Ted Still Cannot Get It...Will He Ever Say, "I do so like green eggs and ham?"

TED STILL CANNOT GET IT...
Will He Ever Say, "I do so like green eggs and ham?"

The Chinese respect the elderly, because they realize that the older members of society have seen things before...sometimes several times before. One of the few things that I love about being 70 is that I have seen many dances before. Senator Ted Cruz is the incarnate of Senator Joe McCarthy. Okay, most of you will have to go to the Internet and Google Joe McCarthy. You will find 53,500,000 results. Now, I have not read them all, but I would be willing to bet that, of those 53 million plus sites, there are not many that now think of him as some knight in shining armor. However, and this is critical, many unthinking Americans did see him as a political knight in shining armor in the early 50s.

Joseph McCarthy...
a shining armor knight

McCarthy was the self-effacing, titular head of the witch-hunters of the time. He conducted what were called the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954. He was looking for godless commies, homosexuals, traitors in our midst, and any other person or group that disagreed with him. While he was certainly a troubled person, many Americans followed his assertions about other Americans who were threatening our government...mainly commies and gays. As he blabbered, many Americans listened.

Edward R. Murrow

However, one American did not listen nor did he agree with McCarthy. Edward R. Murrow, a great journalist, finally confronted McCarthy in 1954. Murrow's response took guts, which he had. The question was whether CBS shared his guts and determination. Regardless, Murrow did face McCarthy. Interestingly, McCarthy faced censure by the Senate on December 2 of that year. The vote was 67 to 22 against McCarthy.

This a great video about those years when McCarthy ruled.

Ted Cruz

I see no real difference having watched McCarthy dance over a half century ago and Cruz dance today. Cruz, as the titular head of the Tea Party, is on his McCarthy-esque witch-hunts. He is out attempting to make America safe from illegal aliens. Interestingly, Cruz's father came from Cuba and was not a citizen prior to Cruz's birth in Canada. The birther issue gets dicer when dealing with his mother's nationality. Salon explored that issue in this article. Their conclusion was that "Cruz himself falls under a special section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that governs 'Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent.'

Cruz, in his version of McCarthy, filibusters the Senate to stop the Affordable Care Acts (ACA also called Obamacare) taking affect. Obamacare, which both the Senate and the House, signed by the President, and upheld by the Supreme Court, is the law of the land. Nonetheless, Cruz will stop the functioning of the government in spite of that. Obamacare is on his witch-hunt list. America needs Cruz...or so Cruz thinks. That was McCarthy's modes operandi also.

Green Eggs and Ham

Cruz, in his quasi-filibuster, sites Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham, which is a nice story about Sam-I-Am trying to get someone who is a proverbial doubting Thomas, or as Dr. Seuss would say...a Grinch-like person who will not try green eggs and ham as a meal. It is a very short novel. In fact, it is so short that you can watch Cruz reading Green Eggs and Ham to the Senate in his filibuster of Obamacare on September 24, 2013:

Cruz read Green Eggs and Ham even though it is not a favorite of his daughter's. Nonetheless, the ability to read a very short novel and understanding its meaning are not necessarily linked. Cruz did not understand Dr. Seuss' metaphor or parable. Jack understood Dr. Seuss.

Al reading to the boys

Owen does not speak quite yet more than a few words. I am spending sometime each week saying to Owen, "Obamacare is good." I think that he thinks that Obamacare is some sort of a Dairy Queen treat.

Therefore, I am suggesting that Cruz takes a class to understand better the use of a metaphor. If he did, perhaps he will understand Dr. Seuss' message...try it; you might like it. That is surely applicable to green eggs and ham and also Obamacare.