Breaking Ted
A man traveling through Macon, Georgia, came across a wild dog attacking a young boy. He quickly grabbed the animal and throttled it with both hands.
A local reporter saw the incident, congratulated the man, and told him the headline the following day would read, “Local Man Saves Child, Kills Vicious Animal.”
The hero, however, corrected the journalist that he wasn't from Macon.
“Well, then,” the reporter said, “the headline will probably say, ‘Georgia Man Saves Child, Kills Dog.’”
“Actually,” the man said, “I’m from Connecticut.”
“In that case," the reporter responded, “the headline will read, “Yankee Kills Family Pet.’”
It’s a telling story about how we see things as we learn more and how they influence our bias.
SchadenCruz
Last week, Ted Cruz repeated a description about the January 6th attack on the Capitol that he’s used at least 17 times before: “terrorist attack.” Unlike the previous times, this did not escape the notice of Tucker Carlson. Here is the link I shared in my last post.
No sooner did Tucker break for a commercial, but Cruz reached out to get on the show the next night. You’d think it would be a thoughtful discussion about the dangers of attacking the U.S. Capitol and honoring the brave men and women who fought to keep our leaders safe. Instead, Ted Cruz did the unthinkable, uniting Americans of all political persuasions into mocking him.
While Cruz lashed himself and pleaded for people to listen carefully, Carlson scolded him some more, all while Cruz asked for more. If you haven’t watched it, see it, as tweeted out by Ted Cruz.
Good for Tucker Carlson’s ratings, not so good for Ted Cruz. It’s not often a man will tweet out his humiliation. My favorite line from Tucker, channeling his best Ricky Bobby, “I guess I just don’t believe you and I mean that with respect.”
People had thoughts, including me:
Or this:
It didn’t play well with Trump world either. Former Trump appointee Sebastian Gorka is officially done with Ted Cruz.
Hey, he had his defender(s), too.
A litany of social media takes Cruz's appearance from the left and the right. Not all are PG-rated, so enter with caution.
Takeaways
Charles W. Cooke of The National Review had this to say:
Groveling before Tucker Carlson, he said that he’d misspoken. But there was not a single person in America — including Carlson, who laughed derisively — who believed him. Given his objectives, Cruz would have been better off had he simply said, ‘Look, Tucker, I still want to be president, and your taking shots at me is hurting me, so tell me what I need to say to make you stop, I’ll agree to say it, and then we can all move on.’
Amanda Carpenter, former Communications Director to Senator Ted Cruz, suggests something far worse:
Cruz says it’s okay to call violent left-wing protesters “terrorists” when they assault cops, but understands now why he can’t call violent right-wing protesters ‘terrorists’ when they assault cops.
Because of ‘politicization.’
We have a very real, recent application as to how these politics play out. Their thugs bad. Our thugs good.
For the left wing: Tear gas and troops clearing Lafayette Square with threats of ten years in prison for defacing federal property. For the right wing: ‘Go home. We love you. You’re very special.’
So while I understand the urge to dunk on Cruz, what happened on Carlson’s show is more than just an example of Cruz’s weaselly pleading being worthy of a laugh. It’s ultimately not funny at all.
It’s incredibly telling that we live in an age where a television host gets to work over a United States Senator, who then voluntarily goes on the show and gets speed bagged in person. We are talking about Ted Cruz, whose greatest hits include “My Dad was on the Grassy Knoll” and “Take My Wife, Please!” So, getting humiliated by Tucker Carlson is still not the least courageous thing he’s tolerated to be liked.
The Unpopular Opinion
Stating the obvious (I hope), we have an honesty problem in politics. Think of it like the frog in the pot, and we got in before the boil.
It happens one step at a time so that you are both immune to it and ultimately feel the need to play into it. First, Charlottesville and the “some very fine people on both sides.” This event was followed by violent protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. We reached the pinnacle with the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
There’s a clear line between acts of protest and acts of violence. Destruction of property and physical violence doesn’t fall under the First Amendment. Ted Cruz used to believe that until he got canceled or whatever the anti-cancel culture call it when they shut down someone for saying words they don’t like.
So what should we call it? Last week, I highlighted at December 2021 poll by UMass Amherst, where pollsters gave several options from protest to insurrection. A majority of respondents, 55 percent, agreed that “riot” was the best description. I agree.
We can leave insurrection and terrorism to the prosecutors to decide and stop dancing on the head of a pin over who calls it what. The standard should be simply whether we, or more importantly, our public officials, are willing to recognize an act of violence when they see one.
As for Ted Cruz, he’s a great example of what happens when hubris becomes the commodity of your career. Or to borrow from the opening story, “Harvard Attorney Argues with Himself, and Loses.”
I Told You So
A few weeks ago, I discussed the inflammatory words of Jesse Watters at Americafest. I observed:
[W]e reward controversy with ratings and rage. We’ve helped create the marketplace, and we’ve gone too far. There’s a consequence for amplifying controversy to its predictable end, and we’re living through it.
This week, Fox News announced:
Draw your own conclusions.
Another Good Week
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