Actress Ellen Page Blames VP Pence for Causing Smollett Attack

"Openly gay actress and liberal activist Ellen Page appeared on The Late Show Thursday and went on an bizarre rant against everything from media coverage of global warming to the alleged hate crime against actor Jussie Smollett. She predicted the world was going to end in the next eleven years, yet no one was talking about it, and emotionally ripped into the Vice President for causing the alleged anti-gay attack against Smollett."

Last night with Stephen Colbert (Link)

And back with Ted Cruz at the Iowa State Fair back in 2015 (Link)

Politico: Cruz slams Obama for 'internet giveaway'

"Today our country faces a threat to the internet as we know it. In 22 short days, if Congress fails to act, the Obama administration intends to give away the internet to an international body akin to the United Nations," Cruz said in a speech on the Senate floor Thursday. "I rise today to discuss the significant, irreparable damage this proposed internet giveaway could wreak not only on our nation but on free speech across the world."

Cruz is pledging to make the issue his primary focus this month. He's already launched a website warning about the dangers of the administration's strategy, complete with a countdown clock against a black background. And he's scheduled a hearing of the Senate Judiciary oversight subcommittee he chairs next week to “investigate the possible dangers” of the plan.

Meanwhile, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) said Wednesday that language to delay the transition could be included in the continuing resolution to fund the government past this month. And House Republicans are considering their options in the coming appropriations bill, a GOP aide confirmed this week.

"Ted Cruz contemplates the unthinkable"

“They didn’t expect a Republican to say that. I said, ‘Listen, Bernie talks about how Washington is corrupt, both parties are in bed with the lobbyists and special interests. I think he's exactly right.’”

"Sean Hannity blows up at Ted Cruz"

"Conservative radio host Sean Hannity and Sen. Ted Cruz had a testy back-and-forth on the host's Tuesday show, with Hannity telling the Texas senator at one point that he was "getting sick of" Cruz dodging "legitimate questions."

The interview got off to a tense start. Hannity suggested that Americans were wondering about what role delegates play in the process of choosing a nominee, with talk of a contested Republican convention heating up.

Cruz sharply disputed this notion.

"Sean, with all respect, that's not what people are concerned about," Cruz said. "I'm campaigning every day. People are concerned about bringing jobs back to America. People are concerned about raising wages. People are concerned about getting the federal government off the backs of small businesses, and people are concerned about beating Hillary" Clinton.

Cruz said that the media "loves to obsess" about the process of choosing a Republican nominee for president. He said that what amounted to "whining" from Donald Trump's campaign about the delegate process being unfair is "silly...""

http://www.businessinsider.com/ted-cruz-sean-hannity-delegates-2016-4?op=1

"Cruz likely to block Trump on a second ballot at the GOP convention"

Washington Post:  Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is close to ensuring that Donald Trump cannot win the GOP nomination on a second ballot at the party’s July convention in Cleveland, scooping up scores of delegates who have pledged to vote for him instead of the front-runner if given the chance.

The push by Cruz means that it is more essential than ever for Trump to clinch the nomination by winning a majority of delegates to avoid a contested and drawn-out convention fight, which Trump seems almost certain to lose.

The GOP race now rests on two cliffhangers: Can Trump lock up the nomination before Cleveland? And if not, can Cruz cobble together enough delegates to win a second convention vote if Trump fails in the first?

Limbaugh: On the Third Ballot, Cruz Will Find Out What It's Like to Be Trump

transcript

GOP to Colorado: Thanks but no thanks?

Crux and Sanders Win Wisconsin

Of course we know from Althouse that half of the Cruz voters were #nevertrumpers. They will be disappointed if Cruz is actually the nominee. They want Paul Ryan.

Hey, the whole Bernie thing (and his winning streak) is pretty much being ignored by the same people who despise Trump, amirite?

Interesting times

A lawyer who represented the so-called “D.C. madam” says he has phone records that could influence the outcome of the presidential election, and he’s threatening to release one or more names on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court if he’s denied a hearing on his right to distribute them.

Montgomery Blair Sibley, the late madam Deborah Palfrey’s colorful attorney, has been subject to a restraining order since 2007 barring him from releasing the information, which he says includes 815 names, addresses and Social Security numbers of Verizon Wireless customers.

“Time is of the essence because people are casting votes in primaries and caucuses,” he says. “I believe this information is relevant to that political discourse.”

...He would not say if he was surprised by a National Enquirer report last week that alleged Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had engaged in five extramarital affairs. Cruz, currently in second place in the GOP contest, vigorously denied the report on Friday, and in doing so uncapped mainstream media coverage.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-03-28/dc-madams-attorney-says-call-log-bombshell-could-upend-presidential-race

Cruz's eligibility to appear on Illinois primary ballot to be challenged in court

Lawrence Joyce, an Illinois voter who has objected to Cruz's placement on the Illinois primary ballot next month, will have his case heard in the Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago. Joyce's previous objection, made to the state's Board of Elections, was dismissed on February 1. He appealed the decision and was granted a hearing for Friday before Judge Maureen Ward Kirby.

...Sanford Levinson, constitutional law professor at the University of Texas School of Law, said Joyce would have to prove standing – or why Cruz’s potential ineligibility affects him specifically – for the judge to proceed with the case.

Even if the judge declares Cruz to be ineligible to run, the GOP candidate’s campaign would undoubtedly file an appeal, potentially tying the case up for months, he said.

It’s surprising that a lower court would even agree to hear the case, which is entangled in broader constitutional issues, Sanford said.

“I’d be very, very surprised if [the judge] were to say he’s ineligible,” he said. “At that point, all hell would break loose."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/02/18/reports-chicago-court-hear-case-knock-cruz-off-white-house-ballot/80586608/

¿Did You Notice...

....this little exchange last night?

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): I don’t know how you know he knows what I said on Univision ’cause he doesn’t speak Spanish. And second of all, (LAUGHTER) the other point that I was–

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE NOT TRANSCRIBED)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): This is– look, this is a disturbing pattern now, ’cause for a number of weeks now Ted Cruz has just been telling lies.

Somebody needs to fill in the blanks. Cruz said:
"Ahora mismo, díselo en Español si tu quieres" which roughly translates to 'Right now, say it in Spanish. If you want.' link

It feels good to be a Clinton

It feels good to be a Clinton --> https://t.co/wx5Vzraqrhhttps://t.co/cjsCEqVfi0

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 12, 2016

Ted Cruz ad: Playing Trump

"F. Scott Fitzgerald’s stories to be reissued with sex, drugs, and dirty words put back in"

Raw Story: “Before these stories were bowdlerised, they contained antisemitic slurs, sexual innuendo, instances of drug use and drunkenness. They also contained profanity and mild blasphemy. The texts were scrubbed clean at the Post,” West told The Guardian.

In “The Hotel Child,” for example, a reference to a character “surreptitiously feeding a hasheesh tablet to the Pekingese” was excised from the Post version, and profanity like “Get the Hell out of here!” and the antisemitic slur “Sheeny” were scrubbed from the text. The effect, West said, is that “the decadence of several of the characters is revealed more clearly because of their alcoholism, drug use, and prejudice.”

“More generally, in all of the stories, the characters use the profanity, mild blasphemies, and slang words that Fitzgerald wanted them to use. They speak like real people,” West continued. “One of the commonplaces of Fitzgerald criticism, for decades, has been that he avoided unpleasant topics and realistic language in his magazine fiction. We can see now that this was not altogether his choice.”

Carter: “I think I would choose Trump..."

AJC.com:  Did Jimmy Carter just say he’d like Donald Trump to become president?

Not exactly. And only if, you get the feeling, he was down to his very last choice.

Turning to the “almost completely unpredictable” race for the Republican nomination, Carter said he had a “feeling” that Trump’s chances ultimately would “fade away.

When people actually get ready to put on a ballot, ‘This is the person I want to lead me for the next four or eight years, I think they’ll have a little different opinion,’” Carter said.

Still, better him than Ted Cruz.

If he had to choose between Cruz and Trump for the Republican nomination, Carter chuckled, “I think I would choose Trump, which may surprise some of you.”

(It did, judging by the loud laughter from the audience.)

“The reason is, Trump has proven already he’s completly malleable,” Carter explained. “I don’t think he has any fixed (positions) he’d go the White House and fight for. On the other hand, Ted Cruz is not malleable. He has far right wing policies he’d pursue if he became president.”

Iowa Caucus: Kids table running ~8-2 Bernie

Kids table running ~8-2 Bernie pic.twitter.com/NAhMPYOO0H

— Ben Smith (@BuzzFeedBen) February 2, 2016

"Sarah Palin Endorses Donald Trump"

NYT: “I’m proud to endorse Donald J. Trump for president,” Ms. Palin said in a statement provided by his campaign.

Her support is the highest-profile backing for a Republican contender so far.

“I am greatly honored to receive Sarah’s endorsement,” Mr. Trump said in a statement trumpeting Mrs. Palin’s decision. “She is a friend, and a high-quality person whom I have great respect for. I am proud to have her support.”

I never expected this endorsement, not in a million years.

Cruz and Trump spar over "New York values"

"Trump, Cruz clash over eligibility, ‘New York values’ at GOP debate"

Fox News: In perhaps his most withering retort, Trump slammed Cruz for questioning “New York values.” Recalling memories from after 9/11, Trump described the “horrific” clean up and the “smell of death” in the city.

“It was with us for months, the smell,” Trump said. “And everybody in the world loved New York, loved New Yorkers -- and I have to tell you, that was a very insulting statement.”

An establishment hit piece on Ted Cruz

David Brooks: "The Brutalism of Ted Cruz"

Traditionally, candidates who have attracted strong evangelical support have in part emphasized the need to lend a helping hand to the economically stressed and the least fortunate among us. Such candidates include George W. Bush, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum.

But Cruz’s speeches are marked by what you might call pagan brutalism. There is not a hint of compassion, gentleness and mercy. Instead, his speeches are marked by a long list of enemies, and vows to crush, shred, destroy, bomb them. When he is speaking in a church the contrast between the setting and the emotional tone he sets is jarring.

Cruz lays down an atmosphere of apocalyptic fear. America is heading off “the cliff to oblivion.” After one Democratic debate he said, “We’re seeing our freedoms taken away every day, and last night was an audition for who would wear the jackboot most vigorously.”

The fact is this apocalyptic diagnosis is ridiculous. The Obama administration has done things people like me strongly disagree with. But America is in better economic shape than any other major nation on earth. Crime is down. Abortion rates are down. Fourteen million new jobs have been created in five years.

Obama has championed a liberal agenda, but he hasn’t made the country unrecognizable. In 2008, federal spending accounted for about 20.3 percent of gross domestic product. In 2015, it accounted for about 20.9 percent.

But Cruz manufactures an atmosphere of menace in which there is no room for compassion, for moderation, for anything but dismantling and counterattack. And that is what he offers. Cruz’s programmatic agenda, to the extent that it exists in his speeches, is to destroy things: destroy the I.R.S., crush the “jackals” of the E.P.A., end funding for Planned Parenthood, reverse Obama’s executive orders, make the desert glow in Syria, destroy the Iran nuclear accord.

Some of these positions I agree with, but the lack of any positive emphasis, any hint of reform conservatism, any aid for the working class, or even any humane gesture toward cooperation is striking.

Cruz Christmas Classics: SNL preview