From the desk of the Tiger Lily.
There seems to be a disturbing lack of real vetting in a nationwide trend of conservatives taking any Congressman's bona-fides for granted, as they rely on media like Breitbart/WND, talk radio, or any other outlet they are told is on the up and up. No one has really looked into Rafael Ted Cruz's past with a critical eye, as his father does speeches for the big-money boys who hide their influence in non-profits, e.g. the Heritage Foundation. There are some things about people that do not change (just as spots on a leopard do not change), like their racial/cultural tendencies, or . So, I have decided to share my experiences
First experience:
My father was friends with a man whose father and mother escaped Castro and obtained political asylum in the US. He grew up in the US, went to college, married his college sweetheart and proceeded to support his family by working for himself. I spent countless hours at his house, talking with him and babysitting his kid when he and my father were busy playing board games, at the practice range, and vaious other things they did. He was very proud of his Cuban heritage, had a uniquely special ability to make stories come alive, particularly history which was his major in college, worked for himself in different occupations such as tutoring Spanish, history, and taking the SAT's, selling antique guns at the shows (pre-Clintonian regulations), and other various things. His wife was a German American who faithfully attended an LCMS-affiliated Lutheran church. The kid was homeschooled, mainly by him.
On paper he was what you'd call a right-wing Conservative. However, his public face was completely different from his private face. There was a time when I had agreed to meet a kid I was tutoring at his house. I went in as I normally did and sat down on the couch. I had no idea anyone else was there. He came downstairs, looking irritated, and told me the kid had cancelled. I said "Oh, okay" in an uncertain tone. He then grabbed me and shoved me out the door. While I realize he suffered pain from a back injury he had received several years ago, he had absolutely no reason to be so ungracious. But then again, it didn't matter because no one else was around to see who he really was. It wasn't until years later that I recalled how he would start becoming agitated when thwarted in any plan, his wife hurriedly suggested a different solution, usually a compromise sacrificing her own comfort, and then he would calm down. So, I can't say for sure if he was physically violent to his family, but I do know he constantly used psychological and emotional abuse to manipulate them.
That behavior was learned from somewhere. Cubans just like other 3rd-world Latins view women as second-class citizens, or at least not on an equal footing to men. They are volatile, prone to controlling behavior, and they care very much about their public image, as it ties into honor and respect which they value. This explains Ted Cruz's caution in what pictures are taken of him and with whom. They also admire people who con and get the best of other people, however cutthroat and nasty they have to be, as this hearkens back to their Sicilian roots. I can think of many stories this man told where I remember this admiring look in his eye as he laughed when speaking of the traitorous things different characters did, in both historical and fictional tales.
I realize these traits can be found in any race, but my point is, this is a faithful picture of the cultural traits that are ingrained in first-generation Cubans. If you think Ted Cruz is not influenced by them, if not acting them out exactly as my father's friend did, you are sorely mistaken.
Second experience:
I knew a guy from high school, who over the years weaseled his way up the food chain from local politics to national politics, and eventually became an aide to one of the establishment whores currently posing as a conservative. He used to call me up, whining and complaining about the deluge of phone calls and e-mails from angry Tea Party conservatives during the process of Congress shoving Obamacare down the throat of the nation. (He also used to complain about some of the freshman Representatives, Michelle Bachmann especially, who refused to lick the establishment's boots and after awhile were forced out. The ones who are no longer there actually had the nation's best interests at heart.)
The arrant condescension, the slurs, the mockery of my beliefs and everything that defined the Tea Party were all a constant theme during our conversations. One exchange in particular stands out in his absolute disdain of the Rand Paul-bots being so rabidly supportive of someone who is selling them out, how trusting the conservatives are, how stupid, how easily fooled.
People like this aide and his boss are rampant in the Republican party. They know exactly which Congressmen are in their pocket, which ones are on their side, and which need the whip (or blackmail). They say anything to gain the people's trust, have a professional doctor's facade patting your hand over issues you care passionately about, and behind closed doors heartlessly mock the simpletons like you who put them into power.
And now you have seen the face of the real Ted Cruz, the 3rd-world Cuban who sold out long before he came to the Senate and is lying to your face as he mocks you at parties with the power players.
agtG
