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The Problem with Bullies

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  • Schmidt
    2013-10-04 08:31:30 AM
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    I note the big front page headline in the Huffington Post this morning: WAR: GOP LYNCH MOB AGAINST TED CRUZ.

    Clicking on that headline gets you to an article entitled, Mitch McConnell Rails Against Ted Cruz

    The article addresses how some Republican senators have lost patience with Cruz, who has led a failed strategy to defund the Affordable Care Act. From the HP article:

    “It was very evident to everyone in the room that Cruz doesn’t have a strategy -– he never had a strategy, and could never answer a question about what the end-game was,” one senator told Politico. “I just wish the 35 House members that have bought the snake oil that was sold could witness what was witnessed today at lunch.”

    Conservatives outside the Senate have taken swings at Cruz as well. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, said Cruz "pushed House Republicans into traffic and wandered away." Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) accused the "Ted Cruz wing" of trying to "hijack" the Republican Party.

    This does not surprise me. In my working career at a major company I encountered many bullies. Some of them had smarts to back them up and some didn't. Many rose quickly in the organization as that seemed to be an admired trait for some...much like Bill O'Reilly attracts a certain audience that likes bullies and follows bullies.

    Ted Cruz is a bully. A bunch of Texans elected him because they like his bully style.

    But the problem with bullies, and it doesn't matter how intellectually smart they are, is that they all rise to their level of incompetence. Ted Cruz rose to be a Senator by appealing to a certain segment of the voting public...perhaps a Senator McCarthy type style where smugness, aggressiveness, and certitude are admired. Once in the Senate he somehow got a whole bunch of Tea Party members in the House of Representatives to follow him and that's not surprising as they all are authoritarian followers.

    For leaders like Ted Cruz to be effective in pursuit of their ideologies, they need followers and lots of them...people who need a "father figure." These followers are also classified as authoritarians. Robert Altemeyer in his book , The Authoritarians , makes this clear distinction between authoritarian followers and authoritarian leaders. According to Altemeyer, authoritarian followers have "a high degree of submission to the established, legitimate authorities in their society; high levels of aggression in the name of their authorities; and a high level of conventionalism." "People who submit to the established authorities to extraordinary degrees often turn out to be political conservatives, so you can call them “right-wingers.”" I would call them Tea Partiers, but their authorities in this case are not the established government figures, but rather Rush Limbaugh bully types in the media and corporations.

    The personal traits of an authoritarian follower differ in many respects from authoritarian leader, which Altemeyer calls Social Dominators. The stereotype of the Social Dominator, the authoritarian leader, is one of "they love power, including the power to hurt in their drive to the top." They lack empathy and scorn charity, kindness, and forgiving. They can be intimidating, ruthless, mean and vengeful, and would rather be feared than loved. That kind of describes Ted Cruz.

    While Ted Cruz has enomored the Tea Party segment in the House of Representatives, he has in the process neglected to build relationships with his fellow Senate colleagues. Big mistake. Ted Cruz is not capable of learning by that mistake. He is too arrogant for that. But he has risen to his level of incompetence. When the Affordable Care Act moves forward in the next few years, and people look back at the folly of the Government Shutdown, they will remember one name: Ted Cruz...oh and maybe John Boehner who is one of Cruz's authoritarian followers.

    Incompetency in both houses of Congress.

    That's the problem with bullies.
  • jamesn
    2013-10-04 09:22:45 AM
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    I think it is incorrect to say that ..."Cruz doesn't have a strategy"...

    Cruz's strategy is to do what he thinks is good for Ted Cruz, just the same way that Texas Senator Davis did what was good for Davis. They both filibustered and got WAY more famous. Lots of people who had never heard of either of them now know who they are.

    She got so famous that she's running for governor. There's talk of him running for president. I think they are both long shots, but they both did what they did at least partly for their own benefit.

    To those who say that Ted Cruz doesn't have a strategy, I say you are wrong. His strategy is to do what he thinks is good for Ted Cruz. He's taking care of himself which is what most politicians do.

    ..."Incompetency in both houses of Congress."... That's the most accurate thing anyone has posted all week.
  • Dutch
    2013-10-04 09:38:50 AM
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    jamesn Wrote: I think it is incorrect to say that ..."Cruz doesn't have a strategy"...

    Cruz's strategy is to do what he thinks is good for Ted Cruz, just the same way that Texas Senator Davis did what was good for Davis. They both filibustered and got WAY more famous. Lots of people who had never heard of either of them now know who they are.

    She got so famous that she's running for governor. There's talk of him running for president. I think they are both long shots, but they both did what they did at least partly for their own benefit.

    To those who say that Ted Cruz doesn't have a strategy, I say you are wrong. His strategy is to do what he thinks is good for Ted Cruz. He's taking care of himself which is what most politicians do.

    ..."Incompetency in both houses of Congress."... That's the most accurate thing anyone has posted all week.
    Your last statement can be extended to the whole government. I've got a feeling that in this country only the "me"" counts, especially in politics.
    Brains are optional, especially if it concerns "ego's" or "guns"
  • Schmidt
    2013-10-04 11:41:01 AM
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    I'm not one to "clean house" or "get rid of the whole bunch" as some have indicated, nor am I one that likes to put the "inept" label on Congress as a whole. I know there are some good people in our Congress, but the "bad apples" are causing public opinion to turn against not only Congress but our government as a whole.

    Ted Cruz is one of the bad apples whose brand of politics is like a cancer afflicting our entire Congress. However, as we know, there are other Tea Partiers that were elected before Cruz showed up and took charge.

    You are right though...Cruz is for Cruz. That's typically the way with bullies. They only think of themselves and Cruz especially lacks the empathy and compassion that is necessary to be an all around Senator. He doesn't give a damn about anyone except himself. Maybe his disciples in the House will come to recognize that soon.

    If Cruz and his Tea Party followers worked for a corporation, they would have reached their level of incompetency and been weeded out long time ago.
  • L.A. Citizen
    2013-10-09 02:02:55 AM
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    Schmidt Wrote: I'm not one to "clean house" or "get rid of the whole bunch" as some have indicated, nor am I one that likes to put the "inept" label on Congress as a whole. I know there are some good people in our Congress, but the "bad apples" are causing public opinion to turn against not only Congress but our government as a whole.

    Ted Cruz is one of the bad apples whose brand of politics is like a cancer afflicting our entire Congress. However, as we know, there are other Tea Partiers that were elected before Cruz showed up and took charge.

    You are right though...Cruz is for Cruz. That's typically the way with bullies. They only think of themselves and Cruz especially lacks the empathy and compassion that is necessary to be an all around Senator. He doesn't give a damn about anyone except himself. Maybe his disciples in the House will come to recognize that soon.

    If Cruz and his Tea Party followers worked for a corporation, they would have reached their level of incompetency and been weeded out long time ago.
    You can't get rid of them. They have a base. They have no agenda other than to battle. I had recently commented on the separation of powers in that it was a mistake. The separation of powers gave the other two branches in opposition the power to act. It never intended that Congress have two bites at the apple. Our government operates as a majority rules. (51 percent) for 40 years Congress understood that...only using the filibuster 4 times in 40 years.

    Ted cruz only seeks money. As long as he and others continue, the money continues. These guys aren't bullies....... They're cowards.

    Notice: All this originates from the GOD party. Insanity has no boundary, limitless.
  • L.A. Citizen
    2013-10-09 02:17:04 AM
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    If any of you have paid attention to the last 25 years then we would agree that at all levels of society there are no values. Today...Corporations have government in their pockets, they have legislation in their favor, and control the people who regulate the institutions that police the corporations.....That is not capitalism. I don't know what that is,,,,,but its not capitalism.

    The definition of a cartel is a monopolization through conspiracy. A coalition having common interests. From janitors to CEO's the majority corrupted.

    This problem is here to stay. They can keep re-hashing these issues for years. Look at the current trend. They've been successful at disruption. Why stop?????
  • L.A. Citizen
    2013-10-09 02:35:44 AM
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    I've noticed that in all the posts I've read there's a whole lot of talk about "REFORM". The word REVOLUTION seems not to be an option. It was good enough then. I hear politicians praise EGYPT, LIBYA, and now SYRIA for their act of revolt. These people fight because they have SUFFERED. Something that Americans have yet to do. I'm talking about millions suffering on a personal level...not simply because your café late was luke warm.
    Here in America we have what I like to call...."COFEE SHOP REVOLUTIONARIES".

    IF YOU AND I CANNOT EVEN AGREE ON SIMPLE ISSUES JUST IN THIS FORUM, THEN UNITY IS AND WILL ALWAYS BE UNATTAINABLE.

    I don't blame Congress, the President, or even the Tea Party. People will only do what they can get away with. I blame us. A Revolution can occur without violence and anarchy. Any revolution requires unity and an immediate demand for change.
    In this country we have people that actually vote against their own interests.

    It amazes me when I look at old footage on television,,,,,,the fifties.....All the men are wearing blazers and hats. The women are always in dresses. I grew up watching leave it to beaver. I think I enjoyed it as a child because it was perfect. I always wondered where these people lived and how can I take the bus to get there. Funny
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