After Tuesday’s primary, it’s clear that Sen. “Ted” Cruz, R-Texas, will face Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert “Beto” O’Rourke in the fall as Cruz seeks a second Senate term. The political soothsayers all rate Cruz as safe or at least highly likely to be re-elected. But that didn’t stop Cruz from launching an outrageously early, hilariously simplistic and perhaps even hypocritical radio attack ad.
The ad consists entirely of a country/western song that starts thus:
If you’re gonna run in Texas, you can’t be a liberal man/ Cuz liberal thought is not the spirit of a Lone Star man./
You gotta be tough in Texas, and honest about your plans. If you’re gonna run in Texas, you can’t be a liberal man.
Cruz obviously hopes to brand O’Rourke with a bright red “L” for liberal. I don’t doubt that, especially by Texas standards, O’Rourke is quite liberal and, until credible evidence to the contrary emerges, must be viewed as a longshot at best. Republicans have won the last 10 U.S. Senate elections in the state.
It’s not at all clear, at this early stage, how Cruz and his minions plan to portray O’Rourke as not “honest about his plans.” And the ad makes no mention of any “plans” about which O’Rourke is not “honest.”
The next verse makes clear that the attack on O’Rourke’s “honesty” is not about his plans but about his name. The second verse goes like this:
I remember reading stories, liberal Robert wanted to fit in
So he changed his name to Beto, and hid it with a grin.
This is a pretty pitiful attempt to suggest that O’Rourke is attempting to use deception to pass as Hispanic. O’Rourke, as his family name suggests, is of Irish descent. Growing up in predominantly Hispanic El Paso, Texas, he was nicknamed “Beto,” which is a Hispanic/Mexican nickname for “Roberto.”
That’s the great subterfuge on which Cruz’s coming-out ad attempts to use to portray O’Rourke as not “honest about [his] plans.” We await further evidence the young O’Rourke hatched a master plan to pass himself off as Hispanic, and hid his plan “with a grin.”
It’s especially pitiful, because the man behind the ad is actually named Raphael Edward Cruz, but goes by “Ted” because why?
The population of Texas, by the way, is roughly 43 percent white, 39 percent Hispanic, 12 percent black, 4.8 percent Asian and 1.2 percent other.
You can listen to the 60-second jingle/ad, and read the full lyrics here. The last verse goes:
Beto wants those open borders. And wants to take our guns.
There’s not a chance he’ll get a vote from millions of Tex-uns.
If you’re gonna run in Texas, you can’t be a liberal man.
Familiar strategy
One candidate is a longshot, the other more like “Desperado waiting for the election.” Reminds me of Boschwitz v. “Embarrassingly Liberal Paul Wellstone”.
What is in a name
Ted Cruz is no Teddy Bear, nor a Teddy Roosevelt or Kennedy, with an affectionate nickname. He is actually more like Ted Baxter who was pompous and annoying. He can pretend to be warm and fuzzy, but it does fly. As for being Texas tough, what did he do when Trump attacked his wife and family. Nothing!