If a man is judged by the quality of his enemies, Ted Cruz should be a national hero.  Over the past few days, The New York Times and Politico have run stories describing Cruz’s first 6 weeks in office as combative and McCarthy-like by his enemies.  Let us use this as an opportunity to take a victory lap for helping to elect this great patriot.

Here are some quotes from the Times:

Without naming names, Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, offered a biting label for the Texan’s accusatory crusade: McCarthyism.

“It was really reminiscent of a different time and place, when you said, ‘I have here in my pocket a speech you made on such and such a date,’ and, of course, nothing was in the pocket,” she said, a reference to Senator Joseph R. McCarthy’s pursuit of Communists in the 1950s. “It was reminiscent of some bad times.”

Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said that some of the demands Mr. Cruz made of Mr. Hagel were “out of bounds, quite frankly.” Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, issued a public rebuke after Mr. Cruz suggested, with no evidence, that Mr. Hagel had accepted honorariums from North Korea.

“All I can say is that the appropriate way to treat Senator Hagel is to be as tough as you want to be, but don’t be disrespectful or malign his character,” Mr. McCain said in an interview.

It’s funny how we all thought a strong national defense was one ideal still universally regarded in the Republican Party, especially by noted “hawks” like Lindsey Graham and John McCain.  Yet, in just a matter of a few weeks, Senator Cruz has done more to fight the blame-America-first crowd than the brokeback partnership has done during their respective careers.  From his stand against Hagel and Kerry and his strong and articulate defense of the Second Amendment to his leadership against the amnesty circus, Cruz has met and exceeded all our expectations.

Now, for the Politico article:

Behind closed doors, some Republican senators report that Cruz, in his stone-cold serious prosecutorial style, speaks at length when it’s far more common for freshman to wait before asserting themselves, particularly ones who were just sworn in. […]

Quick to annoy one of the most powerful Senate Democrats, Chuck Schumer, after he engaged in a combative line of questioning with the New Yorker on a recent Sunday talk show, even though senators from opposing parties are typically far more collegial in those settings.

Much to the dismay of the media, we are no longer bringing a Lamar Alexander to a Chuck Schumer fight.  We are bringing a Ted Cruz.  And no, we will not wait dutifully for 5 years until our voice will be heard through Senator Cruz.  It’s no coincidence that while McCain was beclowning himself with Schumer during the State of the Union Address, Cruz was sitting by his side with the bewildered expression of a man who can no longer distinguish friend from foe.

It is precisely this bipartisan collegial demeanor that has saddled us with incorrigible debt, distorted our free market economy, limited our liberties, attenuated our esteem throughout the world, and weakened our sovereignty.  If we ever hope to restore the strength and character of this Republic, we need to seek out more people like Ted Cruz – patriots who will not wait a single day to begin delivering on their campaign promises.

One man with conviction can do a lot more than a majority of John McCains and Lindsey Grahams.  Graham is up for reelection this cycle; McCain is up in 2016.  The people of South Carolina and Arizona have not elected Chuck Schumer to represent them.  They never would.  They need a choice, not a faint and pathetic echo.

We salute you, Senator Cruz, and we’re calling for backup.

Cross-posted from The Madison Project