"The reports of Cruz’s alleged vacation spread quickly on social media, catapulted by Texans‘ frozen frustration. If true, the trip would add even more insult to injury for a battered state dealing with a historic disaster."
KSAT-TV, A San Antonio ABC affiliate
Bad mistake.
His trip to Cancun fits a narrative that is motivating American politics. The big shots play by their own rules. They live high while we suffer.
It is 7:40 a.m. on the West Coast as I type this. America's media outlets erupted over the past forty minutes. They woke up to something passed around on social media last night, photos of Cruz and family on an airplane to Mexico.
The lead sentences to each story, embed the notion of disapproval and resentment:
"Barbs fly at Ted Cruz for heading to Cancun as millions in Texas freeze without power."
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| Tweet circulating |
"Ted Cruz under fire as photos of him circulate. . . ."
"There's only one Texan warm right now as Ted Cruz bolted to Cancun. . . ."
"Ted Cruz accused of flying to Cancun amid Texas power outage. . . ."
"Why freeze in the dark with the rest of Texas when you can jet set to a beach resort. . . ."
"Ted Cruz flees with family. . . tries to get an upgrade. . . 'shameless' senator deserts millions of desperate Texans. . . ."
And more like these.
Today Ted Cruz is the target. The conservative media (NY Post, Washington Times, NewsMax, One America Network) have not yet added their voice to this story, although Fox's website was among the first. Conservative sources have their own handy targets:
Gavin Newsom eats at fancy Napa Restaurant!
Nancy Pelosi keeps fancy chocolate ice cream in Sub Zero freezer!
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| Newsom maskless at fancy restaurant |
AOC modeled expensive dress for Vogue photo shoot!
The error for Gavin Newsom was not simply that he was photographed after dinner, sitting and talking with table-mates when he should have been masked. Had he been at a Subway or McDonalds the image would not have the same sting. He was eating at an expensive--"exclusive" as the news stories reported it--Napa restaurant, The French Laundry.
Nancy Pelosi was not merely eating ice cream. It was gourmet ice cream, not sold at the local Safeway. And it came out of a gleaming Sub Zero home refrigerator, a high end brand.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez advocates for people who don't own designer dresses. Neither does she, but she wore one for the photo.
Gavin Newsom is facing a recall election. The photo of him eating a meal at The French Laundry figures prominently in articles about him. It symbolizes something people don't like. Californians are inconvenienced and sometimes suffering under COVID restriction rules Newsom promulgates. Americans want to see him suffering alongside them, practicing what he preaches, experiencing the same miseries.
Pelosi, too. She can afford fancy ice cream and a nice freezer--as can millions of fellow Californians--and can buy it with money she earned herself, but that doesn't mitigate. It exacerbates. She is a public servant. She gets a salary. We want to know about her sacrifices, not her pleasures.
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| Nancy Pelosi eats this ice cream. Do you? |
Ted Cruz could tweet suggestions for Texans to stay safe and urge federal emergency money be sent to Texas as easily from Cancun as from Houston--more easily, since Houston currently lacks electricity. But the symbolism is huge: He isn't suffering with us. He took care of himself. He can afford to go to Cancun. He left his post, even if restoring power isn't his job. Ted Cruz has privilege.
I consider the criticism of Cruz--and Newsom, Pelosi, and AOC--to be unfair and petty. Senior politicians have a right to live and have some personal space. Still, I recognize the criticism as inevitable and damaging, and the behavior of each of them to have been political error. People are looking for symbols of hypocrisy and privilege, and each offered them up. It was bad political tradecraft.
The trip to Cancun is terrible optics for Cruz. This is body language people understand. It dwarfs the impact of his positions on issues. Who can keep track of who believes what policies, and whether Cruz is on the right side of it? But everyone understands that Ted Cruz is warm and they are cold. When Cruz accuses others of wrongdoing, people will see a guy who took care of Number One and tried to sneak out of town. They don't like it. It will haunt him.
Cancun Cruz.
Update at 10:00. Ted Cruz returning home immediately. Too late, but good plan. He will say he realized he was needed at at home, and returning early was his plan all along. Critics will say that is bullshit. Lyin' Ted. Skip-town-Ted. Cancun Cruz.
8 comments:
Everyone has a lapse once in a while, which should be forgivable.
However I suggest two caveats:
1. Did the person try to hide the behavior?
2. Can it be seen as habitual.
Generally speaking Progressives are not sneaky or habitual offenders. If they are they will be punished by their own side, never mind the Republicans. As it is Newsom and Pelosi are effective leaders whose supporters are glad they are in office.
Cruz...?
Cruz can vacation anywhere he wants as long as his voters don't mind the habitual hypocrisy. Of course he will have an excuse (can't wait to hear it!).
That's on them...
I also would like to mention how tiresome the word "elite" is.
Compared to most of the rest of the world, everyone in America is an elite, some just resent those who have more success, or are smarter, than themselves and throw around the term like it's an insult, when they should say "more elite than me", which even then is silly.
Don’t forget he denied aid for other states when a disaster hit. Now he wants aid for Texas, another bad optic.
Yes people get jealous of others good fortune. As someone who has a home in a tropical location as a second home, I learned to not mention it until I knew the person fairly well. Otherwise, I would experience their resentment toward me, as if I did something wrong.
It depends...
Did Ted already have a vacation trip scheduled?
Is there anything he could do to help the Texans during this weather event?
The US Senate is in pro forma session. Currently, there is no pending business before the Senate.
Ted Cruz along with Sen Cornyn request the President declare an emergency for Texas. Biden issued a disaster declaration for the weather event in Texas, mobilizing FEMA and other National resources to aid Texas.
Not sure what more Senator Cruz could do except pack sun screen and leave.
Lead, follow or get out of the way! Not a bad plan except for the impression it leaves with Texans.
Personally I'm not concerned that Ted Cruz took his family on vacation.
I know if it weren't for COVID I would be in Palm Springs or the Islands, where I normally travel in the winter.
Let's not be distracted by pettiness but address policies like support for the Covid relief legislation, immigration reform, infrastructure improvements and climate change (obviously).
As we're devoid to the constant Tweeter feed from TPG (the previous guy) finding constructive things to do besides being outraged is the order of the day now.
To borrow a bunch of metaphors: It's morning in America, time to roll up our sleeves and get America back to work!
_Correction_
The Governor of Texas requested the emergency declaration, not their US Senator. Both Cruz and Cornyn put their shoulders into the request.
The twitter and Text feeds are being disclosed showing the planning involved by his wife. Throwing his daughters under the bus is just par for the course for this despicable excuse of a human being.
For as smart a man as he is, one would think he would be a better liar.
Ted Cruz has never been more than an opportunistic blowhard, a snake oil salesman epitomized. Did the stupid Texans who voted for this misanthrope actually believe that he was going to join them and freeze his ass off?
And are they naive enough to believe that upon his return to Texas he won't be the recipient of special treatment in the allotment of resources that provide heat? Poetic justice indeed! Texans are enjoying but a soupcon of the crap that the likes of Ted Cruz customarily dishes out to everyone and everything that gets in his perverted way. Let him be known henceforth as
"Sunshine Skippy, the man who chose to abandon the ones he failed to serve."
Bob Warren
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