| Ted Cruz comes across as a measured candidate who has chosen his angle in this race. He and Mitt Romney have the same penchant for delivering conservative talking points like eager elementary school students recite multiplication tables.
But maybe he's not as careful as he seems. Last week, Cruz personally posted a conspiracy theory on his website about the threat that our nation's golf courses face from George Soros. "What?" said everyone.
Cruz's post laments Agenda 21, a 1992 non-binding United Nations resolution proposing environmentally-sound government policies. It is a 100-page catalog of proposals designed to "encourage nations to use fewer resources, combat urban sprawl and conserve open space." The Bush Administration signed onto it, likely loving the fact that it ultimately means nothing at all. But apparently, wannabe-senator Ted Cruz thinks Agenda 21 is jeopardizing America.
Cruz complains that Agenda 21 works "to eliminate environmental decay and social injustice through micromanaging industries, communities, and culture." Cruz warns that "the originator of this grand scheme is George Soros" and it "attempts to abolish 'unsustainable' environments, including golf courses, grazing pastures, and paved roads." This is clearly another classic Cruz attempt to appeal to both clueless right-wing voters and big business interests, who together comprise the Republican Party. Assigning George Soros god-like powers over world affairs falls flat in an economy-focused election, and talking frantically about the threat our nation's golf courses face makes Cruz seem unbalanced. Cruz is a gutter politician who may not even believe his own Agenda 21 bile, but writing about it on his website shows that he doesn't have a healthy sense of how to draw a solid, illusory line between 'Republican' and 'insane.'
Agenda 21 won't be the issue that brings him down. It's crazy, but crazy-for-the-GOP is not yet a pattern he has established. If Cruz starts espousing more flagrant idiocy like this, we may have another Sharron Angle on our hands; a GOP candidate strung out too far on the Tea Party. That could make it both more likely that Cruz will win the primary and less likely that he'll win the general.
Any more conspiracies, Mr. Cruz? |
