Put Ted Cruz's Plaque Next to McCarthy's in the Bullshitter Hall of Fame

Senator Ted Cruz, Republic of Texas (Harry Cabluck/AP)

Jed catches the money quote in Todd J. Gillman's interview of Wingnut Senator Ted Cruz:

GILLMAN: Is McCarthy someone you admire? 

CRUZ: I’m not going to engage in the back and forth and the attacks.

So that's a yes, then, Senator?

Keep in mind that this is the Senator who engaged the warp drive in "the back and forth and the attacks" on Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Cruz's bogus attacks on Hagel included, among other things, the slander that Hagel had received speaking fees from north Korea.

This is the Senator who famously said of Harvard:

“There were fewer declared Republicans in the faculty when we were there than Communists! There was one Republican. But there were twelve who would say they were Marxists who believed in the Communists overthrowing the United States government.”

This, of course, is more pig shit than bullshit, since pig shit isn't fit to be used as fertilizer. But the point is not the voracity of what he says, which doesn't matter to Bullshitters, but rather the willingness with which he engages "in the back and forth and the attacks."

The Higgs Boson of the matter is a bit further up in the Gillman interview, where his disregard for facts, context, and basic logic fall apart as anything does once it crosses the event horizon of the wingnut black hole.

I applied to John Kerry what I call the `John Kerry standard.’ When he was a senator he voted against confirming Condoleezza Rice to be Secretary of State. He voted against confirming Alberto Gonzalez to be attorney general. He voted against confirming Michael Mukasey to be Attorney General. Applying the same standard,  in my judgment, his record was not appropriate to serve as Secretary of State and in particular, his willingness to countenance undermining US sovereignty was troubling.

Condoleeza "Mushroom Cloud" Rice was head of National Security when 9-11 happened. She thought "Bin Laden Determined to Attack inside the US" was a historical document (or, if she didn't actually think that, she said she thought that, which would make her a liar). She was one of the chief sales people of the Iraq War. I wonder what Senator Cruz would have had to say if President Gore was trying to appoint his head of the NSA that failed to protect us from the largest attack on US soil in decades to be Secretary of State after lying us into a $6 trillion dollar war that maimed and killed millions?

John Kerry didn't lie us into war, he just believed the liars. And he apologized.

Alberto Gonzoles may have been the most unqualified AG ever, unless you count Michael Mukasey, who's far right wingnuttery is so wingnuterific that even CPAC wouldn't officially sanction it.

GW Bush, undermining US sovereignty

The fun part is the "same standard" BS, where his hemming and hawing ("...in my judgement...") before he goes all McCarthy on Kerry ("...his willingness to countenance undermining US sovereignty...") is his tell. If you're a feisty reporter, go all in! I would suggest: "Senator, are you suggesting that John Kerry wants to allow other countries sovereignty over the US? Could you explain this?"

Gillman's next question? "But you didn’t break a sweat to oppose him."

Really.

Of course, "willingness to countenance undermining US sovereignty" is a particularly loud and juicy dog whistle dripping with the spit of thousands of wingnuts. I'm sure the Senator from the Great State of the Former Republic of Texas would be happy to list several examples of what he means, if pressed on the matter, maybe something about black helicopters and UN bureaucrats taking our guns, but down in Texas they all know damn well it means the USA's ability to lie ourselves into invading any damn country we want, facts and international law be damned.