Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has never presented himself as a conformist: One of the main tenets of his campaign was that he would agitate Washington, D.C., rather than be absorbed by it.
Sure enough, Cruz has rubbed people the wrong way just months into the job. The latest figure to complain about the Texas Republican was The New York Times' columnist David Brooks, who had the following comments during an appearance at the 92 Street Y on Sunday.
"If you mention the name Ted Cruz to other senators, you just get titanic oceans of eye rolling. Because you're a freshman, you don't go in and take over hearings, you, like, hang around and learn how it's done. And it's like the most unconservative act to come in, two weeks into the job, and decide that the Senate exists for you to take it over. And so I think he's made a lot of enemies. It doesn't help that he has a face that looks a little like Joe McCarthy, actually. I just -- I find him a little off-putting."
This isn't the first time that Cruz and McCarthy's names have been uttered in the same sentence. Following reports of Cruz accusing the Harvard Law faculty of being home to communists, a number of other columnists have also made the comparison.
Being on the wrong end of a tongue-lashing by Brooks is probably not the worst deal in the world for Cruz, either. The senator has played up his image as a rabble-rouser within conservative ranks.
A request for comment from his office, however, was not immediately returned.
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