Beto O'Rourke Gently Reminds Cruz How Much Trump Hates Him
On Tuesday night, Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke met for their second and probably last debate before the election next month. While O'Rourke has maintained the clam, measured cadence of Barack Obama in most of his public appearances, this time he showed a willingness to get angry.
There's no shortage of insults for Cruz, but O'Rourke pulled out one that's been haunting Cruz since the 2016 primaries: "Lyin' Ted." Donald Trump coined it when they were opponents, and though the president has thrown his endorsement behind Cruz in the midterms, Cruz's critics haven't forgotten their earlier rivalry and barrage of taunts.
O'Rourke also drew a line between himself and Cruz on the topic of sexual assault and the #MeToo movement, though considering Cruz's never-wavering support for Brett Kavanaugh that's not much of a challenge. But O'Rourke also called out Cruz for voting against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act in 2013. (Cruz was joined in his opposition by five other Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.)
Cruz, for his part, tried to cast the public opposition to Kavanaugh, the most unpopular Supreme Court nominee in three decades, as a reason to vote for him, saying that the outrage was a symptom of "rage on the far left."
The strategy from Cruz here seems to be that he's a victim when people are angry over his support for odious people and policies. And it's not a terrible move for someone who historically struggles to appear "likable."
