Does Everyone Hate Ted Cruz?

Rafael Edward Cruz, junior Senator from Texas and one of the last men standing in the race to capture the Republican nomination for President. Sen. Cruz is well known for his defiant actions on the floor of the Senate, seemingly taking on all the Democratic Senators and members of his own party alike single-handedly at times. One of his most famous moments came when he called the majority leader a liar. His status as a freshman Senator with no DC record to stand on has irritated senior members of the Senate, especially when he’s tried to rally people to support his conservative causes. He’s seen as a walking talking outrage by the leadership of the Republican Party, and he walks the edge of a knife with his high-risk, no-results stances. With so much of Washington against him, how is it that Ted Cruz has survived this deep into the primary season?

Senator Cruz was born in Calgary, Canada in 1970, where his parents had been living for three years. Both of his parents were well educated, with his mother hailing from Delaware and his father from Cuba. Sen. Cruz’s father obtained political asylum in America after leaving college. He then earned Canadian citizenship in 1973, and was later naturalized as a US Citizen in 2005. Rafael’s parents divorced in 1997. Cruz was a stellar student while attending private schools in Texas and graduating as valedictorian. He attended Princeton University earning a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy. He followed up with a graduate degree from Harvard Law School in 1995. Cruz was a champion debater; in 1992, he was named U.S. National Speaker of the Year, and with his debate partner David Panton.

His birthplace has been the subject of considerable media time and there are many American who feel he is not qualified to hold the highest office in the land. Similarly many people felt the same way about President Obama. The Constitution says an individual must be a natural born citizen to run for President. Based on that original framework of the Constitution and the 14th Amendment, Sen. Ted Cruz does not appear to be constitutionally eligible to hold the office of the president. Yet, legal scholars state that Cruz, who came to the U.S. at age 4, is a citizen by birth because his mother was a U.S. citizen when he was born. For that reason can likely be president. Past similar events seem to side with Cruz and unless he actually receives the nomination, this issue will be moot.

Cruz worked briefly as a lawyer after college before stepping into the political realm. He was a policy advisor for President Bush in 2000, an associate deputy attorney general at the Department of Justice, Director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission, Solicitor General of the State of Texas, which ultimately led up to his Senate run and subsequent victory. He is pro-life, stands for religious freedom, opposes same-sex marriage, and has been a very vocal opponent of the Obama Administrations immigration policies. He wants to abolish the IRS and move America to a flat tax system and is strong on national security. His intelligence and his policy positions seem very favorable to carry him forward as the Republican nominations aside from one nagging thing; no one likes him.

Cruz has alienated about everyone he’s ever encountered in life, including high school and college classmates, bosses, law professors, Supreme Court clerks, and especially his Republican colleagues in the Senate. Some hate Cruz because they think he’s a grandstander, but most people dislike Cruz the person. Many of his Princeton classmates were shocked even surprised that he would be running for office, let alone President. He’s been characterized by them as condescending, sneering, unwilling to compromise, and having a naked desire to humiliate his opponents. Other called him a brilliant but arrogant jerk. Everyone who knows him in the Senate hates him to the point a fellow Senator said if Cruz was murdered on the Senate Floor, the killer wouldn’t be convicted. He claims to hold the high ground on social conservatism, but other Republicans disagree. Cruz has tried to present his lack of likability as an attractive quality to voters, sort of like proof that he will stick to his promises, regardless of their popularity in Washington.

His college days are behind him and reliance on the memories of his fellow classmates are not always as accurate as they could be. Perhaps Cruz was disliked because of his successes, with other students jealous of his intelligence or skills. Perhaps he just didn’t fit in with the “cool crowd” and was mislabeled. We could easily drop those days out of the discussion in most cases, but in this case they should be considered because the same results and same type of answers are given by his Senate colleagues when asked about him.

They feel Senator Cruz puts what’s best for him ahead of what’s best for America. The 2013 government shutdown blame is placed squarely on his shoulders. For 16 days, the media had a field day with criticizing the Republican Party over the work stoppage. It began with Senator Cruz convincing House members to insert a provision in the next spending bill to defund Obamacare. Despite the fact that the Senate was Democrat controlled and there was no way President Obama would sign anything that would derail his signature legislation. The GOP suffered an image disaster of epic proportions seemingly just so Ted Cruz could look like a hero to members of the Tea Party. He played into the frustrations of many voters but knew deep down that it would only be symbolic at the most. The shutdown nearly led to a national default, terrifying the business community and it led to the lowest approval ratings for the GOP in decades.

Ted Cruz has been accused more than once of grandstanding, including his epic 21 hour rant that went into the night where he just spoke on and on about nothing of importance. Even though he knew that his filibuster would be futile due to Senate rules in stopping or delaying the impending vote, which led to the aforementioned government shutdown. Critics say it was nothing more than a stunt to get attention, again under the guise of standing up for the people. He claims he’s not afraid of taking a stand when it’s the right thing to do, but his critics see him as someone who has never really achieved anything other than enhancing his personal brand and recognition.

He has been at odds with many members of the Senate over the years for different reasons including Lindsay Graham, Mitch McConnell, and Rand Paul. Cruz was critical of fellow Republicans in a book he wrote which contained details from what were supposed to be confidential meetings. He’s publically called out the Senate majority leader for being a liar in allowing a vote on the Export-Import bank, in violation of Senate rules. He was reprimanded by the most Senior Republican members of Congress for that event. Many people supported his behavior with other Republicans because they feel sold out by their elected leaders, falling in lockstep with the Obama administration and capitulating on almost everything. Cruz supporters feel he is one of the few who actually stands on principles. To date only two Senators have come forward to endorse Cruz for President.

Even with all the turmoil that seems to congregate around Cruz, many of the top GOP strategists say that Cruz’s style and the positions he takes are secondary to the fact that he is disingenuous and does not produce results. Hillary Clinton also suffers from the same stigma, although her lengthy political career gives her the “experienced” moniker to lean on. Cruz is intelligent beyond measure and can certainly see that his actions are merely charades that will do nothing but delay the inevitable, yet he pursues them relentlessly and often convinces others to follow. Cruz supporters bash Trump supporters over the brash behavior of Donald Trump and laud Cruz for his willingness to upset the balance of power and stand for conservatism, but is he actually doing that? His loyalty, thankfully, isn’t to his fellow Republicans, but to his principles. But are his principles simply a smoke screen for self aggrandization?

Republican lobbyists, operatives and elected officials based in Washington are unnerved by Senator Cruz who they call a go-it-alone, hard-right crusader who campaigns against the political establishment. Yes, Cruz and Trump will certainly curtail their influence and access to the White House, but many feel Cruz will be more destructive than Trump could ever be. The threat the Washington political elite truly believe in is not Ted Cruz, but the model he represents. The pathway Cruz has paved for an ambitious freshman politician to achieve leadership in the Republican Party is not business as usual. Instead of playing the normal give and take game and deferring to leaders and protocols, Cruz has taken the chainsaw through butter approach. Regardless of whether Cruz or Trump wins the general election, either of their nomination will fundamentally transform the political machine called the Republican Party. It will show America that you can get a shot at the presidency not by playing along, but by playing against the system.

Let me start by saying that this piece is a rendition of what anyone can read in the news. There is no judgment being made about Senator Cruz by this author. If he gets the nomination, I'll certainly vote for him and I fully expect him and Trump to team up eventually and tear a new rear end through the Washington elite like its never been done before.

It may upset some people who support him and it may gather mean comments from Liberals who love to hate anyone trying to make America better.

I'd really enjoy hearing some thoughts from the community.