Well, it’s official. Senator Ted Cruz has announced he is running for president in 2016. His “coming out” wasn’t necessarily a huge surprise. Speculation has swirled seemingly from day one regarding Ted Cruz’s presidential aspirations. Unlike many of his contemporaries that continue to play the “maybe I am, maybe I’m not” game, I commend Mr. Cruz for having the “intestinal fortitude” to make his presidential intentions known beyond a reasonable doubt. Considering the size of Mr. Cruz’s ego, I’m actually surprised he waited this long to make his announcement.
It is no secret that I am not a fan of the person or politician that is Ted Cruz. However, I couldn’t be happier that he is throwing his hat into the presidential ring. For one thing, by running for president, Mr. Cruz further fractures a very tumultuous Grand Obstructionist Party. We’ve already seen glimpses of dissent within the now Republican controlled House and Senate. These fissures within the Republican Tea Party will only grow larger with Sen. Cruz running for president.
Another reason why I’m happy Ted Cruz is running for president is he will now have to come out of the shadows and be held accountable for his beliefs and intentions. Up until now, Sen. Cruz has been able to get away with blaming President Obama for all perceived wrongs while sitting back in the relatively safety of the masses of his fellow representatives. As a presidential hopeful, Mr. Cruz will no longer be able to enjoy that “safety net” that comes with being one of the many.
In addition to losing his safety net, Ted Cruz will now be on the hook for identifying and explaining realistic and practical solutions for the problems facing this country. Based on what I have seen and heard so far from Sen. Cruz, his only current “solution” is blaming President Obama. Amongst many things, Ted Cruz wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act and abolish the IRS. Yet when pressed for details, he is unable to offer any practical and attainable solutions that would replace these entities. As the presidential race heats up, time will prove that Ted Cruz is long on ideology and lacks practical solutions for solving this country’s challenges.
Realistically, Sen. Cruz’s chances of becoming President of the United States is a long shot. While he has appealed to the radical few, he’s also alienated the more moderate majority. Due to his past antics, Mr. Cruz will be hard pressed to garner the support he needs to win his own party primary, much less the presidency.
However, part of me is also concerned. As bombastic as Ted Cruz is, it is plausible he could win. In today’s day and age of smartphones and political correctness, anyone and everyone is just one misstep away from going from champ to chump. Sen. Cruz could win not because he is the best person for the job. He could win because he is the lesser of the eligible evils.
While I commend Mr. Cruz for leaving no doubt regarding his presidential aspirations, I believe his doing so will finally prove to the world just how incapable he will be of attaining such a lofty goal. While I believe Ted Cruz is a long shot to win the presidency, I also worry he could win based on the misfortunes of others rather than his own merit. While Sen. Cruz was not solely responsible for the 2013 federal government shutdown, we must remember his actions went far towards ensuring the shutdown occurred. Let us not forget, Mr. Cruz chose to waste valuable taxpayer time, money, and resources reading Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham” to his daughters from the Senate floor rather than take action to avoid the shutdown. Ted Cruz has proven his willingness to advance his own personal agenda at the expense of the good of this country. Is this really the “leader” that we want to represent this country as President? Only the future will tell for sure.
LoL…it speaks for itself!
