In what appeared to be a moment of misspeaking, anti-LGBTQ+ Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) said in a recent congressional speech, “How about we all come together and say ‘Let’s stop attacking pedophiles’?”
During a congressional hearing on the current president’s actions addressing crime in cities — which seems mostly to be insulting large city mayors, ignoring higher-crime areas in red states, and then sending in armed federal officers against the mayors’ wishes — Sen. Cruz referred to Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) plea for Democrats and Republicans to “come together and have bipartisan agreement.”
“I think that’s a great idea. We should have bipartisan agreement,” Cruz said. “How about we all come together and say, ‘Let’s stop murder’? How about we all come together and say, ‘Let’s stop rape’? How about we all come together and say, ‘Let’s stop attacking pedophiles’?”
83 Comments
givesomefucks@lemmy.world · 183 pts · 192d
Same article as September for those curious if Raphael did it again, it's just an old article.
LMurch@thelemmy.club · 25 pts · 192d
I have a feeling he was trying to say, "let's stop calling people pedos". That's the best sane-washing I can do.
Have we seen Cruz's name in the 'Trump Files - featuring Jeffrey Epstein'? Maybe he really is standing up for the Epstein class. He's been known to lick Trump's boots, every now and then.
GuyFawkesV@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 192d
Cruz is a piece of shit but I don’t recall seeing anything about him being the files, so guessing he’s just a bootlicker like you said.
fartographer@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 192d
It's possible. It's also possible that he just couldn't afford to be in the Trump/Epstein files. Maybe his more affordable version of torturing children and animals is abandoning his dog during a freeze to fly to Cancun and then loudly blaming his children?
Soup@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 191d
The only people in the US being broadly unjustly called pedos are minorities. They are being called that by his party and the people who support his party.
Don’t do work for this parasite.
Freefall@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 192d
More likely he was going for "let's stop attacking conservatives" and got honest.
givesomefucks@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 192d
I mean...
Seems pretty clear he had:
In his head, realized he shouldn't say that since he's a spineless Republican and tried to pivot to:
And his mouth just said both at the same time meaning he said neither.
The jumble that spilled out doesn't matter, piece of shit that he is, he's a great public speaker. He's not trump or Biden who can't string a sentence together. If he fucks up speaking it's because he realized he was about to say something he couldn't and panicked. So the value is in looking at what would logically have made sense in a debate for him to have said.
It's like GW Bush realizing he didn't want a soundbite saying "shame on me":
But we're overdue for J Cole's plan:
ilinamorato@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 192d
Yeah, Cruz is a terrible person and should be in prison, but this was clearly just a slip of the tongue. We should be mad at him about real things.
Klear@quokk.au · 1 pts · 192d
Thanks. I thought I read this before.
kn33@lemmy.world · 64 pts · 192d
Not that I think it's unimportant, but I wish we'd keep things current here.
tonytins@pawb.social · 12 pts · 192d
Oh... No idea how it resurfaced in my feed.
zr0@lemmy.dbzer0.com · -11 pts · 192d
Does it matter? You still did not check the date.
ilinamorato@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 192d
What do you want from them, ritual self-immolation?
zr0@lemmy.dbzer0.com · -18 pts · 192d
Go white knight somewhere else.
Whostosay@sh.itjust.works · 15 pts · 192d
When in doubt, triple down
ilinamorato@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 192d
Go scold somewhere else.
SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org · 6 pts · 192d
People's memory is short
LadyMeow@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 7 pts · 192d
And here I was perplexed, did he do the same blunder again??
Rhaedas@fedia.io · 4 pts · 192d
More importantly, nothing was done. A decade or more ago, associating and supporting such things was done, but quietly. Now (or last year) it's openly okay for a Congressperson to say it out loud. That, and saying fascism is fine. We're past the point of warning signs, the house is on fire.
VitoRobles@lemmy.today · 43 pts · 192d
For the past decade, senator Rafael Edward Cruz, who immigrated here from Canada and who goes by a different name for some reason, continues to be the most shittiest human being to everybody. From dead naming people, to blocking social services, to fleeing Texas when it got too cold, texas being the state he immigrated to.
Yet people keep voting for him.
voxthefox@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 12 pts · 192d
As a texan, it is crazy he is still a senator, our other senator, Corbyn, is equally as batshit insane but gets cover because Cruz gets all the press for his antics. Last election we were close to getting a democrat to oust Crus (Beto) but then just before the election the shooting happened in Beto's hometown of El Paso and he went off the rails on gun control ,for a Texas democrat at least, which is basically a death kneel in Texas politics unfortunately and he ended up losing by a thin margin. It is unendingly frustrating to see the texas democratic party operate, constantly shooting themselves in the foot, pun intended.
chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 192d
Edward -> Ted is a pretty common preferred name. It’s very common for people to go by their middle or second name over their first. It’s also very common for Americans with non-English sounding names to adopt a more English-sounding name, whether it be a first name or a last name. For example, lots of Chinese people will have an English name they choose to go by, in addition to their legal Chinese name. And of course many trans people adopt different names post-transition, while not necessarily changing their legal name.
You may be right in your implication that Ted Cruz prefers not to go by his birth name for political reasons. I just don’t like the association because of how it can affect all the people mentioned above. There’s nothing wrong with having a different preferred name from your legal name.
ThunderQueen@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 192d
HubertManne@piefed.social · 33 pts · 192d
wasn't this awhile ago or did he do it again.
whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works · 24 pts · 192d
yeah, I had to check the date and it was in September last year
tonytins@pawb.social · 12 pts · 192d
My bad. It resurfaced on my feed and I mistook for a new article.
DaddleDew@lemmy.world · 33 pts · 192d
The more time passes the more I realize how widespread the problem of rich and powerful people living under a completely different set of rules has taken effect. They are abusing this situation to a point where they have developed their own subculture and much looser morality standards. They can't even help themselves but let it slip that they think that being a pedophile is considered normal now.
And that's just the tip of the lawlessness and moral depravity iceberg. We've seen on increasing occasions that they don't even care about hiding it anymore because Trump has shown them that there are no consequences.
exaybachae@startrek.website · 31 pts · 192d
Well, it's technically true. Pedophilia, attraction to children (prepubescent youths), is generally best addressed with acknowledgement, treatment, and management.
Sexual assault, and rape, and predator practices are the crimes identified pedophiles are typically found participating in if their attraction to kids isn't addressed appropriately beforehand.
Ya'll don't really think being attracted to kids is a crime itself do you? Or that there aren't thousands, or tens of thousands, of people out there that are attracted to kids and just don't act on it, or haven't been identified?
Pedophilia, though specific in nature, is a similar subject to mental health in general, in how it's treated by society. As it becomes more acceptable to admit to having mental health conditions, the instances of those conditions leading to dire circumstances dimishes.
Be more proactive, and less reactive.
Note: though it should be clear enough, I do want to specifically state that this message in no way promotes or supports criminal actions taken towards children or knowingly disregarding such actions if the assailants are rich, or any other such nonsense.
Like being tall, or black, or gay, being a pedophile is a state of being, not an action, and people should not be attacked for their state of being, full stop. Crimes they commit are another matter entirely.
D_C@sh.itjust.works · 27 pts · 192d
I saw a documentary about three or four decades ago with a guy who was a paedophile. After watching it I felt bad for him, he basically said "I was never abused. To me it seems natural to think of children as sexual beings. I realise why it is wrong and I will never act on it.
Think of it this way. You may find blondes beautiful, but you don't know why. Now I imagine if everyone else was wanting you dead because you like blondes. That's me. And no one will help me."
He looked for help in many different ways and places, the doctors, therapists, mental health clinics etc etc but they all just kept on reporting him to the police. I think in the end he tried to commit suicide, or he tried to chop his own balls off to stop the urges. It was something extreme. After that he got the help he needed anyways.
I've looked for it a few times but never could find it again. I may be misremembering certain things, but the basics are her knew it was a mental disorder and wanted help. But only got it when things got extreme.
These are the people who should get help.
The ones like that obese orange child rapist should get the noose.
volvoxvsmarla@sopuli.xyz · 4 pts · 191d
I'm so glad documentaries like that exist. It was documentaries like the one you mentioned that I stumbled across and that made me realize that "locking up all the pedophile monsters" was a narrative that would harm my children, not protect them. I can barely imagine how lonely and cruel such a fate must be and the bare minimum we can do as a society is to offer the help, support, and compassion to these people.
naught101@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 192d
I don't think that's what Cruz was talking about
volvoxvsmarla@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 191d
It's not, which is why OP put "technically" in the first sentence. And I think they did a great job differentiating the matter. It's clearly not what Ted Cruz meant, yet his sentence in itself - taken out of his context - is correct. Pedophiles, as in people who have this attraction, are human beings. They deserve proactive help and support. People who abuse children are criminal( human being)s. They deserve to be treated as the human garbage that they are and be prosecuted. There is a venn diagram style overlap between child rapists and pedophiles. But it is not a necessity to have pedophilia in order to molest children (a lot of criminals assault children not out of sexual attraction but because of power dynamics), nor is every pedophile a molester or plans to eventually assault children. We need to focus on prosecuting child abusers no matter their sexual orientation, while helping people with pedophilic attractions without stigmatizing them in the meantime. Their lives suck as it is already.
The Epstein case has drawn a lot of attention to pedophilia but we need to be really careful to not get lost here.
Soup@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 191d
So, we do understand “context” though, right? No one is hearing about a guy who never hurt anyone but who is managing their problem and thinking “I’m gunna go beat them up.” However, there do happen to be a whole lot of people on Cruz’s side of the aisle, including the president, who seem to be the absolute worse possible version of a pedophile.
You haven’t said anything that nullifies, or even weakens, the arguments made or sentiments show in this post.
zalgotext@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 191d
We don't call people pedophiles unless there's evidence that they've abused children. I shouldn't have to explain that. Playing these semantic word games makes it seem like you're running defense for Ted Cruz, and I assure you he does not deserve that from you.
Cantaloupe@lemmy.fedioasis.cc · 23 pts · 192d
I can't think of a better way to quell the flames of public outcry!
NihilsineNefas@slrpnk.net · 21 pts · 191d
Did he say it again or was this the one from a few months back? Because either way this is hilarious
klugerama@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 191d
Date on the article is September 2025.
NihilsineNefas@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 190d
Holy hell, this past 6 months really has been a decade hasn't it
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today · 20 pts · 191d
Just to be clear, ALL MAGAs are Pedophiles, or Pedophile Protectors.
You know another name for a Pedophile Protector?
Pedophile.
thethunderwolf@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 5 pts · 191d
Nazi apologists are Nazis
Pedophile protectors are pedophiles
Evil_Shrubbery@thelemmy.club · 4 pts · 191d
What about nazi pedophiles apologists protecting nazi pedophiles??
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 191d
There is no limit on stacking labels.
TemplaerDude@sh.itjust.works · 16 pts · 192d
Inevitable.
Hope you’re proud of your representation, Texas.
DrDickHandler@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 191d
They are.
cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 13 pts · 192d
Does Texas still prosecute poor people for sex crimes against children? If so, then Texas isn't protecting paedophiles, they're protecting the rich.
Reddit also classifies paedophiles as a protected class and suggesting any violence against them (including saying they should face stiffer penalties/longer prison sentences) is grounds for a ban. It's why they banned me.
Take note of those who defend paedophiles. Then try to act surprised when it comes out they're nonces, too.
Insekticus@aussie.zone · 4 pts · 192d
Yeah, that's because Spez himself is a kiddy diddler and has filled the Reddit organizational structure with like-minded individuals to help shift the Overton Window and manufacture consent for child molestation; its not just "pedophiles" they're protecting, they're trying to protect the actual child molesters and child rapists.
PhoenixDog@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 192d
collapse_already@lemmy.ml · 13 pts · 191d
Ted, you stupid motherfucker, how about we start executing them instead of protecting them?
discocactus@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 190d
They should just be forced to work in old folks' homes. Cleaning bedpans and making meatloaf, not a child in sight.
RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 191d
We’d attack policy, but Republicans don’t have any.
MehBlah@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 191d
Rafael cant suck enough pedo cock
yonderbarn@lazysoci.al · 9 pts · 191d
LMAO
orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 8 pts · 192d
Article is from Sept 2025, updated October 1. I know this is shocking, but was 4 months ago.
quick_snail@feddit.nl · 8 pts · 190d
This happened last year
CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 192d
They are all terrorists and pedophiles.
ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 192d
He's in the files...
SippyCup@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 191d
No, he's not. He's just that shitty of a person. Nobody likes him enough to invite him to a party. He's actually a step down from Elon.
Lrkn_OPA@lemmy.org · 7 pts · 191d
Gonna insert a quote about Ted Cruz by none other than Lindsay Graham circa 2016, “If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you.” - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/lindsey-graham-jokes-about-killing-ted-cruz-nobody-would-convict-you-a6898206.html
ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 191d
Still in the files, but in the "LET ME IIIINNN!" kind of way.
Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 191d
Maybe he was invited, but the weather was too nice in Texas at the time.
JasonDJ@lemmy.zip · 7 pts · 190d
Or, to put another way, "let's keep defending pedophiles".
IndustryStandard@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 190d
Another banger from TheOnion
No wait
_stranger_@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 190d
I wish that homunculus of a fleshbag had the empathetic capacity to feel any kind of philia. It might make him about literally anything but himself.
JasonDJ@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 190d
Autophilia?
_stranger_@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 190d
I like to believe he hates himself more than we do.
boaratio@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 191d
His name is Raphael, not Ted.
sploosh@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 191d
I have negative love for the guy, but people have a right to call themselves what they want. Even shitty cowards.
Soup@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 191d
While it’s true that Bruce Jenner is not their name even if they’re deeply horrid, it feels like Cruz here calls himself Ted so that he can get votes from racist people who wouldn’t elect him solely based on his name. I’m 50/50 on it.
boaratio@lemmy.world · -2 pts · 191d
Disagree
100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it · 0 pts · 191d
Don't deadname him
boaratio@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 191d
I feel like if you're a Nazi enabler, the rules don't apply.
boaratio@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 191d
Call them fat, call them dumb, and point out their personal foibles. Shame them in any way possible.
AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 191d
Can't shame the shameless. They are already supporting nazis and pedophiles. I would safely assume these people have no shame.
boaratio@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 190d
Fair point.
100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it · 2 pts · 191d
I was being ironic, he's a poor excuse for a sellout cuck.
HorikBrun@kbin.earth · 4 pts · 192d
Your Freudian slip is showing
Doomsider@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 191d
Texas, the pedophile state. Don't like it? Maybe get some new reps!
thermal_shock@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 190d
"Leave trump alone!"
Lmao, what a tool with an ugly wife.
AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 190d
Scrolling past headlines like this one while the Curb your enthusiasm theme plays on loop.
root@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 190d
For me it's the Always Sunny in Philadelphia theme
Paranoidfactoid@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 192d
The GOP has lost all moral authority.
https://archive.is/2026.02.21-045507/https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/epstein-maga-trump-morals/
FalschgeldFurkan@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 190d
Wow, a brain made of butter
thethunderwolf@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 191d
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 192d
I like Ted Cruz because he's not afraid to tell it like it is
Sam_Bass@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 190d
No. And fuck ted Cruz. Second sorriest bastard in Texas govrrnment
Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 192d
Why? Have you people ever started? I mean, you're cool with one running your fucked up third world country.