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Ted Cruz says Bernie Sanders wants Charles Manson to vote, Internet jokes 'Zodiac Killer' should know he's dead

When there is talk of Cruz and Manson, the Zodiac Killer jokes are sure to come in thick and fast

There has been a long-standing joke that Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz is the notorious Zodiac Killer. Of course, it is a preposterous claim, seeing that Cruz was born two years after the first confirmed Zodiac murder. But the joke is still as funny as ever, especially considering what Cruz said at Capitol Hill during the third day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Wednesday, October 14. Cruz, in an attempt to slam Democrats in favor of restoring voting rights to disenfranchised felons, made a strange insinuation and invoked Charles Manson. “I’m not sure the operation of the republic would be better if Charles Manson had a greater voice in the electoral system,” Cruz said. “[Bernie Sanders] argued that felons in jail, literally Charles Manson, serving multiple life sentences for murder, should be able to vote.”

Sanders, of course, never specifically said that Charles Manson should be able to vote. What he did say last year at a presidential Town Hall at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire is that picking and choosing which American gets to vote is a slippery slope. When asked if convicted terrorists or sex offenders should have the right to vote, Sanders said, “Even if they are in jail, they’re paying their price to society, but that should not take away their inherent American right to participate in our Democracy.”

But what Sanders said and did not say is moot. Especially considering that Charles Manson, the racist cult leader, who egged the members of the "Manson Family", a quasi-commune based in California, into committing a series of nine murders, has long been dead. He died from cardiac arrest resulting from respiratory failure and colon cancer at the hospital on November 19, 2017. This makes Cruz’s matter-of-fact statement a little strange. And it was a thing that many on social media picked apart. 

And of course, when there is talk of Cruz and Manson, the Zodiac Killer jokes are sure to come in thick and fast. Consequently, a Twitter user said, “LMAO, nobody told Ted Cruz that Charles Manson is dead. You'd expect the Zodiac Killer to know that.” To this, journalist Rachel Leishman hypothesized, “He probably wanted to pin the Zodiac killings on Charles and now he's like ‘f***’.” Another Twitter user noted, “I understand Ted Cruz not realizing Charles Manson is dead. Professional jealousy will make you tune some people in your field out, not follow them for your own mental health.” One Twitter user said, “Besides Charles Manson being dead, as long as unprosecuted war criminals like Dick Cheney are allowed to vote, I find the Zodiac Killer's general argument against felons voting to be unpersuasive.”

The jokes kept coming. One Twitter user said, “Charles Manson’s estate just issued a statement demanding Cruz cease and desist from speaking Manson’s name, for fear any association with Cruz would tarnish the Manson brand.” Another Twitter user wrote, “Zodiac vs Charles Manson was not the fight I expected at the ACB hearings but I am absolutely here for it.” And once again, a Twitter user summed it up with, “Ted Cruz is so obsessed with Charles Manson because Ted is actually the Zodiac Killer.”

Cruz is most definitely not the Zodiac Killer. But if October 14, 2020, were to be examined by future humans in a distant time, maybe a few centuries later, historians would have a hard time reaching that conclusion.