In a rare moment among political opponents, Senator Ted Cruz (R–TX) gave Representative Alexandria Ocasio–Cortez (D–NY) a history lesson in her own party after she responded to the Senator‘s criticism of the NAACP’s recent travel advisory in Florida.
“This is bizarre. And utterly dishonest,” the Senator commented on the NAACP’s claim that Florida is “hostile to Black Americans.”
“In the 1950s & 1960s, the NAACP did extraordinary good helping lead the civil rights movement. Today, Dr. King would be ashamed of how profoundly they’ve lost their way,” He added.
To which AOC wrote back, challenging Cruz to “tell people what happened to the parties after that“, suggesting a false theory that the GOP and Democrat Parties had switched ideologies over the years.
In response, the Ted Cruz took to Twitter to take Ocasio–Cortez up on her challenge, outlining the history of his own party and giving a harsh assessment of the Democratic Party‘s record on issues that disproportionately affect African Americans.
The Texas Senator began by pointing out that the Democratic Party was the party of the KKK, wrote the Jim Crow Laws, and filibustered the Civil Rights Act.
Cruz then turned to more modern times, highlighting how he passed the largest expansion of school choice EVER, focusing on K–12, and this over the objection of every single Senate Democrat.
The Senator concluded his history lesson by drawing attention to the sitting Democratic President, Joe Biden, who gave in 2011 “a flowery eulogy for an ‘Exalted Cyclops‘ of the KKK“.
Cruz‘s tweets sparked a wide range of reactions, with many people, scoffing at how long it took him to answer this “rhetorical“ question from Ocasio–Cortez. Others noted the irony of the situation, citing its rarity in today‘s political climate. Some, including tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, sat back for what would no doubt be an entertaining exchange of ideas.
It appears that the constitutional topic will continue to be a heated debate, as each party works to back up their respective arguments with facts in the months to come. But with Senator Ted Cruz tackling the challenge head–on, and delivering what is widely considered a fair and accurate account of the Democratic Party‘s record on Electoral issues facing African–Americans, the Republican party looks set to come out on top in this particular battle of ideologies.
