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SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#117951: Mar 31st 2016 at 12:34:19 PM

~Iaculus: Pardon for not being clear, but I was wondering about Cruz before.

The BBC and Swiss local news both mentioned the Trump statement.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#117952: Mar 31st 2016 at 12:37:09 PM

No, Cruz. I am calling him El Diablo because he's the worst one of that bunch.

I vehemently disagree.

Especially in light of some of Donald's more recent sayings.

At least Ted won't try to withdraw us from NATO and has an idea of what he's doing.

Also Donald's gone on record saying that he wouldn't take the nuclear option off the table.

DarrenFox Aquatic Vulpine from somewhere where there's lots of water Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: Gone fishin'
Aquatic Vulpine
#117953: Mar 31st 2016 at 12:38:41 PM

What really baffles me is that Trump's offensive remarks are alienating large swathes of the population (women, minorities, other people in the GOP, etc.) let his supporters are touting that as why he's the best person to be President.

Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#117954: Mar 31st 2016 at 12:39:04 PM

May I suggest that Cruz might be worse because there isn't as much incentive for the people to stop him as to stop Trump? Trump motivates people, either for him or against him, he pushes people into politics with the mere threat of himself. Cruz can't do that, which ironically might make him more electable.

edited 31st Mar '16 12:39:24 PM by Luminosity

Iaculus Pronounced YAK-you-luss from England Since: May, 2010
Pronounced YAK-you-luss
#117955: Mar 31st 2016 at 12:39:13 PM

Cruz? Pretty much identical to Kasich. Full ban on abortion, let the continent burn. He's not more extreme because there's pretty much a hard cap on how extreme you can get, and because (unlike Trump) both of them understand that outright saying that you'll punish the woman (rather than the abortion provider) is electoral suicide.

What's precedent ever done for us?
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#117956: Mar 31st 2016 at 12:43:33 PM

The comparison between Trump and/or Cruz to El Diablo is fairly undeserved. In fact, I recently had an opportunity to interview the guy and ask him how he feels about the current political climate.

  • DRAKE: Mr. The Morning Star...can I call you Lucifer?
  • LUCIFER: Sure.
  • DRAKE: Thank you. Lucifer, you're one of the biggest and most successful lobbyists going around Congress and have been for many years. What can you tell us about the primaries?
  • LUCIFER: Well, I feel confident saying that I haven't had this much fun in your elections since...well, it hasn't been that long since 2008, I suppose.
  • 'DRAKE: You mean Obama's election?
  • LUCIFER: I came up with the birth certificate shtick. "Obama bin Laden" didn't catch on like I'd hoped it would, though. I thought I might be able to force through a trumped-up impeachment, but it just didn't happen.
  • DRAKE: You had some great success with the controversial opposition to Obamacare.
  • LUCIFER: (laugh) I'd love to take credit for that. Really, I would. But the Affordable Care Act was actually my idea originally. A lot of people don't know that. I came up with it in the early 90's as a way to sway voters into a false sense of security. I was going to get a bunch of people into Congress on the platform, then use the influence to build concentration camps for the poor. Now here comes this asshole, steals my Trojan Horse, and actually makes it work! (chuckle) I've never been so embarrassed in my life.
  • DRAKE: Wow. That's pretty ironic.
  • LUCIFER: Believe me, it's not lost on me. Irony is my thing!
  • DRAKE: So what have you been up to lately? Is it safe to assume that you've had a hand in the recent shenanigans with the RNC? I'm sure Trump didn't get himself up there.
  • LUCIFER: Oh, no, I've mostly been sticking with emails and stuff. Trump and Cruz...you f*ckers did that to yourselves.

So, there you have it. Straight from the horse's mouth. Comparing either of our key Republican candidates to the Devil is being quite unfair to Satan.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Iaculus Pronounced YAK-you-luss from England Since: May, 2010
Pronounced YAK-you-luss
#117957: Mar 31st 2016 at 12:46:46 PM

Meanwhile, pretty much every major law enforcement body is sharpening their knives over the Unaoil scandal. Here's hoping America feels confident enough to deploy something really monstrous like RICO.

What's precedent ever done for us?
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#117958: Mar 31st 2016 at 12:46:52 PM

@Mad Skillz: Well, I have to dispute that. Did you see Cruz's claim to "carpet bomb" ISIS? Or his amendments to the Senate immigration bill back in 2013? Dude is a serious piece of work. He's just better at hiding it rather than trumpeting MEXICANS ARE RAPISTS AND MURDERERS into all airwaves.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#117959: Mar 31st 2016 at 12:49:35 PM

Or his amendments to the Senate immigration bill back in 2013?

Elaborate on those, please.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#117960: Mar 31st 2016 at 12:49:43 PM

Cruz is infamously associated with the "kill the gays" pastor; a man who has publicly called for executing homosexuals. Similarly, he has support from a person who has vocally called for capital punishment for doctors who provide abortions. So...

He also was the driving force behind the 2012 government shutdown.

edited 31st Mar '16 12:50:03 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#117961: Mar 31st 2016 at 12:52:00 PM

So, upset with the current GOP, Ron Paul wants a None Of The Above option for the election.note 

Ron Paul, a 2012 Republican presidential candidate, says he won't vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, if the Republican and Democratic front-runners become the nominee of their respective parties. "What I'd like to have on all of the ballots is 'none of the above,' " the former Texas congressman told CNN's Ashleigh Banfield on Thursday. "I'm not going to vote for those two for sure, they're too close together."

Paul also gave voters who are unhappy with the two front-runners some advice on voting in November. "If you can't stand any of them, and you happen to be a dedicated progressive, you ought to make your vote count and vote for the Green Party, and if you happen to be a Libertarian than vote for the Libertarian party," Paul said.

Paul, whose son Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul dropped out of the presidential race in February, has not made any plans to endorse one of the three remaining GOP candidates.

And I suspect someone at CNN is a Troper, because they just accused her of Moving the Goalposts on when she'll be successful against Sanders.

When Hillary Clinton lost the New Hampshire primary to Bernie Sanders in February, Robby Mook, her campaign manager, took the long view and declared the nomination would "very likely be won in March, not February." The campaign is now taking an even longer view, with April now being the month they hope to put Sanders away. It's an optimistic projection, with Sanders support far from fading and the Vermont senator vowing to compete in primaries and caucuses through June 7 in California, and possibly to the Democratic convention.

Even though Clinton aides say her lead in pledged delegates is "almost insurmountable," they are now doing something they never expected: Investing considerable time and money to the April 19 New York primary. Clinton is preparing to spend far more in New York than she originally budgeted, according to people close to the campaign, a fact that underscores how the campaign is girding for a fight and knows it needs to spend money to win. She leads Sanders 54% to 42%, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday morning.

The former secretary of state released her first New York ad on Wednesday, a spot that trumpets New York's diversity and takes on Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. But the subtext of the ad is aimed squarely at Democrats, presenting herself as the best candidate to stop Trump from reaching the White House. "When we pull together, we do the biggest things in the world," Clinton says in the ad.

Both Clinton and Sanders will hold dueling campaign events in New York on Thursday. Clinton will hold a rally in Purchase, New York, near her home in Chappaqua, while Sanders will hold a rally in the South Bronx. Sanders, who was raised in Brooklyn, is hoping momentum from a strong showing in Wisconsin next week carries him into New York. "The powers that be are too powerful," Sanders told supporters Wednesday in Kenosha. "We need a movement. We need you to become involved in the political process in a way that we have not seen people become involved for a very long time."

Clinton's effort to win New York started in earnest two weeks ago, when the campaign began to redeploy aides to the Empire State. Clinton hired Resi Cooper, a veteran of her Senate office and campaigns, to direct the state operation, while the campaign moved Harrell Kirstein, her New Hampshire and Massachusetts communications director, to fill the same role in New York. The Clinton campaign has devised a strategy that has the former New York senator spending considerable time courting voters in the state's reliably Democratic media markets: New York City, Rochester, Buffalo, Albany and Syracuse. And the Clinton campaign expects Sanders to do the same.

Aides close to Clinton say that while she feels a deep connection to the state — she represented it for eight years, now lives here and has headquartered her campaign in Brooklyn - she isn't approaching the contest as a slam dunk and is well aware of Sanders strength in New York. Clinton emphasized her connections to the state on Wednesday as she rallied supporters at Harlem's historic Apollo Theater. "I am not taking anything or anyone for granted. We are going to work for every vote in every part of this state, just like I did when I ran for the Senate," Clinton said. "Because New Yorkers took a chance on me and I will never forget that."

Clinton has several many advantages in New York, aides believe, including the state's onerous voter registration laws. It also is a closed primary, meaning only Democrats can vote for Clinton or Sanders and the registration period has closed, unlike many other states that allow voters to register on Election Day. The Vermont senator has performed well with cross-over voters and has outperformed Clinton in open primaries — like Michigan — where Republicans and independents could vote. Clinton has won most closed primaries, including Massachusetts and Arizona.

What's more, New York election law required voters to register for the late April primary by March 25, meaning pro-Sanders new registrants will be unable to vote if they had not already registered. Sanders' campaign was well aware of this fact and blasted their New York supporters with emails throughout March urging them to register for the primary.

Although Mook wrote in February that the nomination would "very likely" be won in March, earlier this week, Joel Benenson, the campaign's top strategist, told reporters that April "will make clear who the nominee will be and that it is going to be Hillary Clinton." "We are going to get to a point where there just isn't enough real estate for him," Benenson said of Sanders. "They've just got a deficit that's going to be very hard to make up."

To take on Sanders in New York, Clinton will cast the Vermont senator as an overly-idealistic, pie-in-the-sky lawmaker who won't be able to achieve many of the things he is proposing. This, Clinton argues, is out of step with New York values. "Some of his ideas for how to get here won't pass, other just won't work, because the numbers just don't add up and that means people won't get the help that they need and deserve," Clinton said to applause from the audience at the Apollo Theater. "Now my opponent says 'well, we just aren't thinking big enough,'" Clinton added. "Well, this is New York, nobody dreams bigger than we do. But this is a city that likes to get things done. And that is what we want from our president, too."

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#117962: Mar 31st 2016 at 12:54:50 PM

[up]Ron Paul is still alive relevant?

FieldMarshalFry Field Marshal of Cracked from World Internet War 1 Since: Oct, 2015 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Field Marshal of Cracked
#117963: Mar 31st 2016 at 12:58:41 PM

I like to think Neil Gaiman's version of Lucifer is sitting in his club, with the news on and laughing his arse off as people blame him

advancing the front into TV Tropes
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#117964: Mar 31st 2016 at 1:05:54 PM

If memory serves, Cruz wanted to remove the "path to citizenship" from the immigration bill - thus negating it completely.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
TrashJack Confirmed Doomer from beyond the Despair Event Horizon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Confirmed Doomer
#117965: Mar 31st 2016 at 1:09:06 PM

@Drake: Okay, I am hearing the voice of John de Lancie as Lucifer, and for the life of me, I don't know why. Is it because of Q or Discord?

"Cynic, n. — A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be." - The Devil's Dictionary
CassidyTheDevil Since: Jan, 2013
#117966: Mar 31st 2016 at 1:14:20 PM

"If you can't stand any of them, and you happen to be a dedicated progressive, you ought to make your vote count and vote for the Green Party, and if you happen to be a Libertarian than vote for the Libertarian party," Paul said.

I do like the Green Party, but hearing it endorsed by Ron Paul is kinda eww. Anyway, it's kinda pointless to vote for candidates that don't remotely have a chance, isn't it?

Demonic_Braeburn Yankee Doodle Dandy from Defective California Since: Jan, 2016
Yankee Doodle Dandy
#117967: Mar 31st 2016 at 1:14:45 PM

Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign is seeking to get John Kasich thrown off the ballot in Montana, a winner-take-all state where voters will cast ballots on the final day of the GOP primary race.

edited 31st Mar '16 1:18:24 PM by Demonic_Braeburn

Any group who acts like morons ironically will eventually find itself swamped by morons who think themselves to be in good company.
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#117968: Mar 31st 2016 at 1:25:30 PM

@ Septimus: In other words, meaning nobody can immigrate to the US and later become a US Citizen?

Keep Rolling On
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#117969: Mar 31st 2016 at 1:32:02 PM

[up] That's...insane. And massively hypocritical. Cruz's father fled from Cuba and became an American citizen.

Granted, Cruz is very against normalizing relations with Cuba, which is bizarre to me, and he's shown that he can handle massive amounts of cognitive dissonance without being able to see that there's any sort of problem.

NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#117970: Mar 31st 2016 at 1:39:09 PM

Cuban-Americans generally oppose normalization with Cuba because they want to see the Cuban government fall, and want Washington to help topple it, rather than playing nicely together.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#117971: Mar 31st 2016 at 1:41:12 PM

Understandable. Even if doing this might weaken the oppresion in the long run, those who suffered from it obviously can't stand their new government making buddy-buddy with the oppressors.

JackOLantern1337 Shameful Display from The Most Miserable Province in the Russian Empir Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
Shameful Display
#117972: Mar 31st 2016 at 1:42:36 PM

[up][up][up][up] I think he meant the path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. People who hop the fence or overstay their visa.

[up][up] Worth noting that the younger generation is more supportive of normalizing ties.

edited 31st Mar '16 1:44:46 PM by JackOLantern1337

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.
SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#117973: Mar 31st 2016 at 1:50:05 PM

[up] As Garc has said before here, that's dog-whistle politics.

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#117974: Mar 31st 2016 at 1:50:15 PM

it's kinda pointless to vote for candidates that don't remotely have a chance, isn't it?
We've been over this circular reasoning before. People don't vote for them because they don't have a chance because people don't vote for them.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
CassidyTheDevil Since: Jan, 2013
#117975: Mar 31st 2016 at 1:54:39 PM

We've been over this circular reasoning before. People don't vote for them because they don't have a chance because people don't vote for them.

Kinda like magic, yes? tongue


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