Ted Cruz And Character Assassination

Regarding "Cruz makes Capitol Hill entrance, stage far right", Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus attempts to do to newly elected Texas senator Ted Cruz what most of the rest of the establishment media has been doing to Republican rising star, Senator Marco Rubio: destroy his reputation.  Both, of course, are Latino, a minority that the Democrat Party wishes to monopolize, as they do the Black vote.

 

Marcus delivers a multi-point attack to characterize Cruz as being out of the mainstream, his crimes including desiring to repeal ObamaCare, "expressing deep concerns" with the immigration reform blueprint, and votiing against John Kerry for Secretary of State.  I've got a newsflash for Ms Marcus: these positions are all reasonable, particularly if you take the time to research Cruz's very detailed and forthright arguments.

 

As to Marcus accusing Cruz of smearing Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel with his reference to possibly accepting money from North Korea, not only does she butcher the actual quotes and conflate their meanings, but she completely ignores that in the same sentence Cruz speculates about possible donations from an ally as well.  Given Hagel's refusal to reveal the source of the $200,000 in question, sensible people could reasonably interpret Cruz's words as questioning not Hagel's patriotism, but certainly his discretion and candor.  And it is rich beyond belief that Marcus should huffily criticize Cruz for "unilaterally attempting to rewrite committee rules, which require two years of financial information instead of the five years Cruz demanded", given her efforts to "rewrite" financial disclosure rules when it came to Mitt Romney.

 

Finally, is it all that out of bounds to question Hagel's motives?  There has not been a more thorough apologist for fundamental Islamist regimes nor a more hardcore opponent to the state of Israel since the certifiable Ramsey Clark, Jimmy Carter's old Secretary of State.  What possible good can come of appointing as Secretary of Defense a man who opposes our allies and coddles our enemies?

 

Pete Smith

Cypress