Connect with us

News

‘Threat to Democracy’: Allred Demolishes ‘All Hat No Cattle’ Cruz in ‘Combative’ Debate

Published

on

The stakes were high Tuesday night as U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, and Republican Senator Ted Cruz, seeking re-election to a third term, met for their first and only debate. Allred, 41, a civil rights attorney and former NFL linebacker repeatedly knocked down Cruz, 53, running for a third term in office. The U.S. Senate majority is expected to be decided by possibly just two seats.

“WFAA issued a new poll for the more than 40,000 viewers on the YouTube livestream asking who won the debate,” MySanAntonio.com reported. “More than 25,000 viewers voted with 67 percent saying Allred while 33 percent said Cruz won the debate.”

Cruz is leading Allred in the latest polls by two to five points, according to FiveThirtyEight.

The Dallas Morning News called the debate “combative,” saying the candidates “attacked each other’s positions and character as they sparred over hot-button issues that included abortion, immigration and the economy.”

Congressman Allred accused Senator Cruz, whose podcast deal allegedly may have violated campaign finance laws, with having “introduced this new kind of angertainment, where you just get people upset and then you podcast about it and you write a book about it and you make some money on it, but you’re not actually there when people need you.”

READ MORE: ‘He’s Not Ok’: Questions of Trump’s ‘Cognitive Decline’ Explode Amid ‘Bizarre Behavior’

“Like when the lights went out, when 30 million Texans were relying on a senator to spring into action, he went to Cancun. That’s who he is.”

Allred attacked Cruz on abortion, one of the top issues for voters.

“I want to be very clear to the people of Texas. I support the protections and the restrictions under Roe,” Congressman Allred said. “But Senator Cruz just called himself pro-life. You’re not. You’re not pro-life. It’s not pro-life to deny women care so long that they can’t have children anymore. It’s not pro-life to force a victim of rape to carry their rapist’s baby. It’s not pro-life that our maternal mortality rate has skyrocketed up by 56%. That’s not pro-life, Senator.”

“So to every Texas woman at home and every Texas family watching this, understand that when Ted Cruz says he’s pro-life, he doesn’t mean yours.”

That line flew across social media countless times, with people posting and reposting the quote and videos of that moment.

Another line that went viral across social media was Allred prosecuting Cruz over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, declaring the Texas Senator a “threat to democracy.”

“I have to say, you can’t be for the mob on January 6th and for the officers. You can’t,” Allred declared, as Cruz nervously chuckled. “And it’s not funny. ’cause you’re a threat to democracy.”

“Sure,” Cruz replied, and he began to laugh.

“I was on the House floor when we went through the votes. I remember when you objected to the results in Arizona. Y’all at home might remember where you were on January 6th, what you were doing. I know where I was and I know where he was.”

“I remember when they told us to reach under our seats for these gas masks, I didn’t know we had because they had deployed tear gas in the rotunda. The officers locked all the doors, we barred the doors,” Allred said. “And I texted my wife, Ali, who was seven months pregnant with our son, Cameron, and at home with our son Jordan, who wasn’t yet two. ‘Whatever happens, I love you.'”

“I took off my suit jacket and I was prepared to defend the House floor from the mob. At the same time after he’d gone around the country lying about the election, after he’d been the architect of the attempt to overthrow that election, when that mob came, Senator Cruz was hiding in a supply closet.”

Cruz, again chuckling, shook his head.

READ MORE: ‘Petulant Toddler’ Trump Smacked Down by British Journalist at Chicago Economic Club

“And that’s okay. I don’t want him to get hurt by the mob. I really don’t. This election is his accountability. You cannot be just be patriotic when your side wins,” Allred said. “If, for the first time in 250 years, this project of ours, this shared American project, that we did not have a peaceful transfer of power, the folks responsible have to be held accountable. That’s why Liz Cheney has endorsed me, has got involved in this campaign, is saying to Texans everywhere, ‘Do not put Ted Cruz back in a position of authority.’ Because he’s done it once, he’ll do it again.”

The focus on reproductive healthcare continued, with Allred slamming Cruz for supporting Texas’s abortion ban.

“Listen, it’s time to finally tell the truth here. Senator Cruz just looked into a camera and lied to Texans about my position,” Allred told voters, as Cruz chuckled. “Let’s be very clear, you should look into the camera and speak to Kate Cox, who’s watching right now and explain to her why you said that this law that you said is perfectly reasonable, why she was forced to leave her two children behind and flee our state to get the care that she needed, or look into the camera and talk to the Amanda Zurawski, who’s watching right now, and explain to her why it’s perfectly reasonable that because she had a complication in her pregnancy and was denied care so long that she may never be able to have children of her own, or to the 26,000 Texas women who have been forced to give birth to their rapist’s child under this law that you call perfectly reasonable.”

“It’s not. This is not freedom. I trust Texas women to make their own health care decisions,” Allred continued. “You know, Allie and I had two baby boys here in Dallas in the last five years. You’re scared the entire time. You don’t know what they’re gonna say, but I can’t imagine if the doctor would come in so there’s a problem with the baby or a problem with Allie, but there’s nothing I can do because Ted Cruz thinks he knows better.”

Allred also blasted Cruz over in-vitro fertilization (IVF), an issue that has also dogged—and split—Republicans.

“IVF didn’t need protecting until he got his way of going after it,” the Texas Democrat charged. “No one was thinking that we need to protect IVF until he was singularly responsible for pursuing, by putting place in place judges at the district court level, the circuit court level and the supreme court level, folks who would put at risk, this miracle technology. And you know what? It’s not just that. When he ran for President in 2016, he supported the personhood amendment. You know what that means? That would make something like IVF illegal, but also ban certain forms of birth control. You did. You did.”

Cruz interjected: “No, fundamentally false.”

“When you ran for president in 2016, you could look it up, folks,” Allred replied. “You don’t have to believe me. Again. You’ve been seeing him lie to you for 12 years. Let’s have a senator who doesn’t.”

Ultimately, Allred branded Cruz with a Texas saying, calling him “all hat and no cattle,” meaning, “all show and no substance.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: Harris Goes All in With Fox News, Charlamagne, and Possibly Rogan Interviews

Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

Canadians Slash US Travel as Prime Minister Says ‘Old’ Relationship With America Is ‘Over’

Published

on

The Canadian Prime Minister and the Canadian people are expressing anger and frustration with Donald Trump, following months of attacks, and now threatened as well as actual double-digit and even triple-digit tariffs, by the U.S. President on America’s northern neighbor—one of its oldest and closest allies, both economically and geographically.

Canada’s new Prime Minister, liberal Mark Carney, has been in office for nearly two weeks but has yet to speak with President Trump. He did, however, deliver a speech on Thursday announcing that the U.S is “no longer a reliable partner”—and that the “old” Canadian-U.S. relationship has ended.

“The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperations is over,” Prime Minister Carney, a banker and economist, announced (video below).

“What exactly the United States does next is unclear,” he said, suggesting Trump might further increase tariffs. “But what is clear, what is clear is that we, as Canadians, have agency, we have power. We are masters in our own home.”

READ MORE: ‘Political Protection Racket’: Bondi Blasted for Shrugging Off Security Breach Investigation

“We can control our destiny. We can give ourselves much more than any foreign government, including the United States, can ever take away. We can deal with this crisis best by building our strength right here at home.”

“It will take hard work. It will take steady and focused determination from governments, from businesses, from labor, from Canadians,” the PM continued. “We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationship elsewhere, and we will need to do things previously thought impossible at speeds we haven’t seen in generations.”

As Prime Minister Carney delivered his remarks, spreading across social media was news of a massive drop in planned trips from Canada into the United States.

OAG, which provides digital flight information, intelligence, and analytics for the aviation industry, published a report on Wednesday revealing a “striking decline” and “sharp drop” in airline flight bookings from Canada to America.

The report states that “bookings are down by over 70% in every month through to the end of September. This sharp drop suggests that travellers are holding off on making reservations, likely due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the broader trade dispute.”

READ MORE: ‘No Adult Supervision’: Concern Escalates as Trump Increasingly Appears Out of Touch

OAG also warns that “the traditional ‘snowbird’ market from Canada to the US could be badly impacted next year if the situation doesn’t improve quickly.”

Canadians have been vocal about their anger at the United States and at its president.

“You’ve elected a fool, a liar and a narcissist,” a Canadian tourist told the owners of Hotel Thaxter when they “emailed to cancel a wintertime reservation at the downtown Portsmouth inn,” the Portsmouth Herald reported last week. “The visitor, a frequent Portsmouth tourist from over the northern border, left a scathing review of President Donald Trump amid tensions between the U.S. government and Canada, including a trade and tariff war.”

“Because of the absurd decision of your stupid president to impose tariffs on your closest and most trusted neighbor, Canada,” the email said, “I have no choice but to cancel my stay at your hotel.”

“My wife and I have been going to Portsmouth for the past 10 years and we would have (loved) to discover it in the winter. But we won’t return as long as that despicable human being is in power,” the decade-long visitor exclaimed.

Meanwhile, many were stunned by the Prime Minister’s remarks.

“This is painful, and saddening, and embarrassing. I feel like we’re losing a member of the family – and for no good reason other than that some Americans wanted another season of the worst reality TV show in history,” commented The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols.

Trump has targeted and attacked Canada for nearly six months.

In December, before even being sworn in to office, Trump trotted out his “51st state governor” nickname for then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trump has repeatedly mocked “Governor” Trudeau, and then threatened tariffs, which have since been implemented.

Trump has also repeatedly talked about annexing Canada, via various means.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: Passwords, Contact Info for Top Trump NatSec Officials ‘Publicly’ Available: Report

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

News

‘Political Protection Racket’: Bondi Blasted for Shrugging Off Security Breach Investigation

Published

on

Attorney General Pam Bondi is facing sharp criticism after strongly suggesting she will not authorize a criminal investigation into a major national security breach involving 18 top national security and defense officials from the Trump administration. Critics have pointed to her recent confirmation hearing, during which she vowed to keep the U.S. Department of Justice free from political influence.

Asked whether the Justice Department is investigating the Signalgate scandal, and if not, why not, the Attorney General claimed the information shared was “not classified”—in direct contradiction to the judgment of numerous national security and military experts.

‘Well, first, um, it was sensitive information, not classified, and inadvertently released and what we should be talking about is it was a very successful mission, she said, attempting to move the focus to the Yemen bombing. “Our world is now safer because of that mission. We’re not gonna comment any further on that.”

But Bondi then moved to attack top Democrats.

READ MORE: ‘No Adult Supervision’: Concern Escalates as Trump Increasingly Appears Out of Touch

“If you want to talk about classified information, talk about what was at Hillary Clinton’s home that she was trying to bleach bit, talk about the, that classified documents in Joe Biden’s garage that Hunter Biden had access to, she said, perpetrating right-wing misinformation about the former U.S. Secretary of State and presidential nominee, and re-introducing the Biden classified document issue, which was fully investigated by the Department of Justice.

“This was not classified information, and we are very pleased with the results of that operation and that the entire world is safer because of it,” Bondi re-iterated.

The New York Times, reporting on the Attorney General’s remarks, noted that the Justice Department “opened investigations into Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Biden in those instances, but neither ultimately faced criminal charges. She did not mention the prosecution of Mr. Trump over his handling of classified documents after his first term in office — a case which was ultimately abandoned when he won a second term.”

But the Times also noted that “Dating back to at least the Reagan administration, the government has considered the details of ‘military plans, weapons, or operations’ to be classified.”

U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) is calling for a special counsel to investigate.

After noting that DOJ investigated Clinton and Biden, he added:

“Bondi sees the Justice Department as a political arm of Trump’s White House, she won’t do her job. That’s why we need a special counsel,” he wrote, adding, “Defense officials say Hegseth likely shared classified info on Signal. DOJ has to investigate this too.”

“Bringing up Hillary Clinton is not the own you think it is,” Congressman Beyer continued. “Republicans made her testify for 11 hours on her handling of classified information. I was there. Now the same Republicans are bending themselves into pretzels to justify what Hegseth did. They think you are stupid.”

Investigative journalist Roger Sollenberger remarked, “For what it’s worth, Joe Biden’s administration directed a Trump-appointed Republican to independently investigate Joe Biden for potentially mishandling classified information.”

READ MORE: Passwords, Contact Info for Top Trump NatSec Officials ‘Publicly’ Available: Report

Sollenberger also chastised Bondi: “Openly political attorney general running an openly political protection racket in an openly politicized Justice Department after sworn Senate confirmation testimony that she would keep politics out of it.”

Calling Bondi’s remarks “Pathetic,” Political Science professor William Muck noted: “This is why a wall between the Attorney General and the president is so fundamental. Bondi most certainly knows the information was classified and warrants an investigation, but is unwilling to do her job because she fears it will upset the president.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Liar’ Hegseth Faces ‘Immediate’ Resignation Demand From Growing List of Democrats

Image via Reuters

 

 

Continue Reading

News

Passwords, Contact Info for Top Trump NatSec Officials ‘Publicly’ Available: Report

Published

on

Highly sensitive information belonging to several top national security officials from the Trump administration—including passwords and cell phone numbers linked to their Signal accounts—is publicly available online. The encrypted messaging app was used in a major breach of classified national security information earlier this month, according to a leading German news outlet, DER SPIEGEL, which concluded that it is “conceivable that foreign agents were privy to the Signal chat group” discussions.

“DER SPIEGEL reporters were able to find mobile phone numbers, email addresses and even some passwords belonging to the top officials,” the news site reported Wednesday. The top officials include National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth—all of whom were part of the Signal chat in which a military attack was mapped out and carried out.

The sensitive information has been used by the three top officials in various ways, and reportedly remains in use.

READ MORE: ‘Liar’ Hegseth Faces ‘Immediate’ Resignation Demand From Growing List of Democrats

Some are “linked to profiles on social media platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn. They were used to create Dropbox accounts and profiles in apps that track running data. There are also WhatsApp profiles for the respective phone numbers and even Signal accounts in some cases.”

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s data was “particularly easy for DER SPIEGEL reporters to discover,” including his cell phone number and email address.”

The reporters “turned to a commercial provider of contact information that is primarily used by companies for sales, marketing and recruitment,” and then they “sent the provider a link to Hegseth’s LinkedIn profile and received a Gmail address and a mobile phone number in return, in addition to other information.”

“A search of leaked user data revealed that the email address and, in some cases, even the password associated with it, could be found in over 20 publicly accessible leaks. Using publicly available information, it was possible to verify that the email address was used just a few days ago.”

READ MORE: ‘Quite a Bit of Perjury’: Texts Shatter Trump Admin’s ‘Bungled Coverup’ of Classified Leak

The DER SPIEGEL investigation, it said, also “revealed an additional grave, previously unknown security breach at the highest levels in Washington. Hostile intelligence services could use this publicly available data to hack the communications of those affected by installing spyware on their devices.”

But National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s data was also easily accessed, including “several passwords for Waltz’s email address in leaked databases. The information also led to Waltz’s profiles for Microsoft Teams, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Signal.”

“DER SPIEGEL reporting has demonstrated, though, that privately used and publicly accessible telephone numbers belonging to [Gabbard] and Waltz are, in fact, linked to Signal accounts,” the German news outlet states. “It is thus conceivable that foreign agents were privy to the Signal chat group in which Gabbard, Waltz and Hegseth discussed a military strike.”

That essentially voids the arguments made by the Trump administration, Republican lawmakers, and right-wing news outlets which have said that the military strikes were successful, and no Americans were harmed so the breach of national security is, as President Trump claimed, a mere “glitch.”

READ MORE: ‘Putin Is Giddy’: NSA Knew Signal Was Vulnerable to Russian Hackers Before Security Breach

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.