# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/41 "2015-03-23T22:37:29Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [The Donald questions The Ted’s eligibility](http://www.salon.com/2015/03/23/donald_trump_is_a_ted_cruz_birther_youre_supposed_to_be_born_in_this_country/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow) Proving, once again, that Trump is so seriously ignorant of history and the Constitution as to render him little more than a bad hair joke. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/42 "2015-03-23T22:48:08Z")
Ted Cruz is one of my favorite Republican candidates. In fact, I bet he is a favorite of most Democrats as well. What gets me is that what should be apparent to the party bosses, that a Pubbie conservative death match among the craziest of the candidates does nothing but weaken the party and their objectives. They come-off looking illegitimate and unfit to lead; a joke. The Democrats don’t have to lift a finger or spend a dime on any campaigns as long as these clowns keep trying to out-conservative each other. If Cruz wants to start making a fool of himself this early, then I have plenty of popcorn. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/43 "2015-03-23T22:48:11Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Proving, once again, that Trump is so seriously ignorant of history and the Constitution as to render him little more than a bad hair joke. I think at this point he’s a little _less_ than a bad hair joke. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/44 "2015-03-23T23:02:11Z")
I heard a female LU student say on NBC News that she considers herself a progressive liberal. :dubious: Expulsion proceedings may well be in progress for her. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/45 "2015-03-23T23:09:00Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > This is funny, and such a basic mistake. If I was a politician thinking considering at all the possibility of running, one of the first thing I would do would be to buy up SamLowry. com, SamLowryforPresident. com, SamLowry2016. com, and every other variation I and my team could think of. I hope they hold onto that, and it can be popular like [SpreadingSantorum.com](http://SpreadingSantorum.com) was. And apparently [TedCruzForAmerica.com](http://TedCruzForAmerica.com) redirects to [Healthcare.gov](http://Healthcare.gov). “Hello, I’m Ted Cruz and I don’t understand the Internets.” ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/46 "2015-03-23T23:39:57Z")
I did have another thought, perhaps he sees himself as a 21st century Barry Goldwater. He really wants to change the direction of the Republican Party and he intends to push as hard as he can. There’s always a chance that Bush stumbles or a scandal comes out that sticks to Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/47 "2015-03-24T00:12:23Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Ted Cruz is one of my favorite Republican candidates. In fact, I bet he is a favorite of most Democrats as well. > > What gets me is that what should be apparent to the party bosses, that a Pubbie conservative death match among the craziest of the candidates does nothing but weaken the party and their objectives. They come-off looking illegitimate and unfit to lead; a joke. The Democrats don’t have to lift a finger or spend a dime on any campaigns as long as these clowns keep trying to out-conservative each other. > > If Cruz wants to start making a fool of himself this early, then I have plenty of popcorn. The reality is that no matter how crazy the republicans get they are all but guaranteed 45%+ of the vote. If they call for the total elimination of medicare and social security, the abolition of public education (K-12 & college), massive tax cuts on the rich, tax hikes on everyone else, the use of domestic torture on non-terror suspects, etc. they will get 45% of the vote. All they have to do is not appear too crazy to get to 50.1%. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/48 "2015-03-24T00:20:52Z")
Is there a cite that documents Cruz’s positions that earn him the scorn he’s receiving? What are the top 3 or top 5 crazy positions he’s pushing in people’s minds? I’m actually ignorant of any of his positions except for the fact that he seems to be anti gay. [I found this](http://www.ontheissues.org/Ted_Cruz.htm). Is this a fair summation? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/49 "2015-03-24T00:31:43Z")
I couldn’t get through it in one sitting, I saw “Ted Crux on Drugs” and kinda lost my grip for a while, there. On second glance, he (according to this cite) has offered no opinions! So, is Ted Cruz what happens when a Republican gets stoned? ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/50 "2015-03-24T01:49:43Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Ted Cruz looks like Kevin Spacey’s long-lost brother. > > That is all. Actually he looks more like [Joe McCarthy](Joe McCarthy) I wonder if Jon Stewart will decide to stay on for a little longer at _TDS_ ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/51 "2015-03-24T02:29:17Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > So, is Ted Cruz what happens when a Republican gets stoned? Not quite. What happens when a Republican gets stoned is more like . . . what happens when you cross the beams. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/52 "2015-03-24T12:39:59Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > He can’t move to the middle without becoming lost in the crowd. Being a far-right lunatic is his standout feature and the whole of his appeal with whoever it is that finds him appealing. > > The prevailing opinion is that he’s constitutionally eligible because of his American-born mother and Cuban-born but I believe American citizen father at the time. One must keep in mind that it’s only suspected Kenyan-born Muslims that are ineligible to be president. It’s true that Cruz automatically got Canadian citizenship, too, but he took the opportunity to renounce any association with that bunch of socialists. 😃 Cruz Sr didn’t become an American citizen until 2005–he was in no hurry. Still, Cruz Jr gets the legal qualification from his mother. If you interpret the Constitution liberally! ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/53 "2015-03-24T14:11:12Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Is there a cite that documents Cruz’s positions that earn him the scorn he’s receiving? What are the top 3 or top 5 crazy positions he’s pushing in people’s minds? > > I’m actually ignorant of any of his positions except for the fact that he seems to be anti gay. [I found this](http://www.ontheissues.org/Ted_Cruz.htm). Is this a fair summation? That does seem an accurate summation of his positions. Where he stands on the issues is repellent enough for me to not like him. But I think one of the things that really annoys people is how he was one of the big ones trying to overturn Obamacare. That’s annoying both because people do tend to like Obamacare, and are annoyed with the constant tries by Congress to overturn it instead of doing any real work. [His filibuster in 2013](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/09/the-double-absurdity-of-ted-cruzs-filibuster/279959/) was grandstanding and trying to get the spotlight. His stance on [gay marriage](http://thedailybanter.com/2015/03/ted-cruz-doesnt-like-the-gayz/) is also not good. He recently said he would introduce a constitutional amendment allowing states “to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.” And he seems to think that the judges overturning gay marriage bans are violating the constitution. Also, [here’s a list of his statements on Politifact](http://www.politifact.com/personalities/ted-cruz/), many of which are false. He also spoke admiringly of Jesse Helms in 2013, [saying this](http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/03/23/3637387/ted-cruzs-jesse-helms-problem/): > [@](#): > > “The willingness to say all those crazy things is a rare, rare characteristic in this town, and you know what? It’s every bit as true now as it was then. We need a hundred more like Jesse Helms in the U.S. Senate,” Cruz said. Jesse Helms is not someone I want the president to be admiring: > [@](#): > > In the 1960s, Helms supported apartheid. He was elected to the Senate in 1972 “as an opponent of integration, interracial marriage, and civil rights laws.” Cruz said his first political donation was a $10 donation to Helms when he was a kid. > > Once in office, Helms filibustered the legislation creating the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday for 16 days and called the Civil Rights Act “the single most dangerous piece of legislation ever introduced in the Congress.” Helms was notorious for exploiting racial animus in his political campaigns, most famously running an ad featuring “a pair of white hands crumpling a rejection letter” while the narrator said “You needed that job and you were the best qualified. But they had to give it to a minority.” Also, [here are a list of some of the things that Ted Cruz’s father](http://www.buzzfeed.com/ilanbenmeir/the-most-controversial-things-ted-cruzs-dad-has-ever-said#.cd0dlbjK6), Rafael Cruz has said. Rafael Cruz isn’t just a crazy man ranting on the internet or to his buddies at a diner, he’s a prominent pastor and speaker. And while Ted Cruz is his own man, and his Ted Cruz’s office has put out statements that Rafael does not speak for the senator, it’s a worrying association. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/54 "2015-03-24T14:21:43Z")
[Well, Cruz will get no support from the WSJ.](http://www.salon.com/2015/03/24/a_dream_come_true_for_hillary_clinton_wall_street_journal_editorial_board_rips_ted_cruz/) ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/55 "2015-03-24T14:41:01Z")
Ted Cruz saved us all from U.N. enforced hobbit homes. How soon yesterday’s heroes are forgotten. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/56 "2015-03-24T15:09:34Z")
I put this guy in the Trump category. I don’t think he’s serious about being president, but is more interested in the attention and fame that comes along with a run. Maybe he’s one rung higher than The Donald, but he’s still much closer to Trump than he is to, say, Scott Walker or John Kasich. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/57 "2015-03-24T15:35:09Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > That does seem an accurate summation of his positions. Where he stands on the issues is repellent enough for me to not like him. But I think one of the things that really annoys people is how he was one of the big ones trying to overturn Obamacare. That’s annoying both because people do tend to like Obamacare, and are annoyed with the constant tries by Congress to overturn it instead of doing any real work. [His filibuster in 2013](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/09/the-double-absurdity-of-ted-cruzs-filibuster/279959/) was grandstanding and trying to get the spotlight. > > His stance on [gay marriage](http://thedailybanter.com/2015/03/ted-cruz-doesnt-like-the-gayz/) is also not good. He recently said he would introduce a constitutional amendment allowing states “to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.” And he seems to think that the judges overturning gay marriage bans are violating the constitution. > > Also, [here’s a list of his statements on Politifact](http://www.politifact.com/personalities/ted-cruz/), many of which are false. Thank you. So, anti-gay, against ACA, and from the first link a global warming denier. 2 out of 3 are pretty poor. But are there things that really distinguish him from his other cohorts, so much so that he is worse than the other potential candidates? It’s not like holding these positions is unique among the right. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/58 "2015-03-24T15:37:44Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Thank you. > > So, anti-gay, against ACA, and from the first link a global warming denier. 2 out of 3 are pretty poor. But are there things that really distinguish him from his other cohorts, so much so that he is worse than the other potential candidates? It’s not like holding these positions is unique among the right. I think his behavior in the Senate as a die-hard obstructionist, and government shut downer earns him a a lot of scorn. So, not just his positions on things, but a sort of recklessness that one hopes not to see in a Senator. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/59 "2015-03-24T16:20:12Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Thank you. > > So, anti-gay, against ACA, and from the first link a global warming denier. 2 out of 3 are pretty poor. But are there things that really distinguish him from his other cohorts, so much so that he is worse than the other potential candidates? It’s not like holding these positions is unique among the right. I don’t know if he’s worse than other potential candidates, all the prominent Republican ones are pretty bad, he’s just the first to officially announce. Like John Mace says, he does stand out for being an obstructionist. Also, it is funny to me that he has some of the same “disadvantages” as Obama had as a candidate in 2008, having a non-American father and little experience in the Senate. Neither of those are actual disadvantages, and I wouldn’t hammer him on either of those points, but I do expect to see it people to be questioned on their hypocrisy regarding this, and it will be a distraction from his issues. And there probably will be some people who might otherwise vote for him that won’t because he wasn’t born in the US. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774/60 "2015-03-24T16:23:40Z")
We can’t elect a President who thinks that compromise, even on small points, is a crime against principle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-cruz-presidential-campaign-discussion-thread/715774.md?page=4)