Octopus Overlords

Moliere wrote:Ted Cruz 2020!!

One of these days, and maybe soon, Ted Cruz just might have to endorse Donald Trump.

But he’ll never concede Trump could have beaten him in a fair fight — and he’ll never accept that Trump’s me-first philosophy represents a sustainable future for the GOP. Above all, Cruz wants to use the big stage in Cleveland to present a non-Trump alternative vision for his party’s future, one rooted in constitutional conservative principles and competent campaign management modeled, oddly enough, on Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 White House runs.
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“I’d meet Bernie's supporters and I’d say, ‘You know what? I agree with Bernie,’ and they'd look at me, startled,” Cruz said, as his daughter, tiara on head, demanded he leave for dinner. “They didn’t expect a Republican to say that. I said, ‘Listen, Bernie talks about how Washington is corrupt, both parties are in bed with the lobbyists and special interests. I think he's exactly right.’”

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz recently issued a summons to potential supporters.

It’s not really a summons. It’s a fundraising letter — as in, Cruz is summoning support. But the problem is the Cruz campaign has made the envelope look much like a legal summons, which can be pretty serious. A summons occurs when a person is sued or ordered to appear in court. Most people are probably not thrilled about getting such a summons.

A reader brought this mailer to our attention because she viewed it as misleading and intimidating. We reached out to the Cruz campaign and explained the concern, but never received an on-the-record response about the “summons.” Nevertheless, the Cruz campaign would do well to find another way to catch the attention of potential supporters.

The brown envelope looks very official. It has two clear windows. Above those windows it says, “Summons Enclosed — Open Immediately” in bold letters.

In the top left corner, it says in small black print:

“Official Kerr County Summons
Voter Enrollment Campaign Division
Ted Cruz for Senate 2018”

Jaymann wrote: ↑Sat May 26, 2018 7:45 pm In some ways the Zodiac Killer is more dangerous than Drumpf, as he has some inkling of how the game is played. It speaks volumes that he is universally despised by everyone with whom he comes in contact.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz isn’t only struggling to keep pace with Democrat Beto O’Rourke when it comes to fundraising, his campaign is also laboring to keep its books straight.

Federal campaign regulators have three times in the last year sent notices to the Cruz campaign - more than any Senator running for re-election this year - for taking tens of thousands of dollars more than legally allowed from dozens of donors. And in another case, a Cruz donor had to file a Federal Election Commission complaint to get the campaign to stop automatically deducting monthly donations from her bank account.
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A review of 31 other U.S. senatorial campaigns show only three others have received one letter flagging similar issues in the past year. None had as many donors out of compliance as Cruz’s campaign.

U.S. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa; Dean Heller, R-NV, and Tammy Baldwin, D-WI, have received similar letters from the FEC. O’Rourke, the El Paso Congressman challenging Cruz, has not yet received any formal notices for “excessive, prohibited, and impermissible contributions” like Cruz’s campaign has.
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Campaigns have become aggressive in signing up monthly donors to create a steadier stream of funding. On President Donald Trump’s campaign website, donors are given the option of checking a box to make their one-time donation or a monthly contribution.

Cruz has a similar feature on his website, but with a key difference. Instead of giving people the chance to opt-in to a monthly donation by checking a box, supporters are automatically enrolled in monthly donations unless they un-check a box.

Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke, who is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz, said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's performance at a summit with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin merits impeachment.

And he blasted Cruz for failing to denounce Trump, who shocked U.S. intelligence and law enforcement by taking the former KGB spy chief's word that Russia did not meddle in the 2016 election.
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O'Rourke's fresh comments in support of impeachment makes the Trump factor even more central to the Texas Senate contest. Last October, he expressed sympathy for calls to impeach the president but said conditions weren't yet ripe, with the special counsel probe under way. In April he said that he was ready to vote for articles of impeachment but, as on Tuesday, said he wasn't going out of his way to advocate that step.

"He is the only major party candidate in America to call for impeachment. Elizabeth Warren hasn't done it. Bernie Sanders hasn't done it. Nancy Pelosi hasn't done it. This is a fringe candidate in the Democrat Party," Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe said Tuesday afternoon.
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Cruz later retweeted this story and used it to hit his rival. "This partisan extremism may resonate great in Hollywood, but it doesn't reflect the views of the majority of Texans," he wrote.
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On the stump, he has urged voters to keep Republicans in power by warning them that Democrats would impeach Trump if they wrest control of Congress in November's midterm elections. On Monday night, Cruz told a CNN reporter that "we need to be acting vigorously to prevent Russian aggression. And I think it's a mistake to be apologizing for Vladimir Putin."

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:12 pm Texas

Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke, who is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz, said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's performance at a summit with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin merits impeachment.

And he blasted Cruz for failing to denounce Trump, who shocked U.S. intelligence and law enforcement by taking the former KGB spy chief's word that Russia did not meddle in the 2016 election.
...
O'Rourke's fresh comments in support of impeachment makes the Trump factor even more central to the Texas Senate contest. Last October, he expressed sympathy for calls to impeach the president but said conditions weren't yet ripe, with the special counsel probe under way. In April he said that he was ready to vote for articles of impeachment but, as on Tuesday, said he wasn't going out of his way to advocate that step.

"He is the only major party candidate in America to call for impeachment. Elizabeth Warren hasn't done it. Bernie Sanders hasn't done it. Nancy Pelosi hasn't done it. This is a fringe candidate in the Democrat Party," Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe said Tuesday afternoon.
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Cruz later retweeted this story and used it to hit his rival. "This partisan extremism may resonate great in Hollywood, but it doesn't reflect the views of the majority of Texans," he wrote.
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On the stump, he has urged voters to keep Republicans in power by warning them that Democrats would impeach Trump if they wrest control of Congress in November's midterm elections. On Monday night, Cruz told a CNN reporter that "we need to be acting vigorously to prevent Russian aggression. And I think it's a mistake to be apologizing for Vladimir Putin."

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Fri Jan 15, 2016 12:52 pm WaPo

TED CRUZ (R-Tex. ) tells a sweet story about the sacrifice he and his wife made four years ago to finance his upstart campaign for the U.S. Senate. The story, as it turns out, is phony. That doesn’t come as a total surprise, since it is in keeping with the sham persona of Mr. Cruz’s candidacy for president.

Mr. Cruz’s account of getting his wife to agree “to liquidate our entire net worth, liquid net worth” so he could wage his underdog candidacy against the party favorite in the 2012 Senate Republican primary was debunked by the New York Times, which revealed that he took out as much as $1 million in loans, with much of the money loaned to the campaign. The loans from Goldman Sachs (where his wife works ) and Citibank were never disclosed, as required by law, to federal election officials but were subsequently included on financial disclosure forms he filed as a senator.

“Inadvertent filing error” was how Mr. Cruz characterized the failure to list the loans with the Federal Election Commission. Let’s give Mr. Cruz the benefit of the doubt and assume that this was not a calculated omission; that a Harvard-educated attorney who speaks endlessly of his smarts and legal prowess was unaware of requirements that candidates, including those running for offices far less lofty than the U.S. Senate, are able to follow without problem.

What’s harder to overlook is the hypocrisy. At the very time he was presenting himself to voters as an anti-establishment candidate free of Wall Street influence, he was getting a big loan from a Wall Street firm. So much for Mr. Cruz’s attacks on crony capitalism and his tale of putting everything on the line to get where he is.

In 2018, the FEC sent three letters to Cruz’s campaign for possible violations. The Houston Chronicle reported that was more than any other Senate re-election campaign of that year and only a handful of other Senators received such a letter.

The 2018 violations stemmed from Cruz’s camp taking tens of thousands of dollars more than was legally allowed from donors.

Jaymann wrote: ↑Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:19 pm Finally, the cryptic Zodiac Killer message has been decoded as follows:

I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me. That wasn’t me on the TV show, which brings up a point about me. I am not afraid of the gas chamber because it will send me to paradice all the sooner, because I now have enough slaves to work for me, where everyone else has nothing when they reach paradise so they are afraid of death. I am not afraid because I know that my new life is life will be an easy one in paradice death.

Yours Truly,

Ted

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Sat Dec 12, 2020 12:51 am

Jaymann wrote: ↑Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:19 pm Finally, the cryptic Zodiac Killer message has been decoded as follows:

I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me. That wasn’t me on the TV show, which brings up a point about me. I am not afraid of the gas chamber because it will send me to paradice all the sooner, because I now have enough slaves to work for me, where everyone else has nothing when they reach paradise so they are afraid of death. I am not afraid because I know that my new life is life will be an easy one in paradice death.

Yours Truly,

Ted

CBS News

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is warning that the Senate might not start the confirmation process for any of President-elect Joe Biden's nominees until all election-related lawsuits are resolved.

"As long as there's litigation ongoing, and the election result is disputed, I do not think you will see the Senate act to confirm any nominee," Cruz said in an interview with Axios published Thursday.

His remarks followed similar comments by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee who said he would hold a hearing next week on the "irregularities" of the 2020 election.

Smoove_B wrote:I'll put it here because Ted Cruz:

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is warning that the Senate might not start the confirmation process for any of President-elect Joe Biden's nominees until all election-related lawsuits are resolved.

"As long as there's litigation ongoing, and the election result is disputed, I do not think you will see the Senate act to confirm any nominee," Cruz said in an interview with Axios published Thursday.

His remarks followed similar comments by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee who said he would hold a hearing next week on the "irregularities" of the 2020 election.

Let's talk again how President Biden needs to "work with Republicans" and "heal the nation". F Ted Cruz and F the GOP. "As long as there is litigation ongoing" - so they're going to file lawsuits for the next 4 years? Can't confirm Biden's picks but they sure as shit can seat a Supreme Court Justice. With the fury of a thousand suns I loathe them all.

naednek wrote: ↑Sat Dec 12, 2020 11:31 am

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Sat Dec 12, 2020 12:51 am

Jaymann wrote: ↑Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:19 pm Finally, the cryptic Zodiac Killer message has been decoded as follows:

I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me. That wasn’t me on the TV show, which brings up a point about me. I am not afraid of the gas chamber because it will send me to paradice all the sooner, because I now have enough slaves to work for me, where everyone else has nothing when they reach paradise so they are afraid of death. I am not afraid because I know that my new life is life will be an easy one in paradice death.

Yours Truly,

Ted

CBS News

Wrong Ted?

Let them eat crude.

Jaymann wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:10 pmSo Herr Cruz allegedly dropped off his family in Cancun (they rejoiced escaping from him) so he could rush back and return to his serious business: serial killing.

In a statement, the Texas Republican said he flew with his daughters Wednesday and would return Thursday amid an uproar and calls to resign over the family trip.

“With school canceled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends. Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon,” Cruz said.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 3:32 pm He'd hoped to slip away unnoticed - probably the first time he was fully mask compliant. Then he got caught and now he has to scramble back. Anyone that votes for him after this needs to be evaluated.

Paingod wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:43 pm

Jaymann wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:10 pmSo Herr Cruz allegedly dropped off his family in Cancun (they rejoiced escaping from him) so he could rush back and return to his serious business: serial killing.

That's confirmed? He actually cancelled his evacuation plans because enough people saw him boarding the plane and made it public?

I mean ... no one packs a 40lb suitcase for a round-trip flight. I'd be curious if he stupidly comes back with that same big bag, or if he left it to back up his story about never intending to stay.

Pyperkub wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 3:57 pm

Paingod wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:43 pm

Jaymann wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:10 pmSo Herr Cruz allegedly dropped off his family in Cancun (they rejoiced escaping from him) so he could rush back and return to his serious business: serial killing.

That's confirmed? He actually cancelled his evacuation plans because enough people saw him boarding the plane and made it public?

I mean ... no one packs a 40lb suitcase for a round-trip flight. I'd be curious if he stupidly comes back with that same big bag, or if he left it to back up his story about never intending to stay.

Original flight reservations apparently called for them to return this weekend, but his flight today was only booked this morning apparently (per United Airlines). In the meantime, he's throwing his family under the bus.

Pyperkub wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 3:57 pm

Paingod wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:43 pm

Jaymann wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:10 pmSo Herr Cruz allegedly dropped off his family in Cancun (they rejoiced escaping from him) so he could rush back and return to his serious business: serial killing.

That's confirmed? He actually cancelled his evacuation plans because enough people saw him boarding the plane and made it public?

I mean ... no one packs a 40lb suitcase for a round-trip flight. I'd be curious if he stupidly comes back with that same big bag, or if he left it to back up his story about never intending to stay.

Original flight reservations apparently called for them to return this weekend, but his flight today was only booked this morning apparently (per United Airlines). In the meantime, he's throwing his family under the bus.

RunningMn9 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:27 pm Those are some ill-fitting closes. But that totally looks like an overnight bag.

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:50 pm An experienced traveler can get a week's worth of clothes in that size bag.

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:50 pm

RunningMn9 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:27 pm Those are some ill-fitting closes. But that totally looks like an overnight bag.

An experienced traveler can get a week's worth of clothes in that size bag.