Ted Cruz | Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion - Part 5
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Ted Cruz Tag

Just when you thought CNN might make it through a week without disgracing itself, anchor Chris Cuomo accuses Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) of being "afraid" to talk to CNN about the Florida shooting and GOP measures to prevent such shootings.  The problem?  Cruz had given CNN a 15-minute interview the day before, and CNN decided not to air all of it. The Washington Free Beacon reports:
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) admonished CNN's Chris Cuomo on Twitter after the anchor accused him of being afraid to appear on CNN in the wake of the Parkland, Fla. school shooting.

What can you say about soon-to-be-former governor of New Jersey Chris Christie?  At one time, it seemed his star was rising, that he was destined for the White House.  That is the historical moment to which Christie apparently clings. Christie, who leaves office—and almost certainly any political future—on January 16th, believes that if President Trump had not run in 2016, he'd be president today.

Donald Trump Jr. celebrates his 40th birthday in two weeks. To kick off the birthday festivities, several friends held an early birthday party for Don Jr. at a Dallas restaurant. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz attended the party. Because it's funny, someone brought a cookie cake with the likeness of President Obama from his iconic "Hope" poster iced on the front. The two posed for a picture with the giant cookie, Don Jr. posted it to Instagram, and then the internet lost its mind, hurling Racist™ accusations and the like.

Democrat Dog Jones pulled off an upset in Alabama's special Senate election, barely beating embattled Republican Roy Moore. High on the Alabama win, Democrats are experiencing delusions of grandeur, believing bamamentum will carry over to the Lone Star State.

This was like a trip down memory lane. Let me begin by saying the debate style of Bernie Sanders hasn't changed since the 2016 Democratic primary. I lost track of how many times he said millionaires, billionaires and Koch brothers in the first 30 minutes.

Former White House advisor Steve Bannon has declared war on Republican incumbents save one -- Ted Cruz. Joining Fox News' Sean Hannity Monday night, Bannon called Republican Sen. Corker's "hot mike" interview with the New York Times "unacceptable."

Thursday, Senate Republicans finally unveiled their version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA). It's almost as much of a stinker as its House counterpart. If you were hoping the GOP would make good on their promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, then I have some disappointing news: the latest Republican health insurance brainchild does neither. As we discussed when dissecting the unimpressive House AHCA, the Senate GOP bill is also limited in what it can accomplish for one reason -- reconciliation. Senate Republicans are relying on the budget reconciliation mechanism to pass their first health care overhaul with a simple majority vote.

Respecting free speech has been an ongoing issue on college campuses for years now but reached a boiling point in 2017. So far this year, there was a riot at Berkeley over a planned speech by Milo Yiannopoulos. Berkeley also had to cancel a speech by Ann Coulter over threats of violence. Charles Murray was shouted down by a violent mob at Middlebury College and another student mob threatened Heather Mac Donald at Claremont McKenna. And then there's Evergreen State College. Those are just a few of the high profile examples. The situation is so serious that the Senate held a hearing on the subject. CNN reports:
Senate judiciary committee hearing focuses on campus free speech Two college students warned of increasingly stifled speech on college campuses at a Senate judiciary committee hearing Tuesday. Zachary Wood, a rising senior at Williams College, and Isaac Smith, a student at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, appeared before the committee at a hearing titled "Free Speech 101: The Assault on the First Amendment on College Campuses."

While the 2018 Texas Senate race is slowly simmering on the backburner, fundraising and campaign efforts on the ground are in full swing. Beto O'Rourke, the young Democrat Congressman from El Paso has emerged as the only challenger to incumbent Sen. Cruz thus far. Thanks to social media, O'Rourke landed on the radar of one of Hollywood's most vocal left-wingers -- Rosie O'Donnell. O'Donnell proudly tweeted her support for O'Rourke and boasted giving the max contribution to his campaign.

The 2018 midterms are going to be followed like nothing we've seen before, drawing more mainstream media coverage than did even the 2010 midterms.  Although they have lost two special elections (Kansas and Montana) and failed to avoid a runoff in Georgia, Democrats and their media allies really really want the 2018 midterms to be a referendum on President Trump. While we focus often on the fact that Democrats are divided between the Bernie Sanders-Elizabeth Warren wing and the slightly less radical Cory Booker wing, Republicans, too, are divided.  The 2018 Ohio Senate race for incumbent Sherrod Brown (D)'s seat provides a snapshot of this friction. Conservative, conservative-leaning, and Trump-supporting Republicans are already endorsing Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel in what they hope will be a successful rematch between Brown and Mandel.  Mandel lost to Brown in 2012 and last year announced he was running again in 2018.

In October 2016, less than two weeks before the election, FBI Director James Comey disclosed that the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server had been reopened after classified emails from Huma Abedin were found on Anthony Weiner's laptop as part of an unrelated investigation into Weiner's sexting with a teenager. The computer in question belonged to her husband, disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner.  Last November, FBI notes revealed that Hillary had been sending her housekeeper emails containing classified information for the purpose of printing them out. In his Senate Judiciary Committee testimony today, FBI Director James Comey reveals that Abedin had been forwarding classified information to her husband so that he could print it out for her to give to Hillary. He further notes that no charges were pursued because the FBI could not determine intent to violate federal law.

San Antonio Rep. Joaquin Castro announced Monday he will not challenge Sen. Cruz in the upcoming Senate race. Castro has been pushing off his public announcement since February. As of last week, he was reportedly undecided.