What is the deal with Ted Cruz' father? I've read several accounts

[CatWoman]

one is his dad escaped from Cuba, another is he left on his own (with Castro's blessing).

Anyone know? Wikipedia can't be trusted.

[dkf]

1. From WaPo

After being imprisoned and tortured by the Batista regime, the elder Rafael Cruz came to America on a student visa with nothing but $100 sewn into his underwear. He made his way through the University of Texas by washing dishes.

http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/who-is-ted-cruz/2012/08/01/gJQAqql8OX_blog.html

[Enrique]

3. fascinating

what % of people would assume, like I did, that he fled Castro. How many people realize that he actually fought for Castro?

“Y’all know my heart,” Ted Cruz told the Austin Republican Women last month. “My dad fled Cuba. He was imprisoned and tortured as a teenager, and came to Austin penniless, seeking freedom. The reason I’m running is simple. He fled oppression once. And you have my word that I’ll fight every day to protect freedom here, so that none of us have to flee oppression a second time.”

By the way, Rick Santorum's ancestors were communists in Italy, and Marco Rubio's parents fled Cuba during Battista's opresion.

[Bucky]

2. Cruz was born in Canada.

From what I understand, two parents were involved. The Wiki you don't trust (could you try Conservapedia instead?) says his father left Cuba in 1957. That's not someone who "escaped from Cuba". He might've left for the violence, but if he left that early for political reasons, he was an anti-Batista partisan.

Batista was a socialist. There was a non-communist guerrilla campaign as well as Castro's vaguely leftist moement. In 1957 the pro-democratic rebels got clobbered by the Cuban army, so if Cruz's dad left in that year, he might have a strong claim to anticommunism. Castro's forces didn't drive out Batista until a year and a half after that--and it was only after taking over the country that Castro announced he was redder than a baboon's ass.

It's plausible that Cruz senior had to run away from Cuba, but the timeline shows it wasn't communism he ran from.

[CatWoman]

4. thank you

on another note: I don't trust Conservapedia either.

And what do you mean "two parents were involved"? Are you saying his mother was/is Cuban as well? I read that she was/is Canadian.

[DonViejo]

6. Cruz has all ready addressed that too...

Should be fun watching birthers legitimizing "Calgary" Cruz...

Ted 'Calgary' Cruz explains why being born in Canada doesn't mean he can't run for president

He might even run for President in 2016. Though he was born in Canada, he informed me that he was qualified to serve. “The Constitution requires that one be a natural-born citizen,” he said, “and my mother was a U.S. citizen when I was born.”

Given that Mitt Romney's dad was born in Mexico and John McCain was born in Panama, I doubt being born in Calgary will prove to be Ted Cruz's undoing—unless it turns out that he's a Democrat or that he's African-American or that he was actually born in the United States or—God forbid—that his mom is from Kansas. Because if any of those things turn out to be true, it could be a bit of a problem for him.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/13/1160882/-Ted-Calgary-Cruz-explains-why-being-born-in-Canada-doesn-t-mean-he-can-t-run-for-president

[rurallib]

8. but Obama's mother was a citizen and the birthers claim

that ain't enough. I mean WTF????

[chelsea0011]

5. Rubio and Cruz can never withstand the scrutiny of a run for higher office

The lies will not go away.

[Archae]

7. It doesn't matter where and when Cruz's father came to the US.

Simply put, Cruz is a Teabagger, uses McCarthyist tactics like baseless accusations, and is in general a beautiful example of a Texas GOP asshole.

[hobbit709]

9. Even among TX GOP assholes he stands out in a class all by himself.

[CatWoman]

10. I haven't talked to you in a while

I need my kitty update. How are they doing?

[Archae]

11. Both Charlotte and Lucky are doing great.

I took close up pictures of both of them.

Charlotte:



Lucky:

[CatWoman]

12. awwwwwww

thanks