# Ted Cruz Presidential campaign discussion thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 23, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774 "2015-03-23T14:47:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/321 "2015-12-24T01:38:23Z")
While I agree that kids should be off limits in political commentary, it is Cruz himself who is responsible for this. I finally saw the Christmas-time ad that featured his daughters. If the ad had simply been the Senator posing with his cute kids (and they are undeniably cute) and saying something about how he’s a family man just like me, that would have been one thing. But, he put political words in their mouths. That made them fair game, in my opinion. Portraying the Obama girls as monkeys would be a bit different. Portraying black people as monkeys is a well-established racist depiction. An artist drawing the girls as monkeys would have to be aware of this context. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/322 "2015-12-24T01:38:43Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Doesn’t matter if he used his kids as props, no one else should be able to. My problem isn’t that he used his girls as props. It’s that he put in the mouth of his seven year old criticism of Hilary Clinton’s email server. Turning your child into a political attack dog is not the norm. My wife doesn’t like it. Neither will other moderate swing voters. The cartoon is about the Senator, not the girls. I don’t think many middle of the road Americans would think of the cartoon as inappropriate after seeing the advertisement it satirizes. From a purely political standpoint, Cruz is absolutely correct to want to suppress that cartoon. It’s all too true. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/323 "2015-12-24T01:40:33Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I think Cruz opened the door for mockery by using them the way he did. Also, I think the intent of the Washington Post cartoon was to mock Cruz and the way he used his daughters, not to mock the daughters themselves. > > However, portraying the daughters as trained monkeys seems to point it a bit at them. Any efforts to mock the situation should be solidly aimed at Cruz, not derogatory towards the children. I think that cartoon was poorly chosen. Could the cartoon be redeemed if the girls were portrayed as little girls at the end of leashes rather than monkeys? Cruz could still be an organ grinder making the girls dance, but they wouldn’t have to be monkeys. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/324 "2015-12-24T01:40:34Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > My problem isn’t that he used his girls as props. It’s that he put in the mouth of his seven year old criticism of Hilary Clinton’s email server. Turning your child into a political attack dog is not the norm. My wife doesn’t like it. Neither will other moderate swing voters. I don’t disagree, and I believe he invited this. I just don’t think anyone should take the bait. I think the kids should be left out of it no matter what the candidate does. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/325 "2015-12-24T01:42:28Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > My problem isn’t that he used his girls as props. It’s that he put in the mouth of his seven year old criticism of Hilary Clinton’s email server. Turning your child into a political attack dog is not the norm. My wife doesn’t like it. Neither will other moderate swing voters. Maybe if the girls had been portrayed as parrots, tape-recorders, puppets, pawns, etc. might have been less objectionable and gotten the point across. Or maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/326 "2015-12-24T01:43:24Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > My problem isn’t that he used his girls as props. It’s that he put in the mouth of his seven year old criticism of Hilary Clinton’s email server. Turning your child into a political attack dog is not the norm. My wife doesn’t like it. Neither will other moderate swing voters. > > The cartoon is about the Senator, not the girls. I don’t think many middle of the road Americans would think of the cartoon as inappropriate after seeing the advertisement it satirizes. > > From a purely political standpoint, Cruz is absolutely correct to want to suppress that cartoon. It’s all too true. I too thought that the cartoon was in poor taste until I saw the TV ad that it satirizes. Unfortunately, most people won’t see the TV spot, but will be saturated with the cartoon. It’s a minor (ha!) thing, but it gives Cruz an opening to claim that the “liberal media” is hurting him. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/327 "2015-12-24T04:33:53Z")
Forget involving kids. I thought monkeys were off limits for portrayal of politicians now? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/328 "2015-12-24T06:12:14Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > I too thought that the cartoon was in poor taste until I saw the TV ad that it satirizes. Unfortunately, most people won’t see the TV spot, but will be saturated with the cartoon. It’s a minor (ha!) thing, but it gives Cruz an opening to claim that the “liberal media” is hurting him. And he is wasting no time using his daughters to launch [a fundraising appeal in response.](http://www.searchnewsonline.com/update/1655581/cruz-blasts-cartoon-of-daughters-seeks-1m-to-fight-back.html) I know he’s a worm but pimping his own kids to raise cash is disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/329 "2015-12-24T06:16:31Z")
It’s all a game to him. He’ll do whatever it takes to win. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/330 "2015-12-24T06:25:03Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It’s all a game to him. He’ll do whatever it takes to win. You’re describing Every. Single. Politician. ---
**Author:** ![phreak9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/45deac/32.png) [@phreak9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreak9)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/331 "2015-12-24T07:21:16Z")
I think Ted Cruz already lost Wisconsin. I guess he came here and told WI repubs to help pay the $1.5 million for Scott Walkers epic failure of a presidential campaign. Walker is not doing too well lately and its reported another large company and its 1,000 jobs will be leaving for Chicago soon. Repubs in WI arent really winning any Walker related arguments and then he drops a deuce in his presidential run and then Cruz says ‘help him pay his debt’? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/332 "2015-12-24T07:23:28Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > You’re describing > Every. > Single. > Politician. No, some are genuine crusaders, like Bernie Sanders, or reformers, like John McCain, or just people who feel entitled to be President, like Jeb Bush. Others play the game, but it’s not about the game, like Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Ted Cruz plays the game because he likes the game. He wants to win the game. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/333 "2015-12-24T11:39:27Z")
Yeah, I don’t understand portraying the girls as monkeys. Given the ad they were mocking, elves would have been a better choice. But the fund raising ad in response is more disgusting to me. Phony outrage to raise money. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/334 "2015-12-24T13:50:50Z")
Hillary needs to remind Cruz that Rush Limbaugh used to refer to Chelsea Clinton as The First Dog. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/335 "2015-12-24T14:09:22Z")
Since Cruz used the girls in an ad they are fair game. If he hadn’t used them, or they’d just been seen beside him, not actually “acting”, then I’d have disapproved of the editorial cartoon. Using them in response to the cartoon is disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/336 "2015-12-24T14:15:52Z")
So we can portray Presidential candidates(and Presidents) as monkeys now? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/337 "2015-12-24T14:22:37Z")
You’re not fair game if you can’t give consent to participating in the campaign. Cruz’s girls have no idea what they’re doing. They’re just doing what their dad wants them to. Just because Cruz used them for his ad doesn’t give the other side an excuse to rope them into their rhetoric too. You can mock and criticize Cruz for being a callous jackass and manipulative father without portraying his kids as monkeys. I’m a liberal, and I hate hate _hate_ Cruz. It was still an awful cartoon. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/338 "2015-12-24T14:23:27Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > No, some are genuine crusaders, like Bernie Sanders, or reformers, like John McCain, Oh, Christ. McCain was no reformer. He was a one trick pony, attacking earmarks which are a tiny fraction of the budget and how things get done. Vote for my dam and I’ll vote for your airport. It’s how things fucking work. Cruz whines about Hillary playing the victim card but she’s a piker compared to him. Use your kids to deliver political attacks and it’s fucking fair to criticize that use in cartoons. Don’t want your kids attacked? Don’t fucking use them to mouth your fucking talking points, asshole. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/339 "2015-12-24T14:55:45Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Oh, Christ. McCain was no reformer. He was a one trick pony, attacking earmarks which are a tiny fraction of the budget and how things get done. Vote for my dam and I’ll vote for your airport. It’s how things fucking work. McCain-Feingold, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/340 "2015-12-24T15:03:48Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > McCain-Feingold, anyone? Okay, he was a _two_ trick pony. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774.md?page=18)