Following Ted Cruz's phony filibuster speech, he now belongs to the same club as Strom Thurmond and Robert Byrd.
Illinois Nazis. The Blues Brothers hated them, and so does Senator Ted Cruz. Somewhere in his 21 hours, Ted Cruz pulled out the “Nazi card” and played it on Obama. The irony that a Texas “Good ol’ Boy” inadvertently took a premise from the original Blues Brothers movie is not lost. Neither was the irony of his impression of G.W. Bush reading a children’s book during a time when the nation deserved his attention.
Was this a real filibuster? No. It was more of a publicity stunt than anything real. I am unsure on the “people at home” being able to understand this fundamental difference. When I turned on the news, it seemed that a few cable news outlets didn’t know the difference either.
This is shameful. The great professional wrestling ring that is U.S. politics doesn’t need a rant by Ted Cruz to demonstrate how uninformed its own elected members are; the American populace can tell just by Congress’s refusal to tackle the Student Loan Crisis (maybe students need stronger lobbyists. Any day now it’s going to be cheaper to pay a lobbyist than a monthly student loan payment).
Please remember that Ted Cruz is also the same Senator who thought the Senate started the impeachment process for the President. I am not entirely sure that he’s any different from those “people at home” getting confused on whether his actions was heroic or idiotic. His own party is split on this concept, and that should be a sign.
The Republican Party rarely splits on these matters, and a few Senators seemed to cringe somewhere between “Green Eggs and Ham” and Cruz’s thanking of Ashton Kutcher. Although, to be fair to the Senator, his colleagues just might be with Camp Demi.
Why is this unimportant thing so important? A simple look at my Facebook wall is evidence of this event’s importance. For those that don’t know, I am an Ex-Pat American living in Montreal. I also have two degrees in Political Science and have published in the field. When events like this happen, I know that the barometer for America is linked to my Facebook wall.
When I see posts based upon how “brilliant” Ted Cruz is; how he “knows the Constitution because he gave a speech on it in high school”; how he “really gave it to that Nazi Terrorist Obama”; how he “protects us from the moochers that need health care”’ and how he “is determined to fight single-handed against Obamacare and thus keep insurance rates down”, I know that a larger chunk of America didn’t see what was happening. They were so eager to eat the press that they believed the easy illusion instead of working to look for the substance. Not one could define what Obamacare was — several people did post incorrect information, again a symptom of eating the illusion.
When illusion is the best hook in politics, then it is a dark day in America. Illusions didn’t start with the Tea Party, but they are doing their best to master it. Illusions like universal healthcare being dirty words. As was stated by the GOP, once people get used to having a benefit, they will not give it up (usually because it works). If we look at the course of U.S. history, we can see other words that were once considered dirty. Words like Women’s Suffrage, Civil Rights and Social Security. Those are some of the “dirty words” that America took a slow time implementing, even though their very being was drafted from the moral fabric of the nation.
If those “dirty words” don’t deter the average home viewer, then maybe the other type of “dirty word” will; Nazi. It seems, almost without fail, that either Hitler or the Nazis come into a political conversation a bit easier than the truth ever will. For someone whose family was deeply affected by the Nazi regime, I can still remember the stories told, and ones untold (both leave marks on a person), by my grandparents and father, I can state that neither Republican, nor Democrat, resembles that of the Nazi party. For the record, Obama makes a bad Hitler. The hair style is all wrong.
So, is Obama a Nazi? I don’t think even the Tea Party home-invasion force truly believe that. I can say one thing for Senator Cruz though. While his action was mostly symbolic, there is a consequence. He wanted to join the elite club of Senators who’s talked for over 14 hours. Well, he did. May the very real collection of Strom Thurmond (24 hours and change) and Robert Byrd (14 hours and change) keep you company. I believe they’re a group you can identify with. There is no need for me to call you a fictitious Nazi or even a fighter of Nazis.
Let Senator Cruz stand with Thurmond (who used his 24 hours to speak against Civil Rights) and Byrd (who also decided Civil Rights Reform was a bad thing). Let him stand with those that were, in the eyes of history—and their contemporaries—as long winded as they were wrong both morally and socially.
Is Obamacare the answer to the health costs woes in the US? Probably not. It’s a step though and, in the terms of US Health Care, even a single-step is sign of life.
