Your handy, dandy Trump vs. Cruz comparison chart! [UPDATED]

Newly updated and presented without comment for your consideration.

Simply click each policy or issue to read the back-story.

Policy or Issue	Trump	Cruz
In 2013, supported Amnesty for all 20 million illegal aliens in the U.S.	Yes	No
In 2000, supported an Assault Weapons Ban	Yes	No
In 2015, supported "touchback" Amnesty for every illegal alien in the U.S.	Yes	No
In 2000, supported Partial-Birth Abortion	Yes	No
In 2015, lied to gun media about his past support for an Assault Weapons Ban	Yes	No
Supports seizure of private property by the government using Eminent Domain (Kelo)	Yes	No
Despite signing a pledge to the contrary, continues to threaten a 3rd party run	Yes	No
Blames George W. Bush for the 9/11 attacks	Yes	No
Claims George W. Bush lied us into the Iraq War	Yes	No
Praised by Code Pink for spewing left wing conspiracy theories in a GOP debate	Yes	No
Supports Mitch McConnell's habitual lies to constituents and fellow GOP Senators	Yes	No
Currently courting and being courted by GOP establishment	Yes	No
Currently supports crony capitalism: billions in taxpayer ethanol subsidies	Yes	No
In 2000, supported Extended Waiting Periods to Acquire Firearms	Yes	No
Amount of debt owed to bankers	Many billions	$1 million
Amount donated to the bogus Clinton "Foundation"	$100,000	0
Spends virtually every waking moment on social media	Yes	No
Has registered as a Republican, Democrat, Independent, Republican and "No Party"	Yes	No
Has personally insulted nearly every potential running mate	Yes	No
Endorsed by GOPe icon Bob Dole, who thought Ronald Reagan was "too fringe"	Yes	No
Number of bankruptcies declared by firms he led	4	0
Amount of debt defaulted on	$4.7 billion	$0.00
Number of times married	3	1
Number of "birther" conspiracy theories circulated	2	0
Praised/endorsed Communist for Mayor of New York	Yes	No
Appears to shift his position on important issues literally overnight	?	No
A guy so stable, sober and poised that you want his finger on the button	?	Yep

As I've said repeatedly:

A Plague of Liars

Another keeper by summer intern @BiffSpackle:

REASON #6,303 I LOVE ME SOME TED CRUZ: Pimp-slapping NBC's Chuck Todd Edition

I mean love in a totally platonic and manly kinda way, of course.

So, Sen. Cruz appeared on Meet the Press today and addressed the issue of naming a replacement of Supreme Court Justice Scalia. Those echoes you hear are the slaps Senator Cruz inflicted on the face of the Democrat hack/press release narrator Chuck Todd:

PARADE OF HATEFUL NUTJOBS: Classy Leftists React to Justice Scalia's Tragic Passing

With all the respect that you'd expect from the radical Marxist Left (i.e., the modern Democrat Party):

I feel much safer now that Scalia is dead, much more than I did when we killed Bin Laden.

— Mariya Alexander (@MariyaAlexander) February 13, 2016

Do We Really Need Four More Years of This?

Remember this infamous NYT piece on then-Senator Barack Obama in September of 2008?

“I think that I’m a better speechwriter than my speechwriters,” Mr. Obama told Patrick Gaspard, his political director, at the start of the 2008 campaign, according to The New Yorker. “I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I’ll tell you right now that I’m going to think I’m a better political director than my political director.”

Now fast forward to the current election cycle:

...let me start the discussion by showing you this video:

MAGNUS CRUZ: Robot Fighter

It would appear that our summer intern, @BiffSpackle, has been dipping into the mushrooms again.

In case you missed it, the backstory is here.
 

LYING, PARTISAN HACK-WEASELS: Which is the term CNN prefers, I hear

By Renee Nal

At right, a Carson press release published on caucus night

In case you have not yet figured it out yet, CNN gave the distinct impression that Dr. Ben Carson was suspending his campaign on the night of the Iowa caucus. The report was used by the Ted Cruz campaign, who disseminated the information to precinct captains.

This information was also used by anyone who happened to check the news with their mobile phone during the Iowa Caucus.

It is absurd to consider that media types like Michael Smerconish, Business Insider, Buzzfeed and others were fooled by overly ambitious Ted Cruz precinct captains who were cherry picking information from a CNN report, as alleged by CNN correspondent Chris Moody.

THIS IS HOW IT STARTED:

Cruz Once Again Proves Himself Presidential

By Lloyd Marcus

As the New Hampshire primary fast approaches, I wish to remind voters that our next Commander-in-Chief must be of the highest character; cut from the rare cloth of our founders.

Sometimes God gives us great gifts in unassuming packages. Recent attacks on Ted Cruz from both the Trump and Dr Carson campaigns gifted Cruz an opportunity to show his character and presidential instincts. Cruz was hit from all sides when a staffer used a CNN report that Dr Carson might leave the race.

Cruz did not pull a Hillary, claiming ignorance while throwing the staffer under the bus.

PREDICTION VALIDATED: Trump Poll Numbers May Be Vastly Inflated Due to Reality Show Name Recognition

By Malcolm X. Cromwell

Two-and-one-half months before last week's Iowa Caucus, columnist S.A. Miller of The Washington Times noted what could be called "The Trump Effect" on poll numbers with an article entitled "Donald Trump seen unlikely to win in Iowa despite poll numbers":

Laura Kamienski, a Republican Party caucus precinct representative for Hiawatha District in Cedar Rapids ... said she expects a surprise in the caucus this cycle similar to former Sen. Rick Santorum’s unexpected win in 2012. Mr. Santorum is back in the 2016 Republican race but is polling near the bottom of the crowded field in Iowa and nationally.

...Pollsters defended their survey methods and stood by their numbers. But some credited Mr. Trump’s dominance in polls to his near-universal name recognition as star of the hit TV shows “The Apprentice” and “Celebrity Apprentice.”

CRUZ OR TRUMP? Let Jimmy Carter Be Your Guide

By Trevor Loudon

A lot of good people, including many friends of mine, have signed up to support Donald Trump for POTUS. That was understandable when Trump was saying great things about illegal immigration and the media was telling us Ted Cruz couldn’t win.

Now its very clear that Cruz can, and most probably will win, and Donald Trump has revealed himself as more “progressive” than principled.

In my view, restoring the US Constitution would solve the bulk of America’s social, economic and political problems in one fell swoop.

Ted Cruz memorized the entire Constitution at age 14. He has fought several important court battles to preserve it. Senator Cruz lives, eats and breathes the Constitution.

How many times have you ever heard Donald Trump even mention it?

Ever Looked at Ted Cruz's Resume?

By Reaganite Republican

Say what you will about Ted Cruz, but the Senator from Texas is the only man in the current presidential field who has spent his entire life defending the United States Constitution.

He went to the Senate promising he wasn't going there to make friends, but instead pledged to rattle the cages of the establishment. And, unlike 99.9% of the politicos who make it to D.C., he kept his promises:

Yes, Rubio's Amnesty bill provided legal status, work permits for criminals

By Jeremy Beck

Fact Check's Robert Farley looked into Ted Cruz's claim that Marco Rubio's immigration bill would have granted legal status (and work permits) to criminal aliens. Farley's piece, "Cruz Distorts Rubio's Immigration Stance," was picked up by USA Today and The Huffington Post among others.

Farley concluded that, "one could argue that Rubio’s plan would allow those convicted of some misdemeanor crimes to obtain legal residency, but Cruz’s blanket claim that Rubio “advocates amnesty for criminals who are here illegally” omits the criminal exceptions that Rubio has outlined."

"Select, Do Not Settle"

By Dan from New York

When I was a kid growing up in NYC, a big men’s clothing store (Barney’s) used this as its tagline: “Select, Don’t Settle.” Many years later, the thought now applies to Ted Cruz. It about sums it up for me. He’s going to be a great president. The antidote to eight dismal years of Obama’s regime. And best of all...

GOPe FAUX CONTROVERSY #705: CNN and Rubio Campaign spread rumors that Carson was dropping out

Renee Nal, writing at Trevor Loudon's site, offers a comprehensive timeline of the rumors that spread like wildfire during the Iowa Caucus votes that Ben Carson had dropped out.

The always erudite and reasoned intellect known as Donald J. Trump, who recently likened Carson to a child molester, immediately called Cruz a cheater and demanded that Iowa re-convene their cauci.

But the facts, as Nal documents, are very different than the reality distortion field that often surrounds Mr. Trump.

LIMBAUGH: Trump Lost Iowa Because He Attacked Cruz ‘Like A Liberal Democrat'

By Christian Datoc

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday that Donald Trump lost the Iowa caucus because his criticism of Ted Cruz made him sound “like a liberal Democrat.”

“I don’t think Trump skipping the debate had a thing to do with what happened last night,” began Limbaugh. “This is a Republican primary. It’s Iowa. Conservatives win in Iowa.”

The Constitution, Donald Trump and the Sarah Palin I Used to Know

By Jen Kuznicki

How is it possible to suggest that after all the exposure that Donald Trump has had, the positions he’s taken, and the smack he’s talked, that he is a constitutional candidate who most represents the constitutional restoration of our government, free market capitalism, and a return to our Judeo-Christian principles?

It seemed awfully strange that Sarah Palin would try to help Donald Trump, given that her most memorable speeches and work always seemed to track toward our founding and constitutional principles. I have been a Palin fan since 2008; in fact, my first ever published piece was in defense of this great Hockey Mom from the Great White North, who thought outside the box and drove the establishment crazy. She was the first true maverick of recent years.

TRUMP'S FALTERING LEAD: The Meltdown Begins

I wonder what Mr. Trump will call Iowans if he loses the Caucuses on Monday?

Trump’s Lead Shrinks As Attacks On Cruz Appear To Backfire — Poll

"Cruz alone has proven that he has the courage and the competence to lead an American restoration."

By Caroline Glick

Under President Barack Obama, the United States has been fundamentally transformed. From the land of the free and the home of the brave, seven years into the Obama presidency, America acts like the land of the overregulated and the home of the risk averse.

In the Middle East, the new America is treacherous, and pathetic. It is despised by its allies and scorned by its enemies.

Consider the state of America’s relations with Saudi Arabia.

THUNDER OVER IOWA: More Than 500 Faith And Cultural Conservative Leaders Endorse... Ted Cruz

By Conservative HQ

Led by such well known faith and cultural conservative leaders as Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Bob VanderPlaats of the Family Leader, Pastor Joseph Brown, Vicki Crawford, Dr. James Dobson, Rabbi Yaakov Rosenblatt, Gary Bauer, Reverend CL Bryant, Brian Brown of The National Organization For Marriage, CHQ’s Richard A. Viguerie and Bishop E.W. Jackson, over 500 faith and cultural conservative leaders have endorsed Senator Ted Cruz for President in advance of the Iowa Caucuses. 

In endorsing Ted Cruz for President Tony Perkins spoke for many faith leaders and cultural conservatives when he said, "I trust Ted to fight to pull America out of the political and cultural tailspin that President Obama’s policies have put us in. This is no normal election; this election is about the very survival of our Constitution and our republic.” 

Perkins added a key consideration in the minds of many faith-first voters; Ted Cruz’s record of keeping his promises. 

Ted Cruz needs an issue if he wants to win – and this is it

By Craig Shirley

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) would be wise to avoid the mistake Ronald Reagan made early in his 1976 insurgent campaign to supplant President Gerald Ford as the Republican presidential nominee. Cruz needs a crystallizing justification — a signature issue.

Reagan only found one mid-way through his 1976 race, but he was able to use it to carry him to victory in 1980. Reagan’s populist call to hold on to the Panama Canal — “We built it! We paid for it! It’s ours! And we’re gonna keep it!” — resounded with voters in 1976. Cruz has an equally populist issue that could prove as successful: campaigning against the U.S. Supreme Court’s eminent-domain ruling.