Don't Dare Take Ted Cruz Lightly

What many in the media refuse to accept is that the very attributes that make Cruz unpopular among Washington political elites also endear him to many voters across the country. What his critics consider negatives, his supporters see as positives. This is another indicator of how far removed many of those who live and work in the nation's capital are from everyday Americans.

Cruz isn't part of the D.C. club, but that's a plus for those who think government is too clubby. He has smarts, courage and principle, and he won't fall in line behind the leaders of his own party when he believes they're going the wrong way.

He's unflinching on the attack. He did not hesitate to grill Sen. Dianne Feinstein over the Second Amendment, Attorney General Eric Holder about the investigation into allegations that the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservatives, or Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel about whether he accepted money from foreign governments.

Cruz doesn't care about being popular, or playing nice with colleagues, if it interferes with doing what he considers to be the right thing.

Not that he isn't wrong sometimes. On immigration reform, he parrots GOP talking points that ignore the realities of the debate. Here are three such realities: We can deport people, but they will come back. "Amnesty" isn't a magnet for illegal immigration, jobs are. And, until you punish employers, the problem will persist.

People ask me if I think Cruz would be a good president. I don't know. The same goes for Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Hillary Clinton or Elizabeth Warren. The only way to evaluate a president is to see him, or her, on the job. George W. Bush looked and sounded more like a leader after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Yet I know this: Cruz will be good for the process. He'll force other GOP contenders to bring their "A-game" to every policy discussion and take their vitamins before every debate. He'll make them keep their words, and he'll have the nerve to call them on their nonsense. He won't be polite, and he won't defer. And because of all this, he shouldn't be taken lightly.

========

Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com.