Donald Trump Is Making Out With Ted Cruz on This Billboard Outside the GOP Convention

All delegates, superdelegates, former college basketball coaches and garden variety political junkies attending next week’s Republican National Convention will be greeted by an unusual and unavoidable sight: Sen. Ted Cruz going in for a passionate kiss with presumptive presidential nominee Donald J. Trump. 

A non-profit advocacy group called Planting Peace placed the ad directly outside the entrance to the convention at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena as a “message to the GOP.”

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The 5 Strangest Things the 2016 Presidential Candidates Are Selling Online

The 2016 election may be more than a year away, but things are already getting weird.

One of the first places the strangeness is showing is in candidates’ campaign stores, so we decided to compile a few of our favorite fundraising oddities.

(For the purposes of this list, fan-created merchandise is left off, though there are some truly laudable puns and other bits of wordplay out there like the Christie Creme t-shirt, “Feel the Bern” and “I’m Ridin’ With Biden.”

As with any time you see election coverage, just remember: this is our circus, and these are our monkeys. We’ve gone through all 22 declared candidates’ campaign stores to find you the strangest things that are offered:

5. The Trump Party Cup ($20)

Official description: “Trump for President! Show your support while you sip your favorite beverage out of our campaign party cups.”

These 16-ounce cups aren’t quite big enough to get you through a predential debate drinking game, but at least you’ll be making your allegiances known (for better or worse). 

But for $20, I could buy a 50 pack of actual Solo cups and a fifth of Old Grand-Dad bourbon—a purchase sure to bring more lasting happiness than three cups I have to wash by hand.

Ted Cruz’s store’s drinkware category gets an honorable mention. If you’re tailgating the R.N.C., check out his stadium cups. In comparison to Trump’s, these are a steal at six for $20.

4. Scott Walker’s Biography, at a Mere 2,250% Markup ($299)

Official description: “Don’t miss your chance to get Governor Scott Walker’s book, ‘Unintimidated,’ signed with a personalized note from the Governor. This exclusive item would make a great gift or memorabilia for the Scott Walker fan. Secure your book today while supplies last.”

Unintimidated is currently selling for $12.74 on Amazon. But if you’ve been bitten and smitten by the Walker virus, you can spend a considerably steeper $299 for a signed and personalized copy. If you’re looking for some Republican memorabilia on a tighter budget, a signed version of Ted Cruz’s tome is $85 ($16.79 unsigned on Amazon), and an unsigned copy of Rand Paul’s is $30 ($18.79 on Amazon).

3. A U.S. Constitution Signed by Rand Paul ($1,000)

Official description: “It’s hard to find a greater defender of the U.S. Constitution in the Halls of Congress than Rand Paul. As a Constitutional conservative, he makes it the core of everything he does in Washington. If you would like a signed Constitution in a neatly bound book, contribute $1,000 and we will send you one. It’s [sic] size is perfect for comfortable carrying in the pocket of a sport coat, a purse, laptop bag or in the back pocket of some worn out jeans.”

Unless it’s dipped in gold and hand delivered to me by Rand Paul, I’m not spending $1,000 on a copy of the Constitution, a document I can print off the Internet. Even if I had the money and wanted a copy, I’d pass on principle: if you’re going to ask for that much money, at least pay someone to fix your grammatical errors. 

2. (TIE) Hillary’s Everyday Pantsuit Tee and the “Yaaas, Hillary” T-shirt ($30 each)

Official description (Pantsuit Tee): “Bringing a whole new meaning to casual Friday. Pantsuit bottoms not included. American Made. Union Printed.”)

Official description (Yaaas, Hillary T-shirt): “Need we say more? American Made. Union Printed. 100% Cotton.”

I’m all for not taking yourself too seriously. But the former secretary of state’s campaign website appears as though her PR team recruited a bunch of college kids, threw a kegger, and let them throw darts to determine which products made it into the shop.

Other highlights include: a coozie emblazoned with “More like Chillary Clinton, amirite?” and a “Grillary Clinton” spatula.

1. Jeb Bush’s Guaca Bowle ($75)

Official description: “Jeb and Columba love whipping up guacamole on Sunday Funday. Now, you can get in on the act with this ‘Guaca Bowle.’ Jeb’s secret guacamole recipe not included…yet.”

Seriously? Jeb, Williams-Sonoma carries the same thing for less than $50, and it actually comes with a recipe. It’s like someone in the campaign Googled “how to be folksy lol” and then used the search results to write the description for this guacamole bowl.

It also puts a bit too much faith in the shopper catching that it should be pronounced “Guaca Bowl-ee,” unlike its golf-clap-worthy competitor, the Marco Polo.

Stick it to the GOP at ‘Is This Job Essential?’

isthisproWhich government jobs are truly essential? The folks at “Is This Job Essential?” were tired of government officials making decisions about which jobs were and were not necessary. So they decided to use the magic of the Internet to put the vote to the people.

Isthisjobessential.com offers up government jobs and let visitors rate how essential those positions are, from 1 to 10. The site reminds you, under politicians, that “This elected official is getting paid right now.” According to voters, the least essential jobs are held by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Virginia Representative Eric Cantor, and Kentucky Senators Mitch McConnel and Rand Paul. Meanwhile, the five most essential jobs — National Lab Researcher, Passport Guy, The Person Who Helps Moms and Kids, The Person Who Gives Flu Shots and a Happy Police Dog — were impacted by the government shutdown.

That’s pretty much the gist of the site: that the politicians responsible for grinding government to a halt are still getting paid, while the people who have jobs contributing something to the country are being screwed over by the shutdown and/or budget cuts. It would be nice if they could give more information about each political figure, especially their culpability in the government shutdown, so people could make a more informed vote and so the sight could be a touch more educational. That being said, it’s nice to see people up-in-arms over the most recent Republican attack on democracy. (I’m no fan of the Democratic party, but to suggest that the shutdown was not completely the fault of the GOP is complete and utter bullshit.) If only someone could force Ted Cruz to look at this site, perhaps with some sort of A Clockwork Orange style eyelid-opening device, the world might be a slightly more just place. Unfortunately, if any Republicans do happen upon the site they will just use their well-honed “bury your head in the sand” powers to ignore its existence. This kind of thing will likely just be passed around social media amongst people who already agree with the site’s sentiments. But hey, maybe it will piss off that one Republican friend you have on Facebook who thinks this is all Obama’s fault. That’s something, right?

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