When I heard this on our local ABC affiliate (WFAA in Dallas), it reminded me of what I heard a Republican official in our state say about teabagger U.S. Senate nominee Ted Cruz: "If Cruz gets nominated, it'll turn Texas from red to purple."
That Republican just might have been right about Cruz, especially after he said the following:
“We have so many things to be thankful for. So many blessings, including even we can be thankful for Hurricane Isaac. If nothing else, it kept Joe Biden away,”
It's bad enough that Cruz has been so open about his
support of voter suppression (or what I call disenfranchisement) laws and his
opposition to the Affordable Care act that prevents insurance companies from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions, among other things. But this latest remark about being grateful for Isaac is so beyond the pale it makes me sick.
More below.
How is any Republican going to explain this to those who have been impacted by similar disasters like, for example, Hurricane Katrina. Should we have been grateful for Katrina, to hear Cruz tell the story?
Should we be "grateful" for tornadoes that unleash their hell in communities throughout the country, especially here in Texas and even Oklahoma, Louisiana and Missouri? And above all, how can any Republican justify Cruz's appearance as a GOP convention speaker given his despicable remarks?
We may hear from GOP officials that Cruz was only joking, but as far as I am concerned, this was no joke. I'm sure it wasn't a joke to those who have been impacted by storms such as Isaac and past disasters like Katrina.
And will Mitt Romney show some character not only by denouncing what Cruz said, but removing him from the speaker's program and cutting off support for his campaign.
I also hope what Cruz said makes the election of Paul Sadler even more urgent. Here's a link to his web site: http://sadlerforsenate.com/
At least Paul Sadler had the sense to denounce what Cruz said (he tweeted the following: @TedCruz says he's "thankful" for #Isaac. For those who have lost their loved ones and homes, it is not a joke or a blessing. #,) Will Romney and other Republicans denounce him and disassociate themselves from his remarks?
Or will we see another example of Mitt Romney not standing up to the nut cases in his own party like Cruz? If he can't stand up to Ted Cruz, why should we believe that he'll stand up to international bullies like the dictators of Syria and North Korea?