I occasionally like to cite the old saying, “If you’re not getting flak, you’re not over the target.” Applicable in so many situations, it can now be applied to [mc_name name=’Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001098′ ]’s recent announcement that he’s running for president. At this early stage of the game, I’m not so interested in his platform, or his political record. But watching the criticism from the Democrats alongside the skepticism and tepid reception from the Republican establishment is the sort of thing that always gets my attention.

You can always tell how much of a threat your opponents consider you to be by the amount of hysteria they generate. And the bigger the threat, the more irrational their criticism. When Cruz mentioned that he was going to apply for Obamacare, in face of the fact that he’s pledged to repeal it, the news sent critics into a raving spin. What blatant hypocrisy, they said.

Yet nobody has yet noticed that Cruz also wants to eliminate the IRS, even though he must certainly be submitting his tax forms every year. Apparently you’re obligated to defy and ignore any law that you want to change. What if Cruz wants to raise the national speed limit to 65 mph? Does that mean he has to drive over the maximum speed limit to maintain his credibility?

Here was my thought: I like a candidate with a sense of humor. As a regular consumer of Obamacare, [mc_name name=’Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001098′ ] can be our boots-on-the-ground correspondent reporting to us on how well his state-mandated health plan is meeting his needs, and how much it’s costing him.

And there lies the true source of all the hysteria. If Cruz follows through, he’ll likely be reporting to us whether we wants to or not. News outlets and their pundits are already locked in to the Cruz/Obamacare gambit, and it’s too late for them to back off now. They’re going to have to finish what they started. And they may be opening a can of worms—something they neither intended nor foreseen.

Imagine getting a play-by-play report on the actual mechanics of Obamacare in action. Sure the media will try to refry the whole mess into a Democrat happy meal, but their melodramatic histrionics could be just as telling as anything [mc_name name=’Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001098′ ] reveals. But however this plays out, I approve of any politician who can irritate their detractors with this much ease.