Every time I turn on the news, I have to see and listen to Ted Cruz. I’m sick of it. Ted Cruz is a nobody who got elected to Senate by a handful of crazies and enabled by conservative pundits and the media. Ted Cruz was not elected by any mandate. Ted Cruz was elected by a very small following of special interests that are far removed from the interests of the people of Texas.
Do we have a lot of crazies in Texas? Sure we do. After all, we are the largest state on the continental US. We have 30 million people inhabiting some of the country’s largest cities and counties. But Ted Cruz didn’t get elected by any mandate against the Affordable Care Act. This is why I don’t get the pundits fascination with Ted Cruz. I get Ted Cruz. He’s a delusional and dangerous megalomaniac. But he wasn’t elected by any mandate and isn’t some great leader who should be POTUS.
Let’s do some math. There are 30 million people in Texas. AT LEAST 20 MILLION of them are eligible to vote. Now whether they do vote or not, is another story. Let’s look at who actually voted for him in 2012.
Less than 8 million people in a state of 30 million people voted in 2012. That’s 26% of the overall population. The total voters who elected Ted Cruz represent 1/16th of the population of Texas. Over 50% of eligible voters in the state of Texas did NOT VOTE for Ted Cruz. Over 50% of the eligible voters in Texas did not vote.
Personally, I believe that there should be a law invalidating elections where less than 50% of the people vote. Yet GOP counts on them and even create circumstances to make it more difficult for citizens to vote.
Ted Cruz does not represent the people of Texas because the people of Texas didn’t elect him. Ted Cruz represents a very small percentage of crazy people who cared enough about their agenda to take the time to vote. They are the same crazy people that supported GW Bush at the end of his presidency, they are the same crazy people that like Dick Cheney, they are the same crazy people who think Sarah Palin is qualified to be POTUS and they are the same crazy people who currently approve of Congress when they shut down the government. But they are the minority, not the majority. And yet they are portrayed by the media as the voice of the people. It makes me want to throw a shoe at the TV.
The actual statistics show that Ted Cruz was elected by 4.4 million people in a state of 30 million. There are more people living in Harris County Texas, the state’s most populated county, than voted for Ted Cruz. There are more people living in Texas without insurance than voted for Ted Cruz.
As far as I can see, Ted Cruz is being created by the media and a bunch of conservative pundits. If the pundits would stop putting him on TV, he would be just another junior senator from Texas. The truth is that IF over 50% of the eligible voters participated in the process and voted, these crazy tea partiers would most likely not get elected.
When our forefathers created our Republic, the one thing they counted on is that people would participate. I doubt they ever imagined that more than half of the population does not vote. That’s across the country, not just in Texas. In the 2012 election only 130 Million people in a country of 300 million people voted. When the majority of people chose not to participate, the special interests rule and money dominates.
Apathy is the real truth about what and who created Ted Cruz. Nothing but pure voter apathy. Because if voting were mandatory like health insurance and taxes , Ted Cruz would still be just a lawyer in vast sea of lawyers. And there is a favorable probability that the government shutdown of the past few weeks would never have happened.
Let this be an important lesson for 2014 election. Texas, like many other states) is not a red state. Texas is a state where more red voters participate than blue voters even though the general population shows there are more blue voters that actually reside in Texas. In Texas 6 out of 10 red voters participate, but only 3 out of 10 blue voters participate. And remember there are more potential blue voters overall.
In 2014, there is a path to eliminate the GOP crazies in Texas and across the country and elect more Dems. It is very clear and based on statistics that repeat in every state in the US. It doesn’t involve fundraising. It doesn’t involve politics as usual. It involves convincing the American people to participate by voting. It involves convincing the American people that their vote actually matters. It involves convincing people that all candidates are not the same. It involves validating people so they feel empowered to participate.
There is a great opportunity to take back Texas in 2014 with Wendy Davis running as a Democrat. But it won’t happen if people continue to not participate, not vote. It won’t happen if the majority of people believe it is just too much trouble to vote. It won’t happen when millions and millions of people believe their vote doesn’t matter so they shouldn’t be bothered. It’s that belief, that they don’t matter, that is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because the truth is that by not voting they don’t matter to the people who get elected.
The Probability based on voting patterns for the past 20 years is that around 6 million people or less will actually vote in Texas in 2014 and if that happens the GOP will prevail. I repeat: In Texas 6 out of 10 red voters participate, but only 3 out of 10 blue voters participate. If we can get as many blue voters to participate as red voters, the entire political landscape across the state will change. Since John Cornyn, our other Senator, is up for reelection along with all the crazy tea party house members from our state, there is a legitimate opportunity to take back Texas. But it won’t happen, no matter how much money is raised unless Dems can step outside the box and convince the majority of people that it is worth their time and trouble to vote.
When the majority doesn’t participate, special interests reign and money dominates. When that happens our country‘s government won’t work. This is exactly where we find ourselves and what has empowered unfit representatives like Ted Cruz.