Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) delivered quite a speech to the National Review Institute over the weekend, declaring that Republicans "are and should be the party of the 47 percent," his party should embrace routine hostage strategies, and he still wants to privatize Social Security out of existence.
But for all of the right-wing senator's nonsense, this was the comment that warrants special attention.
In this clip, at around the 37:06 mark, Cruz notes that the Senate has "two pending nominations, John Kerry and Chuck Hagel." Describing the nominees, Cruz added, "Both of whom are very prominently..."
After pausing for a few moments, the event's moderator said, "Anti-us?" Cruz responded that Kerry and Hagel are "less than ardent fans of the U.S. military."
Perhaps Ted Cruz would benefit from a reminder about the men he's attacking. John Kerry is a decorated war hero who was awarded combat medals including the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. Chuck Hagel is a decorated war hero who was awarded combat medals including the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, two Purple Hearts, Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
Cruz, meanwhile, who apparently considers himself an "ardent fan of the U.S. military," has never worn a uniform, except maybe on Halloween.
I have a simple request of chickenhawks: try not to impugn the character of decorated war heroes who've done what you only like to talk about.
The Texas Republican has developed a reputation for delivering "bonkers" speeches, but even for him, Cruz's comments over the weekend were cheap and offensive.
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Kerry and Hagel both served in Vietnam, which is also significant in this context because right wing heros like Ted Nugent and Mitt Romney chickened out.
Just wait for how they turn that Vietnam experience into a liability. All they need is fear, and you can bet they will soon be testing messages sounding the alarm about Iranian ICBMs with North Korean nukes pointed at the US.
The way the GOP chickenhawks will tell it, anyone who is opposed to invading North Korea and Iran is a liberal wimp whose hopelessly naive views about global power can result in the nuclear annihilation of US cities. They can say Vietnam made Kerry and Hagel timid. Triggering the Nukes Nut Squad alarm, they'll renew their charge advocating deep cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and funnel that money to states in the South which benefit heavily from defense dollars.
Because that is what it is about. Big government spending for the defense industry and the southern states.
Swift boating much, eh Sr. Cruz?
War never settles anything, and this is secretly what these fans ardently believe.
To think otherwise would make for a poor business model. Perpetual war is much more lucrative. But its more than the chickenhawks and profiteers. I spoke with a soldier about to return for his 4th tour in Afghanistan. I was at a religious group meeting and he assumed I was right wing. I remarked on how Afghanistan was winding down, and he said something surprising. He said everyone in his unit was bummed out.
I remarked that the Afghanistan government didn't appear to value the sacrifice that our warriors were making on their behalf, and he agreed with that. I said I'd rather he be safe than to make a pointless sacrifice. He said he preferred that the US not pull out because being there was exciting and cool.
I'm not kidding. He was dead serious.
I spent more than a few years in the US military, and I am not a fan of theirs for a variety of reasons.
John, that soldier you mentioned sounds like a type of adrenalin junkie (among other things).
Cruz only supports war for profit. Then like the GOP said, they only support wars when they are in power. You know, when they are in control of the war money. Just ask the Cheney robbers. The GOP leaders are a shame to their party and they need to be exposed. Think Cruz would go for that?
I really do hope Hegal will do a audit on the Pentagon. We need to know where those billions of $ in cash went in those trucks. It shouldn't be that hard. Rumsfield needs to answer for that. I am so sick of the rich ruining this country and blaming the poor. Still waiting to know how the oil paid for that war and how much was sent to the USA and not Bush, Cheney, off shore bank accounts. Just simple questions that need answers for all of us poor people. I truly believe that from now on, only the rich should fight the wars, because they are the only ones that profit from it. Send their kids first and then we will know it is for real.
I guess I do have one more comment. Ask Cruz, just what has he done for his country? Can't wait for that answer. Did he go to war for his hero Bush? Want to know why he didn't stand up for the military and go fight for his cause? Just asking.
Yeah , Teresa , and Phil Graham was only for nullifying the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 because of the money for himself , and his friends .
After my son came home from deployment in Iraq, he wanted to go back because that was all he'd known for 15 months. He said there was a certain comfort knowing what needed to be done and that he was good at it, and the uncertainty of civilian life (or no war) was uncomfortable and made him nervous. Thank God he got over it but I' not surprised to hear that coming from the front.
Y'all know they don't teach factual stuff like real history and biology in Texas...they teach Genesis and creationism and lissen to yo' preacher an' yo' mama an' remember what yo' read in the Bible because nothin' else is true.
Sheeit...you'd think that somebody would take these people in hand and teach 'em how to at least Google, once they get to Washington, D.C.!
"states in the South which benefit heavily from defense dollars."
Oh you mean like Washington, California and Connecticut?.... the 3 states with the top "US aerospace and defense exports" for 2010? Those Southern states?
Defense exports???
Southern states are the heavy recipients of Defense dollars. As a proportion of population, California actually receives much less in defense contracts than it pays in taxes.
The big winners for Defense contracts proportionate to their populations include Texas, Arizona, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee.
Correction- I erred on my spreadsheet and CA recieves slightly more defense dollars than it proportionately pays in federal income tax revenue. It is pretty much neutral- less than 1%.
The big loser is New York which pays 6% more in tax revenue than they receive back in defense dollars. Data sources: (PBS article defense $ by state, IRS.gov Spreadsheet on tax revenues by state [excel file])
It is so ironic how dollar for dollar the freeloader states not pulling their weight are almost all Red states- whether you are talking entitlements or defense spending.
Wow! "Cruz, meanwhile, who apparently considers himself an "ardent fan of the U.S. military," has never worn a uniform, except maybe on Halloween." Says it all, and reflects his clownish mentality. Well said.
Other the John McCain have many of the RWNJ's worn uniforms? I don't know any numbers but I bet it's not many. I always love how they hero worship Reagan yet he won't last a week with today's tea party.
Cruz is a Tea Bagger that simple
Celui , Mr Benen often hits it up the middle for a couple of chuckles .
There are a lot of things I love about living in Texas. This guy is not one of them.
Don't blame me - I voted for Sadler...
you must live close to austin then. i can't stand living in tx. but with any luck, the minorities will soon out number whites and turn tx blue.
Or, Texas could become something like what Fritz Lieber described in A Spectre is Haunting Texas.
http://missionsunknown.com/2011/02/forgotten-book-a-specter-is-haunting-texas-by-fritz-leiber/
Me too. I really thought Sadler had a chance. He was the much better candidate and would have represented all Texans well, but now we have an extreme right winger that makes most of decent Texans cringe when he speaks... very sad.
Cruz is a member of the United States Senate. He is supposed to be among the civilians overseeing the military. He isn't supposed to be a military fan boy.
Halloween costume. He is still wearing it. Its a clown suit, which for him is a uniform.
I'd rather see the fate of our service men and women guided by people who really understand the costs of war in human lives that to see them at the mercy of Cruz and his imaginings.
True that. We had that scenario play out under the last administration.
The key word here is "Fan"
First and foremost "Fans" are spectators and not players. The spend their time in the stands drinking beer and not out on the field getting dirty.
Second it is worth remembering in this context that "Fan" is short for "Fanatic" and that term seems more than apt for people who are more than willing to play games with other peoples lives.
So when will Kerry and/or Hagel respond to this man, calling him out for this? I think a very public verbal beatdown is in order for this sorry sack of sh1t.
Ah, today's opportunity for me to use the work "ilk"!
People like Cruz and his ilk know full well that they will NOT suffer any blow back from true patriots like Hagel and Kerry.
(both of whom should take note of former FLOTUS/Sec.State/Senator handling Johnson and Rand last week.)
I agree a lot of the times silence is the best rebuttal, to not acknowledge the idiocy for fear of legitimizing it, but this is an egregious case.
Kerry failed in 2004 to stand up to the attacks on his military duty. I can't imagine why he'd do that again.
Damn good point DAY .
But NON SILENCE about people like Cruz will be necessary till 2014 , he is someone dems can point to and ask voters if they want to vote another gop member in to join this fruit loop ? or vote a dem in so we can pass sane legislation ?
Eisenhower warned of the military-industrial complex and also once said about Hiroshima "It wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing." So I'm sure he's already on the list of unpatriotic, anti-military wussies who actually served in the military.
It is my observation that those who actually do serve tend to be more cautious and deliberate when it comes to war because, well, they've actually been there, done that. For Mr. Cruz and his fellow chickenhawks, war only exists as a John Wayne fantasy with only heroic outcomes for our side and no long-lasting trauma. It must then be hard for Mr. Cruz to understand why we now have more military deaths by suicide than by combat. That conveniently got edited out of the fantasy.
Not only would Ike be a pansy/wussy in the Tea Party world, he'd also be a raging socialist/commie because of his massive, big government interstate highway system.
Ike would be a hero for the interstate system because that was built for the fast movement of troops and equipment. He based it off the Autobahn in Germany.
Citizen...,
The John Birch Society used to claim that Ike was a commie or was doing their bidding.
@ KAK1958: Interesting that you cite the "John Wayne fantasy"--(not a military man, but played one in the movies...) Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, Glenn Ford, Clark Gable, Charles Durning, Lee Marvin and others were off in battle while "The Duke", Van Johnson and other "heroes" stayed behind and got wealthy making movies about war.
Mr. Wayne had many more problems with reality than his heroic stature would make evident . His difficulty with violence , drink and drugs , are not really secret .
Chickenhawk <bok bok>
That's putting it pretty succinctly. I love how there are so many members of the Republican party who disparage those other lawmakers who actually put their lives on the line for this country, yet you ask why they didn't serve, and they walk off without answering, or give a 'non answer' answer.
My new Senator just received his first email from me.
You are assuming of course, that he has the ability to read it.
Ted Cruz is not an "ardent fan of reality"
Where does he pin his store-bought flag pin on his chicken hawk suit? I guess he felt he did his duty making the country safe for lobbyists. Damn his hypocrisy!
So I guess by loving the military means to want to sent our troops to war. If you love the military, that's the last thing you should want to do. Why do some people think the only way to prove you love our serviceman and women is to send them to die not protecting this country. When their kids are the ones on the front lines being shot at, then I'll listen to their ideas.
Bring back the draft and sign his kids up first
Does Cruz have connection to defense contractors? I always wonder about the money trail whenever I hear chicken-hawks like this spouting off.
ps - perhaps I should note that dictionary.com gives "chicken hawk" an entirely different definition than that which is intended - as referenced on wikipedia.
Yeah. In my neighborhood, "chickenhawk" has a whole 'nother meaning.
Or, perhaps Mr. Benen has some more intimate knowledge of Mr. Cruz's proclivities?
Interesting comment at the end of his Reagan fan boy worship - Reagan "would go in with overwhelming force, do the job, and get out". How does that square with Beirut where we went in without overwhelming force, didn't do the job, got 220 Marines killed, and then cut and run? Isn't this guy supposed to be an intellectual? A Tea Partier with Harvard and Princeton degrees? The Latino Obama?
Another deluded lightweight who is either a liar or completely ignorant of history, government, and economics.
Great point Captain, also applicable to Iraq/Afghanistan.
Another deluded lightweight who is either a liar or completely ignorant of history, government, and economics.
All of the above...
And the fact that he refers to the Reagan fairy tale as if it's reality...Medicate this crackpot, and send him to be a grade school custodian.
Harvard has plenty of winger base class's and professors for this guy to fit right in , don't kid yourself
He may be a legitimately ardent supporter, but a legitimately ardent volunteer? Not so much. Here, in Texas, he's what's known as a rockin'-horse cowboy.
Is that the same as a "rancher" who is "All hat, no cattle" ?
Right.
It's like the lady that was at the rancher's convention. They were all bragging about the size of their spreads when one of them asked her how big her place was.
"Forty acres," she said.
They all laughed and asked her where it was located to which she replied, "Downtown Dallas."
That's one hell of a hat, but there still ain't no cattle.
All camo, no ammo.
Out here in Indian country -- "Big wind. Big thunder. No rain."
Or, to paraphrase -- Jackass.
Cruz who was born in Calgary,Canada can't even lay "claim to fame" as being even a "Tex-Mex!"
so he is actually a commey , thanks for the info
Is it any more obvious that this lunatic needs a padded cell? A preeminent force for world peace since WWII? Tell that to 3.6 million dead Vietnamese and countless others. But it seems obvious that those who pay attention to this crackpot need to be medicated too. My God, are they really into that thick a bubble that they haven't read for the last 75 years?
As a former member of the United States Navy who served in a hostile firezone.I have ZERO respect for these Chickenhawks and they also have ZERO credibility with me.
This guy is just a coward.My cat has more smarts than him.
Senator Cruz calls them "less than ardent fans of the military" BECAUSE they are men who have served and WHO WANT to try to keep us OUT OF MILITARY CONFLICTS. They are NOT avid supporters of the military industrial complex and fighting wars for OIL. They DON'T believe in sacrificing soldiers' lives to make wealthy people get wealthier off their investments in the war machine. And THAT is what upsets the Republicans SO VERY MUCH. Follow the money!
No worry soon Ted Cruz, Louie Gohmert, Ted Poe & Rand Paul will be fitted for straight jackets
The sooner the better...
Oh goody!!!!!! Another Republican nut case.
Until Cruz serves a day in the military he have no right to comment on nominations for state & defense GO SUCK ON A TEA BAG TED
On those who served can comment on nominations for SecState and SecDef? Really?
It's what Cruz said that is soffensive
I guess that makes him a d*ck. How odd for the GOP...