Patterico's Pontifications

9/25/2018

Anti-Kavanaugh Mob Chases Ted Cruz and Wife Out of Restaurant

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:09 am



Fake News CNN:

Sen. Ted Cruz was forced to leave a Washington restaurant Monday after left-wing activists swarmed the senator, heckling him with chants and demanding to know his position on embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

In two videos posted to Twitter, a small group of activists can be seen confronting the Texas Republican and his wife, Heidi, as the couple makes their way to a table at Fiola, an Italian restaurant near the Capitol building.

The videos have garnered more than 1.2 million views since they were posted late Monday.

I guess we have to watch it now:

I don’t understand why Cruz allowed himself to be chased off. It’s tough to know what you would actually do in that situation, but I’d like to think I’d stay put and wait for the restaurant to eject the trespassers.

Mobs can’t be allowed to win. You give in here, and it has consequences down the road.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]

144 Responses to “Anti-Kavanaugh Mob Chases Ted Cruz and Wife Out of Restaurant”

  1. Ding.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  2. How you conduct yourself—with honor and courtesy and honesty—defines who you are. Our whole culture is debased, and so many people use “the other side does it” as an excuse.

    I can promise you that these mob members and bullies (because that is what they are) would object strenuously if someone did exactly what they are doing to someone they like.

    Just like at the end of “Animal Farm,” are the leaders of our tribal factions different? I think of that when the Left goes after Cruz, and I hear supposed conservatives sound no different: insults about education, personal appearance, spouses.

    It’s very hard to stand alone, Patterico, especially in our tribal times. The mob was shameful, but they feel glee.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  3. Except those mobs become the Brigitte the faction, and the Weatherman in other places and times, and later faculty and administrators

    Narciso (010b96)

  4. Cruz left because he was there with his wife. He would have a difficult time to take care of himself and her. Moreover, the restaurant did nothing to get the riff-raff ejected. And had police came, the officers might have ask him to leave as to avoid a physical riot inside this restaurant. So, I don’t think Cruz had anything to gain by staying.

    AZ Bob (885937)

  5. He probably left because he was with his wife. It’s one thing to assume the risk yourself – it’s another to expose your loved ones to it. The Left’s harassment of conservatives really needs to become an issue. Imagine if this had been the tactics of the Tea Party. Since we can’t rely on a horribly biased media to do anything, coming up with a response – like immediately involving the police or private security – something. Someone is going to get killed at this rate. D.GOOCH

    GOOCH (59ab0b)

  6. There’s no shortage of restaurants in DC. If one cannot guarantee me a quiet meal with my wife, there’s no reason I should give it my money.

    Not to mention the elephant in the room. How did the mob know the Cruzes would be there if not by being tipped off by a restaurant employee when they made the reservation?

    nk (dbc370)

  7. I think these fascists follow their targets around. The DOJ mole said she used government databases to find them and target them.

    I had the same though about Cruz…what would I have done? I think the next time this happens, the victim should dial 911 immediately. He is being threatened. The restaurant and patrons will do nothing. Call in the law. It’s only a matter of time before the mob gets violent.

    He could also sue the organization. Might be fun to find out who is funding them.

    Patricia (3363ec)

  8. I’d love to know what the counter tactic is for this. Decent people don’t do this kind thing but the totalitarian Left jettisoned decency ages ago. So how do you counter a screaming pack of rabid Progressives, Patterico? And then there’s Antifa, demonstrably capable of injuring and even killing you and eagerly announcing their intent to do so on social media.

    Does a duly elected GOP official need a volunteer 50-man escort everywhere he/she goes ready to roll in on the braying asses the instant they get in their face to harass the pols AND their family members?

    If the police demonstrate to the public they are helpless against this threat as AZ Bob suggests, what choice is there for citizens who want to protect themselves, their families and resist this aggressive effort to deny them their freedom to speak, assemble and/or just be left to enjoy their lives unmolested?

    A10Pilot (0a2a39)

  9. Dining with your wife and being confronted by a mob……yeah that’s a toughie…

    All of these punks just broke the law, think anything will result?
    __ _

    This is what many Democrats, liberals and the rest of the Left want to be the new normal.

    It’s just a variation on what they are doing to Kavanaugh, unreasoned mobs demanding that conservatives should have no expectations for propriety or even an unharrassed life as long as they oppose the Groupthink.

    This is getting worse by the month, I wonder what’s coming next.

    harkin (a4b010)

  10. I’m with nk
    If the restaurant doesn’t want Cruz there or wants him attacked, they are not about to call the police. Cruz would have to make the call.
    The left is ginning up these guys, antifa and a few other groups to harrass, intimidate, assault the people it has deemed “fascist, racist” etc. Ask Steve Scalise how it might end

    Someone conservative will get killed, others will have their lives turned out like Kavanaugh.Its on, and the left and its media don’t care what its “shock troops” do.
    Look at how amoral they are willing to be right now towards Kavanaugh… the truth means nothing, the rules on means to an end are in the hands of creeps and thugs.
    The left has gone batshit crazy over Trump and like him or hate him, he sure has drawn the left out and into showing their true colors

    steveg (a9dcab)

  11. #8 A10

    If you flew the A-10 you have my admiration and thanks.

    I’d recommend that conservatives learn the local laws in Maryland, Virgina and DC on self defense.
    Maybe the GOP should put an attorney who specializes in that on retainer and also employ some people who can offer training

    steveg (a9dcab)

  12. After Scalise, I suspect the GOP is more likely to identify who is a target and provide them protection — probably Capitol police at taxpayer expense. Right now the Senate Judiciary committee members are targets.

    DRJ (46c88f)

  13. I don’t understand why Cruz allowed himself to be chased off.

    For the same reason he lost to Trump. He lacks the fight. Or more accurately, he’s not one to step outside of so-called “proper behavior” even when it is totally justified. Maybe it’s because he’s a lawyer and assessed the situation from the context of law rather than the context of being a human being. I’m not saying it’s easy what with his wife being there and such, but OTOH I seriously doubt his wife was in any real danger. It’s a restaurant full of people. He would not have had to protect his wife by himself. As little as I think of where our society has gone, even DC society, I do not believe for one minute a room full of people would stand by while a 46 year old woman was being harmed by a “mob” much smaller than the mass of people present.

    Ultimately, are he or his wife safer because they ran from a mob or would they, in the bigger picture, be safer if he stood his ground and fought?

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  14. They were in the Capitol. The Dems control the local government and the police. Even if the police got there, they wouldn’t roust the protestors and they wouldn’t be punished for all the minor lawbreaking they’d probably done.

    Ingot9455 (afdf95)

  15. The Dems control the local government and the police. Even if the police got there, they wouldn’t roust the protestors and they wouldn’t be punished

    See, this is the very sort of gator-arms excuse making typical of a losing attitude. This is still no excuse not to fight back.

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  16. It’s a little more serious them that:

    https://mobile.twitter.com/FarLeftWatch/status/1044573931930308608

    Narciso (010b96)

  17. So the group that heckled Cruz has called for pences assassination, we need more of this civility,

    Narciso (010b96)

  18. Prominent Republicans and conservatives like Cruz need to plan ahead and expect this sort of thing. They need to be accompanied by security and videography people. The security to actively protect them, the videographer to get good quality information on those doing the assaulting. Because assault is what it is.

    Indeed, the right should consider issuing enough information to tempt these creeps out of their rat holes. “The Cruz family will be dining at Chez Fancyfrog this evening…” Ten or twenty thugs, arrested, charged, ground through the court system and hopefully incarcerated with a permanent felony conviction will do wonders pour encourager les autres.

    Of course, asking the Stupid Party to “plan ahead” is a foolish request. Oh well.

    Fred Z (05d938)

  19. It’s a college full of people. He would not have had to protect his life by himself. As little as I think of where our society has gone, even Berkeley society, this is the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement!! I do not believe for one minute a courtyard full of people would stand by while a….. HOLY HECK those guys in black are smashing windows, setting fires and swinging clubs and bike locks at people that are peacefully supporting Ben Shapiro!!”

    Fixed

    harkin (a4b010)

  20. WTH should decent people have to “plan ahead” for a simple dinner out? I am quite sure these restaurants, especially given it’s DC with lawyers on every corner and two in every bathroom, have security cameras already installed. They should have security on staff. They should by now know that such things are likely to happen. WTH in a town full of lawyers is this not a reasonable expectation given the current political atmosphere? If lawyers out here in flyoverlandia are descending upon apartment complexes and other businesses whenever a crime is committed on their premises, why shouldn’t these restaurants have the pants sued off of them if someone is assaulted and/or harmed on their premises?

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  21. “It’s a college full of people. He would not have had to protect his life by himself. As little as I think of where our society has gone, even Berkeley society, this is the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement!! I do not believe for one minute a courtyard full of people would stand by while a….. HOLY HECK those guys in black are smashing windows, setting fires and swinging clubs and bike locks at people that are peacefully supporting Ben Shapiro!!”

    Fixed!

    BS. A restaurant, especially one in DC high end enough to host a prominent senator, is in no way compatible with a college, especially one like Berkeley. A very, very different situation. And again, the gator-arms looser mentality shines through.

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  22. Pathetic that no one came to help him. Damn, I wish I would have been dining in this dump.
    And my wife carries.

    mg (9e54f8)

  23. …or just have some speak-easies and party houses for those of like political mind. But no, for now you gotta bring an entourage reminiscent of a pro boxer/MMA fighter or a cartel figurehead.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  24. According to Cory Booker, this act was unconstitutional

    U.S. Constitution – Article 1 Section 6
    They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

    Neo (d1c681)

  25. i think Ted was more embarrassed he got caught out at a restaurant where you easily drop $500 bucks for dinner for two

    he really doesn’t have his head in this whole “let’s get reelected” game does he

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  26. You reaching, happyfeet.

    mg (9e54f8)

  27. I find it interesting that these mobs don’t descend on General Mattis when he and his wife are out to dinner. How do you suppose he would have handled this differently?

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  28. How could a republican even think about eating in a restaurant in d.c.?
    Food poisoning is next.

    mg (9e54f8)

  29. General Mattis is a lick-lick Democrat

    no idea about his wife

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  30. Here’s another thought…just to compromise a bit with the “plan ahead” theory…How about every person dining in DC or any other politically charged city make it their policy when approaching the host/hostess stand to ask about security. It’s not so much for oneself but I can’t imagine dropping a couple c-notes on dinner with my wife and/or friends on some special occasion and having it ruined by a screeching mob. I don’t live is such an area myself but if I for whatever reason find myself in DC or possibly NYC, which I do visit every couple of years, I plan to ask such questions. I think if enough people start to put this sort of pressure on the restaurants the owners will get a little backbone and be more proactive about this crap.

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  31. General Mattis is a lick-lick Democrat

    Not that I buy that, I don’t honestly know either way and I suspect neither does the average mob. He does work for Trump, therefore point still stands.

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  32. Just like at the end of “Animal Farm,” are the leaders of our tribal factions different? I think of that when the Left goes after Cruz, and I hear supposed conservatives sound no different: insults about education, personal appearance, spouses.

    Yes, yes they are. I’ll start thinking of that when any significant figure on the left is run out of a restaurant by a mob. Actually, I’d be willing to start thinking about it when any “leader” not on the left even started suggesting it.

    Maybe, if you’re frustrated with “the other side does it” excuse, we can focus on stopping the left from “going after” (aka physical harassment and intimidation) people.

    frosty48 (6226c1)

  33. Conservatives need to start harassing Tom Donahue from the commie chamber of commerce and any one in his family.
    Just do it. And this crap will go away.

    mg (9e54f8)

  34. Truly shameful behavior from the mini-mob.

    OP .. I don’t understand why Cruz allowed himself to be chased off. It’s tough to know what you would actually do in that situation, but I’d like to think I’d stay put and wait for the restaurant to eject the trespassers.

    I’m not much of a Cruz fan (and yes, I know his colleagues feel the same pretty much – ba-ding), but I don’t fault him for leaving. imo there was little likelihood that anyone was going to get physically hurt (absent some moron pulling out a gun), but it was likely going to be an uncomfortable, loud, disruptive 5 or 10 or 20 minutes before the cops got there and squared things away, and I frankly don’t have much faith in cops’ ability to defuse-and-protect. Not that they can’t do a good (or terrific) job in that respect, but one can easily and fairly doubt that that will generally be the “default” result.

    Meanwhile, it wasn’t just Cruz’ dinner that was being boistered about and upset. There were at least several other couples or plain patrons in that bistro, who (I venture) hadn’t made their dining choices having factored in the brouhaha which was abounding. Even though I’m not a Cruz fan, I’d like to think his choice to leave was grounded, in significant part, by that reality, and by his consideration of his fellow diners.

    Q! (86710c)

  35. Conservatives need to start harassing Tom Donahue from the commie chamber of commerce and any one in his family.
    Just do it. And this crap will go away.

    No. That is obviously wrong. Stand up to these bullies and fight them where they make the trouble. That will make this crap go away. I’m not one to fumble over propriety but how about we start fighting back in the moment first and see how well that works? If it fails, I’m with you.

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  36. If you haven’t learned by now, the media is a relentless, colluding political and cultural adversary.

    Colluding… collusion… say, whatever happened to teh Russian Collusion?

    Colonel Haiku (d82f96)

  37. Mary Jane heard the “plan ahead” theory and laughed and laughed; she knows that’s what whites told blacks during jim crowe.

    frosty48 (6226c1)

  38. Truly shameful behavior from the mini-mob.

    OP .. I don’t understand why Cruz allowed himself to be chased off. It’s tough to know what you would actually do in that situation, but I’d like to think I’d stay put and wait for the restaurant to eject the trespassers.

    I’m not much of a Cruz fan (and yes, I know his colleagues feel the same pretty much – ba-ding), but I don’t fault him for leaving. imo there was little likelihood that anyone was going to get physically hurt (absent some maroon pulling out a gun), but it was likely going to be an uncomfortable, loud, disruptive 5 or 10 or 20 minutes before the cops got there and squared things away, and I frankly don’t have much faith in cops’ ability to defuse-and-protect. Not that they can’t do a good (or terrific) job in that respect, but one can easily and fairly doubt that that will generally be the “default” result.

    Meanwhile, it wasn’t just Cruz’ dinner that was being boistered about and upset. There were at least several other couples or plain patrons in that bistro, who (I venture) hadn’t made their dining choices having factored in the brouhaha which was abounding. Even though I’m not a Cruz fan, I’d like to think his choice to leave was grounded, in significant part, by that reality, and by his consideration of his fellow diners.

    Q! (86710c)

  39. The Daily Beast identified the restaurant as Fiola, an upscale Italian eatery near the Smithsonian Institution.

    This apparently is the restaurant Cruz was chased out of. Before making reservations there I highly suggest asking about security. Ask for guarantees about your safety and what they may be doing to keep this from happening again. God knows the media won’t ask these questions.

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  40. You’ve made it plain you’re no fan of Cruz, so you may live another day.

    “First they came for the Cruz fans and I… “

    Colonel Haiku (d82f96)

  41. These hoodlums are funded by Donahue, Soros, Zuckerburg, Bezos and the like. Time to disrupt the eating habits of the self appointed elites..

    mg (9e54f8)

  42. You’re right. Cruz should’ve stayed, which would have forced the restaurant manager to choose between kicking out Cruz (a la Sarah Sanders) or the screamers.

    Paul Montagu (0e687b)

  43. And again, the gator-arms looser mentality shines through.

    Skorcher (5b282a) — 9/25/2018 @ 9:10 am

    Is this directed at harkin or Republicans in general?

    DRJ (15874d)

  44. he really doesn’t have his head in this whole “let’s get reelected” game does he

    More to the point, I guess it may be difficult for his opponent to call him on it, but running away doesn’t really synergize with his “Tough as Texas” campaign theme, either.

    Standing up to them would have sent a stronger message, but if he was outnumbered and genuinely fearful for his wife’s safety, then he did the right thing regardless.

    Dave (445e97)

  45. I think the way to counter this tactic is to expose the mob. Cruz should calmly take photos of all of them, clear facial photos. Then have his staff come to the restaurant and follow these people out and take photos of the cars license plates they drove. Then post all this info and let people locate these people and find out where they work and who they are and what they do. I think several of them might not like having their lives exposed and this would act as a deterrent.

    TomK (1cda1b)

  46. what if Ted was one of us

    just a slob like one of us

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  47. I think the way to counter this tactic is to expose the mob. Cruz should calmly take photos of all of them, clear facial photos. Then have his staff come to the restaurant and follow these people out and take photos of the cars license plates they drove. Then post all this info and let people locate these people and find out where they work and who they are and what they do. I think several of them might not like having their lives exposed and this would act as a deterrent.

    Or demand that the restaurant do its job to provide a safe and comfortable environment in which to enjoy a multi-hundred dollar meal. I do hope they comp’d his meal and/or he didn’t pay that bill.

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  48. why did my link about the intent of this group, get moderated, crazy anarchist, who has threatened violence against pence and trump,

    narciso (d1f714)

  49. Some words tick off the spam filter.

    DRJ (15874d)

  50. Let me see how if this works:

    narciso (d1f714)

  51. same group, in the link:

    narciso (d1f714)

  52. Fine, you can’t point out that these are potential terrorists, but every other innuendo slips through,

    narciso (d1f714)

  53. There are two good reasons this never happens to Mattis and his wife. One is that the mobs are crazy, not stupid.

    The other is that he isn’t married:

    Mattis has never been married[54] and has no children.[2] He proposed to a woman named Alice Gillis, but she called off the wedding days before it was to occur, not wanting to burden his career.[19] He is nicknamed “The Warrior Monk” because of his bachelorhood and lifelong devotion to the study of war.[127]

    Jim Mattis – Wikipedia

    Eliot (32bbca)

  54. “You’re right. Cruz should’ve stayed, which would have forced the restaurant manager to choose between kicking out Cruz (a la Sarah Sanders) or the screamers.”

    In CA a restaurant manager donated to the Prop 8 campaign a few years ago.

    The mob found out and descended on the restaurant, hounding patrons trying to enter that they supported homophobia and telling the restaurant owner they would be there every day until the manager was fired. The manager quit.

    harkin (a4b010)

  55. “I don’t understand why Cruz allowed himself to be chased off.”

    Total speculation, but my thought is that Cruz may have thought the optics of appearing completely indifferent to the protestors (“That callous blockhead!”) or calling on outside help to roust them (“Tyranny! Tyranny!”) would have been spun more easily for the worse than simply leaving would. It also occurs to me that it may have been basic consideration for everybody else in the restaurant. The Cruzes weren’t the only ones whose dinners were being ruined by the noise and acrimony, I imagine.

    Plus, it’s hard to be prepared for the willingness of your foes to politicize everything when a fundamental plank of your own politics is that not everything is political.

    Stephen J. (308ea7)

  56. It also occurs to me that it may have been basic consideration for everybody else in the restaurant.

    And thus be inconsiderate to people in some restaurant in a politicized city that he may patronize in the future. Let someone else fight these battles. For the love of God, don’t stick your own neck out. Personally, were I having dinner in such a place, while I would like to be bold enough to say what brave and noble thing I would do, I do know one thing I definitely would not do and that would be to hold Cruz and not the mob AND the restaurant owner/manager responsible for disturbing my meal. In addition to what I said above that Cruz hopefully did not pay, as a co-customer I would expect some sort of renumeration for the lack of backbone/security on the part of the establishment.

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  57. Cruz probably thought this harassment is not a campaign but a one-off by too-dedicated protestors. Never thought it would happen to him.

    Nope, it’s a campaign. He needs to watch O’Keefe’s video.

    Patricia (3363ec)

  58. It could go that way, harkin, or Fiola could go the way of the Red Hen Inn and the resultant collateral damage.

    Paul Montagu (0e687b)

  59. Like I needed to. The crucifixa5ion of Brett Kavanagh wil not stand. I check checked.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  60. if you can’t stand the heat stay out of the kitchen. truman other side no more good government mr. nice guy its hardball time stop whining and deal with it!

    lany (349dd8)

  61. I should have spell checked.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  62. Looks like THE NEXT DEMOCRAT PRESIDENTIAL FRONT-RUNNER can’t even keep his Twitter account open to the public:

    https://twitter.com/Michaelavenatti

    As it turns out, you can’t just imitate Trump’s attitude and win everything, you actually have to have substance behind the style. Not being utterly dependent on outside financiers who may or may not burn you to try out a smear campaign also helps.

    Creepy Protected Account (0a8399)

  63. According to 4channers Avennati was PRANKED, looks like they’re in the mood to fight back this election season:

    https://imgur.com/8OASiOp

    Let us all give thanks to the trolls and Tuckers who make these public meltdowns possible.

    Creepy Protected Account (302967)

  64. this Fiola restaurant seems pretty sleazy how it lets trash in to harass people

    they just kinda shrug and say what do you want us to do

    The restaurant staff stared from the perimeter of the crowd, unwilling and perhaps unable to interfere with the escalating spectacle. “We’re not trained to deal with this,” Fiola’s co-owner, Maria Trabocchi, later told The Post. “How do you deal with things like this? It’s crazy times.”

    Trabocchi was aware that flash protests such as this have beset the hospitality industry for months — Trump’s press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was refused a table at a tiny restaurant in rural Virginia; Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) was chased out of a Cuban place last week. The possibility is a risk almost anywhere a prominent Republican shows up to eat.

    Trabocchi had nevertheless hoped that her restaurant was exempt. Politicians from both parties come into Fiola all the time, Trabocchi said. “Everyone except Donald Trump. We’re very bipartisan by nature.”

    i guess it’ll just keep going til it gets to where if you’re an R and you can eat out in DC you’re either understood to be a democrat lick-lick like flake or murkowski or you’re just not of any import at all

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  65. Some words tick off the spam filter.

    you should just use words that are creamy and pleasant

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  66. Breaking- Bill Cosby sentenced; 3 to 10 years in the Big House for sexual assault. Bail revoked- he’ll be doin’ the Pennsylvania Pokie by dusk. On the menu for ‘America’s Dad’: orange jump suit, orange jello.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  67. Trabocchi was aware that flash protests such as this have beset the hospitality industry for months …Trabocchi had nevertheless hoped that her restaurant was exempt.

    Smells like gross negligence to me. Stand your ground and if you get hurt, sue the b@5t@rds.

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  68. Gotta give TedToo credit where it’s due: Canadians have a reputation for being quite polite.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  69. @2. ‘It’s very hard to stand alone…’

    Yes. It is.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  70. @65 Skorcher Smells like gross negligence to me. Stand your ground and if you get hurt, sue the b@5t@rds.

    Funny. What’s the tort? “Failure to Feed” ? (Restatement (2d) Torts §§ xxx-yyy ?)

    Q! (86710c)

  71. 65… that just never gets old, does it.

    Colonel Haiku (d82f96)

  72. Skorcher: I disagree a bit with the usefulness of making the restaurant co-responsible.

    My personal safety is up to me, nobody else. I wouldn’t trust either the owners of or personnel in a DC restaurant – they are 90% lefties. Lefties are better than the right at being willing to sacrifice property and money to achieve their ends, probably because they have a long and successful record of stealing it back from the taxpayer.

    Secondly, part of my suggestion was to provoke these criminals into acting, like bait cars in a parking lot. The more these scum attack Cruz et al. the more votes they get, from an enraged base and sympathetic middle of the road voters.

    Fred Z (05d938)

  73. “Dark humor is like food… not everyone gets it.”

    —- Josef Stalin

    Colonel Haiku (d82f96)

  74. Ever notice how the screechiest agitators in these situations are young women? I don’t think that’s by accident. I think they hope to provoke a physical reaction of some sort, if not an extreme one such as being punched in the face at least a smaller one that can be blown out of proportion such as being shoved to the side as the object of ire attempts to leave. I saw some interesting videos of Antifa (in, I think, Portland) where a young woman protester was absolutely in the faces of the police screaming at them, pointing her finger in their faces, and carrying on like an absolute jerk, then once the cops started breaking up the mob the same woman was shown lying on the ground crying because she had been tear-gassed, hoping to be seen as an object of sympathy to the assembled media. It’s all a choreographed production for the street theater crowd.

    JVW (42615e)

  75. Today Mr. Cosby demonstrated the difference between being ‘famous’ and becoming ‘infamous.’

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  76. …just like El Guapo, he’s so famous he’s Infamous, and they both had a thing for thick wool sweaters.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  77. 71… one day tanks will be deployed to crush teh noisy opposition… inshallah…

    Colonel Haiku (d82f96)

  78. yes yes he should’ve just sat there but remember his wife is very fragile emotionally so maybe that’s just not an option

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  79. Mr. Cosby’s a good person i like him a lot and also his puddin pops

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  80. My personal safety is up to me, nobody else. I wouldn’t trust either the owners of or personnel in a DC restaurant – they are 90% lefties. Lefties are better than the right at being willing to sacrifice property and money to achieve their ends. . . .”

    I have never been in this sort of situation, but I would like to think that if I had been dining in that restaurant and had witnessed the treatment of Senator Cruz as the staff and management passively stood by I would have told the manager on duty that I would be leaving right behind Cruz and that the restaurant should not expect me to pay for my meal (unless of course I had eaten it already, in which case I would be honor-bound to pay). Let them lose the revenue from three or four tables (believe me, restaurant margins are thin enough that this would really hurt) and see if they don’t start to take the safety and protection of their customers a bit more seriously.

    Seriously, any halfway decent restauranteur would have immediately announced to the mob that they were on private property, Senator and Mrs. Cruz were welcome to dine there in peace, and that police would immediately called if the mob didn’t clear out.

    JVW (42615e)

  81. @53: “And thus be inconsiderate to people in some restaurant in a politicized city that he may patronize in the future.”

    You can’t take responsibility for what some people may do in response to your choices in all possible futures. There’s no bottom to that rabbit hole. And elected office isn’t a 24-hour on-call job unless your responsibilities include the nuclear football.

    I agree with the general thesis that it is seldom wise to give way before the mob, but sometimes you just have to pick your battles. Besides, it’s also true that the more this sort of thing happens the worse the Democrats look in general, and as Napoleon famously observed, “Never interrupt your opponent while he is making a mistake.”

    Stephen J. (f77922)

  82. @72 JVW It’s all a choreographed production for the street theater crowd.

    Indeed. And you can play their game, and likely look bad in numerous ways, not the least of which is inviting the potential chaos of bringing the cops into the theater, and continuing a disruption of which ruins the evenings of many of your fellow human beings . . . or you can play your own game. Which is (most fundamentally) to have a pleasant evening dining out. Someplace. Player’s choice. Most savvy players (and most decent considerate human beings, I venture), would end up playing: their. own. game.

    Q! (86710c)

  83. @75

    Take them seriously, not literally.

    Davethulhu (fab944)

  84. Skorcher: I disagree a bit with the usefulness of making the restaurant co-responsible.

    I disagree in general as well. But as I said, when lawyers are suing apartment complexes and other business establishments for “unsafe” environments, given the quotes directly from the owner regarding knowledge of the threat and such, I fail to see the difference. But I’m not a lawyer. I deal in logic not whatever lawyers do. If the one applies I fail to see the difference in the other.

    Funny. What’s the tort?
    If you would read, “Stand your ground and if you get hurt…”. I suppose the restaurant could post signs saying something to the effect of “eat at your own risk”.

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  85. The more these scum attack Cruz et al. the more votes they get, from an enraged base and sympathetic middle of the road voters.

    Hence my theory as to why Cruz may be in cahoots and designed this whole event…it wasnt just the Knowing-is-Half-the-Battle vignettes, but also one GIJOE episode in particular that is instructive here.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  86. Mr. Cosby’s a good person i like him a lot and also his puddin pops

    Mr. Cosby is a serial rapist. The 57th accuser should have finally tipped the scales against him.

    Paul Montagu (0e687b)

  87. Napoleon famously observed, “Never interrupt your opponent while he is making a mistake.”

    Or the alternate, never surrender when your opponent refuses to fight. I think Bob Dylan said that.

    Skorcher (5b282a)

  88. Mr. Cosby is a serial rapist.

    i like him a lot he added a lot of value

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  89. Creepy Protected Account (302967) — 9/25/2018 @ 11:46 am

    Wow.

    Dave (445e97)

  90. “i like him a lot he added a lot of value”

    He also added a lot of Rohyphenol (never adulterate the pudding pops if you want to keep a clean brand, the inspectors hate it when they have to control for non-standard secret ingredients)

    Creepy Protected Account (04b08a)

  91. people like to give him a hard time but deep down he’s a good person

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  92. “I have never been in this sort of situation, but I would like to think that if I had been dining in that restaurant and had witnessed the treatment of Senator Cruz as the staff and management passively stood by I would have told the manager on duty that I would be leaving right behind Cruz and that the restaurant should not expect me to pay for my meal (unless of course I had eaten it already, in which case I would be honor-bound to pay).”

    How about this: “I will gladly pay you next Tuesday for some protestor ass-kicking today”?

    Colonel Haiku (d82f96)

  93. Remember that DC went for Hillary at a greater rate than even black, gay, and Jewish people as a group, those demographics are 100% toxic and will find excuses and exceptions for all bad behavior by Democrat operatives.

    Republicans need to stop patronizing those establishments unless absolutely necessary and start putting together a plan to outsource DC’s federal agencies to various state locations around the country. Punish Northern Virginia and destroy the ACELA power structure!

    Creepy Protected Account (3884dc)

  94. You still have some of these guys in big-ticket government construction due to Davis-Bacon, so why not this in response to the next incident?

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  95. deep down he’s a good person

    Deep down he forced 57 women to experience the Bill Cosby “show” against their will. He’s not just a bad person, he’s evil. Real justice would be him dying in jail. Alone.

    Paul Montagu (0e687b)

  96. It also occurs to me that it may have been basic consideration for everybody else in the restaurant

    This suggests that if he didn’t leave he would be showing a lack of consideration. I think we have to be clear that if he had stayed, the ONLY people being inconsiderate would have been the members of the mob.

    Patterico (dc5dae)

  97. there’s only one rape he got convicted on and that chick is weird i saw her on the dateline when i was in Des Moines

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  98. It’s DC. If the police had been called, Senator Cruz would have been arrested for “incitement.”

    Advocaat (98526b)

  99. Restaurants are places designed to be cozy and relaxed, to antifa and other liberal activists that means BOXED IN AND READY TO AMBUSH

    Creepy Protected Account (ec9399)

  100. In other news, apparently no one wants to actually *talk* to the Big Republican Meanies:

    “Fox News
    ‏Verified account @FoxNews

    .@SenFeinstein can’t guarantee Kavanaugh accuser shows, as Ford bristles over role of female attorney. (via @brookefoxnews)”


    Evan Rosenfeld
    ‏Verified account @Evan_Rosenfeld

    NEW: GOP Sen. John Kennedy said a lawyer for Ramirez told committee staff she would not speak to them about her allegation that Kavanaugh flashed his naked groin in her face during an alcohol-laden party their freshman year.”

    At this point I’m not even sure these accusers are even real people, Democrats are the party of stolen SSNs and having lawyers middleman everything, after all, so who’s to say it even matters if there’s no documented humans in the middle of it all as long as you BELIEVE the story?

    Creepy Protected Account (275318)

  101. At this point I’m not even sure these accusers are even real people, Democrats are the party of stolen SSNs and having lawyers middleman everything, after all, so who’s to say it even matters if there’s no documented humans in the middle of it all as long as you BELIEVE the story?

    Maybe President Trump should look for their birth certificates!

    Dave (445e97)

  102. At this point I’m not even sure these accusers are even real people

    but they’re on Jeff Flake’s christmas card list

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  103. “I think we have to be clear that if he had stayed, the ONLY people being inconsiderate would have been the members of the mob.”

    Oh, absolutely; I wouldn’t have called it “inconsiderate” of Cruz to stay, but when your own dinner is ruined anyway, I can easily see a basically decent person choosing not to spread the misery around if he has a simple and easy option to close it down, especially if he’s tired and annoyed and just wanted a quiet meal with his wife.

    One thing I think has genuinely degraded political discourse in the West is the fact that it is now literally 24-7-365. Nobody can maintain acceptable political standards perfectly and indefinitely, everywhere, everywhen.

    Stephen J. (f77922)

  104. Hey look,

    We are all getting along

    This is awful.

    steveg (a9dcab)

  105. Cruz is a brilliant man, but I’ve come to accept he probably isn’t a great leader. There’s a need to make hard decisions, calmly, with the long term in mind. Cruz was safe in the restaurant. Being bullied inspires the problem. Having a big Tom Delay grin and enjoying his dinner while monsters go after his family is how to win these situations in the long term.

    Politically, this was actually an opportunity. Right now the nation is deciding if the scandal in this appointment is a nasty smear effort by crazy political operatives, or if Kavanaugh is like Trump and loves sexually assaulting people. Cruz didn’t have to say a word or lift a finger to win. Just stand there and let the nation see a man with his wife, perfectly honorable and decent, being attacked for nothing he did.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  106. “Hence my theory as to why Cruz may be in cahoots and designed this whole event”

    Meanwhile, back on earth……..

    harkin (a4b010)

  107. Someone dug up a Biden video from the early 90s telling everyone exactly why they don’t rely on the FBI for the Supreme Court hearings:

    https://twitter.com/elliosch/status/1044713343569858562

    Creepy Protected Account (03a9bd)

  108. Skorcher, please answer my question at 40.

    DRJ (15874d)

  109. But I pointed out what crazy psychos were involved in this direct action, or i would have if the filter dint block the filter, how long before we have a fortyn or bolsanaro incident?

    narciso (d1f714)

  110. Mr. Dustin pretty much nails it at 3:08 i think

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  111. JVW: “…any halfway decent restauranteur would have immediately announced to the mob…”

    I think you make my point. They were not halfway decent restauranteurs, they were leftists. Which is what one should expect in DC. And while Cruz is a bright guy in most ways he shares the Republican idea that most people around him are “nice”, which in DC, New York, LA, silicon valley etc, is sheer stupidity.

    Fred Z (05d938)

  112. Well fortyn was killed by a lefty, who was agitated by skydtagond and mass immigration, or rather fortyns approach to both. Now miss hrabar is no longer at justice for pulling that stunt.

    narciso (d1f714)

  113. “We are all getting along”

    I’m thinking that in deeper life, yes.

    But in the 24 hour news cycle no.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  114. Sky dragons and other matters, gert wilders filled some of that gap, he recently discovered that his body guard wax
    Affiliated with a Moroccan mob.

    narciso (d1f714)

  115. thursday Hi I am brett kavenaugh the 40 year old virgin. they made a movie about me!

    lany (c5eab9)

  116. That’s why you should always eat at Greek restaurants. Gus, George, Jim and Harry, their sons, Nick, Nick, Nick and Nick, the other wait staff Miguel, Hernando, and Francisco, and the other kitchen staff Osvaldo, Osmani, Esteban and Joaquin, would know what to do without any training.

    (Previously posted on wrong thread.)

    nk (dbc370)

  117. …Mr. Cosby is a serial rapist. The 57th accuser should have finally tipped the scales against him.

    Paul Montagu (0e687b) — 9/25/2018 @ 12:45 pm

    I resent you denigrating my nom de internet.

    Sincerely, Steve57.

    And no I’m not

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  118. Heh.

    DRJ (15874d)

  119. And no I’m not. Don’t even go there.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  120. My Heh was for nk.

    DRJ (15874d)

  121. DRJ, are you all victims? Asking for a friend.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  122. My Heh was for nk.
    DRJ (15874d) — 9/25/2018 @ 5:00 pm

    My bad.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  123. Cruz is a brilliant man, but I’ve come to accept he probably isn’t a great leader.

    In all candor, believe he’s a born preacher. Watched some of that Texas debate and his use of language, gestures and movements on stage- even w/t TeeVee cameras on– make him appear quite comfortable if not natural behind a pulpit.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  124. His father is a preacher. We are our parents.

    DRJ (15874d)

  125. Ted more belongs on SCOTUS. Deals need to be made with the GOP squishes to that effect. Texas is all-but purple now and it will most certainly be trending blue within the next decade. So…put in some person who knows how to schmooze and can build up a reputation for bringing home the pork.

    I truly do not understand all this animus for the restaurant. They are every bit an innocent in this thuggery. If anyone should have called the cops, it was the staff. Then, they might could pursue civil damages. Discovery would be fun. 🙂

    Ed from SFV (6d42fa)

  126. But he was a petroleum engineer, before he became a preacher, that’s how he ended up in Alberta, also the practice in the 70s was to prevent one ethnic enclave so one was resettled to Texas Maryland (in Xavier suarez’s family’s case)

    narciso (d1f714)

  127. You are a lady DRJ No doubt.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  128. Ed, I feel that the Trump vetting team, to the extent it operated independently of the McConnell-Federalist Society axis, saw in Kavanaugh a “Cruz” they could shoot the proverbial shyte with.

    urbanleftbehind (c8c554)

  129. Prove it.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  130. Nk, thank god… I was poring over that post and article and trying to figure out how if that guy who was killed was walking from a non-Greek establishment. Although the Texas kind of heat,at least in greater Houston,might not mix so well with the Greek man:

    http://www.cnn.com/2018/08/02/us/mark-hausknecht-houston-doctor-suspect/index.html

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/09/dimitrios-pagourtzis-texas-school-shooting-suspect-indicted-on-capital-murder-charge-report.html

    Philly sandwich dude would have also said to you “figures, you guys are responsible for a good share of the illegals”.

    urbanleftbehind (c8c554)

  131. 129, so no placements as “buffers” i.e. the civil war era Salvadorans on the periphery of D.C., or the Bosnians in s.w. St. Louis

    urbanleftbehind (c8c554)

  132. I resent you denigrating my nom de internet.

    Melania sums up my reaction. 😉

    Paul Montagu (e7d63b)

  133. How many of those leftists who would do stuff like this have those cutesy little “COEXIST” bumper stickers on their personal vehicles?

    Asking for a friend…

    Jeff Lebowski (7f648e)

  134. @136

    Based on a quick visit to the group’s twitter and facebook, I’m pretty sure the answer is “zero”.

    Davethulhu (41e784)

  135. “So much for the tolerant left”, irl.

    Davethulhu (41e784)

  136. For chrissakes take a step back, a deep breath and think just how ridiculous this entire thing is. Going back to high school! This country – or at least half of it – has gone insane.

    Colonel Haiku (d82f96)

  137. It’s worse than half and it’s not just an issue with insanity. Peter Strzok was head of counterespionage for the FBI. Ignoring his politics, do you think he was a serious or disciplined person? And he didn’t exist in a vacuum. What does it say about the entire system that even the not insane seem indifferent about that?

    I’m surprised there aren’t more people accidentally falling in front of buses, slipping in the shower, etc.

    frosty48 (6226c1)

  138. I’m surprised there aren’t more people accidentally falling in front of buses, slipping in the shower, etc.

    frosty48 (6226c1) — 9/25/2018 @ 8:18 pm

    I’m sorry to be late. I just finished tripping and falling on my sword.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)


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