Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) recent antics in the Senate drew the ire of right-wing columnist and blogger Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post on Monday.
After several Republican colleagues privately confronted the conservative firebrand over his effort to filibuster all debate on expanding background checks, Cruz broke protocol and recounted to a gathering of Texas tea partiers that he had called them “squishes” not worthy of the cause.
“There is being principled, and then there is being a jerk,” Rubin wrote. “Putting down your colleagues to boost your own street cred with the base falls into the latter category.”
There are many things wrong with Sen. Cruz’s comments, whatever you think of the merits of the gun legislation.
For starters, it’s just not smart to annoy colleagues whose cooperation and support you’ll need in the future. Second, as a conservative he should understand humility and grace are not incompatible with “standing on principle”; the absence of these qualities doesn’t make him more principled or more effective. Third, for a guy who lacks manners (see his condescending questioning of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) he comes across as whiny. They yelled at me! Boo hoo, senator.
Rubin, who fawned over Mitt Romney in 2012, questioned what, if any contribution Cruz was making to the country apart from “yelling at people.” In a blistering critique, Rubin added that Cruz’s “immaturity and lack of sophistication” are a disservice to Texas and the Republican party, calling on him to apologize to his fellow Senate Republicans.