Why Anybody (in Congress) Hates Ted Cruz

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz at Values Voter Summit

Do you lot hate me, too? Photo: Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images

Over the last year or two, sure Americans have delighted in screenwriter Craig Mazin's candid recollections of his fourth dimension as Texas senator Ted Cruz's freshman-year roommate. According to Mazin, the current presidential candidate "endlessly hit the snooze button," creeped out female person peers by hanging around their hallway in a bathrobe, and "had SERIOUS body olfactory property issues." Other Princeton classmates haven't been much kinder, calling Cruz "abrasive," "intense," "strident," "arrogant," and a"crank."

"More anyone I knew, Ted seemed to have arrived in college with a fully formed worldview. And what strikes me now, looking at him as an adult and hearing the things he's proverb, information technology seems like nothing has changed," said some other person who knew (and disliked) him back in college. Even the guy who has been identified as one of Cruz's few friends at Princeton agreed with that assessment, though he seems to view information technology as a positive matter: "He'south not someone who shifts in the current of air. The Ted Cruz that I knew at 17 years old is exactly the same equally the Ted Cruz I know at 42 yearsold."

Cruz has tried to present his lack of likability as an bonny quality to voters — proof that he'll stick to his promises, regardless of their popularity in Washington: "If you want someone to grab a beer with, I may not exist that guy," he said during the third GOP argue. "But if you lot want someone to drive you dwelling house, I will become the job done and I will get y'allhome."

While Cruz'southward "insufferable designated commuter" persona might appeal to some of the American electorate, his Republican colleagues — the people who take to deal with him in the common cold, sober low-cal of day — can't stand up it. This became especially credible in the final vi months, every bit Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his boyfriend Republicans have gone out of their way to thwart Cruz's attempts to concur roll-call votes (by and large not a hard thing to do) and shut down the government over Planned Parenthood funding. And their reasons for antisocial Cruz aren't so unlike from those of the folks who were on the Princeton campus between 1988 and 1992.

He puts what's expert for him alee of what's proficient for the GOP.
In 2013, at Cruz'due south urging, House tea-partiers inserted a provision repealing the Affordable Intendance Act in the next year's spending bill. This endeavor to kill Obamacare was doomed from the offset — the majority-Democrat Senate, not to mention President Obama, wouldn't approve it — but that didn't finish Cruz from insisting the program could work. While the resulting 16-solar day government shutdown was an image disaster for the GOP in general, information technology made Cruz look like a hero to tea-party voters. Lindsey Graham has said of Cruz: "He plays into the frustrations and passions of adept people and creates narratives that don't exist at the expense ofothers."

He'south a grandstander.
Yous need not look further than Cruz'south all-dark pre-shutdown filibuster (or imitationlibuster, as information technology was known at the time). Because of Senate rules, the filibuster had no hope of stopping, or fifty-fifty delaying, the vote, so Cruz basically stood up there for 21 hours in club to go attention, hear himself talk, and share the magic of Green Eggs and Ham .

He attacks fellow Republicans.
Amongst Cruz'southward other activities in 2013: raising millions of dollars for former South Carolina senator Jim DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund. From the Daily Creature :

The SCF used that Cruz-Lee coin to run ads against seven GOP senators they were serving with, including Mitch McConnell, Jeff Flake, and Lindsey Graham. The ads attacked those veteran Republicans for not opposing Obamacare plenty, even though they all voted against the bill and said they would vote to defundit.

This summertime, Cruz published the book A Time for Truth , in which he claims that Senate Bulk Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Rand Paul repeatedly misled and betrayed him. (Unsurprisingly, McConnell, Paul, and many of their colleagues have very different recollections of the incidents cited in the book.) A Time for Truth as well includes descriptions of Republican meetings that participants probable assumed would not be made public. "No one is going to desire to talk up something on a personal result or a contentious effect if they recall they are going to read about it the next day in the newspaper or information technology'southward going to exist released in the press," said Senator Dan Coats of Cruz's writing. "It really undermines any sense of squad or whatsoever sense ofcooperation."

Most recently, Cruz called the Republican leadership "the well-nigh effective Democrat leaders we've ever seen." "They've passed more Democratic priorities than Harry Reid ever could," hesaid.

He'south rude.
In July, Cruz called McConnell a liar for assuasive a vote on the reauthorization of the Export-Import Depository financial institution. "I cannot believe he would tell a flat-out lie," said Cruz, who claimed that McConnell had told him that there wouldn't be a vote. That jab was plainly likewise rude for Cruz's colleagues in the Senate, which really has a dominion (information technology'due south No. 19) confronting using "any form of words" to "impute to another senator or to other senators whatsoever conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming asenator."

From CNN :

"I remember it was outside the realm of Senate behavior," said Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who has clashed with Cruz in the past. "I would never contemplate going to the flooring of the Senate and impugning the integrity of another senator. Just not something nosotros do here. I really recall information technology was a very wrong thing todo."

"Squabbling and sanctimony may be tolerated in other venues — or perhaps on the campaign trail — only they have no place among colleagues in the United States Senate," warned Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah in a lengthy flooring speech reprimandingCruz.

"I think information technology was a violation of the rules. It's non how you care for a colleague regardless of how you feel," added North Carolina'southward ThomTillis.

In other rude Cruz behavior: The New York Times reports, "Last yr, during a lengthy budget vote, he forced his colleagues to vote on an unrelated but politically helpful abortion measure at 2:xxx a.chiliad., prompting an audible groan from exhausted colleagues in bothparties."

They might be stuck with him.
Many of Donald Trump'due south supporters would probably go with Cruz if and/or when their guy finally flames out, which could very well issue in Cruz winning the Republican nomination, despite the widespread dislike for him in the party.

Why Anybody (in Congress) Hates Ted Cruz