Mr. Gass, in his essay misses the point of the incident: the Republican Party in it’s post 9-11 phase and it’s two losses to Obama, has lapsed into a consistent political hysteria mongering. Yet it is also consistent with the post WWII politics of the Nixon/Mundt/McCarthy/McCarren political cabal, and the notion of ‘a generation of treason’ in the Post-War, post New Deal era of American life.
Senator Cruz’s politics are shot through with political/ethical paranoia and he is the paradigmatic politician, the vanguard of that modern Republican Party. That is a truly frightening political reality to confront, so Mr. Gass opts to use his comment as an ineffective political analgesic.

Political Cynic