Senator Ted Cruz, who sprinkles the Constitution on his breakfast cereal and poops the Bill of Rights (or so he would have you believe), has heard all the news about the NSA leaks and is ... confused, according to Glenn Beck's Blaze:
TED CRUZ RESERVING JUDGEMENT ON WHETHER NSA LEAKER IS A 'PATRIOT' OR A 'TRAITOR'Wait -- what? Snowden leaked information about secret intelligence programs that gather information about the entire populace. There are questions about whether everything he's claimed is accurate, but it's clear from the reaction of government officials that he's not just making the whole thing up. Does Cruz think it could all be a hoax? And does he really also think we need to know Snowden's innermost feelings before coming to a conclusion about what he's done?
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Tuesday declined to label admitted NSA leaker Edward Snowden a "patriot" or a "traitor," saying more facts are needed first.
"I don't know if what Mr. Snowden has said is true or false," Cruz said during an event hosted by TheBlaze in Washington. "We need to determine that. We need to determine what his motives were, whether he was telling the truth."
He continued, "If it is the case that the federal government is seizing millions of personal records about law-abiding citizens, and if it is the case that there are minimal restrictions on accessing or reviewing those records, then I think Mr. Snowden has done a considerable public service by bringing it to light."Hey, Ted-- you're a U.S. senator, and you don't know whether "the federal government is seizing millions of personal records about law-abiding citizens"?
And you claim to be Mr. Constitutional Originalist. So you're saying that, as far as you're concerned, it would be fine if "the federal government is seizing millions of personal records about law-abiding citizens" if the feds are being extremely careful about how they're reviewed? Given your whole reverence-for-the-freedoms-the-Framers-gave-us thing, you're not sure whether you're upset about that mass-seizure thing in and of itself?
Cruz left open the possibility of backing prosecution for Snowden.You think he might not have violated the laws of this country? And you think the law needs to be enforced? You think that's an open question?
"If Mr. Snowden has violated the laws of this country, there are consequences to violating laws and that is something he has publicly stated he understands and I think the law needs to be enforced," Cruz said.
Some people think Snowden's a hero, others think he's a traitor. Others -- I think I fall in this category -- are ambivalent, seeing potential good and bad consequences from the leaks.
But Cruz isn't really ambivalent. He's just a posturing blowhard who's been thrilling the rubes with this "constitutional conservative" act ... until now. Now he's stuck, because if he continues wearing the Constitution as a wrestling costume, he might have to attack the president's national security approach from the left -- and he's not a member of the Paul family, so he's not going to do that, plus he's a Texas, which means he has to be maximally militaristic.
So the poor bastard's stuck. He may never decide what he really thinks about this. I'm sure he's hoping it'll all blow over soon, so he can go back to hating Obamacare.
