At first it seemed like a joke. Pictures popped up on Twitter of a man in glasses bearing a resemblance to Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) at the airport getting ready to board a flight to Cancun just days after a winter storm ravaged Texas, killing over 40 people and leaving many Texans without consistent electricity or clean water. The first pictures were grainy, from an odd angle, and rather unclear as to whether the man was actually the Senator. Sure, it was fun to imagine, to poke fun at the much-disliked Cruz, but there is no way he actually ran away to Mexico while his home state and constituents dealt with a natural disaster.
But then more pictures kept coming. Soon it was undeniable. Almost as quickly came the excuses from conservatives. Convicted felon and noted right-wing thinker Dinesh D’Souza claimed that such a getaway was fine because Cruz couldn’t do anything for his constituents, and staying in Texas would just take up resources. What a mensch! Erick Erickson (who I’m sure is trying to find a third K in his name somehow) argued that because Ted Cruz could not personally fix the power situation, who cared? And the American equivalent to Baghdad Bob, former Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, played the whatabout game to perfection, comparing the attention paid to Ted Cruz’s fleeing to the alleged lack of attention paid to Obama’s exact whereabouts during Benghazi (for the record, at least 10x more Americans have died due to the winter weather in Texas than died during the Benghazi attack).
However, the best excuse came from the culprit himself. Once the evidence became overwhelming, Senator Cruz’s office indicated that he had never intended to stay in Mexico, but was only going down there to drop his family off. The internet was having none of it, mainly asking why Cruz brought such a large suitcase for an overnight trip. But the irascible Senator doubled down, claiming that he only went down to Mexico because his daughters wanted to go on a trip and he was always intending on returning the next day, after dropping off his family.
It did not take long for this lie to be revealed. First, airline officials confirmed that Cruz had moved up his return flight following the Twitter criticism. And then the real bombshell came, as news organizations got their hands on group texts in a group which included Heidi Cruz, the Senator’s wife. The trip was planned because the houses of the Cruzes and their friends were just too cold without power. It was undeniable, then, that Senator Cruz not only planned to escape Texas, but then threw his own daughters under the bus to cover it up.
The memes were vicious. First came reminders about Cruz voting down emergency funding to New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy. Then came old tweets of Cruz, criticizing Democratic politicians for more minor transgressions. Some memes argued that Cruz, in fact, was doing Texas a favor by leaving for Mexico – it was returning that would be objectionable. Perhaps the most poignant memes were those pointing out that Cruz had crossed the US-Mexico border, traveling 1200 miles, just to get his children clean water and electricity and claimed to be a good father in doing so. Of course, the Senator is a staunch opponent of immigration. Go figure.
The Republicans have spent a lot of time recently trying to claim the mantle of the party of the working class. Certainly, more and more high school educated and rural voters tended to vote for Trump, while the more educated (and, accordingly, generally better paid) voters voted Democratic. And Republicans love to attack the Democrats for being the party of coastal elites. Still, it’s important to note that the last two Republican presidential candidates were remarkably wealthy men based in New York and Boston, both of whom went to an Ivy League school. And Senator Cruz was apparently able to go on a Mexican vacation on a whim, just because his house got a little chilly. Republicans routinely pass tax breaks for the wealthy while avoiding issues, such as minimum wage and Medicare expansion, that would help the middle class.
While Cruz has been quick to try to rehab his image, hopefully (and perhaps naïvely so), the damage has been done. Not all of us can afford to take a tropical Cruz, but it sure does sound fun.
But then more pictures kept coming. Soon it was undeniable. Almost as quickly came the excuses from conservatives. Convicted felon and noted right-wing thinker Dinesh D’Souza claimed that such a getaway was fine because Cruz couldn’t do anything for his constituents, and staying in Texas would just take up resources. What a mensch! Erick Erickson (who I’m sure is trying to find a third K in his name somehow) argued that because Ted Cruz could not personally fix the power situation, who cared? And the American equivalent to Baghdad Bob, former Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, played the whatabout game to perfection, comparing the attention paid to Ted Cruz’s fleeing to the alleged lack of attention paid to Obama’s exact whereabouts during Benghazi (for the record, at least 10x more Americans have died due to the winter weather in Texas than died during the Benghazi attack).
However, the best excuse came from the culprit himself. Once the evidence became overwhelming, Senator Cruz’s office indicated that he had never intended to stay in Mexico, but was only going down there to drop his family off. The internet was having none of it, mainly asking why Cruz brought such a large suitcase for an overnight trip. But the irascible Senator doubled down, claiming that he only went down to Mexico because his daughters wanted to go on a trip and he was always intending on returning the next day, after dropping off his family.
It did not take long for this lie to be revealed. First, airline officials confirmed that Cruz had moved up his return flight following the Twitter criticism. And then the real bombshell came, as news organizations got their hands on group texts in a group which included Heidi Cruz, the Senator’s wife. The trip was planned because the houses of the Cruzes and their friends were just too cold without power. It was undeniable, then, that Senator Cruz not only planned to escape Texas, but then threw his own daughters under the bus to cover it up.
The memes were vicious. First came reminders about Cruz voting down emergency funding to New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy. Then came old tweets of Cruz, criticizing Democratic politicians for more minor transgressions. Some memes argued that Cruz, in fact, was doing Texas a favor by leaving for Mexico – it was returning that would be objectionable. Perhaps the most poignant memes were those pointing out that Cruz had crossed the US-Mexico border, traveling 1200 miles, just to get his children clean water and electricity and claimed to be a good father in doing so. Of course, the Senator is a staunch opponent of immigration. Go figure.
The Republicans have spent a lot of time recently trying to claim the mantle of the party of the working class. Certainly, more and more high school educated and rural voters tended to vote for Trump, while the more educated (and, accordingly, generally better paid) voters voted Democratic. And Republicans love to attack the Democrats for being the party of coastal elites. Still, it’s important to note that the last two Republican presidential candidates were remarkably wealthy men based in New York and Boston, both of whom went to an Ivy League school. And Senator Cruz was apparently able to go on a Mexican vacation on a whim, just because his house got a little chilly. Republicans routinely pass tax breaks for the wealthy while avoiding issues, such as minimum wage and Medicare expansion, that would help the middle class.
While Cruz has been quick to try to rehab his image, hopefully (and perhaps naïvely so), the damage has been done. Not all of us can afford to take a tropical Cruz, but it sure does sound fun.