Some of the nastiest and meanest teabaggers in this country held their annual "Values Voter Summit" this last weekend. They must have a rather loose definition of values, because their main values seem to be selfishness, greed, stupidity, and a hatred for anyone who is different or has a differing opinion. Or maybe they think if they use the word, they won't have to have any real values.Be that as it may, they met and listened to speeches from politicians who make their living by pandering to the ultra-right. And one of their last activities was to conduct a presidential straw poll, to let the nation know who they think should be elected president. They did not disappoint. They chose the politician who was the architect of the government shutdown -- Ted Cruz.
Cruz, the junior GOP senator from Texas, easily outdistanced his opponents and finished first in the straw poll with 42%. His closest opponents were Dr. Ben Carson (a well-known teabagger activist) and Rick Santorum, both of whom got 13%. Rand Paul finished fourth with 6%, and Marco Rubio got 5%.
Frankly, I'm thrilled with the results of that straw poll. I hope the teabaggers are still in control of the Republican Party in early 2016, because I would love to see Cruz win that nomination and run against Hillary Clinton. His crushing defeat would be the best present Democrats could hope for.
(This caricature of Ted Cruz is by the inimitable DonkeyHotey.)
