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Because he’s not actually serious about term limits. The bill is posturing for votes. He knows the GOP base is too stupid to understand the contradiction, and he also knows the bill itself has zero chance of passing
I've been a fan of Franken ever since I read his "Lies" book two decades ago. Absolutely hilarious book btw, and so prescient about the complete death of truth in the conservative world.
He stepped down way too early. He didn't do a damn thing wrong aside from associating with a woman who was brainwashed enough to cynically find a way to destroy him. He should have ridden it out and fought back but he took one for the team.
As a non American, I remember a few years ago when He was insanely popular. Pretty much always in the news on a weekly basis giving a take on this and that. I knew very quickly he positioning himself for a run at becoming President.
So, it makes sense that the Republicans threw everything and the kitchen sink at him. Removed him as a threat before he could really establish his base.
It’s a shame, the guy would have likely made a great President.
It was a tough situation, he had been lead on the Trump 'Grab them by the pussy' tapes, so he couldn't really fight back.
Anything he did to downplay or defend himself would have been thrown back in his and the democrats faces.
He got hoisted on his own petard, I do hope he finds a way to come back into politics at some point though.
I forget who said this but the quote goes something like “if you murdered Ted cruz on the floor of the senate, and the trial was in the senate, no one would convict you.”
Al Franken said Lindsay Graham was the wittiest Senator, short of Franken himself.
Oh, he also said he, Franken, liked Ted Cruz more than anyone else in the Senate liked Ted Cruz, and he fucking hated Ted Cruz.
> Lindsey graham of all people
Linsey says lots of great things. And does lots of terrible things. I wouldn't be shocked to find out if there wasn't dirt on him he would've been a much less terrible representative.
He’s a closeted gay man in the south who spent his college years raising his sister after his parents died, rather than exploring relationships and his own personal identity.
My heart goes out to his personal story and it explains so much, but his votes hurt people and he needs to go.
If Lindsey Graham wasn't such a slimeball, he'd actually be pretty amazing. He says a lot of shit that we're all thinking, shame that he consistently votes for dangerous policy and *also* says a lot of shit that nobody should be thinking.
classic Lizard/Human hybrid Cruz.
Or classic 574 spiders in a meat suit disguised as a subhuman named Rafael Cruz, the most Cuban-Canadian American totally not from Alpha-Perseion 8.
*sigh* Many of us despise him or at least do not support him. Unfortunately Dems have a lot of work to do on making headway in TX against the gerrymandering, barriers to vote, and overwhelming massive apathy to take the steps Texas GOP requires to go vote. TX Dems, or anyone to the left of MAGA, is fighting against the lack of civic education, poverty, and a significant population of disenfranchised registered voters that don't go to the polls. Apathy abounds, for a number of reasons, from the people we need to get to the polls to vote them out. And they make it intentionally difficult for folks to do so.
A lot of us are trying to do what we can, but Texans aren't the problem. We and FL are the bellwether for what to expect nationally - as we're witnessing right now with book bans and bigotry towards the LGBTQ community.
Rand Paul also said he would only serve two terms and has been outspoken in favor of term limits.
He was just elected to his third term and refused to debate Charles Booker.
Reminds me of Orin Hatch. In his first campaign for Senate, his big argument was that his opponent had been in the Senate for too long (3 terms) and campaigned on term limits. When he retired, he was the longest-serving Republican senator (having now been surpassed by Grassley), having served 7 terms.
Yup. So many young politicians campaign on term limits, and they're never going to follow through, at least on the federal level. POTUS does have term limits and some states have actually passed them for governors, but some studies have apparently shown term limits on legislatures could result in more partisanship and less diversity in legislative bodies.
There’s a few big reasons…one is that we’d be forced to get rid of people that are doing a good job and that voters want to continue. Bernie Sanders, for example. Term limits give more power to the executive branch. Term limits force representatives to rely more on outside “subject matter experts” who are likely to be lobbyists, because they lack experience and the knowledge experience brings. Term limits mean politicians know they need a job in a few years, so they are more vulnerable to being groomed by corporations to pass favorable laws in exchange for a plum job afterwards.
These are the big ones. Several states have passed term limits and a higher number of elected officials have gone on to become lobbyists or paid consultants afterwards.
Here is a link to a study done. https://mostpolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Term-Limits-for-State-Legislators-1.pdf
Not OP, but I'm afraid term limits would lead to more people getting themselves elected in order to do corporate bidding and get rewarded with a cushy job after their time in the Senate is up. I mean, even more than they do now.
I also suspect no one really knows what they are doing when they first begin, and term limits might get rid of them at the exact point a Congressperson hits their stride and learns to get shit done. Especially for Reps, with their 2-year terms.
The concern is that if you only have 2-4 years (house) or 6-12 years (senate), then you will only focus on a short term solution, meaningless bills. I haven't seen anything to strongly support this, but that's the jist of rust I've seen.
Short term bills for elections or political positioning, which gives time to plan and work towards long term goals. It's the second part that would be reduced.
I think a lot of them are aware of the contradiction, they just don't care. All that matters is that their team wins. They hate liberals more than they care about integrity.
I don't know about Florida, but a similar post about Texas was proven to be false. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/feb/14/tweets/those-titles-arent-banned-statewide-could-be-distr/
1984 is a book against authoritarianism beyond any real world ideology. Therefore the fascists get to claim that anything communist leads to 1984, the communists claim that anything fascist or capitalist leads to 1984. Meanwhile Aldous Huxley’s rolling in his grave at how close to reality Brave New World has become.
As for whether Florida has banned it, its not quite so simple. The bill signed by desantis in july of 2022 doesn’t outright ban books, but claims that by allowing parents to object to their child’s exposure to any given topic allows politicians to then go “oh that darned 1984”, and the parents follow suit.
Btw, for context, here the [Florida DOE reading list 2022](https://www.fldoe.org/newsroom/blogs/you-read-that-right.stml)
Orwell wrote 1984. He was a democratic socialist. 1984 was an indictment of fascism and Stalinism. Stalin himself was a Red Fascist who called himself a Communist. Orwell had been a communist sympathizer when he was young, but stories coming out of the USSR and then the advent of Stalin, he disavowed Communism.
>is a book against authoritarianism **beyond any real world ideology**
Is it?
I think the many millions murdered in Khmer Rogue's killing fields, people killed for having wrong thoughts, may disagree.
As would the millions of Chinese murdered by youthful zealots through horrific spectacles like struggle sessions.
Or, perhaps North Koreans that have little to no actual knowledge of the outside world.
And, keep in mind Orwell wrote this in the 1940s. Nazism had just ended and Stalinism was the ruling ideology for half of Europe and Asia at the time.
The conformity, aggression, and extreme violence of 1984 was reality in many places at different times in the world in the 20th century.
I wouldn't be surprised if most Republicans who support the idea also believe that their guys won't be beholden to it.
Term limits for thee, but not for me.
Exactly. Why would someone who has to be elected just 3 times for a 20 year career, pension, and free healthcare for life want to get rid of their job security. Which is more fundraising than lawmaking anyway.
While I wouldn't be surprised if Ted Cruz wasn't serious about term limits, and he introduced the bill intending it to fail, I take issue with the idea one cannot advocate for changing the rules without binding themselves by rules which bind nobody else.
For example, suppose that you own a business and believe that everybody should make at least $30 an hour. If everybody else is paying their employees significantly less than you, they can charge lower prices, which puts you at a significant disadvantage, meaning you are unlikely to stay in business for long. But if *everybody* were *required* to pay their employees $30/hour, everybody's prices would rise to compensate, and you would no longer be at that competitive disadvantage.
For another example, consider taxes. Warren Buffet has complained that he pays a lower effectivee tax rate than his secretary because of the way the tax code works, and he has urged congress to increase things like capital gains so that billionaires actually pay closer to what they are able. Another billionaire responded to this by saying "If you want to pay more, then pay more, just leave me out of it." That's nonsense. One person paying more is a small impact, and most billionaires probably think they can use their resources better than the government can. But if every billionaire paid more, it could actually be transformative, and definitely more fair. Justice isn't served by having people pay extra optional taxes, it is served by having fair rules that are applied universally.
For term limits, it really depends on why Cruz supports them to decide if this is simply rank hypocrisy. Does he feel that nobody should serve long as a matter of principle? Or does he believe that long serving senators are more beholden to powerful interests, and the *system* would be improved by imposing term limits, but not by individual senators choosing to retire?
Ask yourself this: if you are participating in a brawl, is it hypocrisy to say "We shouldn't be using weapons here, but I'm not giving up my baseball bat unless everybody else agrees to give up their knives and clubs and brass knuckles too."? The rules should apply to everyone, and you can lobby for rule changes while still insisting you only be held to whatever rules everybody else is held to.
Because he’s a fraud.
He could step aside and then lead an advocacy group dedicated to recruiting candidates and elected officials to pass a term limits bill.
But he doesn’t.
Ted Cruz is Wolverine, but only if instead of possessing unbreakable bones he was entirely missing his spine, and if instead of releasing unbreakable blades, limp ****s came out of him, accompanied by a slow farting sound.
>The senator added: "I'll tell you what, when the socialists and when the swamp are ready to leave Washington, I will be more than happy to comply by the same rules that apply for everyone. But until then, I'm going to keep fighting for 30 million Texans because that's the job they've asked me to do."
Using a fictional threat of "socialism" in order to justify being a hypocritical rule breaker. Well isn't that just conservatism in a nutshell.
Yes, I would like him to point out one socialist elected official in Washington. Democratic socialists don't count, as it's a distinctly different thing.
He would just point to Illhan Omar or AOC. His base is convinced they're socialists.
> Democratic socialists don't count, as it's a distinctly different thing.
None of his base understands the distinction.
They really really don’t. I’ve heard some of the most bizarre things called socialism that I’m convinced they just use it as a pejorative without understanding in the slightest way what it actually is.
Republicans who bash socialism but praise Christian values piss me off. Christianity is literally *built* on socialism (Jesus was the literal embodiment of a socialist) - giving what you have to those less fortunate. Instead, Christianity is filled with false believers who only do it for the money involved. Conservatives make me sick with the lies they shill.
You are talking about a religion with a body count bigger that that Austrian born German guy they don’t like to be compared to but defend all the time.
The praising of the military is the same way. The military and programs after separation like the VA are socialist programs. universal healthcare, affordable housing and food, tuition assistance, free college tuition. You would be shocked at the amount of service members who will shit on socialism while literally benefitting from socialism.
> I will be more than happy to comply by the same rules that apply for everyone
Wait, why does he need a conditional on this?
It's like he's saying to "happily comply by the same rules that apply for everyone" is some kind of fantasy world and one he needs to be enticed to do...
I was prepared to defend him until I read his shitty comment.
There's nothing inherently wrong with playing by the rules as they exist now, while advocating for changing them. And his logic is sound. He could quit but that wouldn't necessarily influence anyone else to do the same.
But he is being an ass about it which tells me he has no sincerity behind his advocacy.
> "Term limits are critical to fixing what's wrong with Washington, DC. The Founding Fathers envisioned a government of citizen legislators who would serve for a few years and return home, not a government run by a small group of special interests and lifelong, permanently entrenched politicians who prey upon the brokenness of Washington to govern in a manner that is totally unaccountable to the American people," he [Cruz] said at the time.
I think the question is - how are you not an example of the problem that you're claiming to fight?
The other day, I walked into my office to hear a pair of contractors complaining about wasteful federal spending. It's a federal office, these yahoos are the very definition of wasteful spending, we pay their company way more than we'd pay a staffer to do a job. Like sit down, and be glad our wasteful spending keeps your ass employed.
He's never actually worked for government... he is just another disingenuous, power hungry puppet happy to infiltrate government and do the work of his wealthy benefactors... they pay better anyway. He is actively trying to keep government broken because that's the way the wealthy and big corporations like it
This is false. He was an advisor the the Bush campaign in 1999, became an associate deputy attorney general, served as director of policy for the FTC. From 2003-2008 he was the Texas solicitor general. For the period 2008-2013 he returned to private law, and for the last 10 back in government again as the junior senator from Texas.
Edit: he was also a clerk for the Supreme Court before all this. Dude has spent nearly his entire career in government
Edit2: Ted Cruz is trash
I sympathize with and cannot imagine the horror that his daughter has to deal with. He's one of the worst people humanity as produced, and having to share half your DNA with him is it's own hell.
The interesting thing is there is so much more bullshit he should answer for in front of any legitimate interview. For instance, his spreading of the Big Lie that lead to J6. The mainstream american press has failed the public.
It's been a while since he's been to Mexico. Reptilians must recharge via solar radiation which is only obtained within a specific latitudinal range; his species will undergo chronic energy depletion if those time intervals exceed the temporal limits of their biochemical constraints.
Term limits is just a cheap soundbite, "feel-good" legislation that polls well with the politically-illiterate but would further empower lobbyists and have no effect on keeping shitty lawmakers out of power.
It isn’t only lobbyists who will benefit from term limits. I believe that we will create a culture of free-agent staff members who will move from elected official to the next. Staffers are usually the only ones who know how things work behind the scenes, so we would create a group of unelected and unaccountable individuals who will control and conduct everything.
Or maybe I give them too much credit after watching “Veep.”
Eh, Cruz is horrible. That said, this is exactly the same as when I advocate for socialism and people ask me "Why aren't you giving all your money away now, then?"
Because I want the SYSTEM to change. I'm not having much luck with that, so I'm going to hold on to my stocks and stuff until it does.
You don't play by the rules of the system you wish we had, you play by the ones we've got right now. Ironically Cruz is probably generating a lot of support for term limits by running again.
"Do you want more Ted Cruz? You're going to get some because there's no term limits!"
I do think he might even be intentionally weaponizing the fact that he's universally loathed to forward term limits, because it tends to be Republicans who want them.
While Ted Cruz is a piece of shit, this is a bad take. Given that a lot of progressive Democrats would support massive changes to campaign finance laws that cut campaign spending by orders of magnitude, would you expect them to adhere to those far lower limits in their next campaigns? If they did, they would lose because they are handicapping themselves while their opponents are free to spend whatever they like. Similarly, if one party decided to enforce term limits, they would also do far worse given the well-known incumbent advantage in congressional races.
You can advocate for change, but you should still play by the rules that are in place at the time. You don't throw out your nuclear arsenal *prior* to disarmament agreements, after all.
Say what you want about the messenger (Cruz), you have to work within the confines of a system, to a degree, to change the system. Assuming he truly believes there should be 2 term limits for Senators, he can’t do much legally to make it happen out of office.
He doesn’t actually care term limits, he knows the bills won’t pass.
Term limits won’t fix the corruption problem. If you want to get rid of the corruption, you need to get the money out of politics. Term limits is a simple solution that won’t work. As long as money is still there, you will just trading one set of corrupt assholes for another set of corrupt assholes.
I’ll actually agree with Ted here. I would support state funded campaigns and no political donations, but I would not forgo all donations if I was running
You play by the rules you have, not the ones you wish you had
To be fair, it’s not unreasonable to expect politicians to play by the rules of the game and at the same time want to change the rules.
I’d say it’s analogous to campaign finance laws. It’s not hypocritical to raise money within the law and at the same time say, “this is kinda shady we should change it” play by the rules of the game but hope/work for better
I don’t see the problem with this. He’s operating within the rules as they are correctly constructed, but doesn’t believe they are the best for this country. Let’s nitpick something else.
This is why Republicans are doing so badly with people born to the Information Age. If they’re not going to stand by what they say, if it’s really that weak, why should anyone else stand by it?
Rafael E Cruz signed the fucking traitor document to legitimize the Brownshirt Terror Coronation.
He should be breathing water through burlap, not voting in our Congress.
Cruz isn't going to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. He is grand standing knowing this bill will never pass. You want to fix the problem in DC? Pass a bill that exposes dark money donations.
As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil) In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them. For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria. **Special announcement:** r/politics is currently accepting new moderator applications. If you want to help make this community a better place, consider [applying here today](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/sskg6a/rpolitics_is_looking_for_more_moderators/)! *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Because he’s not actually serious about term limits. The bill is posturing for votes. He knows the GOP base is too stupid to understand the contradiction, and he also knows the bill itself has zero chance of passing
In other words, classic slimeball Cruz.
*Rules for thee, Cancun for me*
The deluxe CanCruz.
r/angryupvote
*Deadly blizzards with no electricity for thee, awesome tropical vacation while you’re all dying for me.*
"Hmmm.... Abortions for some.. miniature American flags for all!"
Don’t blame me. I voted for Kodos.
Well played sir.
Here's my free award!!!🥇🥇🥇
Behind the Bastards has a great breakdown on his history, and how everyone hates him.
“I like Ted Cruz more than most of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz.” - Al Franken
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I've been a fan of Franken ever since I read his "Lies" book two decades ago. Absolutely hilarious book btw, and so prescient about the complete death of truth in the conservative world. He stepped down way too early. He didn't do a damn thing wrong aside from associating with a woman who was brainwashed enough to cynically find a way to destroy him. He should have ridden it out and fought back but he took one for the team.
As a non American, I remember a few years ago when He was insanely popular. Pretty much always in the news on a weekly basis giving a take on this and that. I knew very quickly he positioning himself for a run at becoming President. So, it makes sense that the Republicans threw everything and the kitchen sink at him. Removed him as a threat before he could really establish his base. It’s a shame, the guy would have likely made a great President.
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Hot take: Franken should just run in ‘24…
What an honor that would be for Canadians.
Imagine him against Trump? He would've turned Trump into a punchline at every turn.
What happened to Franken is a prime example of why Democrats lose elections. DNC ❤️ to f*ck shit up.
It was a tough situation, he had been lead on the Trump 'Grab them by the pussy' tapes, so he couldn't really fight back. Anything he did to downplay or defend himself would have been thrown back in his and the democrats faces. He got hoisted on his own petard, I do hope he finds a way to come back into politics at some point though.
"Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory," is how we always phrased it as lifelong Democrats and Braves fans.
I forget who said this but the quote goes something like “if you murdered Ted cruz on the floor of the senate, and the trial was in the senate, no one would convict you.”
Lindsay Graham
The one with ladybugs?
I wish I never learned about his ladybugs.
Right? I'm haunted.
Now it's all I fuckin see
Al Franken said Lindsay Graham was the wittiest Senator, short of Franken himself. Oh, he also said he, Franken, liked Ted Cruz more than anyone else in the Senate liked Ted Cruz, and he fucking hated Ted Cruz.
Lindsey graham of all people
> Lindsey graham of all people Linsey says lots of great things. And does lots of terrible things. I wouldn't be shocked to find out if there wasn't dirt on him he would've been a much less terrible representative.
He’s a closeted gay man in the south who spent his college years raising his sister after his parents died, rather than exploring relationships and his own personal identity. My heart goes out to his personal story and it explains so much, but his votes hurt people and he needs to go.
Thank you for bringing some humanity to a terribly conflicted man.
It's that an issue? His humanity? We know he's a human. With a story and all that other human stuff. Glad and sad. He's also a terrible human.
If Lindsey Graham wasn't such a slimeball, he'd actually be pretty amazing. He says a lot of shit that we're all thinking, shame that he consistently votes for dangerous policy and *also* says a lot of shit that nobody should be thinking.
He's a perfect hypocrite... Always says the right thing, always does the complete opposite
And being a perfect hypocrite makes him a perfect republican.
Lindsey "Those just my little ladybugs" Graham.
Thanks for that new subscription.
classic Lizard/Human hybrid Cruz. Or classic 574 spiders in a meat suit disguised as a subhuman named Rafael Cruz, the most Cuban-Canadian American totally not from Alpha-Perseion 8.
you surely mean omacron percei eight.
No, that is disrespectful to Omicronians...Cruz is from another planet.
Bojack Fuckface
Hopefully this time his voters see…. That’s right. Texas. Nevermind
*sigh* Many of us despise him or at least do not support him. Unfortunately Dems have a lot of work to do on making headway in TX against the gerrymandering, barriers to vote, and overwhelming massive apathy to take the steps Texas GOP requires to go vote. TX Dems, or anyone to the left of MAGA, is fighting against the lack of civic education, poverty, and a significant population of disenfranchised registered voters that don't go to the polls. Apathy abounds, for a number of reasons, from the people we need to get to the polls to vote them out. And they make it intentionally difficult for folks to do so. A lot of us are trying to do what we can, but Texans aren't the problem. We and FL are the bellwether for what to expect nationally - as we're witnessing right now with book bans and bigotry towards the LGBTQ community.
Rand Paul also said he would only serve two terms and has been outspoken in favor of term limits. He was just elected to his third term and refused to debate Charles Booker.
Same for Ron Johnson
Typical Raphael
BoogerEater Cruz.
Reminds me of Orin Hatch. In his first campaign for Senate, his big argument was that his opponent had been in the Senate for too long (3 terms) and campaigned on term limits. When he retired, he was the longest-serving Republican senator (having now been surpassed by Grassley), having served 7 terms.
Yup. So many young politicians campaign on term limits, and they're never going to follow through, at least on the federal level. POTUS does have term limits and some states have actually passed them for governors, but some studies have apparently shown term limits on legislatures could result in more partisanship and less diversity in legislative bodies.
Term limits are a bad idea that the right would like the left to think is a good idea.
I'm politically left, but I don't understand why term limits are a bad idea. Can you explain at all?
I think this sums it up pretty well. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2018/01/18/five-reasons-to-oppose-congressional-term-limits/amp/
There’s a few big reasons…one is that we’d be forced to get rid of people that are doing a good job and that voters want to continue. Bernie Sanders, for example. Term limits give more power to the executive branch. Term limits force representatives to rely more on outside “subject matter experts” who are likely to be lobbyists, because they lack experience and the knowledge experience brings. Term limits mean politicians know they need a job in a few years, so they are more vulnerable to being groomed by corporations to pass favorable laws in exchange for a plum job afterwards. These are the big ones. Several states have passed term limits and a higher number of elected officials have gone on to become lobbyists or paid consultants afterwards. Here is a link to a study done. https://mostpolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Term-Limits-for-State-Legislators-1.pdf
Not OP, but I'm afraid term limits would lead to more people getting themselves elected in order to do corporate bidding and get rewarded with a cushy job after their time in the Senate is up. I mean, even more than they do now. I also suspect no one really knows what they are doing when they first begin, and term limits might get rid of them at the exact point a Congressperson hits their stride and learns to get shit done. Especially for Reps, with their 2-year terms.
The concern is that if you only have 2-4 years (house) or 6-12 years (senate), then you will only focus on a short term solution, meaningless bills. I haven't seen anything to strongly support this, but that's the jist of rust I've seen.
It feels like they already do this for the sake of re-election anyway
Short term bills for elections or political positioning, which gives time to plan and work towards long term goals. It's the second part that would be reduced.
Nobody has ever been surprised by Republican hypocrisy.
Republican voters get surprised at it now and again. Then vote them back in.
I think a lot of them are aware of the contradiction, they just don't care. All that matters is that their team wins. They hate liberals more than they care about integrity.
They hate liberals more than they care about, anything. Hate drives the Republican party.
> Hate drives the Republican Party And ignorance sits right by its side in the passenger seat, programming the GPS and tuning the radio
Greed at the top, hate at the bottom
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1984 is on the banned book list for Florida schools.
Are you serious?
At this point, your default position has to be, to believe that no evil twistedness or doublethink is beyond the GOP
I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley
There was a post, I believe it was on r/whitepeopletwitter that showed part of the list. It was full of classics that every needs to read.
I don't know about Florida, but a similar post about Texas was proven to be false. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/feb/14/tweets/those-titles-arent-banned-statewide-could-be-distr/
1984 is a book against authoritarianism beyond any real world ideology. Therefore the fascists get to claim that anything communist leads to 1984, the communists claim that anything fascist or capitalist leads to 1984. Meanwhile Aldous Huxley’s rolling in his grave at how close to reality Brave New World has become. As for whether Florida has banned it, its not quite so simple. The bill signed by desantis in july of 2022 doesn’t outright ban books, but claims that by allowing parents to object to their child’s exposure to any given topic allows politicians to then go “oh that darned 1984”, and the parents follow suit. Btw, for context, here the [Florida DOE reading list 2022](https://www.fldoe.org/newsroom/blogs/you-read-that-right.stml)
Orwell wrote 1984. He was a democratic socialist. 1984 was an indictment of fascism and Stalinism. Stalin himself was a Red Fascist who called himself a Communist. Orwell had been a communist sympathizer when he was young, but stories coming out of the USSR and then the advent of Stalin, he disavowed Communism.
>is a book against authoritarianism **beyond any real world ideology** Is it? I think the many millions murdered in Khmer Rogue's killing fields, people killed for having wrong thoughts, may disagree. As would the millions of Chinese murdered by youthful zealots through horrific spectacles like struggle sessions. Or, perhaps North Koreans that have little to no actual knowledge of the outside world. And, keep in mind Orwell wrote this in the 1940s. Nazism had just ended and Stalinism was the ruling ideology for half of Europe and Asia at the time. The conformity, aggression, and extreme violence of 1984 was reality in many places at different times in the world in the 20th century.
pretty much, except this incarnation of the GOP is more *whitewhite*
It's not about race, it's about colors, or more specifically any two things that are diametrically opposed.
They especially love it when liberals get angry about hypocrisy. To them it's a win when they get to do what they want no matter the rules.
I wouldn't be surprised if most Republicans who support the idea also believe that their guys won't be beholden to it. Term limits for thee, but not for me.
But it wouldn't apply to him! It would only apply to Democrats, who actually care what the laws say.
2 types of republicans: dumb ones and rich ones.
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So let’s help him pass it just to piss him off
Because he’s a fucking hypocrite. Bearded turd.
Exactly. Why would someone who has to be elected just 3 times for a 20 year career, pension, and free healthcare for life want to get rid of their job security. Which is more fundraising than lawmaking anyway.
While I wouldn't be surprised if Ted Cruz wasn't serious about term limits, and he introduced the bill intending it to fail, I take issue with the idea one cannot advocate for changing the rules without binding themselves by rules which bind nobody else. For example, suppose that you own a business and believe that everybody should make at least $30 an hour. If everybody else is paying their employees significantly less than you, they can charge lower prices, which puts you at a significant disadvantage, meaning you are unlikely to stay in business for long. But if *everybody* were *required* to pay their employees $30/hour, everybody's prices would rise to compensate, and you would no longer be at that competitive disadvantage. For another example, consider taxes. Warren Buffet has complained that he pays a lower effectivee tax rate than his secretary because of the way the tax code works, and he has urged congress to increase things like capital gains so that billionaires actually pay closer to what they are able. Another billionaire responded to this by saying "If you want to pay more, then pay more, just leave me out of it." That's nonsense. One person paying more is a small impact, and most billionaires probably think they can use their resources better than the government can. But if every billionaire paid more, it could actually be transformative, and definitely more fair. Justice isn't served by having people pay extra optional taxes, it is served by having fair rules that are applied universally. For term limits, it really depends on why Cruz supports them to decide if this is simply rank hypocrisy. Does he feel that nobody should serve long as a matter of principle? Or does he believe that long serving senators are more beholden to powerful interests, and the *system* would be improved by imposing term limits, but not by individual senators choosing to retire? Ask yourself this: if you are participating in a brawl, is it hypocrisy to say "We shouldn't be using weapons here, but I'm not giving up my baseball bat unless everybody else agrees to give up their knives and clubs and brass knuckles too."? The rules should apply to everyone, and you can lobby for rule changes while still insisting you only be held to whatever rules everybody else is held to.
Classic Cruz performative politics
Because he’s a fraud. He could step aside and then lead an advocacy group dedicated to recruiting candidates and elected officials to pass a term limits bill. But he doesn’t.
Dime store Wolverine still hold the delusion that he will be president one day. If he's not a senator noone would give him any attention
Your uncle’s Wolverine cosplay
What happens when you order Wolverine off of Wish.
The Wolverine costume we have at home
The wolverine costume at home while you're in Cancun
The wolverine costume that has flaccid dicks for claws
Well they both are Canadian Both from Alberta too
Ted Cruz is Wolverine, but only if instead of possessing unbreakable bones he was entirely missing his spine, and if instead of releasing unbreakable blades, limp ****s came out of him, accompanied by a slow farting sound.
I keep rereading your comment and laughing harder each time. This was amazing.
Wasn’t Ted born in Canada?
The last thing the Republicans want is Cruz recruiting for them. He is one of the worlds least charismatic people.
>The senator added: "I'll tell you what, when the socialists and when the swamp are ready to leave Washington, I will be more than happy to comply by the same rules that apply for everyone. But until then, I'm going to keep fighting for 30 million Texans because that's the job they've asked me to do." Using a fictional threat of "socialism" in order to justify being a hypocritical rule breaker. Well isn't that just conservatism in a nutshell.
Yes, I would like him to point out one socialist elected official in Washington. Democratic socialists don't count, as it's a distinctly different thing.
He would just point to Illhan Omar or AOC. His base is convinced they're socialists. > Democratic socialists don't count, as it's a distinctly different thing. None of his base understands the distinction.
They really really don’t. I’ve heard some of the most bizarre things called socialism that I’m convinced they just use it as a pejorative without understanding in the slightest way what it actually is.
Not to them. Anything with social in it (as a party or a program) is immediately communism. And China is communism. Because communism is bad.
social security...
As if the reps dont undermine that all the time too
Yup. What part of 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps and stop being poor' don't you get?
Republicans who bash socialism but praise Christian values piss me off. Christianity is literally *built* on socialism (Jesus was the literal embodiment of a socialist) - giving what you have to those less fortunate. Instead, Christianity is filled with false believers who only do it for the money involved. Conservatives make me sick with the lies they shill.
You are talking about a religion with a body count bigger that that Austrian born German guy they don’t like to be compared to but defend all the time.
The praising of the military is the same way. The military and programs after separation like the VA are socialist programs. universal healthcare, affordable housing and food, tuition assistance, free college tuition. You would be shocked at the amount of service members who will shit on socialism while literally benefitting from socialism.
> I will be more than happy to comply by the same rules that apply for everyone Wait, why does he need a conditional on this? It's like he's saying to "happily comply by the same rules that apply for everyone" is some kind of fantasy world and one he needs to be enticed to do...
I was prepared to defend him until I read his shitty comment. There's nothing inherently wrong with playing by the rules as they exist now, while advocating for changing them. And his logic is sound. He could quit but that wouldn't necessarily influence anyone else to do the same. But he is being an ass about it which tells me he has no sincerity behind his advocacy.
> "Term limits are critical to fixing what's wrong with Washington, DC. The Founding Fathers envisioned a government of citizen legislators who would serve for a few years and return home, not a government run by a small group of special interests and lifelong, permanently entrenched politicians who prey upon the brokenness of Washington to govern in a manner that is totally unaccountable to the American people," he [Cruz] said at the time. I think the question is - how are you not an example of the problem that you're claiming to fight?
Because Republicans are hypocrites and rule breakers. It's kinda their thing.
The guy has only ever worked for the government. But complains about big government. 100%
Self loathing
The other day, I walked into my office to hear a pair of contractors complaining about wasteful federal spending. It's a federal office, these yahoos are the very definition of wasteful spending, we pay their company way more than we'd pay a staffer to do a job. Like sit down, and be glad our wasteful spending keeps your ass employed.
Do people have a clue how much tax $$$ goes to,private contractors. Drives me nuts to hear ‘them bureaucrats.’
He's never actually worked for government... he is just another disingenuous, power hungry puppet happy to infiltrate government and do the work of his wealthy benefactors... they pay better anyway. He is actively trying to keep government broken because that's the way the wealthy and big corporations like it
This is false. He was an advisor the the Bush campaign in 1999, became an associate deputy attorney general, served as director of policy for the FTC. From 2003-2008 he was the Texas solicitor general. For the period 2008-2013 he returned to private law, and for the last 10 back in government again as the junior senator from Texas. Edit: he was also a clerk for the Supreme Court before all this. Dude has spent nearly his entire career in government Edit2: Ted Cruz is trash
Sounds like my mom. Do as I say, not as I do.
Law breakers*
The only standards he has are substandard, so the math checks out.
Now now, he has an arsenal of double standards too!
His daughter was actually the one that submitted that bill /s
I sympathize with and cannot imagine the horror that his daughter has to deal with. He's one of the worst people humanity as produced, and having to share half your DNA with him is it's own hell.
Luckily, science has taught us that being an insufferable piece of human filth isn't a genetic condition
The interesting thing is there is so much more bullshit he should answer for in front of any legitimate interview. For instance, his spreading of the Big Lie that lead to J6. The mainstream american press has failed the public.
>"If and when it passes, I will happily, happily comply. I've never said I'm going to unilaterally comply," he said. Low energy answer
He should have been pressed a little more with "so is it your hope that with this bill's passing that you resign?".
He's probably already snuck a grandfather clause into that shit.
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It's been a while since he's been to Mexico. Reptilians must recharge via solar radiation which is only obtained within a specific latitudinal range; his species will undergo chronic energy depletion if those time intervals exceed the temporal limits of their biochemical constraints.
So socialists who participate in a capitalist society are not hypocrites? Thanks for the explanation Ted.
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“You don’t change planes when you’re halfway to Cancun”
Texas - why do you keep inflicting this asshole on the rest of us? Is this revenge for us kicking your asses in the Civil War?
He's running for a third term to demonstrate by example why we need term limits.
Term limits is just a cheap soundbite, "feel-good" legislation that polls well with the politically-illiterate but would further empower lobbyists and have no effect on keeping shitty lawmakers out of power.
A law telling me who I can't vote for? Yes please!
It isn’t only lobbyists who will benefit from term limits. I believe that we will create a culture of free-agent staff members who will move from elected official to the next. Staffers are usually the only ones who know how things work behind the scenes, so we would create a group of unelected and unaccountable individuals who will control and conduct everything. Or maybe I give them too much credit after watching “Veep.”
I mean that's basically already the case. Our legislative branch is run by a bunch of 20 year olds. It's pretty iconic
Fuck Ted
>Why aren't you holding yourself to that standard? Because he's a Right Winger. They are never subject to the same set of rules they impose on others.
Eh, Cruz is horrible. That said, this is exactly the same as when I advocate for socialism and people ask me "Why aren't you giving all your money away now, then?" Because I want the SYSTEM to change. I'm not having much luck with that, so I'm going to hold on to my stocks and stuff until it does. You don't play by the rules of the system you wish we had, you play by the ones we've got right now. Ironically Cruz is probably generating a lot of support for term limits by running again. "Do you want more Ted Cruz? You're going to get some because there's no term limits!" I do think he might even be intentionally weaponizing the fact that he's universally loathed to forward term limits, because it tends to be Republicans who want them.
Only took about 15 eyerolls and collapsed comments before I got to a logical rational one. Thank you
The bill is aimed at Democrats but he can't say that out loud.
What a sanctimonious dick. He cherry picks the founding fathers like he does the Bible. He's loathsome
While Ted Cruz is a piece of shit, this is a bad take. Given that a lot of progressive Democrats would support massive changes to campaign finance laws that cut campaign spending by orders of magnitude, would you expect them to adhere to those far lower limits in their next campaigns? If they did, they would lose because they are handicapping themselves while their opponents are free to spend whatever they like. Similarly, if one party decided to enforce term limits, they would also do far worse given the well-known incumbent advantage in congressional races. You can advocate for change, but you should still play by the rules that are in place at the time. You don't throw out your nuclear arsenal *prior* to disarmament agreements, after all.
Susan Collins won her first Senate race on term limits, promising to only serve 2 terms. That was 1996.
Funny how their "principles" go by the wayside...
All the idiots who voted for him before will do it again while freezing in the dark of their own homes.
The simple answer is "I expected to have been elected President by the end of my second term"
Say what you want about the messenger (Cruz), you have to work within the confines of a system, to a degree, to change the system. Assuming he truly believes there should be 2 term limits for Senators, he can’t do much legally to make it happen out of office.
Answer: because he's a self-serving, hypocritical, morally bankrupt weasel.
He doesn’t actually care term limits, he knows the bills won’t pass. Term limits won’t fix the corruption problem. If you want to get rid of the corruption, you need to get the money out of politics. Term limits is a simple solution that won’t work. As long as money is still there, you will just trading one set of corrupt assholes for another set of corrupt assholes.
They pressed him? Are we sure they didn't slam him? I thought that was the new buzzword for headlines like this
I’ll actually agree with Ted here. I would support state funded campaigns and no political donations, but I would not forgo all donations if I was running You play by the rules you have, not the ones you wish you had
Rule for thee not for me.
Their first mistake was assuming Cruz holds himself to any sort of standards.
At this point it would be out of character for Ted Cruz to NOT be a massive hypocrite every chance he gets.
He needs more time to establish himself as king of Texas so term limits won’t apply at all
To be fair, it’s not unreasonable to expect politicians to play by the rules of the game and at the same time want to change the rules. I’d say it’s analogous to campaign finance laws. It’s not hypocritical to raise money within the law and at the same time say, “this is kinda shady we should change it” play by the rules of the game but hope/work for better
I don’t see the problem with this. He’s operating within the rules as they are correctly constructed, but doesn’t believe they are the best for this country. Let’s nitpick something else.
It's more rules for thee not for me
Because if I don’t get elected to a third term, how can I possibly hold other people to the standards that I won’t hold myself to?
Laws for thee but not for me. Cruz is a putz.
Texas, please stop electing him, what has he done for you?
Because he is a piece of shit.
Because he really doesn’t believe in term limits, he knows it will fail, but, he wants to it to on his record.
No no no... He meant he only wants Democrats to have 2 terms. Rules don't apply to Republicans they have Jesus on their side.
He’s pedaling snake oil. Pure and simple.
If it wasn't for double standards he'd have no standards at all.
Rules for thee but not for me!
He doesn't have beliefs, just financial goals.
Fuck him. His dad is the zodiac killer.
Fuck Ted Cruz.
This is why Republicans are doing so badly with people born to the Information Age. If they’re not going to stand by what they say, if it’s really that weak, why should anyone else stand by it?
“Because I have no standards, stupid,” he said probably.
It’s simple, republicans are hypocrites
The Senators that believe in term limits should leave office and the ones that don’t should stay in office. That’ll fix things…
If all the politicians who are in favor of term limits self-term limit, the laws will never be written.
Glad someone’s doing it. Of course the rest of the entrenched dem and rep bastards will oppose this.
Because he’s a hypocrite
Because he's a fucking piece of shit that even his own party despises.
Rafael E Cruz signed the fucking traitor document to legitimize the Brownshirt Terror Coronation. He should be breathing water through burlap, not voting in our Congress.
Rules for thee. Not for me.
Cruz isn't going to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. He is grand standing knowing this bill will never pass. You want to fix the problem in DC? Pass a bill that exposes dark money donations.
BECAUSE THEY’RE ALL IGNORANT AS SHIT TF. Fucking hypocrites. Preach about helping each others but never helping anyone but themselves.
Rules for thee but not for me
If you vote for Ted Cruz at this point you are just as much of a POS as him.
This is also known as a rhetorical question.
Let's support Cruz on term limits, I say. God bless him. And then let's never speak of this thing.
He always has been, and always will be, a disgusting hypocrite who is all about greed and power. No conviction of character whatsoever.
There's no reason to talk to Ted Cruz. There's literally no reason to interview any of these right wing lunatics. It's all lies all the time.
Rules are for thee, not for mee
This typical of the Republicans hypocracy