Last February 2016, in the heat of the presidential campaign, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina opined that if Sen Ted Cruz, R-Texas were to be murdered on the floor of the Senate, the assassin would get away with it so hated the man was. Cruz had become a constant irritant to his fellow senators, forcing them to take stands on Obamacare and spending that they rather not have done. However, the old adage that that was then and this is now applies. Graham and Cruz are joining forces to defund the United Nations unless and until it rescinds the anti-Israel resolution the Security Council passed with the tacit support of the Obama administration.
Graham openly apologized to Cruz for suggesting he could be killed according to The Hill.
Cruz accepted the apology with good humor.
Everything changed with the election of Donald Trump as president. Obamacare, the most disastrous public policy initiative in a generation, is soon to be on the ash heap of history. Congress is getting ready to cut taxes, spending, and regulations as with a buzz saw, doing things that Cruz tried to do but was unable to thanks to the skittishness of his fellow senators and President Barack Obama’s veto pen.
Cruz has made remarkable progress in the last two months from someone who had to watch his back on the Senate floor to someone who is cosponsoring legislation with former enemies.
He still has to deal with the possibility of at least three people who will want to try to take away his seat in 2018. But for right now it can be said that Donald Trump is not yet president and he has already restore comity to the Senate, at least among Republicans. The Democrats are still choosing to be rambunctious, but their ability to make trouble has become limited thanks to their minority status and Harry Reid nuking the filibuster for certain votes.
Cruz now has a chance to create a senate record by passing legislation and otherwise adding to his resume. When Trump finishes his second term in 2024, he will still be a young man and more seasoned and experienced for a second and perhaps successful run for the presidency.
