Regarding my new column, Banana Republicans 2013, here is the inside: The smartest Republican strategists, major Republican donors, and even some Republican leaders in Congress (whom I criticized) privately agree with me.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is the best thing that has happened to Democrats since "Brownie" handled Katrina for Bush 43, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is playing him like a violin. Let him talk, and the more voters who hear Cruz, the better for Democrats.
Cruz is not only the biggest vanity player in Washington (and that is saying something!), and he is not only a charlatan (he voted for cloture against his own filibuster of a bill he favors), he is a walking advertisement for the weird ring of Republicans -- I call them Banana Republicans -- who could well become a death knell for Republicans in 2014 and 2016.
Reid, of course, wants to give Cruz the most airtime he possibly can, while Democrats rejoiced today and mourn the fact that the Cruz show has now been canceled -- by Cruz among others. By my count, Cruz has held four different positions in the last 10 days on the issue he busted his kidneys discussing on the Senate floor, all for the purpose of promoting himself and raising money for himself while he hurt, and continues to hurt, the Republican Party.
The smart move for the GOP would be to stop threatening to shut the government down once and for all, and to stop endangering the national economy with these absurd farces that would crash the economy if these threats even prevailed, which they will not.
The GOP should surrender this time around, because they are pursuing the worst strategy since Gen. Custer predicted victory at the Little Bighorn.