I'll have to hand it to that sly little Canadian bugger. You see all this time I thought, Ted Cruz was actually trying to kill the Affordable Care Act and was just too stupid to realize he couldn't possibly do it.
Obviously I was wrong. After witnessing parts of his ego fueled marathon in the Senate, a performance best described as a twisted, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington/Triumph of the Will" hybrid, it dawned on me, the whole fighting Obamacare thing is nothing more than political theater--a complete and utter sham. The extended speech was, in fact, the equivalent of a one man Broadway show, titled, "Ted Cruz is Great and He Should be Running Things."
What transpired over parts of two days had nothing to do with stopping the ACA. Oh make no mistake, Obamacare was the excuse, but even if it didn't exist Cruz would have found some other reason to stand in the Senate for hours on end listening to his own golden voice. When he compared other Senators to professional wrestlers and members of his own party to people who tried to appease the Nazis in the late 1930's with concessions, he was doing nothing more than establishing himself as the ultimate reality TV superstar. He wasn't speaking to the Senate any more than I am right now. He was addressing, the ultra right wing, who he thinks will carry him to the GOP nomination and the white house in 2016. While assuming everyone believes the left is bad, he was in effect casting aside the republican establishment and painting them as old, decadent, and devoid of passion. He was saying to the Sturmabteilung, You are the people and I Am Your New Leader. Together We will rule the homeland. Somewhere down the line expect a spirited talk about America for Americans.
The AP ran a photo of him after he delivered the speech. It was the epitome of the image he wants the masses to see. There he was, standing in the middle of a crowd of reporters, microphones offered on all sides, looking as a visionary might--chin tilted slightly upward--gazing far off toward a new and better horizon. Goebbels himself couldn't have asked for a better snapshot of his man Adolf.
Yes, it appears the evil little twerp not only wants to be president, but also granted
the title of Messiah.
Democrats derided his reading of the Dr. Seuss book, "Green Eggs and Ham." Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill claimed her daughter sent her a message saying, "Mom does he not know the point of the story?" Chuck Schumer of New York said the same thing, "Green Eggs and Ham has a moral: don't criticize something, don't reject something until you actually try it."
Both of them missed the point. Cruz is so impressed with himself that minor ironies are completely beneath him. He was delivering a dramatic reading to show the torch lit crowd he is not only a man of steel and endless bladder control, but wonderfully paternal. He was, in those horrible moments, telling us he can be the warm and kind father to all of America.
The republican old guard might hate the guy, but they are scared of him and those like him. What we might be seeing here is the emergence of a new Joseph McCarthy--a brute demagogue whose only goal is to tear the fabric of the nation apart. He certainly has the addiction to attention McCarthy had. And he most assuredly is looking to establish a new order.
If there is a light at the end of this terribly dark tunnel it is at some point Ted Cruz is going to have to face a crowd which isn't so adoring. He has been doing nothing but preaching to the choir so far and in 2016 he is going to have to pick up some votes from people who don't walk around wearing tee shirts that say "Don't Tread on Me."
Indeed, he may play well in Texas, Oklahoma, and someplace like Mississippi, but New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida could be different stories.
A couple of days ago I accused the Senator from Alberta of not being able to count. It has become evident he didn't even bother this time out because winning the battle wasn't his aim. No, he is looking ahead to the big prize and right now he is attempting a power play which will marginalize his GOP opponents in the hearts and minds of the uber right.
Luckily for all of us, my assessment remains the same. He still can't count. He'll find that out in three years when the numbers really do mean something to him.
acta deos numquam mortalia fallunt
9-26-13
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