The Ted Cruz Effect: How One Man Destabilized the Government

By Brian Beutler

September 4, 2013  |  Late in August, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, traveled to a private residence in Dublin, N.H., to headline a fundraiser for the state Republican Party. Cruz’s spiel lasted about an hour, and was packed with the mix of straw men and inflammatory nonsense we’ve come to expect out of the junior senator from Texas.

But before he really got into it, he took a moment to say a few nice words about his GOP colleague from the state, who was also in attendance.

“Kelly Ayotte is a rock star,” Cruz said. “Let me tell you, your senator is as tough as granite. There is no stronger advocate of the men and women in our military in the U.S. Senate than is Kelly Ayotte, and there is no one tougher going to get the truth about what happened in Benghazi than Kelly Ayotte.”