NO TELEPROMPTER for Ted Cruz! He is a a Blue Dem Destroyer. #RedNationRising
— Red Nation Rising (@NObamaChat) March 23, 2015#TedCruz Speaks from The Mind and Heart! Not a Teleprompter! Something not seen In 6 Years!
— KittysPlace n Saloon (@kittyssaloon) March 23, 2015Democrats have lowered the bar for presidents they're quite shocked to see a candidate not using a TelePrompTer #TedCruzCampaignSlogans
— MarieTweets☕️ (@mkues65) March 23, 2015Imagine...a leader who cares so deeply about America that he can speak about her from the heart...without a Teleprompter. @SenatorTedCruz
— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) March 23, 2015It seems appropriate that Crowley would praise Cruz for this because her old boss Richard Nixon is the only president since Eisenhower not to use a Teleprompter. Crowley may think it's a good thing that Cruz is Nixonesque, but I'm not sure the rest of us would agree that that's good company to be in.
And yes, Saint Reagan was among the users:
That's a photo from a speech Reagan gave to Britain's Parliament in 1982. The Financial Times responded with an article titled "Reagan's Dazzling Teleprompter" (scroll down here):
At no point did he consult any notes, or give any sign of reading a speech, and at the end MPs were astonished by the apparent powers of retention of the septuagenarian president. Perhaps, they were saying, acting was a good training for politics after all.Why do Ted Cruz fans hate Ronald Reagan?
The truth, as MPs discovered later, was that Mr Reagan was reading from a particularly cunning form of teleprompter. Projectors, hidden in the rostrum projected his script on to two lecterns, otherwise assumed to be bullet-proof screens on either side of him.
From the audience, the screens looked transparent. It therefore looked as if the President was merely glancing left to right to embrace different parts of the audience. From his side, however, the words were written clear and large as on any ordinary teleprompter.
The only possible flaw in an otherwise immaculate performance, was that Mr Reagan failed to look down and pretend to read notes when quoting from Winston Churchill.
Afterwards, MPs were intrigued and clearly envious. Indeed, immediately after he sat down, there was almost as much interest in the method of delivery as in the contents of his speech.
Cruz' supporters, like much of the GOP generally, are enamored with Ronaldus Magnus, a mythical leader who balanced the budget, never raised taxes, never retreated from terrorists, and personally tore down the Berlin Wall with his bare hands.
ReplyDeleteThe real Ronald Reagan, based on his actual policies and record, couldn't get through a GOP primary for county commissioner in most states today.
Ah, I'm thinking if he needed a Teleprompter to say "I'm running for president and Obama is awful followed by what ever words the neuron raffle that is his mind spits out, he'd be even dumber than he seems to be right now.
ReplyDeleteAny reason to hate Reagan is fine with me. Let's just say, "it's a start."
ReplyDeleteReagan has been posthumously bestowed with sinless perfection and your criticisms bounce off him like bullets off Superman. If he sinned by using a teleprompter, by being really the first teleprompter president, well no he didn't because of sinless perfection. Will future historians be able to contain their disbelief that modern people faced with the realities we face focus on who used teleprompters?
ReplyDeleteOur political discourse has devolved to about an eighth grade level and threatens to sink even further. I wish I felt it was at or near the nadir.
I do think, being serious for a moment, that the idea of sinless perfection explains some of the inconsistency we see on the Right. James Dobson, for example, straight up believes that he has achieved sinless perfection. He is, I understand, a member of a sect called the Church of the Nazarene. They believe sinless perfection is attainable because as you surrender yourself to the Holy Spirit, the HS works through you. So that your actions actually are the actions of the Holy Ghost who, of course, cannot sin. Ipso facto, you cannot sin.
Not all, or even most, Evangelicals believe this but they do believe that they have surrendered themselves to the Holy Spirit and that they are "Spirit-lead" in what they believe about everything including politics or global warming. It is why anti-AGW can and has become essentially an article of faith. The Holy Spirit is leading them to believe the way they do.
The Holy Spirit is, evidently, an idiot. Or at least very, very confused. But what are you gonna do? He's the Holy Spirit.
Eighth graders are demanding an apology, mlbxxxxxx.
ReplyDeleteApparently, Reagan is not a saint anymore.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Pat Robertson, he is actually the Messiah now.
Our Reich-Wingers have apparently completely forgotten that their Messiah, Ronald "Maximus" Reagan, was the President who invented "Cutting and Running!"
ReplyDeleteSee:
Barracks, US Marines - Lebanon.
Not to mention negotiating with Iran.
ReplyDeleteI thought the whole teleprompter thing was just a silly attempt by Republicans back in 2009 or so to try and hurt Obama's chances in 2012. And to be honest I'd forgotten all about it!
ReplyDeleteIt's really just embarrassing that they're still fussing about it in the year 2015. How the hell can you take this guy seriously when he's thumping his chest and crowing "NO TELEPROMPTER" like a little red rooster while asking to be elected President of the United States?
In reality it just shows how scared Republicans are of their wingnut base. Ted Cruz is too scared to *not* say silly shit like this.
FUTURE REPUBLICAN DEBATE QUESTION: "Raise your hands if you vow not to use a teleprompter"
Timestamp it. I guarantee some shitty moderator brings it up!
Victor,
ReplyDeleteIt's actually even worse than you note about Reagan the inventor of cutting and running from Islamic Terrorists.
There were two separate Terrorist Attacks in Beirut in 1983. On April 18, 1983 the Beirut Embassy Car Bombing killed 17 Embassy personnel (and 46 Lebanese people) and the follow on Truck Bombing attack 6 months later on October 23, 1983 at the US Barracks in Beirut killed 241 Marines, Soldiers and Sailors.
The most despicable thing is the attacks followed the same tactics because the Terrorists knew the Embassy Marine Guards were explicitly barred by Ronald Reagan from having ammo at the guard posts
"Raise your hands if you vow not to use a teleprompter"
ReplyDeleteOh, please, God, let them do it! It will be a hilarious campaign season!