That
nation’s second largest state has Sen. Ted Cruz watching its back, and the back
of every true, red-blooded American who values life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness (under
certain terms explicitly outlined in the birth certificates of Tea Party
members and others who have less than the appropriate brain cells).
To squelch
a rumor, the newbie senator is not a right-wing nut-job or slightly to the right
of Atilla the Hun. He is smart, articulate and has a charismatic personality.
(He is similar to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, if you leave out the “smart” part.)
He reminds
oldsters of another witch-hunter of the past century -- Joseph McCarthy of the
Red Scare episode back in the ‘50s.
Cruz, like
McCarthy, is playing on the worst emotions of American citizens – suspicion and
fear – in order to get what he wants. In McCarthy’s case, he wanted to be in
the eternal public spotlight with his Communist-behind-every-corner campaign in
which literally the lives of hundreds of innocent Americans were ruined by the
senator’s nefarious tactics.
McCarthy
was a bully with a mission: Expand his reputation through any means necessary,
even to the point of vilifying innocent people and creating their image as
being important cogs in the Communist movement.
McCarthy
took on the mantle of Supreme Protector of the United States against the
onslaught of Communism. And, for a time, McCarthy was revered for his courage.
While
there were Communists in this country, in McCarthy’s mind, his single-minded
Red Scare campaign was justified for
painting entire industries as being Communist fronts, on two fronts: The
threat of a Communist takeover was real in his mind; he coveted the thought of
him being seen as a true patriot and savior,
Cruz, in
his short tenure in Congress, fits the McCarthy mold. McCarthy was famous for scathing, through-the-eyebrows stare and pointed questions – “What would you say if I had a letter in my pocket attesting to
the fact that you were, in fact, a Communist?” In fact, there was no
letter.
Cruz
recently “accused” former Sen. Chuck Hagle, Secretary of Defense-designee, of
being supported by the “Friends of Hamas,” a proclaimed terrorist group. Not a
good thing for a man of Hagel’s reputation or with his aspirations.
Of course,
the story is not true. It was posed on a blog site on the Internet and then
appeared in comments by Cruz. When confronted, the Texan made no apology, just
mentioned it was his job to question nominees about possible financial
improprieties.
While it’s
a fact that the Democrats have their share of what-the-hell? politicians on
their side of the congressional aisle, the Republicans seemingly are
recruiting, or at least attracting, a disproportionate number of candidates who
could easily serve as extras in the remake of the movie, “One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest.”
To be
taken seriously, an elected official must appear serious in pursuing the
duties of a specific office in a thoughtful manner. And, when elected, they should leave any behavior that could be as medically induced, in the Congressional cloakroom.
Ted Cruz
may be amusing a specific group of admirers, but will not, short term or long
term, be known as anything other than a loose cannon and another right-wing
voice of unreason crying in the wilderness.
It took
the courage of television pioneer Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Sen. John McClellan, to take on McCarthy. Both rebuked him publicly and challenged
his campaign of hatred and bigotry to help end his rein of rhetorical terror.
Who will
be the McClellan and/or Murrow for Ted Cruz?
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