Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) listens during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on June 19, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images)
Jan 15, 2021
Although the Senate is much given to admiring in its members a superiority less obvious or quite invisible to outsiders, one Senator seldom proclaims his own inferiority to another, and still more seldom likes to be told of it.
-- Henry Brooks Adams, The Education of Henry Adams
One of the joys in running for and being in the United States Senate is that you can make a complete ass of yourself repeatedly without anyone noticing. It is either because of the fact that you are surrounded by like-minded braying fools or, those who are not numbered among them, have simply grown accustomed to your maunderings and realize that when dealing with an ass it is impossible to stop the braying. There is no better example of this than Texas's own, Ted Cruz, whose countless sycophantic fictions seeking favors from the trump now and in a possible future election are legion.
One of the most impressive things about Ted Cruz is that his background belies his idiocy. He graduated with honors from Princeton, went on to Oxford and Harvard Law School, and then clerked in the United States Supreme Court. None of those, we now know, provides insurance that as life progresses you will not make a fool of yourself. One of the easiest ways to effect that is by serving in the United States Senate at the time the president of the United States is the trump. Not only does the trump provide you with the opportunity to make a fool of yourself. He provides you the opportunity to prove that political opportunism is more important than principle. If you have no principles to start with, however, that is not as difficult as it might at first appear. Ted Cruz is a good example of that.
When in 2016 the trump and Ted Cruz were competing to win the assorted primary elections that would help determine who the Republican candidate for president would be, there was considerable tension between the Republican candidates, and nowhere was it more pronounced than in the competition that took place between Mr. Cruz and the trump.
One of the more stunning accusations leveled by the trump against Mr. Cruz during the 2016 primaries was the trump assertion that Mr. Cruz's father was with Lee Harvey Oswald "prior to Oswald's you know, being shot. . . . I mean what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald, shortly before the death? Before the shooting? It's horrible." Commenting on that outburst, Sen. Lindsey Graham, who, following the trump's success at the ballot box in 2016, became one of the trump's best buddies, said of that comment that: "Any doubt left that Trump is completely unhinged? His assertion Ted Cruz's father was associated with Lee Harvey Oswald should remove ALL doubt." Mr. Cruz responded to the trump's remarks about his father with equal ferocity, calling the trump a "pathological liar," "utterly amoral," "a narcissist at a level I don't think this country's ever seen" and "a serial philanderer." At one point he went so far as to state that: "If I were in my car and getting ready to reverse and saw Donald in the backup camera, I'm not confident which pedal I'd push." Time, as we now know, heals all wounds and in the Cruz case offers driving lessons. Today Senator Cruz would offer the trump a ride were he to encounter that hypothetical.
Senator Cruz has long since forgiven the trump for unkind allegations made by trump about his father and himself during the 2016 campaign. He has shown that political loyalty (and hope for help in future years) is more important than adherence to principles. In an action Senator Cruz knew would not change the outcome of the last election, he led a group of know-nothing United States Senators in a demonstration of loyalty to the trump by sponsoring a resolution to create an election commission to investigate claims of voter fraud in some states. Senator Cruz and his cohorts were not impressed by the fact that more than 50 lawsuits alleging voter fraud in those states had been thrown out of courts all over the country. He pretended to believe that 11 Republican senators would unearth information that somehow had been overlooked by the lawyers who had represented the trump in that litigation. Senator Cruz and his sycophantic colleagues knew before the vote was taken that no election commission to investigate claims of voter fraud would be created. They just wanted to show their allegiance to the trump in the hope that in future elections the trump would return the favor when they were seeking higher office.
Senator Cruz and his cohorts were undeterred when a mob of protestors directed by the trump invaded the Capitol causing 5 deaths and considerable property damage. Indeed, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, Senator Cruz's reliable cohort in organizing the effort, was seen shaking an encouraging fist in the air as the mob began its march to the Capitol building. The ensuing events did nothing to cause him to regret his encouragement or withhold his support from the effort.
As observed at the outset, being in the United States Senate does not imbue a Senator with wisdom, common sense, or integrity. If you doubt that, just look at Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and their nine colleagues.
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Christopher Brauchli
Christopher Brauchli is a Common Dreams columnist and lawyer known nationally for his work. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Colorado School of Law where he served on the Board of Editors of the Rocky Mountain Law Review. For political commentary see his web page at humanraceandothersports.com.
Although the Senate is much given to admiring in its members a superiority less obvious or quite invisible to outsiders, one Senator seldom proclaims his own inferiority to another, and still more seldom likes to be told of it.
-- Henry Brooks Adams, The Education of Henry Adams
One of the joys in running for and being in the United States Senate is that you can make a complete ass of yourself repeatedly without anyone noticing. It is either because of the fact that you are surrounded by like-minded braying fools or, those who are not numbered among them, have simply grown accustomed to your maunderings and realize that when dealing with an ass it is impossible to stop the braying. There is no better example of this than Texas's own, Ted Cruz, whose countless sycophantic fictions seeking favors from the trump now and in a possible future election are legion.
One of the most impressive things about Ted Cruz is that his background belies his idiocy. He graduated with honors from Princeton, went on to Oxford and Harvard Law School, and then clerked in the United States Supreme Court. None of those, we now know, provides insurance that as life progresses you will not make a fool of yourself. One of the easiest ways to effect that is by serving in the United States Senate at the time the president of the United States is the trump. Not only does the trump provide you with the opportunity to make a fool of yourself. He provides you the opportunity to prove that political opportunism is more important than principle. If you have no principles to start with, however, that is not as difficult as it might at first appear. Ted Cruz is a good example of that.
When in 2016 the trump and Ted Cruz were competing to win the assorted primary elections that would help determine who the Republican candidate for president would be, there was considerable tension between the Republican candidates, and nowhere was it more pronounced than in the competition that took place between Mr. Cruz and the trump.
One of the more stunning accusations leveled by the trump against Mr. Cruz during the 2016 primaries was the trump assertion that Mr. Cruz's father was with Lee Harvey Oswald "prior to Oswald's you know, being shot. . . . I mean what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald, shortly before the death? Before the shooting? It's horrible." Commenting on that outburst, Sen. Lindsey Graham, who, following the trump's success at the ballot box in 2016, became one of the trump's best buddies, said of that comment that: "Any doubt left that Trump is completely unhinged? His assertion Ted Cruz's father was associated with Lee Harvey Oswald should remove ALL doubt." Mr. Cruz responded to the trump's remarks about his father with equal ferocity, calling the trump a "pathological liar," "utterly amoral," "a narcissist at a level I don't think this country's ever seen" and "a serial philanderer." At one point he went so far as to state that: "If I were in my car and getting ready to reverse and saw Donald in the backup camera, I'm not confident which pedal I'd push." Time, as we now know, heals all wounds and in the Cruz case offers driving lessons. Today Senator Cruz would offer the trump a ride were he to encounter that hypothetical.
Senator Cruz has long since forgiven the trump for unkind allegations made by trump about his father and himself during the 2016 campaign. He has shown that political loyalty (and hope for help in future years) is more important than adherence to principles. In an action Senator Cruz knew would not change the outcome of the last election, he led a group of know-nothing United States Senators in a demonstration of loyalty to the trump by sponsoring a resolution to create an election commission to investigate claims of voter fraud in some states. Senator Cruz and his cohorts were not impressed by the fact that more than 50 lawsuits alleging voter fraud in those states had been thrown out of courts all over the country. He pretended to believe that 11 Republican senators would unearth information that somehow had been overlooked by the lawyers who had represented the trump in that litigation. Senator Cruz and his sycophantic colleagues knew before the vote was taken that no election commission to investigate claims of voter fraud would be created. They just wanted to show their allegiance to the trump in the hope that in future elections the trump would return the favor when they were seeking higher office.
Senator Cruz and his cohorts were undeterred when a mob of protestors directed by the trump invaded the Capitol causing 5 deaths and considerable property damage. Indeed, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, Senator Cruz's reliable cohort in organizing the effort, was seen shaking an encouraging fist in the air as the mob began its march to the Capitol building. The ensuing events did nothing to cause him to regret his encouragement or withhold his support from the effort.
As observed at the outset, being in the United States Senate does not imbue a Senator with wisdom, common sense, or integrity. If you doubt that, just look at Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and their nine colleagues.
Christopher Brauchli
Christopher Brauchli is a Common Dreams columnist and lawyer known nationally for his work. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Colorado School of Law where he served on the Board of Editors of the Rocky Mountain Law Review. For political commentary see his web page at humanraceandothersports.com.
Although the Senate is much given to admiring in its members a superiority less obvious or quite invisible to outsiders, one Senator seldom proclaims his own inferiority to another, and still more seldom likes to be told of it.
-- Henry Brooks Adams, The Education of Henry Adams
One of the joys in running for and being in the United States Senate is that you can make a complete ass of yourself repeatedly without anyone noticing. It is either because of the fact that you are surrounded by like-minded braying fools or, those who are not numbered among them, have simply grown accustomed to your maunderings and realize that when dealing with an ass it is impossible to stop the braying. There is no better example of this than Texas's own, Ted Cruz, whose countless sycophantic fictions seeking favors from the trump now and in a possible future election are legion.
One of the most impressive things about Ted Cruz is that his background belies his idiocy. He graduated with honors from Princeton, went on to Oxford and Harvard Law School, and then clerked in the United States Supreme Court. None of those, we now know, provides insurance that as life progresses you will not make a fool of yourself. One of the easiest ways to effect that is by serving in the United States Senate at the time the president of the United States is the trump. Not only does the trump provide you with the opportunity to make a fool of yourself. He provides you the opportunity to prove that political opportunism is more important than principle. If you have no principles to start with, however, that is not as difficult as it might at first appear. Ted Cruz is a good example of that.
When in 2016 the trump and Ted Cruz were competing to win the assorted primary elections that would help determine who the Republican candidate for president would be, there was considerable tension between the Republican candidates, and nowhere was it more pronounced than in the competition that took place between Mr. Cruz and the trump.
One of the more stunning accusations leveled by the trump against Mr. Cruz during the 2016 primaries was the trump assertion that Mr. Cruz's father was with Lee Harvey Oswald "prior to Oswald's you know, being shot. . . . I mean what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald, shortly before the death? Before the shooting? It's horrible." Commenting on that outburst, Sen. Lindsey Graham, who, following the trump's success at the ballot box in 2016, became one of the trump's best buddies, said of that comment that: "Any doubt left that Trump is completely unhinged? His assertion Ted Cruz's father was associated with Lee Harvey Oswald should remove ALL doubt." Mr. Cruz responded to the trump's remarks about his father with equal ferocity, calling the trump a "pathological liar," "utterly amoral," "a narcissist at a level I don't think this country's ever seen" and "a serial philanderer." At one point he went so far as to state that: "If I were in my car and getting ready to reverse and saw Donald in the backup camera, I'm not confident which pedal I'd push." Time, as we now know, heals all wounds and in the Cruz case offers driving lessons. Today Senator Cruz would offer the trump a ride were he to encounter that hypothetical.
Senator Cruz has long since forgiven the trump for unkind allegations made by trump about his father and himself during the 2016 campaign. He has shown that political loyalty (and hope for help in future years) is more important than adherence to principles. In an action Senator Cruz knew would not change the outcome of the last election, he led a group of know-nothing United States Senators in a demonstration of loyalty to the trump by sponsoring a resolution to create an election commission to investigate claims of voter fraud in some states. Senator Cruz and his cohorts were not impressed by the fact that more than 50 lawsuits alleging voter fraud in those states had been thrown out of courts all over the country. He pretended to believe that 11 Republican senators would unearth information that somehow had been overlooked by the lawyers who had represented the trump in that litigation. Senator Cruz and his sycophantic colleagues knew before the vote was taken that no election commission to investigate claims of voter fraud would be created. They just wanted to show their allegiance to the trump in the hope that in future elections the trump would return the favor when they were seeking higher office.
Senator Cruz and his cohorts were undeterred when a mob of protestors directed by the trump invaded the Capitol causing 5 deaths and considerable property damage. Indeed, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, Senator Cruz's reliable cohort in organizing the effort, was seen shaking an encouraging fist in the air as the mob began its march to the Capitol building. The ensuing events did nothing to cause him to regret his encouragement or withhold his support from the effort.
As observed at the outset, being in the United States Senate does not imbue a Senator with wisdom, common sense, or integrity. If you doubt that, just look at Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and their nine colleagues.
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