Foster: Cruz ripe for the plucking in November

Published 6:00 am Friday, April 12, 2024

 

For local readers who implore me to take my aim off Donald Trump’s misdeeds in these columns, I’m sparing the bankruptcy-bound grifter (unless he’s bailed out again by the Saudis or Russians) at least this one time.

Instead, I want to turn attention to another sleazy Republican, Sen. Ted Cruz, who is running for reelection against a well-known and well-financed opponent. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred from Dallas. Allred won the Democratic nomination in March, besting a field of nine other challengers.



Unseating a two-term incumbent senator is a formidable task, but Cruz is ripe for the plucking if freedom and democracy-loving voters pay attention to his traitorous record.

Since joining the U.S. Senate in 2013, he’s been a dependable mouthpiece to slam government operations when a Democrat occupies the White House. One of his first headline grabbing stunts was to engineer a government shutdown at the start of President Obama’s second term.

He found endless opportunities to get his face in front of television cameras over the next three years when he decided to run for the Republican nomination for president. He came in second in the delegate count to Trump who not only insulted Cruz with a moniker, “lying Ted,” but also disparaged Cruz’s wife, Heidi.

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Most men would have verbally if not physically stomped a man who criticized his wife. But Cruz swallowed his pride and endorsed Trump in vain hopes of receiving the vice president nomination.

In 2018, Cruz eked out a slim victory over U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke from El Paso. By this time, Trump was sitting in the Oval Office so Cruz became one of his best toadies. Predictably, Cruz made no complaints about the massive budget deficits that Trump incurred.

In fact, Cruz tried his best to keep Trump in office by unethical and illegal actions, and Allred is quick to bring these issues into the campaign.

“Ted Cruz was one of the chief architects of his (Trump’s) attempt to overthrow the last election,” he said in an interview with The New Republic.

“In fact, he was the objector to the results in Arizona when we had to have one member of the House and one member of the Senate object at that time. He (Cruz) is the senator who objected. So we’re going to prosecute that case and make sure folks know that,” Allred added.

Cruz also advocated the creation of an electoral commission to ultimately deny the certification of Joe Biden’s victory at the Jan. 6, 2021, joint session of Congress. Cruz wanted to delay certification to conduct a 10-day “audit” that could then have allowed Republican-led legislatures to overturn the voting results, according to the The New Republic article.

Trump allies who posed as fake electors as part of this scheme have been charged in Georgia and Michigan while others appear close to being indicted in Arizona.

Multiple lawyers representing Trump across the country are facing disciplinary proceedings and potential disbarment for knowingly promulgating an illegal plot to overthrow the election.

All this might have occurred except for the heroic efforts of then Vice President Mike Pence who defied Trump’s call to decertify the results. He deserves our nation’s universal praise instead of the vicious calls from Trump supporters to “hang Mike Pence.”