This past September, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz stole the national spotlight for a hot minute -- OK, 21 hours -- when he took over the Senate floor, giving a speech that included a full reading of Green Eggs and Ham. Cruz promised to filibuster to delay a vote on a bill that would defund Obamacare. (Cruz supported the bill but knew Democrats would kill it, so he implemented the stall tactic.) He vowed that he'd speak "until I am no longer able to stand."
Sadly for Cruz, he couldn't really filibuster -- technically, the vote had already been scheduled and would be going on regardless; Cruz didn't have the power to delay it -- but he still caused a scene.
As seen on C-Span2, he took the Senate floor at 2:41 p.m. Around 8, his daughter's bedtime, he paused his rant about the Affordable Care Act to read the Dr. Seuss classic.
Lately, people in his own party have been distancing themselves from Cruz and the Tea Party wing. John McCain called Cruz and Rand Paul "wacko birds," and Cruz is said to be back-stabbing some elected Republicans by helping fundraise for people who want to challenge them.
Whatever his future with the Republican Party, Cruz's association with Dr. Seuss seems strong -- even despite the fact that Dr. Seuss was a liberal and that people mocked Cruz for not understanding the meaning of Green Eggs and Ham. "Try it, and you will like it" was a theme his political rivals suggested he apply to Obamacare.
In mid-February, three copies of Green Eggs and Ham autographed by Cruz sold for $2,800 at a Texas fundraiser. And on Friday, he stopped by King's Academy, a private Christian school in West Palm Beach, and read the book to schoolchildren. Apparently a parent at the school knows Cruz and asked if he could stop by while he was in the area for other reasons.
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