And now for a short TED talk.

Specifically, Ted Cruz.

Ted Cruz is a religious fundamentalist, a bigot, a crank and a pretty nasty piece of work. However, he is categorically NOT STUPID. When Ted tweets something as breathtakingly dumb as his "Paris versus Pittsbugh" thing... 1/

...the easy thing to do is look at it and say "Wow, that guy is crazy" or "wow, that guy is stupid".

He's neither, and that's what people need to understand about Ted Cruz.

Ted is a schemer, an opportunist, but he's also cynical and calculating. What does he have to gain? 2/

How does he benefit by looking so stupid?

Easy answer: Trump's base.

Trump is gone and the sharks are circling, and the bait is those people who voted for Trump. What Cruz, Hawley and the other opportunists have noticed is... 3/

1. Donald Trump said the stupidest shit.
2. Trump's voters loved him for it.
3. Trump won in 2016 by saying stupid shit.
4. In 2020 Trump's stupid shit got 74 million votes.

Conclusion? Say stupid shit to woo Trump's voters. 4/

That's what Cruz and Hawley are doing. That's how we square the circle between highly educated, very smart men talking like 8-year-olds.

It's a cynical ploy to grab the MAGAts. The key to power is no longer riches: it's the ability to say stupid shit with a straight face. 5/

Don't let them pull the wool over your eyes. Anytime they say anything to soverwhelmingly dumb, just ask yourself: "What do they have to gain?"

Do not just dismiss them as stupid. We've all seen what stupid does when it's given power, and how dangerous stupid is.

TED talk over.