Why does he anger me?

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

What in the world is it about Ted Cruz that makes my blood boil?

It cannot possibly be just that he is a conservative Republican. Or that he has this annoying  way of pretending to speak for millions of Texas residents he represents in the U.S. Senate. Or that he landed in the U.S. Senate and began pi**ing off his colleagues, even his fellow Republicans.

I cannot quite dial it in.

It might go back to when he first ran for the Senate in 2012. His GOP opponent that year was Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who was favored heavily to win the party nomination and then get elected to the Senate. He didn’t. He lost the primary to Cruz, a former Texas solicitor general. I actually like Dewhurst; I enjoyed my relationship with him while I worked as editorial page editor of the Globe-News in Amarillo. Dewhurst was the hardest-working politician in Austin. He was so detail oriented that if you asked him for the time, he might be inclined to tell you how to build a watch … you know?

Losing to Cruz, though, only magnified the emptiness of the state GOP, although I’ll acknowledge that Dewhurst proved to be a lousy campaigner.

Cruz then landed in the Senate and began pi**ing off his GOP colleagues, such as the late John McCain, who scolded Cruz for challenging the patriotism of Vietnam War vets John Kerry and Chuck Hagel, two of McCain’s friends and fellow Vietnam vets.

His Senate career has been a series of showmanship tactics. His ambition is so bodacious that he just doesn’t wear it well.

Now he is putting holds on nominations put forth by President Biden. He has pulled them, allowing the nominees to go forward toward confirmation.

Ted Cruz releases holds on Biden nominees as administration looks to get tough on Russia pipeline – POLITICO

I’ll admit to not knowing Cruz. I have never met the man. I might think differently of him were I to shake his hand and engage in some chatter, but I haven’t. Therefore, I am left to hold these views of him.

I’ll just continue to loathe his presence in the media and when he screams “Freedom!” at conservative political rallies. I won’t apologize for those feelings.