First, let’s begin with some time-tested truths that the vast majority of us know to be completely accurate:
- Ted Cruz is an asshole
- Republicans hate the news media
Now that we have those facts on the table, we can move on to an incident that combines both of those two fundamental facts into one neat package that proves just what a pusillanimous piece of human flotsam the senator from Texas is and always will be.
CNN foreign correspondent Clarissa Ward was reporting from Kabul on the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban when she noted that something unusual and incongruous had just happened:
“They’re just chanting death to America, but they seem friendly at the same time. It’s utterly bizarre.”
That’s good reporting. There’s no editorial content, just giving the facts with a note of how bizarre it is to see a crowd shouting death to America but doing so in a friendly way.
But to hear Sen. Cruz tell it, Ward was cheerleading for the Taliban:
Totally uncalled for, not to mention a complete lie. Clarissa Ward wasn’t cheerleading. She was reporting. Leave it to a member of the GOP to not be able to tell the difference.
It didn’t take long before CNN clapped back in a big way at the Texas senator, with the network issuing a statement which read:
“Rather than running off to Cancun in tough times, Clarissa Ward is risking her life to tell the world what’s happening. That’s called bravery. Instead of RTing a conspiracy theorist’s misleading soundbite, perhaps your time would be better spent helping Americans in harm’s way.”
CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski also gave Cruz a piece of his mind:
“Low class tweet about a colleague who has put her life on the line throughout the conflict to bring people news. And takes her out of context to boot and maliciously accuses her of cheerleading for the Taliban.”
And then others got involved, and they too put Teddy on full blast:
It’s no wonder Cruz’s Senate colleagues all despise him. He’s one of the biggest douchebags to ever walk the face of the earth. And he’s a coward to boot.
