Ted Cruz just used the most desperate tactic possible to trick voters into donating money

[TexasTowelie]

Note: This article is from Washington Press and I recall some other members commenting on the veracity of their reports. The site is rated as "far left"; however, the remainder of the articles on their site appear to be legitimate and current. I guess the article could be viewed as satire if nothing else.



If desperate times call for desperate measures, Ted Cruz must be in full panic mode. The incumbent Texas Republican is locked in a competitive race with Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso) for the U.S. Senate seat. The young, popular lawmaker is currently polling neck and neck with the Republican and has even out-raised him as November’s midterm election approaches.

Cruz needed an edge—but went about it all wrong.

In order to raise sorely needed cash, the Texas Republican opted to send his latest fundraising letter in an envelope nearly identical to a court summons. In bold letters, the face of the envelope reads, “Summons Enclosed – Open Immediately.”

The only distinction from an actual summons is a small indication on the upper left corner identifying his campaign. Otherwise, recipients may very well think they are in a heap of trouble, as a summons occurs when someone is ordered to appear in court for a lawsuit. Not exactly what someone wants to open their mailbox to find.

Read more: https://washingtonpress.com/2018/05/29/ted-cruz-just-used-the-most-desperate-tactic-possible-to-trick-voters-into-donating-money/



Does anyone remember how Ted Cruz said he would publicly shame voters in Iowa if they didn't turn out to vote?

[vlyons]

1. Seems very counter-productive

This tactic alone would piss me off and make me not want to vote for him. I'm a Texas voter, and will vote for Beto. But were I a Republican, I would see it as a big turn-off.

[TimeSnowDemos]

2. The THING about Ted Cruz

is that he's a subhuman monster that should be killed with fire... just to be safe.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. The return address also validates that it's "official" from the Superior Court.

Although people with experience know that a Summons can only be delivered by a Sheriff, a process server or by postal service (by certified mail).

[woodsprite]

4. Couldn't that be considered "mail fraud"? n/t

[Haggis for Breakfast]

8. That's just what I was thinking

One definition I found : mail fraud is a scheme to intentionally deprive another of property, services or funds via mail through the postal service. But that kind of leaves a lot of wiggle room, doesn't it ? Perhaps we can get an attorney to weigh on on this one and educate all of us.

But this does seem sleazy, even for Ted Cruz.

[Cartoonist]

5. Deja Vu

I seem to recall that he or some other repub did this before.

[TexasTowelie]

6. He did something similar just before the Iowa primary.

He sent the voters report cards indicating what percentage of the time that they ended up voting over a period of time. Giving potential voters an "F" grade probably won't get them to the ballot box to help out though. I searched for an article about it, but the source was from a RW site so I ddn't want to include it, particularly since I'm not certain about this site that I'm using for the OP.

[left-of-center2012]

7. Yes, it's despicable ...

But referencing your comment:
"This article is from Washington Press and I recall some other members commenting on the veracity of their reports."

This is what Media Bias/Fact Check (the most comprehensive media bias resource on the internet)
says about the Washington Press website: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/washington-press/

[TexasTowelie]

9. Apparently this story is true.

See the following article from the Victoria Advocate:

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Sen. Ted Cruz's re-election campaign is sending fundraising letters in envelopes marked "Summons Enclosed — Open Immediately," suggesting they could contain court appearance orders.

Instead, inside is a letter from the Texas Republican asking for support in his race against Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke.

The San Antonio Express News' editorial board has criticized the mailer as looking "like a legal threat."

Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier confirmed that the letter came from the campaign, saying Tuesday that out of 50,000-plus San Antonio area mailers "there was one complaint that came not to us but to the local media."

More at https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/ap/politics/ted-cruz-fundraising-with-official-looking-summons-mailers/article_0a39abb9-c4ef-5999-8928-0cd47867bd8d.html