In the competition between Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) to see who could be a bigger
asshole firebrand, Cruz has won. His reward for that achievement is the abandonment of his few allies and a fickle base that has left him for Donald Trump. That, and an
almost complete marginalization in the Senate.
Since delivering his blistering floor speech Friday, attacking McConnell in personal terms for "lying" about his deal making, Cruz has grown more alienated within the GOP Conference than ever. The Texas senator has barely spoken a word to McConnell. He most certainly has not buried the hatchet with McConnell—and it's not clear that he ever will. […]
After accusing McConnell repeatedly of lying about his plans to move a bill to revive the Export-Import Bank, Cruz has called McConnell the "so-called" Republican leader and a cog in the "McConnell-Reid" leadership team. He said McConnell is "undermining the liberty of the people" and "expanding" Washington at the expense of taxpayers.
The question for Cruz is whether he'll seek to rebuild any of those alliances if his presidential bid falls short. He’ll have a decision to make right away: Whether to run for reelection to his Senate seat in 2018. And if he does, he'll have to decide whether to continue his role as a leading conservative provocateur, or try to begin working with colleagues he's angered during his presidential campaign.
If his presidential bid falls short? If? The guy who's made himself the biggest pariah within his own party in just three short years is going to win the GOP nomination? He can't even compete with Donald Trump right now. No matter how offensive he is to the establishment, he can't out-Trump Trump, though there's little indication so far that he'll stop trying.