Sen. Ted Cruz Has Been Acting Bipartisan To Win Reelection | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON ― Something unusual is occurring with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) these days. He’s been presenting an unusually cheap, extra reasonable model of himself.

In a CNN interview late Wednesday, Cruz instructed he’s taken the excessive street in response to Donald Trump accusing his father of assassinating President John F. Kennedy. And in response to Trump mendacity about defeating him in Iowa within the 2016 GOP presidential main. And in response to Trump smearing his spouse.

“When he became president, I had a choice to make. I could be pissed,” mentioned the Texas senator. “But if I was going to do that? He’d just been elected president. I got a job. I got a job to represent 30 million Texans. And frankly, if I was going to let my hurt feelings make me say, ‘I’m not going to work with you’? I needed to be prepared to resign my job and go home.”

“I value civility in politics,” he added. “I think we should treat each other with respect, even if we disagree with each other.”

Days earlier, Cruz, who’s the highest Republican on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, celebrated his position within the bipartisan passage of a bipartisan legislation that authorizes bipartisan funding for the Federal Aviation Administration. It was a really bipartisan win.

“I am immensely proud that our bipartisan FAA reauthorization, which received overwhelming support from lawmakers in both parties, is now law,” the Texas senator mentioned in a press release.

Even skimming the press releases on Cruz’s Senate web site this yr, there’s been a noticeable uptick in the usage of the phrase “bipartisan” in his statements these days. And earlier this week, he posted a cultured video and message on social media hailing Texans for his or her capacity to “come together” after a pure catastrophe.

What is occurring right here? This conciliatory model of Cruz is sort of a distinction to that different man sometimes roaming the halls of the Senate: a rabid partisan recognized for his shows of performative outrage for the camerasthe architect of the 2013 authorities shutdown that didn’t defund Obamacare and the primary U.S. senator to face as much as object to certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

We are witnessing regular Ted Cruz rebrand himself as election-year Ted Cruz, a extra palatable model of himself designed to enchantment to extra voters as he takes on a reasonable Democrat in November ― after having barely received reelection final time.

Cruz is presently main within the polls towards his challenger, Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas). But he’s not taking something as a right after what occurred in 2018, when former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) took on Cruz and shocked the nation by almost defeating him on this deep-red state.

Cruz’s metamorphosis has been underway for weeks. “I actually have very good relationships with many of my colleagues across the aisle,” he boasted to The Texas Tribune final month, citing his work with Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar. “I’ve worked with all three of them, and all three are friends.”

The acquainted Ted Cruz continues to be with us, although. On Wednesday, he interrupted and shouted over Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) a lot throughout a Senate Judiciary Committee listening to that she finally gave up and adjourned the listening to early.

During this listening to, Cruz and different Republicans had been grilling one among Biden’s federal courtroom nominees, Sarah Netburn, over her resolution as a New York Justice of the Peace decide to approve the switch of a transgender inmate to a feminine jail.

This inmate, who was born biologically male however transitioned right into a feminine, had been convicted a long time earlier of raping two minors and distributing youngster porn. Netburn, who has been a Justice of the Peace decide for 12 years, mentioned she accepted the switch of this inmate to a feminine jail based mostly on the suggestions of three jail wardens and a Federal Bureau of Prisons medical supplier, all of whom supported the switch and cited her critical medical wants.

As quickly because it was his flip to ask questions, Cruz accused Netburn of being a political hack.

“In your court, what matters more: the rights of individuals or your political ideology?” he started.

“I apply the law to the facts,” replied Netburn. “My political ideology doesn’t matter at all.”

“OK, so I don’t believe you,” Cruz continued. “I think this case demonstrates that you are willing to subjugate the rights of individuals to your political ideologies.”

It wasn’t lengthy earlier than Cruz was elevating his voice, calling Netburn “a radical,” after which when his time ran out, he started shouting at Butler for not letting him preserve questioning Netburn. He and Sen. John Kennedy (R-La) started accusing Butler of contradicting herself. There was no proof that she did.

“Senators, I gave both of you more time to finish your line of questioning,” mentioned Butler, as Cruz and Kennedy saved speaking over her. “I allowed the witness to finish her ― I allowed the witness to finish ― I allowed the witness to finish her response.”

Ultimately, after Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) chided Cruz and Kennedy for going off “time and time and time again” in these hearings, and after Cruz baselessly accused Democrats of partaking in “a cover-up,” Butler mentioned that it was one other senator’s flip to speak and that she would finish the listening to if Cruz and Kennedy didn’t cease disregarding her management of the proceedings.

“You want to adjourn? Go ahead. You can do that!” sniped Cruz, nonetheless speaking over Butler as she tried to let one other senator converse.

Shortly after, earlier than all the opposite senators received to ask questions, Butler adjourned.

The Ted Cruz who wrecked the listening to is similar one who, on a current afternoon, held courtroom with reporters in entrance of the Senate chamber, answering their each query about his FAA invoice, rhapsodizing about why business aviation coverage is inevitably bipartisan.

“All of us care about aviation safety. Every one of us gets on airplanes, our kids get on airplanes. We want our kids to be safe,” Cruz informed HuffPost earlier this month. “All of us care about having a vibrant aviation sector in America. It is a massive job producer in Texas. Aviation is absolutely critical to the economy of Texas. We also care about competition; we care about low prices. There are lots of elements of this bill that are really positive.”

Cruz’s colleagues have been amused by his collaborative flip.

“Honestly, it’s been quite the sight,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) informed The Washington Post earlier this month. “We have teased him about it for the last couple of days.”

But when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins requested the Texas senator on Wednesday if he would promise to simply accept the outcomes of November’s presidential election, the unique Ted Cruz got here again. He averted answering what ought to have been a straightforward query.

“I’ve got to say, I think that’s actually a ridiculous question,” he mentioned.