Oh jeez. This is almost as awkward as the time that group of college students asked Rick Perry explicit questions about gay sex.
Tea Party darling Ted Cruz stopped by Late Night With Seth Meyers last night in an effort to build his national platform before his inevitable 2016 presidential primary defeat. Unfortunately for him, things didn’t quite go in his favor, per usual.
Cruz, you may remember, famously said gay marriage was “the death of free speech” then unsuccessfully tried to have DOMA reinstated last year. It was just one of many epic failures for the junior senator from the Lone Star State.
Another of his missteps was the time he spent 21 hours trying to filibuster the Obamacare, during which he whipped out Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham and read it aloud to his fellow United States senators.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Cruz was in the middle of bragging about that little stunt when Meyers interrupted him with a three-word question that shocked the Texas lawmaker into embarrassed silence. It took almost ten seconds for his ego to recover and answer the question.
Check out the awkwardness below. Then fast forward to the 2:00 mark to hear Cruz spew his outdated opinions on gay marriage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BeHQeS48tY#t=165
Bob LaBlah
So help me he embarrasses me to be white. It has to be embarrassing when the newspaper that endorsed you (his case the Houston Chronicle) retracted their endorsement and publicly said they made a mistake.
jwtraveler
Kudos to Meyers. I normally watch him, but turned off the TV when I heard that Cruz was going to be a guest. Can we send this alien invader back to Canada, Cuba, Mars or wherever he came from?
Giancarlo85
for this idiot Ted Cruz, freedom of speech only goes one way. For his views. Anyone elss is shot down.
AtticusBennett
his gay marriage stance is of course beyond stupid. he has the right to negatively affect the lives of others based solely on his own ignorant bigotry? what a pig.
Bauhaus
@AtticusBennett:
Well, his anti-gay closet case pal in the House (Schock) crashed and burned, so here’s to hoping karma has it’s way with Cruz as well.
Desert Boy
The irony is, Calgary Cruz, the darling of Texas, is funded by a uber-wealthy gay man.
Cruz is disgusting on every level. He doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the Repug nomination and he will never be elected president.
lykeitiz
@Bob LaBlah: Well, he’s half Cuban, so you can downgrade to being only half-embarrassed.
Merv
@lykeitiz: Cubans can’t be white?
mdhess
This guy sets off my perv-ometer
Cam
Did I miss something? Meyers didn’t say anything that stumped him.
He could have said something as simple as “Well if marriage has only been defeined by the states for 200 years, then what about the federal court decision of “Loving v. Virginia”?
That redefined marriage laws and came from the Federal Court system, so your first statement is incorrect, and since you believe the Federal govt. shouldn’t be involved, are you saying that decision shouldn’t have happened?
But TV hosts will never bother to do anything like that.
jwtraveler
@Cam: Believe it or not, the whole world does not revolve around gay marriage. I know that’s a difficult concept for many gay men to wrap their one-track minds around.
lykeitiz
@Merv: In skin tone sure, but have you ever seen ANY application that asks about race? White means Anglo and Cuban would fall under Hispanic. I thought that was pretty common knowledge.
LubbockGayMale
As a Texan, I have to disagree with Mr Cruz. If not for the federal courts, we’d still have ‘separate but equal’ schooling, laws against mixed marriages, DOMA, etc, etc, etc. Putting my individual rights in the hands of the TX state legislature is not a pleasing thought, trust me.
Cam
@jwtraveler: said… “@Cam: Believe it or not, the whole world does not revolve around gay marriage. I know that’s a difficult concept for many gay men to wrap their one-track minds around.”
_______________________________-
Actually you have the one track mind. I was rephrasing the question that Myers ACTUALLY ASKED him. I can just as easily turn it to ANY topic. The media refuses to ask straight forward questions or call people out when they lie.
For example, if they were talking about Hillary’s e-mails, Myers could ask “If this is so important, then why are they not asking for Coling Powell’s e-mails also, since he had a private account?”
Or if it’s about the F-35 Myers could have asked him “Why is nobody investigating the contractor when building this one fighter jet is costing more than Iraq and Afghanistan Combined?” Or “Why do you keep saying we can’t afford to spend on education when the amount of money forcast to be spent spent on this one failed project alone could pay college tuition for every single student in the nation for the next 15 years, and wouldn’t that be better for the economy?
This isn’t a one issue thing. This is the fact that Cruz, made the same comment he always does, about the Constitution, and Myers could have EASILY brought up something that completely disproved what he said. And he didn’t, as is typical in the media.
As for your comment also, shame on you for thinking so little of your own civil rights, that you want to apologize so quickly for daring to think that bigots incorrect answers should be called out.
petensfo
Aw… it ended just when it was about to get good.
I’m sure that’s a question that doesn’t often get asked. Paraphrasing, “Given that the SCOTUS is likely to rule in favor of Marriage Equality, why take up new legislation now attempting to prevent?”
As others have rightly pointed out, that “states should decide” bullshiz is tired. CA’s legislature did decide and the bigoted knuckleheads like him thought it would be a good idea to take a Civil Right to the ballot box & remove it.
I also challenge that approval on Healthcare Affordability Act. Personally, I’ve benefited and I’m psyched about it.
Giancarlo85
So where are all the drum beating LCR trolls to defend Ted Cruz? He is a republican… where is McFishy?
1EqualityUSA
McAnnCoulter is too busy to chime in today.
jpcflyer
We wanted flying cars – but what we got was Ted Cruz. Thanks Peter Thiel !
jwtraveler
@Cam: In 29 states gay people have no housing or employment rights. We also don’t have the right to be served in public business establishments like hotels and restaurants. Gay children are deprived of the right to an equal education because of discrimination and bullying in public schools. Although gay people are estimated to be between 3 and 10% of the population, LGBT kids are estimated to be about 40% of the homeless youth population as a result of being kicked out of their homes or running away from abuse. They suffer high rates of drug use, prostitution and suicide.
Gay rights is not all about gay marriage. However for you and most other gay, white men, gay marriage is the ONLY issue. It is not about civil rights; it’s about aquiring more economic privilege for already privileged gay white men.
You took a brief exchange about Cruz’s failure to filibuster Obamacare and turned it into a commentary on gay marriage. You wrote: “I can just as easily turn it to ANY topic.” But you didn’t.
As I said, you and most other gay white men can’t wrap your one-track minds around the concept that the whole world does not revolve around the issue of gay marriage.
Dakotahgeo
@jwtraveler: THANK YOU!
jwtraveler
@Cam: I just wrote a long explanation and apology which did not post. I can’t imagine why. While I stand by my opinion of gay rights and gay, white men’s obsession with gay marriage, I’d like to retract the part that was directed at you personally. Apparently THE VIDEO ABOVE WAS CHANGED AFTER I FIRST SAW IT. The one I saw was just a 30-second clip of Cruz’s statement about his Obamacare filibuster and Meyers’s response. You were commenting on the longer clip that replaced it. I was not aware of this until after I wrote my above comments. In context your comment is more appropriate and less marriage-focused. Again, while it’s not completely my fault, I apologize.
jwtraveler
@lykeitiz: I’m Eastern European Jewish. White, but definitely NOT Anglo.
jesusbangedmybootie
This is your idea of someone getting their ass handed to them? The question of “How did that turn out for you?” in which the audience applauded and I wondered if the audience was cheering for seth or ted? That is not getting your ass handed to you. I thought this was tame. Seth can do better.
Saint Law
@jwtraveler: Of course, because if there’s one thing gay marriage enables it’s anti-gay discrimination isn’t it?
“I’m Eastern European Jewish. White, but definitely NOT Anglo.”
You’re a moron in any language.
jwtraveler
@Saint Law: Thank you. It’s always delightful to read your psychopathic nastiness, malice and bigotry.
lykeitiz
@jwtraveler: And Cuban is still not White.
Merv
@lykeitiz: Done correctly, forms like that will have separate questions for race and ethnicity. If you pay close attention to demographic reports, they will usually mention categories such as “non-hispanic white” when they’re trying to differentiate from hispanic.
1EqualityUSA
I love the photo Queerty chose for this dip. Classic.
hellogorgeous
@lykeitiz: “Cuban” is a nationality! The term “Cuban” just means…from Cuba. White is a race, and the term “Cuban” and the term “White” are not mutually exclusive. There are many White Cubans, just like there are many Black Americans. Lastly, “Hispanic” is not a race; it’s an ethnicity. Maybe that fact isn’t “common knowledge,” but it should be because it’s the truth.
jwtraveler
@lykeitiz: Cuban is not a race. Some Cubans are white, some are black and some are other races or mixed. But Ted Cruz is most definitely white.
tusgold
he is what every Liberal hopes will be a lesson to America about what you could look forward to if the Tea Party and the GOP in general get control. John McCain probably forgot Ted Cruz was an asshole.
tusgold
How important is gay marriage? It’s very important because you are no doubt sme 20 something or possible even a teen you don’t realize that as a gay man in his 50’s I need to have rights of marriage being legal because I have a husband and I have been the breadwinner and he may need my social security to get by. So bbefore you start decrying the importance oce of gay marriage get some adult time under your belt before you opine on issues like gay marriage. Life isn’t 4 drinks and a hook up forever pup.
1EqualityUSA
tusgold, equality is a principle that may be challenged, but never defeated.
DarkZephyr
@jwtraveler: with all due respect, don’t you think it’s at least *mildly* ironic that you criticized Cam for having a one track mind and bringing up gay marriage when you originally believed that the video did not specifically mention gay marriage and then you bring up (more than once) *white* gay men when this article and the video did not specifically bring up the issue of race..at all?