This one probably requires a bit of a memory refresher. Last July, Ted Cruz took to the Senate floor and revealed publicly the sort of thing that traditionally U.S. senators keep to themselves: In a private meeting, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had looked Cruz in the face and lied to him about whether a sneaky back-room deal had been cut to re-authorize the Export-Import Bank. McConnell had insisted three times to Cruz's face, "There is no deal, there is no deal, there is no deal."
That was a lie. Hardly an earth-shaking development. McConnell lies all the time. But usually when McConnell lies, he's protected by the so-called decorum of the Senate that demands no one call him out on it. When you hear stories about Cruz's colleagues hating him, you have to remember that it's not because he's a bad guy, but rather because he doesn't adhere to these self-serving rules. When someone lies, he lets you know it happened.
McConnell is still steamed about this, and McConnell's allies in the Senate continue to insist that Cruz must apologize to McConnell before they will unite behind him as the Republican nominee. Here's the Cruz speech that's still got McConnell's knickers in a twist:
This still sticks so firmly in McConnell's craw that he's apparently willing to help Hillary Clinton become president if he doesn't get an apology from Cruz for revealing him as a liar.
Cruz is hated by his colleagues because he doesn't play ball. Members of the Senate say one thing in public and do another thing behind closed doors, and this whole thing depends on their mutual willingness to keep quiet about it, and pretend it isn't happening. Cruz isn't willing to protect any of his colleagues, including the majority leader, and pretend they didn't lie to the public (and sometimes to each other) when in fact that's exactly what they're doing.
The apology McConnell wants would be completely insincere, and he knows it. What he's trying to do is engineer a power play in which prospective President Cruz acknowledges who is really boss. Then, having been thoroughly chastened, Cruz proceeds on toward the nomination with the understanding that it will really be McConnell who sets the agenda going forward, and Cruz had better not dare let it be known if McConnell lies again.
Cruz's response is basically this: If you want to beat Hillary, do the right thing and don't make it dependent on an insincere apology that's never going to happen. And that's the right response. Mitch McConnell got his ego singed because he's not used to people telling the truth about how he operates, and he can't get over it. He's even willing to risk a Hillary presidency as a result.
The political class is a disgrace. This, however, might be a useful reminder to those of you who somewhere along the line got the idea that Ted Cruz is part of it.
This one probably requires a bit of a memory refresher. Last July, Ted Cruz took to the Senate floor and revealed publicly the sort of thing that traditionally U.S. senators keep to themselves: In a private meeting, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had looked Cruz in the face and lied to him about whether a sneaky back-room deal had been cut to re-authorize the Export-Import Bank. McConnell had insisted three times to Cruz's face, "There is no deal, there is no deal, there is no deal."
That was a lie. Hardly an earth-shaking development. McConnell lies all the time. But usually when McConnell lies, he's protected by the so-called decorum of the Senate that demands no one call him out on it. When you hear stories about Cruz's colleagues hating him, you have to remember that it's not because he's a bad guy, but rather because he doesn't adhere to these self-serving rules. When someone lies, he lets you know it happened.
