BUS(TED)

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Nick Anderson's cartoon for 2/11/2016:

This is a mash-up of three memes. (Thanks to Lance Nathan in the comment for cluing me in to the one I missed…) First, there's TedCruz.org's own TRUSTED slogan:

Then there's the Product Red campaign of a decade ago, and especially the Gap clothing version (and satires of it) featuring many words ending in (RED):

And finally, there's the fact that an unusually large number of his past and present associates are willing to be quoted saying very negative things about Ted Cruz, as described in what Josh Marshall called a "bid to write the definitive Ted Cruz asshole florilegium (TCAF)": Tim Murphy and David Corn, "Is Ted Cruz Really an Awful, Terrible Jerk?", Mother Jones 1/25/2016.

 



5 Comments

  1. Lance Nathan said,

    February 14, 2016 @ 2:03 pm

    Actually, the "(RED)" reference is one removed: the political cartoon is alluding to Cruz's own use of "TRUS/TED", as seen in http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8hl8O71RN3E/VnhfRE5v4gI/AAAAAAAALLc/GLcG3ag99Gs/s1600/Approve.png .

  2. Robert Coren said,

    February 15, 2016 @ 10:33 am

    I have one friend who remarked on Facebook that he was inclined to read Cruz's slogan as "Truss Ted".

  3. BZ said,

    February 16, 2016 @ 5:35 pm

    I don't think trusted is a good slogan, given how it's already a word having negative connotations because of its past tense.

  4. Nancy Friedman said,

    February 18, 2016 @ 9:08 pm

    TRUS is a medical acronym for "transrectal ultrasound." It's a technique used to view a man's prostate and surrounding tissues.

  5. Colin said,

    February 22, 2016 @ 1:30 am

    Having the TED spelt out in red capital letters makes me think of the TED series of 'big idea' talks. I can't imagine Cruz would be especially well-received by a typical TED audience.

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