I love Ted Cruz (R/Bellvue). He has simplified the explanation of what is wrong with the Tebagger wing of the GOP. His Darth-Vader-impersonations, Dr. Seuss-readings, and inevitable Nazi comparisons during his fake filibuster were more fun than a barrel of flying monkeys, and were useful to both political parties.
We should all thank him for doing the impossible -- convincing the rest of the House Neocons to abandon their fruitless quest to overturn the Affordable Care Act and/or shut down the government.
Fellow Teabaggers consider him a traitor for so quickly admitting his risky scheme had zero chance of success in the Senate just as the Tetley set rushed to line up in full support of his loony legislation. And it's true, he threw the whole soggy lot into the harbor in an eye-blink. (Bless his black little heart).
But he's also tossed a life preserver to House leaders Bohener and Cantor, who needed a nutcase to serve as a poster boy for idiocy of the extremists in their party to rally the more "mainstream" Republicans behind a more sensible solution to the current funding crisis.
For them, Cruz was a walking, talking, "I'm With Stupid" tee shirt.
In case you've been away from the telescreens over the last few days, Salon described Cruz' floor show this way:
"Thanks to Majority Leader Harry Reid, Cruz was given 21 hours in which to pretend to "filibuster" a Continuing Resolution until it was time for a cloture vote that Cruz has known all along that he would be unable to delay or block. Everyone knows this fun talk was entirely a waste of time. Everyone besides the people it's actually aimed at: Right-wing Obamacare-hating Fox viewers who don't understand how the Senate works. To them, it's an inspiring Mr. Smith moment, and they took down the names of every Republican who didn't #standwithCruz.
"He thinks he's quite smart, he's clearly quite arrogant, and he doesn't care whom he pisses off on the road to becoming the biggest conservative grass-roots hero in the country. Which, if he wasn't already, he might be now that he's wrapped up his heroic, entirely meaningless all-night talking jag against a cloture vote. (The fact that, near the end of his epic free-associative cri de coeur, Harry Reid offered Cruz at least another hour of floor time, knowing that Cruz would refuse it, was a funny end to the entire charade that few on the right will notice or remember.)"
While you're at the floral shop, toss in a fruit basket for Reid, too. This was played rather brilliantly by all sides.
