Ted Cruz Flew the Coop Amid Texas Ice Age

Texas has been hit hard with a bitter winter storm this week. A large chunk of the state is without power, heat, clean water, and in some cases food. This is a result of their energy production systems not being winterized, because who needs winterization in Texas heat? The increasingly unstable climate saw an opening and struck. Water and natural gas lines freezing and bursting, pumps failing, and a handful of wind turbines frozen stuck. It’s a nasty scene that I’ve been keeping a close eye on. At the time of writing, 44 deaths have been attributed to the storm, 27 of them in Texas. A friend that works EMS down there says its a touch worse than everyone lets on, and to not be surprised if more people die.

Enter, or should I say exit, Ted Cruz, U.S. Senator for Texas. In the midst of a crisis that is throttling the state he calls home, he decided it would be the perfect time to ship out to Cancun, Mexico. With a camera in virtually every person’s pocket these days, it wasn’t long before snapshots of the Senator in the airport and boarding the plane began to surface. It didn’t take long for the pressure to be on him, and he returned stateside just one day later. He regarded the decision as a mistake, but everyone already knew that.

This is a bad look across the board, but some people argue against the extreme scrutiny Cruz has received. “What is he supposed to do, go out and melt the snow himself? He’s a Senator, he isn’t in control of the state.” some may say. Which might be true, but that’s not the point. The very least he can do is not ship out of country while the people he’s supposed to represent freeze. At least stay to witness the consequences of bludgeoning the environment to the point these kinds of weather events occur. Hearing this story made me think of when former New Jersey governor Chris Christie was caught going to the very beach he had closed. Consequences for thee, not for me. 

Upon his return Cruz made a statement that he was only going to escort his children to Cancun to be with friends, and that he was just trying to be a good dad. I’m not sure I buy that, being that he was pictured with a full-sized suitcase that would hold more than enough for just one night. I have also never heard of “Just dropping the kids off in Cancun for a bit,” but that may be a rich person thing I’m just too broke to understand.

In the end, the connotations associated with a story like this are far more worrisome than the story itself. The planet is spazzing, the climate growing more uncontrollable and unpredictable by the year. The consequences of these can be, and often are, deadly and long lasting. They affect the poor and middle class most, while the rich can simply fly away to avoid all the noise, and when these things get even worse, all signs point to the rich guys doing the same thing on a larger scale. 

Overall this is simply a bad move, and will most likely leave a lasting stain on Cruz’s image. Between the act itself, the lackluster excuse, and even leaving the family dog in the frozen home, it’s without a doubt horrible optics. There are apparently text messages between Mrs. Cruz and family friends further highlighting the fact that it wasn’t meant to be a quick back and forth trip, but this isn’t easily confirmed, so I won’t touch on it. In summary, Ted Cruz took a Ted Cruise to Cancun. After a Ted Snooze in his Bed Cruz he heard the Ted News about people’s Ted Views and ended the cruise.