In this space on Tuesday, I said Governor Greg Abbott has exhibited a depraved indifference for the lives of Texans as millions remained without power or answers as Y’allmageddon 2021 continued to stretch on with no end in sight.
On Wednesday evening, Senator Ted Cruz said “hold my beer,” and was photographed with members of his family at a Houston area airport and on a United Airlines flight apparently bound for fabled tourist destination Cancun, Mexico.
While the Senator, who was clad in the same tone-deaf “Come and Take It” mask he wore to the inauguration, hasn’t confirmed it was, in fact, he and his family fleeing his state as an already declared federal disaster worsened, but the photographic evidence on offer is fairly irrefutable.
The saddest thing about Ted Cruz abdicating responsibility and abandoning his post as millions of Texans go without power or water or both is that my first reaction was, “of course Ted Cruz is going to Cancun right now.”
I first saw the photos of Cruz absconding when I plugged my phone in late last night when our power finally returned. I sat in my frigid house, enraged, wondering how anyone bestowed with the awesome trust of Texas voters could do something so callous, so heartless, and so stupid.
That’s when I remembered that this is as on-brand as it gets for Cruz, a man who let Donald Trump insult his wife and accuse him of carrying on affairs in the National Inquirer only to capitulate to him and carry out each of his misdeeds faithfully for four years.
This is the same Cruz who, knowing there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 elections, gladly offered his services as a litigator to Trump and his team if they managed to get a case before the Supreme Court.
The same Ted Cruz who has used government shutdowns as devices for political theater.
The same Ted Cruz that wants to be president in 2024.
There could be no greater proof that Ted Cruz is unworthy of his seat in the United States Senate and completely ill-equipped to serve as Commander-in-Chief of our great nation than the spineless wonder literally slinking off to a resort in Mexico while citizens in Texas are freezing to death and seeing their homes destroyed by flooding caused by burst pipes.
As of this writing, Cruz has not responded to requests to comment on his whereabouts from local and national media outlets including Newsweek. But Fox News has independently verified it was, in fact, the Cruz clan on that plane, and reports have surfaced on Twitter that the embattled senator has already booked a return flight for this morning in shame.
The truth of the matter is, this is not just a career politician (which Cruz is) making a stupid decision (which Cruz does regularly). Boarding a plane as millions of Texans are without power, with his own hometown of Houston being one of the hardest-hit regions during this crisis, is purely sociopathic.
Ted Cruz does not care who dies back home in Texas as long as he and his family are resting comfortably in a Cancun resort. He does not care how many Texans will be fighting with insurance agents to cover the unspeakable damage to their homes. He does not care how many businesses are literally underwater. He only cares about himself.
If Ted Cruz cares this little about Texans, the folks who elected him that he represents, why should anyone think he’ll care more about Iowans or Nevadans or Floridians? How could anyone aware of the suffering unfolding in their state consciously decide to flee for better weather instead of doing anything else at all to help people find food, or warmth, or the assistance they badly need.
Ted Cruz is an embarrassment to Texas and our entire country. His term lasts through 2024, and we will spend every minute of that time reminding Texans of the ways that he’s failed us.
Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Joe brings over a decade of experience as a political operative and creative strategist to Texas Signal, where he serves as our Senior Advisor and does everything from writing a regular column, Musings, to mentoring our staff and freelancers. Joe was campaign manager for Lina Hidalgo's historic 2018 victory for Harris County Judge and is a passionate sneakerhead.
