Patterico's Pontifications

2/12/2016

Ted Cruz: Two New Ads, One Doesn’t Seem To Add Up

Filed under: General — Dana @ 2:02 pm



[guest post by Dana]

The Ted Cruz campaign has released a terrifically blistering ad mocking Hillary Clinton and her “server problem”.

The ad is a spoof on “Office Space”. It won’t matter if you haven’t seen the film because there’s no mistaking the the message of “Damn, it’s good to be a Clinton”:

The campaign also released another ad on Thursday, attacking Marco Rubio for being just another pretty face:

The campaign pulled the ad after it was discovered that a female actress appearing in it had also starred in adult films:

The woman, Amy Lindsay, as first reported by BuzzFeed, has appeared in multiple movies with titles like “Carnal Wishes,” “Insatiable Desires” and “Private Sex Club.” Ms. Lindsay told BuzzFeed that she was a Christian conservative and a Republican, deciding between supporting Mr. Cruz or Donald J. Trump.

Okay, so first off, if she is a practicing, not-in-name-only Christian, would she really be doing adult films? Or has she left that part of her acting life behind? And, if she were still an adult film actress, what on earth would compel her to be in a Ted Cruz ad? Surely, if she really were a supporter of the very conservative Cruz, she wouldn’t want to risk jeopardizing the candidate in a place like South Carolina where his strongest support comes from Christian conservatives. But if she weren’t a Cruz supporter and supported another candidate who views Cruz as a serious threat, whether in the primaries or general election, there might be a good reason for an adult film actress to appear in the ad.

A representative from the Cruz campaign released this statement:

“The actress responded to an open casting call,” said Catherine Frazier, a spokeswoman for the Cruz campaign. “She passed her audition and got the job. Unfortunately, she was not vetted by the casting company. Had the campaign known of her full filmography, we obviously would not have let her appear in the ad. The campaign is taking the ad down and will replace it with a different commercial.”

A woman applied for a job and was selected to do the job because she was the best candidate? Sounds good. But because of her employment history, the ad was pulled? I can’t agree with this decision. If there were accusations of Cruz being linked to a porn actress (which of course, there would be), it would have been an opportunity for the very clever Cruz campaign to push back by reminding voters that Americans being hired to do an honest day’s work for an honest day’s wage is an essential part of Conservatism and a big part of what Cruz wants to do for America: grow job creation and employment for any willing American, while working toward a goal of undoing the dismal unemployment rates under Obama. Because an employed America is a successful America. Isn’t this something we want to encourage?

Further, does the campaign risk an accusation of sexism by pulling the ad because of one woman’s work history? A woman who auditioned for a job and got it, beating out the competition fairly and squarely. Could the decision to pull the ad be a lost opportunity to reach the more moderate-libertarian voters still looking for a candidate?

The actress apparently thought the campaign knew about her previous work:

Though Lindsay initially told BuzzFeed News that the person at the campaign who hired her “absolutely knew everything that I had done,” she later called back to say that she realized that was not the case.

“I have clearly talked to the filmmakers and stuff and just to be clear, I assumed that they knew, but none of the filmmakers or the casting director knew about my complete filmography in the past that you’re talking about, so I was wrong in that statement,” Lindsay said, saying that she had assumed that an old friend of hers from an acting class who was present when she was hired was aware of her film history.

As it now stands, Lindsay has tweeted her disappointment in the campaign’s decision to pull the ad:

Extremely disappointed the #TedCruz campaign pulled the national television spot I had a role in… #moretocome #myvotecounts
8:23 PM – 11 Feb 2016

Of course given that the ad was part of a six-figure buy in South Carolina, the state’s Christian conservative voters may not have taken too kindly to having an adult film star appear in their candidate’s ad. Maybe the campaign has an accurate reading of the voters in the state. But would Cruz have lost voters because of the ad? If so, then that would have spoken far more about the kind of people in South Carolina rather than the candidate Ted Cruz.

–Dana

179 Responses to “Ted Cruz: Two New Ads, One Doesn’t Seem To Add Up”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (86e864)

  2. It’s only Skinemax, no big whoop.

    Colonel Haiku (d6175a)

  3. I think we can all agree that Cruz can be trusted with legal knowledge and Trump is your typical… threaten sue type of person.

    JRT for CRUZ (d7dbed)

  4. “Mr. Johnson Goes To Washington”

    Colonel Haiku (d6175a)

  5. “Deep Vote”

    Colonel Haiku (d6175a)

  6. “Our Man In Teh Oval Orifice”

    Colonel Haiku (d6175a)

  7. The Clinton ad…. priceless… hip hop music works well with her pant suit image.

    JRT for CRUZ (d7dbed)

  8. “”Cruzin’ For Cooze”

    Colonel Haiku (d6175a)

  9. “Filly Bustin’ “

    Colonel Haiku (d6175a)

  10. Nice Ted….. Hit them where it shows

    JRT for CRUZ (d7dbed)

  11. Help me out here…

    Colonel Haiku (d6175a)

  12. The second ad doesn’t bother me but my experience is that Texas is more of a live-and-let-live State than South Carolina I think it might bother them.

    Completely unrelated but SC is much prettier than Texas. What a beautiful place.

    DRJ (15874d)

  13. “The Holy Hooker”

    mg (31009b)

  14. On second thought, pulling the ad will make it get far more attention and placate objections. Maybe it’s a win-win for Cruz.

    DRJ (15874d)

  15. rubio tried to do adult films at one point but he was too short they said

    happyfeet (a037ad)

  16. “All teh President’s Women”

    Colonel Haiku (46f395)

  17. He could hire Jared Fogle to be in one of his ads. That would show he’s not hung up on sexual issues, victimless crimes, etc. I’m sure the media would be full of warm stories on Cruz’s belief in redemption.

    This is a Catch-22 for any Republican. The media will make him pay either way.

    Gabriel Hanna (64d4e1)

  18. “Cruz/Vixen”

    Colonel Haiku (46f395)

  19. “Teh Candy Date”

    Colonel Haiku (46f395)

  20. “Thirteen Lays”

    Colonel Haiku (46f395)

  21. That is a mighty fine ad (the Office Space parody).

    Leviticus (efada1)

  22. “Dr. Strangelove (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love teh Veep)”

    Colonel Haiku (46f395)

  23. “She Wore a Yellow G-String”

    Colonel Haiku (46f395)

  24. “The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue”

    Colonel Haiku (46f395)

  25. “Teddie Does Dallas.”

    DCSCA (a343d5)

  26. Lots of these holier than thou Christian Americans in South Carolina will set aside their values in order to root for a football player who has 15 tattoos and 4 children out of wedlock, as well as a couple of incidents at nightclubs, as well as even maybe even three outstanding parking tickets. Or some of these South Carolinians will throw down $100 for a ticket to attend a country music concert played by some redneck who has already been divorced twice, has a “massage” before every show, and is known to smoke dope every night of the week. And he punched his manager last week, but, hey, as long as he talks ’bout Murrica, and stuff, it’s all good.

    But DAMNIT!, they’re going to stand proud and tall for American values and voice the winter of their discontent when it turns out that a paid actress in a Ted Cruz commercial was formerly paid to do other things!
    Oh my God. Is this what ‘acting’ is?
    You act like someone you’re not. Al Pacino was never in the mafia. Harrison Ford was never in outer space! And Audrey Hepburn was never a prostitute who gazed in the windows of Tiffany’s at 5AM!

    Wait. You mean that Los Angeles suburbanite John Wayne wasn’t realllllly a cowboy?! Wut?!

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  27. Easy, Cruz Supporter. Cruz’s people pulled the ad because over the last 40 years everybody in this country has been conditioned never to offend anyone cause it ain’t PC. Haven’t you noticed? I’m actually kind of surprised since Christians, especially Evangelical Christians are usually open to as much hostile ridicule as one can deliver.

    The smart thing would be to go on TV with the lady and point out her redemption and that she’s turned her life around with God and now with Cruz and since Cruz really is for women he welcomes her and wishes her well. Then hand her the mic where she says “I’m for Cruz because pantsuit’s trash”.

    Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27)

  28. Ted cruz new campaign add with porn star is either called deep ted or debbie does cruz. I think her last co star was rex the wonder dog I don’t know what the horses name was.

    leland (67a4b7)

  29. The smart thing would be to go on TV with the lady and point out her redemption and that she’s turned her life around with God and now with Cruz and since Cruz really is for women he welcomes her and wishes her well.

    Hoagie, have you read anywhere that she has indeed left that life behind her and is no longer acting in porn films?

    Dana (7eb3b1)

  30. Pornography. The depiction of prostitution. Good move move pulling the ad. Dumb move trusting some casting company. Way big dumb move. They are not the kind of people who would want to make people like Cruz look good.

    nk (dbc370)

  31. Utah legislature has proclaimed internet porn number one threat not isis!

    leland (67a4b7)

  32. happyfeet – what if she was a tranny?

    mg (31009b)

  33. Perry, you’re not supposed to drink the Absorbine.

    nk (dbc370)

  34. So, the actress got paid for her acting, but the distribution of the production was halted.

    Still sounds like she got paid for her work to me.

    Dejectedhead (ba8561)

  35. Personally, though I’m rooting for Cruz and absolutely hate and revile Clinton (and consider her a felon), I found the “good to be a Clinton” add grating.

    Why? First off, unlike most in my generation, I despise hip-hop (how does most of Cruz’s SC target audience feel about it, I wonder?), so the soundtrack grated. Secondly, it’d be great if shorter (30 seconds instead of a minute) or had more to it. For example, I’d have loved to see her at the end, wiping off the server wreckage with a cloth.

    The porn actress thing? I don’t blame him for pulling it; it was a goof, and pretty much any candidate for anything will pull an add that’s likely to hurt them. In Cruz’s case, this ad could be use to whack at a core argument for his candidacy: competence in management. It’d be a very unfair hit (no human being in earth can micromanage ever detail of a campaign that size, there just aren’t enough hours in the day) but could damage him anyway.

    IMHO, Cruz needs a 2nd place finish in SC to stay in serious contention. In fact… looking at the race now, and the demographics and geography of Super Tuesday, is there any candidate who doesn’t need to get to 2nd in SC to stay in serious contention rather than longshot (or even roadkill) category?

    I’ll also predict that now it’s a 5 person race, whoever finishes 5th in SC is toast unless their campaign has a lot of cash on hand, so if the recent poll (the only post-NH one I’ve seen)is anywhere close to accurate, Carson at 5% may have his last hurrah in SC. New Hampshire, certainly (and contra my prediction) winnowed the field a lot, with 3 dropping out (Fiorina, then Christie, and now Gilmore).

    However, as we saw in Iowa and NH, the polls aren’t a very good predictor unless the spread is huge.

    Arizona CJ (da673d)

  36. Isn’t ben carson the tranny mg? Ted cruz is the dominatrix. Trump the inflatable doll.

    leland (67a4b7)

  37. trannies oh my goodness

    the hills are crawling with trannies anymore

    you can’t throw a rock in this town and not hit a tranny

    but it’s fun trying

    happyfeet (831175)

  38. Pulling the ad is a no-brainer. So many folks are looking for ways to stop Cruz. The press is full of folks who can’t stand him and will twist the facts to create wedge issues. Many of Cruz’s supporters picked Cruz over Trump because Trump isn’t decent, so tarnishing Cruz could be a big problem. By pulling the ad, a lot of people will watch it for free anyway.

    The ad is great too. It captures how I feel about Rubio. Potentially awesome conservative who got to DC and betrayed the cause. That Cruz didn’t to that is his greatest strength.

    Arizona CJ, have you seen Office Space? I’m just curious how much of a difference it makes to the Clinton ad. The lyrics in the ad are great!

    Dustin (2a8be7)

  39. I thought it was too cutsie, and not likely to change too many people’s minds. $1,000 per vote kind of stuff.

    nk (dbc370)

  40. Way more buzz pulling the add then airing it.

    Time123 (12e9aa)

  41. The Rubio ad. The Clinton ad is powerful stuff.

    nk (dbc370)

  42. Cruz’s ads seem to be targeted to specific demographics at specific times and places. I assume they are based on polling.

    DRJ (15874d)

  43. Ditto re: what Trump says. Whenever Trump starts talking about Cruz’s eligibility, I know he saw a poll that said something good for Cruz.

    DRJ (15874d)

  44. Oh, I see Charles Cooke has weighed in, and he makes some valid points:

    Here’s my question: Why not? What’s the problem here? Why can’t soft-porn actresses be in campaign commercials? Or in anything else for that matter? She wasn’t performing soft pornography in the commercial, nor was she doing anything else that would be inappropriate for a political spot. It was not the case, as Fox suggests that the “ad turned out to be too hot for TV”; rather, it was the case that one of the people in the ad had previously appeared in unrelated films that are “too hot for TV.” So what?

    As for the idea that she would need to be “vetted”: Again, why? She wasn’t applying for a job at the State Department, or for a position on the board of the Anti-Pornography League. All told, there is only one question that a person who appears in a commercial needs to be asked: “Can you act as we want you to?” Clearly, she could.

    Fox reports that, in addition to her adult-film work, she has: appeared in the TV series “Star Trek: Voyager” and the 1996 film adaptation of Henry James’ novel “The Portrait of a Lady.”

    Should those episodes be pulled as well? Are they “too hot for TV”? Or is it reasonable for us to draw a distinction between porn per se and TV shows that feature people who happen to have appeared in porn?

    If we’re going down this road, we might stop showing Sylvester Stallone movies in prime time. As Rolling Stone notes: Six years before he broke big with Rocky, Sylvester Stallone was a struggling 24-year-old actor desperate for work of any kind, which explains why he agreed to star in a low-budget skin flick called Party at Kitty and Stud’s. The legend of the movie has grown over the years — many have become convinced that it’s a hardcore sex film — but the truth is far less interesting: It’s merely a supremely boring and inept softcore affair.

    Alternatively, we could all grow the hell up.

    Dana (86e864)

  45. The entertainment industry is pretty much a collection of lowlifes. Not too long ago, actresses were considered to be no better than prostitutes. The “considered” part has changed thanks to the dedicated work of Hollywood studios and public relations agencies, but the people haven’t. If anything, they’ve gotten worse.

    nk (dbc370)

  46. omg jaded much Mr. Cooke?

    happyfeet (831175)

  47. “UPDATE: Democrat operatives with bylines “Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd were appalled by a new Ted Cruz commercial attacking Hillary Clinton, labeling it ‘vicious’ and ‘rough.’” Because they’re all about sensitive feelings and safe spaces at MSNBC.”

    http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/226575/

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  48. @ #37, Dustin;

    Arizona CJ, have you seen Office Space? I’m just curious how much of a difference it makes to the Clinton ad. The lyrics in the ad are great!

    I’ve never seen, nor to be honest heard of before today, Office Space, so that may be coloring my perception of the first ad.

    I agree on the point the ad against Rubio was making, and I agree with those saying it’s absurd that actress’s filmography is a big deal, but given Cruz’s target audience in SC and how the ad could be spun, I don’t blame him for pulling it. In a rational world he wouldn’t have to, but in this one, he’s got sound reason.

    Arizona CJ (da673d)

  49. 14. my first thought. Pull the ad get more hits

    JRT for CRUZ (69b41b)

  50. 34. bite your tongue Cruz will finish First in SC…not many NY’rs in SC…. Cruz will stomp out Trump in SC

    JRT for CRUZ (69b41b)

  51. The latest is Trump is now threatening to sue Ted…. the constitution lawyer… Because he’s got nothing else on him. Come on Trump legal matters aren’t your bag… and all the NY lawyers in the state can’t win you this one….

    JRT for CRUZ (69b41b)

  52. The Hillary ad couldn’t be more perfect.

    JRT for CRUZ (69b41b)

  53. I particularly enjoyed the ‘Hillary’ and her choice of what mattered in the debris – she went directly for the Power …

    Alastor (2e7f9f)

  54. Hoagie, have you read anywhere that she has indeed left that life behind her and is no longer acting in porn films?

    No I have not , Dana. I was just throwin’ that out there. She could be the biggest slut around for all I know. But I believe any time spent looking at the Cruz race is less time looking at Trumps. I’m sure for 5K she’ll do a testimonial. After all, she’s an actress.

    Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27)

  55. Here’s the difference. Cruz deflects responsibility, blames someone else and yanks the ad.

    Trump would not only have embraced it through several media cycles, but hyped her ‘R’ rated work ethic, had her on stage with him and shown her off as a good girl gone ‘right.’

    DCSCA (a343d5)

  56. From her looks and resume (“Star Trek: Voyager” and the 1996 film adaptation of Henry James’ novel “The Portrait of a Lady”), she’s past thirty-something. That life has left her behind.

    nk (dbc370)

  57. After the lower ad plays there is an interview of her in the bottom right, where she says she is fiscally conservative but “not so much socially”, and that she will vote for Cruz if he wins the nomination.

    I personally don’t like either ad, but I am not the demographic they are aiming for here. I sort of wish they would not do this kind of thing, but it doesn’t turn me off.

    I am sure they will repel some voters, whether they gain more than they lose I have no idea.

    I guess I thought most of what is on TV these days classifies as “soft porn”…
    But that’s me

    MD not exactly in Philly (deca84)

  58. People associated with Star Trek Voyager have not been good for Republican candidates…

    MD not exactly in Philly (deca84)

  59. Here she is during an interview with Jake Tapper today. Notice him feeding her the time-to-be-appalled-at-Cruz lead:

    “It was a gig but… I knew it was supporting a Republican candidate, which is definitely what i’m doing. And I thought the writing was smart, I thought it was snappy,” Amy Lindsay said.

    Host Jake Tapper asked about the Cruz campaign distancing themselves from her as they try to win the largely evangelical state of South Carolina. “Is that is unchristian for them to have done?” Tapper asked.

    “I don’t think it’s unchristian. I think this is politics as usual,” she said. “It was done in a snap moment. Someone has got to make a decision and sometimes it’s just better to take it down.”

    Lindsay said that Cruz was still in the running for her vote. “I was speaking from the heart.. I did believe in the message and I put it out there.

    “I have no ill will towards Ted Cruz right now,” she said. “He had a job to do, and I’m a middle-class working girl and I had a job to do.”


    So if Cruz hadn’t taken down the video, the expected attacks would happen, and now having taken down the video, the hoped-for attacks from the actress haven’t materialized. Yet. But the media is there to help her along…

    He should have just let the damn thing stay up then.

    Dana (86e864)

  60. It’s sad more than anything else.

    nk (dbc370)

  61. Action figure ad is better. Give Cruz credit for taking on the bully with a billion.

    mg (31009b)

  62. I’m not sure what one add has to do with the other and why either ads are in question. The first one, a spoof on office space, may not be so tactful, but it is funny and bears some truth to it- does it not? The second add, which was pulled, I’m not sure I understand why people are so up in arms about it. The actress, who may be disappointed in the cancelation of the ad, did not come across bitter or upset. She seemed quite mature and understood where the Cruz campaign was coming from. Should they have pulled it because of her former job, maybe, maybe not. Does it really matter? Only if you are against Cruz and want to find something to criticize his campaign on. But then, if you are a conservative (Christian or not)I believe there must many more substantive issues out there other than this.

    julie (043d13)

  63. That life has left her behind.

    Is that a pun, nk?

    Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27)

  64. Not intentional, I promise, Hoagie. I do feel sad for women like her.

    nk (dbc370)

  65. You have a good point julie. Are we voting for the candidate or some unknown actor in one of his ads? I mean, com’on already. BTW, who the hell has the time and stupidity to run bios on actors in ads? These people need a life. So this means I see a Cherie O’s ad and run bios to see if the actors shoplifted?

    Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27)

  66. You’re a soft hearted guy, nk. I just see a thirty something trying to earn a living in Obama’s economy. At least she’s working. And she’s voting right!

    Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27)

  67. Arizona CJ,

    I bet some of the appeal to the song is the nostalgia for those who enjoyed the movie, now a classic. Office Space was made by the same guy who made Idiocracy, and both are light and insightful.

    The actual song they mimicked is pretty terrible, with Snoop Dogg talking being president and bombing Iraq. It’s good taste to not like the song, but it’s a great reference.

    Dustin (2a8be7)

  68. Y’all tell me…A guy who consciously chose to room with a gay guy in college would personally disqualify an actress who acted in a sex movie?

    This is entirely about the electorate and the media, not to mention candidates like Carson, who will take offense if you hold the door for them.

    Ed from SFV (3400a5)

  69. conscious choice man

    happyfeet (831175)

  70. No Cruz voter decided not to vote for Cruz because he stopped an attack add, in order to prevent dumb anti-christian jokes relating to the actors in the add.

    That they had to change the anti-christian joke to an anti-scold joke, is the only difference.

    And, in reality, now the attack add is viral, well beyond the pretty standard message it otherwise conveyed.

    Cruz still puts together better ads, has a better ground game, is the authentic conservative, and is the actual smart guy in the race.

    Ha.

    Steve Malynn (b5f891)

  71. Pretty sure we can rely on Trump to run ads saying Cruz treats women poorly and surrounds himself with bimbos.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  72. Of course given that the ad was part of a six-figure buy in South Carolina, the state’s Christian conservative voters may not have taken too kindly to having an adult film star appear in their candidate’s ad. Maybe the campaign has an accurate reading of the voters in the state. But would Cruz have lost voters because of the ad? If so, then that would have spoken far more about the kind of people in South Carolina rather than the candidate Ted Cruz.

    Only the Ds get to choose their electorate – we conservatives have to woo ours. That means choosing when to poke them in the eye.

    The actress has appearances across the spectrum, but her first credit in 1994 was an R movie. She did not go into risque films because of the Obama economy.

    Steve Malynn (b5f891)

  73. Mr. M if Ted’s ads help us choose the candidate what will best regulate the uteruses of the failmerican hoochies (who might have the zika all up in them, resulting in a crop of squishy-heads) PLUS put the homos in their place then

    isn’t this kind’ve a no-brainer?

    harvardtrash rulez (VOTE TED)

    teh donnel droolz (:()

    happyfeet (831175)

  74. that’s so mean though, what you said about bimbos

    happyfeet (831175)

  75. Oh, and Dana, this is the perfect exposure for the young lady – more and better press than she has ever had in her career.

    Steve Malynn (b5f891)

  76. my best friend was a porn star like 13 years ago now

    you have to let people move on dot the org

    happyfeet (831175)

  77. srsly?

    Ted Cruz porn hooch is the “quotes of teh day” for the hot airs?

    it was an effing slow day

    oil only rocketed like 11%

    happyfeet (831175)

  78. “The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Being Right About Donald Trump”

    But it looks like you can’t teach old pundits new paradigms. After presidential candidate Donald Trump finished in second in the Iowa Republican caucus, the media went straight to work picking out a coffin for his campaign, battling it out to see who could write the most definitive obituary. After months of being wrong about Trump, something finally happened to make them look right: All the Iowa polls were wrong — Trump lost! Sure, he scored more Iowa votes than anyone ever — excepting Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), who won Iowa — but he lost. Trump is a loser and this proves it.

    The pressure of being wrong about Trump over and over was building, so when it appeared they were finally right about something, the release was earthshaking.

    Good assumption: Honesty transcends ideology. Voters would rather disagree with a straight-shooter than agree with a political wind-tester. We’ve seen too many politicians run as conservatives and then prove not to be. Voters have become suspect of politicians with ideologies that try too hard to match the electorate.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-12/complete-idiots-guide-being-right-about-donald-trump

    sound awake (04e750)

  79. sound awake,

    Your comment has nothing to do with the topic of this thread. All you did was copy and paste a different blog’s praise of Trump, without even commenting yourself on it. It’s like spam.

    It says something when Happyfeet saying “Ted Cruz porn hooch” is more relevant.

    What did you think of Cruz’s ads?

    Dustin (2a8be7)

  80. 🙂 feet are you a gay man for Trump? just curious

    JRT for CRUZ (69b41b)

  81. “The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Being Right About Donald Trump”

    What a useless article. Kind of like “The Marxist’s Guide to Liking Bernie”

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  82. ISIS is setting people on fire and taking women and girls as sex slaves, the American economy is vastly underperforming, and there’s a few people on the Supreme Court over the age of 104 who will need to be replaced during the next several years. The stakes in the November election are tremendous.
    Yet, sadly, the Cruz campaign knows there are some really fragile and sanctimonious GOP primary voters in South Carolina who would have a total freak out reaction if they were to continue to run a TV spot using an actress who acted in soft-core porn many years ago.

    So much for second chances, and turning one’s life around, and getting right with God, and all that stuff—let’s react as if the actress is a leper. Of course, if another actor, let’s say, Anthony Hopkins, who played in ‘The Silence of the Lambs,’ had appeared in the commercial, there probably would be zero objection by GOP South Carolina primary voters to Hopkins’ prior role as a vicious murderer.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  83. … One [ad] Doesn’t Seem To Add Up

    Ad 1: If you’re under 40, and a product of our K-12 system, nothing “adds up”. But you probably recognize the desktop (it’s like Grand Dad’s), and the hag in the pants suit is somewhat familiar. So if you don’t get it the first time, you may figure it out after consulting twitter and other social media outlets, which may cause you to wonder why Hillary?! has been so reluctant to share the documents that would authenticate her contribution to American foreign policy. So this ad doesn’t “add up”, but it might be effective for a particular audience.

    Ad 2: The actress, Ms Amy Lindsay, has nothing to apologize for. She’s a working girl, and nothing she’s ever done can compare to the treachery of the RINO’s in the House and Senate, let alone virtually every member who puts a “D” after their name, at any political level. Has she consented to sign her name to an “Omnibus” budget? No. Has she arranged Congressional voting procedures so that her support for the selling of baby pieces by Planned Parenthood is buried in a landslide of legislative minutiae that provides “plausible deniability” to all the skunks who infest the basement in Congress? No. Did she provide sexual favors, on demand, to political figures in the administration as a condition of her employment as a “staffer”? No. Has she participated in the distribution of poisoned water in Flint, Michigan, to unsuspecting citizens? No. Has she arranged for the Iranian militia to “rescue” our sailors as they mysteriously run out of gas within 12 miles of Farsi Island? No. As senior officers in high positions in the Department of Defense do so often, has she betrayed the men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan? No. Quite frankly, there is no way that Ms Lindsay would ever be considered for a job in any Congressman’s office. She is too conservative, and way too honest. Nor would she do well as a go-along-to-get-along politician in either party.

    So I can’t figure out which ad bothers you, Dana.

    BobStewartatHome (e93157)

  84. http://therightscoop.com/found-it-heres-the-caroline-kennedy-interview-that-trump-loves-to-mock-at-speeches/ I posted this on the other thread but this is a funny bone for the Trump lovers.

    JRT for CRUZ (69b41b)

  85. The Hillary ad is excellent, however it could be better. Have Obama, Reid, and Pelosi characters lined up with Obama’s hands covering his ears, Reid covering his eyes, and Pelosi with both hands over her mouth (eyes blinking rapidly)

    As Hillery et al walk away, busted up hard drive dangling at her side, Obama says What? I didn’t hear a thing; Reid says What? I didn’t see nothin’; and Pelosi says What? I can’t comment till the State Department recovers the emails so we can find out what’s in them.

    Then they all wink at each other snicker and whoop it up having a big belly laugh.

    ropelight (ec9a8c)

  86. 81. And that’s not the worst of it…. Most Arabs where ISIS or not… even the ones fighting with US soldiers to defeat Islamic terrorism…. Most Arab men think nothing of raping woman and children girls and boys…. That’s how sick the Arabs are…. they are sick sex addicts and BO wants to bring them all here to compete with the pedophilia priests… God watches and is patient

    JRT for CRUZ (69b41b)

  87. As the dancing penguin has demonstrated upthread, This was a lose-lose deal. Keeping the ads up will have all the idiots spending all week calling Lindsay Cruz’s “personal porn star” or other such crap. Cruz was going to take a hit either way. At least this way she doesn’t get trashed all over the papers.

    Random Numbers (d5cd81)

  88. I’ve never seen, nor to be honest heard of before today, Office Space, so that may be coloring my perception of the first ad.

    Arizona CJ (da673d) — 2/12/2016 @ 4:40 pm

    Here’s the germane part of Office Space that the “Good to be a Clinton” ad is spoofing (about 2 minutes.) Warning: there is a boat-load of profanity.

    With that said, Office Space was a funny movie IMHO, and the ad spoof — LMAO.

    Pons Asinorum (49e2e8)

  89. ropelight (ec9a8c) — 2/12/2016 @ 7:10 pm

    Trump dumping cash into her pocket would have been a great enhancement too.

    Random Numbers (d5cd81)

  90. Ha ha, I forgot the link: here

    Pons Asinorum (49e2e8)

  91. Haven’t seen it, but I just saw that it was by Mike Judge (Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill).

    nk (dbc370)

  92. You know that if Hillary’s supporters now storm the American consulate in San Francisco it will be because of this video, right?

    nk (dbc370)

  93. What I would like to see are straightforward examples of people lying through their teeth,
    like Clinton talking about how it is patriotic to dissent, then how dissent against Obama is racism
    and make it clear you can’t trust a thing they say

    MD in Philly (deca84)

  94. correction on the by-line

    MD in Philly (still not in Philly and using a different computer since the other one refuses to boot up, TMI) (deca84)

  95. BobStewartat Home,

    Neither ad bothers me. I like both of them. As for the title of the post, I couldn’t come up with anything else other than two ads and one didn’t add up in that it was a problem for the campaign. Perhaps not the best title, but it was all I had at the moment.

    Dana (86e864)

  96. Got a CD in there, MD? (Or a floppy, perish the thought.)

    nk (dbc370)

  97. #91 nk – haha, please don’t give them ideas.

    Also he made Idiocracy, a movie that was originally thought to be a comedy, but now appears to be a prophecy given the re-election of Obama and the current, leading Democrat candidates.

    Pons Asinorum (49e2e8)

  98. I’ll tell you this, when riots break out down at the courthouse in the morning it will be because of this:
    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/in-surprise-shakeup-ohio-art-co-sells-etch-a-sketch-to-spin-master-corp/
    first they out source the making of Dum-dums to Mexico because of sugar prices,
    then they out source the making of etch a sketch to China,
    and now they sell the rights all together, likely because there is nothing to plug into a USB port….
    I have one of the last made in the US in the original packaging
    so there!!!!!

    It comes up saying that it is initializing the Boot Agent,
    and it still is 3 days later after turning it off, unplugging, etc;, etc,
    no discs of anykind

    MD in Philly (still not in Philly, etc.) (deca84)

  99. I know what the conversations down at the diner will be about.

    MD in Philly (still not in Philly, etc.) (deca84)

  100. you can’t know for sure no way

    happyfeet (831175)

  101. Apparently “Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd were appalled” by the Good to be a Gangster Clinton ad.

    http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/226575/#respond

    Pons Asinorum (49e2e8)

  102. I’m not a Cruz supporter, but pulling the ad was a ridiculous panic move by a campaign that has no need to panic.
    First reporter to ask about the Skinemax films, you respond “I haven’t seen those movies. What was your opinion of them?”
    It’s not hard to make a big joke out of the situation (with sex-obsessed reporters as the butt of the joke), and there will not be any votes at risk.

    NickM (63e1a7)

  103. i’m a big Ted Cruz supporter but i think he was wrong to pull the ad with the porn star

    i’ll pray that in the future he’ll have more courage in these decisive moments

    (moments that are just so… decisive)

    i hope you will pray with me

    you will…

    won’t you?

    happyfeet (831175)

  104. I think that ad is awful. It makes HRC look nerd cool able-bodied. The parody is top drawer, and first rate, I just think it makes a selling point of her thug life.

    SarahW (67599f)

  105. was the ad actually run anywhere but youtoobz or tweetarz?

    it makes a difference you know

    i can’t esplane but it do

    happyfeet (831175)

  106. full disclosure: ted cruz ads are ted cruz ads

    which, does that really have anything to do with america?

    c’mon be honest

    does it?

    really?

    i mean c’mon rlly

    happyfeet (831175)

  107. ‘On second thought, pulling the ad will make it get far more attention and placate objections. Maybe it’s a win-win for Cruz.’DRJ

    Bingo!

    By the way, do any of you have a link to these Amy Lindsay films so I can make up my own mind about their artistic value – you know, in the name of science and good government.

    ThOR (a52560)

  108. The Cruz campaign has been a tour de force of confident, creative politicking. I’m loving it.

    ThOR (a52560)

  109. Doc, this sounds like my experience with Win 8.1. I gave up on the poor thing after it exhibited the symptoms you mentioned, and bought a new laptop. I found that I could install the old laptop’s hard drive in a fairly inexpensive enclosure with a USB port, and access all my files (after passing them thru Norton.) So nothing was lost, other than a week or two of my time. The brand new Win 7 laptop, made in China, with quad 64-bit Intel parallel processors, has been good, and it cost a bit under $400 with lots of random access memory (or whatever it’s called today) and a big hard drive (a terabyte or two.) Except every few hours I get a popup from MS asking me if I want to “upgrade” to Win 10. They claim 110 million have done so and are quite happy. But it’s been 110 million since September, so I wonder what those who upgraded more recently think. My wife is braver than I am, and she exercised the upgrade offer on an older W 7 desktop, and so far, it’s worked fine. I’ve got a little time before the offer expires, but I think I’ll wait until the deadline. And I don’t have a touch screen, so all the “marvelous” aspects of diddling with the display will not be available. And I have finally learned how to disable those mult-finger command features in my touchpad with Win 7, and I’d hate to have to relearn how to disable all that for a Win 10 “upgrade”.

    I did find that the old laptop was not salvageable, unless I was willing to spend as much on the repair as a new computer would cost. And it would still be chained to Win 8.1. And the poor thing had been built around the operating system, so thoughts of partitioning what was left of the hard drive and booting into Linux wasn’t possible. Or so I was told. I was able to sell the memory chips, and that did pay for the gas consumed driving down to the PC recycling store.

    I miss my old MS-DOS machines. They failed as entertainment and game devices, but as computers they were still understandable, maintainable, and they could do some interesting stuff. I still have an 8087 chip that could be used to power the Space Shuttle’s computer, so they weren’t toys by any means.

    BobStewartatHome (e93157)

  110. Amy Lindsay filmography @ IMDb.

    “Carnal Wishes” from 2015.

    She’s not a porn actress, despite what the title implies. She’s a bit player hoping for a break.

    I hope she get’s it.

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  111. Thanks for the thoughts, Bob.

    I’m waiting for advice from my brother, who knows a lot more than me and is the one who set it up for our parents,
    I was thinking about needing to pull the hard drive and putting it in an enclosure.
    It is a refurbished desktop running Windows 7.

    MD not exactly in Philly (deca84)

  112. OH NO!! The Youtube account with Ms. Lindsay’s ad has been terminated. If you didn’t see it yesterday, it’s gone forever. Nothing but weak electromagnetic waves propagating away from Earth at the speed of light from thousands of computer screens and encrypted wifi signals remain as evidence that it once existed. I thought it was pretty good. An example of how Cruz can successfully spend $18 per vote, while Rubio spends $508 and Bush $1200.

    Another debate tonight. Smaller chorus, some new lines are promised for the Rubio character.

    Unlike past Republican primaries, it looks like it will soon get down to two strong candidates, Trump and Cruz, and that will lead to some interesting clashes. I hesitate to call these things debates since they are hosted by agents of the dark side who exert their influence to trivialize the whole thing. But they do so at the expense of their employers, so there is some hope that they’ll begin to allow the candidates the freedom to express themselves about issues the candidates think are important.

    BobStewartatHome (8c49dc)

  113. Meanwhile, another member of The Religion of Peace attacks in the U.S. while we keep bringing moslems in.

    A Muslim immigrant from Africa unleashed a bloody machete attack on patrons at a restaurant owned by a Christian Arab Israeli in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday night and the FBI is now investigating it as a possible act of “lone-wolf” terrorism.

    CBS News was first to identify the attacker, who entered the Nazareth Mediterranean Restaurant and began slashing people, as a man named Mohamed Barry. CBS reported Barry had a background from Somalia but a family friend told WND Saturday that Barry was originally from Guinea in west Africa. Columbus Police have yet to confirm his country of origin.

    Mohammad Barry. Sounds like a great nom de plume for Obama. BTW, how is an entire religion declaring war on us “lone-wolf” terrorism?

    Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27)

  114. It also amuses me that neither the perpetrator nor the target were Americans. We have so many damn immigrants they are warring against each other now.

    Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27)

  115. Charles Murray has a great article up over at the AEI website. It should not be missed.

    ThOR (a52560)

  116. no offense but i weary of being told i have to analyze Mr. The Donald like it’s a headscratcher what’s going on

    Team R failed

    i don’t wanna suck my thumb about it (i ride public transportation in chicago – jesus god in heaven knows where my thumb has been)

    happyfeet (831175)

  117. Bulba led his sons into the principal room of the hut; and two pretty servant girls wearing coin necklaces, who were arranging the apartment, ran out quickly. They were either frightened at the arrival of the young men, who did not care to be familiar with anyone; or else they merely wanted to keep up their feminine custom of screaming and rushing away headlong at the sight of a man, and then screening their blushes for some time with their sleeves.

    The good old days shall not return.
    (And the rocks may melt, and the seas may burn, but that’s a different story.)

    nk (dbc370)

  118. I know this isn’t super important, but how come there’s no “I’m Ted Cruz and I approve this message” voiceover at the end of the Clinton ad? I thought that was mandatory now.

    JVW (9e3c77)

  119. Good question, JVW. I don’t know the answer and maybe this is a mistake. But if this ad is only made available at the Ted Cruz website, then it could be that the FEC rules requiring spoken disclaimer don’t apply. I think only “public communications” have to have a spoken disclaimer but the definitions say that “[g]eneral public political advertising does not include Internet ads, except for communications placed for a fee on another person’s web site.”

    DRJ (15874d)

  120. six things what Ted Cruz are approve more than this ad:

    1.) butt snuffling on Kim Davis

    2.) goldy sacky tricks on lispy fruit loop Dr. Ben Carson

    3.) Obamatrade!

    4.) hanging his harvardtrash diploma in the oval office antechamber so is in you face when you go visit

    5.) a tasty assortment of crystal light

    6.) Mike Bickle

    happyfeet (831175)

  121. I think only “public communications” have to have a spoken disclaimer but the definitions say that “[g]eneral public political advertising does not include Internet ads, except for communications placed for a fee on another person’s web site.”

    Only a room full of bloviating lawyers could come up with something as dumb as that. It’s just too damn easy to require all political ads to have a claimer.

    Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27)

  122. and the blood will dry underneath my nails and the wind will rise up to fill my sails

    happyfeet (831175)

  123. disclaimers are stupid anyways

    for the failmerican government to regulate speech it should first prove that it can regulate itself

    go ahead

    ask sleazy corrupt Loretta about that, and give disgraced former governor Sarah Palin’s sugar daddy Orrin Snatchhatch a hearty thank you for confirming her

    happyfeet (831175)

  124. Mr. Feet, what do you have against Crystal Light?

    Beldar (fa637a)

  125. happyfeet- you should know if it were not for Mr. Ted at the FTC you would not be able to buy goods on line from small businesses.
    Thought you would appreciate the observation. your welcome.
    Cruz/West

    mg (31009b)

  126. i can’t find a configuration of it at amazon that feels like value – and you have to sort through so so so many different ones

    i’ll probably just grab some at mariano’s later – not that i’ll get a better deal it’s just not worth spending anymore time on it

    i thought about checking out jet cause I’ve never used it before but there’s just no relationship there – they need to hook a pikachu up with some sort of introductory promo code or something

    happyfeet (831175)

  127. ooh that sounds like a big plus in Mr. Ted’s column

    i will google

    happyfeet (831175)

  128. For most of its history, the FTC has focused on private conduct that harms competition, such as (allegedly) anticompetitive mergers. Under Cruz’s leadership,the FTC instead targeted governmental conduct that harms competition.

    good on you Mr. Cruz I hope this is indicative of how you would use your awesome presidency powers

    …for justice!

    happyfeet (831175)

  129. oh. they give you 15% off your first order

    that’s not a compelling exchange where you give me 15% off on my tasty crystal light and I give you my credit card number

    try harder, jetpickles

    happyfeet (831175)

  130. ok i’m a wanton wanton pickle i went ahead and did the jet

    I got 10 Crystal Light Cherry Pomegranate Drink Mix (10-Quart), 2.2 Ounce Canister

    and 10 Crystal Light Drink Mix – Concord Grape (makes 12 Quarts), 2.01 Ounce Canister

    which is odd, no? But whatever. Free shipping.

    It came to $38.70 total, and i have now Accomplished Something with my day.

    happyfeet (831175)

  131. now i’m a see what amazon woulda been

    happyfeet (831175)

  132. yeah amazon’s still just trying to completely rape me

    Advantage: jet.com

    happyfeet (831175)

  133. 127- I have friends that own vineyards in Cantafordya and were devastated when I told them Mr. Ted was responsible for interstate wine sales on the internet. Millionaire buffoons that have no idea who to vote for.

    mg (31009b)

  134. that’s a really good quality on Mr. Ted Cruz

    amazon has wine I never ordered any though

    the taxes here in Illinois on that sort of thing, they’re completely predatory

    happyfeet (831175)

  135. Mr. Ted worked with both sides while he was at the FTC and many of the changes he made are still in place.
    Trump has did nothing remotely close to helping small business compared to Ted’s time at the FTC.

    mg (31009b)

  136. i did splurge and get a few bottles of metaxa from the liquor store down the block – it’s literally just a block down the street and the owner just got robbed by 4 armed thugs it was on the tv cause there was footage from the store cams

    very scary it was at 8 pm which is when i’m passing there on way home a lot of nights

    chicago has a lot of crime to where it’s hard to have altogether positive feelings about where this city is headed

    happyfeet (831175)

  137. here’s a fun fact for Mr. nk

    Metaxa is not only one of just two Greek industries that survived both World Wars but both were founded in the curious year of 1888; the other is Karelia Fine Tobaccos SA, the one and only to be still 100% under its original & founding Greek family.

    it’s kinda hard to get your head around that idea

    happyfeet (831175)

  138. The U.S. government said Assad was “deluded” if he thought there was a military solution to the conflict.

    classic textbook projection

    so sad

    happyfeet (831175)

  139. Btw Andrew Klavan of PJ Media wrote the script for the ad, so he says.

    His copy of the ad still works.

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  140. oh my goodness dead judge dead judge

    happyfeet (831175)

  141. i suspect foul play

    happyfeet (831175)

  142. Just heard that Justice Scalia died today 🙁

    Chuck Bartowski (11fb31)

  143. national soros radio doesn’t have the dead judge story yet

    at the top of the site they have this instead

    In Trump’s German Ancestral Village, The Locals Are Not Impressed

    happyfeet (831175)

  144. R.I.P. Antonin Scalia

    Icy (28933e)

  145. “Rumors of my demise are in error… pure applesauce.”

    – Justice Antonin Scalia

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  146. oh my goodness he didn’t even rate a drudge siren

    happyfeet (831175)

  147. 🙁

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  148. Scalia’s sense of humor, philosophy and steadfast defense of our Constitution will be his legacy.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  149. It is not a rumor. It’s been confirmed by, among others, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. I am sad beyond words. Mr. Justice Scalia was one of my heroes, personally and professionally.

    I am also apprehensive. Here is what I fear:

    TR was rumored to have offered William Howard Taft a SCOTUS seat, which for most of his life Taft would have vastly preferred to being POTUS. Oddly enough, once he was in the White House, though, Taft wanted to stay there; perhaps it was the oversized bathtub. At any rate, citing this as precedent:

    President Obama resigns, and while disavowing any quid pro quo with the broadest of winks, President Biden appoints Obama to Scalia’s seat.

    Obama is probably the only person whom the Democrats could nominate right now, mid election-season, that would be relatively sure to pick up enough GOP defectors in the Senate to get confirmed (lest they be labeled “RAAAAACISTS” for not supporting the eminent constitutional law professor cough cough).

    This solves Obama’s problem, which is that he’s tired of being President but not tired of power or prestige.

    This solves Biden’s problem, which is that the only other excuse under which he could get in the race right now would be if Hillary were to be indicted.

    This solves the Democrats’ problem, which is that they need an excuse to get out of this election cycle in which their two contenders are an ancient Democratic-Socialist muppet and the woman rapidly being recognized within her own party as the single most untrustworthy person in America.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  150. if so then it’s time to break stuff

    happyfeet (831175)

  151. Sorry, left out a phrase that makes the precedent unclear. While Taft (TR’s hand-picked successor) as POTUS, TR was rumored to have promised Taft a SCOTUS seat if Taft would step aside and allow TR to run again, rather than running for reelection himself.

    Anyway: There may be no phrase in the English language that terrifies me more right now than: “Mr. Justice Obama.”

    Beldar (fa637a)

  152. An only child, Scalia was born in Trenton, New Jersey, on March 11, 1936.[7] His father, Salvatore Eugene Scalia, was an Italian immigrant from Sicily, who later became a professor of Romance languages at Brooklyn College.[8] Eugene was a graduate student and clerk at the time of his son’s birth. Antonin’s mother, Catherine Panaro Scalia, was born in Trenton, to Italian immigrant parents, and worked as an elementary school teacher.[8]

    When Antonin was six years old, the Scalia family moved to Elmhurst, Queens, in New York City. After completing eighth grade in public school,[9] he obtained a scholarship to Jesuit Xavier High School in Manhattan,[10] where he graduated first in his class.[11] He later stated that he spent much of his time on schoolwork, and admitted, “I was never cool.”[12]

    Classmate and future New York State official William Stern remembered Scalia in his high school days:

    This kid was a conservative when he was 17 years old. An archconservative Catholic. He could have been a member of the Curia. He was the top student in the class. He was brilliant, way above everybody else.

    Requiescat in pace

    (Latin, which is of Italian heritage, like Justice Scalia, linking back to Requiem by Mozart.)

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  153. poor little stock market come tuesday

    sell sell sell sell everything the failmerican government can touch grab or finger

    buy all the gold

    buy while your failmerican dollars still can

    happyfeet (831175)

  154. Beldar- I was just terribly sad. After reading your insightful post, I now have an upset stomach.

    mg (31009b)

  155. #148 sounds like a horror novel, Beldar.

    If you ever consider quitting the day job….

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  156. I keep hoping it’s a false report, but doesn’t look like it. Rest in peace, Justice Scalia.

    What happens now? Do the Republicans in the Senate leave the choice for the next president, or do they roll over and let Obama alter the balance of the court for a generation? It only takes 40 votes to stop it, and the R’s are in majority, so they easily could, but my guess is they won’t. My guess is more kabuki theater, where they reject the first pick and accept the second, no matter the reality of the pick. GOPe in action.

    I’d prefer him as president, but failing that, I’d love to see Ted Cruz in the SC; he did great as solicitor general of Texas.

    On the other hand… Beldar, above, has an interesting scenario; Obama resigns and Biden picks him.

    Arizona CJ (da673d)

  157. With a paucity of reliable, non-PC conservatives on the Supreme Court, and the current occupant in the White House undoubtedly salivating to swing the court further left, the news about Scalia’s death today is another dark cloud looming over America.

    With mostly contentious, flawed, if not outright horrible, candidates running for the presidency, the world’s economy gyrating wildly, controversies on immigration and dueling cultures/religions roiling both Europe and the US, and potential military debacles brewing in places like Syria and East Asia, the warning sign is starting to flash up ahead.

    Mark (8fe6db)

  158. The left is exceeding its usual classless self in the wake of the news. I think I’m going to stay off social media for a while.

    Chuck Bartowski (11fb31)

  159. papertiger, I will say: We share a taste in music for this occasion and, I think, a respect for the late Mr. Justice Scalia.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  160. Terrible, terrible news about the brilliant Scalia. He seemed to have such a love of life and of our country that he had earned another decade or two.

    Also terrible for the country. Obama will turn this into a Sh** storm of political controversy, whether he chooses to submit a replacement nomination or not.

    Patricia (5fc097)

  161. One statement of Scalia’s that has stuck with me through the years came when he explained how he was able to function on the court, and be friends with other justices who were diametrically opposed to his judicial philosophy:

    He said that he attacked people not ideas, because (and I think this part is a direct quote) “some very good people have some very bad ideas.”

    Let’s remember that on political blocs. Attack the ideas, come up with better ideas. Argue fairly and rationally. And keep the personal insults on the schoolyard where they belong.

    Chuck Bartowski (11fb31)

  162. If Obama can do what Beldar suggests, his transformation into Nixon will be complete.

    DRJ (15874d)

  163. Having said that, I don’t think Obama wants to work anymore. He will nominate a liberal sycophant and that will be his legacy. In addition, McConnell will roll over while claiming there’s nothing he can do. The only question is whether the blue State Senators — many of whom are running for re-election — will fall in line withat Obama. Answer: They will, because they value their own re-election more than they care about conservatism or the Court.

    DRJ (15874d)

  164. Ooops…I meant to say Scalia attacked ideas, not people. Geez, I am getting too old to be posting.

    Chuck Bartowski (11fb31)

  165. This solves Obama’s legacy problem. He won’t need a Democratic successor if he can hand liberals the Court.

    DRJ (15874d)

  166. Interesting thought by Beldar but wouldn’t Obama have to clear the gop controlled judiciary committee first? Unless it is a sure bet I don’t think that scenario is likely. Getting himself on the court via President Hemail server is a different thing altogether

    vor2 (494009)

  167. “He’s dead, Jim.” — Dr. Leonard McCoy

    DCSCA (a343d5)

  168. obama’s not smart enough to be a berobed supreme court p.o.s.

    he’s dumber than sotomayor even

    happyfeet (831175)

  169. plus he’s way too good looking

    happyfeet (831175)

  170. Here is a list of the Senate Judiciary Committee members. There are 11 Republicans and 9 Democrats. I think a nominee would only need 2 Republican votes. I see more than 2 Senators that I think would switch.

    DRJ (15874d)

  171. DRJ these are the ten sleazy R-holes who voted to confirm corrupt justice-perverter Loretta Lynch

    Kelly Ayotte
    Ron Johnson
    Mark Kirk
    Rob Portman
    Thad Cochran
    Susan Collins
    Jeff Flake
    Lindsey Graham
    Orrin Hatch
    Mitch McConnell

    happyfeet (831175)

  172. DRJ, I was hoping you’d comment and tell us all some reason why my nightmare scenario couldn’t happen. Yikes.

    If they don’t want to work hard, Supreme Court Justices don’t have to work very hard. I think Obama would love to be on the Court. He could collect salary there plus his presidential pension. Clerks to read, digest, and write everything; all he has to do is show up and make an occasional tendentious speech during oral arguments. Mr. Justice Marshall, among many others, was famous for having retired while not actually retiring.

    The only reason he might not want to be on the Court is because Justices are supposed to be discreet, and he has a big mouth that he loves to run, in which he’s the star of every story. But then again, you know who enforces judicial ethics for the SCOTUS? That’s right — it’s the SCOTUS.

    Somewhere else just now I saw speculation that Obama might appoint Hillary. That ain’t gonna happen while indictment rumors swirl (although I discount those).

    Biden would get the benefit of having been free from scrutiny or fire for the last year or so. If he’s an incumbent, don’t you think he could probably grab all the Dems’ super-delegates?

    And if Obama resigns, then Biden gets to name a new Veep, subject to Senate confirmation. Who might that be? It’s an amazing plum to be able to hand out at this point in an election cycle, and the Senate might be a lot looser in confirming a Veep who’s up for reelection in just a few months anyway.

    I hope I’m being paranoid.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  173. Primary season we’re supposed to throw mud at each other. It’s kind of like the celebrity roast.

    But we’re all friends at the end of the day I hope.
    And this is a blow for all of us the same.

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  174. Re-reading the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, my memory is refreshed: A vice presidential replacement has to be confirmed by a majority vote of both Houses.

    There’s no way Hillary, or probably any other nominee, could get a majority vote in the current House of Representatives.

    Meaning that if Obama resigns, and the House refuses to confirm a successor to Biden as Veep, the Veep position might remain open through the next election and inauguration. During that interim, Paul Ryan, as Speaker of the House, would be next in line for the presidency in the event of Biden’s death or incapacity.

    This could get very weird.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  175. Think of the possibility, Obama being Borked on CSPAN in a Senate judiciary hearing.

    Cheers.

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  176. With the Supreme Court’s recent decisions on the key issues of the ACA healthcare law and same-sex marriage already favoring the left, in one crucial way the failings of the court to prevent the nation from devolving further into liberal quicksand does make the third branch of government already seem like a done deal and lost cause.

    However, given the other major ruling on campaign finance reform, which, by contrast, irritated plenty of liberals, and which such people therefore will recall as a reason why even more justices of the left are necessary, the desire to further pack the court won’t be necessarily any more easily satiated among that crowd in the upcoming months.

    Mark (8fe6db)

  177. Can’t wait to see who King Putt nominates to replace Scalia!

    Icy (28933e)

  178. Well, I was right. Obama will nominate a successor. I shudder to think…

    Patricia (5fc097)


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