Senator Ted Cruz put on quite the performance this week during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, including an attempt to tie Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the Court, to the supposed dangers of “critical race theory.”
During his questioning, Cruz held up several books “either assigned or recommended,” to students at a D.C. prep school where the judge is on the board of trustees, as if they somehow proved Jackson’s viewpoints. Thanks to his stunt, at least two of the books are now bestsellers.
“If you look at the Georgetown Day School’s curriculum, it is filled and overflowing with critical race theory,” Cruz said, highlighting a stack of books including Alex S. Vitale’s The End of Policing.
Related: Ketanji Brown Jackson handles Lindsey Graham like a boss during extremely stupid line of questioning
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“I have not reviewed any of those books, any of those ideas — they don’t come up in my work as a judge, which I am, respectfully, here to address,” Jackson responded.
Sales of the book skyrocketed after the stunt, and as of Friday morning it’s number one in Amazon’s sociology of race relations category.
“Thanks to Ted Cruz, The End of Policing is now the #1 Best Seller in Gov. Social Policy,” Vitale tweeted, including a screenshot of the Amazon ranking.
Thanks to Ted Cruz, The End of Policing is now the #1 Best Seller in Gov. Social Policy. @VersoBooks pic.twitter.com/EoAX4FJmZs
— Alex Vitale (@avitale) March 23, 2022
In a followup tweet, Vitale joked that, “Every purchase now comes with a vial of Ted Cruz tears.”
Every purchase now comes with a vial of Ted Cruz tears.
— Alex Vitale (@avitale) March 23, 2022
“This seems to be just another example of the Senator’s intentional confusing of a specific school of legal scholarship and the broader effort to shed light on the nature and history of racism in America,” wrote Vitale in a statement.
Other books Cruz used as props have also seen massive spikes in sales.
Ibram X. Kendi’s How to be an Antiracist is number two in race relations, and his children’s book Antiracist Baby, to which Cruz focused on heavily, is the number one children’s book and the number two bestseller for all books sold on Amazon.
MarcyMayer
Judge Jackson proves that Democrats are soft on crime. Crime is surging in America due to the leniency of left-wing district attorneys and judges.
This will make another great campaign issue for Republicans.
Red Wave coming in November. Leftists better get out their life preservers.
jonchavez2003
Huh? Even Judges appointed by the radical right also follow the exact same sentencing guidelines. Lol. Guidelines that haven’t been updated since the 70’s!
Did you survey ALL of their sentences as well? Oh right. Of course you didn’t. Cuz if you did, it would PROVE you’re an idiot.
Soft on Crime? The Police endorsed her!!!!
Soft on crime? As opposed to Barrett, who basically had no legal career and was woefully unqualified for the bench. Lol.
Sit DOWN.
gregg2010
Darling, take a chill pill. You’ll feel a lot better.
VaJohn
There’s literally another story here about Ginni Thomas sending texts advocating the overthrowing of the Presidential election, and Clarence Thomas being the sole Justice to vote against the 9-11 Commission getting records including those texts. Talk about a judge being soft on crime! I think the Dems “Trump” you on this issue, Marcy.
BDAguy
Marcy sweetie, violent crime is up. Burglaries and robberies are down. And progressive cities like Portland, Oregon are hiring more police. If the entire country weren’t armed to the teeth and folks had some belief in a fair and equitable distribution of wealth and opportunity you wouldn’t see such a surge in violent crime which is mostly affecting communities of color and lower incomes. Don’t worry Marcy, your safe in your gated community of privilege.
The real Bruce
@MarcyMayer: Perhaps you should get out your own GOP water wings NOW, before you drown in your own misinformation bile and BS. Miss Lindsey being a hysterical brat just because his choice wasn’t nominated. Cancun Teddy sucking on his bottle of soda, totally messing up is own presentation. Josh the Joke, his own worst enemy(after all the fact checkers). Cotton-mouth just being the snake that he is. How disgusting! Judge Jackson WILL be confirmed. And I hope a beautiful Blue Wave will cleanse the Congress of all the RED MENACE! Your turn Cam.
The Accidental Polemicist
@jonchavez2003
“The American Bar Association (ABA) has rated Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett as “well qualified,” based on her integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament.”
“Sit down” liar.
Mack
ROFLMAO. The RepubliKKKans wants stronger laws, and harsher sentence AS LONG as it doesn’t pertain to them. They think they’re above the laws.
Kinkslola
Stock up on tampons cause Aunt Flo’s red wave is coming….
Mr. Stadnick
Dear Lady and or Gentleman:
STFU
Jay002
There was a reason why she only sentenced the 18 year old who was caught with child porn to only 3 months in jail. He was gay and was raised in a very religious family. He went on the internet to look at gay porn and some images of children came up. So do you think this young gay male should have been given 30 years in prison?
CNY1983
get a shrink and quit wasting your time here.
ScottOnEarth
Congratulations, genius, you took the bait and actually bought was Cruz was selling. It takes a special kind of ignorance to actually believe Ted Cruz.
Fname Optional Lname
??? Since when are all the courts in the country only filled with liberal judges that have only been in office since Trump lost in 2020??
ljbivins
Red nonsense.
white-queer-african
FAKE. As FAKE as the pearls you clutching @M*ntalMayer. So let me be nasty. That seems to be the only language these right-wing nut jobs understand.
As FAKE that you are a trans woman.
As FAKE as the Red Wave you claiming is coming in November.
Maybe you referring to your red… that is also FAKE!
jackmv2
Another troll with no soul or brains.
Den
“Marcy”, “Marcy”, “Marcy”!
You have to be one of the stupidest men on this site (and in general, heterosexual men like you tend to be less intelligent than gay men). You either did not watch or were not able to understand Jackson’s responses to some of the dullards who “questioned” her, though I will grant you that their rudeness in continually interrupting her made the responses a bit difficult to follow.
As technology, the nature of specific crimes and societal conditions change, the ways in which a judge evaluates the situation, the individual and their possibility for reform changes. As do the guidelines for sentencing. I realize this is possibly too complex for you to understand, but at least try. You might then appear less of an idiot.
Den
“Jay002
There was a reason why she only sentenced the 18 year old who was caught with child porn to only 3 months in jail. He was gay and was raised in a very religious family. He went on the internet to look at gay porn and some images of children came up. So do you think this young gay male should have been given 30 years in prison?”
“Marcy” could not care less about the specifics of the case involved. All he is capable of is parroting the right wing talking points fed him by the skewed and agenda laden media he chooses to watch and (perhaps) read. He is not particularly good at independent or critical thought, as should be obvious at this point.
As far as the claim of being a M-T-F trans, that is a troll’s ploy. What he is is glaringly obvious. What he is here for is just as clear.
The Accidental Polemicist
@jonchavez2003
“Even Judges appointed by the radical right also follow the exact same sentencing guidelines.”
Wrong. That was the whole point of many of the senators at the confirmation hearings. Did you not watch any of it? Ted Cruz had a huge chart about the huge discrepancies between the sentencing guidelines, what the prosecutors wanted and the light sentences given to the pedophiles by Judge Jackson.
sbsfo
MarcyMayer:
You’re proof that thousands of chimpanzees – given enough keyboard time – can eventually output a series of words that, while syntactically correct, are nothing more than semantic trumpery.
BigJohnSF
In November, we’ll also be hearing a lot about Republicans’ enthusiastic support for Putin. Don’t get your surfboard waxed just yet.
The Accidental Polemicist
@BigJohnSF
Please list for me all the elected Republicans who have shown “enthusiastic support” of Putin.
Den
Trump, for one.
He only changed his tune somewhat when it became clear that there were (to him) a surprising number of republicans with some rudimentary sense of ethics and morals. And his ideas on how to aid Ukraine were among the stupidest imaginable.
Tucker Carlson, the major mouthpiece for authoritarian rule in America and white supremacy in America (with the largest audience on FOX, and a huge following in general from the dull and uncritical) has also made the argument that there is no reason for Americans to support an invaded democracy over the invading authoritarian ruler of another country.
The various far right dunces (like Greene, Bobert, etc) have bought into and spread the Kremlin talking points regarding the history and current state of Ukraine.
That is only a few. The major governmental voices in favor of support for an invaded democratically ruled country are ALL from the Democratic party. A small group of them are from the centrist Republicans…few in number and despised by the Trumpists.
The Accidental Polemicist
@Den
Tucker Carlton and President Trump are not elected officials.
The only two elected officials you mentioned were Greene and Bobert. Please give quotes of their endorsement regarding Putin invading Ukraine.
When you are unable to do that; please stop lying. Thank you
sbsfo
AP:
Yet again, your total lack of spelling ability belies the fact that you’re just a lickspittle Putin-lovin’ Russian troll with a side gig topping that pathetic, shrieking, frustrated parody of a homosexual named Lindsey Graham.
GayEGO
Judge Jackson will make a great SCOTUS justice! Cruzy Wuzy should move to Cancun, we don’t need him here in America.
sfhairy
He should win an Emmy for that performance. I can’t wait for Judge Jackson to be sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice.
Fahd
I got a very favorable impression of Jackson from the hearings. She’s obviously a super intelligent person, and talk about suitable judicial temperament, she really handled herself very well in the hearings; despite the jackassery of the leading Republican figures. What a joke the Republican senators have allowed themselves to become with their pandering and demagoguery!
Jackson will make a fine addition to the Supreme Court.
CNY1983
She impressed me too, she’s the kind of girl I would have wanted to be friends with no matter when I met her. What most impressed me was watching her think about what she was going to say as a response to asswipers who were there for the scum at fox.
johncp56
Face it he is a scummy sticky creep, and overpaid just a nasty person all around
BDAguy
Let’s face it: Ted Cruz is the lowest, most vulgar form of opportunist and floats free of any ethical or moral anchor. Remember how he abandoned his own dog in a cold and dark home during the Texas ice storm of 2021 flying off to Cancun while his constituents literally froze to death.
Kinkslola
hear, hear!
The Accidental Polemicist
@BDAguy
Wrong.
Snowflake wasn’t left alone. The family had a dog watcher tending to the dog inside the home, Jessica Skaggs, press secretary for the senator told the AP in an email.
“Contrary to the liberal media’s reports, Snowflake was not left alone and was never in peril,” Skaggs wrote.
Why would you ever believe the mainstream media on anything regarding Senator Cruz?
Fname Optional Lname
Of course that’s what Fox news told you
Den
“Why would you ever believe the mainstream media on anything regarding Senator Cruz?”
Because with very few exceptions their reports are correct.
Because there have been any number of times FOC has been caught in verifiable lies, including the presentation of incorrect graphs and tables, use of outdated footage to depict supposedly current events, labeling video from one city as supposedly from another….
The mainstream media rarely ever does this and if they do, they broadcast repeated and real apologies. FOX has defended itself in court by claiming that is is not news but “entertainment and opinion”. And Carlson has been defended in court by lawyers claiming his audience knows he is not presenting factual material.
That is why pretty much anyone with a functional central nervous system trusts the “mainstream” (conventional, traditional, responsible, awarded, prestigious, etc) media over propaganda machines like FOX, OAN, NewsMax and so on.
The Accidental Polemicist
@Den
Said the person who only watches mainstream corporate news.
Why do you think the trust in news corporations, newspapers, television news, etc. is at all-time low? By huge numbers!
Diogenes
Ah, the expected sweet smell of schadenfreude. In my more optimistic moments I wish this was a sign of people waking up from their ignorance. Then my historian personality kicks and and doubts that.
Pax,
D.
202gay.com
His book is a complete plagiarism, and now we see even cheaper ways to advertise this book.
rois4richo
He learned this from the Democrats. Remember Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas, Amy Coney Barrett, and the unforgettable search and destroy tactics by them in the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. Be careful what you do Democrats, it may come back to haunt you.
whereshouldistart
I recall what Republicans did to Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford.
Cry me a river.
CNY1983
rico, shouldnt you be making another one of those “thank you melania, our greatest fashionable first lady” videos?
The Accidental Polemicist
@whereshouldistart
What are you talking about?
Here on earth, Christine Blasey Ford came forward and made an accusation that she could not back up in any form.
She doesn’t know where the party was, how she got there, how she got home, who was there, etc. The one person she stated was there came forward and stated she never attended that party.
Please…if you have no idea what you are talking about, don’t post anything.
jackmv2
All well deserved. Amy and Brett have no class and respect for anyone but themselves.
The Accidental Polemicist
@jackmv2
“Amy and Brett have no class and respect for anyone but themselves.”
Really? How so? Any examples? Personal experiences?
Of course not.
whereshouldistart
Poor Teddy the everloving hypocrite.
You know those evil anti racist books he flashed during the confirmation hearing? Guess where else those books are readily stocked and available?
HIS DAUGHTER’S SCHOOL!!!
The Accidental Polemicist
@whereshouldistart
I don’t think so. I found nothing on line about those books being at his girls school. They attend an “antiracist” school, but no mention of those books.
St. John’s School, is a private school in Houston, Texas, it is also a school that is all about antiracism and even declared as much in a June 2020 Facebook post.
“St. John’s, as an institution, must be antiracist and eliminate racism of any type — including institutional racism — within our school community and beyond,” the post read.
ScottOnEarth
Judge Jackson honestly seems too good for the US Supreme Court. They have become a complete sh*t-show and have lost credibility since the former (fake) president appointed those two unqualified buffoons.
The Accidental Polemicist
Those two “unqualified buffoons” were both judged “well-qualified” by the American Bar Association.
Any other pearls of wisdom you would like to share with us?
rois4richo
I received three replies of my posted comment. All three opened their mouths and their brains fell out.