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A Ted Cruz friendship

A Ted Cruz friendship

Cruz could play identity politics with this if he so desired

The anti-Cruz hype is that nobody likes him, everybody hates him, he has no friends.

The anti-Republican hype is that they’re racist bigots.

Here’s a story that could kill (or at least slightly injure) those two birds with one stone: the tale of Ted Cruz’s best friend in college, law school, and beyond, David Panton.

I first became aware of Panton on reading about this interview with Harvard Law’s Alan Dershowitz, which is fascinating in its own right:

Alan Dershowitz…confirmed for Megyn Kelly during an appearance on Tuesday’s Kelly File that Ted Cruz was one of the smartest students he ever had. Dershowitz said teachers love to be challenged. And Cruz disagreed with everything he said and made such brilliant arguments that Dershowitz never had to play the devil’s advocate.

…He also told Kelly that Cruz’s politics were the opposite of Dershowitz’, but they were clear, principled, unwavering, and very intelligently presented.

Here’s how Dershowitz brought up the topic of Cruz’s friendship with Panton:

[Cruz] had been a champion debater at Princeton and he and his Princeton roommate sat next to each other, and he was an African-American, a black kid from Jamaica, two of the most brilliant guys at Harvard Law school. And they were inseparable. And they had a team tag match. One guy finished, the other guy would raise his hand.

Here’s a photo from way back when:

panton

This was not just a passing thing or a token friendship, either; it seems like the real deal. The two have remained friends to the present day:

David Panton and Ted Cruz have been friends for the last 25 years, they attended one of the most prestigious universities at young ages, 17 and 20, and have since maintained a bond. Ted was like a lightning rod for controversy and a stickler for process and was disliked by many of his classmates until his friendship with the popular and extremely likeable Jamaican.

They became debate partners and roommates for the rest of their time at Princeton and continued when they went to Harvard Law School, winning the North American Championship in 1992 and becoming the top two debaters in the country. They both participated in political studies. Resulting from their close friendship, they became business partners. Cruz has made numerous visits to the island. Panton became Cruz’s best man at his wedding, whilst Cruz became godfather to Panton’s son with Lisa Hanna.

Note that “popular and extremely likeable” description of Panton. Interesting that he chose Cruz to be so close to. Here’s some more about Panton, who sounds like a pretty extraordinary person:

His brilliance as a Rhodes Scholar, which he received a doctorate in management studies from Oxford University, the youngest of his undergrad class, and among the youngest holders of a PhD from Oxford. He must be in the top 20 most brilliant Jamaican of all times, maybe not too far for the legendary Monsignor Wilson, who ranked sixth in the world in the 60s for brilliance. At Harvard Law School he became one of two black presidents in the history of Harvard Law Review, the other being President Obama.

There’s much more here. An excerpt:

The two were teenagers when they first met, assigned to live in the same freshman dorm at Princeton. They were an “unlikely couple,” Panton said last year to a radio station in Atlanta, where he now lives. Cruz was a deeply conservative Hispanic from a poor background while Panton, who is black, hailed from the upper crust of Jamaican society, where his father ran one of the island’s largest companies.

“Coming from a small school in a small town in Jamaica, I was young and felt both academically and culturally overwhelmed,” Panton told The Washington Post. “Ted was extremely pleasant and friendly and expressed genuine interest in my background.”

Cruz and Panton shared the love of a good argument and decided together to join Princeton’s competitive debate team, he said. Some classmates were baffled by the relationship between two people with seemingly opposite personalities. Panton, with his lilting Jamaican accent, exuded charm and made friends easily. Cruz was combative, developed few friendships and earned some lifelong enemies…

Panton said that over movies, video games and basketball, he saw another side of Cruz. “I am always surprised and perplexed by those who said they did not like Ted,” he said…

When Panton was elected to become the head of the Harvard Law Review, the first person he called was—Ted Cruz.

[Neo-neocon is a writer with degrees in law and family therapy, who blogs at neo-neocon.]

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Comments

Cruz is a loser. He has no chance of getting nominated.

Anyone who thinks so is deluded.

    spartan in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 11:43 am

    Is that ALL you got from neo-neocon’s post?

      Trump has more delegates than Kasich and Cruz combined.

      All this failing and teeth gnashing of Cruz supporters gone mad is a waste of energy.

      Just Sayin’

        SpudmanWP in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 11:51 am

        But can Trump get 1237 on the 1st ballot.. that is the only question that matters.

          Projections now for Trump is 1400 delegates prior to the convention.

          If the GOPe had not spent near $300 Million dollars in attack ads we would even be having this conversation.

          He would already be there.

          conservative tarheel in reply to SpudmanWP. | April 22, 2016 at 12:54 pm

          short answer – NO …
          the Trumpsters shouting we
          will have 1400 by the convention
          is hyperbole. Something Trump
          excels at.

          Trump already has more delegates than Loser Cruz and fellow failed spoiler Kasich, *C O M B I N E D*

          Loser Cruz has already lost it.

          Cruz projected he would gain 1237 delegates and win nomination on the first convention vote.

          Well… that was a crock bull-patties.

          …Just another lie of the losing loser on his way to Lose-ville on the Loser Train.

          Cruz is eliminated as a candidate who needs more delegates than exist to get to 1237.

          Losin’Ted Cruz is a loser.

        I can’t wait til the second ballot and watch Cruz steal this election right out from under Delusional Donald’s nose.

        VotingFemale | April 22, 2016 at 11:46 am

        Trump has more delegates than Kasich and Cruz combined.
        —————
        And yet when he Cruz actually reads the rules and uses them to take delegates Trump calls it unfair. Mostly because he didn’t do his preparation or reading.
        Don’t you even wonder what the senators and reps and their aides will do to him if he becomes President?

          conservative tarheel in reply to 4fun. | April 23, 2016 at 11:30 am

          that is a difference between a successful lawyer
          and a reality show host.
          lawyers read and understand everything
          and TV people just wave their hand
          and figure everything will work out.

    Ragspierre in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 11:52 am

    Just gotta chant that chant, and suck that T-rump.

    Deny reality. Lie about facts. Smear Cruz and his family and support those who do.

    Sanddog in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 12:41 pm

    We know who Ted Cruz is. He isn’t trying to hide his ideology or his positions. You have no idea who Donald Trump really is. You’ve latched onto a personality cult and you’re filling in the blanks with what you want him to be. Unfortunately, you’re most likely wrong about him.

      conservative tarheel in reply to Sanddog. | April 22, 2016 at 12:55 pm

      Trump supporters are alot like Obama supporters.
      I have said that since Trump started.

      Gremlin1974 in reply to Sanddog. | April 25, 2016 at 5:39 pm

      Trumps position on any given issue is clear. It is whatever he thinks the person or persons wants to hear.

    buckeyeminuteman in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 12:42 pm

    This is a tea party-leaning news blog. You saying that is like walking into a trailer park and yelling “Wal-Mart sucks”. You’ve earned whatever comments are coming to you.

    cantor4massat4 in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 1:11 pm

    I am wondering why you like Trump? I sincerely want to know. His record shows that he’s supported and funded the libs all his life. Do you like him because you’re really a Dem or a lib? Yesterday, he made three statements on issues that are the total opposite of conservatism. His personal life leaves something to be desired. He has been a mediocre businessman and filed for bankruptcy 4 times. He feeds off government and yet says he hates it. He owes banks on Wall St. and Soros. What is it that appeals to you? Please do not answer me with insults. I really want to know why you like him?

    brainpimp in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 1:20 pm

    Wow the Drumpfbots here are so clueless.

    They don’t like smart reasoned arguments because they can’t make or understand them. They are pretty much cavemen political robots.

“…and he was an African-American, a black kid from Jamaica…”

Unless Prof. Dershowitz meant Jamaica, Queens, Panton is not an African-American. Can we please start using labels for race that are independent of national origin?

Tucker Carlson: Cruz’s attack ad on Trump is silly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd7r3_SvhyE

Cruz is panicked… his supporters of the thug-variety are panicked. The GOPe is coming out of their denial of reality that they can stop him.

Trump will be the next president and, after Cruz’s behavior this primary, Cruz will go back to finish his first term as a US senator and will be lucky to ever be allowed to step foot in the Trump WH.

it’s really too bad that cruz can’t win the nomination. i guess playing spoiler and being a recalcitrant jackwad will suffice, as long as it stops that SOB trump!

    brainpimp in reply to Vince. | April 22, 2016 at 1:22 pm

    I’m a trump supporter, math and process and strategy confound me so I run around spamming Pro Cruz sites.

So … if someone from Cruz’s youth can reliably put on a shmoozefest, he’s trustworthy. Were the world filled with David Panton clones, maybe Cruz could actually get some serious quantities of votes.

But if a revenant from the abyss of time testifies that Cruz is a creepazoid, he’s a whackjob who should be blown off without further consideration. (What was the phrase? Mr Memory, help me out here … oh yeah, Cruz’s old college roommate should “get over himself.”)

OK, got it, I’ll play along. But you should realize that such prestidigitation is just an itsy-bitsy bit too transparent.

    Whatever Cruz is it has to start with loser.

    Cruz is losing and his losing is increasing.

    The more he loses the more he loses it.

    This is pride going before the fall and the same with his Cruzstapo thugs… they are losing it too.

    All in all it is a losing loser lose-fest.

      Ragspierre in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 12:28 pm

      I was just remembering all your Queen Of Gaslighting posts where you PRETENDED to be a Cruz supporter.

      Ah, good times…

      You poor stupid, LYING, daft old Collectivist T-rump sucker!

        When you trot that out it means you got nuttin’, Rags.

        It is the ‘goto: looping’ of a losing loser who backs a losing loser proving he is a losing loser on a loser mission to Lose-ville.

        lolol

        Ragspierre in reply to Ragspierre. | April 22, 2016 at 12:45 pm

        Since you can’t deny, you just do what you do.

        Lie and attack.

        That stands as an admission, which is appropriate, since you are busted.

          You summed yourself up well, Rags… losing loser that you are backing a losing loser who is headed strait to Lose-ville and taking his losing loser Cruzstapo thugs with him.

      avid lurker in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 3:26 pm

      Why do you talk so ugly? Haven’t you said that Cruz is your second choice? Talk like it/act like it. Because if Cruz is your second choice, and you’d vote for him if he won the nomination, you wouldn’t spew spam and invective like Cruzstapo. And you wouldn’t call him a poser or a loser.

      Unless, of course, you’re lying through your teeth about that 2nd choice thingie.

    Ragspierre in reply to tom swift. | April 22, 2016 at 12:24 pm

    But, tom, you old liar, there’s been a small legion of fine lawyers who have posted here attesting to Cruz’s talents AND his integrity.

    You just prefer to lie about the subject, in true T-rump sucker fashion.

Cruz does tend to provike a visceral hatred in some people. It’s not about him though, it’s all about the hater and their personal inadequacies.

rorschach256 | April 22, 2016 at 1:01 pm

She still has her lips locked onto Trump’s anal orifice.

    Everyone take special notice…

    This is the behavior of losing losers who can not lose gracefully.

    This is the loser nature of the Kruz Klan Kluxers:

    rorschach256 | April 22, 2016 at 1:01 pm

    She still has her lips locked onto Trump’s anal orifice.

      malclave in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 2:34 pm

      And you pull out the standard left-wing attack of equating people who disagree with you as Nazis.

      That’s why so many of your posts lead me more and more to oppose Trump as just another Democrat.

        Sorry, Malcontent, the behavior of Losing Ted’s loser Cruzstapo thugs is readily apparent to the most casual observer.

        Liberals act like just like Loser-Cruzers.

        Cruz lost it… he is Losing Man Walking.

Here’s a lil’ bracing dose of reality…

Cruz has more endorsements than does Der Donald.

PLUS, none of them reversed their positions like Sell-out Sarah Palin or poor old Phillis Schafly.

I’m not surprised that Ted Cruz’ newly-discovered BFF is “an African-American, a black kid from Jamaica…”

The only surprise is that the BFF wasn’t a black disabled female; aren’t there more PC points for that?

The pandering level is getting higher than my cowboy boots will handle. Smell’s pretty bad too. YMMV.

    cantor4massat4 in reply to Eskyman. | April 22, 2016 at 1:16 pm

    “Newly discovered”. Panton was a big part of his book. Now, if this were Trump or Hillary, they would use the guy like a prop to show everyone that they’re not racists.

    Ragspierre in reply to Eskyman. | April 22, 2016 at 1:23 pm

    So, your thesis is that having a life-long friend of any particular racial group is “pandering”.

    What a racist phuc.

    GREAT exemplar of a T-rump sucker…!!!

    malclave in reply to Eskyman. | April 22, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    Because nothing says “newly discovered BFF” like becoming a godparents to your college buddy’s kid.

Ted Cruz can’t play identity politics. Only the Democrats can play identity politics!

(seriously, the democrat social justice warriors control the meanings of social justice and playing their game is like being a conman’ mark).

So, Ted Cruz is actually smart for not playing identity politics.

If this guy has a great story to tell about Ted Cruz, then Cruz should invite him to speak. But, as a veteran of the George W. bush administration, Cruz should be well aware that having a diverse cabinet did no benefits for George Bush.

Seems Lyin’Ted, or should I say Losin’Ted is losing it:

Mark Levin: Donald Trump’s Tax Plan Is “Reaganesque”

Ted Cruz: “Donald has no idea what’s in his tax plan. He hired some staffer to write him a tax plan.”

    Ragspierre in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 1:45 pm

    Levin also trashed T-rump as ANTI-Tea Party.

    Levin has endorsed Cruz.

    Rush came pretty close yesterday after T-rump AGAIN announced he’s….

    1. planning amnesty for illegals

    2. is pro-higher taxation

    3. he is permissive of the GLBT agenda

      Levin Bashed #NeverTrumpers to hell and back.

      The next friggin day? He turned #NeverTrump.

      That right there eliminated Levin as a respected member of the Tea Party.

      He is a loser just like Ted is a loser and a lot of the Cruzstapo populating this comment section.

      The world mocks poor losers. We laugh at you and your loser candidate.

      Saw it as soon as Sarah Palin endorsed Don.

      Cruz turned on her like the creepy disgusting POS he has turned out to be.

      The respect has vaporized for the Kruz Klan in the minds of the Republican majority.

      Basically: It SUX2BCRUZ

        Ragspierre in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 1:57 pm

        But you just used him as your authority in the fallacy of resort to authority in your T-rump sucking.

        You’ve lost YOUR mind.

        Levin has WORLDS more creds than does T-rumpBart and the other T-rumpMedia cartoons.

          Levin is a sell out… an idiot… an emotional train wreck.
          Whatever happened to Levin happened to Glenn Beck first.

          Cruz has already lost this primary.

          The GOPe has no choice but to cease & desist their #NeverTrump insanity b/c Republican voter majority has made it quite clear: You keep that crap up and that will be dealt with in the mother of all conventions, and it will be felt for decades to come.

          Ragspierre in reply to Ragspierre. | April 22, 2016 at 2:22 pm

          You sound just like Saddam, with your “mother of all” bullshit.

          LOL…!!!

          “The Mother Of All” is a purely American phrase, moron, not that I expect anything less from a two-bit troll with the IQ of an un-sharpened pencil.

          So suck it up, Cruz Sucker. Your Boy Is A Lying Losing POS from the 51st state… The Great State Of Alberta.

Well… It didn’t take me long to figure out what has been going on with disappearing comments.

Slick trick, LI. It wont save Losing Ted from his loser fate.

    William A. Jacobson in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 3:09 pm

    You’ve lost it. Take two Xanax.

    quiksilverz24 in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 3:17 pm

    There it is, folks. Been waiting for the false accusation of comments being deleted/dropped/censored.

    I picture VV as how Trump viewed Megyn Kelly. To quote:

    “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes,” Trump told CNN’s Don Lemon on Friday night. “Blood coming out of her wherever.”

    Ragspierre in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 3:28 pm

    Did I mention you are daft…???

    I think I did, some weeks ago, and a few times since.

    I’m being proven right so much, I’m getting tired of being right.

    To employ a T-rumpism…

Based on the type of person supporting Trump, I really can’t see voting for him if he is nominated.

Which was probably the plan to get Hillary elected all along.

    Based on the behavior of the Cruzstapo, they and Cruz are birds of a feather.

    TG Cruz has been stopped. He will never get the delegates to win.

      Ragspierre in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 2:05 pm

      How about we let the process work, and we’ll see.

      Between you and Der Donald, you’d disenfranchise the remaining voters of the U.S. who have yet to have their chance to vote.

      Typical Collectivist. You’d just install him.

      malclave in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 2:21 pm

      You’re a good example of what I’m talking about.

      The only conclusion that can be drawn from your posts is that Trump is the Let It Burn/ Hillary is Inevitable candidate.

        You are a good example of what I am talking about, Malcontent.

        Cruz is a poser, a losing poser, a lying losing poser who has already lost this primary. Why? Because the collective wisdom of the electorate majority sees through him like a store front window. We also see right through the GOPe fat cats as they do what they do.

        Ragspierre in reply to malclave. | April 22, 2016 at 2:56 pm

        You seem whipped to an unusual degree of insane frenzy today, Trolla.

        This does not bespeak confidence in the state of the election from your T-rump sucking POV.

        Cruz is a good man, a true Tea Party guy, and a Constitutional Conservative. He understands the policies he speaks about, which distinguishes him from Der Donald who shows no evidence of having read his own position papers.

        Another thing that distinguishes Cruz is that he’s never given money to Hellary OR the “Clinton Foundation”.

        To name just TWO. Others may wish to contribute to the bon fire of the T-rumpervilles. There’s SO much more to name.

        Heh…!!!

      gmac124 in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 3:25 pm

      WOW. What a great plan to get people to support your candidate if he wins the nomination. Just go full douche and sore winner. Yeah that should work. If I had any inkling of supporting Trump you removed it.

Bye the way, LI… seeing my comments without thumbs-down voting is clear proof you block comments you disagree with.

When I come back not logged in? They don’t exist.

That is a conservative principle-busting tactic I have come to expect from frantic GOPe backers.

Thing is… I can be just as bad a winner as all you Cruzstapo thugs can be bad losers.

It’s not my nature but I know how to do it.

    quiksilverz24 in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 3:27 pm

    Wow, now we’re being threatened by VV…

    Of course, that is what Trump does when he doesn’t get his way, making hollow threats to sue. Go ahead and hire Gary as your lawyer, I’ll take Rags and Hawkins.

    Ragspierre in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 3:35 pm

    “It’s not my nature but I know how to do it.”

    Of course, of course, dear. You’ve been making that apparent all day.

    (WOWzer…!!!)

    Sanddog in reply to VotingFemale. | April 22, 2016 at 3:40 pm

    Not in your nature? Cupcake, I think we’re all finally seeing your true nature.

    Even if Trump does win the nomination, that does not make YOU a “winner” simply for supporting him. The fact that you think it does reveals how pathologically messed up your mind really is. And I’m afraid many of you Trumpaloos have the same mental disorder.

I understand wanting to stick it too the establishment Rs, they deserve to be run out of town on a rail. I also recognize they’ve made it nearly impossible for a principled party to emerge. Still, what is the use of trying to make a point if it won’t be taken?

It’s deeply concerning that so many are apparently so eager to destroy what little remains of our republic.

It appears that you-know-who is begging to return to insult everyone here who supports Cruz:

Voting Female ‏@VotingFemale · 24m24 minutes ago

.@LegInsurrection, You’re a liar Jacobson; a poor loser; a puffed up blowhard. I use WP. I know how selective comment blocking works asshole

_______________________

Voting Female ‏@VotingFemale · 2m2 minutes ago

.@LegInsurrection, two different browsers one logged in the other not.
Shows the blocked comments.
If you didn’t do it, someone else did.

You know you’re over the target when you’re catching this much flak. (Even if the “flak” only consists of desperate spitballs from superannuated juiceboxers.)

Excellent blog post as usual, neo-neocon. I hadn’t heard anything about this part of Ted Cruz’s life story, yet it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. Cruz wasn’t my first choice (Walker), nor my second (Fiorina), but now that it’s basically down to him and Trump, I have no qualms about getting behind him 100%. He’s consistent, he’s a conservative, he’s got a fine record of supporting tea party ideals, and I’d be comfortable trusting him with the office of President of the United States. Anecdotes like this just cement my support.

Thanks for putting together just a well thought out and well presented blog post. I’m sorry on behalf of the LI commentariat — although I know we can each only speak for ourselves — that things got so crazytown bananapants down here below the fold.

I read an article that mentioned some of Rafael’s Harvard experience. One classmate was giving him a ride back to school and the first thing he wanted to know was something about her IQ. He sounded pretty arrogant to me. It is nice that he had a black friend. https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2013/11/10/ted-cruz-was-polarizing-figure-harvard-law-foreshadowing-his-partisan-profile-senate/gEUPs0iVgOyoidafkNe94H/story.html

    Ragspierre in reply to amwick. | April 22, 2016 at 4:41 pm

    From your Boston Gub hit piece…

    “Shortly after graduating magna cum laude, he took out a loan and bought his mother a new Saab convertible for her birthday. Then he embarked on the series of prestigious clerkships that planted the seeds for his political career.”

    The arrogant BASTARD…!!!

    and

    He also enjoyed antagonizing liberal classmates. Late nights at the Law Review were the scene of fierce debates. Cruz’s beliefs are no different now, and when it came to taxation classmates recall him arguing that the government was stealing money from the rich and giving it to the poor.

    “Some topic would come up and it was a free for all,” said Dean Newton, a fellow conservative on the Law Review. “All you’d have to do is say something remotely conservative and it would catch people’s hair on fire. It was fun to goad them.”
    Poking at turtles

    Newton compared the sparring he and Cruz would engage in with Harvard liberals to poking at snapping turtles stuck at the bottom of a barrel.

    “It didn’t take much of a stick,” he said. “And they would immediately snap.”

    But with Cruz, those arguments became heated. It wasn’t just the substance, but how Cruz presented his case. To his adversaries, he was relentless. To his allies, he was misunderstood.

    “Some people think his language is hard,” said David Panton, Cruz’s longtime best friend, and his roommate their first year at Harvard Law School.“But he’s a litigator. He has strong views and he makes his points clearly and empathically.”

    So. He MUST be “arrogant”.

    I mean, he has principles…CONSERVATIVE PRINCIPLES…that he defends aggressively.

      amwick in reply to Ragspierre. | April 22, 2016 at 4:43 pm

      It wasn’t a hit piece at all… just that little bit about IQ.

        Ragspierre in reply to amwick. | April 22, 2016 at 4:47 pm

        The whole piece was a hit piece. And you damn well know it.

          amwick in reply to Ragspierre. | April 22, 2016 at 6:38 pm

          No, it was generally more positive than otherwise. I found that article because I had read somewhere about Rafael being snotty about who was allowed in his study group. That particular story turned out to be false.. but I wanted to see it for myself. Now that I think of it.. he probably liked David Panton because of his intelligence. Birds of a feather..

          Ragspierre in reply to Ragspierre. | April 22, 2016 at 6:44 pm

          Really smart people are often lonely people.

          It’s a curse…

          amwick in reply to Ragspierre. | April 22, 2016 at 8:14 pm

          Funny that you said that, but that might have happened with Rafael, in college. It seems that the friendship with David was good for him.

        quiksilverz24 in reply to amwick. | April 22, 2016 at 5:40 pm

        I find it hilarious that you, amwick, are the only person to actually follow and like @VotingFemale’s tweets. Birds of a flock…

          Actually I signed up for twitter very recently, just so I could see those tweets that she copied here. Voting Female took the time to give me some twitter tips, which saved me a lot of time fumbling around. Twitterverse is expanding, and there are many videos shared that way, I really needed to understand it better. I have exactly two followers, VF and Donald Trump, a total of 9 tweets, about 6 of which were lessons in tweeting.

      The more I hear about Ted Cruz, the more I like him, the more I want him to be President of the united States.

      Then, I’ll know who is serving this country.

        Did you know that Rafael decided to run for president after G_d spoke to Heidi? That is what Rafael’s dad said. hmmmmm.
        My son Ted and his family spent six months in prayer seeking G_d’s will for this decision. But the day the final green light came on, the whole family was together. It was a Sunday. We were all at his church, First Baptist Church in Houston, including his senior staff. After the church service, we all gathered at the pastor’s office. We were on our knees for two hours seeking G_d’s will. At the end of that time, a word came through his wife, Heidi. And the word came, just saying, “Seek G_d’s face, not G_d’s hand.” And I’ll tell you, it was as if there was a cloud of the holy spirit filling that place. Some of us were weeping, and Ted just looked up and said, “Lord, here am I, use me. I surrender to you, whatever you want.” And he felt that was a green light to move forward.
        1:25s Of course that could all be total bs, invented by Rafael Sr. Or not.

        Here is the video… https://youtu.be/EqiwUnxmfmc

          Listening to G_d?

          That is easy for me, a Christian who listens to G_d and hears him speak to me.

          The Pentateuch and the other 34 books that comprise the O.T. canon are filled with G_d’s spoken revelation to man.

#MentalHealthMatters

#FriendshipMattersBigTime

quiksilverz24 | April 22, 2016 at 5:47 pm

Ready for a good laugh, fellow LI’ers?

Our beloved VotingFemale has a blog, which appears to have been dead since December, 2012. Regardless, she has a “Moderation Policies” in place. Now, remember how she always complained that we wanted to shut her up, deny her of a voice? Check out the link:

https://votingfemale.wordpress.com/policies/comment-moderation-policy/

To quote: “Let me get this out of the way first: I have a zero tolerance approach in dealing with outright Trolls and Spammers on this website. I simply block them outright from ever seeing the light of day.”

Also, “If you wish to become an authorized commenter, make yourself known by entering a comment which will automatically be placed in moderation. I will review it and if I can vet you and determine your presence is beneficial to the blog and other authorized commenters I will authorize you as a commenter. You will find us to be a friendly lot.”

Can’t get any more authoritarian and collective than her lot. Guess that’s why the blog has been dead for 3+ years.

    Ragspierre in reply to quiksilverz24. | April 22, 2016 at 5:55 pm

    That’s beyond sad and running pell-mell into tragic…

    malclave in reply to quiksilverz24. | April 22, 2016 at 6:18 pm

    Pretty typical of left-wing blogs… they don’t tolerate any dissension.

    I’ve occasionally seen blogs on the right do that, too, but I don’t bother with them (unless I’m following a link).

Voting Female is the best argument for taking the vote away from females since Hillary Clinton. Who is this thing that epitomizes ye olde Saturday Night Live expression, “Jane, you ignorant slut.”

    She wears her self-created Female designation like a chip on her shoulder.

    amwick in reply to vanderleun. | April 22, 2016 at 8:27 pm

    Obviously Prof. Jacobson agrees. Trump supporters are getting booted right and left. Some have just given up (Janitor) I just wish that comments weren’t personal insults, opinions are just that, opinions.

      malclave in reply to amwick. | April 22, 2016 at 8:44 pm

      Who else has been booted, and why should Prof. Jacobson be expected to pay to allow her to insult him? She can set up her own blog and provide content that people find valuable enough to visit, and say whatever she wants.

      Trump supporters are getting booted right and left.

      HandyGandy is the only other one I can recall having been shown the door, and that was only after repeated abuse and a proud admission that he was only here to wreck the blog.

      Also, both had already claimed on one or more occasions that they hated this blog and its host so much that they were going to leave and never come back (HandyGandy here; VF here) — in each case, the Professor was simply helping them fulfill their promise.

      If you have any evidence of a wholesale systemic pattern of regular good-faith LI commenters “getting booted right and left” by the Professor merely for supporting Trump, perhaps you should present it. This is a legal blog, after all.

      Barry in reply to amwick. | April 23, 2016 at 11:19 am

      No one has a “right” to post here. The blogs owner can sensor or boot anyone he wants, for any reason. I’m not aware of any “voices” that are missing other than the certifiably insane, that had no appreciation for the free ice cream.

      genes in reply to amwick. | April 23, 2016 at 12:28 pm

      There are at least two regular commenters for Trump that tend to post the same comments on multiple threads, even when those comments are OT. They haven’t been booted, but they don’t get as vitriolic as VF was getting.

I hate to interrupt the gang attack and hate fest ya’ll have going on against VotingFemale but here is some actual news just out.

Rut Row,

Speaking of Trump’s path to 1237:

New Fox Polls Out Today:

Indiana

Trump +8% Trump 41% Cruz 33% If Trump wins Indiana his path to 1237 becomes almost assured and easy.

California

+27% Trump 49% Cruz 22% The biggest prize of all and Trump is up 27%. Also talk about Trump’s support ceiling. Doesn’t seem to exist now does it.

    malclave in reply to Gary Britt. | April 22, 2016 at 8:39 pm

    If Trump gets to 1237, then yes, he will be the nominee. I don’t think anyone disputes that.

    But those of us who have yet to cast ballots in the primary season should still be allowed to have our say, despite your desire that we just shut up and let Trump be rammed down our throats. I already know my vote in November is meaningless (if I even cast one this year)… for once it seems my primary ballot may actually be worth something.

    spartan in reply to Gary Britt. | April 22, 2016 at 9:08 pm

    “Rut Row”?

    You speak Scooby Doo-ese?

    For an old guy, you don’t act like one. Reason 27 why you are a phony.

    Let’s just say, Trump might get away with it, if it weren’t for us meddling conservatives. Then you can change your handle to Dick Dastardly. Then, you can honestly be Dick.

      Your mental powers of observation and deduction are as amazing as is Cruz is likable. I really love how you apparently think I’m offended if you refer to my age. Your meager intellect is only dwarfed by your emotional maturity. But you are apparently an expert scooby doo references. Me personally I always thought the Scooby and Archie comics were just too gay to be worth reading.

    Ragspierre in reply to Gary Britt. | April 22, 2016 at 10:14 pm

    I seem to recall a capon attempting to crow in Iowa…

    “Checkmate Trump”, it croaked.

    But Donelle got Cruzed.

    Gremlin1974 in reply to Gary Britt. | April 25, 2016 at 6:57 pm

    Except that in Indiana 49% is still below the threshold to move it to winner take all, and if Trump follows his current trend his actual % will be 5 to 10 points lower than the polls give him.
    So Trump will end up with something like 25 delegates, with the rest split between Cruz and Kasich, which is exactly what they are tying to do.

Ted Cruz Faces Backlash After Transgender Teen Ejected From Rally
Cruz’s staffers ‘grabbed’ and ‘pushed’ the teen out, reports claim.

Video at link

http://radaronline.com/videos/ted-cruz-transgender-teen-rally-backlash/

This thoughtful post got lots of comments, but almost none on the substance of the post. The anti-Cruz folks must count that as a win.

    They really did manage to thread-jack this post, didn’t they. Almost as though it was a concerted team effort. Oh well, as I observed above, “You know you’re over the target when you’re catching this much flak.”

    Neo-neocon should take it as a measure of just what a high-caliber post she presented us with. If it could have been torn apart with facts and reason, it would have been. It was too well researched, well written and on point for that.

    Thus, the flashmob of shouty arm-waving Trumpkins on a mission to derail. It’s not really that dissimilar from the antics of SJWs on college campuses when conservative speakers are slated to appear, if you think about it.

Meanwhile, ted’s getting lessons in likeability…

“In that effort, Cruz’s campaign sees Obama as someone to emulate.”

“And when focus group participants were asked what animal best described Cruz, some said a “mosquito” or a “hornet.”

“You just want to bat it away,” one woman said.”

http://bigstory.ap.org/urn:publicid:ap.org:b7b8c7ba78ed40d5ac418317b60a92e8

kenoshamarge | April 23, 2016 at 9:03 am

I wonder how many people would have found Ted Cruz “unlikeable” if the media hadn’t told them so. Unliked in the Senate? Of course he was by all those corrupt elected Senators that made promises they never intended to keep. Cruz tried his best to keep his. And thus showed them for what they are. It’s interesting to me that those that “like” Ted and seem to be friendly with him are those few principled pols like Mike Lee.

I’m glad to hear that Ted Cruz has a friend going back so many years. Those are very special friendships and so many of us don’t seem to be able to hang on to them. Both men are lucky to have a friendship that spans the changes the happen to all of us as we grow older. Except for core principles that is – those never change for people of integrity.

    I have written here a couple of times about my good fortune to have worked with Ted on a legal matter, and to be able to speak to his exceptional skills.
    I did not mention another part of our interaction: Ted went out of his way, during one of his own business trips, to learn the issues facing my client and to set up, and conduct, a first meeting with the client. That in itself was extraordinary. As I mentioned before, the sophisticated client was immediately taken by Ted’s knowledge and presentation.

The short description for this item that appears in the tab on my browser (firefox) says “Ted Cruz | fiendship | David Panton”. I think there is a letter (“r”) missing in fiendship.

Cruz has principles that guide him.

T-rump has an instinct for what people want to hear…

http://patterico.com/2016/04/22/shockingly-trump-walks-back-comments-on-transgender-law/

That took a LITTLE longer than the 12 hour turn-around I was expecting.

Not much, and it did happen.

Cruz has principles that guide him.

T-rump has the ability to toss a mean word salad, expecting it to bait the boobs.

http://patterico.com/2016/04/23/shockingly-trump-walks-back-comments-on-paying-off-national-debt/

And it does.

As Ted Cruz’ support collapses, the truth about his citizenship is being revealed:

Still Report #811 – Trump Leapfrogs Cruz in Indiana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TjIf0fSgwc

If anyone wants to go straight to the citizenship part, skip forward to about 2:25 in the video. If that doesn’t convince you, there are lots more reports coming out, like this one:

http://www.dcclothesline.com/2016/04/21/constitutional-eligibility-is-a-matter-of-national-security-the-family-time-line-of-rafael-edward-ted-cruz/

It looks like Ted Cruz may be a man without a country. I’m sad for him and his family, but happy that this is coming out before more damage is done. YMMV.

    genes in reply to Eskyman. | April 23, 2016 at 4:05 pm

    Needs a minimum of 5 years to become Canadian citizen. Brings lie to his claim Cruz’s mother became a Canadian after 3 years.

    malclave in reply to Eskyman. | April 23, 2016 at 4:52 pm

    “I’m sad for him and his family”

    Concern troll is concerned. I’m sure Hillary will fix everything once you get her elected, right?

    cantor4massat4 in reply to Eskyman. | April 23, 2016 at 6:01 pm

    Don’t feel sorry for Cruz. Feel sorry for yourself that you actually believe that bullsh*t. And have a good weekend.