In Cancún or Texas, Cruz is still Cruz
When social media began fluttering the night of Feb. 17 with supposed news and pictures that U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was flying to Cancún, there were three reasons to be skeptical.
First, while the man with the “Come and Take It” mask looked like the Cruz who wore a “Come and Take It” mask during President Joe Biden’s inauguration that didn’t mean it was him.
Second, if it was Cruz, those could have been old photos taken months or years ago.
Third, it’s hard to think the Harvard Law Schooleducated Cruz would be so stupid, insensitive and tone deaf to travel to Cancún during a historic and deadly winter storm that left millions of his constituents without power.
He was. Sigh.
The senator then compounded his faux pas with layers of excuses and lies as thick as the snowfall he was fleeing. In an initial statement to CNN, Cruz said: “With school canceled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends. Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon.”
An adult blaming their mistakes on their 10-yearold and 12-year-old daughters is always a bad look. It’s especially awful when it confirms and cements a pattern about character. In 2016, Donald Trump mocked Cruz’s wife’s looks and falsely suggested Cruz’s father was involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The trashing of his wife and father didn’t refrain Cruz from becoming such a Trump toady that he shamelessly aided the ex-president’s attempt to overturn the election results of 2020.
By the time Cruz stood in front of his house, the next day, admitting his mistake, he was the subject of countless memes and GIFS.
People have defended Cruz by saying, as a senator, there was little he could do regarding the power grid, which is ridiculous. He is one of the state’s two highest elected federal officials, positions that have a symbolic power beyond those laid out in the Constitution.
During a catastrophic emergency, people expect a senator to visit hard-hit areas, see how people are doing, comfort them, listen to them and learn what they need to be a better advocate for them. This is what elected officials at all levels of government sign up for.
That Cruz wasn’t moved to do this as he booked flights to Mexico is stunning. Even if he couldn’t see the inherent humane value in physically helping victims of the storm, certainly he could see the political consequences of skipping town?
New York U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-cortez used her huge social media following to raise $5 million for Texans hurt by the storm and traveled to Houston, over the weekend, to see the damage and talk to people.
Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’rourke, who narrowly lost to Cruz in the 2018 election, organized volunteers who have made about 900,000 wellness checks and delivered food and water to Texans, especially seniors.
Besides the substantial material goods they provided, Ocasio-cortez and O’rourke demonstrated the importance of compassionate presence, of being there, wherever there is, when people are hurting. We have called for Cruz’ expulsion from the Senate for supporting Trump’s attack on democracy, which led to a blood-thirsty attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. That call remains. Cruz’s role in one of the most shameful episodes in our history, and his flight to Cancún during the storm, showed the senator’s self-interest comes before that of his constituents and his country. He doesn’t deserve your vote.