I think Ted Cruz is going after the same "mad as hell and not going to take it anymore" voters that Donald Trump is applealing to:
The Senate’s Republican leadership rhetorically took Sen. Ted Cruz to the woodshed Sunday for calling Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a liar last week on the chamber’s floor.
Cruz was unbowed, firing back soon after leaving the Senate floor and accusing Senate Republican leaders of marching in lockstep with Senate Democrats on such things as funding the Affordable Care Act, funding Planned Parenthood and refusing to tie an Iran nuclear deal to Iran’s recognition of Israel’s right to exist.
“They operate as a team, expanding Washington and undermining the liberty of the people,” the Texas Republican said of Senate Democratic and Republican leaders.
“We’ve just seen something extraordinary on the Senate floor. The American people elected a Republican majority believing that a Republican majority would be somehow different from a Democratic majority in the United States Senate. Unfortunately, the way the current Senate operates, there is one party, the Washington party.”
The only difference is that Trump is selling faux outrage, and Cruz has genuine anger, probably fueled by feeling foolish for going into the Senate with the naive belief its members dealt with each under with the same principles of honesty and trust the rest of us do.
But, yeah, Ted, how dare you call McConnell a liar. It's not that he isn't a liar, you understand, you're just supposed to say it, especially not on the Senate floor. Politicians don't live by the same rules we do. A promise isn't a promise, it's just a campaign speech. A lie isn't a lie, it's just a tactic.