However, many people did not accept that explanation. Texas state Rep. Gene Wu, a Democrat representing southwest Houston, tweeted a photo of Cruz aboard a flight, saying Cruz was flying south “while the state was freezing to death and having to boil water (Murphy).” And James Moore, a veteran political analyst and marketing consultant, declared in an editorial: “We Texans ought to be embarrassed... The winter that was too much for Cruz offers a clear example of the tragedies that can accompany policies that are too conservative to make sense, but calculated enough to make some people money” (Moore).

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Nevertheless, Cruz had his defenders. NPR senior Washington editor and correspondent Ron Elving opined that a U.S senator’s ability to tackle a weather disaster is “pretty limited,” then added: “A senator can ask the White House for disaster declaration. That happened. A senator can go back to Washington and vote for emergency relief funds. And certainly Senator Cruz can do that in this case…But the brunt of the burden is on state and local officials and the national bureaucrats, such as the ones at the Federal Emergency Management Agency” (Elving).

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Similarly, author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza declared in a tweet: “What could Ted Cruz do if he were here in Texas? I’m hard-pressed to say. If he’s in Cancun, that means he’s not using up valuable resources of energy, food and water than can now be used by someone else. This is probably the best thing he could do for the state right now.”

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As the Texas sun returned and residents gradually got their water and electricity back, the storm over Cruz abated. He was able to recover and move on, but this wintertime tale exemplifies his ability to minimize an embarrassment that would sink lesser politicians.

Cruz on the National Stage: Green Eggs and Ham

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Cruz had been in office for less than a year when he launched what became his first big controversy, a filibuster to prevent funding for the recently approved Affordable Care Act (Statler).  He stood at the podium for more than 21 hours straight, sharing his political opinions and reading Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham (Ted Cruz Filibuster)[i] after running out of words for the former topic.

His efforts failed, with the senator blaming members of his own party: We saw real division among Senate Republicans,” Cruz told reporters. “That was unfortunate. I would point out that had Senate Republicans united and supported House Republicans, the outcome of this I believe would’ve been very, very different.”

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The Senate’s top Democrat, Majority Leader Harry Reid, shrugged off Cruz’ effort. “For lack of a better way of describing this, it has been a big waste of time,” he said. And Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah expressed regret for the affair: “I just don’t believe anybody benefits from shutting the government down, and certainly Republicans don’t. We learned that in 1995.”

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Still, Cruz was defended by the late commentator Rush Limbaugh, who said: “The man is not a coward. Ted Cruz isn't afraid of anybody. The real question is, what is the Republican establishment afraid of? What are some of these conservative media types at Fox News afraid of? What is the Washington establishment on the Republican side afraid of?”

Opponents Within and Without

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Cruz’s tendency to drive for total victory without politeness or compromise has created bipartisan opposition toward him in the Senate and other political circles. Some illuminating statements include:

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• Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican: “If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you.” (Revesz ).

• Former House Speaker John Boehner: "I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.” The Ohio Republican also called Cruz “Lucifer in the Flesh.[ii]

• Julián Castro, Democrat and former mayor of San Antonio: “Ted Cruz is like Trump: he would watch democracy burn if he got to rule the ashes. He has embarrassed Texas and the entire nation.”

• Al Franken, former Democratic senator from Minnesota: “I like Ted Cruz more than most of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz" (Bondarenko).

The Cheering Section

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Of course, Cruz has many fans who have propelled him to victory in two consecutive senatorial elections. Supporters see his stubbornness, adherence to principle and risk-taking behavior as marks of strong leadership. Comments along these lines include:

1. Thomas Whalen, Boston University political historian: "Ted Cruz reminds me a lot of Richard Nixon. He [Nixon] was … always thinking the next step ahead. Cruz is like that. I've been impressed with how he's positioned himself within the Republican base."

2. Unidentified woman interviewed by video journalist Jimmy Dore at a 2016 Cruz rally in Jefferson, Iowa: “I have to say one thing. It’s nice to know that we’re gonna have a president that understands where the common folks come from, like myself. And it’s nice to know that he’s gonna do away with everything that Barack Obama [has] done.”

3. Craig Russell, CNN viewer, responding to a 2020 televised debate between CNN’s Chris Cuomo and Ted Cruz: “I'm a liberal, so I'd probably side more often with Cuomo on the issues, but Jesus, I'd 1000x rather have a conversation (or a beer) with Cruz. At least he can stay on a topic and provide an intelligent and nuanced conservative argument. All Cuomo knows how to do is interrupt with a recital of his top ten zingers” (Cruz Vs. CNN).

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Highlights of Cruz’s Legislative Record – and the Arts

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At present Ted Cruz has the worst voting record in the current U.S. Senate. From Jan 2013 to Mar 2023, Cruz missed 345 roll call votes out of 3,503. Which is 9.8%. (This is four times worse than the median of 2.3% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving.) Out of the 3,503 Senate bills Cruz was called to vote on, he has only supported 253 bills – and in his entire time as senator, he has only sponsored 15 bills that have been enacted into law (Ted Cruz…govtrack).

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In 2020, Cruz blocked a Senate resolution honoring the recently deceased Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He also voted against the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021, which grew out of the potable water disaster in Flint, Michigan.

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In his Washington office, Cruz proudly displays a painting that shows him arguing before the Supreme Court, defending Texas’ right to cancel health care insurance for Texas children.

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Cruz once asked actor-turned-painter Jim Carey for a copy of Carey’s satirical painting showing Cruz roasting in a blood-red hell. No public response from Carey has been recorded.

Ted Cruz in His Own Words

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Getting at the core of who Ted Cruz really is poses a challenge. His public statements are carefully worded, as if he wants to leave no chinks in the armor of his image. He unapologetically swings back and forth on key issues, always with a pithy justification of why something he once called black is now white.

Many leaders have defined themselves with a single quote, as did Richard Nixon: “Defeat doesn't finish a man, quitting does. A man is not finished when he's defeated. He's finished when he quits.” Former New Deal enthusiast Ronald Reagan said, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me.” But nothing so self-revealing appears to have been uttered by Ted Cruz. Instead, we are left with a collection of quotes that can be used to form a rough image of the man, like one of those plaster casts made from a cavity left in the hardened volcanic ash of Pompeii.

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• Food: “I despise avocado. It’s the only food I dislike, and I dislike it passionately. My whole family eats avocados like crazy, but I can’t stand them.”

• Religion: “I’m Cuban, Irish and Italian, and yet somehow I ended up Southern Baptist… When people ask if faith is real, I don’t have to speculate; I’ve seen the fruits of a walk with Christ in my own life and in my family. Were it not for my father’s becoming a Christian, I would have been raised by a single mother.”

• Childhood struggles: “I refused to play sports as a child. That of course, made [my reputation] even worse. That mix −excelling in the classroom, being too competitive and cocky about academics and being lousy at sports − was, needless to say, not a recipe for popularity.” Cruz eventually decided to play sports, outgrew his braces and saw his acne clear up. He also asked people to start calling him Ted instead of Felito (Happy).

• Says Cruz the prophet: “I want you to take a good, hard look at me, America, because this is exactly what you’ve got coming.”

• On his colleagues: “Liberty is never safer than when politicians are terrified.”

• Church and State: “Start being biblically correct, instead of politically correct.”

• Charity toward all: “I’m a maniac, and everyone on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly. And Ben [Carson], you’re a terrible surgeon.”

• Fun with Trump: “I treat him [Trump] as an entertainer. I laugh it off. It’s like going to the circus and seeing the acrobats and the dancing bears. He’s willing to say things that are patently false.”

• Gays aren’t gay: “It's just like calling homosexuals ‘gays.’ Gay means happy! You know, it's just to try to dilute it so that it becomes socially acceptable.”

• Love thy neighbor: “If we want to defend the country, we have to defend against who's coming in.”

• The Gun-toting Chef: Cruz Shows How to Make “Machine Gun Bacon,” depicted in the following screenshots from a YouTube video that Cruz made and posted around 2016. The first caption is a direct quote from the video, the rest are paraphrased (IJR)