To date, not a single U.S. Senator has endorsed their colleague, Senator Ted Cruz for the Presidency. But that’s not entirely a bad thing. On January 24, in the Fox News show Media Buzz, Howard Kurtz interviewed Senator Ted Cruz. Kurtz pointed out: “It’s certainly true that you’re not the most popular guy in the Senate.” Right then, Cruz gave a brilliant reply:
“But let’s be clear why that is. It’s not how I treat people. I mean, in my entire time in public life, I’ve treated everyone with civility and respect. What is problematic in the Senate, from other Senator’s perspective is speaking the truth, actually saying what’s going on. You know, we just passed a trillion dollar omnibus bill that funded the entirety of Barack Obama’s agenda: funded Obamacare, funded executive amnesty, funded the Iran deal, funded Obama’s indefensible plan to bring Syrian refugees to America. The unpardonable sin that I committed is that I actually speak the truth and say: Why is Republican leadership funding the Democrats’ objectives?”
This kind of answer clearly shows why many ordinary Republicans do appreciate Senator Cruz. Whether you like him or not, his ability to express himself lucidly, elegantly, like a gentleman, is admirable.
In July 2015, on the Senate floor, Ted Cruz had the courage to say that out loud that the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had lied. McConnell had promised that he would not cut a deal to allow a vote on whether the Democrats would revive the Export-Import Bank, which Cruz complained was corrupt. Regardless, McConnell arranged for a vote on the Export-Import Bank.
Cruz boldly said: “What we just saw today is an absolute demonstration, that not only what he told every Republican Senator, but what he told the press, over and over and over again—was a simple lie.”
“We now know that when the majority leader looks us in the eyes and makes an explicit commitment that he is willing to say things that he knows are false.”
For his brazen courage to call out unbecoming conduct, some Senators despise Cruz. They shelter themselves under a rule that they have in the Senate: that no Senator can ever say that another Senator has misbehaved.
Senate Rule 19 states “No Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form or words, impute to another senator or to other senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a senator.” That’s why they dislike Cruz, because he pointed out their leader’s unbecoming conduct, for speaking the truth.
For a week, the media has been trying to generate a feud between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. For months, Cruz was virtually the only candidate who did not attack Trump. He did not ignore him either. Instead he repeatedly praised him, he treated him like a gentleman.
Finally, at the debate in January, the moderators forced “a fight” by asking Cruz to explain his comment about Trump’s “New York values.” News reporters were unsatisfied with the civility displayed between Cruz and Trump, so now they are relishing the back-and-forth of what are really silly, and minor insults. What are portrayed as Trump’s “vicious” attacks, are not really grave attacks at all. Again they’re just the same kind of thing schoolchildren say to one another in teasing cruelty, taunting: “nobody likes him,” “he’s nasty,” etc.
In the interview with Howard Kurtz, Cruz fairly explains that the characterization of Trump as having “New York values” came from Donald Trump himself.
“When he was doing an interview with Tim Russert, back in 1999, and he was telling Tim, Tim was asking: what are your views? And he says: ‘I’m very pro-choice. I support partial birth abortion.’ And his explanation, this is Donald talking, he says: ‘I’m from New York, I’m from Manhattan, that’s what we believe in New York.’ He says he’s open to gay marriage, he’s very pro-choice, and the entire explanation he gives is: those are New York values, and he’s the one who draws those distinctions: ‘They’re not Iowa values, but that’s what we believe in New York.’ So it’s kind of curious to see Donald all upset, that I’m repeating his own words…”
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