Ted Cruz, We Will Not Forget This

I’m a Texan. I’ve been homeless, freezing, and without power before. The millions of Texans left out in the cold are not going to forgive your cowardice.

Image of Ted Cruz courtesy of Gage Skidmore.

I know what it is like to freeze. In December 2013, when my mom and I were temporarily homeless in North Texas, we lost power to the RV we were staying at that week. The roads had iced over earlier that day and the temps hovered around 30 degrees. We could see our breath inside as we huddled together for warmth. The feeling of helplessness and fear is something I wish on no one.

But over the past three days, 29 million Texans have been experiencing disruptions of heat, water, and electricity at the hands of government officials who believed fossil fuels were the answer and that federal regulation would be the state’s demise. This week, my best friend of 10 years had to teach remotely — despite not having power and being sick with COVID — so went to her sister’s house. Hospitals in Austin faced water shortages.
Grocery store shelves are empty, thanks to a food supply disruption. There’s no doubt about that the so-called “rolling blackouts,” supported by lackeys like Rick Perry, will have immeasurable consequences we won’t know for a long time. Folly, ignorance, and pride — that’s what got us here today.

However, instead of providing meaningful assistance and resources to his constituents, Sen. Ted Cruz thought it’d be a great time for a little trip to Cancún. It wasn’t until he got dragged on the internet that he decided to put out a statement.

“With school canceled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends,” Cruz said in a statement he released Thursday afternoon. “Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon. My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas. We want our power back, our water on and our homes warm.”

So why pack a big suitcase if you’re only gonna be down there for a day? Well, Cruz’s flight was rebooked from Saturday to Thursday, but only after he got caught. According to the New York Times, Cruz’s wife had texted neighbors on Wednesday…