Sure Cruz is OK to cartoon. Are his children immune whatever he does with them for political purposes

[fromderinside]

When should a politician's family be protected like Muslims protect Mohammed from cartoonists?

Washington Post pulled this.

Is this the point? If not where is it?
Cartoonist's rationale

“When a politician uses his children as political props, as Ted Cruz recently did in his Christmas parody video in which his eldest daughter read (with her father’s dramatic flourish) a passage of an edited Christmas classic, then I figure they are fair game,”

Ted Cruz Cartoon Is Pulled by Washington Post http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/24/u...column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Have fun at Cruz' expense.

 

[ZiprHead]

I find that distasteful. I'm glad they pulled it.

 

[TSwizzle]

I find that distasteful. I'm glad they pulled it.

It's distasteful.

The "Cruz Christmas Classics" is cringe worthy. "if you don't blah blah bal, you probably hate Christmas....and America". Politics in the USA is so utterly shit and getting worse. No wonder some places don't want democracy.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

The children are 7 and 5.

They are off limits.

They have no real idea what they are doing and they have to do what they are told.

They did not ask for this.

 

[ZiprHead]

I find that distasteful. I'm glad they pulled it.

It's distasteful.

The "Cruz Christmas Classics" is cringe worthy. "if you don't blah blah bal, you probably hate Christmas....and America". Politics in the USA is so utterly shit and getting worse. No wonder some places don't want democracy.

Probably the worst political ad I've seen so far. It's a smarmy piece of crap.

 

[zorq]

I see this cartoon as a criticism of the way Cruz is using his children. It is not a criticism of his children. As such I think it's fair and doesn't need to be removed.

The monkeys are not meant to be caricatures of Cruz's children and don't look at all like them (I presume). Cruz is identifiable... I guess, (the artist needs to find some better features to accentuate) But the cartoon itself doesn't seem to be attacking or even really glorifying the actual children.

I can see how this cartoon COULD be viewed in a negative light if you really try, but I don't think that's the intent. For example, if this were a cartoon of Obama and his children were depicted as dancing monkeys there would likely be reason to suspect a degree of racism and prejudice was being applied. (Due to commonly identifiable racist tropes) Obama's and Bush 2's ears are usually enlarged in their caricatures, even though I personally think they look quite unremarkable on their faces, (Well, W's ears do look larger than Obama's). Is there racism there for Obama by trying to make him look more like a monkey? Or is it just trying to make them both look like buffoons?

 

[untermensche]

Politicians using their children as props did not begin with Cruz.

It is not a very clever point.

Cruz is a religious fundamentalist. He is a leader of an American Taliban.

There is so much of significance to say about him, this was lazy.

 

[laughing dog]

The children are 7 and 5.

They are off limits.

They have no real idea what they are doing and they have to do what they are told.

They did not ask for this.

Cruz asked for it. Since he is a competent adult, he is legally permitted to make such choices for his children. And any consistent conservative would agree.

 

[Bronzeage]

Rush Limbaugh called Chelsea Clinton the White House dog. I think she was 13 at the time. The Obama girls have certainly been the target of a lot of hostile attention.
Of course this sort of stuff is from people who have no shame. One would think the Washington Post is above that kind of thing.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

The children are 7 and 5.

They are off limits.

They have no real idea what they are doing and they have to do what they are told.

They did not ask for this.

Cruz asked for it. Since he is a competent adult, he is legally permitted to make such choices for his children. And any consistent conservative would agree.

Cruz asked for it, not his children.

Do what you want with him, but depicting his children as something other than human, no matter how noble the intention, no matter how righteous the cause, is going to over power the message.

 

[zorq]

Mr. Cruz told reporters, “I have to admit yesterday when I saw that cartoon — not much ticks me off — but making fun of my girls, that’ll do it.”

He added: “All of us learned in kindergarten — don’t hit little girls. It’s not complicated. Don’t make fun of a 5-year-old girl and a 7-year-old girl.”

Again, I don't think Cruz is smart enough to realize that the cartoon is making fun of him for turning his children into dancing monkeys. It's not making fun of the girls for looking like monkeys or acting like monkeys. The girls had their dignity stripped from them by Cruz when he decided to use them shamelessly for his own selfish ends. The cartoon isn't shaming the girls for being victims, It's shaming Cruz for victimizing them.

 

[Axulus]

The children are 7 and 5.

They are off limits.

They have no real idea what they are doing and they have to do what they are told.

They did not ask for this.

I agree. It's also distasteful that Cruz is using them for his own political purposes, but two wrongs don't make a right.

 

[zorq]

The children are 7 and 5.

They are off limits.

They have no real idea what they are doing and they have to do what they are told.

They did not ask for this.

I agree. It's also distasteful that Cruz is using them for his own political purposes, but two wrongs don't make a right.

Are we not allowed to object when people exploit children? Or is it only cartoonists who can't object?

 

[Keith&Co.]

My kids were running around with squirt guns one morning. A neighbor's kid came out and said he was in his Church Clothes so they couldn't get him wet.

My kids agreed and left him alone.

He ran back into his house and filled up a squirt gun.

My kids complained to me that neighbor's kid was squirting them but they couldn't shoot back.

I told them to shoot back.

The neighbor showed up at my door, angry, asking if i'd really told my kids they could shoot the kid in his Sunday clothes. I explained.

"Oh, really," Neighbor said. I guess the 'i had a squirt gun' detail was not in the kid's rendition. They left.

I feel that if Cruz used his kids for political capital, then they're fair game for everyone that's playing the game. You can't have it both ways, the kids are useful for politics, but not to be used in politics...?

And he wants to be President.
He wants these kids in the same place Chelsea was for Limbaugh's ire, right? He's not going to be able to control how the entire fucking world treats his kids, his family, the family dog/cat/gerbil.

 

[Lunawalk]

The children are 7 and 5.

They are off limits.

They have no real idea what they are doing and they have to do what they are told.

They did not ask for this.

I agree children of all politicians should be off limits.

 

[Lunawalk]

My kids were running around with squirt guns one morning. A neighbor's kid came out and said he was in his Church Clothes so they couldn't get him wet.

My kids agreed and left him alone.

He ran back into his house and filled up a squirt gun.

My kids complained to me that neighbor's kid was squirting them but they couldn't shoot back.

I told them to shoot back.

The neighbor showed up at my door, angry, asking if i'd really told my kids they could shoot the kid in his Sunday clothes. I explained.

"Oh, really," Neighbor said. I guess the 'i had a squirt gun' detail was not in the kid's rendition. They left.

I feel that if Cruz used his kids for political capital, then they're fair game for everyone that's playing the game. You can't have it both ways, the kids are useful for politics, but not to be used in politics...?

And he wants to be President.
He wants these kids in the same place Chelsea was for Limbaugh's ire, right? He's not going to be able to control how the entire fucking world treats his kids, his family, the family dog/cat/gerbil.

All politicians Kennedy,Obama the Clintons use their family for political uses. Opponents should like that the high road and focus their attacks on the candidate himself. Especially if the children are UN age.

 

[Keith&Co.]

All politicians Kennedy,Obama the Clintons use their family for political uses.

Yeah. I can't imagine anyone going for the Oval office without doing it. But you cannot have it both ways.

Opponents should like that the high road and focus their attacks on the candidate himself.

Well, THIS cartoon IS attacking Cruz, not the children.
It's not making fun of anything the children have done, near as i can tell, just the fact that he's used them as performers.

I haven't seen Cruz' video, so i don't know if there's anything the girls do that could be mocked?
I can imagine that if one of them mispronounced a word, then a cartoon could be made showing them in front of the camera, his daughter stuttering, slurring her speech, forgetting lines, and Cruz and the director arguing over whether or not they should have hired a 'real' performer. That would be mocking the kids.

 

[Axulus]

I agree. It's also distasteful that Cruz is using them for his own political purposes, but two wrongs don't make a right.

Are we not allowed to object when people exploit children? Or is it only cartoonists who can't object?

We shouldn't object in a manner that also exploits those same children. There are better ways. A creative cartoonist would've figured out a way to skewer Cruz without also depicting the children as trained circus monkeys.

 

[laughing dog]

Cruz asked for it. Since he is a competent adult, he is legally permitted to make such choices for his children. And any consistent conservative would agree.

Cruz asked for it, not his children.

Yes, he did. And parents are permitted to act in such manner on behalf of their children. Right wingers and conservatives are very adamant on that point.

Do what you want with him, but depicting his children as something other than human, no matter how noble the intention, no matter how righteous the cause, is going to over power the message.

I think it was a crappy thing to do. And just because Cruz opened the door for this cartoonist to walk through does not mean the cartoonist should take him up on it. But IMO, the cartoonist was barely within the limits of acceptability.

 

[laughing dog]

Mr. Cruz told reporters, “I have to admit yesterday when I saw that cartoon — not much ticks me off — but making fun of my girls, that’ll do it.”

He added: “All of us learned in kindergarten — don’t hit little girls. It’s not complicated. Don’t make fun of a 5-year-old girl and a 7-year-old girl.”

Again, I don't think Cruz is smart enough to realize that the cartoon is making fun of him for turning his children into dancing monkeys. It's not making fun of the girls for looking like monkeys or acting like monkeys. The girls had their dignity stripped from them by Cruz when he decided to use them shamelessly for his own selfish ends. The cartoon isn't shaming the girls for being victims, It's shaming Cruz for victimizing them.

Cruz is no fool. He is playing to his base and to possible sympathizers.