Ellington

"It's also been reported that (Robert Dear) was registered as an independent and a woman and a transgendered (sic) leftist activist. If that's what he is, I don't think it's fair to blame the rhetoric on the left. This is a murderer."

— GOP presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on last week's Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting suspect, Robert Dear.

Why it stinks: Maybe Sen. Cruz is reading different news media than the rest of us—OK, he most certainly is—but when was the last time a transgender leftist was a suspect in a mass shooting, let alone one at an abortion clinic? More evidence to refute Cruz' silly statement came out of Dear's own mouth, when he said something to law enforcement officers about "no more baby parts," which is a rallying cry on the right. For Cruz to deny that the anti-abortion rhetoric is spurred on by the right wing and members of his own party is not only disingenuous; it is extremely dangerous.