Ted Cruz Uses Transphobia to Try to Revive His Dying Campaign

Ted Cruz got trounced in Tuesday's New York State primary and failed to win a single delegate.  Now, it is mathematically impossible for him to win enough delegates to win the GOP nomination on a first ballot - or even a second or third ballot for that manner.  So what does Cruz do?  He pivots back to trying to energize the Christofascists by playing on transphobia - not that there are enough of them to save his sorry, nasty ass - and depicting transgender individuals as a threat to women and young girls.  The man is despicable! A piece in Salon looks at Cruz's utter foul tactic.  Here are highlights: 

After a dismal performance in New York, whose Republican voters looked upon the Texas senator who denigrated their value system so much so that he managed to lose a congressional district to Ben Carson despite his dropping out of the presidential race a month ago, Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign was declared dead on arrival in Cleveland for the GOP’s convention this July. The Associated Press reported that after Tuesday’s vote, Cruz is mathematically eliminated, leaving Donald Trump as the only Republican candidate with any chance of clinching the nomination before the convention.

Naturally, Cruz’s campaign has turned to fearmongering and scapegoating to deflect from the news that according to Ted Cruz — earlier this month Cruz called on John Kasisch to drop out after it was determined Kasich was mathematically eliminated from earning enough delegates to win the nomination outright — it’s now time for the Cruz campaign to call it quits.

“Grown adult men — strangers — should not be alone in a bathroom with little girls. And that’s not conservative. That’s not Republican or Democrat. That’s basic common sense,” Cruz asserted while campaigning in Maryland on Thursday.

Reacting to Donald Trump’s opposition to the law, citing negative business repercussions on the “Today” show early Thursday, Cruz said the backlash was proof positive that the country has “gone off the deep end.”

“As you know, my daughters are 5 and 8. My 5-year-old knows the difference between boys and girls,” Cruz said, exploiting his children to make a hateful and wholly dishonest political point. “That’s not a reasonable position, it is simply crazy and the idea that grown men would be allowed alone in a bathroom with little girls — you don’t need to be a behavioral psychologist to realize bad things can happen, and any prudent person wouldn’t allow that.”

Cruz’s basic contention is an ugly right-wing myth meant to dishonestly link transgender people with criminality. But in fact, an investigation by an independent non-profit found no connection between transgender nondiscrimination rights for restrooms and locker rooms and women’s safety: 

A new investigative report by the non-profit new agency Crosscut shows that in states where such legislation has been passed,the safety of women is not compromised.

According to the publication, officials in Nevada, Oregon and Hawaii — the latter having protections in place for 10 years— said the laws haven’t been linked to any crimes.

Still, as his campaign flounders, Cruz desperately culls the transphobic beliefs of the conservative base for votes, as he is wont and trained to do.

Simply put, Ted Cruz is a foul individual and makes the perfect case of why one would not want to be even call them self a "Christian."  

Last Night's Democratic Debate - Did Hillary Win?

Unfortunately, I missed last nights' debate since the husband and I were over in Norfolk visiting one of my daughters and our new grandson - he decided to be born 8 weeks early, but fortunately both mother and child are doing well.  Thus, I have to rely on accounts of others as to what transpired during last night's Democrat presidential debate.  One piece in the Washington Post views Hillary Clinton as the winner.  Here are highlights:

WinnersHillary Clinton: Clinton didn't knock Sanders out. But she definitely won on points. She was ready when Sanders came at her on her judgment for voting for the war in Iraq, noting that the voters of New York as well as President Obama trusted her judgment. She noted, powerfully, that women's rights had not come up nearly enough in these debates and that Sanders had sought to minimize them as an issue when Donald Trump made his comments about abortion. (Sidenote: That was Clinton's best moment of the night, reminding people watching that her campaign to be the first female presidential nominee for a major party was both historic and unique.)

Most importantly, Clinton drove home -- again and again -- the idea that Sanders talked a good game but couldn't back it up. "It's easy to diagnose the problem," she said at one point. "It's harder to do something about the problem." That's her broader argument in this race -- what Sanders says sounds nice but can't be done -- and she did yeoman's work in making sure anyone watching understood that.

No, she wasn't perfect in the Brooklyn debate. Clinton continues to be evasive and unconvincing when it comes to her refusal to release the transcripts of her paid speeches to Goldman Sachs. The idea that the Republicans running for president need to release any paid speeches they gave before Clinton will do the same is a cop out. Period.

But, Clinton came into the debate ahead in New York and the race more broadly.  Nothing that happened on Thursday night will change that.

LosersBernie Sanders: Let's start with what Sanders did well in the Brooklyn debate: He effectively portrayed himself as the candidate of big ideas and Clinton as a seeker of half-measures, full of caution. And, if you came into this debate liking Sanders, you left it loving him.

Now, to what he did wrong: The sarcasm.  He was dismissive to the point of danger, politically speaking, on a number of occasions.

Regardless of the reason, Sanders isn't going to win over many converts with that sort of approach to Clinton. And, make no mistake, that is what he needs to do going forward. If the race continues on as it has to date, Clinton will be the nominee. It might not be as smooth a path as she and her team imagined but she will win unless Sanders can start changing hearts and minds. Sarcasm isn't the way to do that.

Candidly, I am getting tired of Sanders' tone and sarcasm - and even more tired of some his followers who seem set on sabotaging Clinton and putting a Republican in the White House out of spite - something that would be a total disaster, especially if the believe in what Sanders is peddling.  Some are becoming as stupid and mindless as Trump supporters, in my view.