Here's Why Things Could Get Worse For Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz and CancunGate is a complete non-story. Unfortunately, in today's political landscape, the story is receiving wall-to-wall coverage.
In a political climate overly-obsessed with optics, Cruz takes an L. Taking off for warmer pastures when Texas is in a deep freeze is a horrendous look. From a legislative standpoint, which is more important, he did everything required of him. He aided in helping secure federal funding from Biden's White House. Many of the other actions pundits suggest Cruz should have done could have been accomplished anywhere, even in Cancun. Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas mayors hold more responsibilities in a situation like this. CancunGate is a convenient excuse for the liberal media to bash a Trump-supporting Republican. Democrat politicians have committed some inexcusable acts in recent memory and have skated by with little to no criticism.
Californians were surprised to discover Governor Gavin Newsome dining out with family and health officials amidst his mandated statewide coronavirus lockdowns. (By the way, California grassroots organizers have amassed over 1.6 million signatures on a petition to have Newsome recalled from his governor seat.) Nancy Pelosi and Lori Lightfoot found time to get to their salon appointments during the lockdowns. Mayor Ted Wheeler let Portland burn down during 2020's "Summer of Love". Mayor Jenny Durkan let rioters take over half of downtown Seattle in the name of "social justice". New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's COVID policies killed people, then he [allegedly] lied about it, [allegedly] covered it up, and threatened other politicians to remain silent about it. In 2011, during the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, New York Senator Chuck Schumer could not be found stateside. He was vacationing in Europe. In 2016, President Barack Obama was vacationing in Martha's Vineyard as Louisianians were suffering through the worst weather catastrophe since Hurricane Sandy.
Things might get worse from a public relations standpoint for Ted Cruz. President Joe Biden's proposed immigration policies are expected to usher in over 22 million immigrants into the country, many of them into Texas, which shares a border with Mexico. These progressive actions obviously come to the chagrin of many Republicans, but many Democrats are not on board either. Bruno Lozano, the Mayor of Del Rio, TX is one of the Democrats.
"If you send these individuals into our community, we will be forced to make a decision to leave them without resources under these dire circumstances," warns Mayor Lozano. "Our nonprofits, our churches are running thin with resources to provide to our very own citizens. Additionally, we have been burdened with the inadequate communication systems throughout the entire area, which has impacted our ability to respond and coordinate limited resources and distribution."
Much of the country is still reeling from COVID, and Texas is no exception. The state is now dealing with the winter storm, diminished food supplies, and an increase in United States citizens moving in from other states. Texas's population growth of 16.4% since 2010 is second to Utah's 17.4% and slightly over Florida at 15.2%. Now, potentially add millions of illegal aliens and that will continue to spread Texas thin. The influx of illegal aliens could potentially hurt Texas's job market and economy. People will be watching the Texas economy very closely over the next few years. Whether fair or foul, any adverse economic trends will be saddled on the back of Ted Cruz (and any positive trends he will not get credit for). He will be found guilty in the kangaroo court of public perception.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raising over $3 million in donations for Texans is a smart, maniacal, and opportunistic move by the Democrat Representative. Cruz's support could steadily chip away over time, hurting his chances for reelection for Texas Senator or maybe even the White House down the road. Knowledgeable voters and staunch Republicans will not fall for the low-hanging fruit, but casual political observers may feed into AOC's nonsense.
If anyone can handle this potential public relations onslaught, it's Ted Cruz.
