or architectural coloring books rather than the geometric ones that are currently popular. Here’s a “Fashions of the Roaring 20s” one at Amazon, which seems to have coloring books that cover all eras and architectural styles.
Dover has been doing that kind of adult coloring book for years, so that may be a publisher to start with.
gelfling545
@Big R: I guess if you’re in the Piggley-Wiggley zone you’re out of the Wegmans territory so it will not help you that they have them. Are there any actual butcher shops around you? They should have them.
Pogonip
@Djchefron: We’re up North. I never knew what dirty rice was till we got a Popeye’s. I have a colleague from Louisiana but she doesn’t like dirty rice so we didn’t hear it from her. She did tell us about some exotically-named Louisiana sausages.
Ethnic cuisine. If you go to a big-box around here you’ll find all kinds of rarely used Japanese ingredients but you will NOT find miso or the powdered stock in the red-and-white box (the name of which has flown right out of my head).
BillinGlendaleCA
@bemused: I’d love to share it, but you’d need either hardware(Nvidia display adapters) or software(Tridef, ~$40) and anaglyph glasses to view them(or a 3d tv connected to a computer).
bemused
@PurpleGirl:
Thanks for the tip! I have a feeling I won’t get to the nearest Michaels 70 miles away before Christmas but I’ll check their website. I’ve been googling images and pinterest but not a lot of luck yet. I know she would enjoy flowers, cats or dogs but nothing too abstract. I did order a flower book that I think might work from amazon. I like doing Christmas shopping online but sometimes I spend almost as much time on the internet searching for the right gifts as I do running around shopping in the stores. Sigh.
Emma
@bemused: http://dailycaring.com/beautiful-coloring-books-for-seniors/. Apologies if you’ve already seen them.
bemused
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I did say it was all a mystery to me, lol.
BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman: I’m a Beatles fan, I’ve heard their version.
Mnemosyne
@BillinGlendaleCA:
One of my coworkers had a museum exhibition of his 3D flower photos. He did them the old-fashioned way, by bolting two identical digital cameras side-by-side.
Baud
@efgoldman:
Compared to where the other establishment candidates are, that’s a big move.
Emma
Well, heck. I put an URL in and ended up in moderation. Bemused, dailycaring.com has a page on coloring books for seniors.
Iowa Old Lady
@Anoniminous: LOL
BillinGlendaleCA
It should also be pointed out, that folk who went to Princeton with ‘Failgunner Ted’ said that there were no condom machines in the men’s restrooms. So Ted’s an oily liar.
bemused
@Mnemosyne:
I’ve done some Dover research. Her low vision makes it hard to find ones that I think she’d be able to do. She plugs away at those jigsaw puzzles even though it takes her a long time and she has to have bright light. She loves it when she has company to do them with her and I have a feeling she will do the same with the coloring books.
bemused
@Emma:
Thanks, checking that out now.
Ruckus
@efgoldman:
With a clue x 4.
Just had to unfriend another on FB. I believe that my standards may have been too low in the past.
SiubhanDuinne
@bemused:
Does she have an iPad? I love an app called Colorfy, which offers lots of designs and plenty of colors. It’s a free app for the basics, costs a bit if you want all the extras including unlimited palettes and even more designs. The advantage is that you can enlarge even piddly little sections of the screen to get in and apply the color. My favorites are the geometric all-over patterns, but there are animals, mandalas, florals, a variety of messages and greetings, and more. I’ve been an “adult colorer” for decades (yes, the books have always been around; it’s just that they became a “thing” this year) but now that I’m dealing with elderly eyes, I find the Colorfy app a fine substitute. If your MIL has an iPad, this might be just the ticket. (There are a ton of adult coloring apps out there. I’ve tried many of them, but keep coming back to Colorfy — not to be confused with Colorfly, which I don’t much like. But if you decide to go this route, check out the variety available.)
PurpleGirl
Cruz can do nothing to change the creepy factor… it’s baked into his personality and his looks. He’d need major cosmetic surgery to change his face. (I usually try not to hold a person’s looks against a politician but in his case… major, major drawback.)
Mnemosyne
@bemused:
Possibly crazy question — do you have access to a photocopier that can handle 11×17 paper, or a printer that can? I wonder if you can find one with images you like and blow them up to a better size for her. You’d probably have to noodle around with the settings, though.
Also, here’s the link of Emma’s that went into moderation.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne: Like this(it’s funny)?
Make your own 3d camera.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@efgoldman:
They covered the song “Teddy Bear,” I think. BinGdale confused.
SiubhanDuinne
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Who the fuck is Ted Cruz to decide who can and cannot have “his” God?
Schlemazel
@Baud: Seen it! Could serve as the title for their whole field.
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
Don’t even know if you’ll see this, but great to hear from you! Sounds as though you’re having a fun, relaxing time. Looking forward to a full report and plenty of pictures upon your return.
Schlemazel
@efgoldman:
My bet is he wants the separation of everyone elses church and state, just not his own. Its Taliban all the way down
Schlemazel
I’d change that second line to “Just to know he has piles causes millions of smiles”
I could go on if you like
sparrow
@Big R: I get chicken livers regularly at Whole Foods. If you don’t have one, you might find them frozen in stores catering to yuppies/hippies/healthfreaks as it is somewhat more in vogue now to eat organ meats as a “health food”. (I grew up eating them). And I will say that organ meat probably is one case where you REALLY want to go organic…
Mike in NC
We paid a visit earlier today to offer condolences to neighbors who had to have their 22 year old cat euthanized last night.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mnemosyne:
Tom Tierney, quite possibly the finest paper doll-coloring book artist ever, was a nephew (I think) of the actress Gene Tierney. Tom died two or three years ago. I met him a couple of times. My late aunt was an avid paper doll collector and I attended a few p.d. conventions with her back in the day. Tom Tierney was always a star attraction. I’m not a collector in the same sense, but I think I own just about all of his historic costume series. Terrific artist (for the specific genre), and a helluva nice guy.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Steeplejack (tablet): Not Confused!I have it on a tape from their Hamburg performances.
PurpleGirl
@BillinGlendaleCA: Could you post some of the house lighting pictures? I really enjoy seeing how people decorate their houses. When one friend still had her car we’d go riding around a couple of neighborhoods to look at the house lightings. My own complex does some stuff but hasn’t put up the outside lights yet and they took down the lighted tree they had in the lobby earlier today.
bemused
@SiubhanDuinne:
Ipads are out for her, no internet service in her area and her vision isn’t up to that either. I’m amazed she attempts the things she does such as the jigsaw puzzles which are a struggle. Not many 92 yr olds with macular deg in one eye have that much determination. She’s an inspiration, still lives alone with help from we “kids” and neighbors.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@BillinGlendaleCA:
All righty, then. I stand corrected.
bemused
@Mnemosyne:
That was an idea I had but will wait till after the holidays to do something like that. I’m feeling the pressure now to get things done. If I can find her one coloring book to try, I’ll have a better idea how she does with those and find more images for her.
LauraPDX
@Pogonip: Dashi?
BillinGlendaleCA
@PurpleGirl: I’ll post a link to a Flickr page once I get enough that are presentable. Last year’s turned out crappy.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Steeplejack (tablet): It’s also on the “Live from the BBC” album. The song’s author is currently a guest of the State of California(murder). You probably guessed who it is.
PurpleGirl
@Mnemosyne: Good comment Mnem. I began getting coloring books years ago and have several historical ones — Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Ancient Egypt, etc. I love this new spate of books.
bemused
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
So God told Cruz He only allows certain people on His team. Worst kind of godbotherer there is.
sacrablue
@bemused: The coloring book page had a section had a stained glass windows coloring book with pages that are translucent and are perforated. Maybe you could get her a light box that she could put the page on and color.
bemused
@sacrablue:
Another idea to consider, thanks.
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
Getting profane? Getting profane? Sonny-my-lad, I was profane when you were still in junior high.
As for being a “Southern lady,” no to both. And as for my “*ld *ge,” I am much less sensitive about that than I am about … well, other things. Such as the number of chins I have.
Ruckus
@efgoldman:
And I have “unfriended” a few here as well. Right into the pie filter they go. I know some don’t like the idea but sanity ain’t cheap.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
Ted Cruz has the most punchable face of anyone to ever run for POTUS. There is no way he’s going to win.
SiubhanDuinne
@PurpleGirl:
I can’t even count the number of “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” coloring books I’ve worked my way through over the years. My fave is the Anne of Cleves portrait. Such fun to color her jeweled headdress and gown.
BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman: Think you got whomped pretty good.
ETA: That’s what you get for calling ME old. Heh.
Omnes Omnibus
Does anyone know if Cruz was in an eating club at Princeton and, if so, which one?
Omnes Omnibus
@Omnes Omnibus: Found my own answer: yes and Ivy.
debbie
@Baud:
Good grief. More of this and your support may start slipping.
danielx
Trying to remember the article I read recently wherein one of Ted’s college roomies said he’d rather see literally anyone else as president; someone picked at random from a phone book would be preferable. Other quotes to the effect…why loathe Ted Cruz immediately? It saves time….etc etc.
delk
Ted Cruz Outtakes
Peale
@SiubhanDuinne: I first read that as “her headless gown” and thought that you were mistaking Anne of Cleves for Catherine Howard.
Davebo
rikyrah
@bemused:
that is a great description
Princess
@Omnes Omnibus: Intertubes say Colonial.
ETA I think that is the one I visited with the really lousy watery beer.
Steve Crickmore
@Omnes Omnibus: Ivy, that would explain his outlook,@Princess: but good brownies..
Tenar Darell
For @efgoldman who in previous threads has mentioned he dislikes It’s a Wonderful Life:
My father apparently used to call Bedford Falls, “Bellows Falls” so he could do the initial consonant switcheroo for sh*ts and giggles. Really. Just re-told me that story tonight. (With my father, making light can be both critique and compliment).
Tenar Darell
@PurpleGirl: You know who he reminds me of? A meaner, nastier, and less relatable Frank Burns. Plus his voice has all the charms of nails on a chalkboard.
Gvg
@bemused: try stained glass window pattern books.
SRW1
You underestimate Ted’s pull with snotty toddlers at your own peril!
mclaren
This is your best headline EV-AR, Anne!
mclaren
@bemused:
Prepare for a visit by the local drug squad smashing down your front door with a battering ram, shooting your dog, and screaming “On the floor, motherf****er! WHERE’S THE STASH? WHERE’S THE STASH???!?!?!?”
mclaren
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Then you haven’t been paying attention.
Tom Friedman started the hysteria on 13 September 2001:
Source: “World War III,” Tom Friedman op-ed, The New York Times, 13 September 2001.
More recently, Elliot Cohen upped the ante and called 9/11 “World War Four”:
Source: “It’s Still World War Four,” The American Interest, Eliot Cohen, 19 September 2015.
Let’s be clear: this is complete and total horseshit.
Radical fundamentalist jihadis do not want to destroy American civilization, nor are they capable of doing so. No terror attack (including 9/11) has ever posed anything even remotely like an existential threat to America. And none of America’s black ops teams or signals intelligence surveillance systems or nuclear-powered aircraft carriers or remote piloted drones or F-22 fighter jets will do any good at all in combating the terrorists.
As with Osama bin Laden, the way these terrorists will be dealt with is by good old-fashioned police work. Following leads, identifying couriers, tracking informants.
The entire vast infrastructure of America’s “national security” deep state is a complete and total waste. It’s a con job. It’s garbage. it’s worthless. These terrorists will be brought to justice the same way the Red Brigade terrorists were brought to justice in Europe in the 1970s — by ordinary police forces doing ordinary police work. And the courts will dispose of these criminals just the way the courts disposed of Carlos the Jackal.
Yet there remain a vast army of right-wing crybabies who convulse with hysteria every time some middle eastern guy farts in our direction. More people die every year in the West from slipping and falling in bathtubs than from terrorism, so terrorism is not a serious issue. But these wankers want to make it into a big issue, because they see a golden opportunity to score political points and ram their snouts into the national security feeding trough.
That’s all that’s going on here. Opportunism and hysteria.
Time Travelin'
Quit it, Rafael “Ted” Cruz.