Eric Swalwell's restroom run-in with Ted Cruz

[kpete]

The GOP’s Alternate Reality Industry

Plus, Eric Swalwell’s restroom run-in with Ted Cruz.
Representative Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, told me of a chilling revelation he had when he once happened across Ted Cruz in the Senate men’s room during Trump’s second impeachment trial. Swalwell calls his epiphany “my pro-wrestling theory.”

According to Swalwell, many of the members of the GOP look at themselves as something like pro-wrestling performers. They know it’s fake—kayfabe, as it’s called in wrestling—and so do the voters. “For most of these guys, they don’t look at their constituents as the people they represent,” Swalwell told me in an interview for my “Just Ask the Question” podcast. “They look at them as their fans.”

Which brings us to that restroom run-in during the impeachment trial. Swalwell, recall, was one of the House managers making the case for holding Trump to account for the events of January 6. When Swalwell ran into Cruz, the Texas senator told him, “Hey I just want you to know you’re doing a great job out there.”

Swalwell was taken aback. Cruz had scorched him on Twitter and on Fox News within 24 hours of running into him in the restroom—yet according to Swalwell, the senator acted like “we’re two pro wrestlers. We’re bros.”

https://thebulwark.com/the-gops-alternate-reality-industry/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-99-rep-eric-swalwell-were-you-surprised/id1436559070?i=1000525666712

[dalton99a]

1. It's their new model of government

[maryellen99]

3. Trump thinks he's Vince McMahon nt

[PatSeg]

18. Yes, I've said it for years

For republicans, politics is all a game. It isn't about truth or governing or even right or wrong, it is about performance and winning. The comparison to pro-wrestling is a good one. It is reality TV, where pretty much everyone knows it is fake. The objective is to put on the winning performance.

[blogslug]

2. I've been thinking that for the last four years!

Donnie was their heel! He brought the heat! Disagree with me if you want but I don't think his base is a cult. I think it's a fandom. They don't want policy. The don't care about order or rules. To them cheap heat is just as good as kayfabe. They don't want something to believe in. They want to be entertained. They think this all a damned show.

[twogunsid]

9. This right here

[CrispyQ]

12. I think the end goal is to own the libs.

That's all my ultra right wing nut job cousin really cares about. Own the libs. As long as they can piss us off they don't care if it hurts them. I don't get it, but I don't think he's unique. I think it's a theme that runs through all the right-wing groups.

[PatSeg]

19. And an excuse to be violent, profane, and outrageous

Many of them are just doing what they already wanted to do and now they feel they have permission.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

28. Trump made an appearance in my hometown leading up to the 2016 election.

Our town newspaper did a story on it and interviewed some locals who attended. More than one person mentioned "he's entertaining" in the reason(s) they liked and supported Trump.

"He's entertaining" That and "he's a fighter" made me want to vomit after reading the article.

[Botany]

4. Swalwell is taller, younger and stronger than Cruz.

Cruz must have been shittin' kittens.

[sheshe2]

6. Also...better looking! 😊

[BComplex]

27. By orders of magnitude!

[czarjak]

5. Both sides though?

[marble falls]

8. My question exactly. Botherism and whataboutism don't fly here.

[FakeNoose]

7. The Capitol needs to have segregated bathrooms

Dems on one side, Repukes on the other. Maybe even build a nice wall between the two.

[KS Toronado]

11. And make Mexico pay for it.

[Mike Nelson]

10. Yikes!

... Ted has all the lines! I doubt Eric would be interested, and certainly not with that Cruz.

[George II]

13. "the senator acted like "we're two pro wrestlers. We're bros." "....

If Swalwell were a wrestler, he would have run into Jim Jordan in the rest room.

[Wounded Bear]

14. Duh! Watch a Trump rally for 5 minutes and you could see that...

at least about the Former Guy. That the repub sens and reps are following suit is the disappointing part.

Politics as entertainment. And it's not even good entertainment.

[PatSeg]

22. In their pre-Trump days, magats

probably consumed huge quantities of reality TV and they were finally able to take their entertainment out of TV and into the real world. I've watched them at the Trump rallies and it was more of a social outing than a political event. Getting together with other like-minded people for a sporting event. They brought their lawn chairs, coolers, and fun homemade signs. I've noticed that a lot of them just love dressing up in very silly costumes. Most of them don't have the intellect, education, or inclination to understand politics and government, they just want to have a good time and hang out with their buds.

Of course, there are many who are just malcontents looking for a justification to lash out and throw tantrums, because the world has been so unfair to them and it must be the "liberals" fault. Those would be the deplorables, the ones that stormed the Capitol.

[Wounded Bear]

23. Political cosplay...

But most cosplayers can go home and take off the costumes and resume their real lives. Trumpers have morphed into their personae.

[PatSeg]

25. Yes

These would be the cosplayers who end up forgetting that they are "playing" and start to get defensive when they are criticized. Then they start to get real and double down. Its not a game anymore.

[certainot]

29. the common denominator is talk radio - they're all dittoheads whether they

listened to limbaugh or his wannabes or got it from fox

republicans are enabled and intimidated by the dittoheads/teabags/trumpers because he feared limbaugh's wrath. limbaugh could mention their name negatively and all the other blowhards would follow and all their dittoheads would call and keep everyone in line

[PatSeg]

30. Yes, it didn't happen overnight

Years of listening to that garbage rewired their already weak minds, though many were probably seeking out justification for their hateful beliefs and actions. Then along came Trump bringing it all to a head.

[sarchasm]

15. Maybe this is why Michael Moore calls his podcast "Rumble". -nt

[WyattKansas]

16. The Democratic Party will continue being punked by Republicans until...

The Democratic Party pulls an LBJ... And makes Republicans deny that they fuck pigs!

[lame54]

17. I also had a bathroom run-in with Ted Cruz...

I flushed immediately

[Probatim]

20. You'd need a double flush if you dropped a Cruz...

[tiptonic]

21. Well

Well, what do we expect when the 'dumster', puts the 'wraslin lady' (DeVos/devoid), in charge in our education system. This mess is far from over. God help us all !!

[Scrivener7]

24. Oh, absolutely! They don't believe a thing that comes out of their own mouths. BUT the things

that come out of their own mouths bring a lot of money into their pockets, and total control over a certain type of voter. And that's what this is about for them.

[Bucky]

26. That makes sense. Like how prosecutors and defenders are chummy.

There's no reason why pro-Democracy members of Congress can't be completely jocular and hail-fellow-well-met with pro-Kremlin members of Congress.