David Mitchell
Two Views of Ted Cruz
There is so much to think about over this past week that I hardly can narrow it down to one item. From my appreciation for Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska (which has shot up like a rocket), to my utter dumbfounded reaction in some of these newly elected officials spouting Qnon fantasies. And of course, my lingering astonishment at the lack of security preparation. I am stunned that anyone on the planet could not have seen smething like this coming!
But more than anyone else - even Senator Hawley of Missouri, Ted Cruz has been on my mind this week. It's probably because I have been thinking of a couple of comments I heard years ago about Senator Ted Cruz - long before all this misinformation, conspiracy theory, division, and anrachy came to visit our own "house".
As I have stated, I have been driving for a private car service (part-time) for a number of years, and I pcik up all kinds of people between Hilton Head and Savannah (and beyond). It's ususally quite enjoyabe. I've driven Myra Sorvino - and thought I had lost her when she took her dog outside the Savannah Airport one night and didn't come back in from the darknes for what seemed like an eternity. I had John Cusack an he was so polite it kind of made me nervous. I had Christopher McDonald (Shooter McGavin in "Happy Gilmore"), who asked to sit on the front seat and chat all the way. I recognized him from his role as a dirty nasty traffic court judge in a few episodes of "The Good Wife" and he laughed - nicest guy I have ever driven.
I've had an amazing number of people with some sort of common connections. It really is a small world. But we are always being reminded never to bring up religion or politics, but sometiems they invite it and you listen but only comment sparingly.
I have two interesting encounters with people who knew Ted Cruz from professional conections. Both conversations happened about 6 yers ago, in the early days of the nomination prior to 2016. I never forgot them.
One is a young 40-something regular customer - businesss trips back and forth to his office in NYC, and meetings around the world. He lives on the island and is one of the managers of the "energy division" at Blackrock - one of the world's largest Hedge Funds. He would often be on the phone in my backseat with important people as I drove him - once it was the (then) female Vice President of Argentina. If it had to do with coal, gas, oil, wind, solar, or hydro-electric and power lines liens, this guy was involved in a big way.
Something got us on the subject of politics (he brought it up it - mostly general comments about the campaign) and he went on to explain that he had had a recent meeting with Senator Kruz. Here is his comment. "We had about two hours together one-on-one and it was like talking to a wall. The man is a United States Senator from Texas and he doesn't know a damn thing about the oil buisness."
But this next comment reallly hit me harder. (Seperate time - about 3 months earlier)
I picked up a guy at the Hilton Head Weston Hotel - a suit and tie guy - there for a convention - headed to Savannah Air Port (about an hour drive). As I often to, I asked where he was headed. "Texas". And when I asked what he did it got really interesting.
"I run a political consulting firm. We're what you call a think tank. We do research on political issues under contract to the Republican Party of Texas."
Going a bit further than I should have - I asked him "what he thought of this Ted Cruz guy?
(And I swear I am not making this up.)
"He scares the hell out of us." "Oh really, I said. Why?"
"We don't think he's qualified to gather trash along the highway."
I am reminded of that great quote from Will Rogers -"We've got the best politicians money can buy."
|