this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2025
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Fairly sure he was just saying the quiet part out loud again.
Very soon a portion of the country will be perfectly ok with openly defending pedophiles.
They've been fine with it since before November.
Rafael has honestly done more damage since he stopped being the zodiac killer than he ever did as the zodiac killer.
Some social media users have noted the irony in Cruz’s gaffe, as the politician voted against an amendment that would have forced the Justice Department to release the Epstein files.
Not a gaffe.
Shame on the independent, why are they running damage control for this bozo?
as the politician voted against an amendment that would have forced the Justice Department to release the Epstein files.
When I see someone voting AGAINST releasing the Epstein files, I can only make the assumption that they are in it.
Seeing that we are talking about an already horrible person, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Cruz is trying to cover his ass.
When I see someone voting AGAINST releasing the Epstein files, I can only make the assumption that they are in it.
Cruz's career was largely post-Epstein. But a bunch of his allies and big-ticket donors have straight lines to the Birthday Book and the Flight Logs. He's got a vested interest in protecting them.
Cruz is trying to cover his ass.
Great now I have the mental image of video taken by one of Epstein's Kompromat Cameras, of a room with a freshly raped teen and Grandpa Munster doing his best to hide behind a towel
they didn't vote Johnson cut it short to not swear in, the vote to release them
Johnson cut it short
In the Senate?
to avoid a vote, and swear in the 218 yes vote, Democrat, I believe in Minnesota. but yeah he shut it down government is down now
In the House, the Speaker normally controls the agenda, and nothing can be schedules without their approval. However, there is a process where if a member gathers the signatures of a majority of Members on an issue, the Speaker is forced to put it on the agenda.
Their petition to release the Epstein files currently has 217 out of the 218 signatures necessary, it has every sitting Democrat on board, and enough Republicans to bring it to the threshold. But there was a vacant seat, which a Democrat won recently. That Democrat is on the record as wanting to sign the petition.
Normally, these special election winners are sworn in right away, but Speaker Johnson adjourned the House before she could be sworn in. Adjourning the House looked particularly bad, because it all but guaranteed a shutdown.
Adjourning the House looked particularly bad, because it all but guaranteed a shutdown.
I don't think they're concerned about that. They rely on the fact that most voters won't know this and the Republicans can just run around saying "the Democrats forced us to shut down!" even though the Republicans were the ones who did it early and stopped any chance of continued negotiations.
Republicans revel in the lack of nuanced discussion. :(
It's also not irony.
It's like rain on your wedding day.
The gaff being saying it out loud in front of cameras…
Yeah, I don't think people know what gaffe means. He can say something he believes and not mean to. That's still a gaffe
Edit: another valid definition was pointed out elsewhere. Guess it can or can't be based on which you pick
they didn't vote Johnson cut it short to not swear in, the vote to release them
This post smells like toast
The worst part is it's only missing a comma, and maybe one or two more words to clarify, but they would be optional once the comma was in.
Nope.
I remember when Qanon pretended to think that, though.
The meme is an old one, but the code checks out.
Was that so there would be more for himself?
How was this a "gaffe"? He clearly meant it, although the context is a bit more nuanced than just, "Ted Cruz loves pedophiles". He's obviously trying to downplay their importance in the current political conversation, in an effort to get people to stop caring about Donald Trump's Epstein connections.
This wasn't a slip of the tongue. It's just an objectively bad take, and people should roast the shit out of him for it.
Cancunian Slip
cancuntian
Cruz just irrevocably set himself up for the rest of his life, because now people are going to tie him to this sound clip.
And conspiracy nutjobs think this guy is the zodiac killer?
The zodiac killer thing was a joke at first. It was focused on the odd way he would talk, comparing mannerisms with that if the zodiac killer.
I'm not aware of it ever being said. But I've noticed a lot of conspiracies seem to originate from a joke that others don't get.
No, it never started out as a joke. It came up during a time when conspiracy theories have gone very wild and very political. It was the precursor to QAnon bullshit.
Has he said it was a gaffe?
but, it really wasn't
a remark or action that is a social mistake and not considered polite
Isn't this pretty precise, according to Cambridge dictionary? It's outside my active vocabulary so what the hell do I know
I think their point is, did he correct himself later on to indicate that he misspoke?
It was a social mistake, not nessicarily a mistake of speech or intent.
Exactly this. If you try ticking a grizzly bear it's a mistake even if it is intentional.
But again, I'm not a native speaker so I'm not saying this is the correct interpretation of the word, but that's the impression I get from the dictionary.
Ted gets one honest statement per fiscal year (shutdown or not) and this is what he burns it on.
Hey hey hey, that's not what he meant to say. What he meant to say was "Stop attacking my mega-donors."
Why are people assuming it was a gaffe?
Yeah - I’m struggling to figure out what he meant instead
Death to pedophiles and at this point the monsters that help protect them.
Fun fact. The monsters that help to protect them, also pedophiles.
Don't boo him for being honest..