The blame rests on the Mango Messiah, Senator Cruz. Not God.

By J. Basil Dannebohm

Back in 2014, I was sitting with Ted Cruz in his D.C. apartment as he lamented the left, comparing them to "bullies in the sandbox at recess." He claimed he was tired of Democrats "stealing the GOP's milk money." To this day, I have no idea what he was specifically referring to in his lament.

The Senator looked me in the eyes and said, "Basil, you know the best way to deal with a bully? You punch them square in the face. It's about time Republicans start punching these bullies in the face."

I've often pondered that encounter, wondering why Cruz never (figuratively) punched Donald Trump in the face; not when he called Heidi Cruz ugly, not when he accused Rafael Cruz of assassinating JFK, not when he coined the nickname "Lyin' Ted."

Granted, Cruz referred to Trump as a “sniveling coward” in response to the demagogue’s attack on Heidi; but it wasn’t long until he did an about-face in the same pathetic fashion as Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, and the many others who bent over, grabbed their ankles, and submitted to Trump.

On Saturday, July 5th, roughly 24 hours after floods ravaged a Christian summer camp in Texas, the Daily Beast reported that Cruz was on a Grecian holiday, touring the Parthenon in Athens. This is not the first time the United States Senator from Texas has taken a vacation while a crisis unfolded in his state. In 2021, he went on a trip to Cancun, Mexico while millions of Texans were left without power or water during a winter storm.

By July 7th, Cruz had finally returned to the United States. In an interview on Real America's Voice, he suggested God had permitted the more than 100 flood-related deaths that occurred while the Senator was on his summer holiday.

"Why does God allow bad things to happen to young children?" Cruz said. "I don't know that I have any additional insight other than saying God is a good and loving God, and He will help us through this. I do think Texas has benefited [from] such a strong community of believers in Texas that you have churches that step in and do the role we should."

Pardon me, Senator. In using the term “we,” are you referring to the federal government?

Because you’re correct.

Churches and non-profit organizations were forced to step in and fill a role which should have been filled by FEMA. Instead, you and your Congressional cronies diverted $300 million from FEMA to fund Donald Trump’s weekly golf outings. Likewise, the Department of Homeland Security diverted FEMA disaster relief funds to build a concentration camp in the Florida Everglades. Thanks to DOGE cuts, which you applauded, The National Weather Service and other vital NOAA agencies were gutted. The “Big Beautiful Bill” you voted for will be the death knell for FEMA.

No, Senator. The blame for the casualties of the Texas flood does not rest on God. Not since Noah has the Great “I AM” leveraged natural disasters to wage wrath and punishment. The blame can -- and should -- be laid squarely at the feet of your Mango Messiah. You were complicit in the tragic deaths which served as sacrificial offerings to appease an orange calf.

The Good Lord doesn’t want your “thoughts and prayers,” Senator. God demands your action. David had to pick up a stone and hurl it at Goliath to put an end to his terror.

The best thing Ted Cruz could do to honor the victims of the Great Texas Flood of 2025 would be to stand boldly on the floor of the United States Senate and declare, “Enough is enough!”

Enough authoritarianism, enough gaslighting, enough dismantling democracy and defunding critical government agencies. Enough bowing down to the devil’s stooge and his every perverse whim. Enough bastardizing sacred scripture to suit a deranged narrative. Enough of Donald J. Trump and his fascist regime.

But he won’t, because the Senator from Texas is, in his own words, “a sniveling coward.”

I long for the day when a Republican leader will muster up the courage to deal a massive blow to the orange monster's wicked agenda and fragile little ego. The more people snap back at him, the more it makes him come unhinged. The more he comes unhinged, the more he implodes. Much of this orchestrated chaos would subside if people would just deal with Trump the way Ted Cruz once claimed you deal with a bully in the sandbox.