Most of the focus on Sen. Ted Cruz's meandering quasi-filibuster (it wasn't really a filibuster) has concerned his odd reading from the Dr. Seuss book "Green Eggs and Ham." Critics noted that the moral of that well-known children's story is the exact opposite of what Cruz apparently believes. Namely: Don't criticize something before you've tried it. You know, like "Obamacare," for instance.
But in an even bigger "tell," the politically reckless and intellectually feckless Cruz talked his way into a much bigger inconsistency as he strived to fill 21 hours with his uncommonly vapid thoughts. At one point, Cruz said that if modern "pundits" who say "Obamacare" can't be undone been around before World War II, they probably would have agreed to placate Adolf Hitler:
“If you go to the 1940s, Nazi Germany. Look, we saw in Britain, Neville Chamberlain, who told the British people, ‘Accept the Nazis. Yes, they’ll dominate the continent of Europe, but that’s not our problem. Let’s appease them. Why? Because it can’t be done. We can’t possibly stand against them.’”
Cruz's apparent point, and he evidently sought to make one, was that today's vanishing breed of moderately conservative Republican shouldn't vote for a "clean" continuing budget resolution because that would amount to appeasing President Obama and the Democrats. You see, folks, appeasement is weak! And bad!
Yet, quite clearly, Cruz fully expects that as a result of the government shutdown, both Obama and his party will capitulate to Republican calls to undo the Affordable Care Act, approve the Keystone XL pipeline and just about anything else the nut-job wing of the GOP wants but doesn't have the votes to actually achieve through the normal legislative process. Because, you see, in the Cruziverse, appeasement by the Democrats would be a very good thing for the country, if only because it'd be a very good thing for Republicans.
In short, the Cruz prescription amounts to this: Appeasement is bad, except when you're expected to appease Cruz and his cronies.
Of course, Nazis didn't agree with their opponents to debate on and then vote on their agenda, like American lawmakers are supposed to do. But forcing Democrats to log-roll away years of achievements to keep the crazy wing of the GOP happy for a few more weeks? Cruz would be totally happy taking a piece of, or shall we say appeasement of, that action.
Thereafter, if it all works out, maybe Cruz and his cabal will unleash their secret plan to annex the Sudetenland.