A Letter to Ted Cruz, Man of Hypocrisy

By: Jane Park, Andrew Yuan

Dear Ted Cruz,

Does your fathomless corruption disqualify you as a senator? When you dream of your constituents freezing to death in Texas, do you weep? Do you shiver in your restful sleep? Do you mourn your fellow compatriots?

Allow us to rephrase. We are not asking you to answer these questions as a senator, a public servant, nor a father. We are questioning your basic human decency. Deep down in your consciousness, have you even grieved for Texas?

Your response to your failings? A “political mistake.” Mr. Cruz, this is not a mistake. This is an intentional dereliction of your duty as a senator. This is a failure. While you fled your country and your state, in the midst of panic, massive snow storms froze the state’s water supplies. While you relaxed at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton in Cancun, 4.3 million Texas residents were left without any power. As you used your family as a scapegoat for your immoral decisions, politicians across the country were doing your job for you. So tell me, Mr. Cruz, if these actions don’t disqualify you as a senator, what would? If you are not removed from your power, what does it mean for the state of our nation? If you are not removed from power, is justice still alive?

In the aftermath of your sickening actions, you shamefully disguise yourself as the victim. Using the same rhetoric of a “witch hunt” you have been using for years, you told people to stop “politicizing” this event. When your wife’s panicking texts were leaked, you demanded these leakers “don’t be a--holes.” You defended yourself so nobly, urging your constituents to “have some degree, some modicum of respect.” Have you ever treated your citizens with any respect?

Your narrative about Cancun has shifted yet again. This week, you had the decency to joke about Cancun at CPAC, laughing as you said “Orlando is awesome...not as nice as Cancun, but it’s nice.” 

Mr. Cruz, is your duty to protect your home a joke to you? Are the lives of the 58 citizens lost in the Texas snowstorm entertaining a form of entertainment? Tragedies please you, leisure at the cost of human lives amuse you and immoral actions and violations against your oath fulfill your egocentric avarice. 

  We are not infuriated merely at your apathetic decision to leave the country. We are enraged by your history of weakening the American democracy. Turn to just a few weeks ago, when terrorists stormed Capitol Hill. Recollect your refusal to apologize for your affiliation in such an act - one which was inhumane, unjustified, and unethical. Being a bystander and watching the scene slowly unfold is more than enough to declare you as a proponent; what you did during that grim week was the starting point of the decline of your grip on the American public. Mr. Cruz, you must face the dire consequences of your actions.

In 2016, as you campaigned for president, your slogan was “Together, we will win.” What did you mean by together? What does winning mean to you? Are you fostering a community when you refuse to grant citizenship to immigrants? Are you winning when you, a state representative, prioritize your own desires over the needs of dying citizens? Do you gain a sense of self-satisfaction when countless innocent Americans succumb to your callous and foolish behavior? 

Politics have not and should not come into adjudicating you as a person; all politics aside, you are a morally unethical person who has no sense of virtue. We said it, and we will say it louder for the people in the back because everything you did has led to massive consequences stemming from your pride and ego and desire to be better than everyone. People did not elect you so you could profit off of them. People elected you because they wanted a representative they could lean on when the time comes. What a shame that you have failed to uphold your vows; what a shame that the pillar Texans used to rely on is no longer there; what a shame that the state representative fled the state in dire need of attention and assistance. What a shame, Mr. Cruz, you have disappointed the American people.