I just saw this resounding repudiation of Ted Cruz and his fanaticism by the leading newspaper in Texas, the Houston Chronicle (who endorsed Cruz in his race for the Senate last year).
Why we miss Kay Bailey Hutchison
...Hereabouts, we miss her advocacy for NASA, the Port of Houston and the energy industry. And we know she worked just as hard for Dallas, San Antonio and a hundred smaller Texas cities and towns.
Read the endorsement: Cruz for Senate (Oct. 12, 2012)
And dare we say it? We miss her extraordinary understanding of the importance of reaching across the aisle when necessary. Neither sitting Texas senator has displayed that useful skill, and both the state and the Congress are the poorer for it.
One reason we particularly believe that Hutchison would make a difference in these hectic days is that if she had kept her seat, Cruz would not be in the Senate.
When we endorsed Ted Cruz in last November's general election, we did so with many reservations and at least one specific recommendation - that he follow Hutchison's example in his conduct as a senator.
Obviously, he has not done so. Cruz has been part of the problem in specific situations where Hutchison would have been part of the solution.
We feel certain she would have worked shoulder to shoulder with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in crafting a workable solution that likely would have avoided the government shutdown altogether.
But we'll never know.
Will this be enough to deflate Ted Cruz's enormous ego a little? America has to wonder why Cruz was so inflexible, leading the GOP in a charge up a dead end that he surely knew was likely to fail in the end (if he's as clever as they say). Now Republicans seem to either despise Cruz (quietly), or adore Cruz (vociferously).