Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
Did he say it again or was this the one from a few months back? Because either way this is hilarious
Date on the article is September 2025.
We’d attack policy, but Republicans don’t have any.
Texas, the pedophile state. Don't like it? Maybe get some new reps!
Rafael cant suck enough pedo cock
Just to be clear, ALL MAGAs are Pedophiles, or Pedophile Protectors.
You know another name for a Pedophile Protector?
Pedophile.
Nazi apologists are Nazis
Pedophile protectors are pedophiles
What about nazi pedophiles apologists protecting nazi pedophiles??
There is no limit on stacking labels.
His name is Raphael, not Ted.
I have negative love for the guy, but people have a right to call themselves what they want. Even shitty cowards.
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.
Disagree
Don't deadname him
I feel like if you're a Nazi enabler, the rules don't apply.
Call them fat, call them dumb, and point out their personal foibles. Shame them in any way possible.
Can't shame the shameless. They are already supporting nazis and pedophiles. I would safely assume these people have no shame.
LMAO
Same article as September for those curious if Raphael did it again, it's just an old article.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I don't think that's what Cruz was talking about
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.
I can't think of a better way to quell the flames of public outcry!
wasn't this awhile ago or did he do it again.
yeah, I had to check the date and it was in September last year
My bad. It resurfaced on my feed and I mistook for a new article.
September 30, 2025
Not that I think it's unimportant, but I wish we'd keep things current here.
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.
Inevitable.
Hope you’re proud of your representation, Texas.
They are.
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.
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.
He's in the files...
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.
Still in the files, but in the "LET ME IIIINNN!" kind of way.
Maybe he was invited, but the weather was too nice in Texas at the time.
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
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.
They are all terrorists and pedophiles.