Debate Recap: Colin Allred Lands Heavy Blows, Ted Cruz Stumbles

Colin Allred stands tall as Ted Cruz resorts to lies and evasion.

Did you see the debate last night? Colin Allred wiped the floor with Ted Cruz. And I’m not just saying that while looking through my partisan Democratic glasses. No, Allred made a few vicious right hooks, and Cruz was often left looking smug. Cruz even argued with the moderators…twice. If debates matter in the “pick a side” game, Allred won this one.

I’ve clipped all the best moments for you below. Let’s get into it.

First and foremost, we all know that the moderators in any debate can help or hurt a candidate. Jason Whitely from WFAA and Gromer Jeffers with the Dallas Morning News moderated last night’s debate.

I was initially very concerned because I’ve watched Jason Whitley give 30-minute interviews with the furthest right in the Texas House, like Brian Harrison and Tony Tinderholt, and never offer a hint of a fact check. However, Whitley was anything but soft last night on Ted Cruz, which was refreshing to see.

For the body language experts:

Colin Allred came out of the gate swinging during his introduction.

The first topic was abortion.

Cruz said it should be left up to the state and that Texas’ State Legislature banned abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, because that’s what the people of Texas want. Of course, no mention of how our State Legislature is gerrymandered or the decades of voter suppression in Texas. While he didn’t directly say “States’ rights,” he might have well have.

Cruz claimed Allred voted to strike down Texas’ law for parental consent on abortions and that he voted to make abortions legal up until the 8th or 9th month, which is complete bullshit. I’d look up the bill number for reference, but no such bill exists.

The entire night, Ted Cruz tried to paint Colin Allred as a far-left, radical Democrat. It was laughable. I would consider myself a “Radical Democrat,” which is on the left side of the Democratic Umbrella. I know Colin Allred is on the other end of the umbrella. To demonstrate how this looks, I made a chart.

As you can see, Colin Allred and I are under the Democratic Umbrella. It’s a big umbrella—sometimes, people call it a big tent. Ted Cruz is way, way, way over there on the far right ➡️ and communists are way over there on the far left ⬅️. Obviously, communists aren’t under the umbrella. But maybe Ted Cruz is SO far to the right that even the left of the center seems radical.

Did Colin Allred call Ted Cruz out on his lies? You bet he did.

Soon after, Colin Allred hit him with one of the best lines of the debate, “When Ted Cruz says he’s pro-life, he doesn’t mean yours.”

Next, border security.

Did you know Colin Allred’s grandfather worked for border patrol? That’s why he was born in Brownsville and lived there for the first part of his life.

Allred masterfully pointed to the only thing Ted Cruz has ever done about border security, which is cosplay.

All the Republicans do this: “Hey, I’m going for a photo op at the border. It’s time to put on my safari clothes.”

It’s how you tell the real Texans from the fake Texans. Ted Cruz? Fake Texan.

There was one thing that Ted Cruz got right: the GOP’s obsession over immigration at the border is racist. The border wall is racist. However, I don’t think those are Allred’s positions. This is just another way Cruz tried to paint Allred as more radical than he is.

Nuance:

• The GOP’s focus on the border overwhelmingly centers on Latin American immigrants, particularly Mexicans and Central Americans. This selective focus perpetuates a racialized narrative where Latino immigrants are depicted as the primary “problem” or “threat,” reinforcing harmful stereotypes about people of color.

• The GOP’s obsession with the border wall is tied to fear-based campaigns that stoke anxieties about racial and demographic changes. The depiction of immigrants as invaders or a cultural threat taps into deep-seated racial fears about the “browning” of America, which plays into racist narratives about the superiority of a white, English-speaking, Christian population.

• Terms like “illegal aliens,” “invasion,” and “border crisis” are used as dog whistles to evoke racial anxieties without directly naming race by focusing on the border and presenting Latinx immigrants as a threat to American identity.

However, Colin Allred has not said in recent years that anything about the border was “racist” because he’s been playing it safe. So, even though Cruz noted Allred claimed border security was racist, he never said that.

Once again, Allred busted Cruz out on his lies.

Inflation and fossil fuels.

The moderator asked about rising home insurance prices in Texas and how they relate to climate change. Cruz never answered the question. Instead, he blamed Colin Allred for inflation and claimed Allred was participating in a war on oil and gas in Texas.

I only wish that were true. While Allred hasn’t been a shill for fossil fuels like other Democrats, such as Henry Cuellar and Lizzie Fletcher, he has also not been a green energy champion like Greg Casar. We’re in the middle of the worst climate crisis humanity has ever seen. It will take strong, progressive policies to save our world.

After Allred is elected, activists will push him to implement more progressive energy policies. Ted Cruz is literally on his knees for the fossil fuel industry, so there will be no moving him toward sensible energy policies.

It was, once again, Ted Cruz trying to paint Allred as the radical he is not.

Equal rights.

It couldn’t be avoided since all of Ted Cruz’s ads have been attacks on transgender youth. Allred clarified his opinions on transgender people’s existence in our society. He said that while he disagrees with their life choices, he doesn’t think that people should be discriminated against, which is the opposite of Cruz’s opinion. I’m paraphrasing, but that’s what I took away from it.

That clarification was good because he brought it back to freedom and liberty for all Texans, even for the Texans he didn’t understand. And at the end of the day, that’s what we want. We don’t need a Senator who will co-sign for everything, but he still knows that all Texans deserve freedom.

Then, Ted Cruz dropped a widely debunked lie about the Olympics:

• USAToday: Fact check on Algerian fighter Imane Khelif, DSDs, biology and Olympic boxing

This was a lie, a dangerous one, that put Imane Khelif’s life at risk. It was widely debunked, yet last night, Cruz stood on the stage repeating misinformation as if it were fact.

January 6th.

Cruz claimed that he was in favor of law enforcement, and that’s why Kim Ogg endorsed him. Kim Ogg, the soon-to-be former District Attorney of Harris County, has always been a DINO. You have to be to win in a blue county. Once Ogg leaves the office, she will switch parties. Mark my words.

Then, Ted Cruz claimed that in 2020, Black Lives Matter and Antifa burned down the entire country. Did y’all know that? It was news to me. Can you imagine? Our whole country is in ruins, yet I never even noticed. Did you?

That’s when Allred hit Cruz with the second-best line of the night, “You’re a threat to democracy.” To which Cruz giggled smugly.

Cruz followed that up with three outlandish and absurd statements:

• “Let me say something interesting.”

• “The far left is so angry right now. There’s so much hatred.”

• “Colin Allred just snarled at me.”

Ted Cruz doesn’t live in reality.

Here is an Ari Melbur exclusive. Ted Cruz was caught on tape planning the January 6 Insurrection.

Israel.

Ted Cruz’s position on Israel is far-right. He stands with Mango Mussolini’s idea of letting Israel wipe Palestine off of the map. Cruz also claimed to be behind the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem.

• Vox: The controversial US Jerusalem embassy opening explained

Again, Cruz tried to paint Allred as a radical in this position, but he isn’t. Allred is a moderate even in this position. He’s voted in favor of aid to Gaza but has not gotten behind any arms embargo on Israel.

Cruz also claimed that pro-Palestine protesters on college campuses were some of Allred’s biggest supporters. This was another lie.

Cruz called the International Court of Justice anti-Semitic for claiming that Israel was possibly participating in a genocide. 🤦🏻‍♀️

It’s Cruz’s position on Israel that’s radical. While Allred is likely to the right of many Lone Star Left readers, his position is still favorable compared to Ted Cruz.

For the record, earlier this year, the Texas Democratic Party put into their platform this year, to stop arming Israel for anything other than self-defense.

The child tax credit:

Colin Allred said he will support the child tax credit when he gets elected. Something Cruz voted against. Full stop.

The child tax credit lifted millions of children out of poverty and nearly ended food insecurity among American children. When Republicans took it away, they did so for the cruelty of it.

IVF.

Ted Cruz is a liar. He’s been lying for his entire Senate career. Last night, during the debate, he lied a lot. Yet, Colin Allred hit him with the truth and called him out. It was refreshing to see.

Allred was right. IVF is in danger because of Conservative judges, ones that Cruz supported. And in 2016, Cruz supported “personhood.”

• MSBNC (2016): The ‘Personhood’ problem Ted Cruz doesn’t know how to solve

Guess what? Cruz continued to lie and continued to paint Allred as the radical he wasn’t.

While some of us (like me) wish Colin Allred were a radical progressive, he isn’t. Cruz spent the entire debate trying to make him be someone he’s not. It was fundamentally dishonest of Cruz to mischaracterize Allred as anyone other than a middle-of-the-road guy who stands up for what he believes.

We know that Allred won’t abandon us while people are dying in the cold.

We know that Allred won’t use his votes to harm hungry children.

We know that Allred won’t confirm fundamentalist judges who will strip women of bodily autonomy.

And we know Allred won’t betray the constitution and participate in an insurrection.

None of that could be said about Cruz.

In last night’s debate, Colin Allred showed Texans he was the leader we needed in the US Senate.

He stood up for the truth, calmly and confidently dismantling Ted Cruz’s endless lies and fearmongering. While Cruz continued to misrepresent Allred’s positions and align himself with extreme ideologies, Allred focused on the real issues affecting Texans—healthcare, inflation, the climate crisis, and equal rights for all.

Colin Allred may not be a radical, but he’s a principled, pragmatic leader who will fight for everyday Texans. Cruz, on the other hand, demonstrated once again that he’s more interested in defending his party’s extremist agenda than doing what’s best for Texas. With Allred, we get someone who won’t abandon us in times of crisis, who will stand up for what’s right, and who will work to ensure that all Texans, not just the wealthy and powerful, have a voice in Washington.

The contrast couldn’t be clearer: Allred is a candidate of integrity and action. Cruz is just more of the same—empty promises and harmful rhetoric.

Vote early, vote often, just vote.

• October 21: First day to early vote.

• October 25: Last day to apply for a mail-in ballot.

• November 1: Last day to early vote.

• November 5: Election day!

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