Cruz: GOP lost because they didn’t accuse Dems of holding children ‘hostage’

[Galraedia]

Source: Raw Story

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) says that Republicans could have won the fight to derail President Barack Obama’s health care law by shutting down the government if they had just accused the Democrats holding children with cancer “hostage.”

In an interview that aired on Sunday, CNN’s Dana Bash asked Cruz if he was bothered on a “human level” that so many colleagues in his own party were angry at him for instigating the shutdown.

“Not remotely,” Cruz insisted. “I work for 26 million Texans, that’s my job to fight for them. I don’t work for the party bosses in Washington… The reason people are frustrated all over the country is that far too many people get elected and they think they’re there to be part of the club.”

The Texas senator observed that things could have turned out differently if Senate Republicans had “marched into battle side by side” with House Republicans to defund Obamacare.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/10/20/cruz-gop-lost-because-they-didnt-accuse-dems-of-holding-children-hostage/

[gopiscrap]

1. Cruz is a fucking idiot

[The Second Stone]

17. You are mistanken, Cruz is not an idiot, he is a genius who got into and graduate from

Harvard Law School. He is smarter than 99.99 percent of the people who took the LSAT. He is not stupid, nor an idiot. He is very smart and very, very dangerous. He is potentially the most dangerous man American has ever faced as an internal enemy, and we had best learn how to counter his evil. He is very smart and has no scruples.

[CatWoman]

20. um

there's a whole bunch of educated fools occupying America.

I work and have worked with several of them.

[gopiscrap]

22. I agree I have known several Phd's who didn't have a fucking

brain cell in head other than their subject field

[treestar]

71. Yes, and having the PhD made them

think they were experts in every field.

[Maraya1969]

25. I looked for Ted Cruz lsat and Ted Cruise academic records and found zero.

Nothing, Nada. The only thing that came up was President Obama's records.

Where did you get your information?

[icymist]

41. Here's an interesting read on some of Ted Cruz's background:

<snip>
As it turned out, though, almost everyone I knew well in college remembered him really well. Vividly. And I knew a number of his friends. But for whatever reason I just didn't remember him. When I saw college pictures of him, I thought okay, yeah, I remember that guy but sort of in the way where you're not 100% sure you're not manufacturing the recollection.

I was curious. Was this just my wife who tends to be a get-along and go-along kind of person? So I started getting in touch with a lot of old friends and asking whether they remembered Ted. It was an experience really unlike I've ever had. Everybody I talked to - men and women, cool kids and nerds, conservative and liberal - started the conversation pretty much the same.

"Ted? Oh yeah, immense a*#hole." Sometimes "total raging a#%hole." Sometimes other variations on the theme. But you get the idea. Very common reaction.

But that wasn't all. Before retelling this or that anecdote, there was one other thing that everybody said, "A really, really smart dude."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/me-ted

[Maraya1969]

48. It's very hard for me to imagine that guy as intelligent. He responded

to a reporter about his very low approval rating.................well wait a minute. He did say that 20% of the respondents were government workers so that's why he was getting bad results, (one of them) and it turns out that 20% of the country is government employed. So maybe he just knew that fact and used it to manipulate people into thinking he was not that bad.

I would never want to be that kind of smart.

Then again you have not sited a source for his LSAT's score. He could have just studied himself out of his supidness, in college at least.


Lost in confusion again

[icymist]

56. I never said it was a source for his LSATs score.

It was just some background on the man. Frankly, if he's allowed himself to be an anointed 'King' by zealot dominionist pastors will only add to feed a unhealthy ego. Could be a sign that he's so smart that he's stupid!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-wilson/video-ted-cruz-anointed-b_b_4088456.html

[Cha]

58. There was that one thread going around DU about Scruz'

college roomate said Ted was "smelly".

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023839988

[Beacool]

73. Thank you, that was a very interesting and elucidating article.

It seems that, aside from a small group of people who think like him, almost everyone he encountered in his life think that the guy is very smart but a huge asshole.

"As my correspondent notes, Ted managed to distinguish himself as an arrogant a#@hole at Harvard Law School, which is an amazing accomplishment since the competition there for that description is intense. This is the story Jason Zengerle managed to confirm for his new article in GQ. And I'm glad he did. I've been wondering about how much of this to report out myself. But I felt like I had kind of a conflict of interest or maybe unfair advantage knowing so many of the people first hand.

At each stage, Ted did seem to collect a quite small but core group of friends/followers, mainly people who were deeply in tune with his politics (he was as rightwing on day one at college as he is today) and who took what most found to be his assholery as a form of take-no-prisoners conservative badassdom. Indeed, if you think this is an issue of whom I talked to, just like-minded people maybe, consider this: It perfectly mirrors what's happened over the last year in the Senate. Cruz has a small handful of followers in the Senate; but basically everyone else in his Republican caucus despises him."

Yeah, in the Senate Cruz is as polular as the plague.

[Gman]

26. Exactly. Thank you

A good unemotional response. For the reasons you cite he is dangerous.

[kestrel91316]

29. Prove your claims. Because the man's words show him to be a clueless

egomaniac and nothing more.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

34. Graduating from Law School has nothing to do with genius and lots to do with memory skills. nt

[wordpix]

75. hey even W got into law school & graduated so definitely you just need $, not smarts

[trishtrash]

43. So true.

He is crazy like a fox but also very smart. I've listened to his interviews and he has a scary way with words. I think he could easily win the early primaries and be hard to catch.

[bitchkitty]

49. Well, he's a freaking fool, no matter how smart he tests. n/t

[Swede Atlanta]

54. I would differ with you a bit.....

Doing well on the LSAT and even the bar exam is not necessarily an indication of intelligence. I improved my LSAT scores by taking a quality prep course and was in the top 98% when I took the state bar exam because I mastered the art of the multi-state exam.

Admission to Harvard is arguably more than good LSAT scores. They look for aptitude based on LSAT, educational performance, etc. but they also look for personal qualities that will enhance the institution's reputation.

Cruz is reasonably intelligent but cunning, obsessed with self-grandeur and a pathology of reasoning likely refracted through a misguided religious fervor.

He is indeed very dangerous. Cruz makes GWB look like a babe in swaddling clothes. We must be very wary of him and be constantly on guard.

[Turbineguy]

55. I agree and this business of asking him to be nice is pointless.

I don't think he represents 26 million Texans. He represents Fox viewing sheep who are told what to think. And he represents those who pay him (and I'm not talking about the US Treasury!).

[Scairp]

59. Actually YOU are mistaken

I've come across many educated fools and Cruz certainly qualifies. I don't give a shit how great his education is he's still a moron.

[Arkana]

60. He's not dangerous. Book-smart, maybe, but the guy has no friends and no chance.

He'll never, ever be more than the loony Senator from Texas no one likes.

[ehrnst]

61. I agree - he's smart in the way many despots have been.(nt)

[Beacool]

65. I agree about his intelligence.

He graduated either cum laude or summa cum laude from both schools. He was also a champion debater. His intelligence makes him far more dangerous than dopes like Palin, Bachmann, Gohmert, et al.

[kentauros]

67. Karl Rove is more dangerous than Carnival Cruz.

I dare say he's more intelligent, too, especially with the fact that he doesn't hold office. There's not a damn thing we can do directly to prevent Rove's influence. Cruz can be censured, and even voted to be removed from the Senate, at least as I understand it according to some of our poly-sci scholars around here.

Rove will continue doing his damage until he dies.

[treestar]

70. book smart maybe but this latest foray into absurd partisanship

show he has no people sense whatsoever. How clever is it to bend over backwards into extremism?

[Roarybeans]

72. Pay attention

Your right. We better develope a strategy to knock this guy out of politics before he does more damage.

[ehrnst]

62. I think he just knows just how to appeal to idiots. I think he's actually

very crafty, ambitious, and sociopathic.

[rocktivity]

2. What about the millions of Texan children YOU held hostage, Senator?

rocktivity

[jessie04]

3. STFU you self centered pos.

[PeoViejo]

4. Ted 'The Great Projectionist' Cruz

White is Black
Up is Down
Peace is War
He is something right out of 1984.
The only thing he hasn't invoked yet is Emmanuel Goldstein.

[Snake Plissken]

5. Palin's imaginary death panels weren't enough for Palin Jr., he needs to add murdering children.

Pretty soon he'll firing up the freakshow with rumors of healthcare concentration camps and genocide.

[The CCC]

6. Cruz: GOP lost because they didn’t accuse Dems of holding children ‘hostage’

Except that is exactly what his fellow repukes did.

[cui bono]

28. Yep so they failed at their usual projection. n/t

[TwilightGardener]

7. Ha--everyone knew who the real terrorists and hostage-takers were. There's no one--NO ONE--

who sincerely believes Republicans care that much about kids with cancer. It doesn't square with freedumb-n-liburty and low taxes and punishing illegal immigrants and throwing people off food stamps. To make an accusation stick, there has to be a ring of truth--and no one is going to buy that it's actually the ANTI-health-reform party that gives a shit about sick people. Why do people say he's smart? Haven't seen evidence, aside from being able to fleece the gullible teabaggers out of donations.

[Snake Plissken]

10. His followers are members of a cult, rational thought is not part of the equation, baggers believe

God wants they to fight a war for mankind's survival against the imaginary enemies the Koch brothers created for them.

Baggers are living in their own private North Korea. I really can't believe the media treats them as if they are anything other than a freakshow.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

8. "they think they’re there to be part of the club.”

Unlike you who thinks it's all about the Benjamins.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023889012

[Tikki]

9. That doesn't even make any sense...

I can't even think of a stupid enough analogy to go with his statement. Someone
up board posted about 'projection'..and that pretty much describes it.

Tikki

[Xipe Totec]

15. He's arguing that they needed a more valuable hostage

Doesn't even register to him that he's still talking like an extortionist.

[magical thyme]

11. you tried to deny health insurance to all uninsured children with cancer

and shut down the government, denying more children last chance care....and that somehow meant the dems were holding them hostage?

Dude's missing a logic module. And Kathleen Parker called him a genius!

[Ace Acme]

23. The Rhetorical Technique is Called "Flipping"

You accuse your opponent of doing what you're doing.

Cruz held the government hostage, and then wanted to accuse the Dems of holding children hostage.

In "flipping" if you're going to engage in ad hominem attack, you accuse the other guy of engaging in ad hominem attack.
If you're going to lie blatantly, you accuse the other guy of lying blatantly.

This forecloses on the other side's ability to point out your misdeeds, because it's just a case of two sides calling each other liar. The undiscerning will not recognize that only one of the two parties has the facts on their side.

[cui bono]

31. The sad thing is he doesn't need logic, in fact I'm sure he knows it doesn't make sense

but it doesn't matter because the loonies that vote for him don't understand logic. They will repeat what he says with 100% conviction. They will hear the same thing from Faux News, Rush and company and then they will "know" it is true. If he can fool enough people he'll get re-elected. In the meantime he gets the idiots riled up enough to send him money.

[elleng]

12. Have you no shame?

(nevermind 'sir.')

[SoapBox]

13. Oh Shut...The...Fuck...Up!

America hates you.

[ancianita]

14. Even red staters now look at the credibility of who's pointing the finger these days.Whining excuses

are laughable even to them. No one's buying the gilded turds he's peddling anymore.

[jsr]

16. “I work for 26 million Texans, that’s my job to fight for them."

[Dustlawyer]

18. He better count again!

[mountain grammy]

37. Right on.. he speaks mainly for himself and his donors; definitely not all Texans.

[SCVDem]

19. Go ahead and play that card asshole!

I will raise you kids with NO coverage due to lifetime caps, no coverage due to pre-existing conditions and broken families who can't afford the co-pays much less the basic coverage.

Cruz has no plan to take care of the above and Romney would have them all go to the emergency room.

[progree]

44. ^^^-+1000 Thanks for mentioning children with pre-existing conditions - thx to ACA insurance co's

can't refuse coverage. And on January 2014, the same will be true for adults -- insurers cannot refuse coverage or charge extra because of pre-existing conditions. The only things that insurers can charge more for is: age (I think older people may be charged up to a limit of 3 times what they charge young people), smoking status, and geographic location. (Well, I suppose all 3 are kind of pre-existing conditions, but well, let's say the only 3 pre-existing conditions that people can be charged more for).

And as you mentioned, no lifetime caps and subsidies (that children particularly in Texas and states like it will benefit the most from on a per-capita basis).

[olddad56]

21. I can see rehab in his future. He has to be on something.

[DallasNE]

24. But Cruz, You Had The Floor For 21 Hours

That was more than enough time to roll out your "holding children hostage" message so why just now? Could it be because this, like everything else coming out of your mouth, is a lie.

[libdem4life]

27. Replace Cruz with the Castro Twins...the new face of Texas and Hispanic political leadership.

Democrats. These two were born in politics and have spent their entire lives building a political base. One is Mayor of San Antonio, the other a member of the State House.

"Julian and Joaquin Castro, rising political stars in Texas and the Democratic party, have been involved in politics since they were three years old. From attending La Raza Unida rallies with their parents in 1970s San Antonio, to later tying for first place in their first student senate race at Stanford University, the 38-year-old twins were destined for political clout and fame."

http://austin.culturemap.com/news/life/04-02-13-rising-political-stars-julian-and-joaquin-castro-talk-politics-policy-and-the-future-of-texas/

Their mother, Rosie, is pretty awesome, too, but she's had to move a bit to the right to get to The Left...from La Raza Unida.

http://www.southwestern.edu/live/news/7306-the-legacy-of-la-raza-unida

[mountain grammy]

38. Yes, and Wendy Davis too! Governor Davis sure has a nice ring to it.

[libdem4life]

40. Sure does. I'm encouraged by our political progress and some of our awesome candidates

while watching the demise of the Tea Party. Seems like it's been a long haul.

[mountain grammy]

46. Have you seen the new "Time" cover? Texas is our future!

While I think that's a crock, I hope to see Texas with a future.. Wendy, the Castro brothers, and many more to come. The legacies of LBJ, Barbara Jordan, Ann Richards and Molly Ivins overshadow the small minded Ted Cruz.

[libdem4life]

50. Have now. Ugh. Still have "Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?" on my bookshelf. One of the

sharpest Mark Twain successors of our time. Life too soon snuffed out.

Read the talk on DU about helping other areas to turn states/districts from Red to at least Purple, Texas has got to be high on that list. Wendy Davis for Governor!

Texas politics is also about the future of American Hispanics. Ted Cruz could care less about Hispanics as a group, so hope the Castro brothers get into this. They are Ivy League intellectuals as well, just don't wave it in people's faces.

About the graphic... at least they let California keep it's west coastline, but Texas in the Pacific Northwest...ha.

[kiranon]

30. Sen. Cruz's statement provides a look into his soul. He would

hold anyone hostage if it worked to get him what he wanted. IMHO, he is a dangerous man with a dangerous agenda.

[narnian60]

32. He does NOT work for me or many other Texans, so

quit lying, Ted.

[DeadLetterOffice]

33. The teabagger echo chamber...

...is a seriously scary place. Kinda makes you want to sneak therapeutic psychiatric meds into the Congressional water supply...

[gtar100]

35. More republican projections of their own bullshit onto others so they don't have to take

responsibility for their own actions. Cruz has the schtick down pat.

[icymist]

36. The freshman senator wants all the Republicans to be led by him?!

The Texas senator observed that things could have turned out differently if Senate Republicans had “marched into battle side by side” with House Republicans to defund Obamacare.

What an arrogant little ego he has.

[libdem4life]

42. Right. Republican leader of both houses?...with a year or so of experience? Not. When he starts

asking for committee spots, would guess his name is far down the list. Partly because he is splitting the Party while trying to make fools of the Old Guard...not going to happen, IMO.

Also, The Kochs and Wall Street have stated they will not fund the Temper Tantrum Caucus Johnny-come-lately candidates. They have seen the wacko video of his Kingship and Reining 7 Mountains nuttery, as have his colleagues. This is not close to being in the mainstream in the religious world, except for a few like Palin. The money is not dumb nor blind. McCain will still be the leader.

[workinclasszero]

39. The only terrorist holding hostages was Cruz and his teabag minions

That jackass seems to think the average American is as f***** stupid as teabag republicans are!

[subterranean]

45. I know the feeling: "If only I'd said that..."

Have you ever had an argument or been insulted by someone, and only later think of the perfect snappy comeback that you wish you had said? We've all been there.

That's how this strikes me. Cruz is thinking, "If only we'd accused Democrats of holding kids with cancer hostage, we would have won! Dammit, why didn't I think of that before?"

He is wrong, of course. Few people other than teabaggers would have bought that lie.

[sakabatou]

47. Riiiight, you crazy, crazy man-child

[drm604]

51. Right Ted.

The Democrats trying to provide healthcare to children can be described as "holding children hostage".

This tells us a lot about this guy. He's all about dishonesty, framing the message, and winning the game; and any means are justified.

[Southside]

52. The media will keep selling it, but we are not buying it

Cruz is selling change that destroys. Scurry away AntChrist. Go back to the hole where you came from.

[PuffedMica]

53. So says the arsonist hostage taker

[truthisfreedom]

57. Yawn.

Ted Cruz is so last week.

[Beacool]

63. I forgot whether it was Jeb Bush or some other Republican

who suggested that Cruz should keep his mouth shut for a while. He keeps damaging their party.

On the other hand, that's good for our side. Keep talking Rafael, don't let the establishment censor you!!!!

[Xyzse]

64. Problem is, he is the norm in Politics in Texas for his area.

The guy he beat in the primaries to become a Freshman Senator, now talks with the same sort of way. Even to the point of bringing out Benghazi and impeachment.

Ridiculous.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

66. Project much Eduardo?

[olddad56]

68. NO Ted, you picked a fight and then lost because you were on the wrong side of right.

you are always on the wrong side of right. You are basically a a henchman for a couple of monsters.

[treestar]

69. What scum

Is there no bottom to which he can sink?

[Left Coast2020]

74. Who's he going to con next for his self-ego session?

[blkmusclmachine]

76. Crazy talk.