Always strive to learn something useful. --Sophocles

"Running for president is a significant sacrifice...There is almost no personal time...Time with my family is non-existent... Health and sleep are limited... The constant attacks never stop...My days are no longer my own..."
-- Sen. Ted Cruz in a fundraising email

"Two words: Boo hoo."
-- Sen. Elizabeth Warren in response

Being the President of the United States is a horrible job that destroys people. Take a look at Obama's photo on Inauguration Day, now take a look at one of him now. And he has another 7 months to go. I just finished a book ("Standing Next To History"), sort of an autobiography by a Secret Service agent who was on the Presidential Protection Detail under Ronald Reagan (he came on after the shooting). He said that Reagan took every opportunity to escape to Camp David on the weekend. I can't blame Reagan in the least.

If somehow, by some horrible twist of fate, Cruz gets elected, he's going to fantasize about how easy it was on the campaign trail.

"I would rather have anybody else be the president of the United States. Anyone. I would rather pick somebody from the phone book."
—Craig Mazin, Ted Cruz's freshman roommate at Princeton

"Here's the simple and undeniable fact: The overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats. The media doesn't report that."
– Ted Cruz

"We're fighting a very politically correct war...With the terrorists, you have to take out their families. They care about their lives. Don't kid yourself... You have to take out their families."
– Donald Trump


and unrelated, but brilliant nonetheless:

"If you want to know if somebody is Christian, just ask them to complete this sentence: 'Jesus said, I was hungry, you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you...' And if they don't say 'welcomed me in,' they are either a terrorist, or they are running for president."
– Stephen Colbert

"The whole world is on fire."
-- Sen. Ted Cruz, during a stump speech in New Hampshire

"The world is on fire?"
-- Three-year-old Julie Trant, sitting on her mother's lap

"The world is on fire, yes. Your world is on fire."
-- Cruz

Maybe we could get a Cruz/Trump ticket!

"Before Obamacare, there had never been a confirmed case of Ebola in the U.S."
—Nick Muzin, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for Sen. Ted Cruz

And the USA had not had a mass-casualty terrorist attack until George Dubya Bush was in office. And coincidentally, the USA never had a confirmed case of Ebola until Ted Cruz was in office. Your point?

"I didn't threaten to shut down the government the last time. I don't think we should ever shut down the government."
—Sen. Ted Cruz

'nuff said.

"It's not working...If you want people to get health insurance, the best way for them to get health insurance is to get a job."
—Sen. Ted Cruz, two days before the exchanges open

The law was passed, regardless of whether the RNC tried to participate. It was challenged at the Supreme Court level and survived. President Obama was reelected with the Affordable Care Act being a centerpiece of the campaign, meaning it passed a nationwide referendum. Portions of it are already in effect and have lowered health insurance costs, getting some people rebates from their insurers.

And this one part, the exchanges, don't open until tomorrow. And they exist solely for people who do not have health insurance. People who have insurance don't have to mess with them unless they want to.

Meanwhile, the mantra is that we MUST repeal the ACA. But they're doing the same thing that Mitt Romney did during the Presidential campaign last year: we have to eliminate all of these tax loopholes, but I'm not going to tell you which ones. The ACA is terrible legislation and we've got to repeal it and pass something better, but we're not going to tell you what we're going to replace it with.

I think the Republican's biggest complaint is that one part of the ACA that is in force right now is the part that limits profits to health insurers. Now insurers must spend 80% of money coming in on providing service, this is what has generated refunds because the companies have been paying their executives too much.

I'm not against capitalism, but when it becomes pure greed without concern for the rest of the community, that's too much. I remember Elizabeth Edwards on The Daily Show not long before she died talking about her problems getting treatment for her cancer, and she was the wife of a U.S. Senator. She became a healthcare activist after digging and finding out that 2/3rds of her premiums were going to executive compensation.

Ben & Jerry's ice cream used to have a policy that the CEO was limited to seven times the salary of the lowest paid employee. Once the two of them sold the company and eventually left, that rule went away. I understand some Japanese car companies had a similar rule. Can you imagine the CEO of General Electric having such a limitation?

"Some people wear Superman pajamas. Well, Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas. And Chuck Norris wears Jim DeMint pajamas."
—Sen. Ted Cruz

Wow. I guess there's no end to the crazy. I really hope he runs for POTUS in the '16 cycle, I can't imagine what the debates would be like.

And isn't Chuck too busy to sleep? I thought he was going to visit everyone who didn't vote for Romney and punch them in the face or something?

"There were fewer declared Republicans in the faculty when we were there than Communists! There was one Republican. But there were twelve who would say they were Marxists who believed in the Communists overthrowing the United States government."
—Sen. Ted Cruz on Harvard Law School, which he attended 1992-1995

Reminds me of that Florida Congresscritter Teabagger, Allen West, who at a Town Hall meeting April '12 responded to a question by saying that he believed "there's about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party that are members of the Communist Party." When asked to name them, he replied "It's called the Congressional Progressive Caucus."

A HLS Prof said that at that time there were at least four republicans and no Marxist/Communists. He also said that they were sad that Cruz had become such an idiot. I paraphrase a bit, but they were surprised at what his viewpoint had become.

I only wish Cruz were a Representative so that Texans might wake up and realize what an idiot it was that they elected and pull him out of office next year, as it is, he'll be there at least for another five.

These people, i.e. Mainline Republicans, have become absolutists and refuse to acknowledge any viewpoint except their own and want to force you to convert to their particular truth. I look at the de facto martial law forced down the voter's throats in Michigan that voids elections, I look at three states forcing closed the last public health clinics in which women can get abortions even though apparently private OB/GYNs can still perform them.

The result of the election cycle next year is going to be very interesting as it looks like no one is listening to Bobby Jindal when he says that Republicans have to stop being the party of the stupid.