Columns, Opinion

HAGERTY: Want to drain the swamp? Unseat Ted Cruz

President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to “drain the swamp” might be coming to fruition. Democrats are starting to beef up for the midterm elections with an unprecedented amount of interest from political newcomers. Fired up and ready to go, high energy candidates are preparing to run for both state and national roles. Let’s look at Virginia, the only Southern state where Hillary Clinton won (by a slim margin). The Roanoke Times, a newspaper in southern Virginia, reports that “the swell of anti-Trump activism in Virginia … could lead to a 2017 wave in down-ticket House races as Virginians elect a governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.” Currently in the Virginia statehouse, there is a 66-34 Republican majority. But for the first time in recent history, Democrats have candidates running in 43 of the 66 districts controlled by Republicans. So far, the Republicans only have five challengers in Virginia’s 34 Democratic districts. Virginia is not unique — this surge of political interest is indicative of a national trend. House Democrats have identified 59 Republican-held districts they plan to target in 2018, and there is no shortage of candidates.

The most exciting and significant midterm election will be Texas’ 2018 senate race. The widely-disliked Texas senator Ted Cruz has a young charismatic opponent for his seat. This opponent is El Paso Congressman Robert “Beto” O’Rourke. O’Rourke is relatively new to the national scene. He’s a Democrat, Columbia University graduate, former punk rocker and prior to serving in Congress he started a small technology company based in El Paso.

Now, realistically, the chances of Cruz getting unseated by a Democrat are relatively slim in bright red Texas. O’Rourke also has a few skeletons in his closet. In 1995, O’Rourke was arrested on burglary charges and in 1998 he was arrested again on drunk driving charges. Cruz loves to pontificate about morality, so the Cruz camp will likely publicize O’Rourke’s past indiscretions. But, if voters overlooked Trump’s 12 sexual assault allegations, the Billy Bush “locker room talk” tape and his shady business dealings, it would be extremely hypocritical to hold O’Rourke’s past against him.

O’Rourke has a natural charisma that should intimidate the despised Texas senator and failed presidential candidate. O’Rourke became a national figure after being a subject of a “feel-good” public interest story. After flight cancellations caused by inclement weather, O’Rourke, a Democrat, and Texas representative Will Hurd, a Republican, decided to drive from Texas to Washington, D.C. together so they wouldn’t miss a session in Congress. Although they knew very little about each other at the onset of the ride, they ended up becoming very close by the end of the journey. They also Facebook Live-d their journey and essentially held an impromptu road trip town hall fielding questions from constituents in the comments. The duo used the road trip as an opportunity to call up other members of Congress to both regale their friends with their adventures and encourage their colleagues to take a bipartisan road trip. O’Rourke and Hurd went viral. Perhaps more importantly, they forged an incredible friendship across party lines. National Public Radio reports that they’re even planning on having Thanksgiving together. Hurd comments on the road trip saying: “We’ve learned that we can work together on a lot more issues than what we have been.”

In my opinion, Ted Cruz should be shook. Just based on this road trip, it’s clear that O’Rourke’s strengths are some of Cruz’s greatest weaknesses. Cruz’s lack of charisma and inability to work with those on the other side of the aisle are the hallmarks of his political career. Lest we forget, Cruz held a 21-hour filibuster in 2013 which many credit for the temporary shutdown of the federal government. Who does that? Cruz is very unpopular because he is a main contributor to the Washington gridlock through obstruction and grandstanding.

Whatever happens, whoever gets elected, the midterms will be fascinating because Democrats will have one foot in the door in an incredible amount of Republican strongholds. To me, the Texas senate election is significant and dare I say, symbolic. Ted Cruz represents everything that’s wrong with Washington — he’s uncompromising, highly partisan and has an unimpressive legislative record. O’Rourke, however, is refreshing and everything that’s right with public service.

An O’Rourke senate victory in 2018 could be a sign of a changing culture in Washington that leans toward bipartisanship. When Democrats and Republicans work together, things get done in Washington. When they don’t, things grind to a halt. Cruz has proven that he is willing to single-handedly cause gridlock in Washington, D.C. I’m sick of him and I’m certainly not alone. So, even though I’m not a Texas voter, I’m donating to O’Rourke’s campaign because Cruz needs to get out of the swamp.

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One Comment

  1. lol… so funny. I guess integrity takes a back seat. Maybe you should put a more emphasis on the ideology rather than the personality.