Sen. Ted Cruz launched into a fake filibuster Tuesday on the Senate floor to block a piece of House legislation that he himself supports. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell called Cruz’s actions “the single stupidest legislative strategy in the history of the United States Senate.”
In the Rewrite Tuesday, O’Donnell wondered why the Washington media resist calling Cruz “stupid,” despite the many erroneous things he says.
“Ted Cruz says things that are profoundly wrong all day long, and the Washington media does not hold it against him because they all believe that he is smart enough to know the truth and understand the truth but that he is simply lying about it,” O’Donnell said. “And the Washington media actually respects lying, respects political lying. They believe it is part of the game, because they believe governing–the thing they are supposed to be covering as reporters–is a game.”
O’Donnell argued that Cruz’s stellar resume as a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School serves as “academic armor” to blind the media.
“Many people think that because Ted Cruz was a good law student or a good lawyer he is therefore smart, smart at everything he does. They are wrong,” he said. “Being a good law student does not mean that you are a smart parent, for example. Or a smart driver, or a smart eater. Or a smart senator. Law school performance is a predictor of nothing–including your potential ability as a lawyer. And there are many high functioning lawyers who are absolutely terrible at everything else they do.”
The only real way to judge Cruz’s legislative intelligence is by his action as senator. By that measure, O’Donnell said Cruz is “the stupidest guy in the building.”
Evan Puschak